Pz.Kpfw. VII

"A superheavy tank with rear placement of the turret. Developed by the Krupp company in 1942. The project was discontinued in favor of more heavy tanks. No vehicles were ever manufactured."

The '''Pz.Kpfw. VII''' is a German tier 10 heavy tank.

Pz.Kpfw. VII
Turret: tier 10 Pz.Kpfw. VII

Turret Armor: 200/160/120

Traverse Speed (deg/sec): 18

View Range (m): 400

Gun: tier 10 12,8 cm Kw.K. 46 L/61

Rate of Fire (rounds/min): 3.75

Penetration: 258/315/65

Damage: 560/560/700

Aiming Time (sec): 2.60

Accuracy: 0.37

Engine: tier 10 MB 517

Engine Power (h.p.): 1200

Tracks: tier 10 Pz.Kpfw. VII

Traverse speed (deg/sec): 24

Radio: tier 10 10WSc

Signal Range (m): 720

Performance
Mobility and firepower are the Pz.Kpfw. VII's strong points. Being the fastest of the German superheavy tanks, the Pz.Kpfw. VII is a good choice for ramming and if going full speed it will devastate nearly anything its rams (except for another German or Japanese superheavy tank). It carries the 12,8 cm Kw.K. 46 L/61 which compared to the VK 45.02 (P) Ausf. B7's 12,8 cm Kw.K 44 L/55 has slightly more damage (560 vs 490) and slightly better penetration (258 vs 246) making use of premium ammo less frequent. The 0.37 accuracy also makes hitting weakspots easier compared to other heavies of its tier.

Armor wise the tanks upper glacis plate is very strong (240 thick) and while the lower glacis plate is less angled and at 230 it can prove surprisingly resilient to most shots (any gun under 250 penetration won't get through), however it is still vulnerable to high penetration guns and premium ammo and should not be abused and kept hidden or at an angle at all times. The side armor of this tank acts as a middle ground between the E 100's and Maus's, at 160 thick, comparable to the ST-I and IS-4's side armor. While this is usually enough on its own to bounce most shots if angled it is unfortunately almost negated by the turret base which while strong is left vulnerable to premium ammo and is thus not recommended for long term sidescraping. The turret armor is strong but comparatively weaker (191-231) than most other heavies and like the Maus and E 100 it is vulnerable to being penetrated at close ranges at either the small turret cheeks, inner gun mantlet, or the turret base right behind a 91-121 strong strip.

Another big weakness of this tank is the giant ammo rack that encircles the entire turret base and leaves it very vulnerable to being ammo racked, especially if an enemy successfully flanks you and knows where it is. Equipping a wet ammo rack and training the crew Safe Stowage is vital to ensuring the ammo rack doesn't detonate.

Historical Accuracy
The Pz.Kpfw. VII is simply a VK 72.01 (K) armed with a different gun that was likely never proposed.

Trivia

 * The Tankopedia website still uses the Pz.Kpfw. VII's older model on the vehicles page while the Pz.Kpfw. VII's actual page uses its current in-game model. The older model differs by lacking most of the add on equipment such as the "ears", a more middle placed coupola, and no gun muzzle.