Germany's Tiger Tanks: VK45.02 to TIGER II Design, Production & Modifications (Schiffer Military History) [Hardcover]

Hilary L. Doyle (Author), Thomas L. Jentz (Author)

Book Description

Series: Schiffer Military History | Publication Date: July 1, 1997

This new volume covers development from the VK 45.02(P), VK 45.03(H) to the modifications under design for the Tiger II at the end of the war. All of this illustrated with scale drawings by Hilary L. Doyle combined with drawings, sketches, and photographs

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. (July 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0764302248
• ISBN-13: 978-0764302244
• Product Dimensions: 12 x 9.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #346,461 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An excellent case study of the Tiger Ausf. B., September 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Germany's Tiger Tanks: VK45.02 to TIGER II Design, Production & Modifications (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

This is THE book about the German Tiger II tank.

Thomas Jentz outdid himself in researching every bit of detailed technical information about this historical vehicle. Included in this book are many never-before-seen internal and external photographs of both the prototypes and production vehicles. There are also pages of detailed technical drawings of the Tiger II tank at different stages of it's development and the war.

Although detailed and loaded with technical information, this book has absolutely nothing about the combat and operational history of the Tiger II. There are no explanations about why the various modifications were made and makes it really hard to casually read the book.

In general, this is a technical manual about the Tiger II tank aimed at technical history buffs and modellers. It is a great supplement to Thomas Jentz's other book about the operational history of the Tiger tanks. But for the technical drawings, photographs and descriptions alone, this book is cannot be matched and is worth every penny of it's price.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent technical history of the Tiger II, February 10, 2000

By 

Gerald P. Owens (Pompano Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Germany's Tiger Tanks: VK45.02 to TIGER II Design, Production & Modifications (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

Thomas Jentz and artist/collaborator Hillary Louis Doyle have created an excellent technical overview of the development and production modifications of the Tiger II "King Tiger," using only original documentation and actual preserved vehicles as references. There is no second-hand information of any kind, and no propagation of postwar myths. There is less pure engineering information than the earlier work by Walter Spielberger (i.e. don't expect diagrams of the inner workings of engine and transmissions), but the intended audience for this book is clearly the model-builder. The numerous drawings are to the popular modeler's scale of 1/35th, and numerous detail photos will aid the would-be model builder. In combination with such works as Wolfgang Schneider's "Tigers in Combat," you would have an ideal library on the King Tiger. However, this volume does not cover the Jagdtiger tank destroyer (Schiffer does publish a two-volume work on this vehicle by another author).

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars King Tiger - Excellent Technical Book, October 29, 2010

By 

cpt matt (tanktown, DE) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Germany's Tiger Tanks: VK45.02 to TIGER II Design, Production & Modifications (Schiffer Military History) (Hardcover)

Even before the Tiger tank went into production, the Germans began working on the King Tiger. They knew they wanted a longer 88 mm cannon than the L/56 found on the Tiger 1. That meant a larger chassis, while they were at it, more armor protection. No easy task to get a design into production in less than two years, especially if your country is being bombed 24x7. To put the size of the Tiger 2 in perspective, it is as wide as the M-1 Abrams, taller and almost as long. No Allied tank in WW2 could fight it on equal terms. Fortunately for the Allies, less than 500 were produced, they were very underpowered and like many new vehicles, prone to break down.

Thomas Jentz and Hillary Dolye have been researching German tank designs for over 20 years. They were determined to only use original sources to ensure accuracy. This dedication to the truth, along with the high quality of the published material, make this a first rate book. Every single component of the tank is addressed - road wheels, track, chassis, hull, engine, cannon and turret. There are photos, line drawings, cut-aways of the inside and exterior from every view point. Original German schematics have the German and English translation. The Appendix has the statistics, sizes, performance of the engine, hull, turret, cannon. Quotes from soldiers giving feedback or suggestions to improve the vehicle, memos from the manufacturer all help create a superb picture of this massive tank.

This is a very, very good book. I highly recommend it for all armor buffs, WW2 fans, histories who want an exceptionally detailed technical book. I am very glad to have this in my library.