Versuchskonstruktion (abbreviated to VK or Vs.Kfz.) from Versuchs Kraftfahrzeug meaning "research/experimental vehicle,"[citation needed] was used in the names of some German experimental or prototype tanks produced before and during World War II. VK term was also referred to as Vollketten' ( "fully tracked").
The designation format was VK XX.XX (X). For example, in VK 30.01 (H)VK meaning Volketten, 30 for weight of 30 tonnes, and (H) denoting the manufacturer Henschel.
Some designation layouts were different, like the VK XX or VK XXX (also called Vs.Kfz. XX or Vs.Kfz. XXX). For example, the Leichttraktor known as VK 31 (or Vs.Kfz. 31) with VK meaning Volketten (Vs. Kfz. meaning Versuchskampffahrzeug), and number "31" denoting the year of development.
VK 45.01 (P) - Porsche's competing design to Henschel's VK 45.01 (H), chassis built to the design were rebuilt as Elefant self-propelled anti-tank guns.
The Tiger II was a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen Tiger Ausf. B, often shortened to Tiger B. The ordnance inventory designation was Sd.Kfz. 182.. It was also known informally as the Königstiger. Contemporaneous Allied soldiers usually called it the King Tiger or Royal Tiger.
The Panzer II is the common name used for a family of German tanks used in World War II. The official German designation was Panzerkampfwagen II.
Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 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.
Elefant was a heavy tank destroyer used by German Panzerjäger during World War II. Ninety-one units were built in 1943 under the name Ferdinand using VK 45.01 (P) tank hulls which had been produced for the Tiger I tank before the competing Henschel design had been selected.
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 Tiger I was a German heavy tank of World War II that began operational duty in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted the 8.8 cm KwK 36 gun. 1,347 were built between August 1942 and August 1944. After August 1944, production of the Tiger I was phased out in favour of the Tiger II.
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 VK 45.01 (P), also informally known as Tiger (P) or Porsche Tiger, was a heavy tank prototype designed by Porsche in Germany. With a dual engine gasoline-electric drive that was complex and requiring significant amounts of copper, it lost out to its Henschel competitor on trials, it was not selected for mass production and the Henschel design was produced as the Tiger I. Most of the already produced chassis were rebuilt as Elefant Panzerjager tank destroyers.
The VK 45.02 (P) was the official designation for an unsuccessful heavy tank project designed by Ferdinand Porsche in Nazi Germany during World War II to compete with Henschel's design.
The VK 20 series were the proposed replacements of the Panzer IV and Panzer III tanks with entries by MAN, Krupp and Daimler Benz. It was initially projected to weigh 20 tonnes, but grew to 24 tonnes. By November 1941, the designs almost reached completion but against the professional judgement of Wa Pruef 6, political interference in December 1941 led to all of the designs being dropped. The root of this adverse decision came from encounters with increasing numbers of T-34 and KV-1 tanks. Reichsminister Fritz Todt declared that a new tank, 30 tons in weight should be designed and produced. Oberst Fichtner argued that time would be lost developing this new 30 ton tank, the number produced would be reduced and engineer bridges could not support such a tank. This new tank chosen from the VK 30 series would become the Panther, replacing the VK 20 series. This decision would place the rushed MAN Panther into production as Germany's new standard medium tank, which was plagued with issues never fully addressed especially those caused by MAN's final drive. It would also arrive too late, with Germany's position in a steep decline, having lost the initiative.
The Versuchskonstruktion 30 were two series of tank designs by Germany in World War II, originally intended as heavy 'breakthrough' tanks, but later switching completely to designate medium tanks to succeed the Panzer III, IV, and the planned VK 20 series tanks. These were requested in response to the Soviet T-34 and KV-1 tanks, with far heavier armour and armament than the mobile armoured vehicles fielded by the Wehrmacht at the time. Many German companies submitted projects, including Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg (MAN), Daimler-Benz (DB), Henschel, and Porsche. The winning entry tanks would go on to become the famous Tiger I and Panther tanks, capable opponents to the T-34, but it was ultimately too late and at too small of a scale to affect the course of the war.
The VK 30.01 (D) and VK 30.02 (D), also known as VK.3001 (DB) were two tank designs made by Daimler Benz submitted for the VK 30 project for a 30 tonne tank to be used by the German army.
The VK 30.01 (H) is a German prototype heavy tank developed by Henschel in Germany during World War II. It was rejected for production likely due to being outdated by the time it was meant to be produced. The chassis from this project went on to form the chassis for the Sturer Emil self-propelled anti-tank gun project.
VK 45.01 (H) was a German tank which was the final prototype of the Panzer VI Tiger I, evolved from the VK 36.01 (H), designed by Henschel. It was selected by Adolf Hitler over the competing VK 45.01 (P) from Porsche for production into the Tiger I. It came in two variants, the VK 45.01 (H) H2 with a 75 mm L/70 gun, and the VK 45.01 (H) H1 with an 88 mm L/56 gun.
The Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf. L "Luchs" is a German light tank from the Second World War, developed between 1940 and 1942 by Daimler-Benz and MAN. The Luchs was the only Panzer II design with the Schachtellaufwerk overlapping/interleaved road wheels and "slack track" configuration to enter series production, with 100 being built from September 1943 to January 1944 in addition to the conversion of the four Ausf. M tanks. Originally given the experimental designation VK 13.03, it was adopted under the alternate name Panzerspähwagen II and given the popular name Luchs. The Luchs was larger than the Panzer II Ausf. G in most dimensions. With a six speed transmission, it could reach a speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) with a range of 260 km (160 mi). The FuG 12 and FuG Spr radios were installed, while 330 rounds of 20 mm and 2,250 rounds of 7.92 mm ammunition were carried.
The Panzerkampfwagen I Ausf. C, also known by its prototype name VK 6.01, was a German light tank from the Second World War. Although the Panzer I Ausf. C was formally designated as a modification of the Panzer I, it was actually a completely new vehicle. This variant has little similarity with earlier Ausf. A and B variants - one of the main distinctions being the use of the Schachtellaufwerk inter-leaved track wheels which was used in many later German tanks during the war.
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