The ''Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe'' (Lion) was a design for a
super-heavy tank created by
Krupp for the
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
government during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
. The project, initially code-named VK 70.01 (K), never left the drawing board, and was dropped on 5–6 March 1942, in favor of
Porsche's heavier
Panzer VIII ''Maus''.
[Achtung Panzer (1996)]
Variants
The ''Löwe'' was designed in two variants, unofficially designated ''Leichter Löwe'' (light lion) and ''Schwerer Löwe'' (heavy lion), both with a crew of five:
;''Leichter Löwe''/VK 70.01 (K): It was to weigh , with of frontal armor, a rear-mounted
turret
Turret may refer to:
* Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building
* Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon
* Objective turret, an indexable holder of multiple lenses in an optical microscope
* Mi ...
, a L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, with a top speed of . It was later cancelled by
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.
;''Schwerer Löwe''/VK 72.01(K): It was to weigh , with frontal armor, a center-mounted turret, a 10.5 cm L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, but only managing a top speed of . After redesign it had frontal armor,
L/71 gun, and a top speed increased to .
See also
*
Panther tank
The Panther tank, officially ''Panzerkampfwagen V Panther'' (abbreviated PzKpfw V) with ordnance inventory designation: ''Sd.Kfz.'' 171, is a German medium tank of World War II. It was used on the Eastern and Western Fronts from mid-1943 to ...
, medium tank
*
Tiger I
The Tiger I () was a German heavy tank of World War II that operated beginning in 1942 in Africa and in the Soviet Union, usually in independent heavy tank battalions. It gave the German Army its first armoured fighting vehicle that mounted ...
, a vehicle that it was designed to replace
*
Tiger II
The Tiger II is a German heavy tank of the Second World War. The final official German designation was ''Panzerkampfwagen'' Tiger ''Ausf''. B,''Panzerkampfwagen'' – abbr: ''Pz.'' or ''Pz.Kfw.'' (English: " armoured fighting vehicle"), ''Ausf.' ...
, comparable vehicle, actual successor of Tiger I
*
Maus, a further continuation of the super heavy program
*
''P. 1000 Ratte'', a design for a German
super-heavy tank
*
''P. 1500 Monster'', proposed German super-heavy self-propelled gun
Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
* Soviet
IS-3
* American
M103
* British
Conqueror
* French
AMX-50
The AMX 50 (official designation) or AMX-50 was a French heavy tank designed in the immediate post Second World War period. It was proposed as, in succession, the French medium, heavy, and main battle tank, incorporating many advanced features. I ...
* German
Panzer VIII Maus
''Panzerkampfwagen'' VIII ''Maus'' (English: 'mouse') was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built. Five were ordered, but only two hulls and one turre ...
References
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Panzer VII Lowe
Super-heavy tanks
World War II tanks of Germany
Tanks introduced in 1941