Heavy Tanks
In that nice little area between a light tank and a heavy tank.

1 FCM Char 2C The Char 2C was being planned and designed in the final year of the First World War. The system would become the largest tank of its kind to ever see operational service in any capacity and was ordered for mass production in ... 1921

2 FV214 Conqueror The British-produced Conqueror was designed to be fielded in conjunction with the hugely successful Centurion Main Battle Tank (still in service in many parts of the world today) in post-war Europe. The system was classified ... 1955

3 IS-3/JS-3 (Josef Stalin) The IS-3 ("IS" for "Iosef Stalin" or "Josef Stalin") was an attempt to build upon the already formidable IS-2. Improvements over the IS-2 model included a redesigned rounded turret and a new heavily-sloped front armor configu... 1945

4 Krupp Landkreuzer P.1000 Ratte (Rat) The Landkreuzer P.1000 "Ratte" (translating to "Rat") was a proposed super-heavy tank designed by the German firm Krupp in 1942. Hitler gave the project his blessing and the program set about to create the most powerful tank ... 1942

5 KV-1 (Klimenti Voroshilov) ... 1939

6 KV-2 (Klimenti Voroshilov) The KV-2 series of heavy tank was a mammoth follow-up to the successful KV-I. The idea behind this successor was a utilization of the KV-1 chassis with a marriage to a more potent main gun in the form of the M1938 122mm calib... 1940

7 M103 (Tank, Combat, Full Tracked, 120-mm, M103) With the Cold War in full bloom, design of heavy tanks for the United States Army increased in an effort to mimic the success of the World War Two / Korean War-era M26 Pershing Heavy Tank (detailed elsewhere on this site). Th... 1954

8 M26 Pershing The M-26 was developed near the end of World War II and named after World War One General John J Pershing of the American Expeditionary Force. The M26 Pershing had a slow and arduous beginning, when the need for a heavy tank ... 1945

9 Obyekt 279 (Object 279) The Russian Obyekt (translating to "Object") 279 Soviet heavy tank was developed in 1957 at the Kirov Plant in Leningrad by L. Troyanov, an engineer in charge of prototype tank design. The heavy tank's design purpose was to ... 1957

10 Sd.Kfz. 205 Panzerkampfwagen VIII (Pz.Kpf.W VIII) / Maus The Panzerkampfwagen Pz.Kpf.W. VIII (Sd.Kfz. 205) "Maus" (ironically named the "Mouse") was a "superheavy" tank development undertaken by the Third Reich during World War 2. This monster creation was fitted with a large and p... 1943

11 SdKfz 171 Panzerkampfwagen V Panther (PzKpfw V) The Panzerkampfwagen V "Panther" series of heavy tanks formed the backbone of the German Army through much of the pivotal war years. The system offered up decent performance but, more importantly, was armed with a powerful ma... 1942

12 SdKfz 181 Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger (PzKpfw VI) The PzKpfw VI Tiger began as a Henschel design of several other heavy tanks meeting specified German requirements based on speed, armor protection and a powerful main gun. Pitted against a Porsche offering, both prototype tan... 1942

13 SdKfz 182 Panzerkampfwagen VIB Tiger II (PzKpfw VIB) Even with the formidable Tiger I heavy tank series already hitting the production lines, it was envisioned that the system could be made into a more powerful class of tank. This decision leaned heavily on counteracting any ne... 1944

14 T-10 / IS-10 (Iosif Stalin / Josef Stalin) The T-10 can be considered the pinnacle "Josef Stalin" tank design as it is the tank that superceded previous forms and became the final product of the series. It sported an all new main gun, redesigned body and turret and pu... 1953

15 Tank Mark VIII (International Tank / Liberty) The Mark VIII "International Tank" (also "Liberty" when powered by the Liberty engine) would become the first tank in history to be produced via an international collaborative effort - this made possible through an agreement ... 1919

16 Tank Mk IV Male / Female The Tank Mk IV was a further development of a British heavy tank design that started with the Mk I series. The system was built upon the lessons learned of that system and included benefits garnered from the development of th... 1917

17 Tank Mk V Like its predecessors before it (the Mk I, Mk II, Mk III, Mk IV systems), the Mk V was an evolved design based on battlefield needs and experience. It was the first heavy tank in this family to feature a powerplant specifical... 1918