IX

Versuchspanzer 57

Germany·Heavy Tank·HT universal

In the 1950s, work began in Germany on the Versuchspanzer 57 project. Engineers of the emerging Bundeswehr, partly by borrowing technical solutions and parts of earlier vehicles, planned to test the concept of artillery guns with additional firing chambers, which had been developed during the war, on this tank. However, the development encountered serious difficulties: German industry was only just recovering, and the presence of American M47 tanks in service forced the leadership to save resources on their own tank programs. As a result, the project was shelved, and when development began on a "unified European tank" it was closed conclusively.