The story of the Maus II, an improved version of the Maus, is a complicated one and one for which the entire story may never be known. 44 L/36), but this was not required on the Maus II as a shorter 7.5 cm gun could be used. No plans seemed to consider the possibility of a 15 cm gun. The second hull arrived at Böblingen around this time too and mounted the newly produced turret. Maus II: en hier begon mijn ellende pas | ISBN 9789073221093 direct en eenvoudig te bestellen bij Boekhandel De Slegte. This contract is important, as it was exactly a week after the assessment of resuming production at Krupp was delivered. (20th December 1945). This can be seen as confirmation that the Maus II was a viable new tank that needed a new hull – hence the non-reuse of the old hulls, or simply that the turret project had not been canceled or possibly was intended for the E100 or something else instead. Considering that hulls 3 to 6 had manufacturing tolerance issues and needed reworking just to fulfill the needs of the Maus, it is perhaps more likely that Maus II would simply have started from Maus hull 8 onwards, incorporating the manufacturing improvements needed to stay within gauge.
est. Even after the original Maus hulls (3 to 6) were ordered scrapped in July 1944, work was continuing on models of the Maus II turret. Jentz, T., Doyle, H. (2008). Obviously, any upgunning of the E100 turm to a 15 cm or 17.4 cm gun would cement the visual differences between the two.
Professor Porsche’s Wars. Maus II would not be a new vehicle, but the improvement of the first design, most noticeably in the turret. 12.8cm A.Tk. Rather than scrap these vehicles, it was decided to modify them along with the ones moving through the production line to bring them back into gauge. The rush to deliver the Maus meant that production began quickly by Krupp and was well underway by the summer of 1943. This production though would be starting from hull number 8 (for which armor had been cut) onwards. The general shape of this new turret was ready by 15th March, as the changes needed to the hull to accommodate it had to be worked on by Porsche. Pen and Sword Publications
You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Appendix D War Office Technical Intelligence Summary, No.149 1944. Motor Buch Verlag Technical Intelligence Summary Report 178 Appendix E One additional and rather speculative element to consider for a Maus II is the drive train. Despite having been ordered into mass production, Allied bombing had slowed deliveries and then all but a few hulls and turrets were finished when the project was scrapped. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Gun Pak.44 on Pz.Jag. Panzerkampfwagen Maus und andere deutsche Panzerprojekte. Technical Intelligence Summary Report 186 Appendix A The mount would go from a side-by-side mounting with the 12.8cm Kw.K. (1973). Tiger B Chassis) Sd.Kfz.186 JAGDTIGER. Get all 4 Tank Encyclopedia Magazine issues for 25% off! Motor Book Verlag, 15/17 cm Sturmgeschütz auf Mausfahrzeug Feat. These had also been planned for the original Typ 205 from the end of 1942. 44 L/55 gun on the left and the 7.5 cm gun on the right to an ‘over-and-under’ mounting with the smaller gun mounted on top. Frohlich, M. (2016). Daimler Benz MB 517 V-12 Petrol 44.5 litre – 1,200 hp @ 2,500 rpm. Mounting the 7.5 cm gun on top of the 12.8 cm and with a vertical breech would leave it almost impossible to reload otherwise.
These cookies do not store any personal information. The outline of the new Maus turm was ready on 15th March 1944 in order to allow for necessary changes to be made to the hull in order to mount it.
WOW……. US Naval Technical Mission in Europe Report. 141), From Soldier to Student: A Guide to Higher Education for Veterans. Panzer Tracts No.6-3 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen Maus and E 100. At this time though, there were several Maus hulls in various stages of completion as well as armor plating in various stages of rolling, milling, and welding for dozens more Maus available at Krupp’s factory in Essen.
We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. The result of this bombing was that there was an interruption in production which led to a scaling-down of production followed by the cancellation of the project in November 1943. Having considered that several vehicles were already in various stages of completion, Krupp had a lot of time, money, and material invested in the Maus project, as did Dr. Porsche, the designer. However, without drawings, plans, or documentary evidence, this remains speculative only. At nearly 200 tonnes, the Maus, fully loaded and ready for combat, was a feat of engineering which lacked a purpose by the time it was finished. On top of this casting was a second large steel casting forming the mantlet around the gun. Technical Report 485-45 – German Powder Composition and Internal Ballistics for Guns. On 15th May 1944, the contract for the 1:5 scale model of the Maus-II turm was changed to include an additional model in 1:10 scale to incorporate a new range finder (EM – entfernungsmesser), which was slightly narrower than the original one (1.9 to 2 m long instead of 2.1 m). No Maus II was ever built and no turret finished. (1946). What this meant was that, by the time of the August bombing attack on the Krupp works, there were several marginally different Maus in production at the same time.