PzKpfw VIII Maus superheavy tank

INTRODUCTION

During the Second World War Germany dedicated a great amount of effort and resources to the development of a super-heavy armored combat vehicle. There were two models under development, the Maus and the E-100, but none of them was finally adopted for service. In June 1942 Ferdinand Porsche approached the possibility of building a huge tank armed with a 150-millimeter cannon installed in a fully rotating turret, incorporating as well a 20-millimeter co-axial cannon. In that time, Porsche was at the head of the German Tank Commission and hence he had a considerable influence with Hitler, who urged the development of super-heavy tanks. The majority of tank designers and theorists opposed the employment of such tanks. They were right: the Maus was considered obsolete even prior to being built, for it was clear that, given its size and its very limited speed, it would have been excessively vulnerable and not capable of adapting to the highly dynamic battlefield of the Second World War.

When the project of the super-heavy tank was suggested for the first time the vehicle was referenced as "Mammut" (project number 205). The Alkett firm started to assemble the first tank the 1st August 1943. In mid September Krupp provided the hull and the new tank, known by then as "Maus", underwent its first trial in Alkett the 23rd December 1943. The 10th January 1944 the tank was sent to Boolingen, near Stuttgart, to undergo extensive tests. Apart from small problems with the suspension, the tests had a notable success. In that time Hitler gave directly to Porsche the order of having the tank ready in June. The 9th June the turret was adjusted to the hull and additional tests were effectuated. Once again they were satisfactory and in the beginning of October it was given the order of sending the tank to the Kummersdorf test fields. A second prototype, the Maus II, was sent to Kummersdorf but it did not pass the trials. This model had a different engine which caused considerable problems. At the end of the war another nine prototypes were in different stages of production. There were plans for building 150 units but the prototypes were finally exploded by the German themselves just before the arrival of the Russian.




ARMAMENT

The armament of the Maus was promptly revised in the second prototype. The 150-millimeter cannon was replaced by the L/55 KwK 128-millimeter cannon, which was back then the most powerful antitank cannon ever installed in a vehicle, having the potential of destroying any contemporary tank in service. The provision of ammunition for this cannon comprised 32 rounds, most of which were carried on the hull's sideward protrusions known as "sponsons". The 20-millimeter co-axial cannon was replaced by the L/36.5 75-millimeter cannon. This large co-axial cannon exasperated the restrictions of internal space in the turret and ammunition storage, as a larger breech and 100 rounds had to be accommodated. Many contemporary tanks had cannons of this caliber as their main armament and they did not carry as many rounds.

ARMOR/PROTECTION

As in other German heavy tanks, the armor was made from rolled steel plates and the unions were interlocked, fastened with pins and welded. The glacis armor plate had 240 millimeters in thickness and a considerable slope to maximize the relative thickness and the chances of ricocheting projectiles under the most common impact angles. The seats on the driving compartment were reclined to accommodate their facing to this slope. To increase its structural resistance, the glacis armor plate did not have any opening. To a large extent, the armor scheme did not follow the traditional distribution, as the side armor and especially the rear armor were exceptionally thick. An interesting trait is that the turret's ring was fitted with shock-absorbing elements to protect the crew from the horizontal component of the energy delivered by impacts from large-caliber projectiles.

PROPULSION SYSTEM

The first prototype of the Maus was propelled by a 1000-horsepower Mercedes-Benz MB 509 gasoline engine, which had been originally conceived for aircraft. Theoretically, this 12-cylinder inline engine should have allowed the Maus to reach a top speed of 20 kilometers/hour in road, but in practice the speed rarely exceeded 13 kilometers/hour. The second prototype was fitted with a 1200-horsepower Daimler-Benz MB 517 Diesel engine. The internal combustion engine and its cooling system occupied the space right after the driving compartment and there was a large grating located right above them to dissipate the heat. There were air intakes and an exhaust duct at each side of this hull section. The internal fuel tanks were located one at each side of the driving compartment and they contained about 1325 liters of fuel each, an amount which should be enough for traveling about 150 kilometers on road and 60 kilometers off road. The large drum attached to the rear of the Maus was a supplemental fuel tank containing about 1500 liters of fuel, which would add about 80 kilometers to the quite restricted operational range.

The engine's crankshaft was attached to a large electric generator which in turn supplied power to the two electric motors which were the actual propulsion system of the Maus. The whole system, which includes the internal combustion engine, the electric generator and the two electric motors, is known as "electric transmision". Porsche had adopted this propulsion system for other combat vehicles before undertaking the development of the Maus. The electric motors were designed for moving the Maus at a top speed of 20 kilometers/hour when working at 3100 revolutions per minute. They actuated on the drive sprockets through simple reduction gear mechanisms which could be shifted for either road or cross-country operation. The propulsion system known as "electric transmission" has been successful in propelling submarines and locomotives but it demonstrated to be unsuitable for propelling tanks, because these vehicles have to overcome a greater mechanical resistance due to their tracks and they have a more restricted space for accommodating their propulsion system.

WHEELS AND TRACKS

On each side of the hull, the Maus had a total of twelve pairs of support wheels assembled on six bogies, interleaved in such a way that there were four rolling lines along the track's width. Above each bogie there were two return rollers interleaved in a similar way. The bogies were attached to very robust beams crossing the hull from side to side. On each bogie the four wheels where held by two crank arms and two coil springs which served as their suspension system. The Maus weighed 188 tonnes and not surprisingly its weight was its ruin. Anywhere the Maus transited it left a footprint. The tracks damaged the pavement of the roads and caused vibrations capable of cracking nearby window panes. Due to its excessive weight the Maus sank in any terrain which had a minimal amount of humidity, despite rolling on tracks which had 110 centimeters in width, so exceptionally wide that they were almost as wide as the space between them.

DRIVING COMPARTMENT

The driving compartment was isolated from the rest of the tank and was accessed through a hatch on the hull's roof. The driver was accompanied by the communications operator. Since the glacis armor plate did not have any opening, the driver had to rely on a simple episcope to view the exterior without exposing his head. Steering and changes of speed were effectuated through levers and pedals. A protective 20-millimeter thick bulkhead separated the driving compartment from the engine compartment except for a small hatch used to perform maintenance.

TURRET COMPARTMENT

The interior of the turret was a crowded space where the commander, the gunner and two loaders had to coexist together with a myriad of mechanisms, projectiles and accessories. For viewing outside, the commander had at his disposal a cupola with several episcopes and the gunner had an episcope and a telescopic sight. The turret could be rotated by means of a crankwheel mechanism if the hydraulic mechanism was not operative. This task could require a considerable effort because the turret weighed 50 tonnes; besides, a lot of turns would be necessary to complete the 360-degree arc. The crankwheel actuated on a mechanism which delivered the force applied to a large pinion which in turn actuated on a rack carved on the inner face of the turret's ring.

OPERATIONAL TRAITS

Being a mechanical monstrosity, the Maus was anything but enviromentally friendly; as aforementioned, while moving it cracked the surface of the roads on its wake and caused disturbing noise and vibrations which threatened with shattering nearby window panes. Furthermore, it produced unnecessarily high fuel emissions, because it was powered by an exceptionally large engine and for covering a distance of 180 kilometers it had to burn 4200 liters of fuel, something that Germany was not in position to afford. A positive trait was that the Maus could be waterproofed to cross a river whose bed were at a maximum depth of 12 meters. However, the idea of using trunks for sending air to the engine and letting the gases to escape did not give a satisfactory result because the flow was excessively limited. It was then decided to take advantage of the electric motors for this purpose. But, since the Maus lacked batteries which could supply energy to the electric motors, a second tank stationed in the river bank was required to supply the energy through a cable. Once the first tank had crossed the river the roles would be reversed to allow the second tank to cross the river as well. This, of course, would greatly delay the fording operation.





Specifications for Maus I

Categories: Tanks - World War Two - 20th Century - [General] - [General]

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Website: Military History

Article submitted: 2014-04-06

Article updated: 2023-11-24