The "Rat" in the Chariot Kingdom
Sixty-one koshi. This year, 2020, is the Year of the Rat. The "Gengzi Indemnity" 120 years ago, we should not forget those who have studied Modern Chinese History. Gengzi's compensation is equivalent to eight robbers coming to the house to grab things, and in the end they have to lose money. Only by not forgetting the national shame can we forge ahead.
In people's eyes, the reputation of rats and other animals is not very good, what rats are blind, rats steal dogs, head-hugging rats, timid as rats, rats crossing the street everyone shouting and beating, weasels to chickens to worship the New Year - no good eyes, etc., none of them are good to hear. However, rats don't always go back, and Mickey Mouse in Disneyland is quite cute. In the traditional Chinese zodiac, "rat" has become "big brother", the first of the twelve zodiac signs, sixty-one jiazi, referring to this file. In the Year of the Rat, let's talk about naming tank armored vehicles after rats!
Counting up, in the history of tank development in the past hundred years, there are really some tank armored vehicles named after rats.
During World War II, Germany named a self-propelled gun "Weasel", with a total of "Weasel" 1, 2 and 3 types. By the 1960s, the Germans named an infantry fighting vehicle after the "weasel."
Another famous armored vehicle known as rats during World War II was the Kangaroo armored transporter. However, the Kangaroo armored transport vehicle is a temporary modified armored transport vehicle such as old tanks on the battlefield. "Kangaroo" is just a kind name for such vehicles by Allied officers and soldiers, which is very famous, but it is not an official name.
Since the end of World War II, famous armored vehicles named after rats include the German "Weasel" airborne combat vehicle and the British "Stoat" wheeled reconnaissance vehicle. These two armored fighting vehicles, known for their "small and exquisite", are named after weasels and ferrets, which is really quite appropriate.
However, from the strict classification of zoology, weasels, weasels, kangaroos, etc., and mice are not a category, but with the word "rat". The real tank armored vehicle named after the mouse is the German "rat" super heavy tank introduced here.
The "Rat" super heavy tank is the heaviest tank in the history of tank development in the past century, and it is also the only super heavy tank made of more than 100 tons of prototype vehicles and used on the battlefield. Let's take a look at the true face of this "steel giant" Lushan!
From "mammoth" to "rat" type
Let's start with the naming of the "Rat" super heavy tank!
The Germans liked to name tank armored vehicles with ferocious animals, "tiger" type, "leopard" type, became a prominent representative. So why did Germany name a super heavy tank with an inconspicuous little mouse?
Originally, in January 1943, the German military wanted to develop a "super and invincible tank with super firepower and no penetration at all", and developed the code name 205 project test vehicle, which was developed by the famous Arkett Company. On May 14, 1943, the company made a full-size wooden model and initially named the "Mammoth" super heavy tank. The mammoth is a giant animal that lived in the harsh cold regions of the prehistoric Ice Age and did not last long. It is huge, covered in hair, with extra-long tusks, and is extremely powerful. It might be appropriate to name this animal a super heavy tank. However, the Germans may have considered that the mammoth was extinct and not very auspicious, so when the Alkett Company assembled its first prototype in August 1953, it was renamed the "Rat" super heavy tank. As for why a super heavy tank is named after a small mouse, the author speculates that it may be related to "rats are afraid of cats, cats are afraid of dogs... Elephants are afraid of rats" is related to that cosmopolitan fairy tale. In addition, in the German chariots of World War II, tigers, panthers, elephants, rhinos, grizzly bears, etc. have been "famous flowers and masters", and it may be interesting to name a super tank with a super animal elephant "afraid of three points" of the little mouse. Coincidentally. The smallest radio-controlled demolition tank made by the Germans in World War II, but named after the "Giant Goliath", is very interesting.
The "behemoth" of the Third Reich
The Rat super heavy tank weighs up to 188 tons, which is the heaviest tank in the world and the only tank in the world that has a 100-ton class and is put into actual combat. The total length of the "Rat" tank is 10.08 meters, the length of the hull is 9.03 meters, the width of the vehicle is 3.67 meters, and the height of the vehicle is 3.66 meters, which is extremely large. This can be seen in the comparison of the profiles of the Rat tank and the T-34 tank. The side area of the small T-34 medium tank is less than half of the Rat tank. The "Rat" super heavy tank is huge and is caused by many reasons. On the one hand, the pursuit of super strong and thick armor protection will inevitably increase the burden of power, transmission, and action parts, and it is impossible for the "big head" to be small and not heavy. On the other hand, the more important point is that the use of electric transmission devices increases the propulsion system to occupy a lot of space and weight in the car, the generator and coupling alone are more than 3 meters long, plus the engine in front of the generator and the motor in the rear, the axial length of the entire power system is nearly 6 meters, which almost occupies the entire car content; At the same time, it raised the entire turret and battle chamber, making the entire tank high and heavy. The third reason is that the gun caliber of the "Rat" tank is one of the best in the tanks of World War II, and the ammunition base of the shell is also one of the best, and it seems that Germany really wants to use the "Rat" super heavy tank as an "invincible active fortress". These characteristics of the "Rat" super heavy tank in the structure can be clearly seen in its side section view.
The rat tank had a crew of 6 people: the commander, the gunner, the driver, the mechanic, and two loaders. From the perspective of a super heavy tank, this number of crews is really not much. The position and division of labor of the 6 crews can be clearly seen in the general layout of the side: the commander's seat is located on the right side of the main gun in the turret, and the commander can also control the firing of the secondary weapon 75 mm gun in addition to the combat command of the whole vehicle; The gun commander's seat is located on the left side of the main gun in the turret, and is mainly responsible for the control, aiming and firing of the 128 mm main gun; Two loaders behind the commander and the gunner, standing position to load the shell, because the 128 mm shell is a dispenser ammunition, the weight is larger, the shell is a heavy physical work, the configuration of two loaders is a must, and the two loaders can be one loaded with a warhead, one with a firing cartridge, which can appropriately increase the firing speed; The driver is located on the left side of the front of the body; The mechanic is located on the right side of the front of the body, and its position is somewhat lower than that of the driver's seat.
The hull of the "Rat" super heavy tank is also relatively special. Although the entire body is a fully welded structure, the stiffness of the whole vehicle is quite strong, but the super weight to bear 188 tons (the weight of the turret alone is 50 tons), still appears to be insufficient stiffness. To this end, a number of stiffeners and cross-sectional panels were deliberately designed inside the hull to enhance stiffness, which is rare in other tanks.