A Very Unique WW1 Tank - The "Tsar Tank"

The largest tank ever was built in 1915 in Russia. It was called „Tsar tank” or „Lebedenko Tank”. The constructors of the tank were N. Lebedenko, N. Zhukovskiy and his nephews, B. Stechkin and A. Mikulin. The project was given over after initial tests, because the new machine was too vulnerable for guns and artillery. Consequently, the financing of the tsar tank was stopped. The two front wheels’ diameter was nearly 9 meters (27 feet) The back wheel was 1,5 meters (5 feet) long. The body of the tank was about 12 metres wide. The upper cannon turret was 8 metres high and there were two other turrets on the left and on the right side of the tsar tank body. Tsar tank was about 40 tons heavy, and had the maximum speed of 17 km/h. The total expenses of the project were 210000 rubles.

The vehicle received a nickname, Netopyr (a kind of bat) because, when carried by the back wheel, it resembled a bat hanging asleep.

There were many problems with the weight of the tank. The back wheels often stuck in the soft ground and in trenches and the front wheels couldn’t pull it out because the capacity of engines was not enough.

In 1923, tsar-tank was disassembled and turned into scrap metal.

Tsar tank data:

Battle weight: about 60 tons
Crew, people: 10
Length: 17.8 metres
Width: 9 metres
Height: 12 metres
Engine type: 2 x 240 hp,Maybach
Maximum speed: 17 km/h

Pictures from:
Oleg Pomoshnikov & Sergey Pchelkin,
www.landships.freeservers.com