Weapons 25/02/20 Mouse: what happened to Hitler spartancami
in pronouncing the name of the car brand “Porsche” man’s imagination immediately draws an elegant expensive sedan designed for driving on the roads of the most wealthy people on the planet. While rare historian knows that the most heavy tank of the Second world war, ironically named “Mouse” was also developed on the personal order of Hitler’s “Porsche”.
Porsche-205
Most interesting is that the tank, which had a record for such machines the weight of 188 tons, was officially called Porsche-205. In its creation took part the owner of the company Ferdinand Porsche. His nickname “mouse” tank received a few days later, for its huge size. Perhaps tired of the big names of tanks “Tiger” and “Panther”, who became victims did not have the resounding names of Soviet cars, the Germans this time decided to go back, calling her the most heavy tank mouse. However, the true father of the tank may be considered to be not of his immediate creators and Adolf Hitler, who at a meeting on 8 July 1942 instructed Ferdinand Porsche and albert Speer to develop a “breakthrough tank”. The intention of the führer, the war machine had to have the highest possible armor and two guns of calibre of 128 mm and 150 mm. Given the importance of this work, in the tank except the Porsche was attended by several major German companies. The engine for the tank were provided by the firm “Daimler-Benz”, “Siemens” has established the drivetrain and the tower and the body of the tank was cast in the factories of the company “Krupp”. The Assembly of the individual parts of “mouse” in a single unit took place in the factory of the company “Alkett”. Technical characteristics of the tank was impressive. A heavy machine had a track width of 1.1 meter and mnogometrovoy suspension. This combination, despite the great weight of the tank, provided the specific ground pressure is not superior to the showate classic heavy tanks. If this car had a thick circular plate armor and two guns. An interesting innovation was independent of the Electromechanical transmission of the right and left treads of the tank. The crew consisted of five people. Three were located in the tower and fought, while the other two were in the driver’s cab.
Rare trophy
Despite the fact that the order of manufacture of the tank gave Hitler personally, work on its creation was not proceeding as quickly as we would like the military of Germany. A wooden model was made and submitted to Hitler in may 1943. Behind him in December of the same year tested running gear of the tank. Moreover, if the moving platform was made of metal in natural size with the aircraft engine MV 509, instead of the tower, the prototype tank had a wooden dummy. However the tests were successful, and the workers started to manufacture the tank for delivery to the troops. But since it’s on the front got worse and worse, and enterprises lacked for the first two tanks of the project “the mouse” came off the Assembly line in August 1944. Units were numbered serially 205/1 and 205/2. There the matter ended. In late 1944, when the Germans “believed every liter of petrol”, Hitler gave the order to stop all work on the production of the first 10 series of tanks of the project “mouse”. Even already made the first two tanks, the troops had not arrived. So they are not given as booty to the Soviet forces, both tanks 21 April 1945 was blown up near the railway station near the town of Kummersdorf. However the tank with the serial number 205/2 had strong enough armor that was destroyed only by half.
Later there was something so feared by the Nazis. The remains of the tanks as trophies went to the red army. They were taken first to Leningrad and then in Kubinka near Moscow. On a tank range of overstored parts of the two German cars were assembled one full tank of the project “mouse”. In 1951-1952 he even participated in the exercises and was fired on a tank range. Today tank project “Mouse” with the body of the tank 205/1 and 205/2 from the tower is armored Museum in Kubinka and available for review to all comers.
Russian Seven
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