German Tank Destroyer Elefant - 3 figures

Plastic model kit from TAMIYA, for the assembly of a German Tank Destroyer Elefant - 3 figures, of the WW II, in 1/35 scale. Includes sprues with plastic parts, assembly instructions, vinyl tracks and decals.

The Elefant (German for "elephant") was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Wehrmacht Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand, after its designer Ferdinand Porsche, using tank hulls produced for the Tiger I tank design abandoned in favour of a Henschel design. In January to April 1944, Ferdinands received modifications and upgrades. They were renamed Elefant in May 1944. The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger (P) and the ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 184. The vehicle was fitted with an 88 mm Panzerjägerkanone 43/2[2] gun (early designation 8,8 cm Stu.K. 43/1). These 71 caliber-long guns had originally been developed as a replacement for the well-known 88 mm anti-aircraft gun that had been used against Allied tanks in the Western Desert Campaign and on the Eastern Front. It had a much longer barrel than the L/56 guns, which gave it a higher muzzle velocity, and fired a different, longer cartridge. These improvements gave the 88 mm L/71 significantly improved armor penetration ability over the earlier 88 mm. Although it lost the competition to the 8.8 cm Flak 41 and never became an anti-aircraft weapon, it was turned into the very successful Pak 43 anti-tank gun.