The Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte (Rat) was to have been an extremely large tank for use by Nazi Germany during World War II. It was designed in 1942 by Krupp with the approval of Adolf Hitler, but the project was canceled by Albert Speer in early 1943 and none were ever completed. At 1000 metric tons, the P-1000 would have been over five times heavier than the Panzer VIII Maus, the largest tank ever actually built.
Its primary weapons would have been two 280 mm guns mounted in the same type of gun turret used in Scharnhorst class warships. One such turret was supposedly built before the project was canceled, although documentation of its whereabouts is missing. Other guns would have included a single 128 mm gun, eight 20 mm Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns and two 15 mm Mauser MG 151/15 guns.
It would have been equipped with six 1.2 metre tracks with three tracks per side. Its power would have come from two MAN V12Z32/44 24 cylinder Diesel marine engines with 8500 hp each or eight Daimler-Benz MB501 20 cylinder Diesel marine engines with 2000 hp each to achieve the 16000 hp needed to move this tank.
An even heavier device, the P. 1500 "Monster", was in the very early stages of design when both projects were canceled. It was meant to be a self-propelled version of the Schwerer Gustav (or Dora) 800 mm siege cannon.
See also
External links
- German site (translated via Google) with a scale model
- German (translated via Google) site with data sheet
- An article about the Ratte tank
- Article about the 1000/1500 series
Sources
*Michael Ellenbogen, ''Gigantische Visionen - Architektur und Hochtechnologie im Nationalsozialismus'', 2006 (ISBN 3902475250).
*Zack Parsons, "My Tank is Fight!", 2006.
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