Landkreuzer 1000 Ratte - Were gonna need a bigger tank... photos video info

The Landkreuzer 1000 "Ratte" (Rat) was another one of Hitlers "I get madder-tanks get bigger" strategy as an answer to the heavy russian tanks the germans encountered on the eastern front. We have already seen how this led to the quite succesfull(at least performance wise) Tiger and the absurdly Maus but the madness didnt stop there, at least not on the drawing board. In 1942 Krupp (yes-they did make money of everything that needed steel!) suggested an even bigger tank. Or lets be honest-this is a warship on land!

Numbers:
Weight: 1000 tons
Length: 35 metres
Width: 14 metres
Height: 11 metres
Armour: up to 250mm of steel....
Armament: 2*280mm canons (yes-the same as the triple 28cm on light german battleships...)
Crew: 20-40
Speed: 40km/h (I think this is optimistic...)

There was also plans for two compartments with a BMW motorcykle for scouting.


Albert Speer stoppet the project i 1943, probably seeing the madness in it all, before a prototype was constructed. Seeing these drawings of its size, I can understand why-this thing would have been impossible to use in mobile warfare, its as easy as that, and its a hell of an expencive gun turret....

Theres some debate as to what the secondary armament would have been, suggestions are either flak-guns or 50-128mm anti-tank guns.


Its so big its beyond funny...

One suggestion on what it might have looked like

Heres another suggestion to what it might have looked like