The Second World War saw a myriad of new war technology, equipment, and military strategies come into existence. Many of these scary military vehicles designed by the German and the Soviets were assault military weapon dispatchers built to win more battles and ward off enemy troops. Vehicles with high damage rates and tremendous abilities were seen in action, some of which included battleships, aircraft, tanks, and various other powerful war machines.

The Germans were not going to be bested by their rivals and so, the country put a vast amount of resources into building the most formidable and capable military machines possible. Some of these vehicles can be found in museums of today while others were completely destroyed. Under the command of their leader, Adolf Hitler, the German military saw the removal and replacement of weaker military vehicles and the introduction of more dangerous ones to meet and surpass the capabilities of enemy vehicles. Below are some of the scariest and most effective vehicles produced by the German military.

8/8 Tiger 1

Designed by Erwin Aders Henschel & Son from 1938 to 1941 and introduced into service in 1942, the Tiger 1 was a German tier 7 heavy tank and was their first armored vehicle that could mount the 8.8 cm KwK 36 gun. Powering up the tank was a Maybach HL230 P45 V-12 engine with 690 hp and had a top speed of 28 mph on the road and 16 mph when off-road.

Although the tank had a lot of faults, it was considered a masterpiece in its time. Fully armored, the primary weapon on the Tiger 1 was an 8.8 cm KwK 36 L/56 92 AP gun that had a high piercing ability. Also, the Tiger was secondarily equipped with two 7.92 mm MG 34 capable of firing 4,500 rounds.

7/8 Tiger 2

Succeeding and exceeding the capacities of Tiger 1, the Tiger 2 was a German-designed tier 8 heavy tank with 25–185 mm thick armor. It was a heavily armored tank as it had a combination of the Tiger 1’s thick armor with the Panther medium tank armor.

The engine used by the Tiger 2 was a Maybach HL 230 P30 V-12 gasoline engine with 690 hp and a Maybach OLVAR OG 40 transmission system. Using an 8.8 cm KwK 43 turret that fires 80 rounds as its main weapon. The tank can also be equipped with two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns that fire 5,850 rounds.

6/8 Panzer IV Tank

The Panzer IV Tank was a mighty war tank developed in the late 1930s and widely used during World War II. It was a medium tank that possessed a Maybach HL120 TRM 12-cylinder gasoline engine that generated its 296 hp.

The primary weapon on the Panzer IV was a 7.5 cm KwK 40 L/48 gun firing about 87 rounds of armor-piercing and highly destructive projectiles. Secondarily on the tank were two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns with a firing ability of 3,150 rounds. The tank was the most readily available for use due to the large number produced and was in service from 1939 to 1945.

5/8 Messerschmitt BF 109

Possessing a top speed of 350 mph, the Messerschmitt BF 109 was a German fighter aircraft introduced into service in 1937 and retired in 1945. It used a Daimler-Benz DB 605A-1, V-12 inverted liquid-cooled piston engine and had a 3-bladed VDM 9-12087 and 3 m light-alloy constant-speed propellers.

The aircraft could carry different weapons, including a 20 mm MG 151/20 cannon, two 21 cm Wfr. Gr. 21 rockets and a 250 kg bomb or four 50 kg bombs. The Messerschmitt BF 109 was a very successful fighter and was used by a lot of countries.

4/8 Panther Tank

Believed to be the best tank Germany used in the Second World War, the Panther tank was built to imitate the Soviet Union’s T-34 and replace the Panzer IV, which was no match for the T-34. It was installed with the same engine as the Tiger 1, a Maybach HL230 P30, V-12 petrol engine that fed the tank with 690 hp.

Covered with thick armor of 16 to 100 mm, the Panther’s main weapon was a 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70 cannon that fired 79 rounds. Also equipped on the tank were two 7.92 mm MG 34 machine guns that shot 5,100 rounds.

3/8 Bismarck Battleship

Remarkably the largest German warship and arguably the most dangerous, the Bismarck Battleship was built by Blohm & Voss and introduced in 1939. With a top speed of 34.53 mph and a range of 8,870 nmi at 19 knots, the propellers on the warship were three geared turbines and three screw propellers, and to power the ship was 12 Wagner superheated boilers that generated 148,116 shp.

The Bismark was large enough to accommodate four Arado Ar 196 floatplanes occasionally launched out for missions. Equipped as weaponry in the ship were eight 38 cm SK C/34, twelve 15 cm SK C/28 and others.

2/8 Junkers Ju 87 Stuka

One of the most famous warplanes of the German military was the Junkers Ju 87 Stuka, an air-to-ground bomber plane manufactured by the Junkers company and introduced into service in 1936. The dive bomber had a top speed of 255 mph and a range of 510 miles.

It was powered by a Junkers Jumo 211J-1/1400 engine and could fit two crew members. The Junkers Ju 87 Stuka’s ability to deliver bombs to target locations made it popular and feared by enemies. Its main armament was two 7.9-mm MG-17 machine guns and carried one 3968-lb bomb or one 551-lb bomb under the fuselage and four 110-lb bombs underwings.

1/8 Heinkel He 162

Known as the “people’s fighter,” the Heinkel He 162 was a hurriedly built fighter aircraft by the Germans. It had a very short stay in the German military as it was introduced into service in January 1945 and was retired in May of the same year.

The Heinkel He 162 was powered by a BMW 109-003E-1 or optionally a BMW 109-003E-2 turbojet engine and could attain a top speed of 490 mph. It was a successful aircraft design in its time and an efficient fighter jet as it was equipped with 2 20 mm MG 151/20 autocannon with 120 rpg or 2 30 mm MK 108 cannon with 50 rpg.