Tiger I

The Tiger I is a Tier VII German Heavy Tank.

### Cons

* Flat German "Box" armor relies on thickness only, can easily be penetrated by higher Tier opponents
* Low alpha of 220
* Frontal engine easily catches fire
* Cupola, although not as obvious as the Tiger (P), can still be penetrated

### As Tiger I

The famed and fearsome Tiger I is actually difficult to play in WoTB, although various armor buffs have eased gameplay. The Tiger's matchmaking only allows it to go up against tanks that were specifically designed to counter it, like the IS and the SU-152, rather what it was famed for killing; the M4 Sherman and T-34 tanks, including tanks that are considered overpowered such as the Annihilator and Smasher. Nonetheless, the Tiger I becomes a formidable opponent when used correctly. The Tiger I is a frontline vehicle, meant to use its gun to whittle down enemy vehicles.. The Tiger I's unhistorical 8.8cm Kw.K. 43 L/71 gun (made for the Tiger II) is highly accurate, has a high penetration and has a fast reload. It can easily snipe and take enemies out from afar if the situations requires it. As a result, when the opportunity strikes, use the Tiger to hit enemies from an unexpected angle. Use a wall and perform Side-scraping maneuvers to increase the angle of which your enemy shells hit your armor, increasing the chances of bouncing.

### Against Tiger I

As a Tier VI tank, you are most likely unable to penetrate the frontal armor of the Tiger I since its armor buff. Flank the Tiger I and shoot at its weaker sides while avoiding its rapid fire 88mm gun. This may be a difficulty if the Tiger is a competent player, but you have to deal with it. Most Tier VIIs and VIIIs will be able to reliably penetrate the frontal hull armor of the Tiger I (except the sloped plate connecting the upper and lower glacis, do not aim at that), so you can still pick the Tiger off relatively easily. If the Tiger is sidescraping, try not to engage unless they are doing it wrongly as the Tiger is able to sidescrape really well, increasing the chance of bouncing. If you can, use premium ammo to pierce through the armor. Tier VIII vehicles can penetrate straight through the front. However, be wary of the turret face, as the gun mantlet is spaced armor.

## History

Work on a Heavy Tank had already begun in 1939, just before World War II started. It was initially given a low priority, but with the appearance of the T-34 and KV-1 tanks in 1941, the situation changed. Two main competitors created separate versions of the *Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger*, Porsche and Henschel. Porsche presented the Tiger (P), while Henschel presented the Tiger Ausf. H1 (H for Henschel). The Tiger Ausf. H ended up impressing the officers in charge more than the Tiger (P), as the Tiger (P) had a complicated suspension that was already overloaded and broke down several times during trials. The Tiger Ausf. H was then rushed into production in 1943, despite having flaws in its operating system as well, due to an urgent need of tanks on the Eastern Front.

The Tiger was initially only given to the elite of the elite tank crews. Crews described their first encounter with the Tiger being "disappointing", expecting more than a "boxy dinosaur". However, their low opinion of the Tiger would soon change. The interior of the Tiger was large enough for its crew to be comfortable in. On the battlefield, the Tiger could pick off a T-34 tank at even 2,000 metres, while a T-34/76 had to close the gap to 300 metres to penetrate the Tiger. Owing to all early Tiger crews being the best of the Wehrmacht, and its 8.8cm Kw.K. 36 L/56 gun having such a far range, the Tiger earned its reputation of being one of the best tanks of the Wehrmacht which Allied tank crews came to fear. Tank aces of the Tiger included Michael Wittmann and Otto Carius, who were the some of the Wehrmacht's best tank commanders. Improvements were made to all Tiger tanks still in service and they were renamed the Tiger Ausf. E.

Eventually, though, the Tiger Ausf. E was replaced by the *Königstiger*, the King Tiger (Tiger II). The enemy had came up with ways to take out the Tiger I. It had a flat boxy armor, which did not help to bounce enemy shells. However, the Tiger I was still an icon of the enemy, and US tank crews often panicked upon seeing Panzer IV tanks, thinking they were Tiger I tanks.

After the war, most Tiger Is were scrapped. Owing to its short production from 1943 to its replacement by the Tiger II, only around 1,300 Tiger Is were produced. 7 remain till this day, and one of which is the famous Tiger 131 of the Bovington Tank Museum, the only working Tiger I in the world.

## Specifications

The following is what the vehicle can achieve with 100% crew skills without the use of provisions, equipment, or consumables.

## Trivia

* The Tiger I was buffed in a recent update to have better armor to withstand Tier VI tanks
	+ It was previously vulnerable even to Tier V tanks, as can be seen by the Tiger 131 and Tiger Kuromorimine SP tanks.
	+ Eventually the Tiger I was buffed to feature more frontal armor and a more powerful gun to help deal with other tanks, becoming a strong vehicle to the point some would consider it to be ***the*** most powerful tier VII vehicle