Its full name was the Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus, or “Mouse,” and it was the heaviest fully-enclosed armored vehicle ever built! This German super-heavy tank weighed an astounding 188 tons! This massive size was ultimately the reason why it wasn’t pushed into production. There was just no engine powerful enough to push this beast around at useful speeds. Design specifications said it would travel at a maximum speed of about 12 mph. However, the prototype could attain speeds of 8 mph. That’s not very impressive. Also, it was just too heavy to ever be able to get across a bridge, but it could just go underwater in some instances. Its primary goal was to simply push through enemy defenses without fear of suffering any damage. In the end, the Maus was too impractical and costly to produce.

One prototype was completed; another started but never finished by the time the war ended. The two prototypes destroyed by the Germans to prevent them from falling into Allied hands; however the Soviet army was able to salvage the wreckage of both. They transported the pieces, using six of the largest half-track vehicles they possessed, back to Russia where they remains were reassembled into one working tank. It now resides on display at the Kubinka Tank Museum, just west of Moscow.