K Grosskampfwagen (K-Wagen)

History of K Gro?kampfwagen (K-Wagen)

Long before German engineers turned their talents to the outrageous and very optimistic heavy tank designs of World War II, they were already working on developing super-heavy tanks during World War I. The war began in 1914, and technology in tanks, planes, machine guns and artillery quickly kept pace with the constant changes. Tanks didn't come into play until the war was deadlocked in the trenches.

Tanks can be used to destroy fields of barbed wire, craters, felled trees and people, as well as open spaces created by a network of trenches. In addition, the use of cannons and machine guns in warfare enables these systems to attack enemy positions head-on with relative safety.

The most famous German tank of the First World War became the Sturmpanzerwagen A7V - the only German tank to reach mass production before the end of the war. This creation came out in 1918 after a long development period, and was eventually produced only 21 times. It has a crew of no less than 18 and is primarily armed with a 57mm gun, armed with no less than 6 x 7.9mm Maxim machine guns. The interior is housed in a boxy, high-profile structure that presents a slow, clunky and seductive target. The A7V was part of the first tank-to-tank battle with the British, which, interestingly, was inconclusive by military standards.

Still, the Germans came a little late to the game, realizing the tank's capabilities as an integral part of the battlefield - but that wasn't the case in World War II.

With the history of the A7V, as early as June 1917, the Germans were keen to develop a new "super-heavy" armor system - even before the single production form of the A7V was delivered to the Army. The super heavy tank concept focuses on destroying fortresses through sheer force and firepower.

As such, she'll be fully armed and armored for the mission, and speed is often seen as an afterthought for such a clunky design. Captains Joseph Vollmer and Weger were commissioned to design.

The core design focuses on a proven diamond armor system in line with World War I armor doctrine. This will feature a long roller track system on the sides and riveted steel armor protection around the design. The upper fairing is flat, save for the viewing dome at the front and the two tailpipes at the rear. Primary armament consists of 4 x 77mm field guns jutting along the broadside, with two guns located on the side of the hull. One group points forward and the other group points backward.

Self-defense will be handled by up to 7 x 7.92mm Maxim machine guns - two in the front in front of the porthole, two behind the front 77mm machine gun, two behind the porthole, and one to the front center of the fuselage. About 800 rounds of 77mm projectiles are available, and 21,000 rounds of 7.92mm machine gun ammunition are available.

Power is provided by two Daimler-Benz V6 aero-engines, each producing 650 hp, linked to an electromagnetic clutch drivetrain. The suspension didn't pop up.

Vehicles of this size require the deployment of a team of specially trained personnel to manage the gears, service the engines, manage the cannons and machine guns, and direct the crew. As many as 22 to 27 people are included in the standard operator of the tank.

The communication suite is based on the submarine submarine system. The armor protection thickness of various fairings varies from 10mm to 30mm.

The original design called for the vehicle to weigh 165 tonnes, but this was inevitably considered too heavy for the most basic functions. The required weight is reduced to a more manageable 120 tons. This allowed engineers to use a shortened "lighter" hull.

However, size remained a major issue, and the design quickly evolved into a modular design that could be broken down into four main sections for rail service, as the entire design could not fit into the standard German Eisenbahn Flachwagen.

On June 28, 1917, Vollmer and Weger's official design of the "K-Gro?kampfwagen" - better known today as "K-Wagen" - was proposed and approved for series production by the German War Ministry. The initial figures called for the construction of ten tanks, which were split between the Wegman and Company in Kassel and the Riebe-Kugellager in Berlin as a matter of expediency. However, the application came too late, as Germany was forced to surrender in November 1918.

At this point, only two near-complete prototypes existed, and they were never used in combat -- there was a shortage of building materials and weapons needed at the end of the war. Both copies are researched by the winner and eventually discarded.

The K-Wagen concept was inevitably limited by all the super-heavy tank concepts modified in the upcoming World War II. She was simply too big and heavy to transport, she had to be disassembled, loaded and transported to a location, unloaded and rebuilt to function. Despite the combined horsepower, the twin-engine design is noisy, noisy, and underpowered. Under ideal conditions, this arrangement could only achieve a paltry speed of 4.7 miles per hour -- something that was lacking on the battlefields of World War I. The 77mm gun was mounted on the beam and had limited travel, which limited the K-Wagen tactically.

Crew comfort was staggering, to say the least, with 27 employees working in a confined space filled with smoke and deadly fumes. The K-Wagen structure itself was an attractive target awaiting enemy artilleryit was 43 feet long, 20 feet wide, and about 9.8 feet high.

If the K-Wagen gets any positive mention in history, it's because the system was the first real attempt to design and build a combat-capable super-heavy tank. It was also the second largest tank to be completed after the German Panzer VII "Rat" system of World War II.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

800x77mm projectile.

21,000x7.92mm ammo.

Changes