The Elefant (Elephant) stemmed from the Porsche design for the PzKpfw VI Tiger. Henschel was awarded the contract for the new tank, but it was decided to use the Porsche design as a tank destroyer. Hitler demanded that the new vehicle be ready for the 1943 offensive on the Russian front, so development was rather hurried. As a result, many broke down to their first action at the Battle of Kursk, and the lack of proper armor and ponderous mobility made them easy targets for Soviet gunners in the battle. In addition, the lack of machine guns meant that there was no defense against Soviet troops disabling them with explosive charges in close-quarter combat. The survivors were withdrawn to Italy, where unreliability and lack of spares ensured their continued ineffectiveness.

This particular 1:32 scale replica of a German Ferdinand tank destroyer under went testing at the Kummersdorf Proving Ground, in Germany during April 1943. Comes with a pair of removable 300 PS Maybach HL 120 TRM engines. Pre-order! Price and ship date to be determined.

Dimensions:
Length: 12-1/2-inches
Width: 4-1/2-inches

Release Date: ?

Historical Account: "Kummersrdorf" - Kummersdorf was the location for the analyses, studies and testing of various German-captured Allied tanks and armoured fighting vehicles (AFVs). Many tanks from all combat-fronts, from North Africa to the Eastern Front, were tested there, with American tanks being multiple variant-models of the M4 Sherman tank, the M3 Lee, the M10 tank destroyer, amongst several others, and Soviet tanks consisting of the T-34 (the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces) and the T-28 medium tanks, the SU-series of self-propelled artillery/guns (such as the SU-85) and the IS-2 heavy tank, just to list a few. There were also British tanks there, including a Churchill tank fitted with a Y-shaped exhaust outlet (an early variant-model of the Churchill) for deep-wading and amphibious operations which was used at the Dieppe Raid, along with many Matilda I and Matilda II infantry tanks (with the former being largely seized following the evacuation of Allied troops at Dunkirk and the latter from both Dunkirk as well as in North Africa). There were also many French tanks there as well, such as the Char B1 heavy tank. Also, an Italian Carro Armato P40 heavy tank was present at Kummersdorf.

The Wehrmacht also tested new German tanks there, including the VK 4501 (P) (the losing Porsche-hulled competitor for the Tiger I production contract), the Hetzer tank destroyer, the Panzer V Panther medium tank, the Tiger II heavy tank, possibly the VK 4502 (P), and the 188-tonne Panzerkampfwagen Maus super-heavy tank.

Albert Speer refers to the tanks testing station at Kummersdorf during the 1942 offensive against the Soviet Union. The station showed that the treads or motor of a heavy tank need repairs every 400-500 miles. This was a limiting factor in the offensive as supply lines became stretched and spare parts carried by the tanks were consumed.