Ratte

[Torenico]

Ratte <3

[azreal]

lol I remember trying trying to jump the Ratte with a few guys from WaW using the deployed Mg bug

[Torenico]

Who made that model... i think it was Hitler.. i mean.. he wanted to show the greatness of his uber tank called Ratte...


Now.. FHSW must do only ONE thing.. a Maus.

[Mspfc Doc DuFresne]

Bigger proved in fact to be better.
The people who ordered these tanks to be designed were pencil pushers.
First they called for tender a vehicle of 1 ton and industry build it.
And then it goes on: 3 tons, 6 tons, 12 tons, 24 tons, each with a huge list of specifications like armament and armour. For the pencil pushers this is easy, they ask to get what war prooved to be needed. Bigger guns and better armour. So, the request is first, the realization comes later. The problems of a big tank, like suspension, sinking depth or the engine are not that obvious on the first glimpse. Nobody had tried that before. It all appeared to be a question of engineering.

It all was a question of engineering; if those things had been properly engineered they would have worked the way they were designed. But the nuts who thought these were a good idea designed them the way they wished them to work, not the way they actually would. A good engineer would have paid attention to all those little details; but, otoh, Hitler was hardly a good engineer.

[GooGeL]

You don't know if it was just somebodys sketches that lead to that the tank hit the production bands without much thought behind it. It's world war we're talking about here, not that this is exclusive to it. You need to push the technology to have the upper hand or stay on the same level as your enemy. Fall behind isn't really something you want to do, that would be devastating for you and those on the fields working with the equipment.

Just check out the massive graveyards with planes over in US that the cold war left behind for you.

When there's full scale war going on outside, it doesn't seem reasonable to have a plan that within 7-10 years we're going to have a new MBT with these standards. From sketch to production. It would be out of date before it left the drawing board probably. Asking for some serious testing before you put desperately needed new armor on the fields when you're being pushed back or falling behind the enemy techwise, is a bit too much to ask for I believe. Ah well, I bet there's alot of experience gained and knownledge learned from this period of time.
 
Some ideas maybe was a bit out of proportion though... but the germans back in those days gave us the Panther, remember!? 
Btw, look at the new transporter plane aka Airbus A400M. Think it's getting close to 10years of development now and it's continuesly delayed due to problems. Now, a plane like this might be much more advanced than a Tiger or a Panther from 1940. But... the tools and resources they got to work with these days, it's hard to imagen what the heck they are up to!

[Torenico]

I heard one of the Ratte turrets was done.. but the Project got Cancelled and the Turret was moved to Norway.

Thats what i heard..

[Recon-Team]

Who needs your pathetic 1000 metric ton Ratte when you could have this?

[von.small]

You might wonder why they planned such large tanks, perhaps you should look more at basic human feelings and the generation that spawned all this.

Coming out of WW1 we saw Big Bertha, just the idea that the Germans had a weapon that could shoot the frontlines from so far away must have put the jitters into the allied soldiers.

Imagine then the fear that a tank, that huge could appear on the battlefield and decimate the entire opposition, it may have been a one off tank, but it's psychological effect has far reaching effect.

It's about fear.  Kind of ironic that the universes smallest piece of matter, was then to end the whole war with it's fear.

In my opinion, and this is my opinion not me asking to be flamed for 'forgetting those nations that...' The German military is still and hopefully for a long time will remain the most formiddable opponent that Britain has ever faced.  Politics aside, the german soldier was the most resourceful, efficient, well-trained tool on the battlefield, such as shame we had to call them the enemy.