KingTigerZip.zip

Vincent "MEGA" Crane

This modification replaces the default Tiger I with the King Tiger (Tiger II). The user has a choice of installing one of 3 "high resolution-512" versions Also included with each new skin is a damaged version with open hatches simulating crew escape. 

Also included is an option to allow you to reinstall the original default Tiger (Tiger I).
 
Installation
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Before installing this, or any other, custom modification, you are advised to make a backup of your original ww2.sqs archive. 

This distribution includes high resolution (512x512) textures. If this high resolution skin is installed on a system with an inadequate video card, a crash to desktop will likely occur during the game.

Instructions

Extract the contents of this archive to the WWII Fighters\Data directory.  Assuming the
default installation, this is: C:\Program Files\Jane's Combat Simulations\WWII Fighters\Data

The files will be extracted to a new directory WWII Fighters\Data\KingTigerV2.

Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the WWII Fighters\Data\KingTigerV2.

To install the Standard KingTiger Version 2 Modification double-click on the install_King_512... icon.
     
To install the Winter KingTiger Version 2 Modification double-click on the install_Winter_512... icon.

To install the Dark KingTiger Version 2 Modification double-click on the install_Dark_512... icon.

To reinstall the original Tiger I- double-click on the Restore icon.

Any of the above selections will open up a DOS session and the installation will proceed in this window.  When the installation is complete, a message saying "DONE...CLOSE DOS SESSION" will be displayed in the window.  Close the DOS session by clicking on the X close button in the top right corner of the window.

Installation is now complete.

Historical Perspective

The 75 ton Tiger II was armed with the very accurate 88mm KwK 43 L71 tank gun. This 21 foot gun had an effective range of over 6 miles. The rounds for the 88mm gun weighed almost 44 pounds resulting in a relatively slow rate of fire. It was was able to knock out Sherman, Cromwell and T-34/85 tanks at a range of 2.2 miles, far beyond the range of enemy guns. In addition, Tiger II was equipped with turret mounted Nahverteidigungswaffe (90mm NbK 39 close-in defense weapon). 

The 5 man crew (commander, gunner, loader, driver and radio operator/bow gunner) was protected by thick sloping armor (4 inches thick in the front hull) and only a few weapons were actually able to destroy it at even close range. There are no records or photographs to prove that the Tiger II's frontal armor was ever penetrated in combat. Its side armor could be penetrated by Allied armor (e.g. Sherman Firefly). 

    "One day a Tiger Royal tank got within 150 yards of my tank and knocked me out. Five of our tanks opened up on him from ranges of 200 to 600 yards and got five or six hits on the front of the Tiger. They all just glanced off and the Tiger backed off and got away. If we had a tank like Tiger, we would all be home today." 

   - Report by tank commander   Sergeant Clyde D. Brunson 
                                2nd Armored Division, 1945.  

King Tigers were issued to heavy tank battalions of both the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS and were employed as early as February 1944. The majority went to Wehrmacht units, while some 150 were assigned to the Waffen SS. The first five production King Tigers were issued to Panzer Lehr Division but were not used in combat. Only two companies of schwere Panzer Abteilung 503, equipped with Tiger II tanks, were committed to the fighting in Normandy, where their mechanical problems proved fatal and, by the end of August 1944, all were lost. Tiger II tanks of schwere Panzer Abteilung 506 saw combat during the "Market Garden" operation in Holland in 1944. King Tigers also took part in the Ardennes Offensive, serving with schwere SS Panzer Abteilung 501 (Kampfgruppe Peiper).

Most photos utilized in the construction of the 3D model were of a vehicle from Kampfgruppe Peiper. This tank with turret number 332 was abandoned by its crew near the village of Trois Point and was captured by US Army on December 24th of 1944. It was then moved to Spa and eventually ended up in Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. In 1992, it was moved to Patton Museum at US Army Armor School at Fort Knox, Kentucky. 
 
Only 489 production vehicles out of the original 1,500 ordered were produced. Production was delayed by the overall war situation and bombing raids on the Henschel factory at Kassel, which left it in ruins. 

Designer's Notes

I prepared this modification to capture one of the more interesting and visually appealing vehicles that took part in the Ardennes offensive. It is a large vehicle- large enough that it's shape should be recognizable from a distance in the game. So many vehicles are small and appear as little more than specks until you are right on them. Moreover, the high resolution skin allows for a much greater degree of detail- including the Zemmerit- which makes for a very appealing texture. (King Tigers produced from January to September 1944 were coated with Zimmerit anti-magnetic mine paste). You'll never really appreciate the detail just flying over this vehicle. I'm counting on the mission designers to make effective use of the cinema function. 

The Version 2 J3 models are all mine and are aimed at taking the "boxiness" out of the armor in this game. This was accomplished by utilizing many more polygons than previous vehicle mods. 

I wish I could take credit for the three fantastic skins that really makes this mod. In truth, the skins were developed by Dainius Kartanas (standard), Gordon Molek (Dark), and the winter skin was adapted from a JagTiger skin developed by Maximus Pud Pullus. I simply downloaded the 10 or so bitmaps for each skin from the "Combat Mission HQ" site (http://www.combatmission.com/mods/germantanks.asp) and compiled them into a single high resolution bitmap.  Much of the historical perspective and most of the photos upon which this mod is based were taken from the "Achtung Panzer- Vehicles of the Wehrmacht" website (http://www.achtungpanzer.com/pz5.htm)


MEGA

