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Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in July,1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turret were completed, the turret being attached before the testing grounds were captured by advancing Soviet military forces.
The Panther tank, officially Panzerkampfwagen V Panther with ordnance inventory designation: Sd.Kfz. 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to the end of the war in May 1945.
Schwerer Gustav was a German 80-centimetre (31.5 in) railway gun. It was developed in the late 1930s by Krupp in Rügenwalde as siege artillery for the explicit purpose of destroying the main forts of the French Maginot Line, the strongest fortifications in existence at the time. The fully assembled gun weighed nearly 1,350 tonnes, and could fire shells weighing 7 t to a range of 47 km (29 mi).
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Wunderwaffe is a German word meaning "wonder-weapon" and was a term assigned during World War II by Nazi Germany's propaganda ministry to some revolutionary "superweapons". Most of these weapons however remained prototypes, which either never reached the combat theater, or if they did, were too late or in too insignificant numbers to have a military effect. The V-weapons, which were developed earlier and saw considerable deployment, especially against London and Antwerp, trace back to the same pool of highly inventive armament concepts. In the German language, the term Wunderwaffe generally refers to a universal solution which solves all problems related to a particular issue, mostly used ironically for its illusionary nature.
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This article deals with the tanks serving in the German Army throughout history, such as the World War I tanks of the Imperial German Army, the interwar and World War II tanks of the Nazi German Wehrmacht, the Cold War tanks of the West German and East German Armies, all the way to the present day tanks of the Bundeswehr.
The VK 16.02 Leopard was a planned German light reconnaissance vehicle designed from mid-1941 through to January 1943, with serial production scheduled for April 1943. It was intended to be the replacement of Panzer II Ausf. L "Luchs". The project was canceled in January 1943 before the first prototype was completed as it did not meet the requirements for 1944. A wooden mock up of the Waffenträger variant was produced.
The VK 30.01 (P) was the official designation for a heavy tank prototype proposed in Germany. Only two prototype chassis were built. The tank never entered serial production, but was further developed into the VK 45.01 Tiger (P). Porsche called it the Typ (Type) 100.
The Panzerkampfwagen III/IV was an experimental medium tank project undertaken by Germany during World War II. The tank was designed to use components of both the Panzer III and Panzer IV, in an attempt to integrate the two projects. The project was cancelled with only the blueprints developed, and no units were ever built.
The 8.8 cm Flak 18 (Sfl.) auf Zugkraftwagen 12t , also known as the Bunkerflak or Bufla, was a German Wehrmacht half-track self-propelled gun developed before World War II and used in the first half of the war. It was used during the Invasion of Poland but is best known for its use during the Battle of France, where it was the only German self-propelled gun capable of destroying the heavier Allied tanks such as the French Char B1 and the British Matilda II. Remaining vehicles were used on the Eastern Front. The last Bufla was destroyed in 1943.
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Bibliography
- Estes, Kenneth W (2014). Super-heavy Tanks of World War II. Oxford, UK: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 978-1782003830.
- Chamberlain, Peter; Doyle, Hilary (2004). Jentz, Thomas L. (ed.). Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two. Wigston, Leicestershire, UK: Silverdale Books. ISBN 978-1-84509-012-8.
- Ellenbogen, Michael (2006). Gigantische Visionen – Architektur und Hochtechnologie im Nationalsozialismus (in German). Graz, Austria: ARES Verlag. ISBN 978-3-902475-25-1.
- Hahn, Fritz (1987). Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres 1933–1945: Band 2: Panzer- und Sonderfahrzeuge, "Wunderwaffen", Verbrauch und Verluste (in German). Koblenz, Germany: Bernard & Graefe Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7637-5832-6.
- Hahn, Fritz (1998). Waffen und Geheimwaffen des deutschen Heeres 1933–1945[Weapons and Secret Weapons of the German Army 1933-1945: Volume 2: Armoured and Special Vehicles, "Wonder Weapons", Consumption and Losses] (in German) (2nd ed.). Koblenz, Germany: Bernard & Graefe. ISBN 978-3-7637-5915-6.
- Porter, David (2010). Hitler's secret weapons, 1933-1945:The Essential Facts and Figures for Germany's Secret Weapons Programme. London, UK: Amber Books. ISBN 978-1-906626-74-7.
- Spielberger, Walter J. (1977). Spezial-Panzerfahrzeuge des deutschen Heeres[Special armoured vehicles of the German army] (in German). Stuttgart, Germany: Motorbuch-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-87943-457-2.
