AFV Weapons Profile 61 Elefant and Maus (E100)

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by Walter J. Spiel berger and John Milsom

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Edited by DUNCAN CROW Atmost since the 1 i nvention of hie tank there has been what might be ca lled a super - heavy tank complex - the urge to design and build enormous tanks that could withstand all punishment and overcome all opposition (it was hoped I) by sheer brute force. Many of these dre.ams of gargantuan tanks never materialized. But other.s almost reached completion, .and others again were actual ly built. The British started it with The Flying. Elephant in 1916 - not the E ephant that is one of the subjects of this P'rof.le incidental y . The Germans built a K-Wagen in 1918. The Frenc bu .It the Char 2C after World War I and during he war had carried out trials on a 141 ton monster tha wo,u ld carry a crew of 1

28 - this was comparable with the K- Wagen in weight and crew numbers. In Wo.r ld War 11 the super- heavy complex was still in evidence. General' Martel even suggested tanks as big as battleships that cou d swim th e Channel and advance on Berl in like monstrous Juggernauts. The arges ank ever built, however, was the German Maus, which, together with its rival design, the E100, is scrutinized by John Milsom ·n the second half of this Profile. The irst half, appropriately (for the Maus was the cu minat1on of Porsche techn ical development in the Tiger field), deals with. the Elefant (also known as the Ferdinand) which was the conversio oft e original Porsche 1ank design into a self- propelled tank destroyer. ' The Elefant'' ·s by Walter J . Spie berger 1

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who was the design engineer on 1he Elefan project and who foug 'h t in this AFV in Russia . Those who share the Editor's fascination in the super- heavy tank complex will find more evidence of it in AFV /Weapons Profiles 17, 32, 38, and 41 - especially in 38.

The complete ist of AFV /Weapons Profiles already published is: 1

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Cromwell and Comet

PanzerKampfwagen Ill Tanks Marks I to V

Priest, PLUS Complete Check List of All U.S .

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Light Tanks M1 - M5 (Stuart/ Honey) Light Tanks Marks I- VI Valentine Infantry Ta !n k Mark Ill Medium Tanks Mks A to D Crusader Cruiser Mark VJ (includes Cruisers Marks I- VI) Early (British) Armoured Cars P nzerKampfwagen V Panther M3 M ,e dium (Lee/Grant) Mediums Marks 1- 111 Ram and Sexton Carriers PanzerKampfwa,gen I and I Landing Vehicles Tracked Russian KV and IS Chie tain and leopard ( Deve opment) Chieftain ,a nd Leopard (Descr· ption) Churchill and Sherman Specials Armoured ,C ars Guy, Daimler, Humb,e r, A.E.C. PanzerKampfwagen 38(t) and 35(t) Soviet Mediums T44, T54. T55 and T62 he M48/ M60 Series of Main Battle Tanks

World War II SPs Saladin Armoured Car S-Tank M4 Medium (Sherman) Armoured Car Marmon ~ Herrington, Alvis-Straussler, Light Reconnaissance Australian Crt11serSent·nel: and Australian Matildas M6 Heavy· and M26 (Pershing) German Armoured Cars Scorpion Reconnaissance ank British Armoured Recovery Vehicles + Wheels, Tracks and ransport r Chars Hotchkiss H35. H39 .. and Somua S35 Russian BT Series Conqueror Heavy Gun Tank Panhard Armo red Cars U.S. Armored Car

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Light Tanl1eet set tle£1llli11e'i f t>,. 1>re\l'llft111011 c>/1/1e Po1\·c/1cribes the Cl1r)'slcr SWAT and the n1ore interesting 11.igh mobility/ off road \'el1icles dc,·eloped b)' tt1c US 1\rr11y in the past fc\v )'ears: Gan1a Goat, Terra Stc.1r, PATA, XM-759 M'lrginal Terr of carrying capacity? What \\ capons should the Al>C cat ry? Could tank " be ttscd as APCs on the lines of tl1e \\'{lr-tir11e Kar1garoo? What tl1ick11ess of armour \\'US rcqt1ircd? Wottld it 1

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French Armoured Cars by Major James Bingham Major Bingt1an1. \\'t1osc Profiles or1 French tanks ha\'C been \\'idely acclaimed. continues the story of French AFVs \vitl1 this Profile on Frerich armoured cars from before World War l t1ntil the end of World War I I.

PT- 76 by Christopher F. Foss The Ru5sian ampt1ibious light tank and it~ variants, inclt1ding the BTR- 50 series. the ASU 85, and the BMP 76PB.

Russian Armoured Wheeled Vehicles by John F. Milsom Although little attention v.as paid by the Russians to the development of armoured v. heeled \'ehicles in the USSR during World War II, since the end of that \\'ar an extensive range of such vehicles has appeared, inspired predominantly b)' tl1e appearance of the armoured personnel • carrier.

S.P. Guns, Amphibious Tanks, Specialized Armour, and APCs of the Imperial Japanese Army by Lieutenant-General Tomio Hara, I. J . A. Retd. This Profile completes General Hara ~s brilliant account of Japanese armour from its beginnings after World War I until 1945. As \\'ith his t\VO previous Profiles it contains a remarkable pictorial CO\'erage. The General \\'as in\'Olved in Japanese tar1k de\·elopment from its outset.

AFV /Weapons Profiles are available in the United Kingdom from your local book or model shop.

If you have difficulty in obtaining these please write direct to the publishers Profile Publications Limited Coburg House Sheet Street Windsor Berks SL4 1 EB Recommended UK selling price as from 1 August 1973: 45p each (AFV 55 is 50p) AFV /Weapons Profiles are also available in The United States of America at the following recommended retail selling price: 1-42 inclusive $1.50 43 onwards $2.00

For prompt mail order or information on Profiles in the USA write to: Ralph M. Neil Profile Publications Limited P.O. Box 2368 Culver City California 90230 Please add to orders 25c for postage etc. Check or Money order only.

Just published

Armoure . . e , 1c es 1n

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Contents

Part 1 Panzerkampfwagen I and II

Panzerkampfwagen Ill Panzerkampfwagen 38{t) and 35(t) Panzerkampfw,agen l V Pan.z erkampfw.agen V Panther ,P anzerkampfwagen VI Tiger (P) tefant

Maus (+E - 100) SdKfz 250 and 25·1

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The s ory of German armour is a remarkable one. Years of study by dedicated professionals, superb· leadership on the ba lefield, sound traini1ng and high tactical skill, combined with a forceful and imaginative equipment policy, produced some nota.ble achievements. Good though the German equipment was, however, rt was above all, the Germans' abiility to achieve surprise, their great flex 'bility and the fighting spirit and de ermina ion of their s,oldiers, which were the telling factors in many . of their successes.

Self-Propelled Weapon·s Armoured Cars

Part 2 Only Movement Brings Victory, a survey of

Both these aspects of German armoured excellenc ·in World War II - the equipment and its use on the attle field - are covered in detail int.h is volume.

the achievements of German armour. Fo lowed by thumbnail histories of 40 Panzer divisions ( ·ncluding the SS Panzer Divisions) _

ISBN 0 85383 004 5

312 pa,g es with 28 in full -colour, contains over100,0·0 0 words, 600 photographs and- 2 indices. Case bound, colou1 r jacket. Size 10' a x7 'ltJ in Price £6.00.

Available from your local book or model shop or in ca·se of difficulty write direct to the

publishers.:

Profile Publications Limi ed Coburg House Sheet Street Windsor Berks SL41EB AFV Wea1>or1 Profile and · s contents a e copyright Pr nled 1n Engl nd by E:dw1n She~t St reet, Windsor, Berkshire, England

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nell printer Yeov1 1I.

Prof 111 Publ1cationsl1m1ted, Co bur Hou . Septemb , 1 g 73

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