Panzer VII Löwe

Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (VK 70.01/72.01(K))
Drawing of the VK 70.01 (K) proposal
Type	Super-heavy tank
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designer	Krupp
Designed	1 November 1941–20 July 1942
Specifications
Mass	70 t (69 long tons; 77 short tons) (specified) 76–90 t (75–89 long tons; 84–99 short tons) (as designed)
Crew	5 (driver, commander, gunner, loader, radio operator)
Armor	Frontal: 150 mm (5.9 in) (specified) 100–150 mm (3.9–5.9 in) (as designed) Side: 100 mm (3.9 in) (specified) 80 or 100 mm (3.1 or 3.9 in) (as designed) Turret front: 100 or 140 mm (3.9 or 5.5 in) Turret top: 40 mm (1.6 in) Hull deck: 40 mm
Main armament	10.5 cm (4.1 in) L/70 gun, *15 cm (5.9 in) L/38 gun or, 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/71 gun 12.8 cm (5 in) KwK 44 gun L/55
Secondary armament	1 MG-34 or MG-42
Engine	Daimler-Benz DB 602 (proposed) Maybach HL230 (as designed) * 1,000 hp (750 kW) (DB engine) 800 hp (600 kW) (Maybach engine)
Suspension	Torsion bar
Maximum speed	27–35 km/h (17–22 mph)

The Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion) was a design for a super-heavy tank created by Krupp for the German government during World War II. 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.

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 76 t (75 long tons; 84 short tons), with 100 mm (3.9 in) of frontal armor, a front-mounted turret, a 10.5 cm (4.1 in) L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, with a top speed of 27 km/h (17 mph). It was later cancelled by Adolf Hitler.

Schwerer Löwe/VK 72.01(K)

It was to weigh 90 t (89 long tons; 99 short tons), with 120 mm (4.7 in) frontal armor, a rear-mounted turret, a 10.5 cm L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, but only managing a top speed of 23 km/h (14 mph). After redesign it had 150 mm (5.9 in) frontal armor, 8.8 cm (3.5 in) L/71 gun, and a top speed increased to 35 km/h (22 mph).

See also

• Panther tank, medium tank
• Tiger I, a vehicle that it was designed to replace
• Tiger II, 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, likely fictional, German super-heavy self-propelled gun

Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

• Soviet IS-3
• American M103
• British Conqueror
• French AMX-50
• German Panzer VIII Maus

Sources

• "Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion)". Achtung Panzer. 1996. Archived from the original on 14 August 2014. Retrieved 16 April 2014.
• B., David (11 February 2015). "Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (VK 70.01) Heavy tank – Paper project (1942)". Retrieved 23 July 2017.
• Jentz, Tom; Doyle, Hilary (2001). Panzer Tracts No.20-1: Paper Panzers – Panzerkampfwagen, Sturmgeschuetz and Jagdpanzer. Boyds. ISBN 978-1-915969-04-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)