Comparing: Heavy Tank No. VI vs. Tiger I

In 1943, the Japanese ambassador to Germany attended Henschel's field trials of the Tiger. After that, the company was ordered to transfer all tank documentation to Japan. One disassembled Tiger was sent to Bordeaux on October 14, 1943, to be delivered to Japan by submarine. However, the vehicle was never delivered, and the Japanese were never able to establish their own production of Tigers. This enterprise cost 645,000 Reichsmarks to Japan, while the original cost was 300,000 Reichsmarks.

Development of the Tiger I was started in 1937 by the Henschel company. Mass production began in 1942, with an eventual total of 1,354 vehicles manufactured. The tank first saw combat in the fighting for Leningrad, and Tigers were at the forefront of battles from Tunisia to Kursk. Although production was discontinued in the summer of 1944, the Tiger I continued to see action until the end of the war.