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Panzer VIII Maus（3）

the maus was too heavy to cross any bridge at the time. therefore, the only way to cross rivers was to cross the creeks directly and cross the deep water underwater. this underwater crossing plan required an armored vehicle to accompany the maus, and this armored vehicle provided power to the underwater maus through cables until the maus reached the other side. when underwater, the maus's engine would not run, and power would be directly transmitted to the driving wheels, and a huge underwater breathing tube would provide oxygen to the crew. this plan allowed the maus to travel on the bottom of the river about 8 meters deep. when the maus crossed the river, the roles of the two vehicles would be reversed, and the maus would provide power to the armored vehicle to tow it across the river.

what if the riverbed is too soft and the tank is stuck? in the battle, the enemy can't penetrate the maus, and the enemy blows up your armored vehicle. what should you do? just don't cross the river in front? what if you retreat? can you only stay where you are and take the beating? it's not a 279 task to take damage.

the v1 prototype of the maus tank project was no longer of great significance, but the manufacturer was still making some improvements to it, but the main works had been completed. on september 26, 1943, v1 was shipped from krupp to the alket factory, where the internal components and transmission system were installed. these works were completed on december 22 of that year, and then on january 10, 1944, it was ordered to be shipped to the test site in boblingen (southwest of stuttgart). when the vehicle was loaded and set off the next day, there was nothing that could pull the maus, and it could only move and load itself by its own power, but there were still some unfinished parts inside the vehicle. therefore, krupp's technicians completed the final assembly work in boblingen. the trip took a total of 3 days. alket (german: altmärkische kettenwerk gmbh), everyone is familiar with it, one of the main manufacturers of armored vehicles of the german wehrmacht, with an average of 10 to 20 vehicles shipped out every day, and also undertook damaged vehicles transported to the factory by rail from the front for repair.

the maus v1 prototype arrives at the boblingen proving ground

the man wearing the hat is dr. ferdinand porsche (porsche is a later transliteration. i actually prefer to translate the name of a person during world war ii as porsche, that is, dr. ferdinand porsche. when referring specifically to a vehicle, i won’t be confused about whether it’s porsche or porsche)

v1 on the test range, note the ramp used to climb onto the armored plate

on january 15, 1944, the test of the maus v1 prototype officially began. during the 2-kilometer off-road driving, the v1 turned very easily and accurately. when driving off-road on soft muddy ground, despite the large size of the maus, its body only sank 50cm into the ground and was still able to pass normally.

v1 passes by a kv-1 tank captured in 1941, which was completely destroyed by german anti-tank guns and hollow-charge weapons during a test at the proving ground.

in late january 1944, after all the internal installation work was completed in böblingen, the maus v1 conducted its first successful test run (see above). on january 31, a second round of tests was carried out. during the test, a problem was discovered. after only 14 kilometers, the rubber ring of the road wheel had failed under the huge load. although the german military had stopped developing the maus tank at that time, an order for new improved road wheels was placed. similarly, although the maus tank was already a dead model, porsche still named it type 205.

porsche's design concept and driving system have proven to be effective in practice. with such a huge body, it is actually very easy to turn. this was proven on february 3, 1944, when the huge maus was tested for turning. the maus can turn slightly within its own body length, and can also turn within a small radius* (minimum radius of 14.5 meters), that is, it can turn 360 degrees with only one track driving forward. after all the work on the body was completed, dr. porsche personally conducted a two-day off-road test on the maus from february 8 to 9.

in early february 1944, the german gray-based v1 prototype and test turret were repainted with three-color camouflage. from march 15 to 17, 1944, the v1 prototype of the maus sank into a swamp at the test site. in fact, all armored vehicles going to the test site would avoid this swamp area, but this time it was a new driver who went straight in, causing the maus body to sink about half its height in the soft mud.

this is a photo taken when it was stuck in the swamp. you can see that the top of the test turret is open.

the rescue work was carried out randomly. it can be seen that the germans also painted a sickle and hammer on the side of the car body.

it is much easier to rescue this huge tank than you might think. just dig up the dirt at the front and rear of the tank, and then lay some logs on top. the v1 will be able to escape under its own power.

the maus v1 prototype vehicle was freed from the trap. the staff was cleaning the mud off the vehicle body. a fire extinguisher was hung on the rear of the test turret.

in addition to the hammer and sickle painted on the hull, the soviet red star was also painted on the test turret.