Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armoured fighting vehicle ever built. Only one complete prototype was built before the testing grounds were captured by the advancing Soviet forces.
That single complete prototype unit underwent trials in late 1944. It was 10.2 metres (33 ft 6 in) long, 3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in) wide and 3.63 metres (11.9 ft) tall. Weighing 200 metric tons, the Maus's main armament was a 128 mm KwK 44 gun (55 calibers long barrel), based on the 12.8 cm Pak 44 anti-tank artillery piece, with a coaxial 75 mm gun. The 128 mm gun was powerful enough to destroy all enemy armored fighting vehicles at close or middle ranges, and even some at ranges exceeding 3500 meters.
The principal problem in development of the Maus was finding a powerful enough engine for its weight that could be carried in the tank. Though the design called for a maximum speed of 20 kilometres per hour (12 mph), no engine was found that could power the prototype to more than 13 kilometres per hour (8.1 mph) under ideal conditions. The weight also made it impossible to cross most bridges; it was intended to ford or submerge and use a snorkel to cross rivers.
| Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus | |
|---|---|
| Type | Super-heavy tank |
| Place of origin |  Nazi Germany |
| Production history | |
| Produced | 1944 |
| Number built | 2 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 200 metric tons (220.5 short tons) |
| Length | 10.2 metres (33 ft 6 in) |
| Width | 3.71 metres (12 ft 2 in) |
| Height | 3.63 metres (11 ft 11 in) |
| Crew | 6 |
| | |
| Armour | 460 mm (18 in) (in the area of the mantlet) 250 mm (9.8 in) (mantlet) 240 mm (9.4 in) (turret front) 220 mm (8.7 in) (turret side and rear, and hull front) 210 mm (8.3 in) (turret front behind the mantlet) 190 mm (7.5 in) (hull side and rear) |
| Main armament | 128 mm (5 in) KwK 44 gun L/55 (32 rounds) |
| Secondary armament | 75 mm (3 in) KwK 44 gun L/36.5 (co-axial) (200 rounds) 7.92 mm MG34 machine gun |
| Engine | MB 517 diesel engine (V-shaped 12-cylinder) 1200 hp (895 kW) |
| Power/weight | 6.4 hp/t |
| Ground clearance | 500 mm (20 in) |
| Fuel capacity | 2,700 litres (590 imp gal; 710 US gal) (internal fuel tank) 1,500 litres (330 imp gal; 400 US gal) (external fuel tank) |
| Operational range | 160 km (99 mi) (road) 62 km (39 mi) (off road) |
| Speed | 13 km/h (8.1 mph) |
