Design Overview & Tactical Role
Weighing an unfathomable 188 metric tons, the German Panzer VIII Maus ('Mouse') remains the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever constructed in world history. Driven by Ferdinand Porsche's vision of an impenetrable mobile fortress, its steel armor reached up to 240 mm in thickness. Unable to cross ordinary bridges, it was engineered with a snorkel apparatus to drive submerged across riverbeds.
Combat History & Battle Records
Two prototypes were tested at Kummersdorf in 1944. As Soviet troops closed in on Berlin in 1945, the prototypes were scuttled by their testing crews. Soviet engineers subsequently mated the intact turret of prototype 2 with the hull of prototype 1, shipping the composite beast to the Kubinka Tank Museum where it stands today.
Related Armored Vehicles (World War II)
Modern
2014
Modern
2001
Cold War
1965
World War II
1942