Schwere Panzerjager Abteilung 653, Neustadt April 1945 - The Jagdtiger, officially known as the Panzerjäger Tiger Ausf. B, was the heaviest operational tank ever fielded on the battlefield in ww2. This was the culmination of an evolution started in 1940 with the Jagdpanzer-I, a Czech 47 mm gun mounted on a Panzer-I. The process started again in late 1941 when it was painfully discovered that the latest Soviet tanks can’t be dealt with the existing battle tank, the 50 mm armed Panzer III. Many chassis were used, including those of the mightiest tanks like the Tiger. Eventually only around 70 to 88 of these heavy tank hunters has been converted by Nibelungenwerk in 1944-45. With 71.7 tonnes (158,000 lb) with the Henschel suspension they featured a 12.8 cm PaK 44 L/55 able to penetrate the frontal armour of a Soviet IS-2, while imprevious to any caliber in existence thanks to a staggering 50 to 250 mm of armour (10 in).