Tiger I in the context of "Battle of Prokhorovka"

Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. Although tanks in the inter-war years were the subject of widespread research, few were made, in just a few countries. However, during World War II, most armies employed tanks, and thousands were built every month. Tank usage, doctrine, and production varied widely among the combatant nations. By war's end, a consensus was forming on tank doctrine and design.

A German heavy tank battalion (German: "schwere Panzerabteilung", short: "s PzAbt") was a battalion-sized World War II tank unit of the German Army during World War II, equipped with Tiger I, and later Tiger II, heavy tanks. Originally intended to fight on the offensive during breakthrough operations, the German late-war realities required it to be used in a defensive posture by providing heavy fire support and counter-attacking enemy armored breakthroughs, often organised into ad hoc Kampfgruppen (battlegroups).

The German heavy tank battalions destroyed a total of 8,100 enemy tanks for the loss of 1,482 of their own, an overall kill/loss ratio of 5.47 though individual unit ratios ranged from 1.28 to 13. The German losses also include non-combat tank write-offs.

The 8.8 cm KwK 36 (German: 8,8 cm Kampfwagenkanone 36) was an 88-millimetre (3.5 in) tank gun used by the German Army during World War II. This was the primary armament of the PzKpfw VI Tiger I tank. It was developed and built by Krupp.

The Tiger II was a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 182. (Sd.Kfz. 267 and 268 for command vehicles). It was also known informally as the Königstiger (German for Bengal tiger, lit. 'King Tiger'). Contemporaneous Allied soldiers often called it the King Tiger or Royal Tiger.

The Tiger II was the successor to the Tiger I, combining the latter's thick armour with the armour sloping used on the Panther medium tank. It was the costliest German tank to produce at the time. The tank weighed almost 70 tonnes and was protected by 100 to 185 mm (3.9 to 7.3 in) of armour to the front. It was armed with the long barrelled (71 calibres) 8.8 cm KwK 43 anti-tank cannon. The chassis was also the basis for the Jagdtiger turretless Jagdpanzer anti-tank vehicle.

The Tank Museum (previously the Bovington Tank Museum) is a collection of armoured fighting vehicles at Bovington Camp in Dorset, South West England. It is about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of the village of Wool and 12 miles (19 km) west of the major port of Poole. The collection traces the history of the tank with almost 300 vehicles on display. It includes Tiger 131, the only working example of a German Tiger I tank, and a British First World War Mark I, the world's oldest surviving combat tank. It is the museum of the Royal Tank Regiment and the Royal Armoured Corps and is a registered charity.

The VK 45.01 (P), also informally known as Tiger (P) or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype designed by Porsche in Germany. With a dual engine gasoline-electric drive that was complex and requiring significant amounts of copper, it lost out to its Henschel competitor on trials, it was not selected for mass production and the Henschel design was produced as the Tiger I. Most of the already produced chassis were rebuilt as Elefant Panzerjäger tank destroyers.

Elefant (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer (self-propelled anti-tank gun) used by German Panzerjäger (anti-tank units) during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand (after its designer Ferdinand Porsche) using VK 45.01 (P) tank hulls which had been produced for the Tiger I tank before the competing Henschel design had been selected.

Following their use at the battle of Kursk, in January to April 1944 the surviving Ferdinands received modifications and upgrades. They were renamed Elefant in May 1944. The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger (P) and the ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 184.