VK 36.01 H

## Basic Information

The **VK 36.01 (H)** is a German tier 6 heavy tank.

An experimental German WWII heavy tank developed by Henschel. The vehicle was a further development of the VK 30.01 (H) project and a stage in the design process for the Tiger. A total of eight chassis and one prototype were built in 1942. During the development, various technical solutions were trialed. Some of them later served as a basis for German heavy tank designs during the WWII. The chassis was also used in armored recovery vehicles.

This tank was the first prototype of Germany's Pz.Kpfw. VI Tiger. It's a average combat tank, without any particular strongpoint. It is very prone to being ammo racked and having its crew members killed. Since the armor is not sloped at all, it is always recommended to partially angle your armor to 30 degrees in this tank.

The VK 36.01 (H) leads to the Tiger I.

## Pros & Cons

##### Pros:

- Very high HP pool (1200 with top turret), only beaten by the TOG II

- Good view range and acceptable radio

- 7.5 cm guns carry over from its predecessor, but are still reasonably powerful with high DPM

- 8.8 cm gun has great alpha damage and even better DPM than the 7.5 cm, while keeping good accuracy

##### Cons:

- Sluggish acceleration and traverse due to subpar Horsepower/Ton ratio (can pivot, however)

- Weak overall armor

- 8.8 cm gun lacks penetration

- 7.5 cm gun has the worst alpha of the tier VI heavies

- Poor stock grind; each upgrade is both costly and very much needed

## Performance

This tank is an odd one. At first, it looks like a horrible option in all given circumstances, especially given how underpowered it is at first. With only a 135 damage gun from the previous tank to start with and abysmal overall mobility, you can't help but think this VK is inadequate for its tier. However, it does have one advantage; it possesses a strange, possibly trollish armor frame with a large amount of HP. In the early stages of this tank's research, you should always take DPM trades with tanks of the same tier or lower when the opportunity presents itself. Don't try to fight a hulldown battle, as the armor on this tank will not be able to help you unless angled, and even then, the VK is just a little harder to hit, not unstoppable. Instead, you can play this tank as a semi-risky support vehicle that uses its superior accuracy and good DPM to annoy the enemy from far away or from a flank. In top-tier battles, you can consider using this vehicle as more of a main battle heavy tank.

Thankfully, you don't have to keep the 7.5 cm guns forever. The VK's most significant upgrade is the 8.8 cm gun, which, upon close inspection, seems to be a slightly less accurate version of the second gun used by the Nashorn. With a dispersion of .36 meters and an aiming time of 2.3 seconds, this gun is almost as trusty with its shots as the notoriously accurate ones that come before it. More importantly, it takes the alpha damage of this tank up to 220. You would think that the damage per minute would suffer because of this, but in reality, it is improved; the reload time can get lower than 6 seconds per shot with the right equipment. The only statistic that remains lacking is the penetration; it actually has slightly less than the 7.5 cm Kw.K. This means that the Waffe is still an option for long-distance engagements. But once you have the vastly improved alpha damage, exposing your massive hull to fire becomes worth it for the first time.

It should be noted that the main weaknesses of the VK 36.01 (H) are being caught in an exposed position or flanked, or simply hit by heavy firepower, all of which typically require the actions of multiple skilled tanks on the other team. In a 1v1 battle or with the advantage of surprise itself, the VK will almost always win. This makes it an excellent tank for Skirmishes and tournaments with low numbers of tanks in the battle.

## Historical Information

On 9 September 1938, Henschel received permission to continue their work on the DW II. Two similar designs were created, the lighter (32 tons) VK 30.01 (H) and later, the heavier (40 tons) VK36.01(H). Both resembled Pz. IVs in their hull design, but their running gear was of a new design that consisted of overlapping road wheels. VK 30.01 (H) medium and VK 36.01 (H) heavy tanks had many parts in common, making their production and service much easier.

Only four VK 30.01 (H) prototypes were produced, two in March 1941 and two in October 1941. All were completed in 1942 by Henschel. In early 1942, one prototype VK 36.01 (H) was built, along with 5 prototype chassis. Originally, it was planned to mount the VK 30.01 (H) with a turret armed with the 75mm L/24 or 105mm L/28 gun, but none of the prototypes were actually fitted with turrets. The VK 36.01 (H) was to be armed with the 75mm KwK 42 L/70 (Gerat 725), the 88mm KwK 36 L/56 (mounted in the VK 45.01 (P)'s turret), or the 105mm L/20 or L/28 gun. But just as with the VK 30.01 (H), it was never armed with any weapon.

Both designs were completed as prototypes, but their further development was cancelled in 1942 in favor of the development of the VK 45.01 (P) that later became the Tiger 1. Turrets produced for both designs were never mounted and instead, in 1944, six VK 30.01 (H) turrets were used in permanent fortifications: Panzerstellung/Turmstellungs of the Atlantic and West Wall. Their running gear was later modified and used as a base for the Tiger and Panther's running gear.

In March 1941, two VK 30.01 (H)s were ready and from August 1941 to March 1942, were converted into 128mm Pak 40 L/61 gun carriers, the Selbstfahrlafette 12.8cm. Another two prototypes completed in October 1941 remained in Henschel's factory in Haustenbek and were used as recovery, training, and test vehicles. The VK 36.01 (H) prototypes were used as recovery and towing vehicles. The VK 30.01 (H) and VK 36.01 (H)'s design led to the subsequent development of Henschel's Tiger I.