Panzer VII Löwe

Updated on Dec 10, 2024

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Type Super-heavy tank Crew 5		Place of origin Germany

Weight 76 t (84 short tons) (Leichter Löwe)90 t (99 short tons) (Schwerer Löwe) Armor 100 mm (3.9 in) (Leichter Löwe)120 mm (4.7 in) (Schwerer Löwe before redesign)140 mm (5.5 in) (Schwerer Löwe after redesign) Mainarmament 105 mm (4.1 in) L/70 gun (Leichter Löwe and Schwerer Löwe before redesign)88 mm (3.5 in) L/71 gun (Schwerer Löwe after redesign)

The Panzerkampfwagen VII Löwe (Lion) was a design for a super-heavy tank created by Krupp for the German government during World War II. The project, initially code-named VK 70.01 (K), never left the drawing board, and was dropped in 5–6 March 1942 in favor of Porsche's heavier Panzer VIII Maus.

Variants

The Löwe was designed in two variants (both had crew of five):

Leichter Löwe

It was to weigh 76 tonnes, had 100 millimeters of frontal armor, a rear-mounted turret, a 105 mm L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, while still managing a top speed 27 km/h. It was later cancelled by Adolf Hitler.

Schwerer Löwe

It was to weigh 90 tonnes, had 120 mm frontal armor, a center-mounted turret, a 105 mm L/70 high velocity gun, and a coaxial machine gun, while still managing a top speed 23 km/h. After redesign it had 140 mm frontal armor, 88 mm KwK L/71 gun, top speed 35 km/h.

References

Panzer VII Löwe Wikipedia

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