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Maus Tank.
Super-Heavy Tank.
The Panzerkampfwagen 8 Mouse
was a Super-Heavy tank designed by the German forces
during the Second World War.
This was the heaviest tank ever built in human history.
By the end of 1944, only two prototypes were completed,
so The Maus never actually saw action in battle.
The development of this super-heavy tank was primarily
connected with Hitler's obsession to surpass the Allies
in developing heavy tanks, especially the Soviets.
The task of designing a tank bigger and more powerful
than any other was given to the
leading German Tank Constructor, Ferdinand Porsche.
In June 1942, Porsche presented Hitler with the idea of
the VK-100.1 type 205 tank, which the Führer approved.
This was to be 150 tons and was intended to use either
a 150 millimetre or 128-millimetre gun, with
an additional 75-millimetre gun and an MG34
machine gun.
The production of the tank's hull, turret and armament
was assigned to Krupp, while
the assembly was to be constructed in the Alkett factory.
At the time, the project was officially named "Mammut",
but it was eventually changed to "Maus", or "Mouse".
On May 1st, 1943. Hitler was presented with a wooden
mockup of the future tank.
As he was pleased with what he saw,
he ordered a run of 150 Maus tanks for production.
Although he ordered the version with a
128-millimetre gun and a coaxial 75-millimetre gun,
he wanted future models to be armed with the more
powerful 150 milimetre gun.
The outcome of the final blueprints were 10.1 metres
or 33.13 feet long, 3.67 metres or 12 feet wide,
and 3.63 metres or 11.9 feet high, and it weighed
almost 190 tons.
The crew was to consist of 6 men,
A commander, a gunner, 2 lowers, a driver and
a radio operator.
The Maus' armour was very very impressive.
The turret had a thickness of 220 mm or
8.7 inches at the front and 200 mm or
7.9 inches thick on its sides and rear.
The hull's thickness was 200mm or 7.9 inches at
the front.
And 180mm or 7.1 inches on the side.
The armament of the tank was equally impressive
The main armament was 128mm kwk 44 gun.
With such a gun, would be capable of eliminating
almost any allied tank within the range of 3500 metres.
A secondary coaxial armament was a 75mm kwk 44 gun.
In addition, the turret was equipped with a 7.92 mm
MG34 machine gun for close combat.
Such a heavy tank demanded a powerful engine
to move it.
Porsche's intention was to use the petrol-electric drive
they had used before on their version of the tiger tank.
The petrol engine would operate the electric generator
that drove the twenty-four wheels that each track had.
The projected speed of the tank with such an engine
was 20km/h, or 12 miles per hour.
The engine system was so huge that it took
two-thirds of the entire halt and caused the turret to be
put at the rear end.
With this design, the driver and radio operator seated in
the hull were completely cut off from the turret group.
The Maus' tracks proportional to the overall size of
the tank in order to give it good mobility.
They were 1.1 metres wide or 3.6 feet and they were
supported by a suspension system on each of the wheels.
As the size of the tank was its prime feature, it was also
its greatest drawback.
With a staggering total weight of 188 tons, its mobility
was under great question, and that was the main reason why
German commanders were not fond of the concept.
With a low speed and a high silhouette, the Maus tank
was a big target especially for the Air Force.
The drawbacks of the entire Maus concept seem to
have been obvious to the HWA,
the German weapons agency who protested against
the Maus stating that it didn't need such a tank and they
just couldn't formulate a tactical plan for it.
With such limited mobility, the couldn't serve as a tank
hunter, but it could work as a mobile fortress.
Ultimately, the army cancelled the order for the 150 Maus
tanks in Octorber 1943.
In the next month, Hitler ordered for the development of
the Maus to be ceased and he believed resources could be
better used for other projects.
Authorities however allowed Porsche to continue
building the prototypes.
The first prototype, the V1 was produced in
December 1943.
Although it had no turret, it was equipped with a
dummy turret to simulate the weight for the tests.
The V1 had a 1080 horsepower Daimler-Benz NB 509
v12 gasoline engine, which only produced a speed of only
13 km/h or 8 miles per hour.
Tests showed that weight tank proved to be a great obstacle.
Constructors also realized that weight of 188 tons
meant that there was no bridge in Europe that the Maus
could cross without destroying it.
To overcome this problem, the V1 was equipped with a
huge snorkel that allowed it to be submerged to the
depth of 8 metres in order to cross rivers.
The second prototype, the V2 came in mid-1944,
and was substantially different from the V1.
This version had a real turret installed.
The engine was replaced with a 1,200 horsepower
daimler-benz mb 517 diesel engine.
The V2 had an advanced electric steering system
and a new Skoda gear system.
All these elements, however, showed only slight
improvements.
Prototype tests were being performed at Coomer's Dorf
near the bubbling and Porsche's proving ground.
Tests were marked by frequent engine failures and
production delays caused by Allied bombings.
Finally, in August 1944, Krupp was ordered to cancel the
production of the Maus hulls and to scrap ones already
produced.
This is the official end of the Maus tank project.
When the Red Army units approached the Coomer's Dorf
Testing Grounds in April 1945, the Germans managed to
destroy the V2 prototype.
The Soviets then took the V1 hull and mounted
the V2 turret on top of it in order to conduct tests of
their own.
Today, this tank stands exhibited at the
Kubinka Tank Museum.
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Fuck this I quit.
Making subtitles for this video is too goddamn hard.
Subtitles made by "The Soviet Cosmonaut"