As BIG as they come | Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus (Part 1) feat. @ConeOfArc

Audio narrated by @ConeOfArc . For more War Thunder related content, check out his channel.

It is impossible to consider the Maus and not be impressed by the machine as a feat of engineering. At 188 tonnes, it is the heaviest operational tank ever made by any nation at any time in any war and was made despite the shortages of raw materials, industrial capacity, and manpower at the time in Nazi Germany. Yet, despite the impressive achievement of making this rolling behemoth, the vehicle stands as a testimony to the total waste taking place in the German industry and the inefficiencies inherent in the way in which tank development was carried out. By the time the Maus was finished in 1945, it was a boondoggle. No amount of awe at the size, weight, firepower, or armor on this beast could disguise the incredible waste of resources it accounted for, nor could it make any difference to the outcome of the war. The Maus, as a weapon, was simply useless, yet the lessons learned from its development did find use in other programs and the very existence of such an enormous machine has inevitably drawn a significant amount of attention. Drawing both awe and fascination in equal measure, the Maus is a complex tank with a lengthy development.

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Sources:
Porsche, F. Bericht Uber die Werksorprobung des Typ 205/1 in Böblingen von 11.1 – 3.2.1944
British Intelligence Objectives Sub-Committee. (1945). BIOS report 1343: German Steel Armour Piercing Projectiles and Theory of Penetration. Technical Information and Documents Unit, London.
British Report on ‘Experimental Super Heavy Tank ‘Mouse’ (Pz.Kpfw. Maus)’ – May 1945
CIOS Final Evaluation Report 153. (28th June 1945). Interrogation of Herr Stiele von Heydekampf.
Datenblatter für Heeres Waffen Fahrzeuge Gerät W127. (1976).
Frohlich, M. (2016). Panzerkampfwagen Maus’. Motor Buch Verlag
Jentz, T., Doyle, H. (2008). Panzer Tracts No.6-3 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen Maus and E 100.
Ludvigsen, K. (2018). Professor Porsche’s Wars. Pen and Sword Publications
Ogorkiewicz, R. (1991). Technology of Tanks. Janes Information Group, Surrey, England
Sawodny, M., Bracher, K. (1978). Panzerkampfwagen Maus und andere deutsche Panzerprojekte. Odzun-Pallas-Verlag, Friedberg, West Germany
Spielberger, W. (1998). Spezialpanzerfahrzeuge des Deutschen Heeres. Motor Book Verlag
Spielberger, W., Milson, J. (1973). Elefant and Maus. AFV Weapons Profile No.61.
US Army. (1953). Technical Manual TM9-1985-3 German Explosive Ordnance (Projectiles and Projectile Fuzes)
US Army. (1950). Project 47: German Tank Losses. Historical Division European Command. US Army.
US Army. (1946). Intelligence Bulletin March 1946. The German Mouse.
US Navy. (September 1945). Technical Report 485-45 – German Powder Composition and Internal Ballistics for Guns. US Naval Technical Mission in Europe Report.
War Office. (25th October 1944). 12.8cm A.Tk. Gun Pak.44 on Pz.Jag. Tiger (Pz.Kpfw. Tiger B Chassis) Sd.Kfz.186 JAGDTIGER. Appendix D War Office Technical Intelligence Summary, No.149 1944.
War Office. (25th April 1945). Technical Intelligence Summary Report 174 Appendix C
War Office. (4th June 1945). Technical Intelligence Summary Report 178 Appendix E
War Office. (27th June 1945). Technical Intelligence Summary Report 180 Appendix D
War Office. (26th July 1945). Technical Intelligence Summary Report 182 Appendix F and G
War Office. (11th October 1945). Technical Intelligence Summary Report 186 Appendix A
War Office. (20th December 1945). Technical Intelligence Summary Report 188 Appendix

An article by Andrew Hills
Narrated by @ConeOfArc
Edited by ya boy Jim Zawacki
Sound edited by Gabe

[dirufanboy]

"Ok. So no more than 100 Tons."
"Ok. Ok. No more than 120 Tons."
"Ugh. OK. No more than 150 Tons."
"Oh for fuck's sake - NO MORE THAN 180 TONS!"

[ltcitadel]

This is my favorite voiced article thus far, keep up the good work

[skuine]

The animator really had a blast with this VA, didnt he xD

[neilrobson]

The picture at 11m34s shows a Tiger 1 turret on top of the Maus turret for scale I suspect...thanks for this series on the Maus. Fascinating

[angrywehraboosnoises]

Russia: builds a Kv1
Germany: builds Tiger 1
Russia: builds IS 2
Germany: builds Tiger 2
Russia: builds IS 3
Germany: goes sicko mode and builds a 188t maus

[userjlj]

it's a surprise to me that the maus had a cramped turret and hull, I thought it was spacious for the 6 crews manning it.. the layout at 25:40 showed that almost all the space on the hull was occupied by the engine and transmission and coz of the size of the 12.8 cm main gun, it made the a bit cramped..

[oleriis-vestergaard]

One way to loose the war - Maus, 80cm railway gun and so weiter

[sergiuszregua]

6:22 comment to the photo comment. This railroad cart is not sagging, it is clearly purposely constructed or modified to transport the Maus. If a normal railcart would sag that much it would surely derail on a first arch. I'd rather point out that there is 4 set of wheels under the Sturmtiger and around 3 times more under the Maus.

[alicebrown]

Maus: *exists on the battlefield*
Every Allied CAS Pilot: "ooh, that's a juicy target!"

[Boric]

Very comprehensive - looking forward to Part 2. Although, now more than ever, I am asking myself - "What were they thinking?" and why did not someone say "Chaps. Enough of that, lets get back to reality. And build more Pz 4 & Panthers or something." I can imagine Porsche telling Hitler about fitting the Flak 43 on the roof and Speer making strangling noises in the corner.

[adamwilder]

Very impressed…. Great comprehensive vid and thank you so much!

[LmgWarThunder]

I liked the video, but I think it should be labeled as part 1 for future reference to it

[thralldumehammer]

When I win the lottery I will have the Maus restored to running order😁

[lenzabi]

188tons of steel that could have made nearly 8 Pz-IVs

[LGHOT]

Maus is absolutely retarded but with out a doubt my favourite tank I absolutely love this thing. Best ht ever😂 love learning anything new I can about this monstrosity. Thanks for the hard work you put into this video, I appreciate you!!

[kevinfinn]

I found this video to be mostly informative, although I couldn't make much sense of the side armour. Each proposal had a diagram but they seemed to lack the details that was the data beside the diagrams. Where were the tracks in all this, and how were the plates positioned in relation to the hull?

[Phantom-bhru]

They should have just used the steel to finish the dozen maus. Why? Because they were suppose to be scrapped but none of them even were and the steel they were using that they were supposed to give to other tanks they kept. So basically it all went to waste when if they finished the dozen maus at least they got a few new tanks.

[CharcharoExplorer]

You do good work. Anywhere I can spread these videos (like reddit) ?

[kevinfinn]

I checked the article and there was nothing new about the side armour, I still don't understand what the side armour was like.

[reginaldmcnab]

I wonder which enemy tank would be able survive an encounter with the mouse unless they chose to turn tail and leged it