I've got a pair of King Tigers by Revell (1/72). One is the Porsche turret, the other is the Henshel turret. Is zimmerit required on either vehicle, or did they exist in action without zimmerit?

On the porsche turret yes, the henschel turret no. There were two proto-types with the porsche turrets that didn't have any, but there were a few other differences between them and the production KT's

Mike

OK, so if I understand you, I can build the Porsche turret without zimmerit but the Henschel turret has to have it?

On porsche turret zimmerit is a must, while on the henschel it is not. If my memory serves me right, the Germans stopped using zimmerit by September 1944; if the KT (Henschel) you want to make is supposed to be made after said date, then you could opt not to apply zimmerit. I hope this helps...

Cheers

And I can only confirm what's being said above... :-)

Zimmerit for sure on the Porsche turret, your choice on the Henschel. Opt for the no zimmerit....this will really showcase the pair...paint them a different scheme too

Depends on the time frame early Henshel KT also had Zimm applied to it

What on earth is zimmerit???

Drabslab, Zimmerit was an anti-magnetic paste applied to many German AFVs. It's function was to stop magnetic charges being placed on the vehicle by (mainly) Russian Infantry. It was spread on and then 'hardened' by the application of heat. The vehicle was then painted on top as normal. You'll see it on a great number of German vehicle models...Jim

Thanks Jim.

You'll see, one is never to old to learn something new.

For all the "Jim's" on this site and all others:

This is what makes armorama great.

I have been visiting sites and forums where somebody "asking a stupid question" would have been bombarded with idiotic replies from laughing "experts" making the poor fellow feel like a total idiot for "not knowing".

On armorama, one gets a nice informative reply.

Just Great

Drabslab,
Zimmerritte was used for about 12mths it differed in desing depending on the tank/place of appication some had a waffle design some had square/vertical design but the most common was the horizontal style most commonly seen on the Pz4 and tigers.
There were a few reasons why it stopped being used as fuel supples got tighter the added weight of the Zimm gave the tank poorer fuel performace and it also burned very well when the tank was hit making it harder for the crew to escape. It also took time to apply and cure so slowed the supply of tanks to the front down a little and with the advent of handheld hollow charge weapons like the Bazzoka and Panzerfaust (which the Russians used in great no's when they captured them) it propally rendered Zimmerite obsolete.

As a footnote to the Zimmerit saga, you have to wonder why the German's bothered with anti-magnetic mine paste at all. The Russians didn't use magnetic mines, their main hollow-charge weapon (before they captured and copied the Panzerfaust) was this hand-grenade

http://www.inert-ord.net/russ02i/rpg43/

Dave,

I heard the Germans had a habit of developing counter measures to weapons they developed whether the enemy had the technology or not. Zimmerit is a good case in point. They had magnetic mines deployed and had to assume that the opposing forces would deploy them too. Therefore they developed the zimmerit.

Just an aside.

Shaun

Another possible explanation for the discontinuation of Zimmerit is the bombing of the Zimmer factory (the only place making the compound) in 1944.

Plus the extra man hours needed to coat the tank and the shift from offensive to defensive tactics (tanks firing from ambush and not attacking enemy positions, therefore less likely to be attacked by tank hunter teams) may have all played a part in the cessation of Zim application.

Hi Guys,

I am currently working on a 1:18 scale Tiger late model and learned that it had to have Zimmerit.
So, I studied that topic a lot in the recent weeks. This is what I have found out:
German tanks DID fall victim to brave Russian tank killer teams using magnetic mines. I have read it on several different occasions in books as well as on the web. Still, that doesn't necessarily make it true, I know.
The Germans stopped Zimmerit for two reasons that I found (Again, in books and on the web):
1) It supposedly caught fire, but that was never really backed up.
2) The Germans were driven in a far more defensive position, using their panzers in a much different way than in a "Blitzkrieg" scenario. In that situation the danger of infantry coming close and slapping magnetic mines on the tanks wasn't so accute.
That's what I keep encountering. Again, that doesn't make it true and previous messages sound very plausible as well I must say. Especially the one about the development of anti tank weapons.

Frans

Someone who thinks big like me!! How 'bout some pics Joker?? Would love to see it!

See for pics in my gallerie. But those are "Before" pics. I am still working on the Tiger. It was a ready to display model from 21st Century toys.
I looked in your gallery. Great work man! Loved the "Crossing the line" Kursk Diorama!

Frans/Joker

no!
but most had it!
Ron

Actually Ron that's not quite correct. I don't have the exact numbers in front of me, but looking at the monthly production figures and knowing zim was discontinued in Sept '44, those with and those without zim were pretty close to being equal. Probably there were a few more without. It really comes down to if you want to model an early production or later production tank. Unless you are building one with the Porsche turret, and then all but the proto-types had zim. (but again early production)

Cheers,
Mike

With apologies I need to clarify something. In my previous post I was referring to a Tiger 1 E type that had to have zimmerit.
My post was more in reply to the history aspect of zimmerit in this thread than the actual question, namely if it was needed on a King tiger.
As numerous other repliers already stated, "No" I have seen numerous WW2 pics of King Tigers with and without zimmerit. The previous poster has it correct in my opinion.

Frans