The Entwicklung (Standard) program, known as the E-Series, was conceived by Dipl Ing Heinrich Enrst Kneikamp, Chief Engineer of Waffenpruefamt 6 in May 1942. In April 1943, the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) accepted his program and ordered many different manufacturers to start the planning and development of the Entwicklung (project/development) Einheitsfahrgestell general purpose chassis. It was designed to replace armored vehicles and tanks that were used by the German Army from 1945 onwards. All six basic designs of the E-Series would have standardized parts, making their production, maintenance and service easier as well as cheaper. In April 1944, Adolf Hitler cancelled and further development of the super heavy tanks and the unfinished E-100 was abandoned. The end of the war ended the development of the E-Series program, which was in various stages ranging from blueprints to prototypes.

In June 1943, the E-100 was ordered by the Waffenamt from Adlerwerke, as a parallel development of the Porsche 205 Maus. In 1944, Hitler put a stop to all development of super heavy tanks and the project went on to a very low priority, and only three Adler employees were available to assemble the prototype at a small Henschel facility near Paderborn. The chassis of the prototype was virtually complete when the war ended, with only the turret missing. For the initial test runs, a normal Tiger B engine HL230P30 had been fitted, with an Olvar transmission. The final version was to have had the HL234 motor and Mekydro transmission. A 15cm KwK44 gun was proposed as the final armament.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a German PzKpfw VIII E-100 super heavy tank purportedly used to defend Berlin during April 1945. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 5-3/4-inches
Width: 2-1/2-inches

Release Date: June 2005

Historical Account: "Lucifer's Pride" - Super-heavy tanks were designed in response to the arms race of ever-increasing armament and armor in tanks. Although some models were built, they were impractical and saw no active service or combat. Most heavy tanks suffer from problems related to tactical mobility (soft ground, crossing bridges), strategic mobility (transporting on rail or truck), reliability of mechanical components under severe stresses, and other practical problems, like the sheer difficulty of handling extremely large ammunition. Above a certain weight threshold these problems become insurmountable.

Some extreme tank designs approved by Adolf Hitler during the Second World War were devised to be all-conquering monsters of the battlefield. A prime example of these would have to be the Maus, a German design which only reached the prototype stage. These tanks were designed by the Nazis as a possible way of winning the war and by the allies as a way of countering any advances in enemy armour. Tanks of 1,000 metric tons or more were even considered. However, these "Ultra-heavy tanks", such as the P. 1000 "Ratte" and P. 1500 "Monster", were deemed impractical and never made it past the preprototype stage.

At the time they seemed sensible as both sides could see the others tanks and anti-tank weapons improving and both required a way of countering the others superiority. Hitler was a keen advocate of super-heavy AFVs and personally agreed to the development of the Maus whereas in Britain and America the stunning effectiveness of the German 88mm's forced home the point that much thicker armour and much better armament was needed on their own tanks.

The idea of super heavy tanks saw less development after the war, except in the Soviet Union where some relatively heavy tank prototypes were tested for the Cold War nuclear battlefield. These might be considered super-heavy by the standards of Soviet tank design, where the emphasis was on small size and low weight, but they were no heavier than the standard U.S. and British heavy tanks of the period. (courtesy: Wikipedia)