Maus

Maus

Maus

Germany

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.0	7.7	7.7

Class:

Heavy tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The Pz.Kpfw. VIII Maus is a rank V German heavy tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB) and 7.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.47 "Big Guns" as a main tree vehicle, however in Update 1.91 "Night Vision" it was shifted to a gift vehicle for players who previously owned it. It was later available for research for a limited time during War Thunder's 8th, 9th, 10th and 11th anniversary events. The Maus is the epitome of the word 'heavy tank' and as such sports one of the thickest raw armor values in the game, alongside a monstrous weight of 188 tons and the size to show for it. The vehicle has various tools to spearhead a charge and lead your team to victory, but if positioned incorrectly or if the tools it has are underutilized players will quickly find that the Maus isn't as easygoing as its armor may suggest.

The Maus is more than just a mobile pillbox - its size and armor commandeer the term 'mobile bunker' instead. The 12.8 mm cannon on the Maus has devastating effectiveness, with options between a higher-filler, lower penetrating round and the 12.8/8.8 APHEDS round which has over 300 mm of flat penetration and flies a good 300m/s faster than the prior round. The vehicle's mobility is limited by the transmission to 20.8km/h both forwards and backwards, meaning careful planning of the vehicle's path is crucial to avoid downtime by trying to turn the hull. Armor is by far the most notable trait of the vehicle, but with a catch - the Maus straddles the line between Cold War and World War 2 vehicles, and as such the armor can swing wildly between not stopping any rounds or bouncing every enemy shell off the front. Careful positioning and planning is required to excel in the Maus, but if one takes the time to master it it can be nigh impossible to take down outside of a concerted team effort to take it down.

General info

Survivability and armour

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull180 / 180 / 80

Turret232 / 205 / 200

Crew6 people

Visibility272 %

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour
• Cast homogeneous armour (Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	200 mm (55°) Front glacis 200 mm (35°) Lower glacis	180 mm Top 100 mm Bottom 300 mm Weld joints	150 mm (36°) Top 150 mm (31°) Bottom	50 mm General area 100 mm Front roof
Turret	232 mm (3-53°)Turret front 240 mm Gun mantlet	205 mm (30°)	200 mm (15°)	60 mm

Notes:

• The armour on the Maus is quite complex, and definitely does not end with the above-mentioned values
  • Gun mantlet is 240 mm thick and nicely rounded, right around both guns the armour is 300 mm thick
  • Tracks at the front are protected by 100+60 mm plates (100 mm basic plate + attached tracks)
  • Behind the frontal upper plate on deck armour, there are many 60 mm highly sloped plates of armour, protecting the engine vents and turret ring from HEAT/HE shells and some small-calibre fire
  • Frontal part of the belly is also 100 mm thick, with the rest being 50 mm
  • Deck armour in front of these plates is also strengthened to an impressive 100 mm
  • Side armour is split to two parts, top with 180 mm and bottom with 100 mm + tracks
  • Even inside the tank there is armour - there are many 20 mm plates inside the tank, separating crew compartments from various modules, and partially protecting the interior from shrapnel that penetrated the tank from other areas
    • One plate is at the rear of the tank, between the enormous transmission and the fighting compartment
    • The second plate is more to the front, separating fighting compartment from the middle-mounted Engine and its radiators
    • The third plate is in the front between the driver's compartment and the engine
    • Around the driver there are many more 20 mm plates, adding some protection to fuel tanks located there

Mobility

Reverse gearbox

Forward and backward movement is possible at the same maximum speed

Speedforward / back

AB22 / 22 km/h

RB and SB21 / 21 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

8 back

Weight188.0 t

Engine power

AB2 290 hp

RB and SB1 200 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB12.2 hp/t

RB and SB6.4 hp/t

The Maus weighs 188 tons. This is more than twice the weight of similar vehicles like it, such as the T95, TOG II, M103 or even the M1 Abrams, and it shows in the tank's mobility. The Maus tops out at a fairly slow 20.8 km/h in both forwards and reverse speed, which is enabled by its electric transmission, although it can easily reach and stay at this speed across most terrain due to strong torque. The tank slows down noticeably when turning, so if the player wishes to reach destinations at a brisker pace it is advised to minimize the number of turns needed to get to a point of interest.

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	22	22	188	1,549	2,290	8.24	12.18
Realistic	21	21		1,061	1,200	5.64	6.38

Modifications and economy

In general, mobility upgrades and the 12.8/8.8 cm APHEDS round should be prioritized, but the APHEDS round isn't mandatory and should generally be considered the lower lethality but higher penetrating 'option', not a 'requirement' to do well in the Maus. Between penetration and one-shot potential, it is generally a preferential choice and whichever one you find more consistent should be your go-to choice of ammunition.

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB5 619 → 7 293

RB5 906 → 7 665

SB9 398 → 12 198

Total cost of modifications99 200

164 000

Talisman cost2 200

Crew training98 000

Experts340 000

Aces1 300

Research Aces780 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

140 / 210 / 250 %

202 / 202 / 202 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 600 165 Suspension Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 185 Brake System Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 185 Filters Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 340 Transmission Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 330 Engine Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 330	Improved Parts Research: 2 700 Cost: 6 600 165 Improved FPE Research: 3 000 Cost: 7 400 185 Crew Replenishment Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 340	Horizontal Drive Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 600 165 128mm_ger_APCBC_ammo_pack Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 600 165 75mm_ger_Smoke_ammo_pack Research: 4 100 Cost: 6 600 165 Adjustment of Fire Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 185 75mm_ger_kwk44_Hl_C_HEAT_ammo_pack Research: 4 600 Cost: 7 400 185 Elevation Mechanism Research: 8 500 Cost: 14 000 340 128mm_ger_TS_ammo_pack Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 330 Smoke grenade Research: 8 300 Cost: 13 000 330

Armaments

Main armament

128 mm KwK44 cannon

Ammunition68 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

23.6 → 18.2 s

Vertical guidance-7° / 23°

128 mm KwK44					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	68	-7°/+23°	±180°	N/A	6.6	9.0	10.9	12.0	12.8	23.66	20.93	19.30	18.20
Realistic					4.8	5.6	6.8	7.5	8.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Sprgr. L/5	HE	37	37	37	37	37	37
PzGr	APC	252	249	237	222	208	195
PzGr 43	APCBC	272	269	257	242	228	215
12,8/8,8 Pzgr.TS	APCBC	312	307	288	266	245	226

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Sprgr. L/5	HE	750	28	0	0.1	3,700	79°	80°	81°
PzGr	APC	930	26.35	1.2	19	786.5	48°	63°	71°
PzGr 43	APCBC	940	28.3	1.2	19	786.5	48°	63°	71°
12,8/8,8 Pzgr.TS	APCBC	1,230	9.85	1.2	19	108.8	48°	63°	71°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Maus

Full ammo	Ammo parts	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
68	Projectiles Propellants	55 (+13) 57 (+11)	33 (+35) 45 (+23)	25 (+43) 37 (+31)	17 (+51) 23 (+45)	9 (+59) 15 (+53)	1 (+67) 1 (+67)	No

Notes:

• The Maus uses two-piece ammunition, composed of projectiles (yellow) and propellant charges (orange). Both have separate racks.
• Projectiles and propellants are modeled by sets of 2 which disappear once both in the set have been fired.
• Turret empty: 45 (+23) shells.

Additional armament

75 mm KwK44 L/36.5 cannon

Ammunition100 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

5.2 → 4.0 s

The Maus comes equipped with what is ostensibly the main gun of low tier German vehicles - the 75 mm cannon. While the gun is technically slightly different with it being a L/36.5 and not a L/37, performance is near identical. This 75 mm unlike other coaxial guns on other heavy tanks such as the M6A1/T1E1 has significant utility and without it the Maus would be far worse off. This utility includes being able to quickly load and fire HEAT shells at flanking open top or light vehicles to overpressure them, track or barrel enemies that barrel your main gun and try to push up to you, and creating what is basically a smoke wall by firing smoke rounds in succession as you advance to cover potentially lethal corridors.

75 mm KwK44 L/36.5				Reloading rate (seconds)
Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
100	N/A	N/A	N/A	5.20	4.60	4.24	4.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
Sprgr. 34	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	80	80	80	80	80	80
Hl.Gr 38C	HEAT	115	115	115	115	115	115

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
Sprgr. 34	HE	420	5.74	0.2	0.1	686	79°	80°	81°
Hl.Gr 38B	HEAT	450	4.4	0.05	0.1	872.1	62°	69°	73°
Hl.Gr 38C	HEAT	450	4.8	0.05	0.1	875.5	62°	69°	73°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
K.Gr.Rot Nb.	423	6.2	9	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the Maus

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
100	76 (+24)	51 (+49)	26 (+74)	1 (+99)	No

Notes:

• Racks are modelled by sets of 5 shells. The sets disappear from the rack once all shells in the set have been loaded/fired.
• Turret empty: 76 (+24) shells.

Machine guns

7.92 mm MG34 machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 050 rounds

Belt capacity150 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate900 shots/min

7.92 mm MG34
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,000 (150)	900	-7°/+23°	N/A

Usage in battles

Pros:

• Nigh unkillable tank against many guns when angled and at range
• Capable of soaking a large amount of damage and very resilient to bombs and rockets
• Turret sides are as strong as, if not stronger than, the front of the turret
• Good traction, will reach its top speed consistently on almost all terrain
• Very difficult to immobilize, due to extremely thick track skirts
• Powerful 128 mm cannon and rounds
• Secondary 75 mm coaxial cannon offers extreme utility without sacrificing your 128 mm gun's reload
• Has commander sights, useful for looking around without moving the turret

Cons:

• Slow at everything, struggles to crest hills quickly, turn the hull or turn the turret quickly
• Fairly easy to take on without any team support
• Easily damageable ammunition racks in the sides of the vehicle
• Gargantuan profile; Easily spotted from long range
• Armor is insufficient against modern rounds and missiles
• Big size makes it an easy target to cripple using CAS
• Optics have low zoom, making it hard to spot targets at range
• Secondary 75 mm has high drop and needs keys bound to it for effective use

History

Development

This monster of a tank started development in 1942 on the suggestion of Ferdinand Porsche to Hitler, which was approved. The first prototype was to be completed by 1943 and the project vehicle was designated the Mammut (Mammoth). The name changed in December 1942 to Mäuschen (Little Mouse), then once more to the Maus (Mouse) in February 1943, which stayed as its designation (and perhaps proving that Germany does have a sense of humour).

The prototype used Ferdinand's "electric transmission" that was previously used on the rejected Tiger(P), the vehicle would be powered by an MB 517 diesel engine. The Maus has a suspension design with 24 wheels on each side, 2 per bogie with two bogies side by side and six bogies lining up from front and back. The armour was perhaps the most defining feature at 220 mm thick at the hull front, the sides and rear were 190 mm thick. The turret was even thicker at 240 mm on the front and 200 mm on the sides and rear. The vehicle was to also have a 128 mm KwK44 main gun with a 75 mm KwK44 gun as a coaxial. The overwhelming design was approximated to weight 100 tons.

The production plan was to have the prototype completed by mid-1943 and for 10 vehicles per month after the prototype delivery. Work would be divided between Krupp and Alkett for the production of the machine. The wooden model of the tank was presented on May 1943 to Hitler. It was then approved for production and 150 of them were to be built. With the final design finished, it was estimated to weight 188 tons now. Though Hitler and his peers saw it with much favour, Heinz Guderian criticised the Maus design because there was a lack of machine guns, thus it was extremely vulnerable to infantry attacks at close-quarters for the same reason as the Ferdinand tank destroyer. The anti-infantry problem was solved with the addition of a coaxial machine gun and a "Nahverteidigungswaffe" dischargers, firing smoke or high-explosive shells in its surrounding area, installed on the turret.

Production and cancellation

Two prototypes of the Maus were made in 1943 and 1944. The first one, called V1 was turretless and assembled by Alkett in December 1943, it was fitted with a mock turret that helped finalise the turret design in 1944. Here they determine the Maus was definitely too heavy for any bridges in existence so the Maus would ford rivers with a snorkel. The second prototype called V2 by Alkett again had the first produced Maus turret attached with the 128 mm gun, coaxial 75 mm gun, and coaxial machine gun. In July 1944, Krupp was producing four more hulls, but these were scrapped and the whole project stopped on August 1944, though tests with the V2 continued. The weight of the tank meant that the power-to-weight ratio was extremely poor, resulting in the Maus' ideal speed of about 8 miles per hour maximum in ideal conditions.

However, the Maus was never fully produced because it was the only tank that ceased production because of a strategic bombing campaign that would ruin its production facilities. Adding to this, by 1944, the Red Army was advancing deeper and deeper into what was previously German-controlled territory. The vision that the Red Army might capture the testing grounds of the Maus prototypes and the prototypes themselves seem to come closer to reality. The Germans were forced to destroy the prototypes to prevent their capture by the Soviets, placing charges onto the V2 prototype (the V1 was only a hull so it wasn't combat-effective). The second prototype had the entire hull damaged as there was ammunition still in the tank when the charges went off, but the turret was mostly intact. The Soviets captured the damaged prototypes and held them until the end of the war. After World War II, the Soviet Commander of Armoured and Mechanized troops ordered for the V1 hull to be attached with the turret from the V2 prototype. They had to use six Sd.Kfz. 9, the largest half-track vehicles produced by Germany, to move the 55-ton turret to the hull. The fixed prototype was sent back to the Soviet Union for testing and arrive on May 4, 1946. Once this is done, the prototype was sent to Kubinka Tank museum in Russia where it lays today on display for the public.

Archive of the in-game description

An experimental super-heavy tank built in Germany towards the end of the war. The project was developed by Ferdinand Porsche. The first tank was assembled at the Alkett factory in Berlin on August 1, 1943. The first trial run of the Type 205/1 tank was conducted on December 24, 1943. The turret still wasn't ready, so a load equal to the weight of the turret was placed on top of the tank. The prototype turned out to be quite manoeuvrable once it was able to leave the assembly area, where it had been rather cramped. According to those who had the opportunity to drive the tank, the Maus was easier to drive than the Pz.Kpfw. IV. In November, 1943 a 44 calibre, 128 mm KwK44 cannon was built that was intended for the tank. The cannon's designation was later changed to 12.8 cm KwK82. The weapon was tested at the Meppen training ground. The turret was installed on the 205/1 prototype on July 6, 1944, and on October 3, 1944 the armament was installed and the fully-outfitted tank was tested at the training ground in Kummersdorf. Both prototypes were tested in Kummersdorf, but no reliable information on these tests is available. Whether or not experimental firing was conducted is also unknown. Toward the end of the war, bodies and turrets had begun to be produced in addition to the prototypes that had been built. As the Soviet troops were approaching in 1945 both prototypes were blown up. Soviet specialists were able to reconstruct one Maus from the wreckage. This rebuilt tank was delivered to the training ground in Kubinka in 1946, where various tests were performed. The Panzerkampfwagen Maus can currently be viewed on display at the tank museum in Kubinka.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the Maus from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

Videos

The Shooting Range #68 - Pages of History section at 09:31 discusses the Maus.

Top 7 most armoured vehicles discusses the Maus at 4:35 - War Thunder Official Channel

Best secondary armaments discusses the Maus at 3:14 - War Thunder Official Channel

The Maus - War Thunder Official Channel

The Maus Super-Heavy Tank - Simple History

Mighty Maus - TheDevildogGamer

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Panzerkampfwagen VIII «Maus»
• [Historical] Panzerkampfwagen VIII "Maus", Part I, Part II, and Part III

Germany heavy tanks
Tiger 1 (Henschel)	Tiger H1 · Tiger E · ␠Tiger
Tiger 1 (Porsche)	VK 45.01 (P) · Pz.Bef.Wg.VI P
Tiger 2	Tiger II (P) · Tiger II (H) · Tiger II (H) Sla.16 · Tiger II (10.5 cm Kw.K)
Super heavy tanks	Maus · E-100
Trophies
Great Britain	▀Pz.Kpfw. Churchill
USSR	▀KV-IB · ▀KW I C 756 (r) · ▀KW II 754 (r)