First Tigers near Leningrad When it was introduced, the Tiger was the most powerful tank in the world. The 88mm gun was extremely powerful and the heavy armor made it almost impervious to attack. Even though its fearsomeness was to grow to almost mythical proportions, its combat debut was less than impressive. The first 4 Tigers to see combat were sent to the Leningrad area in August of 1942. Unfortunately they were deployed single file over swampy terrain and in their first day of combat all