The basic design was ordered by the
Waffenamt as a parallel development to the Porsche
Maus in June 1943. It was the heaviest of the
Entwicklung (E) series of vehicles, meant to standardize as many components as possible, in the 100 ton weight class; other designs were the E-10, E-25, E-50,
E-75. In March 1944, the
Adler company in
Frankfurt submitted blueprint 021A38300 for a super-heavy tank called E-100, after the tank was proposed in April 1943 along with the other
Entwicklung series vehicles. According to the blueprints, the tank would be armed with both the 12.8cm KwK L/55 gun based on the
12.8 cm Pak 44 towed anti-tank gun, and a coaxial 7.5 cm KwK 44 L/36.5 gun. Two types of engines were proposed: one was a 700 hp
Maybach HL230, with a transmission and turning mechanism borrowed from the
Tiger II. The estimated top speed was . The second variant would have a new 1200 hp Maybach engine and a top speed estimated at , with a new Maybach
Mekydro transmission to handle the increased engine power. The design had removable side skirts and narrow transport tracks to make rail transport more viable. This design was very similar to the original 'Tiger-Maus' proposal, but had larger diameter road wheels and a new
coil spring based suspension rather than the original
torsion bars. A new turret was designed; intended to be simpler and lighter than the Maus turret. But many sources also suggest that a Maus turret could be mounted. In July 1944 Hitler ordered the development of super heavy tanks to stop. Work on the E-100 continued at a very low priority, with only three Adler employees available to assemble the prototype. The first prototype was never fully completed and was found by the 751st Field Artillery Battalion of the American forces in April 1945. The partially completed vehicle was taken by the
British Army for evaluation and then scrapped in the 1950s. ==See also==