Despite the large number of super-heavy tank projects developed in Germany (such as the E-100, K 7001 (K), "Bear" and "Mouse"), only the "Mouse" was fully embodied in metal and was tested. The production of the super-heavy E-100 tank was stopped at the end of 1944 at the stage of chassis assembly. Work on VK. 7001 (K) and "Bear" did not leave the preliminary design stage at all
Thus, "Mouse" is currently the only super-heavy tank, brought to the stage of a prototype. (The literal translation of "Mauschen" - "Mouse" (in the diminutive affectionate sense of this word), which characterizes a fair sense of humor of German specialists.
Super heavy tank "Mouse"
In December 1942, F. Porsche, in his report to A. Hitler, announced the completion of all the preparatory stages of organizing the production of the Tour 205 super-heavy tank at the Krupp company with a monthly release of up to five vehicles a month and about the readiness to present the first prototype by the summer of 1943 …
A full-size wooden mock-up of the mouse tank 1 was demonstrated to Hitler in 1943. This demonstration was the reason for convening a meeting in Berlin on January 21, where the projects of super-heavy tanks from Porsche and Krupp were discussed in detail. As a result, a decision followed - to complete the assembly of two prototypes of the Porsche tank by the end of 1943 and, in case of successful tests, to start its serial production with a production rate of ten vehicles per month.
On February 2, 1943, when work on the Mouse was in full swing, OKN made significant changes to the project. As an additional weapon, it was proposed to use a flamethrower installation in the tank, which caused a sharp protest from the designers, since it entailed an increase in the production time of the machines. But OKN not only insisted on fulfilling this point, but three days later demanded to install a 20-mm MG151 / 20 automatic cannon on the tank as anti-aircraft armament.
Nevertheless, in mid-February 1943, even before the completion of the design work on the tank, it was decided to start its serial production. The firm "Krupp" received an order for the manufacture of 120 hulls and turrets for the "Mouse" tank. According to the agreed schedule, the following monthly release was assumed: November 1943 - two buildings, December 1943 - four, January 1944 - six, February 1944 - eight and then ten buildings a month. The production of the towers was to be carried out according to a similar scheme, but with a shift one month later.
From several options, we chose a scheme for the stern arrangement of two flamethrowers on the right and left sides of the hull. The flamethrower installation provided flamethrowing at a range of up to 60 m. The fire mixture was ejected by a centrifugal pump, driven by an autonomous two-stroke engine with a capacity of 30 hp. (22 kW) with a displacement of 1100 cm3. Flamethrowers were controlled from the place of the radio operator. The total mass of the installation, which consisted of a tank for a fire mixture with a capacity of 1000 liters, a pump with an engine, a control system, pipelines and two armored water cannons, was 4900 kg.
Draft proposal of the firm "Krupp" to place an anti-aircraft gun with a 20-mm automatic cannon MG151 / 20 in the turret of the "Mouse" tank
One of the options for installing weapons in the turret of the tank "Mouse"
At first, in the suspension system of a tank weighing 179 tons, it was supposed to use the previously tested suspension of the experienced VK.4501 (P), but after installing the flamethrower, the total combat mass of the tank increased by 5.5%. This required the introduction of two additional suspension assemblies and, therefore, led to an increase in the length of the vehicle body. Therefore, together with Skoda, it was decided to install a coil-spring suspension. In addition, the placement of flamethrower equipment led to the revision of the stern part of the tank's armored hull, and the problems that arose when changing the layout required a reduction in the total mass of the flamethrower system to 2 tons.
At the beginning of March 1943, the Krupp company completed a draft design for the installation of a 20-mm automatic anti-aircraft cannon in the turret of the tank. It was located in front of the turret to the left of the 128 mm cannon and was rigidly connected to the artillery system. Thus, the vertical guidance angles of the anti-aircraft gun corresponded to the guidance angles of the main armament, and in the horizontal plane, guidance was provided by turning the turret. The anti-aircraft gun's ammunition was originally 250 rounds, but was later reduced to 80 rounds. For aimed shooting, it was supposed to use the periscope of the tank commander, for which it was required to increase his field of view from 10 to 30 '.
On April 6, 1943, the Minister of Armaments A. Speer arrived in Stuttgart on an inspection visit, who examined the wooden model of the tank with the changes made. On April 10, an order was issued to send him to Berchtesgaden. The layout was disassembled and prepared for shipment, but on April 16 a new order was received to assemble the layout.
Armored tower of the super-heavy tank "Mouse"
At the beginning of May 1943, at the main headquarters in Rastenburg, Hitler examined a wooden mock-up of a tank with a flamethrower installation. From us-
It was decided to abandon the installation of flamethrowers and a 20-mm anti-aircraft gun. The subsequent requirement to place an autonomous circular turret with a 37-mm anti-aircraft gun on the tank was also rejected due to lack of space. The total number of tanks for mass production was increased from 120 to 135 units. From that moment on, "Mouse" turned into an adult mouse - its name was shortened to "Mouse" (Mans).
By July 1943, development work on the Tur 205 tank ("Mouse") project was completed, during which various options for weapons with twin mounts were considered:
-105 mm anti-aircraft and 75 mm tank guns;
-127 mm naval and 75 mm tank guns;
-128 mm and 75 mm tank guns;
-150 mm special tank (or sea) and 75 mm tank guns.
Control compartment of the super-heavy tank "Mouse" (wooden model in full size)
Preference was given to the twin artillery system, which consisted of a 128-mm KwK 44 L / 55 cannon and a 75-mm KwK40 L / 36, 6. In the future, it was planned to switch to a system that included 150-mm and 75-mm cannons. At the same time, the production of the electromechanical transmission was completed.
In addition to controversial requirements in terms of auxiliary weapons, design work on
tank "Mouse" was complicated by the consequences of the bombing strikes by the Anglo-American aviation. At the beginning of March 1943, as a result of the bombing of Essen, the design department of the Krupp company was seriously damaged. The design documentation was damaged in the fire. A month later, as a result of a new raid, a full-size wooden dummy burned down. These events pushed back the production of armored hulls and turrets by a month.
Armored body of the super-heavy tank "Mouse"
From August 1 to December 23, 1943, at the Alkett plant in Berlin, which had the necessary assembly and handling equipment, the first prototype of the Mouse Tur 205/1 tank was assembled without installing a turret with weapons. After the completion of factory tests, the tank on a specially designed platform with a carrying capacity of 180 tons was sent for finishing work and debugging to the Porsche firm. Due to the excessive size of the tank, the transportation itself was a very risky experiment, but it was quite successful.
The following companies took part in the manufacture of the Tour 205 tank:
- "Krupp" (Friedrich Krupp AG, Essen) - hull and turret with weapons;
- "Skoda" (Skoda, Plzen) - chassis (road wheels, suspension, tracks) and the mechanical part of the transmission (final drives and guitars);
- "Daimler-Benz" (Daimler-Benz AG, Stuttgart) - power plant;
- "Siemens-Schuckert" (Siemens-Schuckert, Berlin) - an electric generating unit, traction motors and electrical switching equipment for electromechanical transmission control;
- Friedrichshafen gear plant (Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, Friedrichshafen) - intermediate gearbox with drives for cooling fans;
- "Ber" (Ber, Stuttdart) - water and oil radiators of the engine cooling system and water radiators of the exhaust manifolds cooling system;
- "Mann and Hummel" (Mann und Hummel, Ludwigsburd) - air cleaners.
A prototype tank "Mouse" Tour 205/1 with a load cast turret during tests at the "Alquette" company. December 1943
The prototype of the tank "Mouse" Tour 205/1 with a load cast turret, 1944
Departure of the tank Tour 205/1 for factory tests. Tank school park in the Beblingen area, spring 1944
But the main burden of work on the tank fell on the shoulders of the Porsche designers. The challenge was to develop a special 1800 hp air-cooled tank diesel engine. (1324 kW). In order to save time, the DB-603A2 aviation carburetor engine with direct fuel injection, intended for the Focke-Wulf Ta-152C fighter and specially modified by Daimler-Benz, was used as the power plant of the first sample of the tank.
During the manufacture of the tank, special attention was paid to ensuring the failure-free operation of its components and mechanisms. All units were subjected to multiple tests even before being installed in the tank. So, after factory tests, the power generating unit was transported to Stutt-Tgart, to the Daimler-Benz plant, to the laboratory of Professor Kamm, where additional bench tests were carried out in conjunction with a carburetor engine.
The first prototype of the tank "Mouse" Tour 205/1 with a load cast turret
Despite the fact that the official order prescribed the organization of serial production, the leadership of the tank commission had a strong opinion - to limit themselves at the first stage to the production of five samples for testing and design evaluation. In July 1943, the production program was reduced to five cars a month. The situation that had developed by the end of the summer of 1943 on the Soviet-German front required the concentration of all forces and resources of Germany to restore the losses incurred. In October 1943, the Krupp company was informed of the need to complete all work related to the manufacture of the Mouse tank by November 1943 and to direct the freed up opportunities to carry out other production programs. The order issued earlier was reduced to two hulls and one turret.
Tests of a prototype of the super-heavy tank "Mouse" Tour 205/1 with a load cast turret. Due to the erroneous actions of the driver, the tank found itself on a terrain impassable even for light tanks. After being freed from the ground and laying the wooden flooring, the car was removed under its own power. Spring 1944
In total, two prototypes of the Mouse tank were manufactured and sent to Stuttgart at the Alquette plant in Berlin. One of them, Tour 205/1, had a specially cast loading tower, while Tour 205/2 had no tower. The standard turret with weapons was delivered to Stuttgart and installed on the second vehicle later. The final factory tests of prototypes were carried out under the leadership of the chief designer, Professor F. Porsche, at the Porsche plant range, on the territory of the tank school in Boeblingen near Stuttgart.
To carry out comprehensive tests of the tank, both prototypes were transported to the military department's experimental research tank range in Kummersdorf, located in the vicinity of Zossen.
Scheme of placing orders for the production of components and assemblies of the super-heavy tank "Mouse"
The second prototype of the super-heavy tank "Mouse" Tour 205/2 on a specially designed railway platform. When unloading, the Tour 205/1 was used as a tractor
In June 1944, sea trials of the first sample of the "Mouse" tank with a loading turret began. In September of the same year, a second sample with installed weapons was delivered to the test site for running and artillery tests.
Factory tests of a prototype tank "Mouse" Tour 205/1 on the territory of a tank school training ground in the Beblingen area near Stuttgart, spring 1944
A prototype of the tank "Mouse" Tour 205/2 with an installed turret with weapons
Kummersdorf Proving Ground
The Kummersdorf Proving Grounds deserve special mention. It was located 50 km south of Berlin and was part of a whole complex created for testing various military equipment: artillery, tank, engineering, chemical and other types of weapons. The test site had two branches: in Thuringia (testing machines in mountain conditions) and in the Tyrolean Alps (testing in deep snow conditions). The main activity of the test site was focused on carrying out full-scale sea trials of the vehicle as a whole. Laboratory tests of components and assemblies were carried out in a much smaller volume.
It was possible to conduct tests to determine the technical characteristics of any type of tanks. The presence of a 100-ton crane and 100-ton direct weighing scales made it possible to determine the mass of the tank and the location of the center of gravity. To determine the depth of the ford to be overcome, a pool with an adjustable water level was used. Tests to determine the size of the vertical wall to be overcome were carried out on special concrete escarpments. The ditch design was versatile and allowed for testing both heavy and light tanks. If desired, it was possible to change the width of the ditch by laying additional beams.
Special profiled concrete road and its profile
General view of departure to test sites
A section of a high-speed concrete road with a laid wooden deck for testing suspensions
Unfinished construction of a box for heavy tanks
Wading pool
Studies of the tank's undercarriage when moving with a roll were carried out on a specially prepared bumpy dirt road. The lateral roll of the tank when moving along it reached 15 '. For testing to determine the injectivity and maximum speed of the tank, there was a special concrete road 300 m long.
The concrete road was also used to test the suspension of the tank. At the same time, it was planned to lay a special flooring made of boards. On one of the sections of the road, the boards were laid out in such a way as to obtain a surface profile in the form of a sinusoid. To avoid shifting the flooring, all boards were fastened together.
Tests to determine the climb to be overcome in various gears and the traction characteristics of the tank were carried out at 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 55 and 65% rises. The upper coating of these rises contributed to the proper traction of the tank tracks. Rises of 45%, 55% and 65% were clinker coated, with clinker specially hewn to improve traction. The area of the landfill, set aside for determining the average speed of movement, ease of control on a dirt road and on sharply rugged terrain, was a series of ridges 15-20 m high.
Section of the landfill intended for testing to determine the climb to be overcome
Clinker tracks with a rise of more than 45%
Vertical walls. The upper part of the wall was made of wooden beams for ease of replacement. The area in front of the wall is laid with fine concrete paving stones
Lifting 110-ton crane at the railway loading yard of the landfill
A prototype tank "Mouse" Tour 205/2 at the Kummersdorf training ground. 1944 "Mouse" market Tour 205/1 and Tour 205/2 at the Kummersdorf training ground. April 1945
A prototype tank "Mouse" Tour 205/2 at the Kummersdorf training ground. 1944 year
A 10-km road was laid across these ridges, had ups and downs of up to 25% and a large number of turns. Moreover, the ascents and descents alternated every 80-150 m, creating extremely difficult conditions for the tested machines.
A dust chamber, which was an elongated building with a large layer of dry dust poured onto the floor, was used to study the operation of air cleaners at the landfill. During the tests, the tank entered from one end of the building, passed through the dust chamber and exited into the courtyard, continuing the circular path. The presence of such a camera made it possible to carry out tests at any time of the year in conditions corresponding to the movement of a tank in a column on a dusty road.
Wear tests, requiring a large mileage, were carried out not only along the dirt road of the landfill, but also along the adjacent state roads (the location of the landfill in a relatively sparsely populated area made it possible). The individual routes reached a length of 445 km and included various types of roads (dirt and concrete highways).
At the end of 1942, the construction of a separate corps for heavy tanks began at the Kummersdor-Fe range.
Thus, the Kummersdorf proving ground was one of the best in terms of its equipment with special road structures and made it possible to carry out comprehensive tests of armored vehicles. The availability of materials for testing a large number of tanks of various designs (including countries opposing Germany) made it possible to make a well-founded comparative assessment of one or another tank.
The results of sea trials of the "Mouse" tank showed that doubts about its ability to overcome various obstacles were unfounded. According to the testimony of an employee of the company "Alket" leading engineer La-Ube, responsible for the installation of the tank, the tests showed good results in cross-country ability, maneuverability and controllability.
A prototype tank "Mouse" Tour 205/1, found at the Kummersdorf training ground, in preparation for the evacuation. Summer 1945
A tank assembled from two destroyed vehicles Tour 205/1 (hull) and Tour 205/2 (tower) and installed on a special railway platform before being sent to the USSR. Summer 1945
The final
When the Soviet troops approached, due to the impossibility of evacuating the tanks, the Germans attempted to destroy them. After the surrender of Germany, units of the Red Army found both vehicles on the territory of the Kummersdorf training ground. Tour 205/1 with a loading tower was located in the area of the western batteries of the Kummersdorf artillery range, and Tour 205/2 - at the Stamm Camp site near Zossen, 14 km from Kummersdorf. Both tanks were disabled, and the hull of the tank located in the Stammlager was partially destroyed by the explosion. Preliminary inspection and study of the discovered vehicles on the spot, carried out by the department of A. P. Pokrovsky2, revealed the presence of design features - the use of an electric transmission and a twin installation of guns: large caliber (128 mm) and 76 mm caliber.
Andrey Pavlovich Pokrovsky (November 19, 1902 - October 1976), graduated from the Kiev Machine-Building Institute in 1929. During his work at the Ukrainian Research Aviation Diesel Institute (UNIADI, Kharkov, 1931-1939), he passed the way from an engineer- designer to the deputy head of the test station. He was directly involved in the development, testing, fine-tuning and serial production of the V-2 diesel engine. In 1939.was sent to the Leningrad Kirov Plant to assist in the introduction of the specified engine on a heavy KV tank.
Since 1941 - Deputy Chief Designer for Engine Building at the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant. In 1942 he was sent to Stalingrad, and then to the 1st Ukrainian Front to organize the repair of engines and tanks directly in military units and train personnel.
In the period 1945-1948. with the rank of engineer-lieutenant colonel, he was appointed head of the technical department at the Directorate of Science and Technology of the Soviet Administration in Germany. The materials collected and summarized under his leadership contributed to the development of scientific research in the field of armored vehicles in the USSR.
After completing his work in Germany as the head of the engine department of VNII-YuO (VNIITransMash), he made a great contribution to the improvement of engine units. For his merits in the creation and development of engines of armored combat vehicles, he was awarded the Orders of the Red Star (1942), the Order of the Red Banner of Labor (1945). awarded the title of laureate of the USSR Sgalin Prize of the III degree (1951).
A prototype of the tank "Mouse Tour 205/2," found at the Kummersdorf test site. The tank was blown up by the Germans during the retreat. The fans of the fighting compartment are clearly visible on the turret roof. Summer 1945
In order to tilt the 55-ton tower into a position convenient for loading and transportation, it took six powerful half-track tractors. Pay attention to the fastening of the cables to the tower. In the photo at the bottom right, you can see that the tower is overturned on a cage of sleepers. Summer 1945
At the direction of the commander of the BT and MB of the Armed Forces, one of the destroyed tanks was assembled on the spot, which was sent to the USSR for a detailed study and analysis of the design. On May 4, 1946, the tank arrived at the NIIBT test site of the GBTU spacecraft (Kubinka settlement). Now it is on display at the Military Historical Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment.
As for the fate of the super-heavy tank E-100, after the surrender, part of the territory of Germany fell under the control of the Anglo-American administration. In this zone, at the Henschel plant, the allies found an unfinished prototype of this machine. Subsequently, the E-100 was taken to the UK for detailed study and research.
Six powerful captured half-track tractors at the moment of turning the 55-ton turret of the Tour 205/2 tank. Summer 1945
The personnel of the unit that carried out the evacuation of tanks in the USSR. Summer 1945
A tank assembled from two destroyed vehicles on a special railway platform before being sent to the USSR. Summer 1945
