Panzer VIII Maus Heavy Tank

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built. Only two hulls and one turret were completed before the testing grounds were captured by the advancing Soviet forces. An incomplete tank was captured by British forces.

These two prototypes – one with, one without turret – underwent trials in late 1944. The complete vehicle was 10.2 metres (33 ft 6 in) long, 3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in) wide and 3.63 metres (11.9 ft) high. Weighing 200 metric tons, the Maus's main armament was a 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 gun (55 calibers long barrel), based on the 12.8 cm Pak 44 anti-tank artillery piece also used in the casemate-type Jagdtiger tank destroyer, with an added coaxial 75 mm gun. The 128 mm gun was powerful enough to destroy all enemy armored fighting vehicles at close or medium ranges, and even some at ranges exceeding 3,500 metres (3,800 yd).

The principal problem in the development of the Maus was finding a powerful enough engine for its weight that could be carried in the tank. Though the specification called for a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph), no engine was found that could propel the prototype at more than 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph) under ideal conditions. The weight also made it impossible to cross most bridges; it was intended to ford or submerge and use asnorkel to cross rivers.

It was intended to punch holes through enemy defences whilst taking almost no damage to any components. 5 were ordered, however only 2 hulls and one turret were completed before the advancing allies found them. Very few of Hitler's generals thought that the Maus would have been any use.

Specifications
Weight	188 tonnes (207 short tons; 185long tons)
Length	10.2 metres (33 ft 6 in)
Width	3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in)
Height	3.63 metres (11 ft 11 in)
Crew	6
Armour	460 mm (18 in) (in the area of the mantlet) 250 mm (9.8 in) (mantlet) 240 mm (9.4 in) (turret front)[1] 220 mm (8.7 in) (turret side and rear, and hull front) 210 mm (8.3 in) (turret front behind the mantlet) 200 mm (7.9 in) (hull front)[1] 190 mm (7.5 in) (hull side and rear)
Main armament	128 mm (5 in) KwK 44 gun L/55 (32 rounds)
Secondary armament	75 mm (3 in) KwK 44 gun L/36.5 (co-axial) (200 rounds) 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun
Engine	MB509 V12 petrol engine, DB 603derivative (V1) MB 517 V12 diesel engine (V2) 1080 hp 1200 hp (895 kW)
Power/weight	6.4 hp/t
Ground clearance	500 mm (20 in)
Fuel capacity	2,700 litres (590 imp gal; 710 US gal) (internal fuel tank) 1,500 litres (330 imp gal; 400 US gal) (external fuel tank)
Operational range	160 km (99 mi) (road) 62 km (39 mi) (off road)
Speed	13 km/h (8.1 mph)

Source : Wikipedia