Panzer VII Löwe
Appearance
Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe | |
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Type | Super-heavy tank |
Place of origin | Germany |
Specifications | |
Mass | 76 t (84 short tons) (Leichter Löwe) 90 t (99 short tons) (Schwerer Löwe) |
Crew | 5 |
Armor | 100 mm (3.9 in) (Leichter Löwe) 120 mm (4.7 in) (Schwerer Löwe before redesign) |
Main armament | 105 mm (4.1 in) L/70 gun (Leichter Löwe and Schwerer Löwe before redesign) 88 mm (3.5 in) L/71 gun (Schwerer Löwe after redesign) |
Secondary armament | 1 × coaxial machine gun |
Maximum speed | 27 km/h (17 mph) (Leichter Löwe) 23 km/h (14 mph) (Schwerer Löwe before redesign) |
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 in 5–6 March 1942 in favor of Porsche's heavier Panzer VIII Maus.[1]
Variants
The Löwe was designed in two variants (both had crew of five[1]):
- Leichter Löwe: It was to weigh 76 tonnes, had 100 millimeters of frontal armor, a rear-mounted turret, a 105 mm L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, while still managing a top speed 27 km/h. It was later cancelled by Adolf Hitler.[1]
- Schwerer Löwe: It was to weigh 90 tonnes, had 120 mm frontal armor, a center-mounted turret, a 105 mm L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, while still managing a top speed 23 km/h. After redesign it had 140 mm frontal armor, 88 mm KwK L/71 gun, top speed 35 km/h.[1]
See also
- Tiger I, a vehicle that it was designed to replace
- Tiger II, another vehicle it would have replaced
- P. 1000 Ratte, a similar German super-heavy tank
- P. 1500 Monster, another similar German super-heavy tank
References
Citations
Web sources
- "Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion)". Achtung Panzer. 1996.