The best tank in terms of “one on one” combat would have to be hands down; the Tiger I

Armed with the deadly 88mm (3 1/2") cannon that the Germans had become infamous for, the Tiger was the pinnacle of German engineering. The Tiger had much fewer reliability issues than its bigger brother the King Tiger and enjoyed far more mobility, armor, and firepower than its medium Panzer IV brethren which gave the Germans a significant advantage in quality of tanks when it was first introduced in 1942.

The Tiger was designed to counter the Soviet T-34 that had just made its debut on the Eastern Front and the Germans aimed for a “quality over quantity” approach when designing her. They gave her armor as thick as 11.98 cm/4.72 in, a deadly 8.8 cm KwK 36 cannon that could penetrate armor as thick as 15.24cm/6 in thick at over a mile, and a powerful engine in the Maybach HL230 P45 V-12, which gave the Tiger incredible mobility for its size. It was a weapon designed to induce mass casualties while taking a beating in turn and proved it on several fronts. All together, Tiger battalions would achieve a kill ratio of around 5.7:1, (this does take into account the Wehrmacht’s tendency to judge their “kills” and “losses” differently than the Allies) in its three years of service, higher than any tank of the war.

The two greatest tank aces in history, Kurt Knispel of the Wehrmacht and Michael Wittman of the Waffen SS, achieved 168 and 135 kills respectively in Tiger I tanks and both would push their Tigers to the limit. Kurt Knispel achieved one of the longest tank kills in history on a Soviet T-34 at a range of 3,000 m/9,842 ft or roughly 1.86 miles with his Tiger and was seen as the greatest tank ace in history. Michael Wittman employed his Tiger at the Battle of Villers-Bocage when in 15 minutes, Wittman was able to disable, single-handedly mind you, an estimated 14 British tanks, 15 other vehicles and 2 anti-tank guns before he was finally immobilized by a shot from the rear to his Tiger.

The Tiger was by far and large the best tank for a one on one situation as it was designed for superiority through quality. Such was the reputation of the Tiger that Allied tankers were instructed to disengage immediately upon first contact and radio their position in for artillery and air support. The Tiger simply couldn’t be matched when it was at its best.