Hitler's interference and meddling caused all sorts of wild and fanciful military projects to be undertaken, none of them doing Germany much good and all tieing up scare military resources.

I think Germany might have been best to listen to Guderian when he was Inspector General of Panzertruppen and just focus on building late model Panzer IVs. Panthers and Tigers were better tanks but they were more complicated to build, service, repair in the field and less could be built. After all, the reason why the Wehrmacht was initially so successful was all to do with tactics and training and nothing to do with how good their tanks were.

If you really wanted to label a German tank design as the 'Deathstar of WW2' it would have to be the insane design for a 1000 tonne tank called the Ratte (Rat) and an even bigger 1500 tonne one. From the same website:

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/p1000.htm

I think you mean 100 Tonnen, beacause 1000Tonnen is not realistic. The bigger one with 150Tonnen was called 'Mouse'

Originally Posted by Jäger

I think you mean 100 Tonnen, beacause 1000Tonnen is not realistic. The bigger one with 150Tonnen was called 'Mouse'

I know about the Maus tank but this one is separate from that. Did you read the link? Guderian also mentioned the Ratte in his memoirs. Of course it isn't realistic but that's Hitler for you!

I'm sorry, I thought that the weight was wrong on this side, but my searches found different other sides with that weight. It's just unbelivebal for me. I wanted to say that there is the 'Maus', because of the combination of the 'little' name and the big 'thing' . I saw it in the Tankmuseum in Munster, Germany. Not very attractiv, but impressiv.

Originally Posted by Jäger

I think you mean 100 Tonnen, beacause 1000Tonnen is not realistic. The bigger one with 150Tonnen was called 'Mouse'

I checked out that link (http://www.achtungpanzer.com/p1000.htm) and here's part of what is listed.

"On June 23rd of 1942, Dir. Dip. Ing. Grote (along with Dr.Hacker) from the Ministry of Armament, who was responsible for the production of U-Boots suggested the development of a tank with a weight of 1000 tons. Adolf Hitler himself expressed interest in this project and allowed Krupp to go ahead with it. Project was designated as Krupp P 1000 (Ratte - Rat). This "land cruiser" would be 35 meters long, 14 meters wide and 11 meters high. P 1000 would be equipped with 3.6 meters wide tracks per side made of three 1.2 meters tracks, similar to those used in excavators working in coalmines. It was planned to power P 1000 with two MAN V12Z32/44 24 cylinder Diesel marine engines with total power of 17000hp (2 x 8500hp) or with eight Daimler-Benz MB501 20 cylinder Diesel marine engines with total power of 16000hp (8 x 2000hp). According to the calculations it would allow P 1000 to travel at maximum speed of 40km/h. P 1000 would be armed with a variety of weapons such as: two 280mm gun (naval gun used in Scharnhorst and Gneisenau warships), single 128mm gun, eight 20mm Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns and two 15mm Mauser MG 151/15 gun.

In December of 1942, Krupp created new design of 1500 ton tank - P 1500. It frontal armor would be 250mm thick and it would be armed with 800mm super heavy mortar "Dora" type and possibly two 150mm artillery pieces. P 1500 would be powered by two or four submarine diesel engines. In early 1943, Albert Speer cancelled both projects. P 1000 turret ended up at coastal defence battery (Batterie Oerlander) near Trondheim, Norway. "

The germans also tried to build flying Saucer i the 1940's...they should have waited like America and Russia did and do them in the 50's.

I think the great problem was that Hitler had not much knowledge of warfare and he just wanted new nice toys

I think your spot on with that one.

Originally Posted by Doppleganger

Hitler's interference and meddling caused all sorts of wild and fanciful military projects to be undertaken, none of them doing Germany much good and all tieing up scare military resources.

I think Germany might have been best to listen to Guderian when he was Inspector General of Panzertruppen and just focus on building late model Panzer IVs. Panthers and Tigers were better tanks but they were more complicated to build, service, repair in the field and less could be built. After all, the reason why the Wehrmacht was initially so successful was all to do with tactics and training and nothing to do with how good their tanks were.

If you really wanted to label a German tank design as the 'Deathstar of WW2' it would have to be the insane design for a 1000 tonne tank called the Ratte (Rat) and an even bigger 1500 tonne one. From the same website:

http://www.achtungpanzer.com/p1000.htm

1000 Tonne? Where did achtungpanzer.com get this information?

Originally Posted by CABAL

1000 Tonne? Where did achtungpanzer.com get this information?

Guderian mentioned the tank in his memoirs.

June 23rd, 1942 at a conference of senior Generals and Party Officials.

"Then his[Hitler's] fantasy led him into the realm of the gigantic. The engineers Grote and Hacker were ordered to design a monster tank weighing 1,000 tons." (p. 278, Panzer Leader, Heinz Guderian).

I'm not sure when the project was cancelled, although it was probably in 1943 sometime after Guderian had been appointed Inspector General of Panzertruppen. It never really got past an initial design stage AFAIK.

German engineering is something else. The thought of something that large and so heavily armed and armoured moving at 40 km/h is truly something that would give infantry a pause for the cause. German tanks were better by far than the American machines but if this were possible earlier in the war in vast numbers, one can imagine the impact.