If you’re of a mind to see the sort of COMPLETELY INSANE tank concepts that appeared in the Soviet Union around about the time of WWII, check out this (Russian language) blog, loaded with bizarre goodies dug out of the Central Defence Ministry Archive (Podolsk, Russia):
http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/
Many people are thrilled to death with the wackier Nazi wartime tank projects, including the 1000-ton P.1000 “Ratte.” Well, that’s a tiny pipsqueak compared to this ridiculous monstrocity:
http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/228432.html
Is that what you think it is? Well, if you think it’s fricken’ Babylon 5, loaded for bear and rolling across the farmlands, then, yes, it is. It’s a February, 1944, concept for a giant armored cylinder, apparently using tanks or train engines on the inside to roll it around, presumably to crush the invading Fascist scourge.
Which makes this concept seem absolutely tame in comparison:
http://yuripasholok.livejournal.com/223518.html
A 1942 concept for an “armored cruiser.”
Feel free to dig around the blog. A whole lot of other goodies including some nutty war bicycles.
5 Responses to “Soviet Tank Craziness”
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I remember from the 2012 movie that they were talking about the An-225 cargo plane and how they
always emphasized big. More good stuff can be found at ussr-airspace.com which if you looked
at what the full sized aircraft would have been like if they give the dimensions they would have made the An-225 look small.
I love the giant cylinder. Now if only the Nazis had built giant, rolling swastikas, what a battle they could have had.
Thr armored cruiser reminds me of the land battleships in Heinlein’s “If This Goes On–“
Looks more like a Keith Laumer “Bolo” to me.
Diesel engines times the Russian prediliction for the biggest of everything times a war equals this kind of fascinating lunacy! 🙂
Jim
The “Land Cruiser” looks like a real-life kitbash — it’s apparently four regular tank chassis with a big . . . thing . . . slung between them.
Now I think I know where Games Workshop gets their Warhammer 40K tank designs from.