Can a tank really submerge in water and cross a river? The case of the Tiger in Prime Video’s ‘The Tank’

‘The Tank’ (original title: ‘Der Tiger’) is a 2025 war film that is causing a sensation on Prime Video. It is a military drama that follows the crew of a German Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger tank on the Eastern Front. In one scene in the film, the soldiers completely submerge the Tiger tank in a river to hide from another Soviet armored vehicle. However, this seemingly surreal sequence has led many to wonder if this was possible. We’ll give you the answer right away: yes, it was possible, but with many caveats.

‘Der Tiger’ and submarine tanks: unusual in World War II, but not entirely impossible

About halfway through the film ‘The Tank’, the main group, piloting a Tiger I tank, makes eye contact with a terrifying SU-100 tank destroyer from the Soviet Union. Fearing their imminent destruction from a single but accurate hit, the crew makes a drastic decision: to submerge the tank in a river long enough to hide their presence.

A member of the team openly expresses his concern to the commander, mentioning that the function has only been tested during maneuvers, but never in a real combat situation. Although they succeed in this daring operation, it was not without danger: without good visibility of the riverbed, and given the monumental weight of the tank—54 tons—there was a high probability that the armored vehicle would get stuck, condemning its crew to a cruel death, as the pressure of the water itself would prevent them from opening the hatch to swim out.

In real life, the mass-produced Tiger I model did not have the submersion capability shown in the film, and this was done to reduce costs. However, given that this capability was present in some prototypes, it is quite likely that the tank used in the film was one of these preliminary models that had to be put into action hastily in accordance with the needs of the conflict at that time. Even so, although this possibility was considered through snorkel-type designs, there are no clear records of its actual operational use in a Tiger I.

It should be noted, however, that during World War II, there were mass-produced tanks with deep fording and submerged river crossing capabilities on both the German and Soviet sides, although they were always treated as unusual solutions with limited use. Two clear examples would be the German Tauchpanzer III—an amphibious variant of the standard Panzer III—and the Soviet T-38, designed with amphibious capabilities.

In short, the scene in this film where the Tiger plunges into the river is not strictly faithful to what one would expect from a mass-produced Tiger I, but neither can it be described as a “historical error.” The plot is based on a capability that existed on paper and in experimental phases, although it was discarded before reaching the battlefield on a widespread basis. In other words, in the feature film, we are dealing with a cinematic license based on reality to raise the dramatic tension to unsuspected limits, stretching plausibility to the limit.

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