In the 20th century, the types of armed forces developed at great speed. One of the most important inventions in this area was tanks. It was they who revolutionized the methods of warfare. This article will tell you about the heaviest military vehicles in history.

Pre-tank era

The design of the first prototype of the tank was proposed in 1874 by the French designer Edouard Bouillen. He came up with the idea of ​​an all-terrain train that would move due to the built-in railway. The military model consisted of 8 sections with 12 guns on the hull. Unfortunately, at that time it was not possible to implement such a project.

Another project was put forward by engineer V.D. Mendeleev in 1916. He designed a model of an armored vehicle with a large-caliber cannon and a machine gun. The project turned out to be difficult to produce and did not interest the Russian government.

The era of tank vehicles

The development of the world's first tank followed immediately after Mendeleev's project and became famous for its formidable name throughout the world, however, the project was never implemented.

"Tsar Tank"

The car is known to everyone who is interested in tanks. It was designed by engineer Nikolai Lebedenko. On January 8, 1915, the model in drawings was presented to Nicholas II. The Russian emperor was impressed by the engineer’s development and allocated funds for the project. The tank was nicknamed “Bat”, but it turned out to be unsuitable for war: the wheels quickly failed, the tank got stuck on the road.

The Bat is the largest and longest tank in the world. Because of its size, it became famous:

• Weight – 60 t;
• Height – 9 m;
• Length – 17.8 m;
• Width – 12 m.

Impossibility practical use The Tsar Tank predetermined its fate - it stood at the assembly site until the model was scrapped in the 1920s.

The model is the only representative of the type of super-heavy vehicles put into mass production. The tank was created at the end of the First World War. The purpose of the huge machine was to break through German defensive fortifications. The manufacturer, the French company FCM, received an order to produce 300 copies in February 1918.

Interesting!

During World War II, one copy of the tank was captured by the Germans, after which nothing is known about it.

During the First World War, the warring states were interested in creating machines capable of breaking through enemy fortifications. Germany was no exception. In 1917, engineer Josef Vollmer received orders to develop german tank with such capabilities. Volmer provided a design for a machine weighing 150 tons and length 12.8 m. War machine was driven by two engines of 650 horsepower. The weapons included 4 77 mm cannons and 7 machine guns.

The K-Wagen was driven by a crew of 22 people. The designers managed to assemble one model and some components for the second. Due to the approach of Entente troops, the developments had to be destroyed.

By the 1930s The Char 2C (FCM 2C) has ceased to meet the requirements of modern warfare. The French, guided by the experience of the First World War, decided that they needed a new heavy tank.

In 1938, the French military decided on a vision for model number 2. According to their plan, the tank was to have a powerful cannon and a rapid-fire gun. The armor was planned to be made invulnerable to anti-tank guns. The competition for the production of the model was won by FCM. They decided to release the first car by May 1940, but the successes of the German troops prevented these plans.

The tank was built by British developers. The model weighing 64 tons reached a speed of no more than 8 km/h. For a number of reasons, TOG II did not go into mass production.

TOG I

The vehicle was developed simultaneously with TOG II. The first model TOG I was released in 1940. The main advantage of the tank was increased maneuverability with a weight of 82.3 tons. Due to the low speed and outdated design, the military abandoned mass production models.

The largest heavy tank in the world is also known as "Mouse". The Mouse was made by the Austrian designer Ferdinand Porsche. Despite the enormous weight of 188 tons, the model has good handling and increased cross-country ability.

By the second half of 1944, two “Mice” were manufactured, but further production stopped due to a lack of funds in Germany.

Interesting!

During the Soviet offensive, tank models were captured. One of them is currently on display in the Kubinka Central Museum. Photos and videos about Mouse are posted on the Internet.

In 1943, British engineers began developing a heavy tank. As planned by the designers, it was supposed to be equipped with powerful armor and combat systems. Therefore, the model began to be called Tortoise - “ land turtle».

In 1944, the manufacturer received an order for the production of 25 vehicles, but in May 1945 the Second World War ended. World War, and the need for the “turtle” disappeared. As a result, 5 models were released.

In essence, the “land turtle” was a self-propelled artillery unit, not a tank, but due to its weight of 89 tons, it was classified as a tank. Among the weapons, the “land turtle” had a 94-mm cannon and 3 machine guns. The model was discontinued when it turned out that the tank was inferior to Soviet heavy vehicles in terms of technical specifications.

The developer, Heinrich Ernst Kniepkamp, ​​considered the E-100 as a universal combat vehicle. The armored tank was supposed to displace the "Mouse" and other tracked vehicles. In terms of armor strength, the E-100 was not inferior to the “Mouse”, but had less weight (140 tons).

The project was not completed. The developers only managed to produce the chassis, which later fell into the hands of the British military.

In the 20th century, USSR enterprises produced the largest number of tanks in the world. The government paid attention to the production of medium and light vehicles, but there were not enough resources for super-heavy ones. Before the Great Patriotic War They were working on creating a copy of a heavy tank at the Kirov plant, but the offensive of German troops forced them to curtail the research.

When World War II ended, the production of heavy tanks was considered unprofitable. The designers focused on the invention of machines capable of fighting in conditions nuclear war. In 1957, the design bureau of Zh. Ya. Kotin released a model of a special tank. The size of the turret armor was 305 mm and the tank weighed 60 tons, but due to poor maneuverability the project did not pass testing.

The development belongs to the German engineer Edward Grotte. According to the plan, the weight of the vehicle was supposed to be 1000 tons. At the same time, the tank would accelerate to 35 km/h. In 1942, the drawings were presented to Hitler and he gave the go-ahead for the construction of the machine. Work on the project was stopped after a year - there were not enough materials to implement it.

The project was developed in the early 1930s. at KB "Bolshevik". What is noteworthy is that its author was the already famous Edward Grotte. The thousand-ton vehicle was supposed to be equipped with six turrets with a dozen guns. According to engineers' calculations maximum speed the car was 60 km/h. As a result of the research, the construction of TG-5 was declared impossible.

Finally

Heavy tanks enjoyed relatively little popularity among the military. They were difficult to produce and rarely justified their cost. Therefore, today medium and light models are popular in the armed forces. For example, the most powerful tank in the world weighs less than 70 tons.

Video on topic

With the advent of tanks, many designers had a completely logical idea that the significant size of the tank would allow it to be maximally armored and make it invulnerable to enemy fire, and its large payload would enhance its armament. Such tanks could actually become mobile forts that support infantry when breaking through enemy defensive formations. During the First World War (hereinafter referred to as WWI), when governments around the world directed multimillion-dollar funds to supply rapidly growing armies, funding for the most fantastic projects that promised an early victory also increased.

Starting from WWII until the very end of the Second World War (hereinafter referred to as WWII), hundreds of the most unimaginable armored monsters were developed, of which only a few reached the point of being embodied in metal. This article provides an overview of the ten heaviest, largest and most incredible armored vehicles from around the world, which were partially or fully brought to life.

"Tsar Tank"

The largest in size was the Russian Tsar Tank. Its developer Nikolai Lebedenko (in honor of him the car is also sometimes called the “Lebedenko tank” or “Lebedenko machine”), in ways unknown to us, achieved an audience with Emperor Nicholas II, which took place on January 8 (according to the new style - January 21), 1915. To the audience, the engineer brought a skillfully made wooden self-propelled model of his brainchild, which started and moved thanks to a gramophone spring. According to the recollections of the courtiers, the designer and the tsar spent several hours fiddling with this toy “like little children,” creating artificial obstacles for it from improvised means - volumes of the Code of Laws Russian Empire" The Tsar was so impressed by the model that Lebedenko eventually gave him that he approved the financing of the project. The design of the tank resembled a huge artillery carriage with two large front wheels. If the model was held by the rear of the “carriage” with the wheels down, then it looked like a bat sleeping under the ceiling, which is why the car received the nickname “ Bat" and "Bat".

Initially, it was clear that the project was not viable. The largest and most vulnerable element of the new tank were the huge 9-meter wheels, the supporting structure of which were spokes. They were created in such a way to increase the maneuverability of the tank, but they were easily disabled even by artillery shrapnel, not to mention high-explosive or armor-piercing shells. There were also problems with the vehicle's maneuverability. However, thanks to the royal patronage, the tank was quickly built. Already in August 1915, it was assembled at an improvised site near the city of Dmitrov, Moscow region, but due to unsatisfactory maneuverability, it remained to rust in the open air until the early 20s, until it was dismantled for scrap. As a result, thousands of rubles of public funds were wasted.

The tank's fighting compartments were housed in a hull located between its giant wheels. The armament was placed in a machine gun turret for six machine guns, built above the hull, as well as in sponsons located at its ends, protruding beyond the wheels. The sponsons could accommodate both machine gun and artillery weapons. It was envisaged that the tank's crew would be 15 people. A “carriage” was located perpendicular to the hull, the main purpose of which was to create a stop when firing. The "carriage" led the crew into the tank's fighting compartments.

The dimensions of the Tsar Tank were amazing - its length was 17.8 meters, width - 12, height - 9. It weighed 60 tons. This vehicle became the largest and most ridiculous tank in world history.

Char 2C (FCM 2C)

This French tank became the largest and heaviest production tank ever. world history tank building. It was created by the FCM shipbuilding company at the very end of WWII, but never took part in hostilities. According to the designers, the Char 2C was supposed to be a breakthrough tank that could effectively overcome German trenches. The French military liked this idea, and on February 21, 1918, 300 vehicles were ordered from FCM. However, while the shipbuilders were starting production, the war ended. The tank turned out to be low-tech and expensive, and the production of each unit took a lot of time. As a result, only 10 machines were manufactured until 1923. Since the French government was experiencing certain financial difficulties after WWI, and the Char 2C was very expensive, a decision was made to stop its production.

Char 2C weighed 75 tons and had a crew of 13 people. It was armed with one 75 mm cannon and 4 machine guns. The tank’s engines “ate” an average of 12.8 liters per kilometer covered by the vehicle, so a tank with a capacity of 1280 liters was enough for a maximum of 100–150 km of travel, and on rough terrain this distance was even less.

Char 2C were in service French army until 1940. With the outbreak of hostilities on French territory during WWII, a battalion of these already obsolete tanks was sent to the theater of operations. On May 15, 1940, a train with the battalion's equipment got into a railway traffic jam while en route to the unloading sites near the city of Nechateau. Since it was not possible to unload such heavy tanks from the platforms, and German troops were approaching the station where the train was stuck, the French crews destroyed their armored vehicles and retreated. However, as it soon became clear, not all Char 2Cs were destroyed. In particular, vehicle No. 99 fell into the hands of the Germans undamaged and was tested by them at the Kummersdorf training ground. Her further fate is unknown.

German soldiers posing against the background of the captured French giant tank Char 2C No. 99 “Champagne”.
Next to the tank are disassembled parts of its engine.

K-Wagen

At the end of March 1917, the Inspectorate of Automotive Troops of Imperial Germany instructed the chief engineer of its experimental department, Joseph Vollmer, to create a tank that, according to its technical parameters, would be capable of breaking through enemy defense lines.

If completed successfully and on time, this tank would become the heaviest WWII tank - its weight would reach 150 tons. Two six-cylinder gasoline engines from Daimler with a power of 650 hp each were chosen as power plants. every. The tank was supposed to be armed with 4 77 mm guns located in sponsons and 7 7.92 mm MG.08 machine guns. Of all the super-heavy tanks, the K-Wagen had the largest crew - 22 people. The length of the tank reached 12.8 meters, and if not for the Russian Tsar Tank, it would have become the longest super-heavy tank in the history of tank building. IN project documentation the tank was called Kolossal-Wagen, Kolossal or K. The generally accepted designation is “K-Wagen”.

Construction of these machines began in April 1918, but the rapid end of the war stopped all work. German tank builders had almost finished assembling the first copy of the tank, and for the second the armored hull and all the main components, except the engines, were ready. But the Entente troops were approaching German enterprises, and everything manufactured was destroyed by the manufacturers themselves.

FCM F1

In the early 30s, it became clear to French military officials that the FCM 2C tank was hopelessly outdated. Since French military thought believed that future wars would be of the same positional nature as WWII, it was decided in Paris that the army needed new heavy breakthrough tanks.

In February 1938, the Armaments Advisory Council, headed by General Duflo, determined the main tactical and technical characteristics of the future tank to announce a design competition. The Council put forward the following requirements for the vehicle's armament: one large-caliber gun and one rapid-fire against tank gun. Besides, new tank had to be equipped with anti-shell armor that could withstand hits from shells from all anti-tank artillery systems known at that time.

The largest French tank builders (FCM, ARL and AMX companies) took part in the competition, but only FCM was able to begin creating a prototype. Its engineers designed a tank with two turrets arranged like battleships on different levels so that they do not interfere with each other's all-round firing. A 105 mm main caliber gun was to be installed in the rear (higher) turret. A 47-mm rapid-fire anti-tank gun is mounted in the front turret. The thickness of the frontal armor of the vehicle was 120 mm. It was assumed that the prototype would be ready by the end of May 1940, but this was prevented by the rapid German offensive in France. Further fate semi-finished prototypes are unknown.

TOG II

In October 1940, the first copy of the experimental British TOG I tank was created. Its name, which stands for “The Old Gang,” hinted at the considerable age and experience of its creators. The old principles of tank building were evident in the layout and appearance of this combat vehicle, as well as in its characteristics. The TOG I had a WWI-era layout and a low speed of 5 mph (8 km/h). The guns and machine guns, originally located in the sponsons, were eventually replaced by a turret from the Matilda II tank, mounted on the roof of the hull. Its tracks, like those of other tanks from WWII, covered the hull, and were not placed on the sides of it, like modern tanks. Since the weight of the vehicle was 64.6 tons, it is difficult to classify it as a super-heavy tank. The tank was modernized several times until 1944, but it never went into production.

In 1940, in parallel with TOG I, the creation of TOG II began. It was realized in metal by the spring of 1941. This tank was made heavier than the previous model - it weighed 82.3 tons. Thanks to its long length, independent torsion bar suspension, and the fact that each track was driven by a separate electric motor, this tank had increased maneuverability. The electric motors were powered by a generator driven by a diesel power plant. Therefore, despite its heavy weight, the tank could overcome walls 2.1 meters high and ditches 6.4 meters wide. His negative qualities were low speed(maximum 14 km/h) and the vulnerability of the tracks, the design of which is hopelessly outdated. The tank received a specially designed turret, which housed the only 76.2 mm tank gun and a machine gun. Subsequently, design upgrades continued, and the TOG II(R) and TOG III projects appeared, but none of them were put into mass production.

Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus

In December 1942, Ferdinand Porsche, whose company’s designers completed the project of the super-heavy tank Maus (German for “mouse”), was summoned to an audience with Hitler. A year later, on December 23, 1943, the first prototype of the tank came out of the gates of the Alkett tank-building enterprise (Almerkische Kettenfabrik GmbH), which was part of the Reichswerke state concern. It was the heaviest manufactured tank in the entire history of world tank building - its weight reached 188 tons. The frontal armor plate reached a thickness of 200 mm, and the rear armor plate – 160 mm. Despite the fact that the tank had a huge mass, during its testing it turned out that it was very maneuverable, easy to control and had high maneuverability. The tank underwent modifications, passed field tests, and its second copy was manufactured. But in the second half of 1944, Germany ran out of funds to ensure regular supplies of even serial tanks, not to mention the launch of new expensive vehicles.

In mid-April 1945, the Kummersdorf training ground was captured Soviet troops. Both tanks, which were disabled during the battles for the training ground, were sent to the USSR. There, from two damaged vehicles, one whole one was assembled, which is still on display in the Central Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment in Kubinka.

Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus Porsche Type 205/1 with Krupp turret at the Böblingen factory, 9 or 10 April 1944

A39 Tortoise

From the beginning of 1943, the development of a new breakthrough tank began in Great Britain. The project was called Tortoise (English - “land turtle”), as it envisaged that the future tank would have thick armor, powerful weapons and would be unlikely to have high speed. As a result of design research, a number of projects for vehicles with the “AT” index appeared, which never went into production. In the end, designers and customers from the Committee for the Development of Special Equipment of the British Ministry of Supply settled on the AT-16 model, which received the official index “A39”. In February 1944, 25 units were ordered for production, which were to be produced by September 1945. However, in May 1945 fighting in Europe ran out, and the committee reduced the order to 12 cars. In February 1946, the order was again halved, and as a result, only 5 vehicles were manufactured. The units of the sixth copy of the A39 were used as a source of spare parts.

Super heavy assault self-propelled artillery installation(according to the British classification - tank)
A39 project "Tortoise"

In fact, the Tortoise was not a tank, but a self-propelled gun, since the A39 did not have a turret, and the 94-mm cannon was located directly in the frontal part of the conning tower. However, according to the British classification, the self-propelled gun could not be so heavy (the weight of the A39 reached 89 tons), and it was decided to classify it as a tank. To the left of the gun was a BESA machine gun (English version of the Czechoslovakian ZB-53), and two more such machine guns were installed in the turret on the roof of the vehicle. The self-propelled guns did not go into large production, because against the backdrop of contemporary heavy Soviet tanks(after the war, Britain considered the USSR as the main potential enemy), it was outdated both in mobility (maximum speed - 19 km/h) and in armament, although its powerful frontal armor with a thickness of 228 mm impressed its contemporaries.

The UK's heaviest tank, the A39 Tortoise project, at the Bovington Tank Museum

Pz.Kpfw. E-100

T28-T95 (Turtle)

They didn’t sit idly by overseas either. In September 1943, the United States began work on its own breakthrough tank. The United States was preparing to enter the war in Europe and feared that it would not be easy to overcome the Atlantic Wall, built by the Germans on the coast, and then the Siegfried Line. But, as often happens, army functionaries realized it quite late (apparently, they forgot to take into account that creating fundamentally new tanks is a long process).

It was planned to install a 105 mm T5E1 cannon as the main armament on the tank. The initial speed of its projectile, as military officials believed, was sufficient to pierce the concrete walls of bunkers. The gun was supposed to be placed in the frontal armor plate of the vehicle - this decision was reached in order to reduce the silhouette of the T-28. In fact new car was not a tank, but a breakthrough self-propelled gun - the American military eventually realized this, and the vehicle was renamed the T-95 self-propelled gun. As Americans like to do, at the same time they gave her the nickname “Turtle”. The self-propelled guns were equipped with an electric transmission designed for installation on T1E1 and T23 tanks.

Design studies and bureaucratic delays led to the fact that the decision to manufacture prototypes was made only in March 1944. But the military rejected the finished project and ordered three vehicles, the frontal armor of which was supposed to reach 305 mm, which was one and a half times higher than the previously planned 200 mm. After the changes made, the weight of the vehicle increased to 86.3 tons. To reduce the pressure on the ground and increase the maneuverability of the self-propelled gun, it was decided to make its tracks double. As a result new project was ready only in March 1945, when the fighting in Europe and on the Pacific front was nearing its end. The first prototype was shipped to the Aberdeen Proving Ground when it was no longer needed, on December 21, 1945. Production of the second copy was completed on January 10, 1946.

As a result of lengthy tests carried out in 1947, the American military again renamed the T95 into the T28 breakthrough tank, since, in their opinion, the self-propelled gun could not weigh that much. Almost simultaneously, they came to the conclusion that the low speed of the machine did not respond modern conditions waging war. As a result, the T28 (T95) was abandoned, but perhaps American bureaucrats were simply tired of puzzling over the classification of this vehicle.

"Object 279"

It would be unfair to ignore the USSR, a country that can rightfully be called the most “tank” power of the 20th century. In the last century, Soviet enterprises produced greatest number tanks and the largest number of their models have been designed. However, the country of the Soviets was not keen on super-heavy tanks. Before WWII there simply wasn’t enough money for them, and during the war there wasn’t even enough time. Thus, in the summer of 1941, the Leningrad Kirov Plant developed a project for a super-heavy tank KV-5, the weight of which would reach 100 tons, but in August German troops approached Leningrad, and work on this project was stopped.

After the end of WWII, with the advent of cumulative ammunition, it became clear to all tank designers that it was irrational to create combat vehicles heavier than 60 tons. With this heavy weight they cannot be made fast and maneuverable, which means that, despite the most powerful armor, they will quickly be shot down. But the specter of nuclear war loomed on the horizon, and designers began to develop vehicles that were supposed to conduct combat operations in unprecedented conditions.

In 1957, an amazing tank was created at the Zh. Ya. Kotin Design Bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant under the leadership of L. S. Troyanov. Although it weighed only 60 tons and in terms of mass cannot claim the title of a super-heavy tank, in terms of its level of armor it does. The thickness of the walls of its cast tower along the perimeter was 305 mm. At the same time, the thickness of the frontal armor reached 269 mm, the sides - 182 mm. This thickness of armor was achieved thanks to the original shape of the hull, more like a flying saucer than a tank. The unusual product was given the index “Object 279”. The experimental armored vehicle was armed with a 130-mm M-65 rifled cannon with a barrel blowing system. Of all the super-heavy tanks realized in metal, the caliber of the main gun of the Object 279 is the largest.

The vehicle was equipped with a complex system of non-adjustable hydropneumatic suspension and double tracks. This technical solution made it possible to reduce the pressure on the ground and increase the tank's maneuverability, but seriously worsened its maneuverability. This factor, as well as the complexity of the machine to maintain, was the reason that the project did not go beyond the creation and testing of a prototype.

“Object 279” on display at the Central Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment in Kubinka

From the very day when the first armored vehicles, called tanks, appeared on the battlefields, they have not ceased to be improved. Most big tank produced in the world by Russia in 1915. It is known as the Tsar Tank, Mastodon, Mammoth or Lebedenko's machine. He even got several nicknames, for example, the Tsar Tank is compared to a bat, because when the model was transferred to the rear wheels, it resembled a bat falling upside down. What kind of colossus is this, and for what reason has it not been possible to build a larger model so far?

The drawings were developed by great Russian engineers: Stechkin and Mikulin. To be honest, this colossus cannot be called a tank, because in appearance it is more similar to a gun carriage, which has been increased in size. Distinctive feature this project is non-standard appearance and ambition.

The idea of ​​​​designing such a machine came to the head of the chief engineer Lebedenko, he was inspired by carts. That's what the carts were called in Central Asia, thanks to the huge wheels, they could overcome any bump or ditch. The tank developed by Lebedenko had two huge wheels, each 9 meters in diameter, and the overall length of the vehicle was 18 meters. The mass of the nine-meter high and twelve-meter wide machine reached 60 tons. To service the tank, a crew of at least 15 people was required. On the highway, the maximum speed of this tank reached 17 km/h. This combat vehicle was produced in a single copy, which did not pass initial tests.

As mentioned earlier, the tank could hardly be called a weapon that is used for attack and defense; it is more like a fortress on wheels. Due to the discovered shortcomings, all efforts were nullified. Design flaws were due to the huge size of the tank.

Vulnerability. Large diameter wheels are an excellent target for the enemy. All you had to do was hit the wheel successfully once, and it would render the monster completely incapacitated. First, the tank could not continue moving, and second, it fell to the ground in such a way that the angle for aimed shooting was unsuitable.

Patency. Gigantic sizes cars did not allow her to pass everywhere. It was more intended for movement on smoother and less rugged terrain. And this is one of the main disadvantages of offensive military equipment.

Stealth. Everyone knows that success in combat operations largely depends on stealth and surprise attacks on positions. But the defending side learned about the appearance of such a giant along with the attacking side.

Engine. The super tank was equipped with 2 powerful German engines, each with 240 horsepower. However, this was not enough. In order for this Goliath to climb a steep mountain, it needed a more powerful engine.

It was because of these shortcomings that the Tsar Tank was not put into production. Not a single copy of this combat vehicle ever appeared in the world, and the trial model was dismantled for scrap in 1923.

"Tsar Tank"
The largest in size was the Russian Tsar Tank. Its developer Nikolai Lebedenko (in honor of him the car is also sometimes called the “Lebedenko tank” or “Lebedenko machine”), in ways unknown to us, achieved an audience with Emperor Nicholas II, which took place on January 8 (according to the new style - January 21), 1915. To the audience, the engineer brought a skillfully made wooden self-propelled model of his brainchild, which started and moved thanks to a gramophone spring. According to the recollections of the courtiers, the designer and the tsar spent several hours fiddling with this toy “like little children,” creating artificial obstacles for it from improvised means - volumes of the Code of Laws of the Russian Empire. The Tsar was so impressed by the model that Lebedenko eventually gave him that he approved the financing of the project. The design of the tank resembled a huge artillery carriage with two large front wheels. If the model was held by the back of the “carriage” with the wheels down, then it looked like a bat sleeping under the ceiling, which is why the car received the nicknames “Bat” and “Bat”.

Initially, it was clear that the project was not viable. The largest and most vulnerable element of the new tank were the huge 9-meter wheels, the supporting structure of which were spokes. They were created in such a way to increase the maneuverability of the tank, but they were easily disabled even by artillery shrapnel, not to mention high-explosive or armor-piercing shells. There were also problems with the vehicle's maneuverability. However, thanks to the royal patronage, the tank was quickly built. Already in August 1915, it was assembled at an improvised site near the city of Dmitrov, Moscow region, but due to unsatisfactory maneuverability, it remained to rust in the open air until the early 20s, until it was dismantled for scrap. As a result, thousands of rubles of public funds were wasted.

The tank's fighting compartments were housed in a hull located between its giant wheels. The armament was placed in a machine gun turret for six machine guns, built above the hull, as well as in sponsons located at its ends, protruding beyond the wheels. The sponsons could accommodate both machine gun and artillery weapons. It was envisaged that the tank's crew would be 15 people. A “carriage” was located perpendicular to the hull, the main purpose of which was to create a stop when firing. The "carriage" led the crew into the tank's fighting compartments.
The dimensions of the Tsar Tank were amazing - its length was 17.8 meters, width - 12, height - 9. It weighed 60 tons.
This vehicle became the largest and most ridiculous tank in world history.

Char 2C (FCM 2C)
This French tank became the largest and heaviest production tank in the entire history of tank building. It was created by the FCM shipbuilding company at the very end of WWII, but never took part in hostilities. According to the designers, the Char 2C was supposed to be a breakthrough tank that could effectively overcome German trenches. The French military liked this idea, and on February 21, 1918, 300 vehicles were ordered from FCM. However, while the shipbuilders were starting production, the war ended. The tank turned out to be low-tech and expensive, and the production of each unit took a lot of time. As a result, only 10 machines were manufactured until 1923. Since the French government was experiencing certain financial difficulties after WWI, and the Char 2C was very expensive, a decision was made to stop its production.

Char 2C weighed 75 tons and had a crew of 13 people. It was armed with one 75 mm cannon and 4 machine guns. The tank’s engines “ate” an average of 12.8 liters per kilometer covered by the vehicle, so a tank with a capacity of 1280 liters was enough for a maximum of 100–150 km of travel, and on rough terrain this distance was even less.
The Char 2C was in service with the French army until 1940. With the outbreak of hostilities on French territory during WWII, a battalion of these already obsolete tanks was sent to the theater of operations. On May 15, 1940, a train with the battalion's equipment got into a railway traffic jam while en route to the unloading sites near the city of Nechateau.

(German soldiers pose against the backdrop of a captured French giant tank
Char 2C No. 99 “Champagne”. Next to the tank are disassembled parts of its engine.)

Since it was not possible to unload such heavy tanks from the platforms, and German troops were approaching the station where the train was stuck, the French crews destroyed their armored vehicles and retreated. However, as it soon became clear, not all Char 2Cs were destroyed. In particular, vehicle No. 99 fell into the hands of the Germans undamaged and was tested by them at the Kummersdorf training ground. Her further fate is unknown.

K-Wagen
At the end of March 1917, the Inspectorate of Automotive Troops of Imperial Germany instructed the chief engineer of its experimental department, Joseph Vollmer, to create a tank that, according to its technical parameters, would be capable of breaking through enemy defense lines. If completed successfully and on time, this tank would become the heaviest WWII tank - its weight would reach 150 tons. Two six-cylinder gasoline engines from Daimler with a power of 650 hp each were chosen as power plants. every. The tank was supposed to be armed with 4 77 mm guns located in sponsons and 7 7.92 mm MG.08 machine guns. Of all the super-heavy tanks, the K-Wagen had the largest crew - 22 people. The length of the tank reached 12.8 meters, and if not for the Russian Tsar Tank, it would have become the longest super-heavy tank in the history of tank building. In the design documentation, the tank was called Kolossal-Wagen, Kolossal or K. It is generally accepted to use the index “K-Wagen”. Construction of these machines began in April 1918, but the rapid end of the war stopped all work. German tank builders had almost finished assembling the first copy of the tank, and for the second the armored hull and all the main components, except the engines, were ready. But the Entente troops were approaching German enterprises, and everything manufactured was destroyed by the manufacturers themselves.

FCM F1
In the early 30s, it became clear to French military officials that the FCM 2C tank was hopelessly outdated. Since French military thought believed that future wars would be of the same positional nature as WWII, it was decided in Paris that the army needed new heavy breakthrough tanks.
In February 1938, the Armaments Advisory Council, headed by General Duflo, determined the main tactical and technical characteristics of the future tank to announce a design competition. The Council put forward the following requirements for the vehicle's armament: one large-caliber cannon and one rapid-fire anti-tank gun.

In addition, the new tank had to be equipped with anti-shell armor that could withstand hits from shells from all anti-tank artillery systems known at that time. The largest French tank builders (FCM, ARL and AMX companies) took part in the competition, but only FCM was able to begin creating a prototype.
Its engineers designed a tank with two turrets, located like battleships at different levels, so that they would not interfere with each other's all-round firing. A 105 mm main caliber gun was to be installed in the rear (higher) turret. A 47-mm rapid-fire anti-tank gun is mounted in the front turret. The thickness of the frontal armor of the vehicle was 120 mm. The prototype was expected to be ready by the end of May 1940, but this was prevented by the rapid German offensive in France. The further fate of the semi-finished prototypes is unknown.

TOG II
In October 1940, the first copy of the experimental British TOG I tank was created. Its name, which stands for “The Old Gang,” hinted at the considerable age and experience of its creators. The old principles of tank building were evident in the layout and appearance of this combat vehicle, as well as in its characteristics. The TOG I had a WWI-era layout and a low speed of 5 mph (8 km/h).
The guns and machine guns, originally located in the sponsons, were eventually replaced by a turret from the Matilda II tank, mounted on the roof of the hull. Its tracks, like those of other tanks from WWII, covered the hull, and were not placed on the sides of it, like modern tanks. Since the weight of the vehicle was 64.6 tons, it is difficult to classify it as a super-heavy tank. The tank was modernized several times until 1944, but it never went into production. In 1940, in parallel with TOG I, the creation of TOG II began. It was realized in metal by the spring of 1941. This tank was made heavier than the previous model - it weighed 82.3 tons. Thanks to its long length, independent torsion bar suspension, and the fact that each track was driven by a separate electric motor, this tank had increased maneuverability. The electric motors were powered by a generator driven by a diesel power plant.

Therefore, despite its heavy weight, the tank could overcome walls 2.1 meters high and ditches 6.4 meters wide. Its negative qualities were low speed (maximum 14 km/h) and the vulnerability of the tracks, the design of which was hopelessly outdated. The tank received a specially designed turret, which housed the only 76.2 mm tank gun and a machine gun.
Subsequently, design upgrades continued, and the TOG II(R) and TOG III projects appeared, but none of them were put into mass production.

Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus
In December 1942, Ferdinand Porsche, whose company’s designers completed the project of the super-heavy tank Maus (German for “mouse”), was summoned to an audience with Hitler. A year later, on December 23, 1943, the first prototype of the tank came out of the gates of the Alkett tank-building enterprise (Almerkische Kettenfabrik GmbH), which was part of the Reichswerke state concern. It was the heaviest manufactured tank in the entire history of world tank building - its weight reached 188 tons. The frontal armor plate reached a thickness of 200 mm, and the rear armor plate – 160 mm. Despite the fact that the tank had a huge mass, during its testing it turned out that it was very maneuverable, easy to control and had high maneuverability. The tank underwent modifications, passed field tests, and its second copy was manufactured. But in the second half of 1944, Germany ran out of funds to ensure regular supplies of even serial tanks, not to mention the launch of new expensive vehicles.

In mid-April 1945, the Kummersdorf training ground was captured by Soviet troops. Both tanks, which were disabled during the battles for the training ground, were sent to the USSR. There, from two damaged vehicles, one whole one was assembled, which is still on display in the Central Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment in Kubinka.

(Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus Porsche Type 205/1 with a Krupp turret at the Böblingen factory, April 9 or 10, 1944)

A39 Tortoise
From the beginning of 1943, the development of a new breakthrough tank began in Great Britain. The project was called Tortoise (English - “land turtle”), as it envisaged that the future tank would have thick armor, powerful weapons and would be unlikely to have high speed. As a result of design research, a number of projects for vehicles with the “AT” index appeared, which never went into production.

(Super-heavy assault self-propelled artillery unit (according to the British classification - a tank) A39 project "Tortoise")

In the end, designers and customers from the Committee for the Development of Special Equipment of the British Ministry of Supply settled on the AT-16 model, which received the official index “A39”. In February 1944, 25 units were ordered for production, which were to be produced by September 1945. However, in May 1945, fighting in Europe ended, and the committee reduced the order to 12 vehicles. In February 1946, the order was again halved, and as a result, only 5 vehicles were manufactured. The units of the sixth copy of the A39 were used as a source of spare parts. In fact, the Tortoise was not a tank, but a self-propelled gun, since the A39 did not have a turret, and the 94-mm cannon was located directly in the frontal part of the conning tower. However, according to the British classification, the self-propelled gun could not be so heavy (the weight of the A39 reached 89 tons), and it was decided to classify it as a tank.

To the left of the gun was a BESA machine gun (English version of the Czechoslovakian ZB-53), and two more such machine guns were installed in the turret on the roof of the vehicle. The self-propelled gun did not go into large production, since compared to the heavy Soviet tanks of its day (after the war, Britain considered the USSR as the main potential enemy), it was outdated both in mobility (maximum speed - 19 km/h) and in armament, although its powerful the 228 mm thick frontal armor impressed contemporaries.

Pz.Kpfw. E-100
This vehicle was created as an alternative to the Pz.Kpfw VIII Maus tank, designed by Porsche. In fact, Ferdinand Porsche took advantage of his position, being a good acquaintance of the Reich Minister of Armaments Todt and being on good terms with Hitler himself. Using his connections, Porsche contributed to the closure of the project of another super-heavy tank, the VK 7201 “Heavy Lion” (Schwere Löwe), produced by the Krupp concern. Meanwhile, another German tank designer and functionary, Heinrich Ernst Kniepkamp, ​​in defiance of Porsche, initiated the development of a whole series of tanks that were supposed to replace all types of armored tracked combat vehicles in the army, from reconnaissance tanks to super-heavy breakthrough tanks. The last one was supposed to be the E-100.

Of all the E-Series vehicles, the development of the E-100 tank has advanced the furthest. This tank was supposed to be lighter than the Maus (140 tons versus 188), and at the same time armored at the same level. It was designed in such a way that the armor plates had as few right angles as possible (unlike the Maus tank, the sides of which were almost vertical). Three turret variants for this tank were developed, the first of which was the Maus tank turret with a 128 mm gun. True, in the version for the E-100 tank, they decided to replace the 128 mm gun with a 150 mm one.

The turret was to be manufactured by the Krupp concern, and they were also to develop a method for installing the gun. This option turned out to be preferable to the other two, but neither of them was implemented in metal. If the Germans still had enough time, the E-100 would have received the most powerful gun throughout the history of the creation of super-heavy tanks. Only one copy of the chassis of this tank was created, which was tested at the Heistenbeck training ground with a dummy turret.
At the end of the war, this chassis fell into the hands of the British troops as a trophy and was later taken to Great Britain, where it was carefully studied by local engineers.

(Pz.Kpfw. E-100 tank loaded onto a transport platform with a British soldier posing on top)

T28-T95 (Turtle)
They didn’t sit idly by overseas either. In September 1943, the United States began work on its own breakthrough tank. The United States was preparing to enter the war in Europe and feared that it would not be easy to overcome the Atlantic Wall, built by the Germans on the coast, and then the Siegfried Line. But, as often happens, army functionaries realized it quite late (apparently, they forgot to take into account that creating fundamentally new tanks is a long process). It was planned to install a 105 mm T5E1 cannon as the main armament on the tank. The initial speed of its projectile, as military officials believed, was sufficient to pierce the concrete walls of bunkers. The gun was supposed to be placed in the frontal armor plate of the vehicle - this decision was reached in order to reduce the silhouette of the T-28. In fact, the new vehicle was not a tank, but a breakthrough self-propelled gun - the American military realized this over time, and the vehicle was renamed the T-95 self-propelled gun. As Americans like to do, at the same time they gave her the nickname “Turtle”. The self-propelled guns were equipped with an electric transmission designed for installation on T1E1 and T23 tanks.

Design studies and bureaucratic delays led to the fact that the decision to manufacture prototypes was made only in March 1944. But the military rejected the finished project and ordered three vehicles, the frontal armor of which was supposed to reach 305 mm, which was one and a half times higher than the previously planned 200 mm. After the changes made, the weight of the vehicle increased to 86.3 tons. To reduce the pressure on the ground and increase the maneuverability of the self-propelled gun, it was decided to make its tracks double. As a result, the new project was not ready until March 1945, when hostilities in Europe and the Pacific Front were drawing to a close. The first prototype was shipped to the Aberdeen Proving Ground when it was no longer needed, on December 21, 1945. Production of the second copy was completed on January 10, 1946. As a result of lengthy tests carried out in 1947, the American military again renamed the T95 into the T28 breakthrough tank, since, in their opinion, the self-propelled gun could not weigh that much. Almost simultaneously, they came to the conclusion that the low speed of the vehicle did not meet modern conditions of warfare. As a result, the T28 (T95) was abandoned, but perhaps American bureaucrats were simply tired of puzzling over the classification of this vehicle.

"Object 279"
It would be unfair to ignore the USSR, a country that can rightfully be called the most “tank” power of the 20th century. In the last century, Soviet enterprises produced the largest number of tanks and designed the largest number of their models. However, the country of the Soviets was not keen on super-heavy tanks. Before WWII there simply wasn’t enough money for them, and during the war there wasn’t even enough time. Thus, in the summer of 1941, the Leningrad Kirov Plant developed a project for a super-heavy tank KV-5, the weight of which would reach 100 tons, but in August German troops approached Leningrad, and work on this project was stopped.
After the end of WWII, with the advent of cumulative ammunition, it became clear to all tank designers that it was irrational to create combat vehicles heavier than 60 tons. With such a large weight, it is impossible to make them fast and maneuverable, which means that, despite the most powerful armor, they will quickly be shot down. But the specter of nuclear war loomed on the horizon, and designers began to develop vehicles that were supposed to conduct combat operations in unprecedented conditions. In 1957, an amazing tank was created at the Zh. Ya. Kotin Design Bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant under the leadership of L. S. Troyanov. Although it weighed only 60 tons and in terms of mass cannot claim the title of a super-heavy tank, in terms of its level of armor it does. The thickness of the walls of its cast tower along the perimeter was 305 mm. At the same time, the thickness of the frontal armor reached 269 mm, the sides - 182 mm. This thickness of armor was achieved thanks to the original shape of the hull, more like a flying saucer than a tank.

The unusual product was given the index “Object 279”. The experimental armored vehicle was armed with a 130-mm M-65 rifled cannon with a barrel blowing system. Of all the super-heavy tanks realized in metal, the caliber of the main gun of the Object 279 is the largest.
The vehicle was equipped with a complex system of non-adjustable hydropneumatic suspension and double tracks. This technical solution made it possible to reduce the pressure on the ground and increase the tank's maneuverability, but seriously worsened its maneuverability. This factor, as well as the complexity of the machine to maintain, was the reason that the project did not go beyond the creation and testing of a prototype.

From the moment heavy armored vehicles, later called tanks, first appeared on the battlefield, work on their improvement has never stopped. This is best seen if we remember the largest tanks. In the world, along with successful designs that became widely known and were mass-produced, there were archaic designs that did not correspond to the spirit of the times, complex projects, the implementation of which in metal was economically and technologically very difficult.

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

Now most of the developed samples can be considered 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 ground force, equally effective in offensive and defensive operations. However, let’s look at the main contenders for the role of armored force leaders.

The Landkreuzer R1500 “Monster” was created as a super-heavy tank, planned for an 800-mm with a target engagement range of up to 37 km and a projectile weight of 7 tons, as well as two 150-mm howitzers SFH18 and large number small-caliber anti-aircraft guns. Total weight together with the gun mount it was expected to weigh up to 2500 tons. The main reasons for refusing to produce the “monster” were the following: the impossibility of transportation by road, greater vulnerability from air raids (it is simply impossible to hide such a colossus) and the operation of four engines similar to those used on Type VIII submarines.

A slightly smaller project was the Landkreuzer R1000 “Ratte” (rat), the weight of which was expected to be between 900-1000 tons, with a length of 39 meters and a height of 11 meters. It was planned to install one converted ship turret with two 180 mm guns and twenty anti-aircraft guns located throughout the hull. The estimated crew size was determined to be 100 people.

The largest tanks in the world built were released in One of them is the Panzer VIII “Maus”.

Its weight was many times greater than any of the mass-produced heavy tanks of Germany, the USSR, Great Britain or the USA, amounting to more than 180 tons. The mouse's armament included one 128 mm and one 75 mm gun. Design was completed in mid-1942. Production began, but only 2 prototypes were completed before the end of the war, which were captured by Soviet units. Later they were dismantled and transported by captured teams to the USSR; one of the cars is now on display in Kubinka.

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

English designers who worked on the creation of infantry support vehicles, also developing this theme, created their own designs. These are not the largest tanks in the world, but quite exotic. Thus, in 1941, one prototype of the 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 vehicle was the A39, which weighed 78 tons and had a 96 mm cannon, which also did not go into production due to the factories being busy producing Churchill tanks.

In the USSR, a three-tower (or “object 225”) was developed. Due to the outbreak of the war, frequent changes were made to the project due to the need to reduce the cost and improve maintenance. Work on this model was carried out at the Leningrad plant named after S.M. Kirov. Due to the threat of the enemy reaching the city, at the end of the summer of 1941 the project was curtailed, and forces were devoted to finalizing the KV-1. The weight of the tank was 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.

Created in different countries, the largest tanks in the world often had a futuristic appearance, but the capabilities combat use were extremely limited, and now most of them can only be seen in images, as well as in computer games.