Tiger I – commander Otto Carius talks about the art of the tank

February 26, 2019

Otto Carius is one of the most successful tank commanders of the Second world war. The platoon commander of the heavy tank Department 502 is regarded as a great tactician of the tank battle. After the war he became a pharmacist and published in 1960, the reminder band “Tiger in the mud”. Carius has survived through the book and his Interviews to the most important witnesses of the Tiger tank – also because of war. Other successful commanders such as the critical of the regime, Kurt Knispel fell and remained after 1945, and dumb.

In a TV Interview in Japan Carius spoke in detail about the technology of the tank. Carius is one of the popular soldiers figures. He appeared in documentaries, its missions will play in time of war, imitated, there is a Manga about him, and you can purchase it as a kit figure. Until his death, signed and sold his book in his pharmacy.

Otto Carius:

“let’s Start at the bottom, so the transmission. It was an automatic transmission.

you could be the whole device, the steering of 57 tons weighed with a Finger. The Tiger was easier to steer than a Truck.

put The pre-constructed in such a way that it all went automatically. Even the Panzer IV, you had to wegbremsen, when driving always have the strength of a chain, in order to make any steering movements.

Was taken away the power of the Tiger with a chain, it was automatically transferred to the other. If you wanted to turn on the spot, which ran a chain of forwards and the other backwards.

Panzerkampfwagen VI: Tiger I – this tank feared all of the opponent Fullscreen

a column of German Tiger tank – from the magazine “Signal”.

©akg-images/ Picture-Alliance

That was a great work of art.

In the circuit, you had to insert the Forward, idle and Reverse with domes. The switching operations, there were eight forward gears and four reverse gears – have you connected with a small Lever. Then, you put the Lever in the position and a little pushed in, and Insert, double-declutching, domes, has made everything automatic.

This was a major step forward, there was no other vehicle or tanks. Today, this is Commonplace. At that time the future was really set. The driver had to physically spend hardly any power. Only when Starting and when.

The chassis was so class.

The drive was in the grounds very pleasant. Less for the maintenance squadron.

The exchange of the rollers when the inner race was shot to pieces role, had so many rollers are removed, the broken roller get. Of the repair, it was cumbersome, from the drive way, it was much better than the models before.

That was up to the belt line of the Tiger.

The tank is a lot: the speed, the weapons, the marksmanship, the communication, and only as a Third the armor.

most people think Yes, the armor would be in the first place, this is nonsense. A tank that is mainly well-armoured, and the other neglected, which is in use is worth nothing. The armor comes in the last place, in order to be successful.

So it was here, also, the armor was frontal. At 900 to 1000 meters, you could make the T-34, without having the grenade hit. One could of course show the side or even the rear. The armor was both at the edge than at the rear lower. And from the top anyway. When you attack you show your opponent the Front, so the armor is the strongest.

The gun was our Eight-Eight. The anti-tank gun until the end of the war, the weapon of choice. Neither the opponents nor us there was a better antitank weapon than the 8,8. And was installed in Tiger. With electric ignition. So the trigger and the shot went off.

the indicative resources were excellent. The gunner sat on a seat that had the feet on the pedals. He stepped forward, swung the turret to the right, he to the rear of the tower is gone, kicked to the left.”