These turrets were manufactured even though the VK45.02(P) was subsequently not selected for production. The first 50 production examples carried a turret with a rounded front face, designed and built by Krupp for the Porsche VK45.02(P) prototype.The Tiger Ausf.B was fitted with two different turret designs: Production continued until March 1945 when Henschel's Kassel plant was overrun by Allied forces. The first prototype was delivered in December 1943 but only small numbers were manufactured until mid-1944. Around that time, Henschel produced their own design, which was subsequently reworked in early 1943 to incorporate as many features as possible from the M.A.N.-designed Panther II. Initial design work began as early as August 1942, and resulted in the Porsche Type 180 which, due to technical difficulties, was canceled in November of that year. Armed with an 8.8cm KwK 43 L/71 main gun and with armor up to 185mm thick, it presented a serious threat to any opposing armored vehicle. At 69.8 metric tons, the Tiger Ausf.B was significantly heavier than the Soviet IS-2 and US M26 at 46 tons each.
The Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf.B, also known as Tiger B, Tiger II, King Tiger, Königstiger or Royal Tiger, was the heaviest and arguably the most powerful tank to see combat service in World War 2 (though it was eclipsed in weight by its tank destroyer derivative, the Jagdtiger). King Tiger Late Production Sd.Kfz.182 2 in 1
