E-100: Reich Super Heavy Tank

As is known, after the defeat of Germany in the First World War , its military forces were imposed certain restrictions. Thus, according to the Versailles Peace Treaty, the Weimar Republic was forbidden to have and produce, among other things, armored vehicles. While in the rest of the European countries new tanks and machines were designed and tested on their basis, German designers, if they created something like that, masked the fruits of their creativity for agricultural machinery (for example, the tanks Grosstraktor Kleintraktor, in translation, respectively - a large and small tractor) .

The beginning of the production of tanks

After coming to power in Germany, the National Socialist Party led by Adolf Hitler, the country refused to comply with the Versailles restrictions on the production of weapons. The accelerated production of tanks began. The first models that began to produce in the first half of the thirties of the twentieth century were light T-1 and T-2 (it was under such indices that these machines were held in the Soviet military literature). By the beginning of World War II, the average T-3 and T-4 went into production, in addition, many Czechoslovak light tanks were captured. Thus, at the beginning of the military operations in the Wehrmacht arms there was not a single heavy tank. Do not take the same tanks "Rheinmetall", which were issued in three copies. Although German propaganda overstated their real combat capabilities, even according to these indicators they did not hold out to heavy ones.

The appearance of the "Tigers"

September 1, 1939 Germany attacked Poland, the war began. For two years of victorious march through Europe, the German military did not notice the absence of heavy tanks in their ranks, but when they entered the Soviet territory they collided with KV-1 and T-34, and the Wehrmacht began to slip. Immediately intensified work on the projects of new heavy machines.

Of the two projects, the Henschel tank was chosen, and Ferdinand Porsche had to settle for second place. The car was called "Tiger". And in August 1942, near the Mga station near Leningrad, the first German heavy tanks went into battle. The first pancake was a lump: one tank broke, the second captured the Soviet troops. The massive use of heavy "Tigers" fell on the summer of 1943, for the time of the famous Battle of Kursk, which marked a radical change in the war. However, the appetite comes with eating, and German designers have thought about superheavy tanks. Like last time, the development was entrusted to two competitors: Henschel and Porsche. The first company started developing the E-100. The tank, which was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, was called "Maus".

E-100: tank, history of creation

In designing this machine, Henschel has embarked on the idea of creating a unified range of E-series tanks of different mass. It was supposed to develop prototypes from the light - E-10, to the superheavy - E-100. The tanks of the E-series were to replace the vehicles in service. Of the entire line of tanks, works on E-100 were actually started. Tank, photo of the hull of which is presented in the article, was never built. This is because the work on the car was carried out after the onset of a radical change in the war and significantly lagged behind the schedule. Soon all the developments on this project were discontinued. Only after the war, the Allies, who captured the unfinished tanks, were able to carry out the sea trials of one of them (without a tower), but the car showed very poor cross-country ability and low speed.

Variants E-100

In addition to the basic modification, the tank was supposed to produce anti-tank ACS, and also to embody another very interesting project. It's about the so-called anti-aircraft tank based on the E-100, or "Mouse." He was planning to arm two 88-millimeter antiaircraft guns - the famous eight to eight. This machine was to become a truly universal machine: in addition to aviation, it had the opportunity to fight and armored vehicles of the enemy. Due to the high initial velocity of the projectile, these guns allowed to hit the most highly armored targets. From all of the above, we can conclude that another attempt by the leadership of the Third Reich to create a miracle weapon has not been successful.

Revival of the project

Although the E-100 tank failed to take part in the battles of the war for which it was designed, it successfully manifests itself in the virtual battles of the World of Tanks project. This machine crowns the branch of development of heavy tanks in Germany.

Sotka is considered to be one of the best strings of the game. Thanks to its armor and a very damned and accurate gun, the machine easily compensates for its shortcoming: low speed, sluggishness, visibility. On this tank it is convenient to keep the flank (on defense) or to push the direction (in the attack). Especially it would be desirable to advise to avoid the open spaces, because due to its size and low speed, the machine is a lucrative target for artillery and anti-tank ACS. And in general, the developers have made a very good heavy tank of the tenth level.