Today we have a few heavy-lifters for you. Both models were developed at the end of the war, and both haven't seen the actual combat. We are talking about the Panzer VIII Maus and IS-3 models.
Check the description of each heavy tank below, and don't forget to tell us which model is the heaviest and why :)
Panzer VIII Maus
Panzer VIII Maus is a German super-heavy tank and also the heaviest tank ever built. Only two prototypes were built, and one of them had no turret. These two models underwent trials in late 1944.
Tank’s main armament is the 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 gun, based on the 12.8 cm Pak 44 anti-tank field artillery piece also used in the Jagdtiger tank destroyer. It also has the 75 mm KwK 44 L/36.5 gun as secondary armament and the MG 34 machine gun. Maus was too heavy to cross bridges, so an alternative system was developed where the tank would ford rivers instead. Due to its size, it could ford relatively deep streams. For even deeper streams, it was to submerge and drive across the river bottom. The solution required tanks to be paired up. One tank would supply electrical power to the crossing vehicle via a cable until it reached the other side, and the crew would receive air through a large snorkel. Due to its size, Maus was extremely slow and intended to punch holes through enemy defenses whilst taking almost no damage. However, the tank was developed too late and never saw actual combat.
IS-3
IS-3 is a Soviet late-war heavy tank. The chassis was left virtually unchanged from the IS-2 model, but the hull sides were largely inclined and well-sloped. The turret was changed. It was hemispherical, bowl-shaped, larger than the width of the tank itself and presented a pronounced tumblehome form. This shape, later simplified, ended as the trademark of all Soviet Cold War tanks. The armament was 122 mm D-25T gun with a muzzle brake. The rate of fire was 2-3 shots per minute, still largely inferior to German and western tanks in general. There was a single DT secondary machine-gun next to the gun in a fixed cast encasing. Overall, IS-3 had great armor, a good cannon, and good maneuverability. The first IS-3 tanks rolled out of the factory in May 1945. They didn’t take part in fighting but were paraded proudly on the 7th of September 1945 during a military parade in Berlin.
