World of Tanks is taking a closer look at the Turtle Mk. I tank.

At 09:00 AM CET on Friday, 19 November 2021, World of Tanks tweeted out a snippet summary of a tank that was rather comically, and aptly, named a Turtle Mk. I tank. Aptly, because, as said by World of Tanks in their tweet, it “has the tough shell—and speed—of its reptile namesake.”

Turtle in real life. Image by Tank Encyclopedia.

The Tortoise Heavy Assault Tank, as it was named upon its design and development during WW2, was originally designed to attack heavily fortified positions such as the German Siegfried Line.

Only 6 were ever produced, as the war ended before the initial order of 25 tanks could be completed. 1 of the six tanks was kept for testing and found to be highly effective and mechanically reliable, but an incredible pain in the ass to transport due to its incredible height and weight.

The Tortoise weighed 79 tons and was 10 meters long (with a 7.24-meter long hull). It was 3.9 meters long and had a height of 3 meters. It was manned by a 7-man crew.

In World of Tanks, the Turtle has an 800 horsepower engine and can travel at a maximum of 20 km/h. It can deal up to 430 hit points of damage with its OQF 55 PDR main gun, which has 50 rounds of ammo and a firing rate of 8.82 rounds per minute.

As such, this tank can do an insane amount of damage, but its slow speed and lack of a rotating turret make it a bit of a sitting duck, albeit a well-armored one.

Full specifications for the Turtle tank can be found on World of Tanks’ official website.