Tiger I

Overview

The Panzer VI, or Tiger I, was a German heavy tank used in World War II. It was originally designed and produced in late 1942 as response to the unexpected formidable Soviet armor that the germans had run into, particularly the T-34 and the KV-1. The Tiger I design gave the Wehrmacht its first tank with the powerful 88mm KwK 43 gun, which had proven itself to be effective against both aircraft and tanks, as a stationary gun though. The Tiger I's armor had a thickness of around 100mm, with the thinnest being the turret with 40mm armor, and the thickest being the mantlet with 200mm, making the Tiger I one of the most resilient tanks of World War II. During the war, the Tiger I saw combat on all German battlefronts, It was usually deployed in independent tank battalions, which proved to be very effective.
 
While the Tiger was feared by many of its opponents, it was over engineered, expensive and time-consuming to produce. Merely 1347 Tigers were built between August 1942 and August 1944. The Tiger was prone to mechanical breakdowns and in 1944, production was phased out in favor to the Tiger II.
 
The Tiger tank got its Roman numeral (Tiger I), when its predecessor Tiger II began production.
 

In Games

Company of Heroes

The Wehrmacht can in the Company of Heroes franchise get a Tiger tank through the Blitzkrieg Doctrine. You can have two tanks at a time and call in additional tanks if one gets destroyed, they cost 800 Manpower. The Tiger tank is definitely one of the toughest tanks, with an unreal amount of armor, the powerful 88mm gun and fearful MG42, in Company of Heroes, maybe only beaten by the King Tiger.

 

Call of Duty

Once in a while in some the World War 2 themed Call of Duty games, you'll encounter a Tiger tank. Often you have to disable them by carefully working your way around the battlefield in order to place some explosives on its side.