11. Oops – Forgot About Aerial Threats
The Panzer VIII Maus was intended to spearhead German attacks by smashing through any opposition and destroying all enemy armor it came across. In the meantime, it would be impervious to damage from any enemy tanks that got it in their gun-sights. With 9.4 inches of turret armor, 8 inches of hull front armor, 7 inches of hull side armor, and 6 inches of rear armor, the Maus was largely immune from Allied tanks, whose shells would simply bounce off the behemoth.
However, the Maus was built in 1944. By then, the Allies not only had aerial superiority on both the Western and Eastern front, but well nigh complete aerial supremacy over the battlefield. It soon became clear that the Maus did not have sufficient armor up top to protect it from armor-piercing bombs or rockets dropped or fired from above.