Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe | |
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Type | Super-heavy tank |
Place of origin | Germany |
The Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion) was a design for a super-heavy tank created by Krupp for the Nazi German government during World War II. The project, initially code-named VK 7001 (K), never left the drawing board, and was dropped in late 1942 in favor of the Panzer VIII Maus.
The Löwe was designed in two variants:
- Leichter Löwe – crew of five, 1000-hp engine, weight of 76 tons, 100mm frontal armor, rear-mounted turret, 105 mm L/70 high velocity gun and a coaxial machine gun, top speed 27 km/h.
- Schwerer Löwe – crew of five, 1000-hp engine, weight of 90 tons, 120mm frontal armor, center-mounted turret, 105 mm L/70 high velocity gun and a coaxial machine gun, top speed 23 km/h.
When shown the designs, Adolf Hitler ordered the Leichter Löwe dropped and the Schwerer Löwe re-designed with a 150mm main gun, 140mm frontal armor, and a top speed of 30 km/h.
No prototype of either design was ever built. Some elements of the Schwerer Löwe design were used in the Tiger II.
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The original article can be found at Panzer VII Löwe and the edit history here.