K-Wagen: The World's First Super Tank

Discover the fascinating story of the 120-ton K-Wagen super tank, an enormous German creation from WW1.
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.

[@Theogenerang]

When Mephisto, the war trophy A7V was left on display out in the open in Brisbane it was reportedly used as a convenient shelter for drinkers and couples who wanted some privacy. The war wasn't the last action it saw.

[@steffenrosmus1864]

How many boys were named Mephisto in Brisbane after WWI?😁At least it was useful for one thing

[@xreconslayer2247]

Tabubil how do you know that

[@mannemarco333]

“That’s not a tank” *points to Landship MK1* *”This is a tank”* *Points to K-Wagen.*

[@Pommezul]

Look ät zhis Tommy, now zhis is a true tank.

[@cuhurun]

Reich... wrong. Mk 1... operational tank. K-Wagen... a ridiculous concept.

[@TheHacknor]

You say that but the Mk8 Liberty tank the UK/US were rolling out by the end of the war were similar in size

[@Triumph2024.]

hahahahahahahahahahaha!! just like crocodile dundee! ahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahaha. hah.

[@scottleft3672]

@@Pommezul "Look ATE this"...?

[@Horizon344]

Literally a fighting "land ship" it would seem.

[@alastairward2774]

Steampunk!

[@rankovasek1987]

Landship was actually an official term by british officers, but they used the term 'tank' for cover, to be mistaken for water tanks by spies.

[@jimleonardson4268]

Didn't H.G. Wells write a story called "The Land Battleships"?

[@battleoid2411]

@@jimleonardson4268 Yeah I think that was him

[@The7guys]

Not to be mistaken with the other German invention: The Kubelwagen

[@norbertblackrain2379]

Well the Kübelwagen was at least very useful.

[@-Invero-]

The real Germany's Wunderwaffe

[@Sturminfantrist]

It was designed with the help of a US (german) Company named Ambi-Budd

[@hasmatiks]

Its a design, not an invention.

[@CarLos-yi7ne]

Not really an "Invention" but more an useful vehicle.

[@Balian237]

Scraped what a crime The tank museum would have loved that

[@David-eh9le]

U can blame france for it

[@alastairward2774]

When the Germans started playing Warhammer and wondered if they could make it work for real.

[@Grubnar]

*Sees A7V.* *Looks over at Capitol Imperialis.* *Looks back over at A7V. Yes, I see your point!

[@tangero3462]

"Sir, you're calling for fire on a single tank, but you only gave us a grid square for targeting" "Son, the bloody tank *is* the whole grid square"

[@danieltsiprun8080]

So they just tried to build a land battleship?

[@cyberpimp29]

The land battleship was always the impetus for the tank...

[@terraflow__bryanburdo4547]

@@cyberpimp29 Well the Renault and the whippet went another direction as light tanks, more like a fast gunboat concept. Between the wars some of these were tiny, two-man rigs which could barely tolerate rifle fire.

[@mathewbrown5047]

You should see some of the Early french super tanks one of the fucking things had a God dam keel

[@sirgraveson4568]

I like my women like the Germans like their tanks E X T R A T H I C C

[@AtheistOrphan]

SirGraveson - I like them like I like my coffee: Black and very bitter.

[@GIGABACHI]

👆🏻👌🏻👍🏻

[@obscureoccultist9158]

You like high maintenance women that constantly break down?

[@scottleft3672]

A lot of German women ARE like tanks...lol.

[@HiroshiTakeda]

Overweight and prone to breaking down... but a tiger in the bedroom?

[@gal_laugher6040]

Don’t forget the Tsar Tank! Though that probably deserves its own video

[@redrobur68]

As always, an interesting contribution. Of course, we Germans also deal with the history of tanks. Recent research, however, give a different view than the picture of arrogant German officers who underestimate the armored weapon. In fact, after the first appearence of tanks many German Commanders prompted to produce similar weapons and send them in bulk to the front. This is covered by many sources. However, after the first shock, the Germans were not really impressed, because the tanks of the British and French were relatively easy to turn off and did not really prove themselves from the German point of view. The tight resources were then actually invested in submarines and airplanes. Mark is here right again.

[@The_Laughing_Cavalier]

Designer: So how big do you want this thing? German High Command: YES!

[@scottleft3672]

"JAH!! "

[@rustyshackleford7265]

Omg I've never seen this joke before!! Its so original, did you come up with it?? You're so brilliant!!!

[@dyu8184]

Ahem... JA!!!

[@knightlife98]

Mind Blown..., when you said Control "ROOM"!!!!!

[@alexdemoya2119]

Germans: Tanks are not chivalrous. Also Germans: We'll use poison gas. Germans: Shotguns are a barbaric weapon! Also Germans: Flammenwerfer. It werfes flammen!

[@fazalwaheed5726]

No no

[@fazalwaheed5726]

You can't blame them

[@chaowingchinghongfingshong3109]

Everyone in WWI used flamethrowers, the germans were just the first to train specific flamethrower divisions

[@mulmusfistus4128]

Allies also used poison gas

[@z3r0_35]

To be fair, both sides made use of flamethrowers, Germany just had better ones. As for gas...well...technically the Entente did it first, in the form of tear gas, but, again Germany did it better.

[@zangooey7915]

This is why you don’t leave a german tractor designer alone in a room with a toaster and some blueprints

[@ciuyr2510]

The A7 came with a manual stating on the back "No trees were harmed in the making of this vehicle" . This footage proves otherwise

[@SeventhSamurai72]

One of my favorite KZbinrs! Great voice for narration, and extensive information that I was not aware of. Thank you!

[@battleedition2681]

I’m in school but when you drop a video the world stops and I watch

[@thetexastickler5698]

What grade you in bud? Collage?

[@RYNOCIRATOR_V5]

direct your history teacher to this channel :)

[@ethanstang9941]

Just make sure to get good grades, okay.

[@BrettonFerguson]

If you are in the USA, you will learn more watching these videos than you will learn in public schools.

[@leemichael2154]

Glad you love your history young lad (im 42 lol)

[@rickvr11]

Germany sure did like its tanks big throughout history

[@anodezinc9667]

rickvr11 yep have you ever seen the ratta biggest tank ever to big though 😂😂

[@jimtaylor294]

...and their reliability low.

[@Captain.J.Dreadful]

rickvr11 oh absolutely! :) My favorite is King Tiger and the Maus ❤️

[@Cozzy-Wozzy]

Liked them big and unreliable, Their Panzer 3 and 4's were their best. You get into the big cats, like the Panthers, Tigers and Bengal Tigers they become very unreliable, overweight and slow.

[@TBreezy17]

I saw a site the other day selling a Leopard 1 with full replacement parts and I just dreamed about winning the lottery for a moment.

[@libertyman3729]

IS IT JUST ME OR DOES ANYONE ELSE GET EXCITED WHEN THE MUSIC STARTS ? SOMETHING SPECIAL IS ABOUT TO BE SEEN . FANTASTIC MARK, WELL DONE AGAIN !

[@McPoshSquatch]

Another interesting lesson in history. Love the video. Crazy to think how far Tank technology alone has come since then. Wow!

[@roberthill3207]

Thank you Mr. Felton i love your channel thumbs up stay awesome history Buffs.

[@russwoodward8251]

If it is an odd point of history, Mark Felton Productions is sure to have researched it. Great stuff. Thanks again for the hard work.

[@thesocialistroman]

The k-wagens were very overlooked tanks indeed.

[@DcaCo123]

Thanks for taking the time to put this together and sharing. Greetings from North Michigan, USA.

[@multitoolish]

Your skills at research never fail to amaze me! Thank you sir

[@markadams7597]

Excellent! Absolutely love these original movies and their vintage witness! Keep up the good work. Ty.

[@WildBillCox13]

Great coverage. Thanks for posting, Mark!

[@mattdavies4149]

Really enjoy these videos; concise, informative and very interesting

[@vhspartan7066]

Love the work man I love learning about the stuff I love

[@bokke6]

Mark...At the end of a cold,wet,dark,miserable,long shift...just a tiny spark of interest is sometimes all you need to relax your mind..Thanks mate.Keep em coming!👍

[@thewaraboo2824]

Mark, you stated that all super heavy tank designs were failures, but you know that's not true: Lest we forget the Bob Semple!

[@scottleft3672]

The JS.

[@electrohalo8798]

The Waraboo and the BIG-BOB

[@M50A1]

Let the meme die. Please

[@attempttoreview4411]

Bob Semple tank is best tank.

[@SunKing968]

In the 1970's I came across a neglected example of one of these prototypes and after a minor mechanical refresh, used it as a daily driver (my work commute, standard shopping etc.) until maintenace became somewhat expensive.

[@NathanChisholm041]

Cheers Mark for all your effort you put into the research mate!

[@apu_apustaja]

*Oh that music... So stirring...* PAM, PAM-PAM-PAM-PAM-PAM...

[@Kampfgorillagear]

gets you in the mood for ww stuff

[@krishdragnorax7324]

More like BUM BUMBUMBUMBUMPUM

[@crispybacon580]

THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO !!!! I asked about it along time ago.

[@brianreddeman951]

That was worth taking a break. I knew about the K-wagon but I didn't know it was that huge!

[@BrettonFerguson]

The last time I was this early, the English were still talking about liberating Poland.

[@stoneyll]

Your girl friend complains to me about you being 'early'.. Hitler cat

[@scottleft3672]

They are still weighing up the pro's and con's to this day....seriously.

[@redram5150]

Ratte design meeting... “What if we figured out how to add tracks to a battleship?”

[@scottleft3672]

They litterally talked about tracked submarines in WW2.

[@battleoid2411]

That was literally it though, the British had just fucked their battlecruisers and the ratte was a solution to take some of the turrets they were able to salvage from them and make em mobile

[@freddywarren69]

So interesting. You present the most esoteric stuff but make it interesting. Good work.

[@Life_Is_Torture0000]

These videos are better than most professionally produced documentaries. Absolutely first rate.

[@Minong_Manitou_Mishepeshu]

Great video as usual! Tanks!

[@ralphmunro7635]

Thanks for the show,one of the a17 s still exists here in Brisbane Australia at the Queensland museum at South bank

[@davidcoleman2463]

I had not seen the film of the German tanks before . Amazing . Thank you.

[@matthewbrooker]

Exquisite story. Informative and surprising as usual, Herr Felton.

[@osgkillerzzz3879]

Is it me or does Mark’s voice fit in perfectly with the footage and documentary

[@McRocket]

Amazing. Thank you very much for this.

[@jumemowery9434]

Very interesting and informative. Thanks Mark!!

[@michaelevans8697]

Mark Felton is an international treasure!

[@fortawesome1974]

I have visited the last remaining A7V, it's in Brisbane Australia where I live!!

[@2157AF]

yes indeed, as a Brisbane person its cool, but I think it would be better viewed at the War Memorial.

[@thurin84]

lucky! wish i could see it one day.

[@steffenrosmus1864]

I think ther 2 more one in Bovington UK and one in France

[@phinix250]

How it got there is a good story, if I recall correctly it was captured not for use but as a big middle finger to the Germans who abandoned it in no man's land.

[@Kabutoes]

Don’t know why they didn’t put this in battlefield 1

[@scottleft3672]

Considering they could have milked everyone for another DLC fee,

[@mattevans4377]

We got the Char 2C instead at least. Which was probably more fun because the Driver got access to the main cannon, which probably wouldn't have happened with this vehicle, seeing as it operates more like a Mark IV tank (Landship in game).

[@Wallyworld30]

The K-Wagen reminds me of a battleship on land. The Ratte does as well. Good thing these aren't practical as they would be terrifying .

[@quintrankid8045]

Lets wait until armor improves to the point it can weigh a lot less and see what they come up with. I'm going to guess that terrifying won't cover it.

[@TBreezy17]

Mortal Engines!

[@kirbyculp3449]

If the Musashi and Yamato were sunk by planes then destroying the Ratte by airpower would be little more than a training exercise. But it does look impressive.

[@nikitao8153]

@@quintrankid8045 give a little respect to armour that we have now.

[@jimtaylor294]

"Pounded to pieces by artillery." ...or by the 6 pounder guns of MK.IV Males, from all directions and all at the same time. Just like with Battleships; the British had only to outbuild the Germans.

[@Tutel9528]

Well,Germany built far more rifles,artillery pieces,explosives,mortars than Britain during WW1.And outproduced in aircraft produced until 1918 when German aircraft production began to collapse due to lack of resources which important for planes.İn 1914 German Army had more heavy artillery pieces and machine guns than Britain-France combined.Germany already became outbuild Britain in total productivity in early 20th century.Well,maybe not in shipbuilding but especially heavy industry,chemicy and electronics.I'm not even talking about gap between France.Peoples always underestimating Germany's capabilities.Not even searching about economics of that times.

[@cridder_face6960]

Tanks for sharing this video

[@udorechner6846]

Nice clip and awesome historical fotage.

[@steveshoemaker6347]

1 word "OUTSTANDING".....Thanks Doc.

[@timothyhouse1622]

The A7V looks like it should be crewed by Jawas and sells droids town to town.

[@yourstruly4817]

They have them. In the belly of that steel beast.

[@Jamie-zs8ok]

senoJ anaidbI

[@Jamie-zs8ok]

senoJ anaidnI

[@oldesalt10310]

Ah I see what you did there....Last Crusade...

[@tommym321]

Yours Truly so if I understand correctly, why were the nazis using a WW1 tank (instead of a modern tank) in that Indiana Jones scene?

[@bobstevens9040]

The Last Crusade...right?

[@johnaitken7430]

You do an excellent job, and always adhere to the no politics Guideline. Well done

[@buckshot6481]

Incredible, truly.

[@chrisperry7963]

Very interesting! Thank you Mark!

[@jimtaylor294]

Video should be named: "The K-Wagen: The first insult to Square Cube Law" (that construction was attemped on)

[@thetexastickler5698]

7k views in 3 minutes good to see this channel getting the attention it deserves

[@midassandahl5076]

Best german word pronounciation from an english dude ive heard to date, props to you my guy

[@Knapweed]

The V-Wagen was built like a tank, it even had sloped armour.

[@Sang1957]

Another great video on a little known subject!

[@simonwinterstein348]

Ah yes, the chivalrous combat of WW I (4:15)

[@colinkelly5420]

A conflict where 80% of all casualties were caused by artillery miles behind the front line. Amazing anyone still thought of chivalry after 1914.

[@2157AF]

And mustard gas was far less chivalrous.

[@scottleft3672]

Officers WERE when possible.....after they surrendered.

[@GordonBaird]

Had the same reaction as well... Disdain for tanks, but mustard gas and phosgene were A-OK... What?!

[@banditdelta7172]

I wonder where he gets all his pictures and footage for these videos. Great work though Mark just subbed. :)

[@tasman006]

Great vid Mark with the Char 2C at the end of your vid I read in a book that most of them that where made where being rushed up to the front on a train which was stopped in its tracks by Stuka dive bombers. Maybe you could do a vid on this tank to clarify in more detail what happened to the few that where made.

[@wallywheezer8256]

First!! To say that the K-Wagen looks like an interesting concept of a tank

[@bf0019]

its maus great grandfather I think

[@Martin-vy7mm]

I think it looks cool, but could probably use some weight reduction and maybe be a little smaller. It's cool though, almost like a navy ship for the army

[@HSMiyamoto]

Like the Yamato class battleships, which were built because the Japanese lacked the resources to build more than a few battleships, even if smaller, the surface area of a big tank is actually less than the total surface area of multiples of smaller tanks. The idea may have been to try to save resources by building fewer but more destructive tanks than the Allies.

[@samuelmahmud1909]

Thank you for the history lesson

[@wallyplumstead614]

Thank you Mark.

[@briantodd8362]

Love you channel!

[@bigblue6917]

I did know about the K-Wagon but lacked the details you have so kindly provided. So thanks for that. It is somewhat ironic that modern Leopard tank was inspired by tank destroyers such as the US M-10 and M-36. One of the other problems with the German A7V tanks was that it was crewed by men from different branches of the German Army. So the guns were manned by artillerymen, the machine guns by infantrymen, transport operated the engines et cetera. Because of that the prejudices each branch held for the other branches was often brought with them. This made it hard for them to fight as a cohesive unit. And the tank had the ability to fall over on the slightest of inclines. Makes it sound more like something out of Wacky Races. So the Germans thought that the tank was dishonourable. But gassing your enemy was fine. Interesting standards of honour some people had.

[@wolfsoldner9029]

The A7V was actually not ment for trench warfare. More for the battlefields like Russia. Its track chassis was designed to be used for multiple tasks. Like being used as an artillery tractor or flak wagon. I also dont know where Mark got that info about the honor. I pretty much doubt it is real. Even if not everybody has the same opinion about battle tactics in an army. To the germans it was early clear that tanks during ww1 were costly and not very useful except being used as moving cover or to clear trench wire. Only the later light tanks became useful.

[@greypatch8855]

Love the video man

[@dinnyh8251]

thanks Mark, very good that film...

[@DaraM73]

“I challenge you to a duel, Sir! What will be your weapon of choice? Machine gun, triplane or u-boat?”

[@noahtheowl7107]

First congrats on one million subs, second keep up the good work. im a big fan and a History nerd

[@GIGABACHI]

8:24 That's some Final Boss type of shit going on right there, checking out your forces before heading out, all cannons standing up saluting you in what could be the Final Showdown. I'm gonna get blown up and beat down BUT I'm gonna look good while at it.😎🤘🏻

[@MPGunther1]

👍 Wonderful footage

[@dimvalsgames9721]

With Mark, you don't watch the vid at first.! You first like the vid and then watch sure for the awesome quality of Mark's vid...! :)

[@whatfreedom7]

That thing is a beast! That would be terrifying to see bait through frontlines.

[@beavis6363]

Excellent episode Mark. I don't think I have ever heard mention of those behemoths. Thanks for the enlightenment. (or in this case en-"heavy"-ment?)

[@London1064]

Spot On again Mark👍

[@MrMrliamo]

You are vere clever and highly educated in ww1 + 2, well done, from Ireland.

[@rinsedpie]

Excellent vid

[@Manuelslayor]

The germans may have only built 20 but there is a reason. First they had more than enough captured tanks Second after the initial fear they found out that is was rather easy to destroy them

[@SpartanA054Moose]

would love to see more of the flying elephant. i can imagine a k wagon vs elephant dual

[@SpartanA054Moose]

@Michael Wolff can we make this into a movie

[@jeffking4176]

I saw something years ago about a ww ll German tank that was built and it was way too heavy. It couldn’t go hardly anywhere because it kept sinking and getting stuck. And it couldn’t cross any bridges. Another excellent video. Interesting info - as always. 📻🙂

[@AtheistOrphan]

Jeff King - Yes, that would be the Maus. There’s photos of it online stuck in the mud.

[@modelermark172]

This was very interesting. I've been thinking of building a model of the K-Wagen, but does anyone know where the crew entrance hatches are located? There had to be SOME way of entering the tank, but I can't find it from any source, online. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for posting this!

[@stevethomas760]

Was there a purpose to the short studs on the German helmets? Possible topic, personal gear. Mark, continued good work.

[@davidmiller767]

Hey thanks Mark. I had no idea, that the Germans only produced 10 tanks in WWI! This one - K-Wagen was a goose egg. Surprising.

[@Slodi_TLG]

Looks cozy.

[@etherospike3936]

5:32 The tank's name is Fenrir , Fenrir in Norse mythology is the son of Loki, destined to bring Ragnarok-Götterdämmerung to asgardian gods !

[@jimomalley1518]

They do make some of the best air riffles !

[@truereaper4572]

A shame that none survived the war. Would've made an amazing addition to a WW1 museum.

[@ralphmunro7635]

We have one a17 here in Brisbane Australia,I used to play in it as a kid at the old qld museam

[@Activated_Complex]

How was this thing not a boss fight in Toy Soldiers? It’s perfect. It’s even modular, so you have to destroy chunks of it.

[@joeshmoe9978]

Great video

[@Lucasrainford]

The Char 2C from BF1! er? yeah....Excellent vid as always Mark :)