Vassili Zaitzev:
I have read that the Elefant tank did not a defensive machine gun during the battle of Kursk
The Elefant did, the Ferdinand did not.
only armed with a 88 MM cannon.
"only"?? - I'd be happy enough with that! 8)
"quail hunting with cannon"
They actually opened the breech, stuffed their MG down the 88mm barrel and aimed the main armament at the infantry!
what kind of idiot would design a heavy, slow moving tank with no MG.
It was an SPG. It was an idiotic idea to use them as close range weapons (which is what happened).
gaussianum:
I think the Elefant was designed by Ferdinand Porsche, who was definitely not an idiot by any standard.
It was a re-engineered rejected Porche prototype. The engine, transmission and suspension were pathetic, even by German standards. The 188 ton Maus was even far superior.
Only the drivetrain was replaced, the crappy suspension unfortunately had to stay.
I think the question is: what kind of vehicle did the germans have in mind, when they commissioned it to Porsche?
Well, it was originally meant to be the famous Tiger, but was rejected as it was inferior to the Henchel design.
Apart from that, I don't know how experienced Porsche was in designing heavy military vehicles.
He had a little experience with DW (Breakthrough) designs, tank transporters etc. IMHO he was a good heavy tank designer, but a bit too 'German'.
Henk:
I read in a battle report of Kursk that the crew of a Elefant shot trough the hole in the escape hatch at the back of the Elefant to kill infantry.
Most tanks had and used these 'pistol ports'. They were usually just used for lobbing out old shells though.
BTW: The KV IS tanks had a ball-mounted DP MG in the back of the turret, but not in the hull.
