Zimmerit was a paste-like coating used on mid- and late-war German armored fighting vehicles during World War II. It was used to produce a hard layer covering the metal armor of the vehicle, providing enough separation that magnetically attached anti-tank mines would fail to stick to the vehicle, despite Germany being the only country to use magnetic anti-tank mines in numbers. Zimmerit was often left off late-war vehicles due to the unfounded concern that it could catch fire when hit. It was developed by the German company Chemische Werke Zimmer & Co (Berlin).
Close view of Zimmerit on the corner of a Tiger II
Close view of Zimmerit on the glacis of a Tiger II
Stug III with waffle-pattern zimmerit, IWM Duxford museum collection.
Elefant was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand using VK 45.01 (P) tank hulls which had been produced for the Tiger I tank before the competing Henschel design had been selected.
Restored Elefant at the United States Army Ordnance Training and Heritage Center
A disabled Elefant in Italy, 1944
On the Anzio front, March 1944
The United States Army Ordnance Training Support Facility's restored Elefant