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While looking up the Maus and Ratte superheavy German tanks from WWII, I happened upon the strangest AFV I've ever seen: the Kugelpanzer. A hamster-ball tank. That's right ladies and gentlemen, the Nazis made a Doomwheel!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kugelpanzer

Apparently only one model is known, and it's in the Kubinka tank museum. The Russians won't say where it came from or allow metal samples to be taken.

Just thought I should share this with the Dakka community, as it might spark some inspiration for conversions.

More detailed info:

http://strangevehicles.greyfalcon.us/KRUPP%20KUGELPANZER.htm

Sweet, I like that for cool options for scout walkers in an IG army.

Looks kinda like a cartooned out 1st gen (MKI?) Land Raider.

Augustus wrote:Sweet, I like that for cool options for scout walkers in an IG army.

I would love to see this marching

reminds me somehow the "rolling tanks" used by the blood pact...

Thats amazing

There's no end of bizzare stuff from WW2

That's some true innovation right there! The emphasis being on "light" armour as according to the wiki article it was supposedly only 5mm thick. I wonder how the "insides" were mounted as obviously the thing would need to be really well balanced in order to function correctly.

for other "oddball" tankdesigns i recommend this thread from shasolenzabi


http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/326377.page

there are currewnlty some very unique tankdesigns to look at there and also the rollerball tank^^

btw i like it also very much, tho the colour is quite confusing me^^

vik

I think it is some piece of crap knocked up as a joke.

It doesn't look like anything a German engineer would design and build.

It's just a few bits of metal plate roughly welded between two bottle cap type things.

I can't see how it would work in accordance with the description. The wheel things obviously don't rotate, so the whole ball would have to roll. The wheel rims would stop that happening.

Why would the cabin be made to "gerbil" all the time during movement? How would the driver see where he is going?

sorry but i gather that this tank is for real, here have alook:

http://mytechnologyworld9.blogspot.com/2008/11/strange-tanks.html

vik

I can see how it could work in theory but it seems so impractical, probably the reason they ditched it lol. Also, Kugelpanzer? How cute does that sound lol.

I am not convinced by that web site.

Tinternets so it must be true wrote:Not much is known about this WWII "spherical droid"

Multiple inquiries about the origins of this machine, made to German historians and tank specialists, so far draw a blank. It is speculated that Krupp could have built this as Reconnaissance Rollzeug (Rolling Vehicle).

It is speculated that someone made it for a laugh.

It was a prototype for the VolksLandserAusgetzietungenLouenbrauFahrfignnugenmeinehuterhatdreirecken (WLALFHN for short), the Third Reich's postal system. Their postmen needed armored protection against dachsund hooliganism. This was put into advanced planning after the infamous "Shatzi und Mitz" incident of 1936.

Later, the Russians captured several models, results in the "Borscht" transport and collective tractor we all know and love.

I can't imagine how loud a single-cylinder two-stroke engine would be in that small housing.

It was shipped to Japanese forces, which explains a lot.