What equipment to install on Ferdinand. Self-propelled artillery mount "Ferdinand"

Whether the Germans had the best self-propelled guns in the world or not is a moot point, but the fact that they managed to create one that left an indelible memory of itself among all Soviet soldiers is for sure. We are talking about the Ferdinand heavy self-propelled gun. It got to the point that, starting from the second half of 1943, in almost every combat report, Soviet troops destroyed at least one such self-propelled gun. If we add up the losses of the Ferdinands according to Soviet reports, then several thousand of them were destroyed during the war. The piquancy of the situation is that the Germans produced only 90 of them during the entire war, and another 4 ARVs based on them. It is difficult to find an example of armored vehicles from the Second World War, produced in such small quantities and at the same time so famous. All German self-propelled guns were recorded as "Ferdinands", but most often - "Marders" and "Stugas". The situation was approximately the same with the German “Tiger”: the Pz-IV medium tank with a long gun was often confused with it. But here there was at least a similarity in silhouettes, but what similarity there is between “Ferdinand” and, for example, the StuG 40 is a big question.

So what was “Ferdinand” like, and why is he so widely known since the Battle of Kursk? We will not go into technical details and design development issues, because this has already been written in dozens of other publications, but will pay close attention to the battles on the northern front of the Kursk Bulge, where these extremely powerful machines were massively used.

The conning tower of the self-propelled gun was assembled from sheets of forged cemented armor transferred from the stocks of the German Navy. The frontal armor of the cabin was 200 mm thick, the side and rear armor was 85 mm thick. The thickness of even the side armor made the self-propelled gun virtually invulnerable to fire from almost all Soviet artillery of the 1943 model at a distance of over 400 m. The self-propelled gun's armament consisted of an 8.8-cm StuK 43 gun (some sources erroneously cite its field version PaK 43/2) with the barrel length was 71 calibers, its muzzle energy was one and a half times higher than that of the gun of the Tiger heavy tank. The Ferdinand gun penetrated all Soviet tanks from all angles of attack at all actual fire distances. The only reason why the armor was not penetrated when hit was a ricochet. Any other hit caused a penetration of the armor, which in most cases meant the disabling of the Soviet tank and the partial or complete death of its crew. This is something serious that appeared to the Germans shortly before the start of Operation Citadel.

The formation of self-propelled gun units "Ferdinand" began on April 1, 1943. In total, it was decided to form two heavy battalions (divisions).

The first of them, numbered 653 (Schwere PanzerJager Abteilung 653), was formed on the basis of the 197th StuG III assault gun division. According to the new staff, the division was supposed to have 45 Ferdinand self-propelled guns. This unit was not chosen by chance: the division's personnel had extensive combat experience and participated in battles in the East from the summer of 1941 to January 1943. By May, the 653rd battalion was fully staffed according to the staff. However, at the beginning of May 1943, all the material was transferred to staff the 654th battalion, which was formed in France in the city of Rouen. By mid-May, the 653rd battalion was again almost fully staffed and had 40 self-propelled guns. After completing a course of exercises at the Neuseidel training ground, on June 9–12, 1943, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in eleven echelons.

The 654th heavy tank destroyer battalion was formed on the basis of the 654th anti-tank division at the end of April 1943. Its personnel, who had previously fought with the PaK 35/36 anti-tank gun and then with the Marder II self-propelled gun, had much less combat experience than their colleagues from the 653rd battalion. Until April 28, the battalion was in Austria, from April 30 in Rouen. After the final exercises, from June 13 to 15, the battalion departed for the Eastern Front in fourteen echelons.

According to the wartime staff (K. St.N. No. 1148c dated 03/31/43), the heavy battalion of tank destroyers included: the battalion command, a headquarters company (platoon: control, engineer, ambulance, anti-aircraft), three companies of “Ferdinands” (in each company has 2 company headquarters vehicles, and three platoons of 4 vehicles each; i.e. 14 vehicles in a company), a repair and recovery company, a motor transport company. Total: 45 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, 1 ambulance Sd.Kfz.251/8 armored personnel carrier, 6 anti-aircraft Sd.Kfz 7/1, 15 Sd.Kfz 9 half-track tractors (18 tons), trucks and cars.

The staffing structure of the battalions varied slightly. We must start with the fact that the 653rd battalion included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies, and the 654th battalion included the 5th, 6th and 7th companies. The 4th company “fell out” somewhere. The numbering of vehicles in the battalions corresponded to German standards: for example, both vehicles of the headquarters of the 5th company had numbers 501 and 502, the vehicle numbers of the 1st platoon were from 511 to 514 inclusive; 2nd platoon 521 - 524; 3rd 531 - 534 respectively. But if we carefully look at the combat strength of each battalion (division), we will see that there are only 42 self-propelled guns in the “combat” number of units. And in the state there are 45. Where did the other three self-propelled guns from each battalion go? This is where the difference in the organization of improvised tank destroyer divisions comes into play: if in the 653rd battalion 3 vehicles were assigned to a reserve group, then in the 654th battalion 3 “extra” vehicles were organized into a headquarters group that had non-standard tactical numbers: II -01, II-02, II-03.

Both battalions (divisions) became part of the 656th Tank Regiment, whose headquarters the Germans formed on June 8, 1943. The formation turned out to be very powerful: in addition to 90 Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it included the 216th battalion of assault tanks (Sturmpanzer Abteilung 216), and two companies of radio-controlled BIV Bogvard tankettes (313th and 314th). The regiment was supposed to serve as a ram for the German offensive in the direction of Art. Ponyri - Maloarkhangelsk.

On June 25, the Ferdinands began to advance to the front line. By July 4, 1943, the 656th regiment was deployed as follows: to the west of the Orel - Kursk railway, the 654th battalion (Arkhangelskoe district), to the east the 653rd battalion (Glazunov district), followed by three companies 216th battalion (45 Brummbars in total). Each Ferdinand battalion was assigned a company of radio-controlled B IV tankettes.

On July 5, the 656th Tank Regiment went on the offensive, supporting elements of the 86th and 292nd German Infantry Divisions. However, the ramming attack did not work: on the first day, the 653rd battalion got stuck in heavy fighting at height 257.7, which the Germans nicknamed “Tank”. Not only were thirty-fours buried up to the tower at the height, but the height was also covered with powerful minefields. On the very first day, 10 self-propelled guns of the battalion were blown up by mines. There were also heavy losses among personnel. The commander of the 1st company, Hauptmann Spielmann, was seriously injured when he was blown up by an anti-personnel mine. Having determined the direction of the attack, Soviet artillery also opened fire. As a result, by 17:00 on July 5, only 12 Ferdinands remained on the move! The rest received injuries of varying severity. Over the next two days, the remnants of the battalion continued to fight to capture the station. Ponyri.

The attack of the 654th battalion turned out to be even more disastrous. The 6th company of the battalion mistakenly ran into its own minefield. Within just a few minutes, most of the Ferdinands were blown up by their own mines. Having discovered the monstrous German vehicles barely crawling towards our positions, the Soviet artillery opened concentrated fire on them. The result was that the German infantry, supporting the attack of the 6th company, suffered heavy losses and lay down, leaving the self-propelled guns without cover. Four “Ferdinands” from the 6th company were still able to reach the Soviet positions, and there, according to the recollections of German self-propelled gunners, they were “attacked by several brave Russian soldiers who remained in the trenches and armed with flamethrowers, and from the right flank, from the railway line, the artillery fire, but seeing that this was ineffective, the Russian soldiers retreated in an orderly manner.”

The 5th and 7th companies also reached the first line of trenches, losing about 30% of their vehicles to mines and coming under heavy artillery fire. At the same time, the commander of the 654th battalion, Major Noack, was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.

After occupying the first line of trenches, the remnants of the 654th battalion moved in the direction of Ponyri. At the same time, some of the vehicles were again blown up by mines, and “Ferdinand” No. 531 from the 5th company, being immobilized by flanking fire from Soviet artillery, was finished off and burned. At dusk, the battalion reached the hills north of Ponyri, where they stopped for the night and regrouped. The battalion has 20 vehicles left on the move.

On July 6, due to problems with fuel, the 654th battalion went on the attack only at 14:00. However, due to heavy fire from Soviet artillery, the German infantry suffered serious losses, retreated back and the attack fizzled out. On this day, the 654th battalion reported “about a large number of Russian tanks arriving to strengthen the defense.” According to the evening report, the self-propelled gun crews destroyed 15 Soviet T-34 tanks, with 8 of them attributed to the crew under the command of Hauptmann Lüders, and 5 by Lieutenant Peters. There are 17 cars left running.

The next day, the remnants of the 653rd and 654th battalions were pulled to Buzuluk, where they formed a corps reserve. Two days were devoted to car repairs. On July 8, several “Ferdinands” and “Brumbars” took part in an unsuccessful attack on the station. Ponyri.

At the same time (July 8), the headquarters of the Soviet Central Front received the first report from the chief of artillery of the 13th Army about the Ferdinand being blown up by a mine. Just two days later, a group of five GAU KA officers arrived from Moscow to the front headquarters specifically to study this sample. However, they were unlucky; by this time, the area where the damaged self-propelled gun stood was occupied by the Germans.

The main events developed on July 9–10, 1943. After many unsuccessful attacks on the station. The Pony Germans changed the direction of the attack. From the northeast, through the May 1st state farm, an improvised combat group under the command of Major Kall struck. The composition of this group is impressive: the 505th battalion of heavy tanks (about 40 Tiger tanks), the 654th and part of the vehicles of the 653rd battalion (44 Ferdinands in total), the 216th battalion of assault tanks (38 Brummbar self-propelled guns "), a division of assault guns (20 StuG 40 and StuH 42), 17 Pz.Kpfw III and Pz.Kpfw IV tanks. Directly behind this armada the tanks of the 2nd TD and motorized infantry on armored personnel carriers were supposed to move.

Thus, on a front of 3 km, the Germans concentrated about 150 combat vehicles, not counting the second echelon. Of the first echelon vehicles, more than half are heavy. According to reports from our artillerymen, the Germans used a new attack formation “in line” for the first time here - with the Ferdinands leading the way. The vehicles of the 654th and 653rd battalions operated in two echelons. 30 vehicles were advancing in the line of the first echelon; another company (14 vehicles) was moving in the second echelon at intervals of 120–150 m. Company commanders were in a common line on staff vehicles carrying a flag on the antenna.

On the very first day, this group easily managed to break through the May 1 state farm to the village of Goreloye. Here our artillerymen made a truly brilliant move: seeing the invulnerability of the newest German armored monsters to artillery, they were allowed into a huge minefield mixed with anti-tank mines and land mines from captured ammunition, and then opened hurricane fire on the “retinue” of medium-sized ones that was following the Ferdinands. tanks and assault guns. As a result, the entire strike group suffered significant losses and was forced to withdraw.

The next day, July 10, Major Kall's group delivered a new powerful blow and individual vehicles broke through to the outskirts of the station. Ponyri. The vehicles that broke through were the Ferdinand heavy self-propelled guns.

According to the descriptions of our soldiers, the Ferdinands advanced, firing from a gun from short stops from a distance of one to two and a half kilometers: a very long distance for armored vehicles of that time. Having been subjected to concentrated fire, or having discovered a mined area of ​​​​the terrain, they retreated in reverse to some kind of shelter, trying to always be facing the Soviet positions with thick frontal armor, absolutely invulnerable to our artillery.

On July 11, Major Kall's strike group was disbanded, the 505th heavy tank battalion and tanks of the 2nd TD were transferred against our 70th Army to the Kutyrka-Teploye area. In the area of ​​the station. Only units of the 654th battalion and the 216th assault tank division remained in Ponyri, trying to evacuate damaged materiel to the rear. But it was not possible to evacuate the 65-ton Ferdinands during July 12–13, and on July 14, Soviet troops launched a massive counteroffensive from the Ponyri station in the direction of the May 1 state farm. By mid-afternoon the German troops were forced to withdraw. Our tankers supporting the infantry attack suffered heavy losses, mainly not from German fire, but because a company of T-34 and T-70 tanks jumped out onto the same powerful minefield where the Ferdinands were blown up four days earlier. 654th battalion.

On July 15 (that is, the very next day), the German equipment shot down and destroyed at the Ponyri station was inspected and studied by representatives of the GAU KA and NIBT of the test site. In total, on the battlefield northeast of the station. Ponyri (18 km2) there were 21 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", three assault tanks "Brummbar" (in Soviet documents - "Bear"), eight tanks Pz-III and Pz-IV, two command tanks, and several radio-controlled tankettes B IV "Bogvard" "

Most of the Ferdinands were discovered in a minefield near the village of Goreloye. More than half of the vehicles inspected had damage to the chassis from the effects of anti-tank mines and landmines. 5 vehicles had damage to their chassis from being hit by shells of 76 mm caliber and higher. Two Ferdinands had guns shot through, one of them received as many as 8 hits in the gun barrel. One vehicle was completely destroyed by a bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 bomber, and one was destroyed by a 203-mm shell hitting the roof of the cabin. And only one “Ferdinand” had a shell hole in the left side, made by a 76-mm armor-piercing projectile, 7 T-34 tanks and a ZIS-3 battery fired at it from all sides, from a distance of 200–400 m. And another “Ferdinand”, which had no external damage to the hull, was burned by our infantry with a bottle of COP. Several Ferdinands, deprived of the ability to move under their own power, were destroyed by their crews.

The main part of the 653rd battalion operated in the defense zone of our 70th Army. Irreversible losses during the battles from July 5 to July 15 amounted to 8 vehicles. Moreover, our troops captured one in perfect working order, and even with its crew. It happened as follows: while repelling one of the German attacks in the area of ​​​​the village of Teploye on July 11–12, the advancing German troops were subjected to massive artillery fire from a corps artillery division, a battery of the latest Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and two IPTAPs, after which the enemy left them on the battlefield 4 "Ferdinand". Despite such a massive shelling, not a single German self-propelled gun had its armor penetrated: two vehicles had shell damage to the chassis, one was severely destroyed by large-caliber artillery fire (possibly an SU-152) - its frontal plate was moved out of place. And the fourth (No. 333), trying to get out of the shelling, moved in reverse and, once on a sandy area, simply “sat down” on its belly. The crew tried to undermine the car, but then they were confronted by attacking Soviet infantrymen of the 129th Infantry Division and the Germans chose to surrender. Here our people were faced with the same problem that had long been weighing on the minds of the command of the German 654th and 653rd battalions: how to pull this colossus out of the battlefield? Pulling the “hippopotamus out of the swamp” dragged on until August 2, when, with the efforts of four S-60 and S-65 tractors, “Ferdinand” was finally pulled onto solid ground. But during its further transportation to the railway station, one of the gasoline engines of the self-propelled gun failed. The further fate of the car is unknown.

With the start of the Soviet counteroffensive, the Ferdinands found themselves in their element. Thus, on July 12–14, 24 self-propelled guns of the 653rd battalion supported units of the 53rd Infantry Division in the Berezovets area. At the same time, while repelling an attack by Soviet tanks near the village of Krasnaya Niva, the crew of only one “Ferdinand”, Lieutenant Tiret, reported the destruction of 22 T-34 tanks.

On July 15, the 654th battalion repelled an attack by our tanks from Maloarkhangelsk - Buzuluk, while the 6th company reported the destruction of 13 Soviet combat vehicles. Subsequently, the remnants of the battalions were pulled back to Oryol. By July 30, all “Ferdinands” were withdrawn from the front, and by order of the headquarters of the 9th Army they were sent to Karachev.

During Operation Citadel, the 656th Tank Regiment reported daily by radio about the presence of combat-ready Ferdinands. According to these reports, on July 7 there were 37 Ferdinands in service, on July 8 - 26, on July 9 - 13, on July 10 - 24, on July 11 - 12, on July 12 - 24, on July 13 - 24, on July 14 - 13. These data do not correlate well with German data on the combat composition of the strike groups, which included the 653rd and 654th battalions. The Germans recognize 19 Ferdinands as irretrievably lost, in addition, 4 more vehicles were lost “due to a short circuit and subsequent fire.” Consequently, the 656th Regiment lost 23 vehicles. In addition, there are inconsistencies with Soviet data, which photographically document the destruction of 21 Ferdinand self-propelled guns.

Perhaps the Germans tried, as often happened, to write off several vehicles as irretrievable losses retroactively, because, according to them, from the moment the Soviet troops went on the offensive, irretrievable losses amounted to 20 Ferdinands (this apparently includes some of the 4 cars burned down due to technical reasons). Thus, according to German data, the total irretrievable losses of the 656th regiment from July 5 to August 1, 1943 amounted to 39 Ferdinands. Be that as it may, this is generally confirmed by documents, and, in general, corresponds to Soviet data.

If the losses of the Ferdinands to both German and Soviet coincide (the only difference is in the dates), then “unscientific fiction” begins. The command of the 656th regiment states that during the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the regiment disabled 502 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 20 anti-tank and about 100 other guns. The 653rd battalion especially distinguished itself in the field of destroying Soviet armored vehicles, recording 320 Soviet tanks destroyed, as well as a large number of guns and vehicles.

Let's try to figure out the losses of Soviet artillery. During the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the Central Front under the command of K. Rokossovsky lost 433 guns of all types. This is data for an entire front, which occupied a very long line of defense, so data for 120 destroyed guns in one small “patch” seems clearly overestimated. In addition, it is very interesting to compare the declared number of destroyed Soviet armored vehicles with its actual loss. So: by July 5, the tank units of the 13th Army consisted of 215 tanks and 32 self-propelled guns, another 827 armored units were listed in the 2nd TA and 19th Tank Corps, which were in the front reserve. Most of them were brought into battle precisely in the defense zone of the 13th Army, where the Germans delivered their main blow. The losses of the 2nd TA for the period from July 5 to 15 amounted to 270 T-34 and T-70 tanks burned out and damaged, the losses of the 19th Tank - 115 vehicles, the 13th Army (taking into account all replenishments) - 132 vehicles. Consequently, of the 1129 tanks and self-propelled guns deployed in the 13th Army zone, the total losses amounted to 517 vehicles, more than half of which were recovered during the battles (irretrievable losses amounted to 219 vehicles). If we take into account that the defense line of the 13th Army on different days of the operation ranged from 80 to 160 km, and the Ferdinands operated on a front from 4 to 8 km, it becomes clear that it would be impossible to “click” so many Soviet armored vehicles in such a narrow area it was simply unreal. And if we also take into account the fact that several tank divisions, as well as the 505th heavy tank battalion "Tigers", assault gun divisions, self-propelled guns "Marder" and "Hornisse", as well as artillery, acted against the Central Front, then it is clear that the results The 656th Regiment is shamelessly bloated. However, a similar picture emerges when checking the performance of the heavy tank battalions “Tigers” and “Royal Tigers”, and indeed all German tank units. To be fair, it must be said that the combat reports of Soviet, American, and British troops were guilty of such “truthfulness”.

So what is the reason for such popularity of the “heavy assault gun”, or, if you prefer, the “heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand”?

Undoubtedly, the creation of Ferdinand Porsche was a unique masterpiece of technical thought. The huge self-propelled gun used many technical solutions (unique chassis, combined power plant, location of weapons, etc.) that had no analogues in tank building. At the same time, numerous technical “highlights” of the project were poorly adapted for military use, and the phenomenal armor protection and powerful weapons were purchased at the expense of disgusting mobility, a small power reserve, the complexity of the vehicle in operation and the lack of a concept for using such equipment. This is all true, but this was not the reason for such a “fear” of Porsche’s creation that Soviet artillerymen and tankmen saw crowds of “Ferdinands” in almost every combat report, even after the Germans took all the surviving self-propelled guns from the eastern front to Italy and They did not participate on the Eastern Front until the battles in Poland.

Despite all its imperfections and “childhood illnesses,” the self-propelled gun “Ferdinand” turned out to be a terrible adversary. Her armor couldn't be penetrated. I just didn't get through. At all. Nothing. You can imagine what the Soviet tank crews and artillerymen felt and thought: you hit it, fire shell after shell, and it, as if under a spell, rushes and rushes at you.

Many modern researchers cite the lack of anti-personnel weapons of this self-propelled gun as the main reason for the unsuccessful debut of the Ferdinands. They say that the vehicle did not have machine guns and the self-propelled guns were helpless against the Soviet infantry. But if you analyze the reasons for the losses of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it becomes clear that the role of the infantry in the destruction of the Ferdinands was simply insignificant, the vast majority of the vehicles were blown up in minefields, and some were destroyed by artillery.

Thus, contrary to the popular belief that V. Model, who allegedly “did not know” how to use them correctly, was to blame for the large losses on the Kursk Bulge of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, we can say that the main reasons for such high losses of these self-propelled guns were the tactically competent actions of the Soviet commanders, the stamina and courage of our soldiers and officers, as well as a little military luck.

Another reader will object, why are we not talking about the battles in Galicia, where slightly modernized “Elephants” took part since April 1944 (which were distinguished from the previous “Ferdinands” by minor improvements, such as a front-facing machine gun and a commander’s cupola)? We answer: because their fate there was no better. Until July, they, consolidated into the 653rd battalion, fought local battles. After the start of a major Soviet offensive, the battalion was sent to the aid of the German SS division Hohenstaufen, but ran into an ambush by Soviet tanks and anti-tank artillery and 19 vehicles were immediately destroyed. The remnants of the battalion (12 vehicles) were consolidated into the 614th separate heavy company, which took part in battles near Wünsdorf, Zossen and Berlin.

ACS number Nature of damage Cause of damage Note
731 Caterpillar destroyed Blown up by a mine Self-propelled gun repaired and sent to Moscow for an exhibition of captured property
522 The caterpillar was destroyed, the road wheels were damaged. It was blown up by a landmine, the fuel ignited. The vehicle burned down.
523 Caterpillar destroyed, road wheels damaged Blown up by a landmine, set on fire by the crew Vehicle burned down
734 The lower branch of the caterpillar was destroyed. It was blown up by a land mine, the fuel ignited. The car burned out.
II-02 The right track was torn off, the road wheels were destroyed. Blown up by a mine, set on fire by a COP bottle. The vehicle burned down.
I-02 The left track was torn off, the road wheel was destroyed. It was blown up by a mine and set on fire. The vehicle burned down.
514 The caterpillar was destroyed, the road wheel was damaged. It was blown up by a mine, set on fire. The car burned down.
502 Sloth torn off Blown up by a land mine The vehicle was tested by shelling
501 Track torn off Blown up by a mine The vehicle was repaired and delivered to the NIBT training ground
712 The right drive wheel was destroyed. Hit by a shell. The crew abandoned the vehicle. The fire has been extinguished
732 The third carriage was destroyed. Hit by a shell and set fire to a KS bottle. The car burned down.
524 Caterpillar torn Blown up by a mine, set on fire Vehicle burnt out
II-03 Caterpillar destroyed Projectile hit, set on fire with a KS bottle Vehicle burned down
113 or 713 Both sloths destroyed Projectile hits. The gun was set on fire. The car burned down.
601 The right track was destroyed. Shell hit, the gun was set on fire from the outside. The vehicle burned down.
701 The fighting compartment was destroyed by a 203 mm shell hitting the commander’s hatch -
602 Hole in the left side of the gas tank 76-mm shell from a tank or divisional gun Vehicle burned out
II-01 Gun burned out Set on fire with a COP bottle Vehicle burned out
150061 The sloth and caterpillar were destroyed, the gun barrel was shot through. Projectile hits in the chassis and gun. The crew was captured.
723 The caterpillar is destroyed, the gun is jammed. Projectile hits in the chassis and mantlet -
? Complete destruction Direct hit from Petlyakov bomber

Hi all!

We continue to look at military equipment in World of Tanks.

And today we’ll talk about German tank destroyers.

Anti-tank self-propelled guns have powerful weapons and ambush equipment.

These are the main components of the success of military equipment. Ferdinand is a tier eight tank destroyer. A detailed guide will help you understand all the features of the machine. And evaluate how suitable it is for you.

In the old days, Ferdinand was more relevant than ever. “Fedya” inspired fear with its frontal attack. Alas, the good times ended for him when it became possible to sell gold for silver and with the introduction of eights, which had better mobility and the same guns.

Therefore, now either strange players or reenactors love the technology. It is to them that I dedicated this review.

A little history

The history of “Fedya” began after Porsche abandoned the “Tiger-R” model in favor of “Heinschel”. The developer continued to lose faith and began production of the chassis that needed to be built.

The Fuhrer created an order to develop heavy self-propelled guns for the chassis. And since Porsche had considerable experience in developing anti-tank self-propelled guns, they didn’t have to wait long.

The hull of the original vehicle was subjected to minor changes, an armored conning tower was installed at the rear of the hull, the tank was supplemented with a Maybach engine, and a more impressive gas tank was redesigned.

Military equipment arrived at the front at the end of 1943, having received a baptism of fire at the Kursk Bulge. Alas, the debut did not turn out the way I wanted.

The tank's tracks bogged down due to the large mass, and transmissions burned out from overvoltage. It was decided to transfer from to Italy.

Gaming characteristics

In World of Tanks, the tank became an assault tank destroyer, thanks to its strong frontal armor and powerful gun. What are its gaming characteristics?

1. Protection– the armor is quite good, but at the same time “Fedya” does not tank. Its square body geometry does not have the best effect. The stern and sides have 80 millimeters of armor, so they are not problematic for armor-piercing shells. But there is also a plus - killing you is not so easy, it saves a large supply of lives (1500 hit points).
2. Firepower– The 88mm gun is generally not bad. But it does little damage. It’s worth going straight to the best one - the 105 mm Pak L/52. But you can truly experience this self-propelled gun only by installing the 128 mm Pak 44 L/55. The best performance in the game is armor penetration with a 311 mm sub-caliber or 246 mm basic projectile. And with a landmine you can generally knock out 630 HP.
3. Dynamics– Ferdinand has a top-end engine (Porsche Deutz Typ 180/2). Alas, such power is only enough for 30 km/h. I recommend changing the tracks to Elefant, this will increase the load capacity and maneuverability.
4. Communication, detection– if your plans are to shoot at a distance, you can’t do without a radio station. FuG 12 (top radio station) maintains stable contacts and an impressive distance (more than 700 meters). The tank's visibility is standard (370 m), but it will need to be increased.

Equipment and pumping

How should you study this German tank destroyer? If you have dealt with Jpanther before, then you have already upgraded the pre-top 105 mm gun and the top-end FuG 12 radio.

If you decide to upgrade to this tank from Tiger P, you will receive, along with the connection, a pre-top 2x Porsche Typ 100/3 engine. There is no need to change lanes, and the Fedi has a good gun.

Therefore, we first buy caterpillars. Then we pump up the top 128 mm gun, and only after that we begin to gradually improve the engine compartment.

The crew has six members. You upgrade according to the usual standard PT option: for the commander it’s a “sixth sense”, for everyone else it’s “camouflage”.

We take the following consumables: “Large repair kit”, “Large first aid kit”, “Manual fire extinguisher”. To increase the characteristics of crew members, you can also grab “Chocolate”.

Tactical Tips

The German tank destroyer Ferdinand can “tanker” on the front line and shoot from afar.

Initially, you need to study the map for good positions. Decide on the direction of attacks. It is important to deal more damage.

You can't tear yourself away from your allies! You will immediately become easy prey for medium and light tanks.

Otherwise, it all depends on what style of play you prefer. Do you like hand-to-hand combat?

Get into an advantageous position, for example, in the bushes, and start dealing damage. After firing, roll back to cover to reload.

But you can't hide forever. You will have to face your opponents. Use this move: hug the hills, walls and start throwing out your most powerful splashes.

It’s not worth climbing too far forward, but you shouldn’t shun a ram either.

There are also tricks to help catch ricochets. You have a long reload time, it’s simply not worth standing around and waiting. Crawl behind the cover with your back, simultaneously turning your forehead at an acute angle.

Not a single gun will penetrate you in this state. If there is no cover, start fidgeting back and forth, this will make it difficult to target the NLD.

Advantages

1. The tank has good UGN and UVN.
2. An accurate, powerful weapon.
3. Having good frontal armor.

Flaws:

1. Armor doesn't always "tank".
2. Lack of maneuverability.
3. Weak disguise.
4. Huge building.

Who would like this German tank destroyer in World of Tanks? Definitely a small number of players. Even in the German branch, “Fedya” is inferior to lethal specimens.

However, there are always Ferdinand lovers in the game. With proper skill, the machine makes its contribution to overall success.

In any case, the choice is yours. Happy fighting!

Already during the fighting on the Eastern Front, the German army encountered excellent Soviet KV and T-34 tanks. They were noticeably superior to the German analogues available at that time. Since the Germans were not going to give in, the design bureaus of many German companies received orders to create a new type of equipment - a heavy tank destroyer. This order subsequently became the beginning of the creation of such a machine as the Ferdinand or Elefant.

History of the machine

The experience of battles on the Eastern Front showed that many German tanks from the Pz series were inferior in their characteristics to Soviet combat vehicles. Therefore, Hitler ordered German designers to begin developing new heavy tanks that were supposed to equal or even surpass the tanks of the Red Army. Two large companies took up this task - Henschel and Porsche. Prototypes of machines from both companies were created as soon as possible and on April 20, 1942, they were presented to the Fuhrer. He liked both prototypes so much that he ordered both versions to be mass-produced. But for a number of reasons this was impossible, so they decided to produce only the Henschel model - VK4501 (H), which later became known as the Pz.Kpfw VI Tiger. They decided to leave the version designed by Ferdinand Porsche - VK 4501 (P) - as a backup option. Hitler ordered the construction of only 90 cars.

But having produced only 5 tanks, Porsche stopped their production by order of the Fuhrer. Two of them were subsequently converted into Bergerpanzer repair vehicles, and three received standard armament - an 88 mm cannon. KwK 36 L/56 and two MG-34 machine guns (one coaxial with a gun, and the other a front-mounted one).

Around the same time, another need arose - a tank destroyer. At the same time, it was required that the vehicle have frontal armor 200 mm thick and a gun capable of fighting Soviet tanks. The German anti-tank weapons available at that time were either ineffective or outright improvised. At the same time, the weight limit for the future self-propelled guns was 65 tons. Since the Porsche prototype lost, the designer decided to take his chance. He asked the Fuhrer to complete the planned 90 chassis just to use them as the base for a future installation. And Hitler gave the go-ahead. It was this work of the designer that became the machine that became known as the Ferdinand tank.

The creation process and its features

So, on September 22, 1942, the Minister of Armaments of the Third Reich, Albert Speer, ordered the creation of the necessary army combat vehicle, which was initially called 8.8 cm Pak 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjaeger Tiger (P) SdKfz 184, to begin. During the work, the name was changed several times times until the tank finally received an official name.

The car was designed by Porsche in collaboration with the Alquette plant located in Berlin. The command requirements were such that the self-propelled gun had to use the Pak 43 anti-tank gun of 88 mm caliber. It was very long, so Porsche designed the layout in such a way that the fighting compartment was located at the rear of the tank, and the engine in the middle. The hull was modernized - new engine frames were added and a bulkhead was installed to stop a fire inside the vehicle, if necessary. A bulkhead separated the combat and power compartments. The chassis, as already mentioned, was taken from the prototype of the heavy tank VK 4501 (P), the driving wheel was the rear one.

In 1943, the tank was ready, and Hitler ordered its production to begin, and also gave the car the name "Ferdinand". The tank apparently received this name as a sign of respect for Porsche's design genius. They decided to produce the car at the Nibelungenwerke plant.

Start of mass production

Initially, it was planned to produce 15 vehicles in February 1943, another 35 in March and 40 in April, that is, a strategy was being pursued to increase production. Initially, all the tanks were supposed to be produced by Alkett, but then this job was entrusted to Nibelungenwerke. This decision was due to a number of reasons. Firstly, more railway platforms were needed to transport self-propelled gun hulls, and all of them at that time were busy delivering the Tiger tank to the front. Secondly, the VK 4501 (P) hulls were redesigned more slowly than required. Thirdly, Alkett would have to re-adjust the production process, since at that moment the plant was assembling StuG III anti-tank vehicles. But Alkett still took part in assembling the vehicle, sending a group of mechanics who had experience in welding turrets for heavy tanks to Essen, where the supplier of the cabins, the Krupp plant, was located.

Assembly of the first vehicle began on February 16, 1943, and by May 8 all planned tanks were ready. On April 12, one vehicle was sent for testing in Kummersdorf. Subsequently, a review of equipment took place in Rügenwald, where the first Ferdinand was shown. The review of the tank was successful, and Hitler liked the car.

As the final stage of production, a Heeres Waffenamt commission was carried out, and all equipment passed it successfully. All German tanks of World War II, including the Ferdinand, were required to undergo it.

Self-propelled gun in battle

The vehicles arrived just in time for the start of the Battle of Kursk. One funny fact should be noted: all the Soviet front-line soldiers who participated in this battle unanimously insist that the Ferdinand tank was used en masse (almost thousands) along the entire front. But reality did not match these words. In fact, only 90 vehicles took part in the battles, and they were used only on one sector of the front - in the area of ​​​​the Ponyri railway station and the village of Teploye. Two divisions of self-propelled guns fought there.

In general, we can say that “Ferdinand” passed its baptism of fire successfully. An important role was played by the conning tower, which was well armored. Of all the losses, the largest number occurred in minefields. One vehicle ran into crossfire from several anti-tank guns and seven tanks, but only one (!) hole was found in it. Three more self-propelled guns were destroyed by a Molotov cocktail, an air bomb and a large-caliber howitzer shell. It was in these battles that the Red Army felt the full power of such a formidable machine as the Ferdinand tank, photographs of which were taken then for the first time. Before this, the Russians did not have any information about the car.

During the battles, the advantages and disadvantages of the machines were clarified. For example, crews complained that the lack of a machine gun reduced survivability on the battlefield. They tried to solve this problem in an original way: the machine gun barrel was inserted into an unloaded gun. But you can imagine how inconvenient and long it was. The turret did not rotate, so the machine gun was aimed by the entire hull.

Another method was also ingenious, but ineffective: an iron cage was welded to the back of the self-propelled gun, where 5 grenadiers were located. But the Ferdinand, a large and dangerous tank, always attracted enemy fire, so they did not live long. They tried to install a machine gun on the roof of the cabin, but the loader servicing it risked his life just like the grenadiers in the cage.

Among the more significant changes, they carried out enhanced sealing of the fuel system of the vehicle’s engine, but it increased the likelihood of a fire, which was confirmed in the first weeks of fighting. They also found out that the chassis is highly susceptible to damage from mines.

Machine successes and battle results

As already mentioned, two divisions fought on the Kursk Bulge, which were created specifically to use the Ferdinand tank. The description of the fighting in the reports states that both divisions, which fought as part of the 656th tank regiment, during the battles on the Kursk Bulge destroyed 502 enemy tanks of all types, 100 guns and 20 anti-tank guns. Thus, it can be seen that the Red Army suffered serious losses in these battles, although it is not possible to verify this information.

The further fate of the cars

A total of 42 Ferdinands out of 90 survived. Since the design flaws required correction, they were sent for modernization to San Polten. Five damaged self-propelled guns soon arrived there. A total of 47 cars were reconstructed.

The work was carried out on the same "Nibelungenwerk". By March 15, 1944, 43 “Elephant” were ready - that’s what these cars were now called. How did they differ from their predecessors?

First of all, the request of the tankers was satisfied. A forward-facing machine gun was installed in the front part of the cabin - a tank MG-34 on a ball-shaped mount. In the place where the self-propelled gun commander was located, a turret was installed, which was covered with a single-leaf hatch. The turret had seven fixed periscopes. The bottom in the front part of the hull was reinforced - an armor plate 30 mm thick was placed there to protect the crew from anti-tank mines. The gun's imperfect armored mask received protection from shrapnel. The design of the air intakes has changed; armored casings have appeared on them. The driver's periscopes were equipped with sun visors. The towing hooks in the front part of the hull were strengthened, and mounts for tools were installed on the sides, which could be used for a camouflage net.

Changes also affected the chassis: it received new tracks with parameters 64/640/130. We changed the internal communication system, added mounts for an additional five shells inside the wheelhouse, and installed mounts for spare tracks in the rear and on the sides of the conning tower. Also, the entire body and its lower part were covered with zimmerit.

In this form, self-propelled guns were widely used in Italy, repelling the advance of the Allied forces, and at the end of 1944 they were transferred back to the Eastern Front. There they fought in Western Ukraine and Poland. There is no consensus on the fate of the divisions in the last days of the war. Then they were assigned to the 4th Tank Army. It is believed that they fought in the Zossen region, others claim that in the mountainous regions of Austria.

In our time, there are only two “Elephants” left, one of which is in the tank museum in Kubinka, and the other in the USA, at the Aberdeen training ground.

Tank "Ferdinand": characteristics and description

In general, the design of this self-propelled artillery mount was successful, differing only in minor shortcomings. It is worth taking a closer look at each of the component parts in order to soberly assess the combat capabilities and performance qualities.

Hull, weapons and equipment

The conning tower was a tetrahedral pyramid, truncated at the top. It was made from cemented naval armor. According to technical requirements, the frontal armor of the wheelhouse reached 200 mm. An 88 mm Pak 43 anti-tank gun was installed in the fighting compartment. Its ammunition capacity was 50-55 rounds. The length of the gun reached 6300 mm, and its weight was 2200 kg. The gun fired various types of armor-piercing, high-explosive and cumulative shells, which successfully penetrated almost any Soviet tank. "Ferdinand", "Tiger", later versions of the StuG were equipped with this particular weapon or its modifications. The horizontal sector that could fire at the Ferdinand without turning the chassis was 30 degrees, and the elevation and declination angle of the gun was 18 and 8 degrees, respectively.

The hull of the tank destroyer was welded, consisting of two compartments - combat and power. For its manufacture, heterogeneous armor plates were used, the outer surface of which was harder than the inner. The frontal armor of the hull was initially 100 mm, later it was reinforced with additional armor plates. The power compartment of the hull contained an engine and electric generators. An electric motor was located in the rear part of the hull. To comfortably drive the car, the driver’s seat was equipped with everything necessary: ​​engine monitoring devices, a speedometer, a clock and periscopes for inspection. For additional orientation, there was a viewing slot on the left side of the body. To the left of the driver was a radio operator who operated the radio station and fired from a machine gun. SPGs of this type were equipped with radios of the FuG 5 and FuG Spr f models.

The rear part of the hull and the fighting compartment accommodated the rest of the crew - the commander, gunner and two loaders. The roof of the cabin had two hatches - the commander's and the gunner's - which were double-leaf, as well as two small single-leaf hatches for the loaders. Another large round hatch was made at the back of the wheelhouse; it was intended for loading ammunition and entering the fighting compartment. The hatch had a small loophole to protect the self-propelled gun from the rear from the enemy. It should be said that the German Ferdinand tank, a photo of which can now be easily found, is a very recognizable vehicle.

Engine and chassis

The power plant used was two carburetor liquid-cooled Maybach HL 120 TRM engines, twelve-cylinder overhead valve units with a capacity of 265 hp. With. and a working volume of 11867 cubic meters. cm.

The chassis consisted of three two-wheeled bogies, as well as a guide and drive wheel (one side). Each road wheel had an independent suspension. The road wheels had a diameter of 794 mm, and the drive wheel had a diameter of 920 mm. The tracks were single-flange and single-pin, dry type (that is, the tracks were not lubricated). The length of the track support area is 4175 mm, the track is 2310 mm. One caterpillar had 109 tracks. To improve cross-country ability, additional anti-slip teeth could be installed. The tracks were made from a manganese alloy.

The painting of the vehicles depended on the area in which the fighting took place, as well as the time of year. According to the standard, they were painted with olive paint, on which additional camouflage was sometimes applied - dark green and brown spots. Sometimes they used three-color tank camouflage. In winter, ordinary washable white paint was used. This type of painting was not regulated, and each crew painted the car at their own discretion.

Results

We can say that the designers managed to create a powerful and effective means of combating medium and heavy tanks. The German tank "Ferdinand" was not without its shortcomings, but its advantages outweighed them, so it is not surprising that self-propelled guns were very cherished, used only in significant operations, avoiding their use where it could be done without.

The heroes of the popular book and film “The meeting place cannot be changed”, workers of the legendary MUR use a bus nicknamed “Ferdinand” as transport. From the driver's lips, the main character learns that the car was named for its similarity in silhouette to a German self-propelled gun.

From this short episode you can find out how well-known the self-propelled artillery mount produced by Ferdinand Porsche was among front-line soldiers. Despite the small number of vehicles produced, these installations are etched in the memory of everyone who has seen them in battle.

History of creation

The Ferdinand self-propelled breakthrough vehicle owes its birth to another, no less epic example of the German tank genius. The beginning of 1941 was marked by Hitler's personal order to the two largest design bureaus in Germany on May 26 at a meeting in the presence of the highest ranks of the engineering department related to the armored forces.

In the presence of representatives of the design bureau, the battles in France were analyzed and the shortcomings of German combat vehicles were identified. Special orders were officially placed with Ferdinand Porsche and Steyer Hacker, director of Henschel. They were supposed to create a heavy tank designed to break through the defense lines of Germany's opponents.

Another reason for the order was the ineffectiveness of most German tanks in the fight against the thick-skinned English Matildas Mk.II. If the planned Operation Sea Lion was successful, the Panzerwaffe would have to face, according to various estimates, 5 thousand of these vehicles. At the same meeting, the Fuhrer was presented with models of Porsche and Henschel tanks.

The summer of 1941 had a dual impact on the development of new tanks.

On the one hand, the designers were busy refining the machines in the series. On the other hand, the Wehrmacht became acquainted with KV tanks, which made a huge impression on both generals and ordinary tankers. In the fall of 1941, work on the development of a heavy tank continued at an accelerated pace.

The Armament Directorate, which oversaw the creation of the vehicle, was on the side of the Henschel company. At their request, the development was headed by Erwin Aders, who went down in history as the chief designer of the symbol tank of the Wehrmacht.

During this period, Ferdinand Porsche entered into a serious conflict with the Armament Directorate due to technical inconsistencies in the turret of the tank being designed and ordered by officials. Subsequently, this will play a role in the fate of both prototypes.

Dr. Todt, Porsche's only ally in promoting his model, dies in a plane crash. However, Ferdinand himself was confident in the success of his development. Enjoying unlimited success with Hitler, he placed, at his own risk, an order with the Nibelungenwerk company for the manufacture of cases for his machines.

The enmity between the Fuhrer's favorite and the Department officials played a role in the tests.

Despite the non-superiority of the Porsche model, recorded during the tests, it was recommended to adopt the Henschel model, to the horror of the German army technicians. Hitler's proposal to produce two vehicles was met with a restrained refusal, motivated by the impossibility of producing two expensive but equivalent tanks in wartime.

Failure turned to Porsche after it became clear in March 1942 that the new powerful assault weapons required by Hitler, equipped with an 88-mm gun, could not be created on the basis of the PzKpfw. IV, as originally planned.

This is where the 92 chassis units built by Nibelungenwerk came in handy for Porsche designs that never made it into the Tiger series. The creator himself plunged headlong into the new project. Carried away by the calculations, he worked out a diagram with the location of the crew in the spacious conning tower located at the rear.

After approvals from the Armament Directorate and modifications, the Nibelungenwerk plant began assembling the bodies of new self-propelled guns based on the long-suffering chassis. During this period, it is unclear by whom, the machine gun planted by Porsche was removed. This “revision” will later play a role in the fate of the self-propelled guns.

The beginning of 1943 was marked by the release of the first self-propelled guns and their dispatch to the front. In February, a gift from the Fuhrer to the creator of the self-propelled gun arrives - the vehicle is officially given the name “Vater”, “Ferdinand”. By order of the same “possessed” self-propelled guns go to the East without acceptance. Quite surprised, Porsche recalled that he was waiting for complaints from the front about his unfinished cars in a hurry, but did not receive any.

Combat use

The baptism of the “Ferdinands” was the Battle of Kursk. Soviet intelligence, however, already on April 11 had information about new equipment being transported to the front line. Attached to the information was an approximate drawing of the machine, quite similar to the original. A requirement was drawn up to design an 85-100 mm gun to combat the armor of self-propelled guns, but before the Wehrmacht’s summer offensive, of course, the troops did not receive these guns.

Already on July 8, the Main Armored Directorate of the USSR received a radiogram about the Ferdinand stuck in a minefield, which immediately attracted attention with its unique silhouette. The officers who arrived for inspection did not have a chance to see this car, since the Germans advanced forward in two days.

The Ferdinands went into battle at Ponyri station. The Germans were unable to take the position of the Soviet troops head-on, so on July 9 a powerful assault group was formed, with the Ferdinands at its head. Having fired shell after shell at the self-propelled guns in vain, the Soviet artillerymen eventually abandoned their positions near the village of Goreloye.

With this maneuver, they lured the advancing group into minefields, and then destroyed a large number of armored vehicles with attacks from the flanks. On July 11, the bulk of the advancing equipment was transferred to another section of the front, the remaining units of the Ferdinand battalion tried to organize the evacuation of the damaged equipment.

This was fraught with many difficulties. The main one was the lack of sufficiently powerful tractors capable of dragging self-propelled guns to their own.

A powerful counterattack by Soviet infantry on July 14 finally upset plans for the removal of this equipment.

Another section of the front, near the village of Teploye, attacked by the Ferdinand battalion, was subjected to no less pressure. Due to more deliberate actions of the enemy, the losses of self-propelled guns here were much lower. But here the first case of a combat vehicle and its crew being captured occurred. During the attack, having been subjected to massive heavy artillery fire, the self-propelled guns began to maneuver.

As a result, the car landed on the sand and “buried” in the ground. At first, the crew tried to dig out the self-propelled guns on their own, but the Soviet infantry that arrived in time quickly convinced the German self-propelled guns. A fully operational vehicle was pulled out of the trap only in early August with the help of two Stalinets tractors.

After the end of the fighting, a comprehensive analysis of the Germans’ use of the new self-propelled gun, as well as ways to effectively combat it, was carried out. The lion's share of the vehicles were disabled due to mine explosions and damage to the chassis. Several self-propelled guns were knocked out by heavy hull artillery and SU-152 fire. One vehicle was destroyed by a bomb containing , one was burned by infantrymen with bottles containing COP.

And only one vehicle received a hole from a 76-mm shell, in the T-34-76 defense zone from 76-mm divisional guns, fire was fired at a distance of only 200-400 meters. Soviet soldiers were greatly impressed by the new German vehicles. The command, assessing the difficulty of fighting the Ferdinand, gave orders to award orders to those who were able to destroy this vehicle in battle.

Legends about the huge number of these self-propelled guns spread among tankers and artillerymen, since they mistook any German self-propelled gun with a muzzle brake and a rear warhead for a Ferdinand.

The Germans made their own disappointing conclusions. 39 of the 90 available vehicles were lost near Kursk, and 4 more vehicles were burned during the retreat to Ukraine in 1943. The remaining self-propelled guns, in full force, except for a few samples, were taken to Porsche for modification. Some parts were replaced, a frontal machine gun was installed, and the vehicle went to help in the fight against the Allies in Italy.

A widespread myth is that this movement was caused by the heaviness of the system and the greater suitability of the Italian rocky roads for them. In fact, about 30 vehicles were sent to the Eastern Front, where, in the course of repelling the “10 Stalinist strikes” of 1944, the Ferdinands, one by one, were sent into oblivion.

The last battle involving this vehicle was the Battle of Berlin. No matter how beautiful the gun and armor were, it could not hold back the Red Army in the spring of 1945.

The “Ferdinand” self-propelled guns that were received as trophies by the Soviet Union were used as targets for testing new anti-tank weapons, dismantled down to the screw for study, and then were scrapped. The only Soviet car that has survived to this day is located in the famous Kubinka.

Comparative characteristics with the enemy

Like a strong wild beast, “Ferdinand” did not have many enemies who could engage him in single combat on equal terms. If we take vehicles of a similar class, the closest in efficiency will be the Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and ISU-152, nicknamed “St. John’s worts” for their efficiency in shooting at Tigers, Panthers and other Hitler’s zoo.

You can also consider the specialized tank destroyer SU-100, which was tested on captured Porsche self-propelled guns.

• armor, the weakest part of Soviet self-propelled guns in comparison with the Ferdinand, 200 mm of frontal armor versus 60...75 for Soviet models;
• gun, 88 mm from the Germans against the 152 mm ML-20 and 100 mm gun, all three guns effectively coped with suppressing the resistance of almost any vehicles, but the Porsche self-propelled guns did not succumb, their (self-propelled guns) armor was penetrated even by 152 mm shells with with great difficulty;
• ammunition, 55 shells for the Porsche self-propelled guns, versus 21 for the ISU-152 and 33 for the SU-100;
• cruising range of 150 km for the Ferdinand and twice as much for domestic self-propelled guns;
• number of models produced: 91 units from the Germans, several hundred SU-152s, 3200 units of ISU, slightly less than 5000 SU-100s.

As a result, the German design is still slightly superior to Soviet models in terms of combat qualities. However, problems with the chassis, as well as meager production, did not allow the full potential of these machines to be used.

In addition, Soviet tankers and self-propelled gunners, having received new powerful 85 and 122 mm guns on T-34 and IS tanks, were able to fight on equal terms with Porsche’s creations, as soon as they approached from the flank or rear. As often happens, everything was ultimately decided by the determination and ingenuity of the crew.

Ferdinand device

Hitler spared no materials for his favorite designer, so Porsche cars received the best. The sailors donated part of the reserves of cemented armor designed for huge naval calibers. The mass and thickness made it necessary to connect the armor plates “into a tenon”, additionally using dowels for reinforcement. It was impossible to disassemble this structure.

Further welding of the body was carried out, rather, for sealing, rather than for articulation. The armor plates on the side and stern were placed at a slight angle, increasing projectile resistance. There were also embrasures for firing from the crew's weapons. The small size of these holes, however, did not allow targeted shooting, since the front sight was not visible.

The stern of the wheelhouse had an armored hatch. Shells were loaded into it, and weapons were changed through it. In case of damage, the crew escaped through the same door. There were 6 people inside, the layout included a driver-mechanic and a radio operator in the frontal part, then an engine compartment in the middle, and a gun commander, a gunner and two loaders in the stern.

The movement of the car was carried out by 2 Maybach engines running on gasoline.

In general, the Ferdinand engines were something fantastic by the standards of tank building in the 1940s. The carburetor 12-cylinder HL 120TRM with 265 hp were located not one after the other, but in parallel. The internal combustion engine crankshaft had a flange to which a Typ aGV direct current generator with a voltage of 385 volts from Siemens-Schuckert was attached.

Electricity from the generators was transmitted to 2 Siemens-Schuckert D149aAC traction motors with a power of 230 kW each. The electric motor rotated a reduction planetary gearbox, which, accordingly, rotated its own traction sprocket of the caterpillar.

The low-voltage circuit is made according to a single-wire circuit. Some devices (radio station, lighting, fan) were powered by 12V, some (starters, independent excitation windings of electric machines) by 24V. Four batteries were charged from 24-volt generators located on each engine. All electrical components were manufactured by Bosch.

The problem was caused by the exhaust system. At the 5th road wheel there was an outlet for the exhaust pipe, everything around it heated up, the lubricant evaporated from the bearings, and the rubber band quickly failed.

Porsche took the chassis of the self-propelled gun from its own Leopard tank, invented in 1940. A special feature of it was the presence of a trolley for torsion bars, 3 per side, rather than installing them inside the hull. This earned Ferdinand the love of German technicians, who turned gray only at the mention of the chassis of Henschel’s Tiger.

It took Dr. Porsche about 4 hours to change the skating rink; the same operation on the Tiger took about a day.

The rollers themselves were also successful due to the tires inside the wheel. This required 4 times less rubber. The principle of shear operation increased the service threshold of the bandage.

The success of the experiment can be recognized by the introduction of rollers of a similar design on heavy tanks at the end of the war. One side required 108-110 tracks with a width of 64 centimeters.

The armament of the self-propelled gun was an 88-mm gun with a barrel length of 71 caliber (about 7 meters). The gun was installed in a ball mask, in the frontal part of the cabin.

This design turned out to be unsuccessful, since a lot of fragments and splashes of lead from bullets fell into the cracks. Later, to correct this defect, special protective shields were installed. The Ferdinand gun, one of the most powerful developments in the German army, was originally an anti-aircraft gun. After fine-tuning it was put on a self-propelled gun.

Its shells effectively hit almost any Soviet or allied armored vehicle from a long distance. The ammunition included armor-piercing and sub-caliber shells, as well as high-explosive fragmentation shells, separately loaded.

The above-mentioned lack of a machine gun on early vehicles can be explained as follows. According to German tactics, assault self-propelled guns should move in the second line of attack, behind tanks and infantry, covering them with gun fire. Near Kursk, the high concentration, and, most importantly, the effectiveness of artillery fire, forced the self-propelled guns to be thrown forward, with minimal cover.

The optics were represented by a monocular sight, providing gun guidance at a range of 2 km.

Internal communication was supported by an intercom; the radio operator (who is also a gunner in the modernized Elefant) was responsible for external communication.

Contribution to culture and history

Porsche's car, despite its small circulation, left a bright mark on the history of the Second World War. Along with the Tiger and Messerschmitt, this self-propelled gun is a symbol of the Wehrmacht. Having made the glory of German self-propelled systems, it was a real horror for the enemy.

Of course, you can learn to fight with any enemy, but in 1943 real “Ferdinandophobia” began among the troops. Cunning Germans took advantage of this by putting buckets on the barrels of other self-propelled guns, simulating a muzzle brake.

Judging by the memoirs, Soviet troops alone destroyed about 600 Ferdinands during the battles, with a total production of 91 units.

The Germans were not far behind. The harder and more unsuccessful the war was for them, the greater the number of destroyed Soviet tanks. Often in their memoirs, tankers and self-propelled gunners cite numbers of damaged vehicles that are twice the number of armored vehicles on the front. In both cases, the self-propelled guns in question played a huge role.

Much attention is paid to self-propelled guns in the literature. The work of fiction “In War as in War,” describing Soviet self-propelled guns, contains a description of the battlefield after a meeting of a German self-propelled gun with a group of “thirty-fours,” which was not beneficial for Soviet equipment. The fighters themselves speak of him as a worthy and dangerous opponent.

“Ferdinand” is also often found in computer games based on World War II.

Actually, it’s easier to name those games that don’t have self-propelled guns. It is worth noting that the characteristics and descriptions in such crafts often do not correspond to reality. For the sake of playability, developers sacrifice the real characteristics of the car.

You can make and put on the shelf a legendary car yourself. Many model companies make building kits in different scales. You can name the brands Cyber ​​Hobby, Dragon, Italeri. The Zvezda company produced and put into production self-propelled guns twice. The first issue, number 3563, had many inaccuracies.

The patterns copied from Italeri represented the “Elephant”, and had many inaccuracies. The next model, 3653, is the first Ferdinand to be christened near Kursk.

The Second World War and the Great Patriotic War produced many technical samples that have become legends. Among German-made self-propelled guns, the Ferdinand takes first place, of course.

Video

We bought ourselves the famous Ferdinand. After being mobile and maneuverable, this tank will seem very dull to you. But this is only at first glance. It is precisely this second look that we will talk about in the review of the video guide on Ferdinand. Let's look at the pros and cons of the Elephant, what additional modules should be installed on it, what consumables to use, and in general, how to play this beast.

First of all, it’s worth taking a look at the performance characteristics of the Ferdinand tank. I won’t list everything, but I’ll start right away with what will first catch your eye - 200 mm frontal armor. It's just a bomb. Now you don’t have to be afraid of all sorts of or. The second thing you should pay attention to is the amount of HP of “Fedora” - as much as 1200. This is the most “meaty” PT of its level. “Fedya” is also not bad in stock condition. We have a good gun that you can ride with until you study the top one. In general, the tank is very good, but one problem is its slowness, which cannot be corrected by anything. But more on that below.

Pros and cons of Ferdinand WOT

Positive sides:

• frontal armor - now we have moved to the class of heavy tank destroyers;
• very good visibility - “I look far away and sit high up”, “Fedor” sees enemies at a very respectable distance;
• accurate and fast-firing gun;
• the “meatiness” of the tank (will help you out more than once).

Negative aspects:

• slowness - “Fedya” is very slow. He looks very stern and important, like a minister of tank forces. For me, for example, “Fedor Ivanovich” has always been, is and will be a very respected tank.
• camouflage - the German glows like a Christmas tree and illuminates the entire battlefield with its light. Almost anyone can notice it.
• weak side and rear armor - well, this is a problem with all tank destroyers.

Additional modules, consumables and perks for the crew

In general, everyone selects a set of additional modules to suit their playing style. But one additional module must be installed - the rammer. The strength of PT is in high DPM, and this module increases it. You need to install the remaining modules, refer to the game style that is closest to you. If you are a fan of urban battles, then this is a rammer, repair kit and mixing. If you are a fan of bush gatherings - optics, rammer, optics and horns. There is also a mixed version - rammer, convergence and optics. As for the equipment, everything is pragmatic - a repair kit, a first aid kit and fire extinguishers. For the crew, first of all, it’s worth upgrading camouflage because “Fedya” is very noticeable with its dimensions, then repairs, because a beaten gusla for a PT is certain death. Well, then it’s up to your taste.

Ferdinand penetration zones

Tactics on Ferdinand

Now let's talk about playing Ferdinand World of Tanks. “Fedor” completely changes the game on the PT. Now sitting in the bushes and quietly shooting at yourself or being chased will no longer work. “Fedya,” as mentioned above, is very noticeable and slow. Playing on this tank you will feel more comfortable on TT routes. The frontal armor of the Ferdinand tank allows you to take part in such skirmishes. It is best to choose narrow places for your position, where it will be difficult to get around you from the flank and rear. Also, don’t forget about the “God of War”. These comrades really love Fedor. If it lights up in open space, then this is a guaranteed frag for art. And all because of the same slowness. In general, you need to play as if you were playing on, but only without a tower and with weak sides and stern. That's all the wisdom.

That's it. Bye everyone and good luck on the battlefields.