This testing encountered severe obstacles connected with the extremely low reliability of the chassis elements, engine, and transmission. It was determined that 860 liters of fuel was sufficient for 90 km of movement over an dirt road, even though the vehicle's manual indicated that this amount of fuel should have been sufficient for 120 km. Fuel consumption per 100 km was 970 liters instead of the 700 liters according to this same (captured) manual. Average rate of movement along the highway was 25-30 km/h, 13.4-15 km/h along an dirt road. The average speed when moving over rough terrain was even worse: 6-7 km/h. The maximum speed, given as 41.5 km/h in the tank's technical documentation, was never even once achieved in the maneuverability tests.
Esto fue muy criticado por muchos foristas, pero la realidad es que se encuentran comentarios similares en informes alemanes:
Soldiers of the fuel section of the battalion during a formation. These soldiers were kept very busy satisfying the "thirst" of a Tiger [I}, which consumed 500 liters of fuel for every 500 kilometers of cross country movement. (Pag 219)
A march unit composed of the 2nd Company, Tiger Tank Battalion 503, in the spring of 1943. The Tigers take a maintenance halt. Maintenace halts were proscribed for every two hours of march and lasted thirty minutes. (Pag 226)
The combat history of German tank battalion 203 in World War 2
Maximum speed for the Tiger-I decreased to 37.8km/h and for the Tiger-II to 34.6km/h after November 1943 when HL 230 motor was regulated not to exceed 2500rpm.
Tiger-I and II combat tactics.
Por cierto, existe un informe alemán que indica que el consumo es 8-10 litros/km y no 5. Creo que estaba en un libro de Jentz ¿Alguien sabe qué volumen?
The M.G.34/40 has very many stoppages. Because the loader is mostly busy with the main gun and has little time to clear stoppages, the machinegun unfortunately must be completely abaondoned. Please consider if the M.G.42 can be mounted in the Panzers. The higher ammunition expenditure is bearable.
Otro problema es que estaba muy cerca del cañón, y era complicada recargarla.