Top Five Heavy Tanks of The Second World War

The Second World War was a very important point in the history of armored fighting vehicles and their evolution. It was during this conflict that various theories of tanks and how best to use them were pitted against one another in some of the greatest tank clashes seen in our history. Of particular interest to treadheads the world over is the heavy tank which saw its heyday during the conflict and would later (arguably) evolve into what we now call the Main Battle Tank.

Military history enthusiasts debate endlessly over just which vehicle was the ‘best’ in this category. This has likewise been a topic covered at least in brief in many documentaries, books, and other internet articles. It’s a question that has no definitive answer, and in no way is this article proposing to be an end-all list. People have different opinions and that’s never going to change. Readers may greatly disagree with this presentation and that’s fine. In fact, I encourage it!

Keep in mind that my mental criteria for this list does not include statistics such as ‘fear factor’ or production numbers; the former being completely arbitrary (though admittedly this list, itself, is pretty arbitrary) and the later having little to do with the vehicle itself and instead the industrial capacity of its parent nation. I’m mostly looking for technical statistics of the individual vehicle and the overall influence (if any) that vehicle had. Also keep in mind that I am comparing these heavy tanks as heavy tanks, and therefore am putting a priority on armor and firepower as those were the emphasis behind the concept of the class in general with few exceptions.

So without further delay I’ll go about listing my roster for the top five heavy tanks that participated in the conflict from 1939-1945.

#5 – Char de Bataille B1

When talking about armor from the Second World War it’s extremely easy to glaze over, or entirely overlook, the vehicles of the early war period. With vehicles of such impressive levels of protection, firepower, fire control, and presence it’s only natural that attention would be paid to these later types. But it’s important to remember that these eventual developments were directly inspired by conditions found earlier in the war. For Germany, a major reminder for the need of a heavy tank came in the form of the Char B1 which it encountered during the invasion of France  in 1940. A far cry from the sleek and shiny armor yet to come, it’s significant as the first heavy tank to see action during the Second World War (though some sources consider the Pz.kpfw IV to be classed as a heavy by this point.)