Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte – Hitlers Idiotic Heavy Tank Design

An artist impression of the Landkreuzer – [Via]



The Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte (Rat) was a design for a super-heavy tank for use by Nazi Germany during World War II. Originally proposed by the Krupp director Eduard Grote in June 1942 he named it the “Landkreuzer” (land cruiser).
The tank was planned to be 1000 metric tonnes, being far heavier than the Panzer VIII Maus, the heaviest tank ever built (weighing 188 tonnes). The turret and gun alone would weigh 200 tons!
The project gained the approval of Adolf Hitler, who had expressed interest in the development of the tank.

Artist impression [via]



It would have dwarved normal tanks [via]
If it were ever built it would have been 115 feet in length, 45 feet wide and a massive 36 feet – almost four stories – into the sky. It would have a crew of at least 20 men and because of it size could even accommodate crew quarters and lavatories.





Artist impression [via]

The behemoth would be armed to the teeth. The turret would be of naval design like the guns on the heavy cruiser Gneisenau. There would be 2 guns in the turret, both a bore of 280mm and could fire a shells as heavy as 700 pounds at target as far as 25 miles away! At least one 128mm Anti Tank gun was to be added. For anti aircraft defense they planned to add 8 22mm FLAK-38 cannons.
Its huge size would and massive weight would have destroyed any road it would drive on and there were no bridges big or strong enough for it to drive over. Given the fact that the heavy German tanks like the Tiger and King Tiger were under powered the Germans faced a massive challenge to get this thing moving.
The plans called for 8 Daimler Benz MB501 20 cylinder marine engines which were to produce 17.000 horsepower. These engines were used in E-Boats and later in U-Boats too. They were to power 6 tracks, 3 on each side being a massive 1.2 meters wide.
The tank would be very easy to spot from the air and would be the prime target of all aircraft and artillery if it ever made it to the front. As stated earlier, no bridge could support it and fording every river would be a gamble every time. It could not drive through villages as it was too wide and any road it drove on would have been instantly wrecked. The project was canceled by Albert Speer in early 1943 and no prototype tank was ever completed. It remained a dream that has only come into “reality” in dozens of computer games and graphic artists.


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