Tactics of the game on Fri ferdinand. "Ferdinand" - the most terrible self-propelled guns? Tank "Ferdinand": characteristics and description

German tank building during World War II was one of the best in the world. Bold engineering ideas were embodied at the country's largest factories - Nibelungenwerke, Alkett, Krupp, Rheinmetall, Oberdonau, etc. Models of technology have improved, adapting to the conduct of hostilities, which history has not yet known. The quantitative and qualitative use of armored vehicles could decide the outcome of the battle. Tanks are the iron fist of the warring powers. It is not easy to resist them, but it is possible. Thus, mobile anti-tank artillery with a running gear similar to tanks, but with a more powerful gun, enters the arena of hostilities. One of the most famous German tank destroyers that participated in WWII was the Ferdinand.




The engineering genius Ferdinand Porsche was known as Hitler's favorite for his Volkswagen. The Fuhrer wanted Dr. Porsche to direct the vector of his ideas and knowledge to the military industry. The famous inventor did not make us wait long. Porsche designed a new tank chassis. New tanks "Leopard", VK3001 (P), Tiger (P) were tested on its chassis. Tests have shown the benefits of an innovative chassis model. Thus, in September 1942. Porsche was instructed to develop a tank destroyer with an 88 mm cannon based on the chassis, designed for the Tiger heavy tank. The assault gun must be well protected, the gun must be in a fixed wheelhouse - these were the orders of the Fuhrer. The redesigned Tiger(P) tanks became the prototypes of the Ferdinand. The body of the Tiger Porsche underwent minimal changes, mainly in the aft part, where a conning tower was installed with an 88-mm gun and a machine gun in the front sheet (later the machine gun was removed due to an excess of mass, which became a significant drawback in close combat with enemy infantry) . The front of the hull was reinforced with additional armor plates 100 and 30 mm thick. As a result, the project was approved, and an order was received for the construction of 90 such machines.
February 6, 1943 At a meeting of the commanders-in-chief, a report was heard on the manufacture of an "assault gun on the Porsche-Tiger chassis." By order of Hitler, the new machine received the official designation "8.8-mm Pak 43/2 Sfl L / 71 Panzerjager Tiger (P) Ferdinand". Thus, the Fuhrer recognized the achievements of Ferdinand Porsche, giving the self-propelled gun his name.

So, what was the innovation of the chassis designed by Porsche. In relation to one side, the Ferdinand's undercarriage consisted of three carts with two rollers in each. The original undercarriage unit was the placement of bogie suspension torsion bars not inside the hull, like many other tanks, but outside, and besides, not transversely, but longitudinally. Despite the rather complex design of the suspension, developed by F. Porsche, it worked very efficiently. In addition, it turned out to be well adapted for repair and maintenance in the field, which was an important advantage during the fighting. Another original component of the Ferdinand design was the electrical system for transmitting torque from the prime movers to the drive wheels of the engine. Due to this, the car did not have such components as the gearbox and the main clutch, and, consequently, their control drives, which simplified the repair and operation of the power plant, and also reduced the weight of the self-propelled gun.

Dividing 90 vehicles into two battalions, the command sent one to Russia, and the second to France, later transferring it also to the Soviet-German front. In battles, Ferdinand proved to be a powerful tank destroyer. The gun worked effectively at long distances, while Soviet heavy artillery inflicted non-critical damage on the self-propelled gun. For field artillery guns and tanks, only the sides of the Ferdinand were vulnerable. The Germans lost most of the new vehicles in the minefields, which they did not have time to clear mines or did not map their own. In the battles near Kursk, 19 self-propelled guns were lost. At the same time, the combat mission was completed, and more than 100 tanks, anti-tank guns and other Soviet military equipment were destroyed by the Ferdinands.

The Soviet command, having encountered a new type of equipment for the first time, did not attach great importance to it, as it was carried away by another formidable rival - the Tiger. However, several abandoned and burned-out self-propelled guns fell into the hands of Soviet technicians and engineers and were investigated. Several vehicles were shot from different guns to test the penetration of the armor of the new German assault guns.

The soldiers, having learned about the new Ferdinand self-propelled gun, began to call other equipment with a turret or cabin aft. There were many rumors and legends about a powerful German self-propelled gun. Therefore, after the war in the USSR, they were pretty surprised that only 90 real Ferdinands were produced. A manual for the destruction of the "Ferdinands" was also massively released.

Failures near Kursk forced the tank destroyers to be sent for repair and re-arrangement. The strategy for bringing these vehicles into battle was also revised. To protect the self-propelled guns from entering the flank and rear and during close combat, accompanying Pz.IV tanks were assigned to them. The order on joint combat operations of self-propelled guns and infantry was also abolished, since due to the active shelling of the Ferdinands, the accompanying infantry suffered heavy losses. The newly launched vehicles on the battlefield coped better and faster with combat missions, incurring minimal losses. During the fighting on the Zaporozhye bridgehead, only 4 vehicles were lost. And after the participation of the "Ferdinands" in the battles in Western Ukraine, it was decided to send the surviving vehicles to the rear for repairs and upgrades. Vehicles with new tracks, a rigged undercarriage, which suffered most often, with a machine gun in the frontal armor plate (used by a radio operator) and other minor changes, entered the battle already on the Italian front, but the updated self-propelled gun carried a different name - "Elephant" ...

Summary. The powerful German tank destroyer deserved so many legends and tales for a reason. During the war, the word "Ferdinand" became an epithet for Soviet soldiers. The heaviest colossus weighing 65 tons (after the Ferdinand battalion crossed one of the bridges across the Seine, the bridge sank 2 cm.) Was well armored and equipped with a powerful gun. The frontal armor held back the shots of most Soviet field guns and tanks, but the lightly armored sides and stern were vulnerable. Also weak points there was a grill in the front of the case, under which was located power point, and the roof. The Achilles' heel, as it turned out, was the chassis, especially its front part. Its withdrawal from the system almost always ended in defeat. The clumsy "Ferdinand", remaining motionless, could fire only in a limited sector due to the static cutting. In this case, the crew blew up the self-propelled gun, if the enemy had not done so before.

German tank destroyer Ferdinand. The history of the tank destroyer Ferdinand. Guide to the tank Ferdinand.

Today we publish in Tankopedia new video guide about German vehicles of the eighth level - tank destroyers Ferdinand.

"Ferdinand" (German Ferdinand) - German heavy self-propelled artillery (ACS) period of World War II class of tank destroyers. Also called Elefant (German: Elefant - elephant), 8.8 cm PaK 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjäger Tiger (P), Sturmgeschütz mit 8.8 cm PaK 43/2 and Sd.Kfz.184. This combat vehicle, armed with an 88 mm cannon, is one of the most heavily armed and heavily armored representatives of German armored vehicles of that period. Despite its small number, this machine is the most famous representative of the class of self-propelled guns, it is associated a large number of legends.

SAU "Ferdinand", video guide which we will see below, was developed in 1942-1943, being largely an improvisation on the basis of the chassis of the Tiger (P) heavy tank developed by Ferdinand Porsche, which was not adopted for service. debut "Ferdinand" was the Battle of Kursk, where the reservation of this self-propelled guns demonstrated its low vulnerability to the fire of the Soviet main anti-tank and tank artillery. In the future, these vehicles participated in the battles on the Eastern Front and in Italy, ending their combat path in the suburbs of Berlin. In the Red Army, "Ferdinand" was often called any German self-propelled artillery installation.

Watch Guide - Ferdinand

The heroes of the popular book and film “The meeting place cannot be changed”, the workers of the legendary MUR use a bus nicknamed “Ferdinand” as transport. From the mouth of the driver main character learns that the car is named for the similarity of the silhouette with a German self-propelled gun.

From this short episode, you can find out how well-known among the front-line soldiers was the self-propelled artillery installation manufactured by Ferdinand Porsche. Despite the small number of vehicles produced, these installations have sunk into the memory of everyone who has ever seen them in battle.

History of creation

The self-propelled breakthrough "Ferdinand" owes its birth to another, no less epic example of the German tank genius. The beginning of 1941 was marked by Hitler's personal order to two of Germany's largest design bureaus on May 26 at a meeting in the presence of senior officials of the engineering department related to the armored forces.

In the presence of representatives of the Design Bureau, the battles in France were analyzed, and the shortcomings of German combat vehicles were identified. Ferdinand Porsche and Steyer Hacker, director of Henschel, were officially given special orders. They had to create heavy tank, designed to break through the lines of defense of Germany's opponents.

Another reason for the order is the ineffectiveness of most German tanks in the fight against the thick-skinned English Matilda Mk.II. If the planned operation "Sea Lion" was successful, the Panzerwaffe should have faced, according to various estimates, with 5 thousand of these machines. At the same meeting, models of Porsche and Henschel tanks were presented to the Fuhrer.

The summer of 1941 influenced the development of new tanks in two ways.

On the one hand, the designers were busy finalizing the machines in the series. On the other hand, the Wehrmacht got acquainted with the KV tanks, which made a huge impression on both generals and ordinary tankers. In the autumn of 1941, work on the development of a heavy tank was continued in an accelerated mode.

The weapons department, which oversaw the creation of the machine, was on the side of the Henschel company. At their own request, the development was headed by Erwin Aders, who went down in history as the chief designer of the tank symbol of the Wehrmacht.

Ferdinand Porsche during this period comes into serious conflict with the Armaments Administration due to technical inconsistencies between the designed and ordered by the officials turret of the designed tank. In consequence, this will play a role in the fate of both prototypes.

Dr. Todt dies in a plane crash, Porsche's only ally in promoting his particular model. However, Ferdinand himself was confident in the success of his development. Enjoying unlimited success with Hitler, he placed at his own risk in the Nibelungenwerk company an order for the manufacture of cases for his machines.

During the tests, the enmity between the Fuhrer's pet and the officials of the Office played a role.

Despite the superiority of the Porsche model, recorded during the tests, it was recommended to adopt the Henschel model, to the horror of the German army technicians. Hitler's proposal to produce two cars was met with a restrained refusal, motivated by the inability to produce in war time two expensive, but equivalent tanks.

Failure turned to Porsche's face after it became clear in March 1942 that the powerful new assault weapons required by Hitler, equipped with an 88-mm gun, could not be created on the basis of the PzKpfw. IV as originally planned.

Here, the 92 chassis units built by the Nibelungenwerk came in handy for the Porsche design that never got into the Tiger series. The creator himself plunged headlong into new project. Carried away by the calculations, he worked out a scheme with the location of the crew in the spacious conning tower located behind.

After agreeing with the Office of Arms and improvements, the Nibelungenwerk plant began assembling the hulls of new self-propelled guns based on the long-suffering chassis. During this period, it is not clear by whom, the course machine gun planted by Porsche was removed. This "refinement" will then play a role in the fate of the self-propelled guns.

The beginning of 1943 was marked by the exit of the first self-propelled guns from the gates and sending them to the front. In February, the Fuhrer's gift to the creator of the self-propelled guns comes - the car is officially given the name "Vater", "Ferdinand". By order of the same "possessed" self-propelled guns without acceptance go to the East. Porsche, much surprised, recalled that he was waiting for complaints from the front about his unfinished cars in a hurry, but did not receive a single one.

Combat use

The baptism of the Ferdinands was the Battle of Kursk. Soviet intelligence, however, already on April 11 had information about new technology brought to the front line. An approximate drawing of the machine, quite similar to the original, was attached to the information. A requirement was drawn up for the design of an 85-100-mm gun to fight the armor of self-propelled guns, but before the summer offensive of the Wehrmacht, of course, the troops did not receive these guns.

Already on July 8, a radiogram came to the Main Armored Directorate of the USSR about the Ferdinand stuck in a minefield, which immediately attracted attention with its unique silhouette. The officers who arrived for inspection did not have a chance to see this car, since the Germans moved forward in two days.

The Ferdinands went into battle at the Ponyri station. The Germans could not take the position of the Soviet troops head-on, so on July 9 a powerful assault group was formed, at the head of which were the Ferdinands. In vain firing shell after shell at the self-propelled guns, the Soviet artillerymen, as a result, left their positions near the village of Goreloye.

With this maneuver, they lured the advancing group into minefields, and then, with blows from the flanks, they destroyed a large number of armored vehicles. On July 11, the bulk of the advancing equipment was transferred to another sector of the front, the remaining parts of the Ferdinand battalion tried to organize the evacuation of the damaged equipment.

This was fraught with many difficulties. The main one was the lack of sufficiently powerful tractors capable of dragging self-propelled guns to their own.

A powerful counterattack by the Soviet infantry on July 14 finally upset plans to withdraw this equipment.

Another section of the front, near the village of Teploe, attacked by the Ferdinand battalion, was subjected to no less pressure. Due to the more deliberate actions of the enemy, here the losses of self-propelled guns were much less. But here there was the first case of the capture of a combat vehicle along with the crew. During the attack, having been subjected to massive shelling by heavy artillery, the self-propelled gunners began to maneuver.

As a result, the car hit the sand and "buried" in the ground. At first, the crew tried to dig out the self-propelled guns on their own, but the Soviet infantry who arrived in time quickly convinced the German self-propelled gunners. A fully serviceable machine was pulled out of the trap only in early August with the help of two Stalinets tractors.

After the end of the fighting, a comprehensive analysis was carried out of the use of the new self-propelled guns by the Germans, as well as ways to effectively deal with it. The lion's share of the vehicles were put out of action due to mine explosions and damage to the undercarriage. Several self-propelled guns were hit by heavy corps artillery and SU-152 fire. One car was destroyed by a bomb, one was burned with bottles of KS by infantrymen.

And only one car received a hole with a 76-mm projectile, in the T-34-76 defense zone from 76-mm divisional guns, the fire was fired at a distance of only 200-400 meters. Soviet soldiers were greatly impressed by the new German vehicles. The command, assessing the complexity of the fight against the Ferdinand, gave the order to award orders to those who could destroy this car in battle.

Legends about the huge number of these self-propelled guns spread among tankers and artillerymen, since they mistook any German self-propelled gun with a muzzle brake and aft warhead for the Ferdinand.

The Germans made their own, disappointing conclusions. 39 out of 90 available vehicles were lost near Kursk, 4 more vehicles were burned during the retreat in Ukraine in 1943. The remaining self-propelled guns, in full force, except for a few samples, were taken to Porsche for revision. Some parts were replaced, a course machine gun was installed, and the car went to help in the fight against the allies in Italy.

There is a widespread myth that this displacement was due to the heaviness of the system and the greater adaptability of the Italian rocky roads for them. In fact, about 30 vehicles were sent to the Eastern Front, where, during the reflections of the “10 Stalinist strikes” of 1944, the Ferdinands, one by one, went into oblivion.

The last battle with the participation of this machine was the battle for Berlin. No matter how beautiful the gun and armor were, they could not hold back the Red Army in the spring of 1945.

Taken as trophies Soviet Union"Ferdinand" self-propelled guns were used as targets for testing new anti-tank weapons, disassembled to the cog for study, and then were sent for scrap. The only Soviet car that has survived to our time is in the famous Kubinka.

Comparative characteristics with the enemy

Like a strong wild beast, "Ferdinand" did not have many enemies capable of engaging in single combat with him on an equal footing. If we take cars of a similar class, the Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and ISU-152, nicknamed “St.

You can also consider the specialized tank destroyer SU-100, which was tested on captured Porsche self-propelled guns.

• armor, the weakest part of Soviet self-propelled guns in comparison with the Ferdinand, 200 mm of frontal armor versus 60 ... 75 for Soviet samples;
• gun, the Germans had an 88-mm gun against the 152-mm ML-20 and 100-mm guns, all three guns effectively coped with suppressing the resistance of almost any vehicles, but the Porsche self-propelled guns did not succumb, their (self-propelled guns) armor penetrated even 152-mm shells with great difficulty;
• ammunition, 55 shells for the Porsche self-propelled guns, against 21 for the ISU-152 and 33 for the SU-100;
• cruising range, 150 km for Ferdinand and twice as high for domestic self-propelled guns;
• the number of models produced: 91 units from the Germans, several hundred SU-152s, 3200 ISU units, slightly less than 5000 SU-100s.

As a result, the German development is still slightly superior to Soviet models in terms of combat qualities. However, problems with the chassis, as well as meager output, did not allow the full potential of these machines to be used.

In addition, Soviet tankers and self-propelled gunners, having received powerful new 85 and 122-mm guns on T-34 and IS tanks, were able to fight Porsche creations on equal terms, it was worth going in from the flank or rear. As often happens, in the end everything was decided by the determination and ingenuity of the crew.

Device "Ferdinand"

Hitler did not spare any materials for his favorite designer, so Porsche cars got the best. The sailors handed over part of the stocks of cemented armor, designed for huge naval calibers. The mass and thickness were forced to connect the armor plates "into a spike", additionally using dowels for reinforcement. It was impossible to disassemble this structure.

Further welding of the body was carried out, rather, for sealing, and not for articulation. The armor plates of the side and stern were placed at a slight slope, increasing the projectile resistance. There were also loopholes for firing from the crew's weapons. small size these holes, however, did not allow news aimed shooting, since the fly was not visible.

Feed felling had an armored hatch. Shells were loaded into it, the gun was changed through it. In case of damage, the crew escaped through the same door. There were 6 people inside, the layout provided for a driver-mechanic and a radio operator in the frontal part, then the engine compartment in the middle, and in the stern the gun commander, gunner and two loaders.

The movement of the car was carried out by 2 Maybach engines that ran on gasoline.

In general, the Ferdinand engines were something fantastic by the standards of tank building in the 1940s. Carburetor 12-cylinder HL 120TRM with 265 hp were located not one after the other, but in parallel. The crankshaft of the internal combustion engine had a flange to which a Typ aGV DC generator with a voltage of 385 volts from Siemens-Schuckert was attached.

Electricity from the generators was transmitted to 2 Siemens-Schuckert D149aAC traction motors with a capacity of 230 kW each. The electric motor rotated the reduction planetary gearbox, which, accordingly, its traction sprocket caterpillar.

The low-voltage circuit is made in a single-wire circuit. Some devices (radio station, lighting, fan) were powered by 12V, some (starters, independent excitation windings of electric machines) from 24V. Four batteries were charged from 24-volt generators located on each engine. All electrical work was done by Bosch.

The problem was created by the exhaust system. At the 5th track roller there was an exhaust pipe outlet, everything around was heated, grease evaporated from the bearings, and the rubber bandage quickly failed.

Porsche took the chassis of the self-propelled unit from his own Leopard tank, invented in 1940. A feature in it was the presence of a cart for torsion bars, 3 per side, and not installing them inside the hull. This earned Ferdinand the love of German technicians, who turned gray only at the mention of the chassis of the Henschel Tiger.

It took Dr. Porsche about 4 hours to change the roller, the same operation on the Tiger took about a day.

The rollers themselves were also successful due to the bandages inside the wheel. This required 4 times less rubber. The principle of shear operation increased the threshold of the bandage service.

The introduction of rollers of a similar design to heavy tanks at the end of the war can be called recognition of the success of the experience. One side took 108-110 tracks 64 centimeters wide.

The armament of the self-propelled unit was an 88-mm gun, with a barrel length of 71 calibers (about 7 meters). The gun was installed in a ball mask, in the frontal part of the cabin.

This design turned out to be unsuccessful, as splinters and splashes of lead from bullets fell into the cracks in a multitude. In the future, to correct this defect, special protective shields were installed. The Ferdinand gun, one of the most powerful developments in the German army, was originally anti-aircraft. After fine-tuning, they put him on a self-propelled gun.

Its shells effectively hit almost any Soviet or allied armored vehicles from a long distance. Ammunition included armor-piercing and sub-caliber shells, as well as high-explosive fragmentation, separate loading.

The absence of a machine gun on early vehicles noted above can be explained as follows. According to German tactics, assault self-propelled guns should move in the second line of attack, behind tanks and infantry, covering them with gun fire. Near Kursk, a high concentration, and, most importantly, the effectiveness of artillery fire forced them to throw self-propelled guns forward, with minimal cover.

The optics was represented by a monocular sight, providing guidance to the gun at a distance of 2 km.

The internal communication was supported by an intercom, the radio operator was responsible for external communication (he is also a shooter in the modernized Elefant).

Contribution to culture and history

The Porsche car, despite its small circulation, left a bright mark on the history of the Second World War. Along with the "Tiger" and "Messerschmitt", this self-propelled gun is a symbol of the Wehrmacht. Made the glory of the German self-propelled systems, she was a real horror for the enemy.

Of course, you can learn to fight with any enemy, but in 1943 a real "Ferdinandophobia" began in the troops. Cunning Germans took advantage of this by putting buckets on the barrels of other self-propelled guns, simulating a muzzle brake.

Judging by the memoirs, only Soviet troops destroyed about 600 Ferdinands during the fighting, with a total release of 91 units.

The Germans were not far behind. The more difficult and unsuccessful the war was for them, the greater was the number of destroyed Soviet tanks. Often in their memoirs, tankers and self-propelled gunners cite the numbers of wrecked vehicles that are twice the number of armored vehicles on the front. In both cases, the self-propelled units in question played a huge role.

Much attention is paid to ACS in the literature. Piece of art“In war as in war”, describing Soviet self-propelled gunners, contains a description of the battlefield after the meeting of a German self-propelled gun with a group of thirty-fours, not in favor of Soviet technology. The fighters themselves speak of him as a worthy and dangerous opponent.

Often found "Ferdinand" and in computer games based on World War II.

Actually, it's easier to name those games in which there are no self-propelled guns. It is worth noting that the characteristics and descriptions in such crafts often do not correspond to reality. For the sake of playability, developers sacrifice the real characteristics of the machine.

You can independently make and put on the shelf a legendary car. Many modeling firms make building kits in different scales. You can name the brands Cyber ​​Hobby, Dragon, Italeri. The Zvezda company produced and launched the ACS series twice. The first issue, number 3563, had many inaccuracies.

The patterns copied from Italeri represented the "Elephant", and had many inaccuracies. The next model, 3653, is the first Ferdinand to be baptized near Kursk.

World War II and Great Patriotic War gave many technical samples that have become legends. Among the self-propelled guns of German production, the Ferdinand, of course, occupies the first place.

Video

Whether the Germans had the best self-propelled guns in the world or not is a moot point, but the fact that they managed to create one that left an indelible memory for everyone Soviet soldiers, - That's for sure. We are talking about a heavy self-propelled gun "Ferdinand". Things got to the point that, starting from the second half of 1943, in almost every combat report, Soviet troops destroyed at least one such self-propelled gun. If we sum up the losses of the Ferdinands according to Soviet reports, then several thousand of them were destroyed during the war. The piquancy of the situation lies in the fact that during the entire war the Germans produced only 90 of them, and 4 more ARVs based on them. It is difficult to find a sample of armored vehicles from the Second World War, produced in such a small amount and at the same time so famous. All German self-propelled guns were recorded in Ferdinands, but most often - Marders and Stugs. Approximately the same situation was with the German "Tiger": it was often confused with medium tank Pz-IV with a long gun. But here there was at least a similarity in silhouettes, but what is the similarity between the Ferdinand and, for example, the StuG 40 is a big question.

So what was "Ferdinand" and why is he so widely known since Battle of Kursk? We will not go into technical details and design development issues, because this has already been written in dozens of other publications, but we will pay close attention to the battles on the northern face of the Kursk Bulge, where these extremely powerful machines were massively used.

The conning tower of the self-propelled guns was assembled from sheets of forged cemented armor transferred from the stocks of the German Navy. Frontal armor felling had a thickness of 200 mm, side and aft - 85 mm. The thickness of even the side armor made the self-propelled guns practically invulnerable to fire from almost the entire Soviet artillery model 1943 at a distance of over 400 m. The armament of the self-propelled gun consisted of an 8.8 cm StuK 43 gun (some sources erroneously give its field version PaK 43/2) with a barrel length of 71 calibers, its muzzle energy was one and a half times higher than that of guns of the heavy tank "Tiger". The Ferdinand gun pierced all Soviet tanks from all angles of attack at all distances of actual fire. The only reason why the armor did not penetrate on hit was the ricochet. Any other hit caused armor penetration, which in most cases meant putting the Soviet tank out of action and the partial or complete death of its crew. The Germans had such a serious one shortly before the start of Operation Citadel.

The formation of units of the self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" began on April 1, 1943. In total, it was decided to form two heavy battalions (divisions).

The first of them, which received the number 653 (Schwere PanzerJager Abteilung 653), was formed on the basis of the 197 StuG III assault gun division. According to the new state, the division was supposed to have 45 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand". This unit was not chosen by chance: the personnel of the division had extensive combat experience and participated in battles in the East from the summer of 1941 to January 1943. By May, the 653rd battalion was fully equipped according to the state. However, at the beginning of May 1943, all materiel was transferred to the staffing of the 654th battalion, which was being formed in France in the city of Rouen. By mid-May, the 653rd battalion was again fully staffed and had 40 self-propelled guns, after completing a course of exercises at the Neuseidel training ground, on June 9–12, 1943, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in eleven echelons.

The 654th heavy tank destroyer battalion was formed on the basis of the 654th anti-tank division at the end of April 1943. The combat experience of his personnel, who had previously fought with the PaK 35/36 anti-tank guns, and then with the Marder II self-propelled guns, was much less than that of their colleagues from the 653rd battalion. Until April 28, the battalion was in Austria, from April 30 in Rouen. After the final exercises, in the period from June 13 to 15, the battalion left for the Eastern Front in fourteen echelons.

According to the wartime staff (K. St.N. No. 1148c dated 03/31/43), a heavy battalion of tank destroyers included: battalion command, headquarters company (platoon: control, sapper, sanitary, anti-aircraft), three Ferdinand companies (in each company has 2 cars of the company headquarters, and three platoons of 4 cars each; i.e. 14 cars in a company), a repair and evacuation company, a motor transport company. In total: 45 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", 1 ambulance armored personnel carrier Sd.Kfz.251 / 8, 6 anti-aircraft Sd.Kfz 7/1, 15 semi-tracked tractors Sd.Kfz 9 (18 tons), trucks and cars.

The staff structure of the battalions was slightly different. We must start with the fact that the 653rd battalion included the 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies, the 654th - the 5th, 6th and 7th companies. The 4th company "fell out" somewhere. The numbering of vehicles in the battalions corresponded to German standards: for example, both vehicles of the headquarters of the 5th company had numbers 501 and 502, the numbers of vehicles of the 1st platoon from 511 to 514 inclusive; 2nd platoon 521 - 524; 3rd 531 - 534 respectively. But if we carefully consider the combat composition of each battalion (division), we will see that there are only 42 self-propelled guns in the “combat” number of units. And in the state 45. Where did three more self-propelled guns from each battalion go? This is where the difference in the organization of improvised tank destroyer battalions comes into play: if in the 653rd battalion 3 vehicles were put into a reserve group, then in the 654th battalion 3 “extra” vehicles were organized into a headquarters group that had non-standard tactical numbers: II -01, II-02, II-03.

Both battalions (divisions) became part of the 656th tank regiment, the headquarters of which the Germans formed on June 8, 1943. The connection turned out to be very powerful: in addition to 90 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", it included the 216th battalion of assault tanks (Sturmpanzer Abteilung 216), and two companies of radio-controlled tankettes IV "Bogvard" (313th and 314th). The regiment was supposed to serve as a battering ram for the German offensive in the direction of Art. Ponyri - Maloarkhangelsk.

June 25 "Ferdinands" began to advance to the front line. By July 4, 1943, the 656th regiment was deployed as follows: west of railway Orel - Kursk 654th battalion (Arkhangelskoye district), to the east the 653rd battalion (Glazunov district), followed by three companies of the 216th battalion (45 Brummbars in total). Each Ferdinand battalion was given a company of B IV radio-controlled tankettes.

On July 5, the 656th Tank Regiment went on the offensive, supporting units of the 86th and 292nd German Infantry Divisions. However, the ramming did not work out: on the very first day, the 653rd battalion got bogged down in the most difficult battles near the height of 257.7, which the Germans called "Tank". Not only were thirty-fours dug up to the very tower at the height, but the height was also covered by powerful minefields. On the very first day, 10 self-propelled guns of the battalion were blown up by mines. There were also heavy losses in personnel. Having blown up on an anti-personnel mine, the commander of the 1st company, Hauptmann Shpilman, was seriously injured. Having found out the direction of the strike, Soviet artillery also opened heavy fire. As a result, by 17:00 on July 5, only 12 Ferdinands remained on the move! The rest received injuries of varying severity. The remnants of the battalion over the next two days continued to fight to capture Art. Ponyri.

The attack of the 654th battalion turned out to be even more disastrous. The 6th company of the battalion mistakenly ran into its own minefield. Within just a few minutes, most of the Ferdinands were blown up by their own mines. Having discovered the monstrous German vehicles barely crawling towards our positions, the Soviet artillery opened concentrated fire on them. The result was that the German infantry, supporting the attack of the 6th company, suffered heavy losses and lay down, leaving the self-propelled guns without cover. Four Ferdinands from the 6th company were still able to reach the Soviet positions, and there, according to the recollections of German self-propelled gunners, they were “attacked by several brave Russian soldiers who remained in the trenches and armed with flamethrowers, and from the right flank, from the railway line, they opened artillery fire, but seeing that this was ineffective, the Russian soldiers retreated in an organized manner.

The 5th and 7th companies also reached the first line of trenches, losing about 30% of their vehicles to mines and falling under heavy shelling. At the same time, the commander of the 654th battalion, Major Noack, was mortally wounded by a shell fragment.

After occupying the first line of trenches, the remnants of the 654th battalion moved in the direction of Ponyri. At the same time, some of the vehicles were again blown up by mines, and Ferdinand No. 531 from the 5th company, being immobilized by the flank fire of Soviet artillery, was finished off and burned down. At dusk, the battalion reached the hills north of Ponyri, where they stopped for the night and regrouped. The battalion had 20 vehicles left on the move.

On July 6, due to problems with fuel, the 654th battalion went on the attack only at 14:00. However, due to the heavy fire of the Soviet artillery, the German infantry suffered serious losses, retreated, and the attack bogged down. On this day, the 654th battalion reported "about a large number of Russian tanks that arrived to strengthen the defense." According to the evening report, the crews of the self-propelled guns destroyed 15 Soviet T-34 tanks, and 8 of them were recorded at the expense of the crew under the command of Hauptmann Luders, and 5 - Lieutenant Peters. There are 17 cars left on the move.

The next day, the remnants of the 653rd and 654th battalions were pulled back to Buzuluk, where they formed a corps reserve. Two days were dedicated to car repairs. On July 8, several Ferdinands and Brummbars participated in an unsuccessful attack on st. Ponyri.

At the same time (July 8), the headquarters of the Soviet Central Front received the first report from the chief of artillery of the 13th Army about the Ferdinand blown up by a mine. Two days later, a group of five GAU KA officers arrived from Moscow at the front headquarters specifically to study this sample. However, they were not lucky, by this time the area where the damaged self-propelled guns stood was occupied by the Germans.

The main events developed on July 9–10, 1943. After many unsuccessful attacks on st. Ponyri Germans changed the direction of the blow. From the northeast, through the May 1 state farm, an impromptu battle group under the command of Major Kall struck. The composition of this group is impressive: the 505th battalion of heavy tanks (about 40 Tiger tanks), the 654th and part of the vehicles of the 653rd battalion (44 Ferdinands in total), the 216th assault tank battalion (38 self-propelled guns "Brummbar ”), an assault gun division (20 StuG 40 and StuH 42), 17 Pz.Kpfw III and Pz.Kpfw IV tanks. Tanks of the 2nd TD and motorized infantry on armored personnel carriers were to move directly behind this armada.

Thus, on a front of 3 km, the Germans concentrated about 150 combat vehicles, not counting the second echelon. Of the cars of the first echelon, more than half are heavy. According to the reports of our gunners, the Germans for the first time here used a new attack formation “in line” - with the Ferdinands, which went ahead. The vehicles of the 654th and 653rd battalions operated in two echelons. In the line of the first echelon, 30 vehicles advanced, in the second echelon another company (14 vehicles) moved at an interval of 120–150 m. The company commanders were in a common line on staff vehicles carrying a flag on the antenna.

On the very first day, this group easily managed to break through the May 1 state farm to the village of Goreloye. Here, our gunners made a truly brilliant move: seeing the invulnerability of the latest German armored monsters to artillery, they were let into a huge minefield filled with anti-tank mines and land mines from captured ammunition, and then opened heavy fire on the "retinue" of medium tanks and assault guns. As a result, the entire strike group suffered significant losses and was forced to withdraw.

The next day, July 10, Major Call's group struck a new powerful blow and individual vehicles broke through to the outskirts of st. Ponyri. The vehicles that broke through were heavy self-propelled guns "Ferdinand".

According to the descriptions of our soldiers, the Ferdinands advanced by firing their guns from short stops from a distance of one to two and a half kilometers: a very long distance for armored vehicles of that time. Having been exposed to concentrated fire, or having discovered a mined area of ​​​​the terrain, they retreated in reverse to some kind of shelter, always trying to be facing the Soviet positions with thick frontal armor, absolutely invulnerable to our artillery.

On July 11, the strike group of Major Kall was disbanded, the 505th heavy tank battalion and the tanks of the 2nd TD were transferred against our 70th Army in the Kutyrka-Teploye region. In the area of ​​st. Ponyri remained only units of the 654th battalion and the 216th division of assault tanks, trying to evacuate the damaged materiel to the rear. But it was not possible to evacuate the 65-ton Ferdinands during July 12–13, and on July 14, Soviet troops launched a massive counteroffensive from the Ponyri station in the direction of the May 1 state farm. By the middle of the day, the German troops were forced to withdraw. Our tankers, supporting the infantry attack, suffered heavy losses, mainly not from German fire, but because a company of T-34 and T-70 tanks jumped out into the same powerful minefield in which the Ferdinands were blown up four days earlier. 654th battalion.

On July 15 (that is, the very next day), the German equipment knocked out and destroyed at the Ponyri station was inspected and studied by representatives of the GAU KA and the NIBT of the training ground. In total, on the battlefield northeast of Art. Ponyri (18 km2) left 21 self-propelled guns "Ferdinand", three assault tanks "Brummbar" (in Soviet documents - "Bear"), eight tanks Pz-III and Pz-IV, two command tanks, and several radio-controlled tankettes B IV "Bogvard".

Most of the Ferdinands were found in a minefield near the village of Goreloy. More than half of the inspected vehicles had damage to the undercarriage from the effects of anti-tank mines and land mines. 5 vehicles had damage to the undercarriage from hits of shells of 76-mm caliber and above. Two Ferdinands had shot through guns, one of them received as many as 8 hits in the gun barrel. One car was completely destroyed by a bomb from a Soviet Pe-2 bomber, one was destroyed by a 203-mm projectile hitting the roof of the wheelhouse. And only one "Ferdinand" had a shell hole in the left side, made by a 76-mm armor-piercing projectile, 7 T-34 tanks and a ZIS-3 battery fired at it from all sides, from a distance of 200-400 m. And another "Ferdinand", which had no external damage to the hull, was burned by our infantry with a bottle of KS. Several Ferdinands, unable to move under their own power, were destroyed by their crews.

The main part of the 653rd battalion operated in the defense zone of our 70th Army. Irretrievable losses during the fighting from 5 to 15 July amounted to 8 vehicles. Moreover, one of our troops captured completely serviceable, and even with the crew. It happened as follows: in the course of repulsing one of the German attacks in the area of ​​​​the village of Teploye on July 11-12, the advancing German troops were subjected to massive artillery fire on a corps artillery battalion, a battery of the latest Soviet self-propelled guns SU-152 and two IPTAPs, after which the enemy left on the battlefield 4 Ferdinand. Despite such a massive shelling, not a single German self-propelled gun had armor penetration: two vehicles had shell damage to the undercarriage, one was badly destroyed by large-caliber artillery fire (possibly SU-152) - its front plate was moved from its place. And the fourth (No. 333), trying to get out of the shelling, moved in reverse and, hitting a sandy area, simply "sat down" on its belly. The crew tried to dig under the car, but then they ran into the attacking Soviet infantrymen of the 129th rifle division and the Germans chose to surrender. Here ours ran into the same problem that had long weighed on the minds of the command of the German 654th and 653rd battalions: how to pull this colossus from the battlefield? Pulling the “behemoth out of the swamp” dragged on right up to August 2, when, with the efforts of four S-60 and S-65 tractors, the Ferdinand was finally pulled onto hard ground. But in the course of its further transportation to the railway station, one of the ACS gasoline engines failed. Further fate machine is unknown.

With the start of the Soviet counter-offensive, the Ferdinands fell into their element. So, on July 12–14, 24 self-propelled guns of the 653rd battalion supported units of the 53rd Infantry Division in the Berezovets area. At the same time, repelling the attack of Soviet tanks near the village of Krasnaya Niva, the crew of only one Ferdinand, Lieutenant Tiret, reported the destruction of 22 T-34 tanks.

On July 15, the 654th battalion repulsed the attack of our tanks from Maloarkhangelsk - Buzuluk, while the 6th company reported the destruction of 13 Soviet combat vehicles. Subsequently, the remnants of the battalions were pulled to Orel. By July 30, all Ferdinands were withdrawn from the front, and by order of the headquarters of the 9th Army, they were sent to Karachev.

During Operation Citadel, the 656th Tank Regiment reported daily on the presence of combat-ready Ferdinands by radio. According to these reports, on July 7, there were 37 Ferdinands in service, July 8 - 26, July 9 - 13, July 10 - 24, July 11 - 12, July 12 - 24, July 13 - 24, July 14 - 13 pieces. These data do not correlate well with the German data on the combat composition of the strike groups, which included the 653rd and 654th battalions. The Germans recognize 19 Ferdinands as irretrievably lost, in addition, 4 more vehicles were lost "due to a short circuit and the ensuing fire." Consequently, the 656th regiment lost 23 vehicles. In addition, there are inconsistencies with Soviet data, which documentary evidence of the destruction of 21 Ferdinand self-propelled guns.

It is possible that the Germans tried, as often happened, to write off several vehicles as irretrievable losses retroactively, because, according to their data, from the moment the Soviet troops went on the offensive, irretrievable losses amounted to 20 Ferdinands (this apparently includes some of 4 cars that burned down for technical reasons). Thus, according to German data, the total irretrievable losses of the 656th regiment from July 5 to August 1, 1943 amounted to 39 Ferdinands. Be that as it may, this is generally confirmed by documents, and, in general, corresponds to Soviet data.

If the losses of the Ferdinands in both German and Soviet coincide (the difference is only in dates), then “unscientific fiction” begins. The command of the 656th regiment states that during the period from July 5 to July 15, 1943, the regiment put out of action 502 enemy tanks and self-propelled guns, 20 anti-tank and about 100 other guns. The 653rd battalion was especially distinguished in the field of destroying Soviet armored vehicles, which recorded 320 Soviet tanks as destroyed, as well as a large number of guns and vehicles.

Let's try to deal with the losses of Soviet artillery. During the period from 5 to 15 July 1943, the Central Front under the command of K. Rokossovsky lost 433 guns of all types. These are data on the whole front, which occupied a very long defense zone, so the data on 120 destroyed guns on one small “patch” seem clearly overestimated. In addition, it is very interesting to compare the declared number of destroyed Soviet armored vehicles with their actual loss. So: by July 5, the tank units of the 13th Army consisted of 215 tanks and 32 self-propelled guns, another 827 armored units were in the 2nd TA and 19th TK, which was in the reserve of the front. Most of them were brought into battle precisely in the defense zone of the 13th Army, where the Germans delivered their main blow. The losses of the 2nd TA for the period from July 5 to 15 amounted to 270 T-34 and T-70 tanks burned out and lined, the losses of the 19th TK - 115 vehicles, the 13th Army (including all replenishments) - 132 vehicles. Consequently, out of the 1129 tanks and self-propelled guns involved in the 13th Army’s zone, the total losses amounted to 517 vehicles, and more than half of them were restored already during the battles (irretrievable losses amounted to 219 vehicles). If we take into account that the defense zone of the 13th Army in different days the operation ranged from 80 to 160 km, and the Ferdinands operated on a front from 4 to 8 km, it becomes clear that it was simply unrealistic to “click” such a number of Soviet armored vehicles in such a narrow area. And if we also take into account the fact that several tank divisions, as well as the 505th heavy tank battalion "Tigers", divisions of assault guns, self-propelled guns "Marder" and "Hornisse", as well as artillery, it is clear that the results of the 656th regiment are shamelessly inflated. However, a similar picture is obtained when checking the performance of the heavy tank battalions of the "Tigers" and "Royal Tigers", and indeed of all German tank units. In fairness, it must be said that military reports of both Soviet, American, and British troops sinned with such "truthfulness".

So what is the reason for such fame of the "heavy assault gun", or, if you like, the "heavy tank destroyer Ferdinand"?

Undoubtedly, the creation of Ferdinand Porsche was a kind of masterpiece of technical thought. In the huge ACS, many technical solutions were applied (a unique undercarriage, a combined power plant, the location of the BO, etc.) that had no analogues in tank building. At the same time, numerous technical "highlights" of the project were poorly adapted for military operation, and the phenomenal armor protection and powerful weapons were bought due to disgusting mobility, a small power reserve, the complexity of the machine in operation and the lack of a concept for the use of such equipment. This is all true, but this was not the reason for such a “fear” in front of Porsche’s creation that the Soviet artillerymen and tankers in almost every combat report imagined crowds of Ferdinands even after the Germans took all the surviving self-propelled guns from the eastern front to Italy and until the fighting in Poland, they did not participate on the Eastern Front.

Despite all its imperfections and "childhood illnesses", the self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" turned out to be a terrible adversary. Her armor didn't penetrate. It just didn't get through. At all. Nothing. You can imagine what the Soviet tankers and artillerymen felt and thought: you hit it, you fire shell after shell, and it seems to be talking, rushing and rushing at you.

Many modern researchers cite the lack of anti-personnel weapons of this self-propelled guns as the main reason for the unsuccessful debut of the Ferdinands. Say, the car did not have machine guns and self-propelled guns were helpless against the Soviet infantry. But if we analyze the reasons for the losses of the Ferdinand self-propelled guns, it becomes clear that the role of the infantry in the destruction of the Ferdinands was simply insignificant, the vast majority of vehicles were blown up in minefields, and some were destroyed by artillery.

Thus, contrary to popular belief, V. Model, who allegedly “did not know” how to use them correctly, is to blame for the large losses on the Kursk Bulge, the self-propelled guns "Ferdinand" can be said that the main reasons for such high losses of these self-propelled guns were the tactically competent actions of the Soviet commanders, the stamina and courage of our soldiers and officers, as well as a bit of military luck.

Another reader will object, why are we not talking about the battles in Galicia, where, since April 1944, slightly modernized Elefants participated (which were distinguished from the previous Ferdinands by minor improvements, such as a course machine gun and a commander's cupola)? We answer: because their fate was no better there. Until July, they, reduced to the 653rd battalion, fought local battles. After the start of a major Soviet offensive, the battalion was thrown to the aid of the German SS division "Hohenstaufen", but ran into an ambush of Soviet tanks and anti-tank artillery and 19 vehicles were immediately destroyed. The remnants of the battalion (12 vehicles) were reduced to the 614th separate heavy company, which took the fight near Wünsdorf, Zossen and Berlin.

ACS number Type of damage Cause of damage Comment
731 Caterpillar destroyed Destroyed by a mine Self-propelled guns repaired and sent to Moscow for an exhibition of trophy property
522 Caterpillar destroyed, track rollers damaged Blown up by a landmine, fuel ignited Machine burned down
523 Caterpillar destroyed, track rollers damaged Blown up by a land mine, set on fire by the crew The car burned
734 The lower branch of the caterpillar was destroyed. It was blown up by a land mine, the fuel ignited. The car burned down.
II-02 The right caterpillar was torn off, the track rollers were destroyed. It was blown up by a mine, set on fire by a bottle of KS.
I-02 The left track was torn off, the track roller was destroyed. It was blown up by a mine and set on fire. The car burned down
514 Destroyed caterpillar, damaged track roller Blown up by a mine, set on fire Machine burned down
502 Sloth torn down Blown up by a landmine The car was tested by shelling
501 Caterpillar torn off Mined by a mine The vehicle was repaired and delivered to the NIBT landfill
712 The right drive wheel is destroyed. A shell hit. The crew left the car. The fire is extinguished
732 Destroyed the third carriage Hit by a projectile and set fire to a bottle of KS The car burned down
524 Broken caterpillar Mined, set on fire Machine burnt out
II-03 Caterpillar destroyed
113 or 713 Both sloths destroyed. Projectile hits. The gun was set on fire The car burned down
601 Right caterpillar destroyed
701 Destroyed fighting compartment hit of a 203-mm projectile in the commander's hatch -
602 A hole in the left side near the gas tank of a 76-mm shell from a tank or divisional gun The vehicle burned down
II-01 Gun burnt out Set on fire by CS bottle Machine burnt out
150061 The sloth and caterpillar were destroyed, the gun barrel was shot through Shell hits in the undercarriage and gun The crew was captured
723 Caterpillar destroyed, gun jammed Projectile hits on undercarriage and mantlet -
? Complete destruction Direct hit from a Petlyakov bomber

Hello, dear guests and regular readers of our site. Today, your attention is a review of the heavy tank destroyer tank destroyer Ferdinand. We usually find out a brief history the creation and use of a combat vehicle during the war years, we will evaluate its advantages and disadvantages, we will analyze the tactics of conducting combat operations on the battlefields of World of Tanks.

Historical reference.

The history of the creation of this tank destroyer takes us back to 1942. It was in this year that the German leadership set the task of creating a heavy tank to break through defensive structures. Two well-known design bureaus took on the project. This is Henschel and Porsche. In the spring of 1942, samples of tanks were demonstrated, and in the summer it was decided to mass-produce Henschel tanks. By that time, Porsche had already managed to make several dozen cases with a chassis. So that the finished products would not go to waste, in the fall of the same year, Hitler gave the order on the basis of these chassis to produce heavy assault guns armed with a powerful 88-mm gun with a long barrel of 71 calibers. To speed up the work on the alteration, the Alkett company, which had experience in building assault guns, joined the project. In the winter of 1942, the project was ready and submitted for consideration. As a result of the alterations, air-cooled engines had to be abandoned, replacing them with the already proven Maybach HL 120TRM with a capacity of 265 hp. Due to the displacement of the felling in back cars, engines were placed in the middle, which “cut off” the driver and radio operator from the rest of the crew. The mass of the machine reached about 65 tons. An indication was received for the release of 90 vehicles and the formation of two battalions from them. The first 29 manufactured Ferdinands were made available to the troops in April 1943, 56 in May, and the remaining 5 were handed over in June of the same year. At this time, the troops were already heading towards the front line at full speed. Ferdinand received his baptism of fire on the Kursk salient. However, he could not show all his qualities due to poor-quality reconnaissance, minefields and fierce artillery fire, in connection with which a large number of vehicles were lost. 11 assault guns were sent to Italy in 1944 to liberate the bridgehead from the Allied forces, but on soft ground these huge vehicles simply bogged down and it was not possible to pull them out due to the strongest artillery fire. On the Eastern Front, Ferdinand was used mainly in 44-45 years in operations on the territory of Ukraine, Poland, and France. The remaining repaired combat vehicles took part in the defense of Berlin and on May 1, 1945 were captured by Soviet soldiers on Karl-August Square.

Briefly about the main thing.

So, before us is Ferdinand - an assault weapon of level 8. This tank destroyer radically changes all views on how to fight on tank destroyers. Moving from the maneuverable and fast Jagdpanther to Ferdinand, you feel a little awkward. Not all the pluses and virtues that she possessed. However, do not despair. In our hands was a very, very worthy combat unit. The main advantage, of course, can be considered the excellent 128-mm Pak 44 L/55 gun with excellent armor penetration and simply gorgeous damage! Do not forget the good armor of 200 mm in the frontal part of the tank. The disadvantage is the NLD with an armor plate thickness of only 85 mm. Sides, sterns and top sheets are very vulnerable. Despite the impressive weight of the Ferdinand, two engines working in pairs allow you to reach speeds of 30 km / h. The dynamics are quite adequate, which makes it possible to keep up with the attacking strands of the allies. Fedya, this is the favorite of the artillery. If there are several TTs on the battlefield and Fedya is nearby, then in 90% of the cases the suitcase will fly into him. The trouble is the weak reservation of the upper sheets. The damage from artillery goes almost completely, which is sometimes fraught with a one-shot. You should never fight alone. One in the field is not a warrior, this is about our Ferdinand. Sometimes even LT can become deadly threat not to mention ST. Do not look for positions in open areas. Due to the large dimensions, our PT glows from very large distances. The same Paton is able to see us already from 400-420 meters. Gorges or long streets are ideal, where no one will bypass you from behind and to the side. Strong frontal armor will quite confidently hold hits from many opponents up to level 7 or even 8. The latter should be applied with a rhombus setting or dancing, which leads to frequent rebounds.

Suggestions for tactics on Ferdinand.

The correct and successful play on this PT depends on key factors. This is the choice of the right direction for pushing through the enemy defenses and the most convenient position that will allow us to effectively use strengths: damage, armor penetration and frontal armor. Getting to the top, we are a formidable force for the opposing team. In the middle and at the bottom of the list, Ferdinand supports the TT in the offensive. Effectively manifests itself as a weapon when firing at medium and long distances. With excellent armor penetration, we are able to hit targets with minimal risk to us. It is very important not to let the LT or ST get close to you. It is very easy to circle us, and if there is no ally nearby, there is a 99% chance that we will go to the hangar. In general, we can say that the game on the Fed has a tough defensive-offensive character.

Let's move on to the advantages of this tank destroyer. Here you can highlight strong frontal armor, a powerful 128-mm gun with excellent damage, penetration and durability, and a fairly good view. Fedi's getting into the top can be considered a small plus, although this does not happen so often.

Drawbacks are not so sweet. You have to come to terms with the lack of any kind of disguise. They notice us further, due to their large dimensions, they hit us more often. Fedya is quite slow, which is why the enemy can fire at us from long distances, mainly with penetration. Well, the eternal problem of most PTs is poorly protected sides and feed.

When the crew reaches 100% skills with the main specialty, it is preferable to choose Repair as the first perk for everyone. The second perk is individual for each: commander - mentor; gunner - smooth turret rotation; mechvod - the king of off-road; radio operator - radio interception; loader - desperate. Further at your discretion. You can teach all crew members Combat Brotherhood and further enhance a specific AT parameter.

As additional modules, you can use: coated optics, a fan and a rammer.

A set of consumables is standard: repair kit, first aid kit and fire extinguisher.

Location of modules.

In front of the PT, the driver and radio operator are comfortably located. They are protected by a plate of 200 mm. Vulnerable point of the NLD. In the rear (in the wheelhouse) are loaders, gunner and commander. The cabin is also well protected in the forehead. Ammunition was placed on the sides of the fighting compartment.

The engine and fuel tanks are located inside the self-propelled gun and separate the crew members.

Conclusions.

So let's sum up the above. Having reached Ferdinand, we got an excellent balanced combat unit, which in some cases, in capable hands, is able to drag the battle and change its course in favor of the allies. Having fairly good forehead armor, a powerful gun with excellent accuracy and penetration, we are able to hit the most armored targets. And do it from medium distances with minimal risk for yourself. Called all the charms of this tank destroyer, you will never want to sell it. The right game and deliberate actions bring a lot of pleasure and positive. Good luck fighting!