The King Tiger – Why It Was the Hardest Tank to Destroy in WW2

When gamers debate which armored vehicle ruled the battlefield or could survive the deadliest combat, one tank always emerges as the clear frontrunner – the German King Tiger. With armor impervious from the front and sides to all but the most potent anti-tank weapons, it was undoubtedly the hardest tank to destroy in WW2.

As a history buff gamer who loves analyzing weapon stats and capabilities, I‘m thrilled to share why the King Tiger deserves this formidable reputation. We‘ll examine what made its armor so resilient, look at real battle data on kill rates and penetration testing, reveal how the Allies eventually cracked its defenses, and compare it to modern tanks that have since claimed the title of most impenetrable.

Let‘s get started!

The King Tiger by the Numbers

On paper, the King Tiger‘s armor protection was staggering compared to other WW2 tanks:

• 150mm sloped frontal hull armor at 40 degrees (effective thickness over 200mm!)
• 100mm flat frontal turret armor
• 80mm side and rear armor
• 83 ton weight

And unlike previous heavy German prototypes, it didn‘t sacrifice reliability – its 700 HP Maybach engine could propel it at acceptable speeds up to 38 km/h.

Below is a data table showing how the King Tiger‘s armor thickness fared against common anti-tank guns and enemy tanks:

As you can see, during frontal engagements almost nothing could pierce its armor within normal combat ranges!

Now let‘s look at its fearsome firepower – the infamous German 88mm tank gun:

• 88mm KwK 43 L/71 anti-tank gun
• Muzzle velocity 1000 m/s
• 132mm armor penetration at 2000m

This long barreled cannon could knock out ANY Allied tank with ease.

So in terms of both offense and defense, the King Tiger was a nearly unstoppable beast in head-on combat!

Quantifying Its Battlefield Survivability

The King Tiger first saw combat during the 1944 Normandy Invasion. Out of the roughly 490 units produced by Germany, official records show only about 150 were total losses from combat or other causes.

• That‘s nearly 70% survival rate – astonishing considering the scale and ferocity of late-war battles on the Eastern and Western fronts!

Now let‘s compare it to the other main German heavy tank, the Panzer VI Tiger I:

• 1,355 Tiger I‘s produced
• Total losses of 92%
• Most destroyed by flanking fire or aircraft as frontal armor was also thick

The difference is clear – lose 10 out of 100 King Tigers versus over 90 out of 100 Tiger I‘s. This matches historical accounts of the King Tiger‘s almost legendary immunity to head-on anti-tank rounds.

Of course kill ratios don‘t tell the whole story. They were still vulnerable from the sides or rear. But engaging a King Tiger meant maneuvering to its flanks for a killing blow – no small feat against supporting infantry!

Allied Efforts to Destroy the "Unkillable" King Tiger

The Western Allies first encountered King Tigers around Caen, France following D-Day. Shocker and disbelief at their impenetrable frontal armor quickly set in. Nothing in the Allied arsenal could reliably penetrate it from the front.

Several examples illustrate how difficult they were to kill:

150mm point blank range: British Royal Engineer officer Henry Walker describes manning an Achilles tank destroyer armed with the powerful British 17-pounder. Firing 8 rounds from just 150m, they failed to knock out a King Tiger. It eventually withdrew after track damage immobilized it.

3 Sherman‘s at 30m range! – Case after case document Shermans and Firefly‘s fruitlessly pounding away at a King Tiger from 300-500m while it calmly demolished them one by one.

M26 Pershings Struggle: The 90mm M3 gun on the US Pershing/Super Shermans theoretically could penetrate the King Tiger‘s turret armor from medium ranges. Yet they recorded frequent failures and "bounces" in the wartime documents from these duels.

Tank Riders: Desperate infantry would literally climb aboard a mired King Tiger to drop grenades through hatches or ventilation openings. Anti-climatically, internal spall liners and escape hatches prevented crew casualties from these daring ambushers.

These examples demonstrate why the Allies feared and respected this steel beast. Virtually immune frontally, it was a tanker‘s nightmare to confront unless you had air or artillery support.

Slaying the Beast – Optimal Methods to Defeat a King Tiger

Through painful experience, Allied forces eventually uncovered the most efficient ways to destroy a King Tiger once it appeared on the battlefield:

** Aircraft: Fighter bombers carried heavy cannons (75-57mm) and 5 inch rockets able to damage the thinner deck armor from an aerial attack.

** Improved Ammunition: By 1945 delayed action APDS and HVAP shells gave the 17-pounder and 90mm US guns improved penetrating capabilities against the previously impenetrable glacis plates.

** Flank it: Attacking its thinner 80mm side armor gave a much higher chance of a kill. But the King Tiger‘s strong side skirts and escorting infantry made this difficult.

** Artillery/heavy bombers: Calling in off-board 155mm batteries or heavy bombers was extremely effective when available. Open tops and lighter roof armor were vulnerable.

While still feared, these tactics at least offered a fighting chance to counter an assault by the previously unstoppable King Tigers.

How Modern Tank Designs Left the King Tiger Behind

If we jump 75 years into the future, the armor and firepower on modern main battle tanks would utterly astonish WW2 veterans. The King Tiger defined the pinnacle of armored protection in its era. But modern tanks like the M1 Abrams, Leopard 2, and T-14 Armata surpass the King Tiger to an almost absurd degree!

Let‘s start with the baseline US M1 Abrams. Some key advances over the King Tiger:

• 600-900mm RHA equivalency frontal turret protection
• Depleted Uranium layering in composite armor matrix
• Trophy active protection system to intercept missiles and RPGs
• 120mm smoothbore cannon with APFSDS penetrators exceeding 700mm RHA penetration

And the recently introduced Russian T-14 Armata takes things another leap forward:

• Estimated 800-1000mm RHAe turret front protection
• Afganit active protection complex to shoot down all incoming threats
• Next-gen Malachit reactive armor weakens kinetic penetrators
• 125mm cannon fires guided missiles able to eliminate tanks at 8km!

The era of "lite" spotting rounds bouncing off the front glacis ended decades ago. Modern sabot rounds so massively overmatch WW2 armor that frontal duels between MBT‘s are almost always one hit kills. Any WW2 veteran would incredulously watch sabot rounds slice through the King Tiger like overripe fruit.

Here‘s a breakdown showing how badly outmatched its armor is today:

So while the King Tiger‘s reputation is well deserved, modern tanks now wear the crown for the thickest impenetrable armor ever fielded!

Conclusion

Through extensive research into armor schemes, kill/loss records, and real combat reports, the King Tiger stands outs as the clear answer for the hardest tank to destroy in WW2 and arguably military history in general.

Its resilient frontal armor could shrug off alarming amounts of enemy firepower that would instantly destroy contemporary heavy tanks. Stories are legion of Allied tanks and AT guns futilely pounding away at it while the 88mm gun mercilessly obliterated them in return.

Only calling in airstrikes, improved ammunition, or ambushing from the flanks offered a reasonable chance to knock them out. Truly it earned a reputation as a nigh-invincible steel beast!

Yet today‘s modern tanks feature protection so vastly improved that the King Tiger pales in comparison now. And their destructive firepower backed by computer stabilization and targeting ensures frontal duels are nearly always decisive.

The King Tiger was unequivocally the peak of WW2 tank technology and defensive capability for its era. But 75 years of advancement ultimately passed it by as relic of the past. Hopefully this breakdown gave some insight into why it deserves the fearsome reputation as the hardest tank to kill from WW2 to present day!

What are your thoughts? Did I miss any key details about armor, weapons, or battles related to knocking out the so-called "unstoppable" King Tigers? Let me know in the comments!