The largest tank crew. The heaviest tank in the world during the Second World War
Starting from WWII until the very end of the Second World War (hereinafter referred to as WWII), hundreds of the most unimaginable armored monsters were developed, of which only a few reached the point of being embodied in metal. This article provides an overview of the ten heaviest, largest and most incredible armored vehicles various countries worlds that were partially or fully brought to life.
"Tsar Tank"
The largest in size was the Russian Tsar Tank. Its developer Nikolai Lebedenko (in honor of him the car is also sometimes called the “Lebedenko tank” or “Lebedenko machine”), in ways unknown to us, achieved an audience with Emperor Nicholas II, which took place on January 8 (according to the new style - January 21), 1915. To the audience, the engineer brought a skillfully made wooden self-propelled model of his brainchild, which started and moved thanks to a gramophone spring. According to the recollections of the courtiers, the designer and the tsar spent several hours fiddling with this toy “like little children,” creating artificial obstacles for it from improvised means - volumes of the Code of Laws Russian Empire" The Tsar was so impressed by the model that Lebedenko eventually gave him that he approved the financing of the project. The design of the tank resembled a huge artillery carriage with two large front wheels. If the model was held by the rear of the “carriage” with the wheels down, then it looked like a bat sleeping under the ceiling, which is why the car received the nickname “ Bat" and "Bat".
Initially, it was clear that the project was not viable. The largest and most vulnerable element of the new tank were the huge 9-meter wheels, the supporting structure of which were spokes. They were created in such a way as to increase the maneuverability of the tank, but they were easily disabled even by artillery shrapnel, not to mention high-explosive or armor-piercing shells. There were also problems with the vehicle's maneuverability. However, thanks to the royal patronage, the tank was quickly built. Already in August 1915, it was assembled at an improvised training ground near the city of Dmitrov, Moscow region, but due to unsatisfactory maneuverability it was left to rust under open air until the early 20s, until it was dismantled for scrap. As a result, thousands of rubles of public funds were wasted.
The tank's fighting compartments were housed in a hull located between its giant wheels. The armament was placed in a machine gun turret for six machine guns, built above the hull, as well as in sponsons located at its ends, protruding beyond the wheels. The sponsons could accommodate both machine gun and artillery weapons. It was envisaged that the tank's crew would be 15 people. A “carriage” was located perpendicular to the hull, the main purpose of which was to create a stop when firing. According to the "carriage" the crew got into fighting squads tank.
The dimensions of the Tsar Tank were amazing - its length was 17.8 meters, width - 12, height - 9. It weighed 60 tons.
This vehicle became the largest and most ridiculous tank in world history.
Char 2C (FCM 2C)
This French tank became the largest and heaviest production tank ever. world history tank building. It was created by the FCM shipbuilding company at the very end of WWII, but never took part in hostilities. According to the designers, the Char 2C was supposed to be a breakthrough tank that could effectively overcome German trenches. The French military liked this idea, and on February 21, 1918, 300 vehicles were ordered from FCM. However, while the shipbuilders were starting production, the war ended. The tank turned out to be low-tech and expensive, and the production of each unit took a lot of time. As a result, only 10 machines were manufactured until 1923. Because French government After WWII, it was experiencing certain financial difficulties, and the Char 2C was very expensive, a decision was made to stop its production.
Char 2C weighed 75 tons and had a crew of 13 people. It was armed with one 75 mm cannon and 4 machine guns. The tank’s engines “ate” an average of 12.8 liters per kilometer covered by the vehicle, so a tank with a capacity of 1280 liters was enough for a maximum of 100–150 km of travel, and on rough terrain this distance was even less.
The Char 2C was in service with the French army until 1940. With the outbreak of hostilities on French territory during WWII, a battalion of these already obsolete tanks was sent to the theater of operations. On May 15, 1940, a train with the battalion's equipment got into a railway traffic jam while en route to the unloading sites near the city of Nechateau.
(German soldiers posing against the backdrop of a captured French giant tank
Char 2C No. 99 “Champagne”. Next to the tank are disassembled parts of its engine.)
Since it was not possible to unload such heavy tanks from the platforms, and they were approaching the station where the train was stuck German troops, the French crews destroyed their armored vehicles and retreated. However, as it soon became clear, not all Char 2Cs were destroyed. In particular, vehicle No. 99 fell into the hands of the Germans undamaged and was tested by them at the Kummersdorf training ground. Her further fate is unknown.
K-Wagen
At the end of March 1917, the Inspectorate of Automotive Troops of the Kaiser's Germany instructed the chief engineer of its experimental department, Joseph Vollmer, to create a tank that, in its own way, technical parameters would be capable of breaking through enemy defense lines. If completed successfully and on time, this tank would become the heaviest WWII tank - its weight would reach 150 tons. Two six-cylinder gasoline engines from Daimler with a power of 650 hp each were chosen as power plants. every. The tank was supposed to be armed with 4 77 mm guns located in sponsons and 7 7.92 mm MG.08 machine guns. Of all the super-heavy tanks, the K-Wagen had the largest crew - 22 people. The length of the tank reached 12.8 meters, and if not for the Russian Tsar Tank, it would have become the longest super-heavy tank in the history of tank building. In the design documentation, the tank was called Kolossal-Wagen, Kolossal or K. It is generally accepted to use the index “K-Wagen”. Construction of these machines began in April 1918, but the rapid end of the war stopped all work. German tank builders had almost finished assembling the first copy of the tank, and for the second the armored hull and all the main components, except the engines, were ready. But the Entente troops were approaching German enterprises, and everything manufactured was destroyed by the manufacturers themselves.
FCM F1
In the early 30s, it became clear to French military officials that the FCM 2C tank was hopelessly outdated. Since French military thought believed that future wars would be of the same positional nature as WWII, it was decided in Paris that the army needed new heavy breakthrough tanks.
In February 1938, the Armaments Advisory Board, headed by General Duflo, identified the main performance characteristics future tank to announce a design competition. The Council nominated the following requirements to armament of the vehicle: one large-caliber cannon and one rapid-fire anti-tank gun.
In addition, the new tank had to be equipped with anti-shell armor that could withstand hits from all anti-tank shells known at that time. artillery systems. The largest French tank builders (FCM, ARL and AMX companies) took part in the competition, but only FCM was able to begin creating a prototype.
Its engineers designed a tank with two turrets arranged like battleships on different levels so that they do not interfere with each other's all-round firing. A 105 mm main caliber gun was to be installed in the rear (higher) turret. Mounted in the front turret is a 47-mm rapid-fire anti-tank gun. The thickness of the frontal armor of the vehicle was 120 mm. The prototype was expected to be ready by the end of May 1940, but this was prevented by the rapid German offensive in France. The further fate of the semi-finished prototypes is unknown.
TOG II
In October 1940, the first prototype was created British tank TOG I. Its name, which stands for "The Old Gang" old gang"), hinted at the considerable age and experience of its creators. The old principles of tank building were evident in the layout and appearance of this combat vehicle, as well as in its characteristics. The TOG I had a WWI-era layout and a low speed of 5 mph (8 km/h).
The guns and machine guns, originally housed in sponsons, were eventually replaced by a turret from Matilda tank II, mounted on the roof of the housing. Its tracks, like those of other tanks from WWII, covered the hull, and were not placed on the sides of it, like modern tanks. Since the weight of the vehicle was 64.6 tons, it is difficult to classify it as a super-heavy tank. The tank was modernized several times until 1944, but it never went into production. In 1940, in parallel with TOG I, the creation of TOG II began. It was realized in metal by the spring of 1941. This tank was made heavier than the previous model - it weighed 82.3 tons. Thanks to long length, independent torsion bar suspension, and the fact that each track was driven by a separate electric motor, this tank had increased maneuverability. The electric motors were powered by a generator driven by a diesel power plant.
Therefore, despite its heavy weight, the tank could overcome walls 2.1 meters high and ditches 6.4 meters wide. His negative qualities there was low speed (maximum 14 km/h) and vulnerability of the tracks, the design of which was hopelessly outdated. The tank received a specially designed turret, which housed the only 76.2 mm tank gun and a machine gun.
Subsequently, design upgrades continued, the TOG II(R) and TOG III projects appeared, but none of them were launched into production. mass production.
Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus
In December 1942, Ferdinand Porsche was summoned to an audience with Hitler, the designers of whose company had completed the project of a super-heavy Maus tank(German - “mouse”). A year later, on December 23, 1943, the first prototype of the tank came out of the gates of the Alkett tank-building enterprise (Almerkische Kettenfabrik GmbH), which was part of the Reichswerke state concern. It was the heaviest manufactured tank in the entire history of world tank building - its weight reached 188 tons. The frontal armor plate reached a thickness of 200 mm, and the rear armor plate – 160 mm. Despite the fact that the tank had a huge mass, during its testing it turned out that it was very maneuverable, easy to control and had high maneuverability. The tank underwent modifications, passed field tests, and its second copy was manufactured. But in the second half of 1944, Germany ran out of funds to ensure regular supplies of even serial tanks, not to mention the launch of new expensive vehicles.
In mid-April 1945, the Kummersdorf training ground was captured by Soviet troops. Both tanks, which were disabled during the battles for the training ground, were sent to the USSR. There, from two damaged cars, one whole one was assembled, which is still on display in Central Museum armored weapons and equipment in Kubinka.
(Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus Porsche Type 205/1 with a Krupp turret at the Böblingen factory, April 9 or 10, 1944)
A39 Tortoise
From the beginning of 1943, the development of a new breakthrough tank began in Great Britain. The project was called Tortoise (English - “ land turtle"), since he envisaged that the future tank would have thick armor, powerful weapons and would be unlikely to have high speed. As a result of design research, a number of projects for vehicles with the “AT” index appeared, which never went into production.
(Super-heavy assault self-propelled artillery unit (according to the British classification - a tank) A39 project "Tortoise")
In the end, designers and customers from the Committee for the Development of Special Equipment of the British Ministry of Supply settled on the AT-16 model, which received the official index “A39”. In February 1944, 25 units were ordered for production, which were to be produced by September 1945. However, in May 1945 fighting in Europe ran out, and the committee reduced the order to 12 cars. In February 1946, the order was again halved, and as a result, only 5 vehicles were manufactured. The units of the sixth copy of the A39 were used as a source of spare parts. In fact, the Tortoise was not a tank, but a self-propelled gun, since the A39 did not have a turret, and the 94-mm cannon was located directly in the frontal part of the conning tower. However, according to the British classification, the self-propelled gun could not be so heavy (the weight of the A39 reached 89 tons), and it was decided to classify it as a tank.
To the left of the gun was a BESA machine gun (English version of the Czechoslovakian ZB-53), and two more such machine guns were installed in the turret on the roof of the vehicle. The self-propelled gun did not go into large production, since compared to the heavy Soviet tanks of its day (after the war, Britain considered the USSR as the main potential enemy), it was outdated both in mobility (maximum speed - 19 km/h) and in armament, although its powerful the 228 mm thick frontal armor impressed contemporaries.
Pz.Kpfw. E-100
This vehicle was created as an alternative to the Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus tank, designed by Porsche. In fact, Ferdinand Porsche took advantage of his position, being a good acquaintance of the Reich Minister of Armaments Todt and being on good terms with Hitler himself. Using his connections, Porsche contributed to the closure of the project of another super-heavy tank, the VK 7201. Heavy Lion"(Schwere Lö ;we) produced by the Krupp concern. Meanwhile, another German tank designer and functionary, Heinrich Ernst Kniepkamp, in defiance of Porsche, initiated the development of a whole series of tanks that were supposed to replace all types of armored tracked combat vehicles in the army, from reconnaissance tanks to super-heavy breakthrough tanks. The last one was supposed to be the E-100.
Of all the E-Series vehicles, the development of the E-100 tank has advanced the furthest. This tank was supposed to be lighter than the Maus (140 tons versus 188), and at the same time armored at the same level. It was designed in such a way that the armor plates had as few right angles as possible (unlike the Maus tank, the sides of which were almost vertical). Three turret variants for this tank were developed, the first of which was the Maus tank turret with a 128 mm gun. True, in the version for the E-100 tank, they decided to replace the 128 mm gun with a 150 mm one.
The turret was to be manufactured by the Krupp concern, and they were also to develop a method for installing the gun. This option turned out to be preferable to the other two, but neither of them was implemented in metal. If the Germans still had enough time, the E-100 would have received the most powerful gun throughout the history of the creation of super-heavy tanks. Only one copy of the chassis of this tank was created, which was tested at the Heistenbeck training ground with a dummy turret.
At the end of the war, this chassis fell into the hands of the British troops as a trophy and was later taken to Great Britain, where it was carefully studied by local engineers.
(Tank Pz.Kpfw. E-100 loaded onto a transport platform with British soldier posing above)
T28-T95 (Turtle)
They didn’t sit idly by overseas either. In September 1943, the United States began work on its own breakthrough tank. The United States was preparing to enter the war in Europe and feared that it would not be easy to overcome the Atlantic Wall, built by the Germans on the coast, and then the Siegfried Line. But, as often happens, army functionaries realized it quite late (apparently, they forgot to take into account that creating fundamentally new tanks is a long process). It was planned to install a 105 mm T5E1 cannon as the main armament on the tank. starting speed its shell, as military officials believed, was sufficient to pierce the concrete walls of bunkers. The gun was supposed to be placed in the frontal armor plate of the vehicle - this decision was reached in order to reduce the silhouette of the T-28. In fact, the new vehicle was not a tank, but a breakthrough self-propelled gun - the American military realized this over time, and the vehicle was renamed the T-95 self-propelled gun. As Americans like to do, at the same time they gave her the nickname “Turtle”. The self-propelled guns were equipped with an electric transmission designed for installation on T1E1 and T23 tanks.
Design studies and bureaucratic delays led to the fact that the decision to manufacture prototypes was made only in March 1944. But the military rejected the finished project and ordered three vehicles, the frontal armor of which was supposed to reach 305 mm, which was one and a half times higher than the previously planned 200 mm. After the changes made, the weight of the vehicle increased to 86.3 tons. To reduce the pressure on the ground and increase the maneuverability of the self-propelled gun, it was decided to make its tracks double. As a result new project was ready only in March 1945, when the fighting in Europe and on the Pacific front was nearing its end. The first prototype was shipped to the Aberdeen Proving Ground when it was no longer needed, on December 21, 1945. Production of the second copy was completed on January 10, 1946. As a result of lengthy tests carried out in 1947, the American military again renamed the T95 into the T28 breakthrough tank, since, in their opinion, the self-propelled gun could not weigh that much. Almost simultaneously, they came to the conclusion that the low speed of the vehicle did not meet modern conditions of warfare. As a result, the T28 (T95) was abandoned, but perhaps American bureaucrats were simply tired of puzzling over the classification of this vehicle.
"Object 279"
It would be unfair to ignore the USSR, a country that can rightfully be called the most “tank” power of the 20th century. In the last century, Soviet enterprises produced greatest number tanks and the largest number of their models have been designed. However, the country of the Soviets was not keen on super-heavy tanks. Before WWII there simply wasn’t enough money for them, and during the war there wasn’t even enough time. Thus, in the summer of 1941, the Leningrad Kirov Plant developed a project for a super-heavy tank KV-5, the weight of which would reach 100 tons, but in August German troops approached Leningrad, and work on this project was stopped.
After the end of WWII, with the advent of cumulative ammunition, it became clear to all tank designers that it was irrational to create combat vehicles heavier than 60 tons. With such a large weight, it is impossible to make them fast and maneuverable, which means that, despite the most powerful armor, they will quickly be shot down. But there was a ghost on the horizon nuclear war, and designers began to develop vehicles that were supposed to conduct combat operations in unprecedented conditions. In 1957, an amazing tank was created at the Zh. Ya. Kotin Design Bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant under the leadership of L. S. Troyanov. Although it weighed only 60 tons and in terms of mass cannot claim the title of a super-heavy tank, in terms of its level of armor it does. The thickness of the walls of its cast tower along the perimeter was 305 mm. At the same time, the thickness of the frontal armor reached 269 mm, the sides - 182 mm. This thickness of armor was achieved thanks to the original shape of the hull, more like a flying saucer than a tank.
The unusual product was given the index “Object 279”. The experimental armored vehicle was armed with a 130-mm M-65 rifled cannon with a barrel blowing system. Of all the super-heavy tanks realized in metal, the caliber of the main gun of the Object 279 is the largest.
The car was equipped complex system non-adjustable hydropneumatic suspension and double tracks. This technical solution made it possible to reduce the pressure on the ground and increase the tank's maneuverability, but seriously worsened its maneuverability. This factor, as well as the complexity of the machine to maintain, was the reason that the project did not go beyond the creation and testing of a prototype.
Tsar Tank
Before you is the Tsar Tank (also called the Bat, Lebedenko's Machine, Bat, Mastodon, Mammoth) - the most big tank, which our planet has only seen. True, it is worth noting that this is rather an armored land vehicle vehicle huge size.
The mammoth was developed by Russian engineer Nikolai Lebedenko, in which B. Stechkin, N. Zhukovsky and A. Mikulin also took part. Construction ended in 1915, at which time large-scale tests of the vehicle were carried out, as a result of which it was concluded that this vehicle was unsuitable for combat conditions, so the project had to be closed. The only unit built was then broken up for scrap.
As Lebedenko himself said, he was inspired to build the Mastodon by Asian carts, which, thanks to their large wheels, easily overcame potholes and potholes. As a result, the completed copy had two huge front wheels with a diameter of 9 meters, while the rear one had much less modest dimensions - 1.5 meters. The width of the T-shaped body is 12 m. It was decided to mount the machine guns on planes located behind the front wheels. Maximum speed, which the tank could develop, was 17 kilometers per hour.
Much more interesting is that the engineer was able to get approval for the construction of the project, because at that time it was difficult to do, especially with such a strange cart. However, in January 1915, Nicholas II allocated funds for the project - about 210,000 rubles.
When the tests began, it immediately became clear that the car was very easily vulnerable - just one good hit on the wheel spokes, like a Mammoth folding a house of cards. In addition, he became an excellent target - due to his size, he could be seen from several kilometers away. And the cross-country ability, due to its size, was not amazing. Thus this weapon remained another dead project in tank development, which at that time was based on trial and error. By the way, the engine turned out to be weak for the Bat.
Meanwhile, we forgot to mention the dimensions of the tank. Here they are:
Length - 17.8 m
Width - 12 m
Height - 9 m
Weight - 60 tons
Char 2C
The list of our record holders does not end there. Another giant Char tank 2C, developed by the French during the First World War. Today, this giant is the largest tank in terms of its dimensions that has ever been put into service. In terms of height, it ranks second after the “Mammoth” described above.
Its development began in 1917, the project itself was ready two years later, but the tank did not enter service because all military operations were curtailed. However, it began piece production and over the following years several units of equipment were produced. By the beginning of the 30s of the last century, the Char 2C was considered obsolete military equipment, since two towers in upper tier did not allow all-round fire, the dimensions were very large, making the tank an easy target, the maneuverability left much to be desired, etc.
By the 40s, at least 10 copies were produced, which were in service with the French army until 1940. However, after France was occupied by the Nazis, the government decided to blow up all the tanks so that they would not fall to the enemy. However, there is also alternative opinion on this score - all Char 2C were destroyed directly by the Germans.
It is noteworthy that each Char 2C had its own own name— they were named after provinces. In 1939, the tank, named Lorraine, was reinforced with additional armor, bringing its weight to 75 tons. The length of the hull was 10.27 m, width - 3 m, and height - 4.09 m.
Also on our list is the T-35, the legendary Soviet heavy tank developed in the 30s of the last century. Interestingly, a decade earlier our huge country There were no large heavy tanks, with the possible exception of vehicles called "Ricardo" (British Mk V). That is why the authorities decided to create giants.
The first prototype was presented in 1932, and its weight was significantly different from the planned one - 42 tons instead of 35 tons. However, this did not become a big problem, and the model performed well in tests, although experts noted several shortcomings (for example, high cost of some components and parts). The tank entered production in 1934 and it was a version of the T-35A, of which 59 units were produced.
The engine used was a 12-cylinder carburetor aircraft engine M-17, created under license from BMW. It developed very good power for those times - 400 horsepower at 1450 rpm. A few years later its power was raised to 580 hp. through modernization. But fuel consumption was enormous - three fuel tank with a total volume of 900 liters they provided a power reserve of no more than 150 km.
The T-35 took part in World War II, and in the first few weeks after the start of the war, the tank fell into the hands of the Nazis and they sent it to a training ground in Germany, where they carefully studied it. Nobody knows where that copy went. But it is reliably known that big problems arose with the transportation of this giant - it simply did not fit into the railway dimensions. The combat weight of the T-35A was 50 tons, the hull length was 9.72 m, the width was 3.2 m, and the height was 3.43 m.
Tiger II ( Royal tiger)
It is impossible not to mention the Tiger II - a heavy tank that was produced by the Germans throughout the final part of World War II, starting in 1944. In a short time, 489 units of equipment were produced.
This machine is distinguished not so much by its dimensions, which are certainly surprising, but by its incredible power. Thanks to the 88-mm cannon, the tank was able to hit any target in its path, and the presence of excellent protection allowed it to pass where other tanks were already disabled.
Experts claim that the Tiger II was superior to absolutely all heavy tanks that the USSR and its associates could have had. However, this did not help Hitler, because at that time Soviet troops already knew how to fight similar machines(our tankers knew exactly where to shoot). However, the Royal Tiger knocked out a lot of our equipment, because its cannon had a very high rate of fire. Therefore, an experienced team from the Nazis could shoot tank division before he reveals himself.
Currently, not a single Tiger has survived. The last of them was shot down in Berlin on May 2, 1945.
The vehicle's combat weight is 70 tons, hull length is 7.38 m, width is 3.75 m, height is 3.09 m.
Ratte P1000 (Rat)
Rat - this is the name of the super-heavy tank that the Germans developed during the Second World War. Hitler first saw this project in mid-1942, which was well received by him.
Let's say in advance that Ratte was never created, but the data about it is impressive. So, the weight of this giant alone would reach 2000 tons, and the length of the body would easily be 35 meters.
Particular attention was paid to the fact that the P1000 would certainly be extremely clumsy and slow, but its hull would be invulnerable to artillery guns and anti-tank mines.
From the moment heavy armored vehicles, later called tanks, first appeared on the battlefield, work on their improvement has never stopped. This is best seen if we remember the largest tanks. In the world, along with successful designs that became widely known and were mass-produced, there were archaic designs that did not correspond to the spirit of the times, complex projects, the implementation of which in metal was economically and technologically very difficult.
The most best tanks were produced in the world and Nazi Germany, who were the main opponents during the Second World War. It should be noted that Adolf Hitler’s painful weakness for giant ships, planes and tanks served as a kind of catalyst for the designers’ activities. Many leading countries also had their own developments, but most of of which did not even go beyond the initial design.
Now most of the developed samples can be considered only as a curiosity, but then they threatened to blow up the whole world. Tanks then and now are considered as the main impact force any ground group of troops, equally effective in offensive and defensive actions. However, let’s look at the main contenders for the role of armored force leaders.
The Landkreuzer R1500 “Monster” was created as a super-heavy tank, planned for an 800-mm with a target engagement range of up to 37 km and a projectile weight of 7 tons, as well as two 150-mm howitzers SFH18 and large number small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. The total weight including the gun mount was expected to be up to 2500 tons. The main reasons for refusing to produce the “monster” were the following: the impossibility of transportation by road, greater vulnerability from air raids (it is simply impossible to hide such a colossus) and the operation of four engines similar to those used on Type VIII submarines.
A slightly smaller project was the Landkreuzer R1000 “Ratte” (rat), the weight of which was expected to be between 900-1000 tons, with a length of 39 meters and a height of 11 meters. It was planned to install one converted ship turret with two 180 mm guns and twenty anti-aircraft guns located throughout the hull. The estimated crew size was determined to be 100 people.
The largest tanks in the world built were released in One of them is the Panzer VIII “Maus”.
Its weight was many times greater than any of the mass-produced heavy tanks of Germany, the USSR, Great Britain or the USA, amounting to more than 180 tons. The mouse's armament included one 128 mm and one 75 mm gun. Design was completed in mid-1942. Production began, but only 2 prototypes were completed before the end of the war, which were captured by Soviet units. Later they were dismantled and transported by captured teams to the USSR; one of the cars is now on display in Kubinka.
The FCM F1 project became the heaviest and largest tank of non-fascist origin. However, this model was not built before the defeat of France. Its equipment included 90 and 47 mm cannons, as well as 6 machine guns. French designers included the possibility of transporting it by rail, and the weight and dimensions were as follows: length - 10-11 m, width - 3 m, weight - up to 140 tons.
English designers who worked on the creation of infantry support vehicles, also developing this theme, created their own designs. These are not the largest tanks in the world, but quite exotic. Thus, in 1941, one prototype of the TOG2 tank weighing 80 tons was built, but due to the archaic and complex design, as well as the weak artillery weapons, work on it was frozen. Another vehicle was the A39, which weighed 78 tons and had a 96 mm cannon, which also did not go into production due to the factories being busy producing Churchill tanks.
In the USSR, a three-tower (or “object 225”) was developed. Due to the outbreak of war, frequent changes were made to the project due to the need to reduce the cost and improve Maintenance. Works on this sample were carried out at the Leningrad plant named after S.M. Kirov. Due to the threat of the enemy reaching the city, at the end of the summer of 1941 the project was curtailed, and forces were devoted to finalizing the KV-1. The weight of the tank was 100 tons, the main armament was a ZIS-6 gun with a caliber of 107 mm, three machine guns of 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm.
Created in different countries, the largest tanks in the world often had futuristic appearance, however, the possibilities for combat use were extremely limited, and now most of them can only be seen in images, as well as in computer games.
The KV-5 super-heavy tank could become the largest and powerful tank USSR
The history of the KV-5 tank begins with an unexpected decision by the SNK Soviet Union and the central committee of the CPSU (b) under number 827-345 ss, according to which it is necessary to begin work on the creation of the latest super-heavy tank. The tank gets the name KV-5. This decision was born from an unknown source false information about the creation in Germany of a super-heavy tank with very powerful armor, which began to arrive in the tank units of the Wehrmacht.
The order received by the designers of the Kirov plant included specific numbers regarding the design of the KV-5:
- On November 10, 1941, the project should be created and a prototype should be ready for testing;
- The KV-5 must have armor parameters no less than: side – 15 cm, turret – 17 cm, frontal – 17 cm;
- be armed with a powerful weapon (ZiS-6 107 mm caliber);
- high-power diesel engine (1.2 thousand hp);
- clearance width 42 cm.
Ensure the ability to transport a tank product to any location using rail solutions.
July 15 - readiness to provide ready-made drawings of the hull and turret of a super-heavy tank to the Izhora plant.
August 1 - be ready to approve the technical design and prototype, taking into account the implementation Izhora plant hulls and turrets until October 1 and further submission to the Kirov plant for assembly of the finished product.
The serial number of the super-heavy tank project is “object 255”. The main design work began in June 1941.
The work on the KV-5 was headed by designer N. Zeits. A team of designers under his leadership managed to design a tank that was unique for that time. The power and armor of the tank suggests that at that time the KV-5, if it had gone into mass production, would have become the most powerful and protected tank in the world. At that time, no other country in the world had analogues.
The tank's hull turned out to be quite low - the design specifies a height of 92 centimeters. Due to their small size, the driver and machine gunner were placed in special turrets, which provided these crew members with decent visibility.
The turret part of the KV-5 has a unique diamond shape. The dimensions of the tower were very large for that time. The turret housed the remaining crew members - the commander, loader and gunner. By the way, the commander of this tank also received a separate turret – the commander’s turret, which allowed him to obtain a fairly large viewing angle. For almost all tanks from World War II, visibility was never considered one of the advantages of technical characteristics.
The turret ring with a diameter of 185 centimeters provided ample opportunities for further modernization of the super-heavy tank. Inside the tower created good conditions to perform the tasks of any crew member. The design of the turret eliminated another of the major shortcomings of domestic tanks, when design solutions prevailed over the creation of normal conditions for performing the functional tasks of the crew military equipment.
The armor of both the hull and the turret according to the project is 15-17 centimeters. Compare, the IS-2 had only 12 centimeters of frontal armor.
During the work on the project, new changes were made to the product. Designers are abandoning stamped towers. According to the project, the towers were to be manufactured by traditional welding.
Domestic manufacturers did not have a ready-made high-power diesel engine, so another change was made to the project. The KV-5 is designed with two conventional V-2K engines with a total power of 1.2 thousand hp. They were placed in the tank in a parallel manner.
The gun mounted on the projected tank was also another unique project. Grabin's weapon gave the KV-5 a huge combat power. The 107 mm caliber gun was capable of penetrating any armored vehicle at that time from a distance of one and a half kilometers.
On August 1, the designers completed the design work of the KV-5 tank completely.
However, German troops, who were rapidly advancing towards Leningrad, prevented the plans from being turned into metal.
The plant suspends all work on the creation of prototypes of equipment and weapons and devotes all efforts to production serial tank KV-1.
Last date shown on design work super-heavy tank - August 15.
About KV-5
Apart from the obvious design advantages of the KV-5, we did not talk about the disadvantages of the super-heavy tank. The main disadvantage of a super-heavy tank is its weight characteristics. well and this project, with the most powerful armor at that time, was supposed to weigh more than 80 tons. The numbers listed on Wikipedia could be true. It would be impossible to transport the KV-5 across small rivers; it would get stuck in the autumn and spring abyss; transporting the KV-5 to positions would also have many difficulties.
Could a tank appear in the theater of operations? I definitely could. The creation of the tank was completed; the first model, if not for the approaching front line, appeared already at the end of 1941. Everything for the front, everything for victory - these are not just words, but a really existing ideology Soviet people. If we remember the pace at which other types of military equipment were created during the Second World War, we will get an unambiguous answer to this question.
And the modernization capabilities inherent in the tank design give reason to assume that further modification of the tank, armor and weapons in a few years would create the most modern equipment from the KV-5, with which the enemy would have nothing to fight.
The gun of the IS-2 tank, quite well known in military circles, is the D-25T - without problems and additional processing could be used on the KV-5. A fairly spacious KV-5 turret could significantly increase the tank’s rate of fire.
The overall characteristics of the KV-5 make it possible to install a 152-155 mm caliber gun on it, and the turret would remain movable, which at that time no one had done with such guns.
Having accomplished this, Soviet designers were many years ahead of the construction time for similar self-propelled guns and super-heavy tanks.
A modification of the KV-5 that never existed - the KV-5 bis project
Some documents contain references to the incredible project of the KV-5 bis tank called “Behemoth”. Some sources mention it under the name "Stalin's project".
However, as we will consider below, the project is clearly fictitious, perhaps for the purpose of misleading the enemy or for other unknown reasons.
Based on the available descriptions and drawings, the tank is designed as a kind of tank tracked train with three full-fledged turrets with guns of different calibers. This composite solution is found in A. Afanasyev, in his descriptions of military equipment, and in V. Shpakovsky in the book “Tanks” he wrote. Unique and paradoxical."
According to available data, the KV-5 bis is Stalin’s personal request, the development of which began in 1942.
In 1944, nine Behemoth tanks were put into service. From them they formed a heavy tank unit, to which they added the name of Stalin. According to the same data, 9 copies of the Behemoth tank took part in at least four military operations.
Actually, the KV-5 bis tank is a land cruiser on tracked chassis. The entire “cruiser” had one powerful diesel engine. Turrets of the Behemoth tank - turrets from KV tanks, middle tower generally has two 152 mm guns. On top of the turrets from the KV tanks were installed turrets from the BT-5. "Stalin's Orchestra" included the installation of a Katyusha rocket and a flamethrower.
Just imagining this in hardware, you understand that this “cruiser” will only be moved from its place by a very powerful diesel engine, which did not exist in the USSR at that time. The estimated mass of the Behemoth is unknown. Even assuming that this “monster” had a move, he simply would not be able to make a turn on the spot. And use in combat, and where else - on the Kola Peninsula, where regular tanks getting stuck seems unlikely.
In addition, there are no historical documents confirming the existence of this project and its use in combat.
For many years, man has been haunted by the medieval principle “More is stronger.” This conviction affected tank developers like no other - they designed and built dozens of monster tank models. Today we will talk about the most interesting examples of the largest tanks in the world.
The first tanks of the First World War
With the outbreak of the First World War, the need to create fundamentally new means for breaking through enemy fortifications became obvious. The idea of creating such a weapon was first voiced in England in December 1914 by Captain Maurice Hankey, and six months later, Colonel of the Engineering Troops Ernest Sweeton proposed his concept of creating armored machine gun carriers, which was embodied in the Mark I tank.British Mark I
Mark I was produced in two versions - “male” and “female”. The difference is in the weapons. The “men” were armed with two 57 mm cannons and 4 machine guns. The “female” version was represented by five machine guns - 1 Hotchkins and 4 Vickers. In all other respects, there are no differences: weight is about 30 tons, dimensions are 8.05 x 4.26 x 2.24 m, average speed is about 6 km/h with a cruising range of no more than 20 km, the crew led by an officer is 8 people.
In response, the Germans are creating a 30-ton A7V based on the Holt tractor. Work on its creation was entrusted to a group of engineers led by Joseph Feuler. The tank's dimensions were not much different from the Mark I (7350 x 3060 x 3300 mm), but it was 2 times faster and could travel 15 km more. The crew of 18 looked impressive. The A7V was armed with a 57 mm cannon and five MG-08 machine guns.
German tank A7V with crew
From the Tsar Cannon to the Tsar Tank
The idea of creating a Russian wheeled supertank belongs to the head of the experimental laboratory of the War Ministry, Captain N. N. Lebedenko. His brainchild was later called the “Tsar Tank”.Tsar Tank Lebedenko
It was a wheeled combat vehicle, resembling a giant gun carriage with two spoked wheels with a diameter of 9 meters and a rear one and a half meter roller with which the tank was controlled. The tank's armament consisted of several machine guns and two guns located in the central and side wheelhouses. It was assumed that it would move at a speed of 17 km/h. Its life, however, ended on the first test in 1915, when the rear roller became hopelessly stuck in the mud. Although Lebedenko’s project did not move forward prototype, it went down in the history of military technology as the largest tank in the world.
Between First and Second
It became obvious that the next war would be a war of engines. A tank boom began in Europe. Mostly light tanks were built. And yet the temptation was great to create a monster tank that would completely dominate the battlefield.The FCM F-1 heavy tank was developed in France on the eve of World War II. This giant weighing about 145 tons was armed with two cannons 90 and 47 mm and six machine guns. The crew of the tank is 8 people. But he never had to fight. In May 1940, France capitulated.
Family of "Tigers"
By the beginning of World War II, Germany did not have heavy tanks. “Tigers” are its answer to the legendary T-34, which at that time was unrivaled. Hitler entrusted the development of a heavy tank on a competitive basis to the Henschel company and the famous automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche. As a result, the Henschel company won due to a more reliable chassis, on which the turret of the F. Porsche tank with a powerful 88 mm cannon was later installed.With a combat weight of 56 tons, it had 10 cm of frontal and 8 cm of side armor. The engine, a 600-horsepower Maybach HL 210P30, provided it with a range of 140 km at a highway speed of about 40 km/h and in field conditions up to 20 km/h. In addition to the cannon, his arsenal included 2 MG-34 machine guns and 6 smoke grenade launchers. Subsequently, the engine power was increased to 700 hp. At the end of the war, F. Porsche created the 70-ton Tiger II.
Among the unrealized tank megaprojects of the Third Reich, the Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte is famous. It is no secret that Hitler was prone to gigantomania, which manifested itself, in particular, in the project of this supertank. More likely not a tank, but a dreadnought on tracks. After all, it certainly should have become the largest in the world - its dimensions are 35 x 14 x 11 meters, weight is 1000 tons. The width of the three-section tracks is 3.6 meters, the total power of the two Daimler-Benz MB501 engines that equipped the submarines was 17,000 hp. Two 280-mm ship guns SK-C/34 installed in a rotating turret.
Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte tank model
Soon after the war, the trend to build large tanks, as well as the term "heavy tank", became history. Today these are just tanks equipped with powerful engines, the latest electronics, unique weapon, means dynamic protection and intelligence.