The Germans were always at the forefront of tank design. They always wanted to make their panzers bigger and badder! This resulted in the heaviest tank ever made: The Maus (Mouse) superheavy tank. While most modern main battletanks only reach a maximum of 60 tons. The Maus superheavy tank weighed in at an earth shattering 180 tons! This also meant it had to drink alot of fuel so it wasn't a very mobile tank.
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| Maus tank with snorkel device |
The steel behemoth was developed by Dr Ferdinand Porche and was to use a similar electrical-drive system he developed for the Elefant tank. It was to be armed with a 128mm main gun along with a 75mm secondary gun. The sheer weight of the Maus meant it couldn't use bridges so it had to go underwater when crossing rivers. It was equipped with a snorkel device.
It could have quickly destroyed any tank that came against it and was impervious to any anti-tank round of the era. Aside from rumors of it seeing action during the last days of the war, there is no evidence that this tank ever saw combat. For all its supposed benefits, the tank was simply too expensive and thirsty to have been useful during the last days of World War 2.
The sole survivor Maus tank is located in Kublinka Tank Museum in Russia.
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| Maus Tank in the Kublinka Tank Museum showing hits on the front armor
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