Panzer VIII Maus: largest tank ever built

The Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was one of the most remarkable tanks built during World War II. This super-heavy tank was designed with a fully enclosed armoured design, with only two hulls and one turret ever completed. The prototypes underwent trials in late 1944 and were found to be the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicles ever built. Measuring 10.2 meters in length, 3.71 meters in width, and 3.63 meters in height, and weighing about 188 metric tons, the Maus was an impressive feat of engineering.

The tank was equipped with a Krupp-designed 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 gun and a coaxial 75 mm KwK 44 L/36.5 gun, making it one of the most powerful tanks of its time. The drivetrain was electrical, designed to provide a maximum speed of 20 km/h and a minimum speed of 1.5 km/h. However, during actual field testing, the maximum speed achieved on hard surfaces was 13 km/h with a full motor field.

The armour was designed to withstand heavy fire, with the hull front being 220 mm thick and the sides and rear of the hull being up to 190 mm thick. The turret armour was even thicker, with the turret front being up to 240 mm thick and the sides and rear being 200 mm thick. The initial plan was for the prototype to be completed by mid-1943, with monthly production scheduled to run at ten vehicles per month after delivery of the prototype.

The Maus tank was originally designed to weigh approximately 100 tons and be armed with a 128 mm main gun and a 75 mm co-axial secondary gun. However, in January 1943, Hitler insisted that the armament be a 128 mm main gun with a coaxial 75 mm gun. By May 1943, a wooden mock-up of the final Maus configuration was ready and presented to Hitler, who approved it for mass production. The lack of close combat armament was later addressed with the addition of a Nahverteidigungswaffe (short-range defensive ordnance) mounted in the turret roof, a 7.92 mm MG 34 machine gun with 1,000 rounds mounted coaxially with the main weapons in the turret, and three pistol ports for submachine guns in the sides and rear of the turret.

Two prototypes were completed, with the first turretless prototype (V1) assembled by Alkett in December 1943. Tests started the same month, with a mockup turret fitted of the same weight as the real turret. In June 1944, the production turret, with armament, was used for tests. The second prototype, the V2, was delivered in March 1944 and differed in many details from the V1 prototype. In mid-1944, the V2 prototype was fitted with a powerplant and the first produced Maus turret. By July 1944, Krupp was in the process of producing four more Maus hulls, but they were ordered to halt production and scrap these. Krupp stopped all work on it in August 1944. Meanwhile, the V2 prototype started tests in September 1944, fitted with a Daimler-Benz MB 517 diesel engine, a new electric steering system, and a Skoda Works-designed running gear and tracks.

The Maus was too heavy to cross bridges, and an alternative system was developed where the tank would ford the rivers it needed to cross. Due to its size, it could ford relatively deep streams, but for deeper ones, it was to submerge and drive across the river bottom. The solution required tanks to be paired up. One Maus would supply electrical power to the crossing vehicle via a cable until it reached the other side. This system was complex and made the tank vulnerable during river crossings.

After the war, the commander of Soviet armoured and mechanized troops ordered the hull of V1 to be mated with the turret of V2. The resulting vehicle was then sent back to the USSR for further testing. A gunsight intended for the wooden mock-up turret was captured by British forces and is now in the collection of The Tank Museum at Bovington.

In conclusion, the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a remarkable tank that pushed the boundaries of military technology during World War II. Although only two prototypes were completed, the Maus will always be remembered for its impressive size and firepower.