Super-heavy tank

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British TOG2

Super-heavy tanks are armored vehicles of very large size, generally over 75 tonnes. They have been introduced on several occasions in order to provide an invincible vehicle for penetrating enemy formations without fear of being destroyed in combat. Examples date to World War I and World War II , along with a few Cold War examples. Only a few examples were ever built, and with one possible exception none of these vehicles saw combat.

History

British Flying Elephant model

The earliest examples of super-heavy designs date to World War I, when the British worked on their Flying Elephant concept as a way to break through any potential defensive line. During World War II all of the major combatants introduced prototypes for special roles. Adolf Hitler was a proponent of "war winning" weapons and supported projects like the 188 tonne Maus, and even larger 1000 tonne Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte and 1500 tonne Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster. The British, Soviets and US all built prototype designs similar to the Jagdtiger, but none of these saw combat as the need for such a weapon turned out to be extremely limited.

The idea of super-heavy tanks saw less development after the war, except in the Soviet Union where some relatively heavy tank prototypes were tested for the Cold War nuclear battlefield. These might be considered super-heavy by the standards of Soviet tank design, where the emphasis was on small size and low weight, but they were no heavier than the standard U.S. and British heavy tanks of the period.

American T-28 Super Heavy Tank

List of super-heavy tanks

American

• T-28 Super Heavy Tank - self-propelled gun, 86 tonnes, 5 pilot models built

British

• TOG1 (tank) - 80 tonnes, 1 prototype
• TOG2 (tank) - 80 tonnes, 1 prototype
• Tortoise heavy assault tank - self-propelled gun, 78 tonnes, 6 pilot models built and tested
• Flying Elephant - 100 tonnes, project only

French

• Char 2C - 69 tonnes, 10 built in the 1920s
• FCM F1 - 139 tonnes, project only

German

• K-Wagen - 120 metric tons, project only
• Panzer VII Löwe - 76–90 tonnes, project only
• Panzer VIII Maus - 188 tonnes, 2 prototypes, 1 completed, 1 hull completed
• E-100 (tank) - 140 tonnes, 1 hull completed
• Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte - 1000 tonnes, project only
• Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster - 1500 tonnes, project only

Soviet

• Tank Grote (TG-5 or T-42) - 100 tonnes with 107 mm main gun and four subturrets. project only - 1931 ^[1]

Japanese

• Experimental O-I Super HeavyTank - 130 tonnes. Purportedly one prototype was produced in 1944 and sent to Manchuria.
• Experimental O-I Ultra HeavyTank - modification of the O-1 Super Heavy Tank with four turrets

References

Notes

Bibliography

• Zaloga, Steven J., James Grandsen (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.

See also

• Landship