Visitors to the Moscow Kremlin can admire the true masterpiece of ancient Russian weapons art - Tsar Cannon. It is huge, and with its appearance could terrify the adversaries, but could not find military application.
If the heaviest tank in the world had survived today, its fate would be the same. One could look at him, walk around, be surprised at the monstrous size, admire the destructive power of his guns. And then draw a conclusion about the complete unsuitability of this monster to perform the main task of any weapon. You can’t fight on such a colossus.
Tanks are different, for each of their class tasks are clearly defined. In this way, they are similar to ships: where the destroyer is needed, the battleship does not fit.
The division of tanks into classes by weight, again, resembles the ranks of the vessels according to their displacement. It is very conditional, moreover, it differs in different countries. In general terms, the picture is as follows: small (weighing up to 5 tons) were armed only with machine guns and were intended for reconnaissance and raids on the rear of the enemy. Light (5-15 tons) had small-caliber guns, were built as an analogue of cavalry, carrying out rapid attacks and bypass maneuvers. The mass of medium tanks reaches 40 tons, their task is to break through the fortified defense. Everything bigger and stronger is heavy.
Already in 1917, the Germans began to build a mobile fortress K-Wagen. It was the heaviest tank in the world, it weighed 150 tons. The German command irritated the positional nature of the war on the western front; something was needed that could crush the French defenses. In fact, the K-wagen was an artillery battery of four guns crawling across the field at the speed of a pedestrian. This model of weapons did not crown itself with the laurels of glory and did not exert any influence on the outcome of the war.
The lesson of the vanquished did not go forward to the victors. Before the war, the French began to build such a monster, their FCM-F1 car weighed 145 tons. Little remained for him to the title of "heaviest tank in the world." FCM-F1 could not be applied, he shared his futility with the Maginot line.
All other armored heavyweights suffered from similar structural flaws, negating the advantages of both thick armor and powerful weapons. They were inactive, had a small power reserve, bridges and railway platforms could not stand them.
In conditions of constant metal shortage, overstrain of production capacities and a catastrophic situation on all fronts, the Germans built a giant 140-ton steel "mouse" Maus E-100, as the Fuhrer ordered. They started in 1944, but never completed - the war is over. The previously created monster Maus-VIII weighed 188 tons. It was the next heaviest tank in the world, implemented in metal, and at the same time a clear example of the absurdity of totalitarian thinking. The Germans built two copies, and both to no avail.
The Soviet tank builders did not have the task of increasing the mass of the machine. On the contrary, it was necessary to reduce it as much as possible, while providing powerful protection and equipping the tank with a gun capable of crushing any target. The USSR’s heaviest tank, Joseph Stalin-7, weighed only 68 tons, was armed with a 130 mm S-70 cannon and had slanted armor up to 350 mm thick. In this case, the IS-7 could move at a speed of 60 km / h, had a low profile that improves stealth. However, the state commission rejected this masterpiece. For modern warfare, it was too heavy. In the early 60s, Soviet designers were the first to realize the promise of medium-weight armored vehicles.
The American Abrams is the heaviest modern tank. Its weight exceeds 62 tons, and it performed well in wars in the Middle East, where there is no need to force water barriers or cross bridges. Promising Russian models of armored vehicles are much lighter, up to 47 tons. Our designers prefer cross-country ability and maneuverability. However, they also do not forget about firepower.