Kampfpanzer Maus: The Porsche Type 205 Super-Heavy Tank

Nice and clean new hardcover, covers the history of the tank and its variants in detail, filled with pictures and drawings, isn't too boring to read. I glad I go this, for I wanted to read on the Maus and build one in real life.

This book follows the last of the WWII super heavy tanks designed and built by Germany . There have been a lot of speculation about this monster tank, and this excellent book puts to rest most if not all of them. Coupled with both historic photos are those of a very recent vintage, further enhancing the story of the Maus tank. This book is a must for students of WWII as well as the layman. I heartily recommend this book.It is just as good as any Hunnicutt volume.

240 pages of Maus madness. The book, says the author, is a lifetime collection of data started in the dark ages of armor modeling when there was nothing out there on these monsters & most folks didn't even know they existed. We get the story, from Adolf's nocturnal emission, to the scuttling of the 2 finished chassis in 1945, to post war testing & evaluation, & everything in between. Also possibly every period picture (except for a few privately owned per the author) of these beasts, along with plans & drawings, many of which are from the factory. Details of the interior, subassemblies & components will help modelers immensely. Printed well on heavy paper. I took away a star for the plans that are reproduced so small the printed words are illegible even with magnification, & the sometimes rough translation to English.

Great book! Covers all aspects of the design: armor, armament, engine and transmission system, suspension system, optics, electrical. It also discusses the immense engineering and manufacturing effort required to design and construct these immense vehicles, for which their tactical value was almost zero. The text is accompanied by many black and white photos. The discussion on design includes the various armor and armament alternatives that were considered. There is also much discussion on the field testing and driving performance testing undertaken at Kummersdorf and Boblingen. The vehicles were very easy to drive and were not quite the unmanoeverable giants most stories on these tanks lead readers to believe. There greatest problems were their incredible expense and the high ground pressure exerted, hence their low tactical value. One of the more fascinating parts of the book is the English translation of the Soviet report on the Maus 2 prepared after its inspection at Kubinka (outside Moscow) in 1946. There are also several color photos taken of the Maus 2 at the former Soviet (now Russian) tank museum at Kubinka. There is also much discussion on the fates of the two vehicles that were completed as well as the status of the other five vehicles that were in various stages of manufacture when the entire Maus project was canceled.

WOW what an incredible book. The MAUS has always fascinated me since my teenage years because of it sheer size. This remarkable book provides the most complete information and photographic cover I have ever seen on this tank. An absolute must for any armor enthusiast

This is a very informative book, and also the only book I have seen that has pictures and diagrams of the inside of the Maus. Plus it has the history of development, and operation instructions.

If you love German tanks from world war 2 you will love this book plenty of information and pictures

Since others have reviewed the book, I'll review the tank. The whole idea of a 190-tonne land combat vehicle is crazy and typical of Adolf Hitler's mania for owning the biggest example of every possible weapons system. The proving ground tests described in the book make it clear that the operational tanks would have destroyed any road they moved on due to excessive ground pressure. Even if they were restricted to summer offensives in dry weather, they would have bogged down in the first creek bottom. However, Professor Porsche made things worse by his irrational choice of an electric generator-motor drive system. This was totally unsuitable for a tank because: -- it is very heavy and bulky. In 1943, the US Army tested no fewer that 250 T23 electric-drive tanks and rejected them in favor of fluid drive (Hydra-Matic). German engineers had pioneered fluid drive in ships many years ago. Why wasn't it used here? -- At least 10% of the input power was converted to heat. Maus had powerful air blowers, but the intake and outlet grilles were mostly blocked by the turret overhangs! The temperatures recorded in midwinter tests indicate that the tank would have cooked itself in the summer. -- it requires a vast amount of copper which is not mined in Germany. At the time Maus was designed, copper was being obtained by ripping down power cables and replacing them with aluminum. This factor alone meant that it could not survive in competition with the Type XXI U-boat program.

As a armoured vehicle enthusiast, I was very excited to pre-order this book 8 months before it actually became published. The book did not disappoint. It is a complete history of the Maus with many images that I had never seen prior. It takes you through the entire design process and concepts behind this German super heavy tank of World War II.

超重戦車マウスの専門書は、現在、何冊か出ている。 その中で モデルアート別冊「ドイツ超重戦車 マウス」やPanzer Tracks No6-3 Schwere Panzerkampfwagen Maus and E100はなかなか良い本だ。日本では入手できないが、ワールド・オブ・タンクスの解説本（2012年）Panzerkampfwagen MAUSも写真１７９枚でマウスの計画から誕生・終焉までをよくまとめてある。 こういったマウスの本の中でこの本Kampfpanzer Mausは、断トツに素晴らしい。 写真の数は２５２枚で最も多く、その中には完成直後のMAUS V1の車体左側面に描かれた「Maus」の文字が写った写真やダミー砲塔内部にあった計器盤の写真など、この本でしか見られない写真も多い。 もともとモータープーフ社がドイツ語で出したものだが、この本はシファー社が英語に翻訳したもので、私にも読める。 あえて欠点を挙げると、「図面が1/35じゃない。」「いくつかの重要な写真が載っていない。」くらいだ。 マウスの模型をディティールアップしたい人、マウスの事を詳しく知りたい人には必携。 売り切れになる前に手に入れることをお勧めする。

Détente

This is an exceptional book! Something I don't say very often. Covers the subject in infinitesimal written detail with a plethora of photographs to embellish the text. This is simply the go to book on the type 205, anyone with an interest in this incredible tank will be delighted and fascinated with this book. Just buy it!

Probably the best book about the history of legendary Maus tank.