Elefant The Elefant ( German for " elephant " ) was a " Schwerer Panzerjäger " ( " heavy tank destroyer " ) of the German " Wehrmacht " used in small numbers in World War II . It was built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand , after its designer Ferdinand Porsche . In 1944 , after modification of the existing vehicles , they were renamed " Elefant " . The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger " ( P ) and the ordnance inventory designation was Sd . Kfz . " 184 . Development history . Porsche AG had manufactured about one hundred chassis for their proposal of the Tiger tank , the unsuccessful " Porsche Tiger " , in the Nibelungenwerk factory in Sankt Valentin , Austria . Both Henschel and Porsche chassis used the same Krupp - designed turret — the Henschel design having its turret more - or - less centrally located on its hull , with the Porsche design placing the turret much nearer the front of the superstructure . Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production , the Porsche chassis were no longer required for the Tiger tank project . It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis were to be used as the basis of a new heavy tank destroyer , mounting Krupp ' s newly developed 88 mm Pak 43 / 2 anti - tank gun . This precise long - range weapon was intended to take out enemy tanks before they reached their own range of effective fire . Therefore the somewhat " ad hoc " design , " Ferdinand " supplanted the previous light tank destroyers , like " Marder II " and " Marder III " , in the offensive role . The similar gun was used in the lightly armored " Hornisse " / " Nashorn " tank destroyer , built in parallel . Design . Chassis . The engines had already been placed in the middle of the hull to accommodate the Krupp - designed turret that both the Porsche and Henschel contenders used for the initial Tiger tank contract , and that placement for the Porsche - designed contender gave room on the " Ferdinand " for the anti - tank main gun armament at the rear . The gun was mounted in a simple , casemate - style box structure , with slightly sloped sides , on top of this chassis . The driver and radio operator were in a separate compartment at the front . As the engines were placed in the middle , the radio operator and the driver were separated from the rest of the crew and could be addressed only by intercom . Add - on armor of 100 mm was bolted to the front plates , increasing the plate ' s thickness to 200 mm and adding another 5 tons of weight . Drive . The two Porsche air cooled engines in each vehicle were replaced by two 300 PS ( 296 hp ; 221 kW ) Maybach HL 120 TRM engines . The engines drove electric generators , which in turn powered electric motors connected to the rear sprockets . The electric motors also acted as the vehicle ' s steering unit . This " petrol - electrical " drive delivered 0 . 11 km / l off road and 0 . 15 km / l on road at a maximum speed of 10 km / h off road and 30 km / h on road . Besides the high fuel consumption and the poor performance the drive system was also maintenance - intensive ; the sprockets needed to be changed every 500 km . Porsche had experience of this form of petrol - electric transmission extending back to 1901 , when he designed a car that used it . Suspension for the " slack track " equipped " Elefant " consisted of six twin bogies ( three per side ) with longitudinal torsion bars , without any overlapping wheels or return rollers . What appears to be two sets of drive sprockets , at either end of the vehicle per side , actually comprises a front sprocket that engaged the track with a drum brake unit built into its hub to act as the track brake , with the electric drive motor at the rear on each side , powering the track ' s rear drive sprocket . Armament . The vehicle was fitted with an 88 mm " Panzerabwehrkanone " 43 / 2 gun . This 71 caliber - long gun had originally been developed as a replacement for the famous 88 mm anti - aircraft gun that had been used against Allied tanks in the Western Desert Campaign . It had a much longer barrel than the L / 56 guns , which gave it a higher muzzle velocity . It also fired a different , longer cartridge . These improvements gave the 88 mm L / 71 significantly improved armor penetration ability over the earlier 88 mm . Although it lost the competition to the 8 . 8 cm Flak 41 and never became an anti - aircraft weapon , it was turned into the very successful Pak 43 anti - tank gun . As fitted , the gun was capable of 25° traverse and a similarly limited elevation . Production . Ninety - one existing " Porsche Tiger " chassis were converted ( chassis number 150010 to 150100 ) . The work was completed in just a few months from March to May 1943 . Modification — " Elefant " . In September 1943 all surviving " Ferdinands " were recalled to be modified based on battle experience gained in the Battle of Kursk . During October and November 1943 , 48 of the 50 surviving vehicles were modified by addition of a ball - mounted MG 34 in the hull front ( to improve anti - infantry ability ) , a commander ' s cupola ( modified from the standard StuG III cupola ) for improved vision and the application of " Zimmerit " paste . The frontal armor was thickened and the tracks widened ; these changes increased the weight from 65 to 70 t . The improved vehicles were called " Elefant " and this became the official name by Hitler ' s orders of May 1 , 1944 . Possibly as a stopgap before the " Elefant " modifications were available for the original " Ferdinand " vehicles , the rarely seen " Krummlauf " curved barrel upgrade for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle was allegedly meant to allow crews of " Ferdinands " to defend their vehicle without exposing themselves . Three " Bergepanzer Tiger " or " Bergetiger " armoured recovery vehicles were built in Autumn 1943 from Tiger prototypes and one battle - damaged " Ferdinand " not suitable for the " Elefant " modification was converted into a " Rammpanzer Tiger " or " Rammtiger " , an experimental breakthrough vehicle . Combat history . " Ferdinands " first saw combat in the Battle of Kursk , where eighty - nine were committed . Reputed to be able to knock out a T - 34 at a range of over 3 miles with its 88mm Pak43 / 2 L / 71 , it was a strong opponent for the Soviets . Although effective at destroying Soviet tanks , they performed quite poorly in other respects . In its original configuration , the " Ferdinand " lacked a machine gun as secondary armament , making it vulnerable to attack by infantry . While this was a disadvantage , most combat losses were from mine damage to their tracks and suspension and mechanical failure . Within four days nearly half of the vehicles were out of service , mostly due to technical problems and mine damage . Combat losses to enemy action were very low as the very thick armor protected the " Ferdinand " from almost all Soviet antitank weaponry . Most vehicles destroyed or captured had been abandoned by their crews after mechanical failure . Many of these immobilized " Ferdinands " had to be permanently abandoned , as they proved too heavy to tow . A Ferdinand required five heavy tractors to tow them , whereas the Tiger I required three . Other Ferdinands were lost to mechanical breakdown during the retreat following the Soviet counter - offensive in the latter stages of the battle . The surviving vehicles saw limited action in the battles near the Dniepr during late 1943 . The units were deployed at a company level , sometimes sub - divided into platoons , with infantry or tanks in accompaniment to protect the flanks and rear of the vehicles . On the attack , this " Jagdpanzer " was a first - strike vehicle , while in defence , they often comprised a mobile reserve used to blunt enemy tank assaults . Although the " Elefant " modifications improved the vehicles , some problems could never be fully fixed . In 1944 the " Elefants " served on the Italian front but were rendered rather ineffective , as their weight of nearly 70 tonnes did not allow them to use most Italian roads and bridges . Most Elefant losses were not as a direct result from combat , but resulted when mechanical breakdowns and lack of spare parts compelled their crews to destroy and abandon them . One company of " Elefants " saw action during the Soviets ' January 1945 Vistula - Oder offensive in Poland , and the very last surviving vehicles were in combat at Zossen during the Battle of Berlin . The " Ferdinand " / " Elefant " may have been the most successful tank destroyer employed during the war in kills per loss , reaching an average ratio of approximately 10 : 1 . During the Battle of Kursk , the 653rd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion ( German : " schwere Panzerjäger - Abteilung " , " sPzJägAbt " ) claimed to have knocked out 320 enemy tanks , for the loss of 13 " Ferdinands " . This impressive average ratio was due to its extreme firepower and protection , which gave it an enormous advantage when used in head - on combat or a static defensive role . However , poor mobility and mechanical unreliability greatly diminished its operational capability . The " Elefant " and " Nashorn " were both superseded by the " Jagdpanther " which mounted a similar gun . Survivors . Only two of these vehicles survived the war . One Ferdinand was captured by Soviet forces at Kursk , and is now at the huge Kubinka Tank Museum outside Moscow . An " Elefant " was captured at Anzio by the Americans , and is now part of the United States Army Ordnance Museum ' s collection at Fort Lee , VA . The example at Fort Lee was restored to display condition in 2007 – 2008 , as documented on the show Tank Overhaul .