OK, so I need to start off by saying that the knowledge I have concerning non-allied armor and aircraft could fit on the end of a pin. I’ve never really been interested in it and maybe this is part of the reason why… It totally confuses me.
My fiancés brother bought me this Tiger kit from Tamiya. It is Kit # 35146, ‘Tiger I, Panzerkampfwagen VI (Sd.kfz.181) Ausfuhrung E, Late Version’
So here is my question, what does all of that mean? Every time I try to research it things don’t seem to fit. For instance, I looked up Panzerkampfwagen VI, Ausf. E, but and found lots of stuff, but when I added the Sd.kfz.181, I got an Ausf. P and an Ausf. H (Which, I am guessing has something to do with Porshe and Henshel?) I’ve also found Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. E… AAAARRRGGGHHHH!
When there is a VK, Turm or Fgst, what do those mean? I’ve gotta tell ya, right now, I wish I spoke German.
Sd.kfz.181is the model number. All German armor were assigned them. The P is Porsche, who made a competing Tiger, but they were rejected and turned into Sd.kfz.184 Ferdinand/Elefant Tank destroyers. The Germans love to abbreviate so you could search PzKfw IV Tiger or simply Tiger I Even easier, check out http://www.achtungpanzer.com/tiger.htm
Sd.Kfz is short for “sonder kraftfarzeug” which roughly translates to “special purpose vehicle” Pz. Kpfw is short for “panzer kampfwagen” which means … well; panzers means armor, kampf means battle or fight and wagen means a car or a vehicle. So it is the german word for tank or armored fighting vehicle ( AFV ), usually a german would just say panzer.
( I live not that far from Germany and I have german friends … that is how I know this stuff )
Edit : Ausführung is the german word for model or version. A Pz.Kpfw III ausf H is still a Pz.Kpfw III but it is different from an ausf J. It is similar to the - numbers in aircraft. Like a Boeing 737-500 or a Boeing 737-700, its still a 737 but its a different version or model.
Edit II : I see more questions. Turm means turret. Fgst means “Fahrgestelnumber” or chassis number. VK means voll ketten or fully tracked
The link is awesome and really makes the topic a little less daunting. Sometimes it’s so intimidating starting something that I’m totally unfamiliar with.
i can help a little with the Panzerkampfwagen IV, Ausf. E
i don’t know any german, but i have picked up on a few german words:
Panzerkampfwagen (armoured vehicle?) is ussaly shortend to panzer (german for armour)
the number after Panzerkampfwagen is the tpey of tank. the panzer 1/I came first, the panzer VIb came last.
Ausf means version i think, every vehicle started off with ausf A, and for every improvement it became another letter. for example the early panzer IV/4 had a short barreld 75mm, but the later ones, i think it was ausf H, used a long barreled 75mm.
the panzer III/3 used a 37mm, 50mm, and later a 75mm. all are a panzer 3
there are other tanks than panzers, but i don’t have time to list them
TMN has some nice definitions of those lovely German words. Feel free to post any other questions you have, as there are a ton of guys who can get you the answers! By the way, drop by the Tiger Build. A bunch of guys are working on their Tamiya Tigers now.
IIRC, the Germans used the SdKfz designation to hide the fact that they were building military and/or armored vehicles between the wars. The Treaty of Versailles forbid such construction. I stand to be corrected on this one, so if anyone knows for sure, step right in.
Hmmm I don’t know if it was used to hide the natur of what they were building, I only know what the word means ( sonder kraftfarzeug = special purpose vehicle ) and it could be used in the way you surgests, so I find that very likely.
Sounds like you got your answers, garth. One minor correction, though. The first version was not always the A, and they didn’t necessarily increment after that. For instance, the Panther D (PzKpfw V) came first, then the A, then they skipped to the G model and were developing the F near the end of the war, but it never made it into production. Also, within a model, there were often many varients. You mentioned you had a Tiger I Late. There were also the Initial, Early, and Mid sub varients. But note that these labels were not used by the Germans. They were added by the Allies, enthusiasts, and modelers in an attempt to define and categorize all the wonderful, little things the Germans did to their tanks.
Good luck with all this. It’s really not too bad once you get used to it. (I, for one, don’t think I’ll ever be able to tell an M4A2 from an M4A3!)
Ha! You guys are awesome! I knew If I asked this question that you all would know[:)]
TMN1, where is it you are from? I checked out your profile, but it didn’t have a location. Eileen (my fiancé) and I are talking about going to France and Germany on our honeymoon. My family is from Germany, but right over the border from France where Alsace & Lorraine meet.
So, here is part two about why I never got into anything German. I know that it sounds stupid, but oh well. During WWI, my great Uncle Al was in US army intellignence as part of the 79th infantry division, 313th infantry regiment. He got the gig because where we immigrated from they both spoke French and German and they still spoke them on our family farm in Maryland.
I grew up listenning to his stories and he told me about how, after the Armistace, he walked out from the trenches and shook hands with they Germans they were shooting at just a day or so before. That side of my family is very proud of their heritage and I think maybe I get a lot from them.
Uncle Al’s stories were completely different than the stories of my grandfather and other great uncles. They all fought in WWII and would barely acknowledge that they had any German relatives. I don’t think that the war ever settled with them, not that it does for anyone who sees combat. For my Uncle Al, his memories of WWI seemed to be of sorrow and for my granfather and other uncles, their memories of WWII were of anger. I think that as a little kid the polarity of their stories rattled my brain a little too much.
Anyone else have a similar experience? Needless to say, I am getting excited about building this Tiger.
The German language requires the use of compound verbs to describe mechanical things such as tanks, machine guns, etc. Taht is why the names are sooooooo long.
Hmmmmm, I love my german class…so much fun, you can combine just about any combo of noun words into one, to describe one thing, it is AWESOME!!!
buttersaft, is my favorite one, i made it myself…it means butter juice…