Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche car company. He is best known for creating the first gasoline-electric hybrid vehicle (Lohner-Porsche), the Volkswagen Beetle, the Mercedes-Benz SS/SSK, several other important developments and Porsche automobiles. An important contributor to the German war effort during World War II, Porsche was involved in the production of advanced tanks such as the VK 4501 (P), Tiger I, Tiger II, Elefant, and Panzer VIII Maus, as well as other weapon systems, including the V-1 flying bomb. Porsche was a member of the
Tiger II from research, training, and a five-tank attachment to the Panzer Lehr, the Tiger II was only issued to heavy tank battalions ("schwere Panzer-Abteilungen") of the German Army ("Heer"), or "Waffen-SS". A standard battalion ("Abteilung") comprised 45 tanks: Units that used the Tiger II were as follows: Early Tiger IIs proved unreliable, owing principally to leaking seals and gaskets, and an overburdened drive train originally intended for a lighter vehicle. The double radius steering gear was initially particularly prone to failure. Lack of crew training could amplify this problem; drivers originally given only limited training on other tanks were often sent