Object 279 was a Soviet prototype tank designed in 1959 to be capable of operating on a nuclear-biological-chemical battlefield and even survive the blast wave from a nuclear weapon (from a distance, anyway). The tank had a bowl-shaped body to channel blast energy away from the vehicle. The vehicle carried a 130mm main gun capable of firing discarding sabot shells that could penetrate over 400mm of armor. The tank's own armor was up to 319mm thick. The tank had four tracks in order to assist it in going over exceedingly rough terrain. In spite of its advantages, the tank was never put into production due to issues of reliability of the gearbox and its inability to cross some bridges and move in swampy areas due to its weight.
Object 279 was armed with a 130mm main gun with a muzzle velocity of 1000 meters per second. The gun could fire a discarding sabot projectile capable of penetrating 450mm of armor at optimum range and impact angle. The tank also carried a 14.5mm machine gun.
Battle vs. Panzer VII Maus (by SPARTAN 119)[]
Five Object 279 tanks rolled across an open plain somewhere in the USSR. Suddenly, they saw a flash of light in front of them, and five Panzer VII Maus tanks appeared, transported forward in time.
The lead Maus tank fired first, its 128mm main gun striking a weak point in the armor of the lead Object 279. The tank exploded in a ball of flames, destroying the vehicle. One of the Object 279 tanks returned fire, its 130mm main gun blowing through the turret armor of the lead Maus, blowing its turret clean off. (Maus: 4, Object 279: 2)
One of the Maus tanks maneuvered to hit the Soviet tanks from the side. 128mm round took out another Object 279, but the 75mm round it fired at another tank failed to penetrate. (Maus: 4, Object 279: 3)
An Object 279 tank used its superior speed to flank a Maus tank and hit it in the side with its main gun. The tank was destroyed as the round cut through its armor. Another Object 279 tank fired its gun at the frontal armor of the Maus, but it bounced off the 460mm armor. (Maus: 3, Object 279: 3)
Another Maus fell before the APDS round of the Object 279's main gun, taking out the German vehicle. The Soviet tank the took out the Maus, however, was knocked out by a 128mm from one of the German tanks. (Maus: 2, Object 279: 2)
The last two Object 279 tanks zeroed in on the last two Maus tank and opened fire with in seconds of each other, sending up both tanks in massive fireballs. (Maus:0, Object 279: 2)
WINNER: Object 279
Expert's Opinion[]
While the Panzer VII Maus had thicker armor, Object 279 had the more powerful gun. It fired a larger round and it was rifled. It could also fire APDS rounds, which were devastating against the Maus' armor.