Panzer VIII "Maus"

[Susano]

PANZERKAMPFWAGEN VIII MAUS

(Sonderkraftfahrzeug 205)

 

History: The Maus (“mouse”) super-heavy tank was created as part of a program to develop a series of 100 ton tanks capable of fighting (and destroying) the largest and heaviest Soviet tanks. In June of 1942, Adolph Hitler asked Professor Ferdinand Porsche to develop a super-heavy tank, which was deliberately given the designation of “Maus.” Two prototypes were delivered two years later, in 1944, and sent to the Kummersdorf armored vehicle proving grounds. While there Maus proved to be a temperamental beast, with engine failures common and parts in short supply due to Allied bombing raids. Finally, in April of 1945, the Germans destroyed their two test models to prevent the incoming Soviet forces from utilizing them (although there are rumors the two vehicles were lost in combat due to engine failure).

 

[b]Val	CHA	Cost	Notes[/b]
7	SIZE	35	5” x 2.5”; -7” KB; -4 DCV
64	STR	19	Lift 188 tons; 12 1/2d6 HTH Damage
10	DEX	0	OCV:  3/DCV:  3
26	BODY	16
26	DEF	72
2	SPD	0	Phases:  6, 12
		[b]Total Characteristics Cost:  142

Movement:[/b]	Ground:	8”/16”
	Swimming:	0”/0”

[b]Cost	Abilities and Equipment
Propulsion Systems[/b]
3	[b]Motorized Tracked Military Vehicle:[/b]  Ground Movement +2” (8” total); Only On Appropriate Terrain (-1/4), 1 Continuing Fuel Charge (easily-obtained fuel; 8 hours; -0)	[1cc]
-2	[b]Ground Vehicle:[/b]  Swimming -2” (0” total)

[b]Tactical Systems[/b]
130	[b]150mm KwK 44 L/38 Cannon:[/b]  RKA 8d6+1, Armor Piercing (+1/2), Indirect (can be arced over some obstacles; +1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), Increased Maximum Range (roughly 11,000” or just under 14 miles; +1/2), 55 Charges (+1/2); Extra Time (Extra Phase; -3/4), OIF Bulky (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4) plus +1 OCV, +2 RMod; OIF Bulky (-1)	[55]
124	[b]75mm KwK 44 L/36.5 Cannon:[/b]  RKA 7d6, Indirect (can be arced over some obstacles; +1/4), +1 Increased STUN Multiplier (+1/4), 200 Charges (+1); OIF Bulky (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4) plus +2 OCV, +2 RMod; OIF Bulky (-1)	[200]
58	[b]7.92mm MG 34 Machine Gun:[/b]  RKA 2 1/2d6, Autofire (5 shots; +1/2), +1 Increased Stun Multiplier (+1/4), 1,000 Charges (+1); OIF Bulky (-1), Real Weapon (-1/4) plus +2 OCV, +3 RMod; OIF Bulky (-1)	[1,000]
5	[b]7.92mm MG 34 Machine Gun:[/b]  Another 7.92 MG 34 Machine Gun (mounted for antiaircraft use)	[1,000]
2	[b]Armored Body:[/b]  +2 DEF; Limited Coverage (front and sides; -1/4)
3	[b]Armored Nose And Turret:[/b]  +2 DEF; Limited Coverage (front 60 degrees; -1)
26	[b]60 Degree Sloped Front And Side Armor:[/b]  +15 DEF; Activation Roll 14- (-1/2), Limited Coverage (front and sides; -1/4)
8	[b]Heavy:[/b]  Knockback Resistance -4” (-11” total)
3	[b]Snorkel:[/b]  Life Support (Self-Contained Breathing); OIF (Bulky; -1), Only For Fording Shallow Water (depths up to 4”; -1)	0

[b]Operation Systems[/b]
4	[b]Radio:[/b]  Radio Perception/Transmission (Radio Group); OIF Bulky (-1), Affected As Hearing Group As Well As Radio Group (-1/4)	0

[b]Total Abilities & Equipment Cost:  364
Total Vehicle Cost:  506

Value	Disadvantages[/b]
25	Distinctive Features:  Nazi Germany Wehrmacht Tank (Not Concealable; Causes Extreme Reaction [fear])
5	Physical Limitation:  all weapons except for the antiaircraft machine gun must point in the same direction (Infrequently, Slightly Impairing)

[b]Total Disadvantage Points:  30
Total Cost:  476/5 = 95[/b]

 

Description: Maus is an immense tank, 9 meters in length (a touch over 10 if you include the main gun barrel), 3.67 meters wide, and 3.66 meters tall. The nose of the tank boasts armor 240mm thick, while the sides are a “mere” 200mm thick. For main armament, Maus has a 150mm cannon, with a coaxial 75mm cannon, a coaxial 7.62 machine gun, and a second machine gun mounted on top of the turret. All of this weighs in at a staggering 188 tons -- equal in weight to 35 Panzer I tanks! The turret itself weighs 50 tons, or more than the Panzer V Panther. Worse yet, the ammunition for the 150mm cannon weighs 70kg per shell, forcing it to be carried in a trailer behind Maus.

 

Powering this monster vehicle is a 1200bhp V-12 diesel engine. With it, the Maus can reach road speeds of just over 12 miles per hour, ford up to 24 feet (4”) of water, and has a range of around 90 miles. It has a crew of six (commander, gunner, two loaders, driver, and radio operator).

 

Campaign Use: More a mobile pill box than a tank, Maus has little practical use in real-world combat situations. It is too heavy for bridges, moves at about 7 miles per hour cross country, and can go about 60 miles before needing to be refueled. Of course, in a gaming situation all of this becomes a moot point. I mean, nothing says “Nazi Weird Science” like a tank the size of a small house crashing through a screen of trees while virtually ignoring incoming fire from Allied tanks and antitank guns. Granted, if you do decide to introduce your Golden Age supers to Maus, you better figure out a way for them to defeat it -- as it is highly unlikely any Golden Age-era character is going to be strong enough to lift it, and it is almost certain not a one will be able to punch through its armor.

 

One of the best uses for Maus might be as a model for certain Star Hero “super-tanks.” Simply replace the diesel power plant with a fusion one, up the top speed, and there you go -- a heavyweight land dreadnought suitable for far-future military campaigns (such as campaigns set during the Alien Wars). Going one step further, and making it a hover or grav tank allows one to make a pastiche of the hover tanks seen in David Drake’s Hammer’s Slammers novels.

[Susano]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Anyone going to give this to their would-be world conquerer as a land dreadnought?

 

Just wondering. 'cause if he wins, I get 5% royalties on the world.

[yamamura]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Nice reminds me of this baby that was probably never built.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O-I

 

http://mailer.fsu.edu/~akirk/tanks/japan/japan-exp.html

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Silly Germans, going diesel-electric on a machine big enough for steam.

 

It's Theodore the Tank....engine, coming to the magical Island of Sodor just as soon as the Reich has an LCT big enough!

 

 

(I suspect that "tank engine" and "tank" actually are related, but that's enough hijacking my own comment.)

[Guest steamteck]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Already thinking of uses for it

[FenrisUlf]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

It sounds like something that Stahlmaske would have made in an issue of G-8.

[Basil]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

(I suspect that "tank engine" and "tank" actually are related, but that's enough hijacking my own comment.)

 

Nope. According to my unabridged Webster's (copyright 1934):

 

"The name tank as applied to these [vehicles] arose from the fact that the hull was called 'a water carrier for Mesopotamia' in the shop orders in England for those first made, in order to conceal their real purpose, and this was soon shortened to 'tank,' which came to be used for the completed [vehicles]."

[Lawnmower Boy]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Yes, the "water carrier" story comes up in several contexts: the shop was said to be making "tanks" for Mesopotamia, and the railroads moving them in France were said to have marked the boxcars for tanks.

What I'm saying is that this suggests a folk etymology. The people who actually built the durn things were experts at agricultural machinery (obviously) and tank engines, which is to say, locomotives with the fuel and water storage usually allocated to tenders built into the frame, allowing them to run backwards, giving intraurban railways (especially early subways) extra flexibility.

Except for the army bits and the caterpillar tread stretched around the running gear, tanks and tank engines are pretty technically similar, and in some ways so is the application. (Think of the battlefield as an extension of the new electric metropolis: the purpose of the tank is to restore mobility on it.)

If my proposed derivation is wrong, all I can say is --it should be right.

[Doomed Prophet]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Just wondering. 'cause if he wins' date=' I get 5% royalties on the world.[/quote']

 

Do you want cash or 5% of the world? Also, is that per tank?

[Susano]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Australia. I want Australia.

[Basil]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Yes, the "water carrier" story comes up in several contexts: the shop was said to be making "tanks" for Mesopotamia, and the railroads moving them in France were said to have marked the boxcars for tanks.

What I'm saying is that this suggests a folk etymology. The people who actually built the durn things were experts at agricultural machinery (obviously) and tank engines, which is to say, locomotives with the fuel and water storage usually allocated to tenders built into the frame, allowing them to run backwards, giving intraurban railways (especially early subways) extra flexibility.

Except for the army bits and the caterpillar tread stretched around the running gear, tanks and tank engines are pretty technically similar, and in some ways so is the application. (Think of the battlefield as an extension of the new electric metropolis: the purpose of the tank is to restore mobility on it.)

If my proposed derivation is wrong, all I can say is --it should be right.

 

Here is the complete etymology from the online OED:

 

[special use of TANK n.1 adopted in Dec. 1915 for purposes of secrecy during manufacture.]

 

"Tank-engine" is given merely as a compound word, at the end of "TANK n.1"

 

So, if the OED and the Webster's New International, 2nd Edition say it's from war-time secrecy, I'm satisfied that's its origin.

[Doomed Prophet]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

I'd like to place an order for ten gross... Would you like cash or is credit okay?

[wcw43921]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

I'm curious--did the developers call it "mouse" to deliberately deceive the enemy as to its size/weight? Or were they trying to be ironic long before it was fashionable?

 

Hmmmmm. . .

[Susano]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Cash, please. I have things I'd like to buy, *right* now.

[pinecone]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

I'm curious--did the developers call it "mouse" to deliberately deceive the enemy as to its size/weight? Or were they trying to be ironic long before it was fashionable?

 

Hmmmmm. . .

 

The Germans invented ironic...I read on Wiki that they also tested a "Flak-Maus" with twin 88's in the turrent and a 128mm mounted in the body, like a Jagdpanther...perfect for flying heros...

[shadowcat1313]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

the germans also built the goliath, which was just a remote control tracked bomb, not very big

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_tracked_mine

[proditor]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Yup, and their 1000 tonne monstrosity was to be called the Ratte.

 

http://www.kensingtonbooks.com/finditem.cfm?itemid=9384

 

And HERO stats here: http://www.herogames.com/viewDHIssue.htm;jsessionid=a5HwtvIXZ-Gh?issueID=217474

[The Weapon]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Australia. I want Australia.

 

Why is it everyone wants to Australia as payment for services rendered to world-conquerers? What's wrong with Africa?

[L. Marcus]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Too hot -- it can't be fenced.

[Susano]

Re: Panzer VIII "Maus"

 

Why is it everyone wants to Australia as payment for services rendered to world-conquerers? What's wrong with Africa?

 

Australia has far better beer.