Super-heavy tank

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 One and World War Two, along with a few Cold War examples. Only a few examples were ever built, and with one exception none of these vehicles saw combat.

The earliest examples of super-heavy designs date to WWI, when the British worked on their Flying Elephant concept as a way to break through any potential defensive line. During WWII 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.

List of super-heavy tanks

American super-heavy tanks

* T-28 Super Heavy Tank - self propelled gun (95 tonnes, 5 pilots, has been built)

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

French super-heavy tanks

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

German super-heavy tanks

* 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 super-heavy tanks

* Grotte Tank (TG-5 or T-42, 100 tonnes with 107mm main gun and four subturrets. project only - 1931—Zaloga 1984:85)

Japanese super-heavy tanks

* 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

* 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.

ee also

*Landship