Dimensions are quoted in millimeters, because this is how the designers of the vehicle worked [1] . In the drawings, green dimensions are copied directly from German design drawings. Blue dimensions are obtained by surveying vehicles, measuring undimensioned drawings, etc. Therefore they can be a few millimeters wrong.
The locations of the axles are obscure, since they are hidden behind the wheels, and most wheels are offset by swing arms. The above diagram shows the holes made in the lower sides of the hull for the torsion bars and swing arms. [3] It relates all the axles to each other and to the bottom edge of the side plate. Note that the left and right sides of the vehicle are not mirror images.
The above diagrams show the lower front and lower rear of the hull in profile. The armour plates are related to the axles from the previous diagram. Note that the bottom of the hull sides does not coincide with the bottom of the hull plate, as explained elsewhere.
This diagram shows the main dimensions of the top plate of the hull, seen from above.
The above diagram shows a section through the vehicle. The battle tracks (Geländekette) and side mudguards are fitted. The main gun and front ports are also shown. The turret sits nominally 10mm above the hull top plate, but this gap could be as much as 25mm in practice. Dimensions are mostly from reference [4] .
This profile looks at the rear of the vehicle. The central axis of the engine is shown. On each side are the axes of the exhaust pipes. Ducts and pipes on these axes penetrated both the rear hull wall and the firewall. The large exhaust stacks on the outside rear plate were aligned with these axes.
This diagram shows the travel tracks (Verlandekette). The dimensions are quoted for a bare hull without external fittings. The height is given to the top armour plate of the hull, and it ignores projections (such as the superstructure front plate) that are higher. Tolerances in the suspension system allowed the lateral position of the track to vary by +/-15mm.
The manufacturers were allowed ±5mm leeway for the main plates, and it seems from examining real vehicles that they sometimes exceeded this amount; we know of one surviving Tiger that is 3160mm wide.
The above diagram shows a profile of the suspension. A road wheel, facing you, sits on the track. The torsion bar positions behind it are shown, as is the hull's base armour plate. The position of its swing arm is drawn for when the vehicle is sitting at its designed ground clearance. The radius of the swing arms was long a mystery but has now been measured as 400mm [5] . This implies that the wheels on the far side of the vehicle from you are normally about 40mm to the right of the near ones, as shown here. Of course, if the vehicle's height above ground should alter, this difference would change. For example, I observed that the vehicle at Bovington, when stripped of its turret and engine, sat about 75mm higher at the rear than designed.
We know from both British and Russian drawings that the tracks were 100mm thick; this does not include the cleats that were added to the later tracks. For the later tracks, add 5mm to all dimensions measured from the ground.
[1] Factory drawing: Turmgehause 2AKF31861U1B12 (turret front plates)
[3] Survey of vehicle 250122, Bovington, by David Byrden
[4] Der Panzerkampfwagen VI und seine abarten, Walter J. Spielberger, Motor Buch Verlag
[5] Survey of wreckage at Saumur, by Jean-Charles Breucque