Dr. Ferdinand Porsche (founder of Porsche Cars) designed many unconventional tanks during WWII. He built the heaviest tank ever (188 tons) ironically called the Maus, and he also submitted a prototype for the Tiger tank. Henschel, his competitor, won the contract, however the Porsche Tigers already built were converted into super-heavy tank destroyers. This tank was called the Ferdinand or Elefant, and came into service in 1943. Armed with the powerful 88mm gun, they possessed extraordinary firepower. One was reputed to have knocked out a T-34 at three miles. What truly set them apart, however, was the extremely thick armour. Impervious to most AT guns of the era, it was very slow. Its fatal flaw was the lack of any infantry defense. No machine guns were mounted on the early versions, and they could be easily overran by enemy troops if not accompanied with infantry. It was a technologically amazing vehicle, however it was tactically limited.