Ferdinand or Elefant (Sd.Kfz 184) was a German tank destroyer from the Second World War. The first prototypes of the vehicle were created in 1942, and serial production continued in 1943 only, ending with the production of only about 90 cars. Ferdinand was powered by two Maybach HL 120 TRM engines with 300 HP each. It was armed with 1 88 mm PaK 43 L / 71 gun and - later - 1 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun.
Ferdinand was created at Porsche and Alkett plants on the basis of the chassis of the Tiger heavy tank, which was not adopted for mass production, designed by the first company. Series production took place at the Nibelungenwerke plant in Steyr, Austria. The new tank destroyer had a great anti-tank gun, capable of destroying any armored vehicle of the Red Army or the Allies at the time. It was also very well armored - suffice it to say that from the front it was protected by 200 mm of steel, which made it unattainable for enemy vehicles at distances above 500 m. !) and at the beginning of his combat career he did not have a machine gun - later, at the end of 1943, it was changed. Ferdinands made their debut during the Battle of Kursk in July 1943 as part of the 656th Heavy Armored Cannon Regiment, where they destroyed nearly 320 enemy vehicles! However, they themselves suffered relatively high losses. After this battle, the surviving cars were transferred to Germany and modernized, e.g. before adding Zimmerite. After modernization, they fought primarily on the Eastern Front until the end of the war, with a brief episode (February-June 1944) on the Italian Front.
Fries 16 Ton (another name: Strabo 16 Ton) is a German gantry crane from the Second World War. The production of this device started in 1942 at the Fries und Son factory in Frankfurt. It is estimated that about 100 such devices of all versions were built in total. The Fries 16 Ton was created as a result of the desire to introduce much heavier tanks into service of the German armed forces, which were used until 1942. I am talking mainly about the Pz.Kpfw.V and the Pz.Kpfw.VI cars. This, in turn, required the German repair and repair units to have appropriate cranes, among others, which would enable effective repairs and lifting heavy elements, e.g. tank turrets. The Fries 16 Ton crane successfully met such needs, what is more, due to the fact that it was foldable, it could be easily transported by rail or road. It is worth adding that it was also used in operations with V2 rockets.