The story is long and has had to be in TWO PARTS but is better for it as the details are there, that make it more believable as an alternative. I hope that you all like it as much as I do ! ( Photos at the End of Part 2 )**********************************************************************************************8
It is early July, 1944. After the ghastly losses in the winter and spring campaigns, several major units of the Soviet Army have mutinied. Heavy fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces is becoming widespread, to the relief of the decimated German forces on the East Front, who are simply standing back and catching their breath. Entire units of NKVD have been slaughtered to a man by both sides. Widespread civilian riots over food and fuel shortages have started in major cities and towns. Beria has arrested and executed Stalin, and was himself assassinated a day later, starting a round of arrests and executions involving even the Politboro. In essence, USSR is headless....and powerless.
On the West Front, the late June deaths of Generals Eisenhower and Patton in a vehicle accident have thrown the West Front in to turmoil, leaving General Montgomery in charge. The air assaults have suffered horrendous losses from the new jet fighters of the German Air Force armed with air to air missiles with radar warheads, reverse engineered from captured US arty shells with radar fuses. Since the air war is at a virtual stalemate, the ground forces of both sides are fighting with renewed vigor in France. The quantitative superiority of the Allies is slowly being offset by the qualitative superiority of the Germans, even as German units are being quietly transfered west from the now relatively quiet East Front. Hitler has disappeared, no word on when or why. The commanding generals of the German Army have taken over prosecution of the war and are actively seeking an end to hostilities, but so far to no avail. Like the Soviet NKVD, the German Gestapo has been emasculated in the civil and military turmoil of the early summer as riots spread across Bavaria and thence north protesting the lack of food and the call up of 15 year old boys to the colors. It is not considered healthy to announce that you are either NKVD or Gestapo.
Meanwhile, at the Henschel Fabrik, work proceeds apace now that the bombing campaigns are virtually a thing of the past. Production of the King Tiger is ramping up, and Panther production is at an all time high. The problems with the KT final drives, very much overstated by Allied propaganda, have been resolved. And in a back shop, the work on the Tiger 1 to adapt a different and more powerful main gun to the Tiger 1 turret proceeds, even though officially Tiger 1 production has ceased. The main problem was with the recoil system, and this has been solved. Also, German spies in USA have not been dormant, and have indeed found an interesting development from some 15 years ago by the Pace Armored Car Company of Chicago, purveyors of armored trucks for banks. This information was communicated to the Fatherland in April 1940, and promptly ignored at the time. Henschel was given the information in January 1944 as an afterthought, to their utter dismay at the delay. Engineers and master technicians have been working 24/7 to develop this new information for production. Other improvements include a new prime mover, more powerful and reliable to overcome the increased weight of the Pace Project as Henschel calls it, and other secret developments to be fitted to the venerable test bed.
The Pace Armored Car Company of Chicago in 1930 developed a thin multi layer armor for their bank money transport trucks. As with any armored vehicle, weight rises exponentially with protection. They discovered that two thin steel plates of about 1/8 inch would not do the trick in protecting the guards and contents of the trucks from the ever present gangsters. They took the two steel plates, compressed raw cotton between them and then tack welded the plates to thin channel iron around the edges. The resultant light weight armor would stop any known round up to, but not including, a Ma Deuce. This information, with all the drawings and specs, was sent via Diplomatic Pouch to Germany in 1940. In January 1944 the documents were given to Henschel, who were aghast that such information had been moldering in a file drawer for 4 years.
Henschel immediately put an expert staff to work on this novel approach to armor. Raw linen was tried as the filler, compressed to various degrees, but did not work well, the linen apparently being too coarse. Since cotton was hard to come by at the time, certain clandestine diplomatic contacts were used to obtain several rail cars full from Turkey, transported across the border with Greece in the dead of night.
After obtaining the cotton, Henschel again started tests, and found that the principle did indeed work, far better than they had hoped. Two 5 mm face hardened steel plates with cotton compressed between them was the equivalent of 50 mm of standard face hardened armor, they found, at one third the weight. After multiple hits the plates became damaged and would have to be replaced, but the tests showed no penetrations with weapons up to 5 cm.
The next tests were with plates of 12 mm thickness, with more cotton compressed between. This was found to be the equivalent of 70 mm of face hardened armor, at roughly one quarter of the weight. Again, multiple hits would damage the plates, but only high velocity antitank rounds of 7.5 cm or larger would penetrated the armor, that at ranges under 150 m.
Obviously the thicker armor plates with more compressed cotton did not increase the protection exponentially. However, as part of the tests, a crude measuring device was used. Dresden porcelain plates, flat plates sold as tourist souvenirs, were put between the steel plates as a measure of the kinetic energy from the test rounds. To their surprise, the Henschel engineers found that while the plates would shatter from a direct hit at their location, even an 8.8 cm round would not penetrate the combined 2 12 mm steel plates where the porcelain was located. Light bulbs went off in numerous cranial cavities at the same time, and a rush order was put in to the Dresden Porcelain Fabrik for a veritable herd of porcelain plates.
The final experiments found that the porcelain plates surrounded by compressed cotton increased the protection of the two 12 mm plates to the equivalent of 90 mm of face hardened armor plate, at 35% of the weight. Plates with the new combination of porcelain and cotton were rush fabricated, and attached to the test bed for the upgraded main gun system, the venerable Tiger 1.
In the interest of getting the maximum protection of the undisturbed new armor plates, the sides and rear of the hull were stripped of any odds and ends hanging on them, such as track cables, various tools, and the jack. The escape hatch in the turret was welded shut, and the dual 12 mm plates installed on the hull sides, rear, and turret sides. On the front lower and upper hull plates, a much thicker system was used, with two 30 mm plates with the combination porcelain and cotton fillers. The driver vision slot and the RO's machine gun were welded shut and plated over. With the combination armor attached over the existing armor of the Tiger 1, the hull and turret were to all intents and purposes immune to penetration from any known Allied weapon. It was felt that the coaxial MG and an additional weapon to be revealed later would more than suffice for the hull MG being removed.
The plates on the hull and turret sides were made in sections, with reinforced dividers between them. If the plates were damaged, they could be replaced in sections by simply lifting them off of their hanger plates, and a new plate installed. Total weight of the Tiger was increased by 14 tons, but some of this was alleviated by the removal of now redundant systems and the vast improvement of the motive power systems, which will be explained later.
Work progresses at a rapid pace, as does the War. On the East Front, the fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces has spread, and the small Byelorus forces have jumped in to the fray. Food and draft riots have spread and are everywhere from Murmansk to Kamchatka. To all intents and purposes SSSR has degenerated in to civil war. The German Army is so far just watching. The lines have been consolidated, in some areas pulled back up to 50 kilometers to more defensible positions. Units are still being transferred west to counter the growing Allied forces on the West Front, leaving the bare minimum in the lines for defense. Do the Germans know something we don't?
On the West Front, Monty is doing his usual well thought out planning for a major offensive to pierce the German lines and sweep to the Rhine. However, the Germans are not cooperating, and are in fact in many areas pushing the Allies back, slowly but steadily. The air war is at a stalemate. German jet fighters are ranging far and wide, and have brought the strategic bombing campaign to a halt. The loses in the bomber squadrons became ghastly with the advent of the radar fused air to air missile the Germans started using, but there are not enough of them or the jets to turn the tide in the air. On the ground, the bravery of the Allied soldiers is becoming legendary. Teams of tank hunters modeled after the Russian teams have begun to appear. The number of VC and CMH awards has gone up exponentially, but most are posthumous. Still, the Germans are now wary of such teams, and the armored force doctrines are changing to reflect this. No longer do Tigers wander around with impunity, shooting up what they please and returning to their lines when lunch is ready. Now any foray is a combined arms op, tanks, troops, air and arty together.
The Tiger 1 Pace Project is about 90% complete, and should be ready for final tests and then issue to a special unit on the West Front in a week or 10 days. Additional work since the last press photo op is the installation of the stereoscopic gun sight, the gyro stabilizer for the main gun, modifications to the turret roof and then installation of the sandwich Pace armor there. The turret roof armor is bolted on, a departure from the application of the turret side and hull side armor, and has a special coating of some sort, the consist and purpose of which not even the workers know. Radiator and fan shields have also been installed to counter the Allied Jabos still flitting around. These are constructed of very thin but strong Pace armor. The turret rotation system has been changed also. and rotation speed is no longer dependent on engine revs, but is now electro hydraulic, and quite fast. A few other odds and ends will be installed in the next week to enhance even further the accuracy of the new main tube.
The new prime mover has been installed, a modification of the Maybach V12 carried out in the Porsche works in cooperation with BMW. Fuel injection has contributed to a major power increase, as has the supercharger installed for peak power output. There is some debate as to the wisdom of the super charger, as it apparently emits a very high pitched and noisy whine that reportedly can be heard for kilometers. Some engineers feel the power increase from the charger is outweighed by the added stress on the reciprocating parts in the mover, and have advocated it's removal. Others like the psychological concept of a rather noisy high pitched scream from the mover. At any rate, the backfire problems have been resolved with the fuel injection system, and plans are afoot to install the new mover in both the Panther and King Tiger as soon as possible. Also, the scuffing of the #6 and #7 rod bearings has been fixed, a simple solution thought up by a young apprentice, a change in the angle of the oil gallery for those bearings. Surprisingly this simple modification has eliminated the oil foaming problems with the Maybach also, and no one seems to know why.
Preliminary road tests of the lower hull sans turret but with a weight attached of the same weight as the turret has shown a significant increase in off road power and manoeuverability. Top speed on the road has risen slightly due to the increased governed engine RPMs. Off road speed of course is decided more by terrain than by motive power. Recon of the AO is still very important before any operation with tanks. The new variable speed transmission has also done wonders for control and manoeuverability.
The remaining work to be done is the tool suite positions, anti infantry weapons, and a couple other interesting odds and ends for vision and fire control.
On the war fronts, the Ost Front is relatively calm. There was 2 days of heavy fighting in the Zhitomir area, but the attacking Soviet Army Group was on the second morning attacked from the rear by a Ukrainian division, sowing confusion and panic in the front ranks of the attacking troops. The attack ceased as the Soviet troops turned east to fight the attackers in their rear. That fighting is still going on, and another Ukrainian division has joined the fray against the Russian Army Group. The unexpected Sov offensive made for some nervous moments in Ost Front Kommand, as the lines have been thinned dramatically to transfer troops and equipment to the West Front. A cease fire proposal to STAVKA in Mockba remains unanswered. Apparently there is no one in charge there at the moment.
Civilian disorder is now rampant. Some cities and towns are setting up their own Soviets in defiance of Mockba, which has from time to time attempted to reestablish control, but to no avail. Deserters are everywhere, and many fought in the towns and cities that Mockba attempted to reestablish control of, against the Mockba based NKVD units used in the attempt. There was no quarter asked nor given by either side. And in an ominous turn of events, more and more refugees, now in their tens of thousands, are coming to the German lines and clamoring for entrance, stretching the German logistics supply trains to the breaking point as they strive to feed the refugees and get them under some kind of shelter from the weather, which has turned unseasonably cool.
On the West Front, the fighting is heavy in many areas, and dormant in a few. The Allies are pouring in more soldiers and equipment, and are rushing the Pershing tank in to production at a feverish pace. The Germans are holding their own in most areas, advancing in a few and retreating in others. Monty is still stockpiling equipment and troops for his planed fall offensive to advance to the Rhine. There is major discontent in London over the delay this is causing, and the defensive losses being endured by the line soldiers who desperately need reinforcements. Rumors abound that Monty may be 'kicked upstairs' and another commander installed. However, no action has occurred on this subject yet.
The air war is still at a virtual stalemate, but the Germans got quite a shock 10 days ago with the appearance of the first British Meteor jet fighters. The first jet to jet air combat has occured with victories and losses on each side, a grudging draw being the result. For some reason, perhaps a sense of fair play, the German jet fighters did not use their radar fused missiles against the Meteors at first, prefering to have at it with machine guns on both sides. And a little distressing piece of news the Germans are not aware of yet. An Indian service battalion unit found the remains of an unexploded German radar fused missile laying in the mud next to a country road they were traveling, picking it up as a souvenir. It was two weeks before an officer recognized it as 'something unusual here, old boy' and passed it up the chain of command. It is now in England for evals.
Peace overtures from German Army Command are still unanswered. The war goes on, attack and counter attack, seemingly endless. And in the back shops of the Henschel Fabrik, the lights behind the blackout curtains blaze 24 hours a day....
The project proceeds well. Henschel has finished the armor installation including the lift points for replacing the lower hull and turret roof armor. Lift points for the side armor are simple bolts with a nut installed in the upper edge channel, two per section. Each section has two lift points. A length of chain is used to replace the sections, each end bolted to a lift point and the light duty Werkstadt crane is used. Turret roof plates are larger in area, and have 3 lift points, again a simple bolt welded to the outside steel panel. The light duty Repair Company crane can lift them, although the area of the turret roof panels brings them to the weight limit of the crane, and they are bulky. The massive one piece front hull upper plate has two large rings welded to the top edge, and is replaced as a single piece going from side to side of the upper front hull.
FA3 panels (the project has been renamed from 'Pace Project' to 'FA3' project, on orders from Heer) have also been placed on the main gun mantlet on either side of the massively thick boss for the main tube. Piercings of the FA3 armor panels have been kept to a bare minimum so the strength of the individual panels is not compromised. Except for the bolted on turret roof panels and cooling system shields, there are only a few at this time, the mantlet MG armored guard for the MG barrel, and two on the left side of the turret, left side piercings being for a nasty little idea thought up by a brilliant young draftsman in the Henschel shops.
The Tiger will be painted after it's final shake down run, installation of the Infrarot systems and tool suite and gun trials, and then issued to a Tiger battalion on the West Front. Various civilian maintainence personel from Henschel, Maybach, and BMW will accompany the Tiger 1 to it's issue battalion and actively evaluate the results of the project. If successful, the project will be applied to as many remaining Tiger 1's as possible, rotating them out of the line for the modifications, which with the experience gained in the initial project work is felt will take less than two weeks per tank.
CONTINUED IN PART 2
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