removed. This allowed extra accommodation of ammunition, and reduced the total weight of the tank by 50 tonnes. The guns used for the Ratte would have fired ammunition developed for other naval guns. It also included armour-piercing rounds with of explosive filler, and high-explosive rounds with of explosive filler. Further armament was to consist of a 128 mm anti-tank gun of the type used in the Jagdtiger or Maus, two 15 mm Mauser MG 151/15 autocannons, and eight 20 mm Flak 38 anti-aircraft guns, probably with at least four of them as a Flakvierling quadruple mounts. The 128 mm anti-tank gun's precise location on the Ratte is a point of contention among historians, most believing that it would have been mounted within the primary turret, with some others thinking a smaller secondary turret at the rear of the Ratte more logical. Some concept drawings exist to suggest a flexible mount on the glacis plate. The tank was to be provided with a vehicle bay that could hold two BMW R12 motorcycles for scouting, and several smaller storage rooms, a compact infirmary area, and a self-contained lavatory system. Issues The large size and weight would have rendered the tank unable to cross bridges at the risk of collapsing them, and travelling on roads would quickly destroy them. Though its top intended speed was , its huge size and high visibility would have made it extremely vulnerable to aerial bombardment and artillery fire. Its great size would also have meant that once built the vehicle's strategic, operational, and tactical mobility would be entirely dependent on its own drivetrain, for there were no other realistic means of moving it from one firing position to another. No existing railway or train car could bear its weight and its width was too great for existing tunnels. See also Schwerer Gustav Landkreuzer P. 1500 Monster Land battleship T-42 References Notes Bibliography Further reading External links German site with a scale model Article about the 1000/1500 series Illustration of P.1000 Landkreuzer Ratte Ratte – Hitler's Super Tank Russian site with photos of Ratte models Abandoned projects of Nazi Germany Super-heavy tanks World War II tanks of Germany History of the tank