Tiger and/or Panther electric final drive

[maurice northcott]

Hi All,

Hope somebody can help me, I know a little about aircraft and ships but not much about AFV.

 

I have always thought the Tigers and Panthers used a standard internal combustion engines powering their drive sprockets.

 

Recently somebody told me that the Tigers and perhaps even Panthers had petrol engines and that these supplied power to a generator which produced electricity to power electric motors that turned the drive sprockets.

 

What is correct please?

 

Many thanks in advance,

maurice

 

[Robert Stuart]

The Porsche Tigers had electric drives, about 90 chassis - these were converted to Elefants (aka Ferdinands).
The production Tiger I used the Porsche turret.



Porsche Tiger




Elefant


 

[maurice northcott]

Thank you Robert...... just to clarify does that mean that all production Tigers and all production Panthers had traditional petrol drives to the sprockets?

Thanks

maurice

[Robert Stuart]

Yes Maurice,
The Porsche chassis was remarkable because of its transmission - though it wasn't the first petrol-electric drive tank (1917 saw at least three experimental projects).

Regarding Tiger tank transmissions, this page might be of interest: http://www.alanhamby.com/transmission.shtml

 

 

{edit}  The WWI French Saint-Chamond may have had a petrol electric drive (check) {/edit}

[maurice northcott]

Thank you Robert, exactly what I was after. Thank you for your time.

Cheers

maurice

 

[Kingsman]

I think your friend is perhaps a little confused.  There was indeed an electric drive Tiger, but it was the failed Tiger(P) and only 1 ever saw any service.

 

Electric drive has not been considered combat-worthy even until today, although the UK has recently announced an intent to fit hybrid drive systems to light and medium AFVs - having spent some millions looking at electric drive for Ajax at the pre-design stage and rejecting it.  But that was at least 12 years ago and things have moved on.  But of course we've been unable for many years to find money to upgrade combat systems .................

 

Dr Porsche was very keen on petrol-electric drive and yes the St Chamond was petrol-electric in 1917.  Sorry Toyota, you were several decades late to the hybrid party!  His designs for Tiger 1, Tiger 2 and Maus were all hybrids.  But the technology of the day wasn't really up to it and there were a lot of fires, melting cables etc.  This is why his original contract for the Tiger was quickly cancelled and re-awarded to Henschel, leading to the 90-odd redundant hulls already built being converted into Ferdinands and 3 ARVs.  He just couldn't make it work reliably.  A single Porsche Tiger served with the Ferdinand unit as a command tank. 

 

Germany also experimented with hydraulic drive on a Panzer IV but that wasn't adopted either.