The biggest tanks in the world, designed and embodied in metal

From the moment on the battlefield for the first timeThere were heavy armored vehicles, later called tanks, the work on their improvement has never stopped. This is best seen if you remember the biggest tanks. In the world, along with successful samples that were widely known and mass-produced, there were archaic designs that did not correspond to the spirit of the time, complex projects that were economically and technologically very difficult to implement in metal.

The best tanks in the world were produced by the SovietUnion and Nazi Germany, which were the main opponents during the Second World War. It should be noted that the painful weakness of Adolf Hitler to giant ships, aircraft and tanks served as a kind of catalyst for the activities of designers. Many leading states also had their own groundwork, but most of them did not even go beyond the initial design.

Сейчас большинство разработанных образцов можно regarded only as a curiosity, but then they threatened to blow up the whole world. Tanks then and now are considered as the main striking force of any land force grouping, equally effective in offensive and defensive operations. However, consider the main contenders for the role of leaders of the armor.

Landkreuzer R1500 "Monster" was created asthe super-heavy tank, planned for the Dora 800-mm cannon, with a target range of up to 37 km and a projectile weight of 7 tons, as well as two 150-mm SFH18 howitzers and a large number of small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. The total weight together with the gun mount was supposed to be up to 2500 tons. The main reasons for abandoning the production of the “monster” are the following: the impossibility of transporting along the roads, a large vulnerability to air raid (it is simply impossible to hide such a large object) and huge fuel consumption during the operation of four engines similar to those used on type VIII submarines.

Чуть меньшим проектом стал Landkreuzer R1000 "Ratte" (rat), the weight of which was envisaged within 900-1000 tons, with a length of 39 meters and a height of 11 meters. It was planned to install one converted ship tower from a ship of the line with two 180-mm guns and twenty anti-aircraft guns placed throughout the hull. The estimated crew size was determined in 100 people.

The largest tanks in the world of those built saw the light in the Third Reich. One of them is the Panzer VIII "Maus".

His weight repeatedly exceeded any of the serialproduced heavy tanks of Germany, the USSR, the UK or the United States, amounting to more than 180 tons. The arms of the "mouse" included one 128-mm and one 75-mm guns. The design was completed in mid-1942. Production began, but before the end of the war, only 2 prototypes were completed, which captured the Soviet units. Later they were disassembled and transported by trophy teams to the USSR, one of the machines is now on display in Kubinka.

The FCM F1 project has become the heaviest and largesttank of non-fascist origin. However, before the defeat of France, this sample was not built. Its equipment included guns of 90 and 47 mm caliber, as well as 6 machine guns. The French designers included the possibility of transporting it by rail, and the overall dimensions were as follows: length - 10-11 m, width - 3 m, weight - up to 140 tons.

English designers who worked on the creationinfantry support vehicles, also developing this theme, created their samples. These are not the biggest tanks in the world, but quite exotic. So, in 1941, one prototype of a TOG2 tank weighing 80 tons was built, but due to the archaic and complex design, as well as weak artillery weapons, work on it was frozen. Another machine was the A39, having a mass of 78 tons and a cannon of 96 mm caliber, which also did not go into the series due to the factories' employment in the manufacture of Churchill tanks.

In the USSR, a three-tower tank KV-5 was developed (or“Object 225”). Due to the outbreak of war, the project made frequent changes related to the need to reduce the cost and improve maintenance. Work on this model was carried out at the Leningrad plant named after SM. Kirov. In connection with the threat of an exit by the enemy to the city, at the end of the summer of 1941 the project was curtailed, and the forces were thrown for revision of the KV-1. The tank's weight provided for 100 tons, the main armament was a ZIS-6 gun with a caliber of 107 mm, three machine guns of 7.62 mm and 12.7 mm each.

Созданные в разных странах, самые большие танки в The world often had a futuristic appearance, but the possibilities for combat use were extremely limited, and now most of them can be seen only in images, as well as in computer games.