Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus (English: 'mouse') was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in July of 1944. As of 2025, 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 the ...

At 188 tonnes, it is the heaviest operational tank ever made by any nation at any time in any war and was made despite the shortages of raw materials, industrial capacity, and manpower at the time in Nazi Germany.

The Panzer VIII Maus (German for “Mouse”) super-tank certainly falls into the latter category. The Maus was a 188-ton behemoth developed by Porsche at the behest of Hitler himself. Impractical does not begin to describe it, and the timing of its introduction was stupefying.

Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus (Mouse) was an experimental Nazi German super-heavy tank completed in 1944. It was the heaviest armored fighting vehicle ever created, at a staggering 207 tons!

This was a 1000-tons super-heavy tank, equipped with a naval "panzerschiff" twin mount 280 mm turret, one Maus 128 mm, eight 20 mm AA guns, and two Mg42 Mgs. It was so big that a unique six tracks system (two pairs of three) was conceived.

German super heavy battle tank Maus (‘Mouse’). History, development, service, specifications, statistics and pictures. Panzerkampfwagen Maus (Mouse).Type: Super heavy battle tank. Hitler visits a lifelike wooden model of the ‘Maus’. Next to him Professor Dr Porsche, behind him Minister of Armaments Speer.

Jul 13, 2022 · There was the ploddingly slow speed of under 10 mph. In addition, despite its fuel capacity, the tank had very limited range; it could travel just over 100 miles on paved roads, and less than half that on rough terrain. Due to its massive weight, the not-so …

Sep 21, 2018 · The main features of the tank were the electromechanical transmission of both tracks, and a powerful circular armor whose thickness began from 5.9 inches (150 mm) and ended at 8.7 inches (220 mm). The mask of the gun was 9.8 inches (250 millimeters).

Oct 6, 2013 · The completed Maus was 33 ft 6 inches long, 12 ft 2 inches wide, 11.9 ft high and had a weight of 188 metric tons. The Maus’s main gun was a Krupp-designed 128 mm gun.which was powerful enough to destroy all Allied armored fighting vehicles in service at that time, some at ranges beyond 3,800 yards.

The Maus tank was originally designed to weigh approximately 100 tons and be armed with a 128 mm main gun and a 75 mm co-axial secondary gun. Additional armament options were studied including various versions of 128 mm, 150 mm, and 170 mm guns.