Nr.320, The King Tiger or Tiger 2 with Porsche turret.

Both turrets used on the Tiger II were designed and built by the Krupp company.  So why are they so often called the ‘Porsche’ and ‘Henschel’ turrets?

The answers can be found in the tank’s early design. This post is a greatly simplified account of the story.

The earliest work on a heavy tank armed with the 88mm KwK 43 gun was carried out by the Porsche company. The resulting design was known to the company as the Typ 180 and to the German Army as VK.45.02(P).

'Peiper's Last Advance' – Bataille des Ardennes – Décembre 1944

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger II  (Tigre Royal)

Hopefully fixed up the proportions and the pose along with a few other things.

Here's the original:

Battle Weapons File from Battle Action Force No. 510, dated 9 February 1985. A rare example in a UK comic of the King Tiger with the 'Krupp' turret (sometimes called the Porsche turret) . Long story but the bulk of the King Tigers (Tiger ll) were fitted with what was called the 'Henschel' turret and it's usually the latter that you see when depicted in a war comic. Rightly so as of the 492 made only 50 had the Krupp turret shown above. Its also possible there were few reference photos readily available then of the Krupp turret. Complicating the explanation further is that both turrets had been designed by Krupp.

I understand the reason that there were different turrets in the first place related to different prototypes of the hull being designed and the Krupp turret was meant for the prototype that was later rejected. Orders were received for the 50 turrets but the correct hull to attach them to didn't go in to production.

Art wise it does look like the work of Mike Dorey but hard to tell. Mike definitely drew the King Tiger when it appeared in the Hellman stories in Battle Action in 1978 (below) with the more common 'Henschel' turret.