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Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte, Experimantal Super Tank Design (1942 to 1943):
German weapon manufacturing company Friedrich Krupp AG designed this super heavy tank in 1942 upon approval of Adolf Hitler. But German Minister of Armaments and War Production, Albert Speer cancelled the project in 1943 before any units were constructed. At 1000 metric tons, if built, it would have been 5 times heavier than the heaviest tank ever built, Panzer VIII Maus.
Image used: Size comparison between German tanks- Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte, Panzer VIII Maus and Tiger II tanks
It was designed to be armed with naval artillery with 25 cm (10in) hardened stell armor. To compensate for the Ratte’s immense weight, it would have been fitted with three 1.2 m (3ft 11in) wide caterpillar track or treads on each side with a total 7.2m (24ft) tread width. Main weapon of the Super Tank would have been two 280 mm SK C/24 Naval guns. A 128 mm anti tank gun, eight 20 mm Flak 38 anti aircraft guns and two 15mm MG151 auto-cannons were also part of the armaments of the Ratte. Two 6,300 KW (8,400 hp) marine diesel engines of U-boats or eight 1,500KW (2,000hp) E-boat engines were supposed to be fitted with the super tank. It was supposed to carry up to 41 crews and attain maximum speed of 40kmph (25mph).
Image used: Cutaway illustration depicting the Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte Super Tank Design. There were no blueprints of interior of this tank; assumptions were made based on similar German battleships.
Hafner Rotabuggy, British Experimantal ‘Flying Jeep’ (1943 to 1944):
It was basically a rotor kite fitted Willys MB, the US Army Jeep, intended to introduce air-dropping ability of the off-road vehicles. Raoul Hafner, an Austrian born British helicopter engineer of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment, designed this aircraft and a prototype was built in 1942. It required two personnel to pilot it, one to pilot it in the air and another to drive it as an automobile. Its name was changed from ‘Blitz Buggy’ to ‘Rotabuggy’.
Image used: British experimental aircraft, Hafner Rotabuggy in flight in 1943
It could be dropped from heights up to 2.35m (7.7ft) without any damage. The diameter of the rotor was 12.4m (40ft 8.2in). The buggy had tail fins and fairing but no rudders. Several test flights were carried out between 16 November 1943 and February 1, 1944. If dropped from an aircraft, it could fly at 65mph (105kmph) and maintain altitude of around 400ft (121.9m). It could also takeoff from the ground if towed behind a 4.5 liter Bentley Supercharger automobile or an Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley, the British bomber. Rotabuggy’s last test flight was also described as ‘highly satisfactory’. However, vehicle carrying gliders such as Airspeed Horsa and Waco Hadrian made the Rotabuggy redundant and the ‘Flying Jeep’ project was subsequently cancelled.
German weapon manufacturing company Friedrich Krupp AG designed this super heavy tank in 1942 upon approval of Adolf Hitler. But German Minister of Armaments and War Production, Albert Speer cancelled the project in 1943 before any units were constructed. At 1000 metric tons, if built, it would have been 5 times heavier than the heaviest tank ever built, Panzer VIII Maus.
Image used: Size comparison between German tanks- Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte, Panzer VIII Maus and Tiger II tanks
It was designed to be armed with naval artillery with 25 cm (10in) hardened stell armor. To compensate for the Ratte’s immense weight, it would have been fitted with three 1.2 m (3ft 11in) wide caterpillar track or treads on each side with a total 7.2m (24ft) tread width. Main weapon of the Super Tank would have been two 280 mm SK C/24 Naval guns. A 128 mm anti tank gun, eight 20 mm Flak 38 anti aircraft guns and two 15mm MG151 auto-cannons were also part of the armaments of the Ratte. Two 6,300 KW (8,400 hp) marine diesel engines of U-boats or eight 1,500KW (2,000hp) E-boat engines were supposed to be fitted with the super tank. It was supposed to carry up to 41 crews and attain maximum speed of 40kmph (25mph).
Image used: Cutaway illustration depicting the Landkreuzer P. 1000 Ratte Super Tank Design. There were no blueprints of interior of this tank; assumptions were made based on similar German battleships.
Hafner Rotabuggy, British Experimantal ‘Flying Jeep’ (1943 to 1944):
It was basically a rotor kite fitted Willys MB, the US Army Jeep, intended to introduce air-dropping ability of the off-road vehicles. Raoul Hafner, an Austrian born British helicopter engineer of the Airborne Forces Experimental Establishment, designed this aircraft and a prototype was built in 1942. It required two personnel to pilot it, one to pilot it in the air and another to drive it as an automobile. Its name was changed from ‘Blitz Buggy’ to ‘Rotabuggy’.
Image used: British experimental aircraft, Hafner Rotabuggy in flight in 1943
It could be dropped from heights up to 2.35m (7.7ft) without any damage. The diameter of the rotor was 12.4m (40ft 8.2in). The buggy had tail fins and fairing but no rudders. Several test flights were carried out between 16 November 1943 and February 1, 1944. If dropped from an aircraft, it could fly at 65mph (105kmph) and maintain altitude of around 400ft (121.9m). It could also takeoff from the ground if towed behind a 4.5 liter Bentley Supercharger automobile or an Armstrong Whitworth A.W.38 Whitley, the British bomber. Rotabuggy’s last test flight was also described as ‘highly satisfactory’. However, vehicle carrying gliders such as Airspeed Horsa and Waco Hadrian made the Rotabuggy redundant and the ‘Flying Jeep’ project was subsequently cancelled.
