German tank idea

[tordenskjold]

Having read several wikipedia articles, posted by picture commando Xeoran in the links section, about the German super heavy tanks invented by the end of the war I decided to give a fictional super tank a try. May I present the fruit of my work, the Ragnarok tank:

The German scientist have been working fanatically to find the ultimate weapon against the Russian and allied opposition, and they have made a good try with the Ragnarok tank. A fort of a tank, this monster of metal is bursting with cannons and turrets, and mounted on several mechanical legs to better be able to cross through ruined cities and French country side, the first Ragnaroks have spread terror in the Russian ranks at Stalingrad, being nearly unstoppable when they march across the battlefields of the east front. Russian mechanical experts have claimed that the Ragnarok tanks shouldn't logically work, being far to heavy to carry it's own weight, and no conventional engine having the power to make it move. The reports made by Russian infiltrators speak of German scientists and mystics working in union, the huge iron tanks being powered not by engines, but powers not of this world, powers summoned by strange rituals and bloody sacrifices, and bound into the tanks by ancient runes and incantations. So far, there exist only a few Ragnarok tanks, and so far none have turned up on the west front, but more and more of the tanks seem to appear, and as their value has been proved, the great factories of the German industrial complex has been running without pause to keep up with the Fuhrer's orders for more of the tanks.

[xeoran]

Oooh! I'm a picture commando now (PicturKommando no?!). I'm honoured.

Oooh...demon tanks. Can I just ask for a physical description as I'm seeing a four legged fort/GW Chaos Defiler/Star Wars AT-AT. Mmm, juicy. I can already see desperate commando missions to disable this (perhaps by military occultists). One of these would make a great piece of art; Germans in the foreground with flapping banner, grass whipping and a few smoking ruins, then towering over them in the backround a Ragnorak tank glowering over the emptied fields.....

[malika]

A big walker tank would be cool as the Ragnarok, these would be very rare tanks which are very difficult and expensive for the Germans to produce. While they might be very powerful their production isnt maximalized due to the high prizes and the fact that this isnt a very flexible vehicle, while it might be very powerful its also very slow and difficult to manouvre. Hence the German High Command would rather build lighter/weaker vehicles which are needed more on the Russian front.

Another note might be that the Ragnarok is also a great piece of psychological warfare instead of merely a towering weapon of mass destruction.

[tordenskjold]

nother note might be that the Ragnarok is also a great piece of psychological warfare instead of merely a towering weapon of mass destruction.

Excatly, it "have spread terror in the Russian ranks at Satlingrad", and hearing exagerated rumours from the east front is making the allied commanders bite their nails, and breaking down the soldiers moral as everybody know it is a matter of time before these begin turning up regullary. True, lots of lighter tanks would probably be a better investment, but right now the Germans need something to make their troops belive they can win. When the soldiers see something like the Ragnarok coming up to support them they can be pretty sure the battle is won.

Xeoran: I thought the titel was fitting, given all those threads with art you have found . The star wars AT-AT is a good exampel, just not quite as large, much more primitiv and WW2 like in it's construction and much more dark and gritty ;D, and the art you described! If only I could draw it would be such a cool piece

[xeoran]

Good idea over the psycological effect- I imagine the infantry who saw that coming at them would be pretty freaked out. Perhaps we should pop one into Staligrad.....

And what can I say, I'm an art w*ore! Hmm, WW2 AT-AT sounds really cool to me, damn, I'm going to have to go and sketch ideas for that now.....The art I describe- if only I could draw well enough to do that!

[malika]

Get a scanner boy! Oh try to take pictures of your artwork, my stepdad did that with some old normal photos we have and that worked just fine!

[xeoran]

Ah Malika, I've managed to get a scanner and finally got Photobucket to work too! I now have a post in the art forum. I'd take pictures but I dont have a digital camera and scanning is fine.

[tordenskjold]

Searching the web I found some sketches that can be used as a basis for my vision of the Ragnarok tank:




Try to imagine the first one with the turret of the second, and you get pretty close to my idea. (Both tanks are very steampunkym, but t was the best I could find)

[xeoran]

Hmm, interesting. Sketching time.

[myincubliss]

i imagine it'd have tanks of blood on it's sides, so as to have a ready supply to keep the demonfire burning... that and the fact that it'd be pretty cool to have allies shooting at a behemothic (is that even a word?) tank only to flee in terror as it starts leaking great gouts of blood from every bullethole... maybe a system of veinlike pipes flowing blood around it, just under it's carapace... that way it'd bleed wherever it got hit, thus furthering rumours that it's actually a demon summoned from the depths of hell... heh heh heh, build a snipers nest on top of it and i'm in love...

[tordenskjold]

I like the idea of the tank "bleeding", sounds so horribly wrong and twisted in a good way! ;D Sniper nests is an idea, it would be hard to aim an actual sniper rifle from the back of a moving tank on legs, but having gunmen mounted on top of the tank would make sense.

[myincubliss]

i know, i was just thinking of combo of evil tank + crack shot german sniper being a match made in awesomeness... just for the 'oh, it's got a bloody sniper on top!' moment of realisation...

[xeoran]

Bloody tanks sound like an excellent idea. Rather than a sniper or gunmen perhaps have automated sniper/mqachine gun turrets, wouldnt that be fun!