Mighty Maus

摘要

Maus is the name of the largest tank ever built, designed in 1942 by Ferdinand Porsche under direct orders from Adolf Hitler. Weighing 188 tons, it had a crew of five (or six), was armed with a 128 mm cannon and a coaxial 75 mm gun, and covered with 180-240 mm of armour. Only two were produced. The first vehicle, prototype V1 was produced in 1943 and was fitted with a simulated turret representing the weight of the designed turret for trial purposes. The V2 prototype, which differed in numerous details from V1, was produced in 1944 and featured an armed Krupp turret with its characteristic double guns. This is the one that was later destroyed by the Germans at Kummersdorf to prevent its capture by the Soviets, and the sole surviving Maus tank is currently in the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia. Nine others were in various stages of completion when the war ended. None ever saw combat.