The Kugelpanzer was a prototype tank built by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

. It was one of the most unusual armoured fighting vehicles ever built.

Only one example of this reconnaissance Rollzeug (Rolling Vehicle) exists in Russia, as part of the Kubinka Tank Museum

Kubinka Tank Museum

The Kubinka Tank Museum is a large museum of armoured fighting vehicles in Kubinka, just outside Moscow. It has many famous tanks from World War I, World War II and the Cold War. The museum also houses many unique vehicles, such as the Panzer VIII Maus, Troyanov super-heavy tank and a Karl-Gerät...

's collection of German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 armored vehicles. The Kugelpanzer is simply listed as Item #37 and is painted gloss gray. From fragmentary information, the drive has been removed from the vehicle and no metal samples are allowed to be taken from it.

Development

The history of the vehicle is literally unknown, as no documents were found with it and it had no clear markings. Only five facts about it have been confirmed:

• It was a German-made vehicle that was shipped to Japan
  Japan
  Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
  
  
• It was a light reconnaissance vehicle
• It was captured in 1945 by the Soviets in Manchuria
  Manchuria
  Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
  
  
• Its hull armor is only 5 mm thick
• It was powered by a single cylinder two-stroke engine

It is hard to speculate on how this machine functioned but from observations it appears to be a one man reconnaissance tank with an armored shell and viewport. Perhaps under or behind the operator an engine was mounted and for stability a small directional wheel was located at the rear to steer the two large circular tracks at the sides.

Characteristics

Present at the rear of the vehicle is a small arm and trailing wheel. Some individuals have speculated that this is a possible form of steering mechanism. It is however more than likely just a weighted trailing arm to assist stability and limit the possibility of the central section of the vehicle from rotating independently to the two side wheels under braking or acceleration.

Possible use

Due to its light armour and simple design, the vehicle was more than likely a reconnaissance or armoured cable laying vehicle and may not have been intended to be an offensive weapon or weapons platform.