Stranger Than Fiction Armor

[cyberia]

The big problem with these things P-D is they come with little or no real information and usually just one photo.

They are mostly head scratchers, and that might just be their greatest value.

[cyberia]

KV-VI Behemoth
Crew: 15 men and one Commissar. Nicknamed "Stalin's Orchestra" by the Germans that
encountered it because of the variety of weapons it deployed.

OK, first off, I know that this is a model that is something of an Internet legend.

I've seen it discussed on another site where the opinion was that such an armored vehicle never existed.

There are no known photographs and no detailed plans.

This is true.

It is also said there are no accounts of this vehicle.

Not true. I recently came across the following text on an armor site:

KV-VI Behemoth was more than a landship, it was a Communist wet dream. It had some hilarious history too. The first prototype was completed in December 1941 and was rushed into the defense of Moscow. In its first action during a dense winter fog, the rear turret accidentally fired into the center turret. The resulting explosion completely destroyed the vehicle. The second prototype was completed in January 1942, and was sent to the Leningrad front. This one had indicators installed to show where another turret was in the line of fire. In its initial attack on the Germans, the tank broke in half when crossing a ravine.

It is thought that this machine was an embarrassment to the Soviet Union, and all documentation on it was destroyed after the war.


Thoughts?

[Tom Houlihan]

Looks like a good vehicle for a Tank Gunner's school. You could train 3-4 classes at a time on that thing!!!

Not to mention the training that the mechs could get!

[Jim O]

It looks like "Stalin's Orchestra" has a "Stalin Organ" (Katyusha Rocket Launcher) "playing".

[Panzermacher]

Not true. I recently came across the following text on an armor site:

KV-VI Behemoth was more than a landship, it was a Communist wet dream. It had some hilarious history too. The first prototype was completed in December 1941 and was rushed into the defense of Moscow. In its first action during a dense winter fog, the rear turret accidentally fired into the center turret. The resulting explosion completely destroyed the vehicle. The second prototype was completed in January 1942, and was sent to the Leningrad front. This one had indicators installed to show where another turret was in the line of fire. In its initial attack on the Germans, the tank broke in half when crossing a ravine.

It is thought that this machine was an embarrassment to the Soviet Union, and all documentation on it was destroyed after the war.


Thoughts?[/quote]

I got laughed at for telling the second part of yer story...but out there on the net...exists the only pic of the K-100, A large Multiturreted tank. along the lines of the T-35. They made two prototype......one smashed itself, as the story above relates, The other died in test trials when it broke in half when crossing an anti-tank ditch. They had ONE pic of the one that wrecked on the ditch. It was a little longer than the T-35....but...nothing like that monstrosity in the Pic above!

[PanzerBob]

Sweet Mother of Marshal Zhukov! If there was ever a definition of Crazy Ivan, this thing is it. Oleg Antonov, answering a mandate from Uncle Joe's Flying Squad to come up with a method of airborne self-propelled armor delivery, invented this thing: the Antonov A-40 Tank Wings. Designed to be towed to an LZ by a bomber, it wasn't much of a tank and in 1942, the Air Force didn't have a plane powerful enough to tow it without overheating. However, it did fly successfully once. And really, once you've flown a tank, what is there left to do in life? – Davey G. Johnson

The things that warfare spawns.

[Panzermacher]

Holy Cow! I can't believe that thing can fly! But when it lands....I hope the wings come off.....

[Panzermacher]

I finally remembered the Name of that Russian tank! Ok it wasn't WW2 but it sure is a strange vehicle.
The Tsar Tank, also known as the Netopyr' (Нетопырь, Pipistrellus bat) or Lebedenko Tank, was an unusual Russian armored vehicle developed in 1914–1915. The project was scrapped after initial tests deemed the vehicle to be underpowered and vulnerable to artillery fire.

The tank was different from modern tanks in that it didn't use caterpillar tracks—rather, it used a tricycle design. The two front spoked wheels were nearly 9 metres (27 feet) in diameter; the back one was a smaller, only 1.5 metres (5 feet) high, triple wheel, to ensure maneuverability. The upper cannon turret reached nearly 8 metres high. The hull was 12 metres wide with two more cannon in the sponsons. Additional weapons were also planned under the belly.

The vehicle received its nickname because its model, when carried by the back wheel, resembled a bat hanging asleep.

The huge wheels were intended to cross significant obstacles. However, due to miscalculations of the weight, the back wheel was prone to be stuck in soft ground and ditches, and the front wheels were sometimes insufficient to pull it out. This led to a fiasco of tests before the high commission in August 1915.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Panzermacher

I got laughed at for telling the second part of yer story...but out there on the net...exists the only pic of the K-100, A large Multiturreted tank. along the lines of the T-35. They made two prototype......one smashed itself, as the story above relates, The other died in test trials when it broke in half when crossing an anti-tank ditch. They had ONE pic of the one that wrecked on the ditch. It was a little longer than the T-35....but...nothing like that monstrosity in the Pic above!

The funny part is, neither you nor I or really anyone for that matter, can say for certain this thing didn't exist.

As this thread shows when enough crazy people decide to build something anything is possible. It may not work, but someone has tried to build it.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Panzermacher

I finally remembered the Name of that Russian tank! Ok it wasn't WW2 but it sure is a strange vehicle.
The Tsar Tank, also known as the Netopyr' (Нетопырь, Pipistrellus bat) or Lebedenko Tank, was an unusual Russian armored vehicle developed in 1914–1915. The project was scrapped after initial tests deemed the vehicle to be underpowered and vulnerable to artillery fire.

The tank was different from modern tanks in that it didn't use caterpillar tracks—rather, it used a tricycle design. The two front spoked wheels were nearly 9 metres (27 feet) in diameter; the back one was a smaller, only 1.5 metres (5 feet) high, triple wheel, to ensure maneuverability. The upper cannon turret reached nearly 8 metres high. The hull was 12 metres wide with two more cannon in the sponsons. Additional weapons were also planned under the belly.

The vehicle received its nickname because its model, when carried by the back wheel, resembled a bat hanging asleep.

The huge wheels were intended to cross significant obstacles. However, due to miscalculations of the weight, the back wheel was prone to be stuck in soft ground and ditches, and the front wheels were sometimes insufficient to pull it out. This led to a fiasco of tests before the high commission in August 1915.

You found it!!

Now this thing is both stupid and cool, and deserves to be in this thread.

You have to wonder what they were thinking.