Löwe

## *Panzerkampfwagen* VII *Löwe*

In-game icon for the Löwe.

The ***Löwe*** (German: "lion") is a German Tier VIII premium heavy tank.

## General Information

The *Löwe* is a Tier VIII German Premium Heavy Tank, designed as a super-heavy tank, that mounts a 10.5 cm Kw.K. L/70 gun. The gun itself has great dispersion, fantastic penetration, as well with a shell that goes 1150 m/s. The tank is very heavily armored, frontally at least. The upper glacis has an average of 255 mm, lower plate being 180 mm, and the join being 150 mm of effective armor. The turret is notorious for its trollish nature and difficulty to penetrate. The turret cheeks, hatch and the lower part of the turret are weak, however they are extremely small targets to hit which makes hitting them extremely difficult and inconsistent. It has a generous health pool of 1800 HP. The tank features 185% credit coefficient, which makes it great for grinding credits. However, the good things end there, as the tank also has its flaws. Firstly, it has the lowest amount of side armor for a German superheavy. Sidescraping is not as easy, and TDs with big guns can penetrate your side armor with HE, harvesting a massive chunk of your health. Just like with German super-heavies, its mobility isn't great with 35 km/h top and 20 km/h average. Among other tier 8 tanks, its DPM isn't good with the base amount being 1940, and 2209 fully equipped.

### Pros

* Great frontal armor and even better turret.
* Fantastic gun that can reliably hit and penetrate shots with ease.
* -8 degrees of gun depression is enough to go hull down.
* Good hull and turret traverse speed helps immensely against flankers. (However, keep your weak side armor in mind.)
* Immense weight of the tank makes it great for ramming. (If you can get up to speed)

### Cons

* Side and rear armor average at just 80 mm.
* Enormous dimensions mean an enormous target. Is effortlessly out-spotted by nearly every other tank.
* Has some turret weak spots, though these are extremely small and hard to hit, they can still be penetrated.
* Poor DPM with no equipment and provisions, and below average DPM even while fully equipped.
* As with all German super-heavies, its mobility is lacking.
* Expect frequent engine damage when penetrated at the lower plate.

## Strategy

There really are 2 strategies for the *Löwe,* these being hull-down and sidescraping.

### As *Löwe*

#### Hull-down

When looking at the *Löwe*, you might think you just brute force your way through enemy lines using your incredibly strong frontal armor, but that's not really the case here. The tank may have good frontal armor, but that doesn't mean it's impenetrable. That's when hull-down comes in, because the turret on the tank is absurdly strong. Since you have -8 degrees of gun depression, hull down can be accomplished with ease. Find a suitable ridge where hull-down is possible, then let your turret do the job for you. Be wary though, you still have weakspots like the cheeks, cupola, and turret ring. Although some simple turret wiggling can increase the chance of the shell not penetrating. Be extra careful around tanks with high penetration, as they have a much higher chance of penetrating your turret. To deal with high-penetration guns, try wiggling the turret with the hull while backing up into cover. Though it's not a guaranteed tactic, it improves your odds of survival much more.

**Tips for Hull-down**

Don't just stand there, do something! Never remain still for longer than three seconds as that gives your opponent time to aim with care. As stated above, simple turret wiggling, back and forth movements, and other jukes, can make it nearly impossible for the enemy to penetrate your turret. Or, to play it extra safe, simply go back to cover after firing your shot.

#### Side-scraping

While having the lowest amount of side armor for a German superheavy, 80 mm can still be used for sidescraping. Though not to the same extent as the VK 100.01 (P) or the Tiger II are able to pull off. This is better used in situations where hull-down is impossible, or when facing tier VII's and lower penetration guns. Due to its relatively low side armor, you have no choice but to angle it harshly and steeply. At a 70° angle, the armor ranges from 230-290mm, and at a 75° angle, it ranges from 315-400 mm. An extremely steep angle to sidescrape with. For comparison, the Tiger II needs to angle 70° to reach 300+ mm, and the VK 100.01 (P) only needs to angle 65° to achieve 300+ mm. However, the thickness of the armor combined with 75° angle will result in auto-ricochets. Be very mindful of the opponents you're facing with. Attempting to sidescrape against an ISU-152 is probably not within your best interest. However, sidescraping against most tier VII tanks would net you the most bounces. Hopefully, at least. Again, only sidescrape when presented with no other choice. The *Löwe* is practically built as a hull-down tank.

## History

The Löwe came into existence when Hitler ordered a Super Heavy Tank to be produced. Two versions were introduced: the VK 70.01 (K) *Leichter Löwe* (this tank), and the VK 72.01 (K) *Schwerer Löwe*, which also exists in the game, albeit at Tier X.

The Löwe never went past the planning stage, as it was replaced by the Maus.

## Legendary Camo

Lowe has two legendary camouflages, Löwe Reliant and Löwe Colossus.