Scratchbuilding C&Cs Mammoth Tank

[Munty]

Ah I see, I have read up on that before actually as I remember a few of the images that google is now showing me Very nice and the double tracks actually look very cool but really I'm working off an image that shows single wide tracks so will have to see. Just recieved my first box of goodies this morning so I'm messing around with some mockups now. Will post any info but I'm not excpecting to spend much time on the build today.

Thanks very much major! That link of the T28 is actually the one I meant when I said I remember the image It's interesting to note that the mammoth is longer, taller, wider AND more heavily armed than any of the superheavy tanks ever proposed or built. Of course the German's had plans for a super-duper heavy tank that would have dwarfed it but nothing ever came of them as Hitler was an idiot and attacked Russia

[Von kraftwerk]

Oh!you're talking about Ratte,it was the sort of thing only a fantasist would think,it seems Adolf had a thing about supersized projects that had little practical value,schwere gustav and dora,what a waste of time and effort,it was all about projecting the might of Germany through propaganda images,when people say Hitler was an idiot for invading USSR,well he was never going to do anything other,his whole politcal being was all aimed towards that goal,every thing else was just a side show,its a bit like saying Jimi Hendrix would still be alive today if he hadnt become a famous guitar hero,if you see what I mean

[Munty]

Yeah I follow you There's always more than one way of doing things though isn't there and if Hitler had conquered Britain before invading Russia and made peace with America instead of sinking their ships then he could have focused entirely on the Eatern front. Of course the 2 problems with that are that the US would never have signed (though they may have remained neutral - unlikely) and Britain would've never lost a defensive campaign against the Nazis.

Either way he was screwed from the start, he allied with the wrong people and declared war on the wrong enemies. Liek you say though, those choices were based on his personality and the history of Germany. He was simply taking what was rightfully his/theirs...

[Von kraftwerk]

He never had the patience to do the rational thing when it came to strategy and geopolitics,but(now getting back to what this forum is about)what would WW2 have been like without his imput,he was the only national leader to give his whole hearted support to the modern concept of armoured warfare,other nations had theorists UK,France,and USSR,but Adolf was the only one who gave Guderian and his book of ideas a chance to be tried out,Guderians ideas were an elaboration of the British proponents, Hart and Fuller who never got a fair chance to try out thier ideas,Adolf was conservative about many things but he could be impressed by a display of military might,and when shown a display of tanks puny pzkfw I's he became excited like a child and said I want more of that,probably making a good decision for all the wrong reasons,from then on it seems bigger is best became the rule.so if it was'nt for Adolf WW2 may have been trenchwarfare like deadlock,and no awesome tanks like Tigers and Panthers etc

[Munty]

Agreed, Germany saw more wartime progress than just tanks too let's not forget. I've always liked some of the late-war Russian tanks too. Again, the big ones are the best across the Eastern front just like in the West

[Von kraftwerk]

in realty a tank like yours would be a prestige weapon,and if it ever did move onto a battlefield it would need a small army to protect it,esp from the air,it would be in effect a seige weapon like Sturmtiger plus,the UK,US super heavys were all about bunker busting,oh yes good point the eastern front gave us the armour arms race that started with T34,KV,and then JS 3 became the start point for western MBT design,so T34 created King Tiger,and JS the M1,Chally 2 etc

[Munty]

The Mammoth can actually hold it's own fairly well against an aerial attack as it has 2x AA silos mounted on the turret. They were great in the game at taking down helicopters but the range was very short so in reality they'd be little use. That said it's only a game and by extension all of the ranges are significantly less than they should be and it's therefore feasible that the AA capability of this tank is at least equivalent to a squad of troops with surface to air rockets.

That said, it would still need a contingent for protection, much as destroyers served to keep subs away from battleships. My main concern if I was a commander fielding this tank in battle would be that it's very slow and thus poses a large and easy target for enemy artillery. Add to that the fatal death star design of the rear grill which could barely withstand thrown ordnance let alone explosive or armour piercing assaults from large calibre weapons.

Realistically that leaves us needing a rear-guard to protect the vulnerability there and also a seperate task force to ensure no artillery is active in the area as a bare minimum for logical operation of this vehicle in the field. And sadly, the chances are you won't really need the tank on the front lines anymore if you're able to take out artillery positions that easily!

Most likely it would be resigned to stationary defense of bases and critical locations. That said, it's not inconceivable that one or more of these vehicles could form the spearhead of a large armoured offensive. They would not only have the armour to face overwhelming enemy numbers but also the armament to take care of them at the same time. Add to that the massive effect it would have on the morale of both sides and actually it suddenly becomes a rather important vehicle!

[Von kraftwerk]

I see what you mean its the capital ship in the fleet,after all WW1 Brit tanks were called at first landships and to be crewed by sailors ? what about a raised armoured plate to protect grill and fine mesh to back up larger grill mesh?

[Munty]

I wondered about that... Chris is hopefully making the grill for me this weekend but the holes scale up to grenade sized pigeon holes so there simply MUST be a second layer of defence there. I'll get some square meash and attach it to the inside to prevent any nasty Commando type experiences on the field but it is still a major weak-point.

I've wondered about battle-armour like you mention which could be lowered in battle but really what would be the design behind that? Either you need the grill to be that large or you don't and as it's a war machine I'm pretty certain they would have made it smaller if they could have done so (hypothetically of course :p) So to then cover this grill up during battle seems like it would almost certainly immobilise the tank due to build up of exhaust or poor intake or some such situation that sees the engine struggle something terrible.

For now I'll proudly display the grill as not only should it look pretty cool it's also costing a lot of money so I'd hate to cover it up As with many things I'm sure it will evolve over the course of the build but I do have strict-ish plans to go by so I only have as much freedom as I allow myself and that won't be much!

[Von kraftwerk]

I was thinking raised plates like some Panthers had in Italy,but no that would cover up your work,late Panther had sliding shutters,no ? How about heavy armoured slatted louvres, angled like the design on a JS 2,but thicker and under the mesh,cheap mesh hint,nylon mesh from a cheap plastic strainer or sieve,from a pound shop,or 5 and Dime,for readers in the US,