The Henschel VK 4501 (H) H1 prototype was accepted after evaluation, primarily because the Porsche VK 4501 (P) prototype design used a petrol-electric transmission system that required large amounts of copper for the manufacture of its electrical drivetrain components, a strategic war material of which Germany had limited supplies. Porsche developed an improved version of its VK 3001 (P) prototype (which was originally intended to compete for the Panther contract), while Henschel developed two prototypes: a VK 4501 (H) H1 with an 8.8 cm L/56 cannon and a VK 4501 (H) H2 with a 7.5 cm L/70 cannon.
Henschel and Ferdinand Porsche were ordered on May 26, 1941, to submit proposals for a 45-ton heavy tank that would be available by June 1942. It was expensive to maintain but mechanically reliable, contrary to what most online sources suggest.
It offered the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle equipped with the 88 mm KwK 36 tank gun (developed from the 88 mm Flak36). The Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausfuehrung H1 (Tiger H1) was the first (early-production) variant of the Tiger I heavy tank family, designed and built by Henschel and used by the German Army during World War II.
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