Old Tanks Prototypes no.1

I've decided to start a new series on this blog, I'm going to be posting a short infos about old tanks prototypes
each  Wednesday. I hope you will enjoy it :}.

During World War 2 around the early 1940's Germany had proposed two gigantic tanks called the P1000 "Ratte" and P1500 "Monster." Before these giants could be reality, they were cancelled.

P1000 "Ratte"

The Ratte's primary weapons would have been two 280 mm SK C/34 naval guns mounted in a modified naval heavy cruiser turret as used in the  Gneisenau class battleships, fitting two guns instead of three. One such turret was supposedly built before the project was canceled, although documentation of its whereabouts is missing. It is rumored that the prototype turret was used as a coastal gun emplacement in occupied Netherlands near Rotterdam, but it now appears this turret was actually built to the specifications of the Gneisenau class and was unconnected to the Ratte program.


    Weight           1,000 tonnes
      Crew             20+, possibly as many as 41

Operational range	120 miles (190 km)
Speed	40 km/h (25 mph)

P1000 "Ratte"

P1500 "Monster"

This "land cruiser" was a self-propelled platform for the 800mm Schwerer Gustav artillery piece also made by Krupp – the largest artillery guns ever fired for effect. Their 7 tonne projectiles fired up to 37 km (23 miles) and were designed for use against heavily fortified targets. Given its lack of a traversable gun, it was more of an extremely heavy self-propelled artillery piece.

P1500 "Monster"

Weight                        1,500 t
 Crew                           100+
Operational range     Unknown
Speed                         15 km/h (9.3 mph)










In 1943, Albert Speer, the Minister for Armaments, cancelled both projects.