![]() The first was the power-to-weight ratio so poor that the 20 km/h figure was never achieved, but 13 km/h at best in ideal conditions. In june 1944, a real turret was ready and mounted on the hull, and as the tests goes along, two major problems occured. Despite the setback, Porsche struggled to have the first prototype ready in december at Alkett. However, as the war progressed, Hitler abruptly cancelled the production order in october 1943 and cancelled to project in november. The lack of a machine gun for close defence caused Guderian to refuse the tank, as it was not a hunter but would have fought in close support to the infantry. Estimated final weight was about 188 tons, but Hitler insisted that it was 200. Production was scheduled to start on the fall of 1943, between Krupp for the parts and Alkett for the final assembly. Although not impressed by the 128 mm, ordering a 150 mm gun instead, the first 150 command was passed. Later, it was decided to increase the roof protection to 220 mm in order to cope with Russian Ll2 Sturmovik attacks.Ī wooden mock-up was presented to Hitler and his staff by may, 1, 1943. For memory, the figures were even bigger than any of the "Panzerschiff" of the Deutschland class. Armour was also extremely thick, ranging from 190 mm on the sides and rear to 250 mm on the frontal part of the turret. The 128 mm gun was coupled with a coaxial 75 mm. Due to the size of the tracks and narrow hull, entirely filled by the propulsion system, the Maus was to be very cramped. The tracks were anormally wide, one meter and ten centimeters in size, and extremely thick, but were based on the usual Henschel model of a "contact shoe and connector link" previously used on the King Tiger. Consequentely, the driver was completely isolated at the front, only communicating by his headgear with the tank chief. Porsche insisted to put on the test his project of a fully electric transmission. A diesel was fitted, coupled with a huge electric generator which took one third of the total lenght of the hull, causing the turret to be pushed backwards. With a sheer weight of 100 tons, energy as well as tracks were soon imposing special measures. The main project was based around the impressive KWK 44 L/55 Kanone (128 mm or 5in) which was soon used by the Jagdtiger, but with a rotative turret, which means that the Maus was a regular tank and not a tank-hunter. Despite Porsche's enthusiasm and the great scepticism of the Wehrmacht, the first prototype, V1 was to be ready in 1943.įirst V1 prototype, officially named SdKfz 205, was first officially dubed "Mammut", but this was changed by derision "Maüschen" (little mouse) and then simply "Maus". However, this was really a monster of a tank, stretching all technological previous achievements by Porsche to the very edge. As it perfectly matched the wagnerian obsessions of Hitler, it was immediately approved and the contract granted, with the objective to built the first operational machines by march 1944. But the VK701 Porsche Type 205 as it was known was a project drawn as early as 1942 and suggested to Hitler by Ferdinand Porsche in June. The latter was quite impressive with its 71 tons, and 128 mm gun. It came after a constant upsizing of existing tanks, and the latest which was also the biggest operational tank in 1945, the Panzer VII Jagdtiger, based on the Königtiger. ![]() In the straight line of the panzer tree, this was to be the number VIII. This was by far the most gigantic battlefield monster that have ever been built. Panzer Maus (1942) Nazi Germany - Super-heavy Tank - 2 prototypes Genesis of a monster. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |