Of the various weapons used during the Second World War, a number became famous and a few became household words, known to even those with no special interest in the weapons of war. Spitfire, Zero, Mustang, and a few others, are quickly recognized by a great number of people, even if the exact aircraft type is forgotten. In the West, there are probably only two tanks that ever reached this level of public familiarity; the American Sherman and the German Tiger. The Tiger tank became a legend, partly through the efforts of the German propaganda machine, but, more importantly, because for nearly three years it was the most feared and respected of all German tanks. For over two years, no Allied tank could match its capabilities. Its combination of armor protection, firepower, and maneuverability made the Tiger the "Queen of Battle" and, even at the end of the war, there were few Allied tanks that could challenge a Tiger on even terms. Work on the tank that would eventually emerge as the Tiger began during 1937, when the firm of Henschel und Sohn in Kassel, Germany, was directed to design a 30-33 ton tank as a replacement for the PzKpfw IV (which was just entering service). After one test vehicle was built, work was suspended on the prototype DW I (Durchbruchswagen -breakthrough vehicle) to allow Henschel to shift its assets to work on the VK.6501, a 65-ton heavy tank which was a progressive development of the pre-war Neubaufahrzeuge heavy tanks. In the event after construction of two prototypes, this project was cancelled and work was resumed on the DW I.
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