PANZERKAMPFWAGEN VIII MAUS (1943-1945) By Rob Arndt The Tiger II King Tiger was not the largest German tank created by the German tank industry. Much precious time and material was wasted on building prototypes of super-heavy tanks of gigantic gi gantic proportion. Dr Ferdinand Porsche was the driving force behind the first of these, the 188-ton Maus (mouse), while the second type to be built, the 140-ton E-100, was supported by the Heereswaffenamt as a competitive design. Porsche got approval for his project from Hitl er, at a time when none of his designs had been selected for production by the Heereswaffenamt. In this way Hitl er might have compensated Porsche for the past failures, and it would keep him away from other projects. The turret had a rounded front made from a single bent plate of 93mm thickness. The armament was either a 128mm or a 150mm gun, plus a 75mm gun mounted co-axially. The first turrets, with a weight of 50 tons, were not complete until the middle of 1944, leaving the two prototypes with a simulated turret to complete trials in the winter of 1943-1944, at Krupp's test area in Meppen. Two more hulls were under construction during the closing months of the war, but in April 1944, Hitler personally ordered that all work on giant tank projects was to cease in favor of devoting all resources to building proven tanks like the Panther and Tiger II. Most Maus prototypes were blown up in the last weeks of the war as the Russians closed in on Meppen, although guns, turrets and hulls were found by Allied Intelligence Intelli gence officers abandoned and partially destroyed. According to some sources however, the two experimental Maus tanks were sent into action in the final days of the war, one at the approaches to OKH staff headquarters at Zossen, the other near the proving grounds at Kummersdorf. Design studies found at Krupp showed a version of the Maus carrying a 305mm breech-loading mortar, named 'Bear', and a giant 1500-ton vehicle with a 800mm gun as main armament plus two 150mm guns in auxiliary turrets on the rear quarters. This vehi cle, put forward by two engineers engine ers named Grote and Hacker, was planned to be powered by four U-boat diesel engines!
Land Cruiser P-1000 "Ratte”
Technical Data Weight:
188,000kg (4,136,000 lbs)/206 tons
Crew: Fuel Capacity:
6 men Daimler-Benz MB 509 / 12-cylinder / 1080hp (V1) Daimler-Benz MB 517 Diesel / 12-cylinder / 1200hp (V2) 2650-2700 liters + 1500 liters in reserve tank
Speed:
13-20km/h
Engine:
Range:
Road: 160-190km Cross-Country: Cross-Country: 62km
Length:
10.09m (33.297 ft)
Width:
3.67m (12.111 ft)
Height:
3.63m (11.979 ft)
Armament:
128mm KwK 44 L/55 & 75mm KwK 44 L/36.5 1 x 7.92mm MG34 128mm - 55-68 rounds 75mm - 200 rounds
Ammo:
Armor (mm/angle):
Turret Roof: 60/90 Gun Mantlet: 250/round Front Turret: 220-240/round Superstructure Roof: 50-100/9 Front Glacis Plate: 200/55 Hull Front: 200/35 Belly Plate Fore: 100/90 Side Turret: 200/30 Hull Side Upper: 180/0 Hull Side Lower: 100+80/0 Rear Turret: 200/15 Hull Rear Upper: 150/37 Hull Rear Lower: 150/30 Belly Plate Aft: 50/90
Rear view of Maus
Completed Maus
Maus displayed in Russian R ussian Kubinka Museum outside Moscow
