Ferdinand
Ferdinand
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[Client Values; Actual values in
2,570,000  Cost |
| 1500300 HP Hit Points |
| 65.9/66.425.25/68.95 t Weight Limit |
- Commander
- Radio Operator
- Driver
- Gunner
- Loader
- Loader
| 600840 hp Engine Power |
| 30/10 km/h Speed Limit |
| 1821 deg/s Traverse |
| 9.133.27 hp/t Power/Wt Ratio |
| YesYes Pivot |
| // mm Hull Armor |
AP/APCR/HE
AP/APCR/HE Shells |
252/4400/252
1070/4800/935 Shell Cost |
| 240/240/295490/490/630 HP Damage |
| 203/237/44246/311/65 mm Penetration |
|
9.84 r/m ▲
5.13 r/m Standard Gun ▲ Rate of Fire Standard Gun |
|
2361.6 ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲
2513.7 Standard Gun ▲
Standard Gun
▼
Standard Gun
▲ Damage Per Minute Standard Gun |
|
0.32 m ▲
0.35 m With 50% Crew: 0.396 m ▲ Accuracy With 50% Crew: 0.434 m |
| 2.3 s 2.3 s Aim time |
| 2626 deg/s Gun Traverse Speed |
| 30° Gun Arc |
| -8°/+14°-8°/+14° Elevation Arc |
| 5030 rounds Ammo Capacity |
| 2015 % Chance of Fire |
| 370 m 370 m View Range |
| 415 m 710 m Signal Range |
Additional Statistics
(Top Configuration)
Camouflage
- Stationary: 11.1%
- When Moving: 6.9%
- When Firing: 2%
Terrain Resistance
- On Hard Ground: 1.06
- On Medium Ground: 1.63
- On Soft Ground: 2.78
Dispersion Change Values
- Turret Contribution
- Rotation: 0.08
- Shot Recoil: 2.88
- Suspension Contribution
- Acceleration: 0.19
- Turning: 0.19
With 100% Crew
VIII
2570000
The Ferdinand is a German tier 8 tank destroyer.
Developed on the basis of the Porsche Tiger, with a total of 90 vehicles produced in April and May 1943. They first saw combat in the Battle of Kursk (Operation Citadel).
Widely known in real life as "Elefant", it is a slow but powerful Tank destroyer, reasonably well-protected for its class, the Ferdinand can be an intimidating opponent & can utilize its armor to engage enemies more closely than most tank destroyers, assuming they are firing AP ammo. The Ferdinand's mantlet is extremely strong, but not invincible, & the rather big target silhouette means that you will have a lot harder time hiding than in the Jagdpanther. However, upgraded with the 12,8 cm PaK 44 L/55, you pack quite a lot more punch than the Jagdpanther, & will be able to terrorize tanks & support pretty much every tier heavy tanks from distant positions. The Ferdinand should not be taken lightly as an opponent.
Many players compare this tank with its twin, the Jagdpanther II as it carries the same guns, but keep in mind the Ferdinand puts emphasis on raw armor thickness & survivability, allowing it to soak up hits more often, & take more shots. While being slower than the Jagdpanther II, it makes up with the very good gun traverse, superior gun arc as well as better gun depression, requiring to move much less than a Jagdpanther II when readjusting the aim against an enemy.
The Ferdinand leads to the Jagdtiger.
Modules / Available Equipment and Consumables
Modules
Guns
| Tier | Gun | Penetration (mm) |
Damage (HP) |
Rate of fire (rounds/minute) |
Dispersion (m/100m) |
Aiming time (s) |
Weight (kg) |
Price (  )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIII | 10,5 cm Pak L/52 | 200/244/60 | 320/320/420 | 7.32 | 0.34 | 1.7 | 3000 | 116490 | |
| VIII | 8,8 cm Pak 43 L/71 | 203/237/44 | 240/240/295 | 9.84 | 0.32 | 2.3 | 2562 | 112180 | |
| X | 12,8 cm Pak 44 L/55 | 246/311/65 | 490/490/630 | 5.13 | 0.35 | 2.3 | 3480 | 310000 |
Engines
| Tier | Engine | Engine Power (hp) |
Chance of Fire on Impact (%) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VI | 2x Porsche Typ 100/1 | 600 | 20 | 670 | 29900 | |
| VII | 2x Porsche Typ 100/3 | 670 | 20 | 720 | 39850 | |
| VIII | Porsche Deutz Typ 180/2 | 840 | 15 | 720 | 45300 |
Suspensions
| Tier | Suspension | Load Limit (т) |
Traverse Speed (gr/sec) |
Rmin | Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VII | Ferdinand | 66.4 | 18 | 0 | 20750 | 18860 | |
| VIII | Elefant | 68.95 | 21 | 0 | 20550 | 32234 |
Radios
| Tier | Radio | Signal Range (m) |
Weight (kg) |
Price ( )
| |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VI | FuG 7 | 415 | 70 | 8160 | |
| IX | FuG 12 | 710 | 150 | 43200 |
Compatible Equipment
Compatible Consumables
Player Opinion
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Thick frontal armor & great gun mantlet, useful when top tier.
- Very high HP for a TD since patch 9.13 (1500HP, equal in hitpoints to the IS-3).
- Superior gun depression and gun traverse arc than the Jagdpanther II
- Decent maneuverability once upgraded with top engine, only a bit behind Jagdpanther II power/weight ratio wise
- Has 2 loaders, allowing smooth transition to the JagdTiger
Cons:
- Absurdly underpowered stock engine makes the stock grind frustrating
- Big & boxy silhouette, extremely prone to flanking & sniping
- Terrible camoflauge values
- While reasonably thick, the front armor has practically no slope at all
- Inferior to Jagdpanther II in terms of mobility.
Performance
With a front & superstructure bolstered with 200mm of armor, as well as its powerful top gun, this tank functions very well as a hull down sniper. Tier 6, 7, & even some tier 8 tanks are going to have some major problems penetrating you from the front, but your armor is no match for gold shells, especially of tier 9 & 10 tanks. You're not particularly fast, nor can you turn very quickly, thankfully however it is a bit more agile than the American T28 of the same tier, so it is not quite as easy to flank.
Unlike the Jagdpanther II, which promotes an Aggressive hit-and-run-like playstyle, the Ferdinand, with its mediocre top speed & rather poor (but not the worst when upgraded) hull traverse, promotes a brawler/Defensive playstyle (defensive especially when stock) like the American T40. However unlike the T40, the Ferdinand boasts thick frontal armor, all that a Ferdinand driver has to do is cover the lower glacis.
The 8,8 cm from the Jagdpanther proves very useful when top tier, as it does not suffer from a sluggish reload (it actually reloads pretty quickly & can give you a jump on unsuspecting players that peek out at you one too many times!), & is able to penetrate tier 6 tanks easily & will have little issue with tier 7s, the 8,8 cm & 10,5 cm will also not have much issue against most tier 8s, especially if weakspots are focused upon. The Alpha of the 8,8 cm is sufficient for the most part against tier 6, 7, & some tier 8 tanks as well, but if it does feel unsatisfactory, the 10,5 cm is an alternative option. However, the Jpanthers guns effectiveness are greatly hampered against tier 9s & are rendered nearly useless to the Ferdinand against tier 10s. This is not because the Jpanthers guns cannot penetrate tier 9s & 10s (which they actually can depending on the target tank.), but that the Ferdinand is too sluggish to get into a position where it can penetrate these tiers with them.
In synopsis:
When Top Tier (without the 12,8 cm gun):
- Pick a position from which can provide your Ferdinand not only good cover for the lower glacis but also has a good view on a choke point. This will give you plenty of shot opportunities on enemy vehicles without having to relocate for a while (unless an arty can get a shot on you, even then you have enough hitpoints to take a few indirect hits.)
- Use your hitpoints to overmatch enemies when necessary, but remember you are quite slow to turn, try to avoid face-hugging proximity bouts.
- The Ferdinand's armor gives it a distinct edge at medium and long-range distance firefights, do not forget to use this to your advantage, but remember that the lower glacis is weak.
When not Top Tier (Without the 12,8 cm gun):
- Tier 9s (if fully upgraded) and especially tier 10s will have no trouble at all overpowering your armor, your best bet is to go to the front that will likely see more vulnerable targets.
- If that is not an option, keep your distance and wait for opportunities to present themselves, a tier 10 that exposes their side to your from your position can still be penetrated!
- As stated above, patience can be a virtue with the Ferdinand in these situations, wait for faster tanks to cross your line of fire or for them to expose themselves to a shot or two from your gun.
Early Research
You will have unlocked the 10,5 cm K 18 L/52 gun on the Jagdpanther. If you have gone through the Tiger (P), you will also have unlocked the first engine upgrade. Ideally, you should mount both of these as soon as possible. However, mounting both will take you close to the weight limit of the stock suspension. The gun, in particular, will make it impossible to even mount a gun-rammmer. Therefore it is strongly advised to mount enhanced torsion-bars, or use xp to unlock the upgraded suspension.
- Once you have improved your suspension you should mount both the upgraded engine &/or the 10.5 cm gun, depending on which you have already unlocked (both if you played both lines) & mount the other as soon as you have the necessary experience.
- Soon enough you will find the 10,5 cm to be somewhat lacking for a tier VIII tank destroyer, so your priority should be acquiring the devastating & feared 12,8 cm PaK 44 L/55. It will dramatically improve your combat effectiveness.
- Engine upgrades should be considered your highest priority after you get the 12,8 cm gun . Ferdinand shares its engine upgrades with Tiger P & VK4502 (P) Ausf. A&B.
- Top of the line radio is shared with multitude of other German tanks.
Suggested Equipment
Gallery
Historical Info
Elefant is the common name of a German tank-destroyer of World War II. The official German designation was Panzerjäger Tiger (P). The ordnance inventory designation was Sd. Kfz. 184.
The Elefant (German "elephant") was a "Schwerer Panzerjäger" (heavy tank-destroyer) of the German Wehrmacht, initially built under the additional name Ferdinand, after their designer Ferdinand Porsche, before it was changed to Elefant.
Development
The design evolved from cruder, improvised designs of 1941–42, as well as the later, but still defective, Marder designs. The chassis was created from the 90 Porsche Tiger I models already built with new tracks and an all-steel wheel arrangement. Suspension consisted of six twin bogies with longitudinal torsion bars. The engines were placed in the middle of the hull to give room for the armament at the rear in a simple, casemate-style box structure, with slightly sloped sides, on top of this chassis. The engines drove electric generators, which in turn powered electric motors connected to the rear sprockets. Porsche had experience in this form of petrol-electric transmission extending back to 1901, when he designed a car that used it.
The driver and radio operator were in a separate compartment at the front. Surprisingly, the "slack track" setup on the "Porsche Tiger" chassis, on which the Elefant vehicles are based, at first glance appears to have used two drive sprockets per track; where the frontmost wheel is sprocketed, just as the rear drive sprocket is, and the innermost surface of the front sprocket, nearest the hull, seems to have had a drum brake fitted to act as the track brake.
The vehicle was fitted with an 88 mm Panzerabwehrkanone (PaK) 43/2 L/71 gun. The L/71 had originally been developed as a replacement for the famous 88 mm anti-aircraft gun that had been used against Allied tanks in the Western Desert Campaign, although it was never fielded as an anti-aircraft weapon. The L/71 had a much longer barrel than the L/56 Flak 18 and Flak 36 guns, which gave it a higher muzzle velocity. It also fired a different, longer cartridge. These improvements gave the 88 mm L/71 significantly improved armor penetration ability over the earlier 88 mm. As fitted, the gun was capable of only 25° traverse and a similarly limited elevation.
Production
Porsche AG had manufactured about one hundred chassis for their proposed version of the Tiger tank, the "Porsche Tiger" in the Nibelungenwerk factory in Sankt Valentin, Austria, with both Henschel and Porsche chassis using the same Krupp-designed turret: the Henschel design having its turret more-or-less centrally located on its hull, with the Porsche design placing the turret much nearer the front of the superstructure. Since the competing Henschel Tiger design was chosen for production, the Porsche chassis' were no longer required for the Tiger tank project. It was therefore decided that the Porsche chassis' were to be used as the basis of a new heavy tank-destroyer, mounting Krupp's newly developed 88 mm Pak 43/2 anti-tank gun. This precise long-range weapon was supposed to take out enemy tanks before they reached their own range of effective fire. Ninety-one chassis were converted (chassis number 150010 to 150100).
The two Porsche air-cooled engines in each vehicle were replaced by two 300 hp Maybach HL 120 TRM engines powering two generators that drove two electric motors which, in turn, powered the drive sprockets. The electric motors also acted as the vehicle's steering unit. This so called "petro-electrical" drive delivered 0.11 km/l off road and 0.15 km/l on road at a maximum speed of 10 km/h off road and 30 km/h on road. Besides the high fuel consumption and the poor performance, the drive system was also maintenance-intensive: the sprockets, for example, had to be changed every 500 km.
Add-on armor of 100 mm was bolted to the front plates, increasing the plate's thickness to 200 millimeters and adding another 5 tons of weight. The large, fixed casemate-style housing for the gun and most of the vehicle's crew was mounted in the rear end of the vehicle. As the engines were placed in the middle, the radio operator and the driver were separated from the rest of the crew and could be addressed only through radio. The work was completed in just a few months from March to May 1943.
In September 1943, all surviving Ferdinands were recalled to be modified based on battle experience gained in the Battle of Kursk. During October and November 1943, 48 of the 50 surviving vehicles were modified by the addition of a ball-mounted MG 34 in the hull front (to improve anti-infantry ability), a commander's cupola (modified from the standard StuG III cupola) for improved vision, and the application of Zimmerit paste. This and other minor armor changes increased the weight from 65 to 70 t. These improved vehicles were then unofficially called Elefant, and this became the official name by Hitler's orders of May 1, 1944.
Five Bergepanzer Tiger (P) armored recovery vehicles were converted in Autumn 1943. Three from Tiger (P) prototypes, and two more from battle-damaged Ferdinands and not suitable for the Elefant modification.
Usage
The units were deployed at a company level, sometimes sub-divided into platoons, with infantry or tanks to protect the vulnerable flanks of the vehicles. On the attack, this Jagdpanzer was a first-strike vehicle, while in defense, they often comprised a mobile reserve used to blunt enemy tank assaults.
Combat history
All but two of the 91 available Ferdinands were put to use in the Battle of Kursk, the first combat the Ferdinand saw. Although they destroyed many Russian tanks, they performed quite poorly in other respects. Within the first four days, nearly half of the vehicles were out of service, mostly due to technical problems and mine-damage to tracks and suspensions. Actual combat losses to direct Soviet action were very low as the Ferdinand's very thick armor protected it from almost all Soviet antitank weaponry. However, at this point in its development, the Ferdinand lacked a machine gun or any secondary armament, making it vulnerable to attack by infantry. Most total losses of the Ferdinand occurred during the Soviet counter-offensive after the Kursk offensive, as many damaged Ferdinands had to be abandoned as they were too heavy to tow and others were lost to mechanical breakdown during the retreat. The surviving vehicles saw further limited action on the Dniepr front during late 1943.
At this point they were recalled and modified at the works in Austria and received the name Elefant. While the modifications improved the vehicles, some problems could never be fully fixed. In 1944, Elefants served on the Italian front, but were rendered rather ineffective, as their weight of nearly 70 tons did not allow them to use most Italian roads and bridges. Due to a permanent lack of spare parts, most of the units were not destroyed in battle, but abandoned and blown up by their own crews. One company of Ferdinands saw action during the Soviet's January 1945 Vistula-Oder Offensive in Poland, and the very last surviving vehicles were in combat at Zossen during the Battle of Berlin.
The Ferdinand/Elefant might well have been the most successful tank destroyer employed during the war in kills per loss, reaching an average ratio of approximately 10:1. During the Battle of Kursk, the sPzJagAbt 653 claims to have knocked out 320 enemy tanks at the price of 13 Ferdinands. This impressive average ratio was due to its extreme firepower and protection, which gave it an enormous advantage when used in head-on combat or a static defensive role. However, poor mobility and mechanical unreliability greatly diminished its offensive capability.
Historical Gallery
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Historical Accuracy Errata
The 8,8 cm Pak 43 was the Ferdinand's primary armament throughout its service. There were never any plans to replace it.
- The 12,8 cm Pak 44 L/55 gun breech is too big to fit into the Ferdinand's fighting compartment.
