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Never called "Königstiger"?

So, the question is, did the Germans ever call the Tiger II “Königstiger”? Since occasionally I get comments about the Königstiger, some people note that Germans never called it that way, whereas others ask if it shouldn’t be named Bengal Tiger, since the actual animal called Königstiger in German is a Bengal Tiger in English. This will be answered briefly at the end, if you make it that far, since we will take a look at various sources including some primary sources from the German Military Archives. Disclaimer: I was invited by the Panzermuseum Munster in 2020. »» GET OUR BOOK «« » Army Regulation Medium Panzer Company 1941 - http://www.hdv470-7.com »» SUPPORT MHV «« » patreon, see videos early (adfree) - https://www.patreon.com/join/mhv » subscribe star - https://www.subscribestar.com/mhv » paypal donation - https://paypal.me/mhvis »» MERCHANDISE «« » teespring - https://teespring.com/stores/military-history-visualized » SOURCES « Hahn, Fritz: Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres: 1933 - 1945. Bd. 2: Panzer- und Sonderfahrzeuge, „Wunderwaffen“, Verbrauch und Verluste. Dörfler Verlag: Eggolsheim, Germany, 1995. Datenblätter für Heeres-Waffen, -Fahrzeuge und -Gerät. Pawlas: Nürnberg, Germany, 1976. Jentz, Thomas L./Doyle, Hlary L.: Germany’s Tiger tanks: VK45.02 to Tiger II. Schiffer Publishing Ltd.: Atglen, PA, USA, 1997. Nachrichtenblatt der Panzertruppen, Nr. 16, Oktober 1944. Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen Vorschriftenstelle: Germany, 1944. Nachrichtenblatt der Panzertruppen, Nr. 17, November 1944. Generalinspekteur der Panzertruppen Vorschriftenstelle: Germany, 1944. Schramm, Percy Ernst: Kriegstagebuch des Oberkommandos der Wehrmacht (Wehrmachtführungsstab) 1944-1945. Teilband 2. Bechtermünz: Augsburg, Germany, 2002. BArch, RHD 8/1057: D 656/43: Tiger Ausführung B. Handbuch für den Panzerfahrer. Vom 1.9.44. Guderian, Heinz: Erinnerungen eines Soldaten. IV. Auflage, Kurt Vowinkel Verlag: Neckargemünd, Germany, 1960. Munzel, Oskar: Die deutschen gepanzerten Truppen bis 1945. Maximilian-Verlag: Herford, Germany, 1965. Pöhlmann, Markus: Der Panzer und die Mechanisierung des Krieges: eine deutsche Geschichte 1890 bis 1945. Ferdinand Schöningh: Paderborn, Germany, 2016. Jentz, Thomas/Doyle, Hilary: Kingtiger Heavy Tank, 1942-45. Osprey Pub.: London, UK, 1993. War Department: TM-E 30-451: Handbook on German Military Forces. United States Government Printing Office: Washington, USA, 1945. Zaloga, Steven J.: Pershing vs Tiger: Germany 1945. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc: Oxford, UK, 2017. Samsonov, Peter: King Tiger Intel, January 2018, http://www.tankarchives.ca/2018/01/king-tiger-intel.html, last accessed: 19. February 2021. Deutsche Wochenschau Nr. 736, 12th October 1944 https://archive.org/details/1944-10-11-Die-Deutsche-Wochenschau-Nr.736 Bundesarchiv, Originaltitel von Bild 183-R65913, Fotograf: Blaschka, laut www.bild.bundesarchiv.de, last accessed: 19. February 2021. Bundesarchiv, Originaltitel von Bild 183-R65912, Fotograf: Blaschka, laut www.bild.bundesarchiv.de, last accessed: 19. February 2021. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%B6nigstiger #Königstiger,#KingTiger,#TigerII

Comments

Martin (Tally Ho) Turner

We should remember the British were still very involved in India in 1944/45 and would have known the difference between a normal Tiger and a Bengal Tiger (the real cats!). So I can see why they could have named the German Tigers in this way. At the time it would be an easy way for them to differentiate between the two in language that would have been easy to understand. Of course British troops did not have the benefit of official German documents at that time. Not a definitive answer just my thoughts.

Uncle Joe (Brian)

I'll toss this into the mix. I've just finished "The Last Panther" by Wolfgang Faust. He was a veteran Feldwebel at the age of 20 who commanded one of the last Panthers that fought through the incomprehensibly terrible breakout of the Ninth Army remnants & anyone else caught in that terrible Kessel. I'm not entirely sure if it's done by the editor, but he refers constantly to 'King Tigers' because they were always the spearhead. He also refers to 'Hetzers' and, worryingly, 'Stugs' [sic]. However he also does call the 20mm quads on the PzIV chassis as the 'Wurbelwind'.