Tanks!
There is perhaps no symbol greater of modern warfare than the tank.
And in this video, we are going to take a look at some of the most ridiculously oversized
tanks that have ever been designed.
To begin with something a little familiar, we are going to start with the American-made,
M1 Abrams main battle tank, which is still currently used in service.
The vehicle weighs a mighty 62 metric tonnes, equal to the weight of about
forty-nine 2016 Toyota Corollas.
It possesses a main gun of 105 mm (4.13"), meaning the shell it fires from the turret
is 105 mm (4.13") in diameter.
There are three secondary machine guns located around the tank as well,
and the vehicle is crewed by a four-man team.
Individually, each M1 Abrams tank costs 8.92 million dollars to produce.
But, this is just scratching the surface of monstrously huge tanks in history.
Arguably, the largest tank, in terms of physical dimensions, ever built, was way back in the
First World War, and was made by the French.
It was named, the "Char 2C", and
features a prominent roll in the latest 'Battlefield: One' expansion pack.
It was designed in 1917, when the First World War was still raging.
But the first unit wasn't actually built until 1921, three years after the war had ended.
The tank weighed 69 metric tonnes, a little heavier than the modern Abrams M1, and
featured a 75 mm (3") main cannon, along with four secondary machine guns, placed
on the front, the sides, and the rear of the vehicle.
This monster tank was 10.27 m (33.7') long,
and 3 m (9.8') wide.
It took a crew of 12 men to fully operate the machine.
But France only ever built 10 of them, which wasn't enough to turn the tide of World War II
when the Germans attacked again.
However, an even more absurd tank from the first World War
was the German designed 'K Wagen'.
This beast was so large that it was impossible to transport it in its fully-built form.
So the Germans had to disassemble it into 6 separate pieces, transport it by rail,
and reassemble it just behind the front lines.
One such tank actually was finished just before the war ended
but never actually saw service because Germany surrendered before it could be used.
If it had been utilized, however, the Western front would be witnessed a 120 metric tonnes monster.
Nearly twice the weight of modern M1 Abrams tank.
It was 13 m (42.7') long,
just 2 meters shorter than the width of an NBA basketball court.
It came equipped with not one, but four different 77 mm (3") fortress guns and 7 MG08 machine guns.
It was intended to have a crew of 27 men:
1 commander, 2 drivers, 1 signaler, 1 artillery officer, 12 artillery men, 8 machine gunners, and 2 mechanics.
The addition of flamethrowers to the tank's already fearsome arsenal was also considered to be added, but was never realized.
Eventually when the Second World War rolled around, the design of truly ludicrous tanks would begin.
The Nazis would design possibly the most absurd of all of these tanks, however,
the first being the massive Panzer VIII Maus.
This is the heaviest tank still to this day that has ever actually been built,
and weighed an enourmous 188 metric tonnes.
Nearly 3.5 times the weight of a modern M1 Abrams tank.
This behemoth featured a 128 mm (5") main gun capable of destroying any Allies' tank in the war
from a distance of 3.5 km (2.2 mi).
It also had a secondary 75 mm (3") cannon, as well as one machine gun.
It possessed 220 mm (8.7") of steel armor plating on the front, and was intended to be operated by a crew of 6 men.
Because of its sheer size, however, it faced numerous problems.
Firstly, it was so heavy that it couldn't drive over any bridges without collapsing them beneath its own weight.
So, if it needed to cross a river then it had to go underneath it,
and the crew would use a snorkel to pump air into the main cabin,
which is just ridiculous.
Finally, if there ever was a real-life boss battle against an evil enemy worthy of a video game,
it would've been against the German-designed Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte.
Personally approved by Adolf Hitler himself, the finished tank was intended to weigh 1,000 metric tonnes,
which is over five times heavier than the even the Panzer VIII Maus,
and over sixteen times heavier than a modern M1 Abrams tank.
300 tonnes of the total weight would have been devoted entirely to munitions, like shells for the cannons and bullets for the machine guns.
It was planned to be 39 m (128') long, longer than the length of an NBA basketball court,
as well as 14 m (46') wide, which is roughly the same width of basketball court.
The monster tank would have been powered by two 24-cylinder marine diesel engines--
the same engines that were used to power U-boat submarines.
This would have given the tank an unbelievable 16,000 horsepower that could have propelled it up to speeds of 40 km/h (25 mph)
The Landkreuzer's primary weapon would have been a Dual-280 mm (11") SK C/28 turret.
This was the same turret that was used on Germany's main battle ships.
And to put that into perspective, the barrel of the Landkreuzer's cannon would have been almost four times wider
than the barrel of the modern Abrams battle tank.
In addition to this terrifying main cannon, the Landkreuzer was also armed with a 128 mm (5") anti-tank gun,
which means that its secondary cannon was the same size of the main cannon on the Panzer VIII Maus.
It also would be equipped with two 15 mm Maser Auto-Cannons, capable of shredding smaller vehicles to pieces
and a total of eight 28 mm Flak38 anti-air guns to defend the behemoth against air attacks.
The tank also would have been equipped with a vehicle bay that could hold
two motorcycles for scouting operations.
It had its own medical room, and even had its own bathroom.
It was intended to be operated by a crew of 41 men, but a tank of this size was doomed for failure from the start.
It was never built, because it was determined that despite being armed with 8 anti-aircraft guns,
the tank would still be too large of a target for enemy planes to attack.
This wild experimentation of tank design could well have cost Germany the war.
Germany gained the majority of their territory in the first year of WWII,
when their tanks were inferior to the Allies'.
Their success was largely a result of their overwhelming numbers and speed when attacking, not having the best tank.
By the time the invasion of Russia began, Germany had the most advanced tanks, but they were met
with what seemed to be a never-ending army of T-34 tanks, a fantastic yet crudely constructed tank.
It was designed with high speed and low cost of manufacturing in mind.
The Blitzkrieg was finally halted at the battle of Kursk, the largest tank battle in the history of humankind.
This battle depleted the German war effort like no other, and the Germans would struggle to take a step forward again.
Please make sure to go watch RealEngineering's video next for more fascinating tank information.
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