This heavy assault weapon is called “the best self-propelled gun of the Second World War.” This armored “brand” is known to everyone. Although only 90 Ferdinands were produced (8.8 cm Pak 43/2 Sfl L/71 Panzerjäger Tiger (P) Ferdinand - this tank destroyer received this designation in honor of its creator Ferdinand Porsche by personal order of Hitler), its name became a common noun - on the Soviet-German front, “Ferdinands” were any German self-propelled guns with a rear-mounted fighting compartment. Renamed "Elephant" (Elefant für 8.8 cm Sturmgeschütz Porsche) after modernization in February 1944, this assault gun distinguished itself on both the Western and Eastern Fronts - a powerful 88 mm cannon and 200 mm frontal armor made it a deadly enemy, capable of hitting any Allied armored vehicles at a distance of over a kilometer, and almost invulnerable to return fire. Maxim Kolomiets’ bestseller restores the history of the creation and combat use of the legendary self-propelled gun from the Kursk Bulge to the Nikopol bridgehead and from the Italian campaign to Berlin, where the last two “Elephants” "were captured by our troops on May 1, 1945. Of particular interest is the analysis of their combat effectiveness - by comparing German reports on destroyed Soviet tanks with the real figures of losses of the Red Army, the author proves that the victorious accounts of the Ferdinands are greatly inflated. COLLECTOR'S EDITION on top-quality coated paper, illustrated with hundreds of exclusive drawings and photographs.