What is maus tank?

The Panzerkampfwagen VIII Maus ("Mouse") was a German World War II super-heavy tank completed in late 1944. It is the heaviest fully enclosed armored fighting vehicle ever built. Only two were completed, with one surviving the war.

• Development: The Maus's development began in 1942, spearheaded by Ferdinand Porsche. The initial design called for a 100-ton vehicle, but it quickly grew in size and weight.

• Design: The Maus featured extremely thick armor, reaching up to 240 mm (9.4 in) on the turret front and 220 mm (8.7 in) on the hull front. It was intended to be virtually immune to all contemporary anti-tank weapons. The main armament was a 128 mm KwK 44 L/55 gun, supplemented by a 75 mm KwK 40 L/24 coaxial gun.

• Mobility: The Maus's massive weight of nearly 188 tonnes severely hampered its mobility. It was powered by a Daimler-Benz MB 509 gasoline engine (later replaced by a diesel engine) and used an electric drive system. It had a top speed of only 13 km/h (8.1 mph) and could not cross bridges.

• Service History: The two prototypes were never deployed in combat. One was captured by Soviet forces at the end of the war, and the other was destroyed to prevent its capture. The captured prototype was brought to the Soviet Union for evaluation and is now displayed at the Kubinka Tank Museum near Moscow.