The Landkreuzer P. 1000 "Ratte" was a (possibly fanciful) design for a landship for use by Nazi Germany during World War II, that may have been proposed by Krupp director Edward Grotte in June 1942, who had already named it "Landkreuzer".
Submitted designs and drawings of the vehicle went under the names OKH Auftrag Nr. 30404 and E-30404/1, which were presented in December 1942. The tank was planned to be 1000 tonnes, being far heavier than the Panzer VII Maus, the heaviest tank ever built (weighing 188 tonnes). The project gained the approval of Adolf Hitler, who had expressed interest in the development of the tank but was canceled by Minister of Armaments Albert Speer in early 1943.
The Ratte was to carry a main armament of two 280mm naval guns previously used on the Gneisenau-class battleship, with a secondary armament of either one or two 127mm anti-tank guns similar to those used on the Maus, two quad-barrelled 20mm Flakvierling anti-aircraft guns, and two 15mm autocannons.
Battle vs. Marmota (by SPARTAN 119)[]
The quiet of the misty morning was harshly broken by the roar of a massive engine and the clanking of treads as a massive war machine plowed through trees and tore up grass as it rolled through the fields. The gigantic German behemoth has been deployed to the area of to engage and destroy a mysterious, similarly massive vehicle that has appeared in the are a few days previously, plowing through all enemies that opposed it.
As as the vehicle rolled towards the last known sighting of the unknown enemy, the fog began to lift. The machine had traveled about 15 kilometers since it had entered the area operations, before finally it made visual contact. In the distance, plowing through a forest as though it wasn't even there, was the enemy vehicle. It looked like a battleship that rolled over the ground.
As the Ratte turned its turret to engage the enemy, the Marmota fired its four forward guns. Two massive 800mm and two more still-formidable 340mm shells flew across the 15 kilometer gap in seconds. With their low elevation, however, the two heavy 800mm shells landed a couple kilometer short of the Ratte. One of the 340mm shells landed closer, about 100 meters to the right, close enough to cause minor splinter damage, as well as kill one of the gun crews of the two top-mounted quad 20mm AA guns.
The surviving AA crews scrambled for cover inside the Ratte- their guns were useless against a giant like what they now faced, and there were no aircraft in the sky. The Ratte maneuvered further out of the firing arc of the Marmota, and turned its turret about 45 degrees, firing off a salvo of two 11-inch shells.
This sighting salvo landed about 200 and 100 meters off the starboard side of the enemy landship, causing minimal damage. With its 800mm guns still reloading and the Ratte moving out of arc of the 340mm guns, the Marmota opened up with its secondary broadside guns. Eight 130mm guns, comparable to the broadside of a light cruiser fired at the Ratte, with two shells striking the target and two more near misses. Of the two hits, one of them destroyed the two unmanned AA turrets, but caused little other damage, while the second struck the frontal glacis plate of the Ratte and glanced off entirely.
About 30 seconds later, the main guns on the Ratte discharge again. This time, one of the 11-inch shells struck the Marmota on the side plating. The shell detonated before it could fully penetrate, cracking the plating and knocking out two of the secondary turrets, but causing little actual damage.
By this point, the Marmota had reloaded the 330mm gun in the bow and started turning to aim at the Ratte. By the time it did so, however, the Ratte had fired again. This time one of the 11-inch shells struck the in just the right place to pierce the armor and disable the left forwards main guns on the Mamota.
This disabling hit bought the Ratte the time it needed to maneuver out of the firing arc of the one remaining 330mm gun, as the 130mm guns of the Marmota's broadside continued to ping off the side and frontal armor of the Ratte.
Then, the Ratte's guns discharged for a third time. This time, one of the shells struck just behind the bridge of the Imperial landship. The round struck the radiator for the Ragnite engine of the Marmota. The armor-piercing shell punched through the deck and into the ragnite reserves. As it detonated, the shell sent the ragnite core up in a ball of brilliant blue flames so powerful that it blew the ship clean in half.
The crew of the Ratte were momentarily stunned by the blue fireball, having not see anything like it, before the commander spoke into the radio, reporting the destruction of the enemy heavy vehicle.
Expert's Opinion[]
The Ratte easily won this battle as, while the Marmota was armed with far more powerful weapon, the Ratte had a more practical mounting for its guns, a turret capable of rotating and elevating the guns, and the Ratte's guns were still powerful enough to damage a vehicle of the size of the Marmota. In addition, the Ratte was also faster than the Marmota.