Artillery mobile armored observation post "Object 610"
Artillery has long and deservedly bears the nickname "god of war." High firepower allows you to inflict the greatest possible damage to the enemy, who fell into the area of responsibility of the guns. However, an effective "God's punishment" is impossible without intelligence, target designation and adjustment. Since the advent of self-propelled artillery in different countries, attempts have been repeatedly made to create mobile artillery reconnaissance vehicles. In the mid-fifties of the last century, another sample of such equipment could be adopted by the Soviet army. To collaborate with existing ACS, a mobile observation point "Object 610" was created.
The appearance of the “Object 610” project was facilitated by previous events in the field of self-propelled artillery. As early as mid-1948, industry was given the task of creating a promising self-propelled artillery installation based on a medium tank T-54. The new machine, which received the working designation “Object 600”, was to be built according to the layout traditional for Soviet self-propelled guns with the front location of the fighting compartment and carry a 122-mm rifled gun D-25. During the design of such a machine, the industry encountered some organizational and technical difficulties that negatively affected the pace of work.
Certain difficulties, as well as two transfers of the project to another design bureau, led to the fact that the first prototype of the ACS “Object 600” was built only at the end of the year 1950. The tests that followed showed the need to refine the machine. As a result, self-propelled gun "Object 600" or SU-122-54 was adopted for service only in the spring of the year 1954. The following year, the army received the first production vehicles of this type. At the same time, it was decided to begin the development of another armored vehicle project.
General view of the "610 Object". Photo Shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com
SU-122-54 and other self-propelled guns of that time had a set of various optical equipment designed to search for targets and calculate corrections during their attack. However, the ability of armored vehicles to search for and detect targets was considered insufficient. It was required to include in the artillery units a special armored vehicle, the purpose of which would be to monitor the battlefield and issue target designation to self-propelled guns with weapons. This approach made it possible to noticeably increase the efficiency of artillery work in various conditions.
To speed up the design and subsequent simplification of mass production, it was decided to create a mobile observation post on the basis of the latest self-propelled artillery self-propelled gun, which at that time was the SU-122-54. The base ACS was based on aggregates of the medium T-54 tank, which should have resulted in additional savings with all the other advantages of unification. In addition, the proposal to use ready-made equipment, apparently, affected the choice of the developer of a new project.
In January, 1955 of the year, the Main Artillery Directorate of the Armed Forces formed technical requirements for the new machine and handed over this document to the design bureau of Plant No. XXUMX (Omsk). Earlier, OKB-174 completed the development of the SU-174-122 self-propelled gun. Thus, this bureau could most quickly cope with the new task, which implied the further development of the existing structure. The chief designer was appointed A.E. Sulin. As a development of the “54 Object”, the new project was designated the “600 Object”. In addition, the cipher "Buffalo" was used. A promising vehicle was classified as an “artillery mobile armored observation point” (APBNP).
Maximum use of existing components and assemblies has reduced the development time of the project. Required documentation was prepared by mid-year. In July, the project was approved by the customer, after which Omsk Plant No. XXUMX began assembling prototypes of new equipment. By this time, the company had deployed mass production of SU-174-122 self-propelled guns. Due to the maximum unification envisaged by the two projects, the two chassis, originally built as the basis for the ACS, were completed according to the draft of the Buffal ABBNP.
When forming the appearance of a mobile observation post, it was decided to do only with the refinement of the existing technology without the creation of large new units. In fact, the “Object 610” machine was supposed to be a “Object 600”, devoid of artillery weapons, but equipped with a reinforced set of optical devices, communications equipment, etc. Such an approach ensured the protection of the crew against various threats and the effective solution of the main tasks, and also gave maximum unification with the existing models.
In the course of the previous project, an updated armored corps was developed, based on the units of the T-54 medium tank and intended for the installation of artillery weapons. The draft APBNP "Buffalo", it was decided to re-use this building, making some changes in its design. The main features of the hull remained unchanged, all improvements were associated with the new role of the armored vehicle.
In connection with this approach, the overall layout of the machine remains the same. The front and central parts of the hull, which formed a relatively large and high cabin, contained a total habitable compartment in which all the crew working places were located. The stern, as in the case of the base tank, accommodated the units of the power plant and transmission.
Preservation of the hull structure allowed to leave the same level of protection. SU-122-54 differed quite powerful booking, which without significant modifications passed to the "Buffalo". The frontal part of the body was covered with a large top sheet 100 mm thick, located at an angle 51 ° to the vertical. Bottom provided for a smaller 80-mm armor plating. Sideways, the cabin was defended by 80 mm boards, which were piled inward, with which they created large nadgusenichnye niches. The roof was made of 20-mm sheet. The stern of the hull was protected by armor thickness from 20 to 45 mm.
The layout of the engine compartment and the composition of the power plant again remained unchanged, corresponding to the project T-54. The basis of the power plant was a B-54 diesel engine with 520 horsepower. Next to him was a manual transmission, transmitting torque to the rear drive wheels. The project "Object 610" promised some reduction in combat mass in comparison with the base ACS, which allowed to increase mobility without using a new engine or transmission.
Chassis unchanged borrowed from the SU-122-54. It consisted of five large-diameter road wheels on each side. The rollers were equipped with an individual torsion bar suspension. In the previous project, the location of the rollers was changed to compensate for the large weight of the front part of the body. Because of this, the second and fourth intervals between the rollers were reduced in comparison with the first and third. Preserving the hull design entailed the use of the already proven chassis layout. The guide wheels remained in the front of the hull, the leading - in the rear.
In the front sheet of the case, a hole was left for the installation of weapons, but this time it had a much smaller size. For self-defense, the Buffalo machine was supposed to use a 14,5 caliber machine gun, mm with 400 ammunition ammunition. The machine gun was mounted in a mobile installation of a frontal sheet, covered with an armored mask. To disguise such weapons and the difficulty of correct identification of the armored vehicle on the battlefield, it was decided to use an additional cover. On the spherical mask of the machine gun a relatively short tube with an extended “muzzle” part was fixed, imitating the barrel of a gun. It was assumed that such an imitation of artillery weapons would not allow the enemy to immediately identify the machine as an observation point, which is a priority goal.
The crew of six people was to manage the “610 Object” APBNP. In front of the habitable compartment were the driver and the gunner, the rest of the crew were behind them. A set of access hatches remained in the roof of the cabin. The hatches were still equipped with their own viewing devices, but now, in addition to them, other equipment could also be used for observation.
The main objective of the Buffalo vehicle was to monitor the battlefield and issue target designation to other armored vehicles with artillery weapons. For this, it had to carry a developed set of viewing instruments, navigation equipment, etc. Thus, to determine their own coordinates, the Yantar-Track navigation equipment was proposed. It included the Yantar-A gyro course indicator, the track sensor, the plotter, and the driver’s direction indicator.
In addition to relatively simple periscopic devices, the tank commander's periscope TPKU, APD-09, APD-2, APBN-2 artillery bass gun, TKD PT-X-commander, reconnaissance theodolite RT-2, Long-Range Periscope PDU, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-5, Long-Range Periscope PDU, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconstruction Theodolite RT-XNUMX; . Such a set of equipment made it possible to monitor the entire surrounding area and timely notice potentially dangerous objects. Also provided a determination of the direction to the target and the distance to it.
Having collected the necessary information about the target, the crew of the Buffalo could transfer them to other vehicles. To do this, on board the observation point there were radio stations 10PT and P-108.
The use of the finished corps, as well as the rejection of the use of artillery weapons, led to the fact that the overall dimensions of the APNP "Object 610" almost should not differ from the SU-122-54. The length of the car on the hull reached 6 m, width - 3,27 m, height on the roof of the cabin - 2,06 m. The absence of large and heavy units in the form of a gun and its installation led to a reduction in combat weight to 33 t. As a result, the specific power of the machine increased to 15,75 hp per ton. This did not increase the maximum speed, which remained at the level of 48 km / h, but increased the cruising range to 490-515 km.
The 610 Object project was developed by the middle of the 1955 year. Soon the new development documentation was submitted to the customer, after which the project was approved. Plant number XXUMX received permission to build two prototypes of APBNP "Buffalo". The presence of the reserve in the form of partially finished self-propelled guns SU-174-122 allowed to produce both required machines before the end of the year. After that, an experienced vehicle was released for testing. Over the next six months, two prototypes coped with all the necessary preliminary tests.
Self-propelled gun SU-122-54, on the basis of which was built APBNP "Buffalo". Photo 477768.livejournal.com
In the summer of 1956, the experienced "Buffaloes" were handed over to the Main Artillery Directorate for the following checks. Machines successfully coped with state tests, after which a new type of technology could be recommended for mass production and mass exploitation in the army. The issue of adopting equipment was to be resolved in the very near future.
Despite compliance with all the requirements and successful completion of all necessary tests, the 610 Object armored mobile observation post was not accepted for service and did not go into series. The release of this technique was limited to only two machines intended for use in testing.
The reasons for abandoning the Buffalo-type machine were directly related to the fate of the SU-122-54 self-propelled gun, as well as to the main trends in the development of the armed forces as a whole. Increased attention to rocket armaments and the planned reduction of the role of barreled artillery, as well as various technical and technological problems seriously affected the rate of production of ACS SU-122-54. In total, no more than eight dozen such machines were built. Because of such a small number of them, the need for a unified observation post could become a point of contention.
Obviously, all the advantages of the Buffal project could be fully revealed only with mass production and full-scale operation of the SU-122-54 self-propelled guns and mobile observation points. In this case, the army could actually save on the construction and maintenance of two types of equipment, having the highest possible degree of unification, both among themselves and with the production tank T-54. However, the ACS with the 122-mm cannon was not built in a large series, which is why the need for the 610 Object has disappeared. The deployment of the production of this machine "in the interests of" other self-propelled guns, apparently, considered inappropriate.
According to available data, in the second half of 1955, the plant No. 174 built only two “610 Objects”, after which such equipment was not produced. However, in some sources it is mentioned that such machines could later be built on the basis of the serial SU-122-54 after their removal from service and decommissioning. This version may have the right to life, since it is reliably known that a significant number of self-propelled guns after decommissioning were rebuilt by new projects. However, reliable evidence of the emergence of new mobile observation posts is not yet available and is unlikely to ever appear.
Artillery mobile armored observation posts "Object 610" / "Buffalo" were to replenish the composition of the units of the ground forces and increase their combat potential. However, this technique appeared in not the best time, and was also based on a not the best platform. As a result, even the successful passing of tests prevented the “Buffalo” from reaching the troops. Nevertheless, the army still needed such a technique, which is why new versions of armored vehicles of artillery intelligence soon appeared.
Based on:
http://dogswar.ru/
http://russianarms.ru/
http://shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com/
Pavlov M. Pavlov I. Medium tank T-54 and vehicles based on it. // Technique and weapons, 2008. No.10
The appearance of the “Object 610” project was facilitated by previous events in the field of self-propelled artillery. As early as mid-1948, industry was given the task of creating a promising self-propelled artillery installation based on a medium tank T-54. The new machine, which received the working designation “Object 600”, was to be built according to the layout traditional for Soviet self-propelled guns with the front location of the fighting compartment and carry a 122-mm rifled gun D-25. During the design of such a machine, the industry encountered some organizational and technical difficulties that negatively affected the pace of work.
Certain difficulties, as well as two transfers of the project to another design bureau, led to the fact that the first prototype of the ACS “Object 600” was built only at the end of the year 1950. The tests that followed showed the need to refine the machine. As a result, self-propelled gun "Object 600" or SU-122-54 was adopted for service only in the spring of the year 1954. The following year, the army received the first production vehicles of this type. At the same time, it was decided to begin the development of another armored vehicle project.
General view of the "610 Object". Photo Shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com
SU-122-54 and other self-propelled guns of that time had a set of various optical equipment designed to search for targets and calculate corrections during their attack. However, the ability of armored vehicles to search for and detect targets was considered insufficient. It was required to include in the artillery units a special armored vehicle, the purpose of which would be to monitor the battlefield and issue target designation to self-propelled guns with weapons. This approach made it possible to noticeably increase the efficiency of artillery work in various conditions.
To speed up the design and subsequent simplification of mass production, it was decided to create a mobile observation post on the basis of the latest self-propelled artillery self-propelled gun, which at that time was the SU-122-54. The base ACS was based on aggregates of the medium T-54 tank, which should have resulted in additional savings with all the other advantages of unification. In addition, the proposal to use ready-made equipment, apparently, affected the choice of the developer of a new project.
In January, 1955 of the year, the Main Artillery Directorate of the Armed Forces formed technical requirements for the new machine and handed over this document to the design bureau of Plant No. XXUMX (Omsk). Earlier, OKB-174 completed the development of the SU-174-122 self-propelled gun. Thus, this bureau could most quickly cope with the new task, which implied the further development of the existing structure. The chief designer was appointed A.E. Sulin. As a development of the “54 Object”, the new project was designated the “600 Object”. In addition, the cipher "Buffalo" was used. A promising vehicle was classified as an “artillery mobile armored observation point” (APBNP).
Maximum use of existing components and assemblies has reduced the development time of the project. Required documentation was prepared by mid-year. In July, the project was approved by the customer, after which Omsk Plant No. XXUMX began assembling prototypes of new equipment. By this time, the company had deployed mass production of SU-174-122 self-propelled guns. Due to the maximum unification envisaged by the two projects, the two chassis, originally built as the basis for the ACS, were completed according to the draft of the Buffal ABBNP.
When forming the appearance of a mobile observation post, it was decided to do only with the refinement of the existing technology without the creation of large new units. In fact, the “Object 610” machine was supposed to be a “Object 600”, devoid of artillery weapons, but equipped with a reinforced set of optical devices, communications equipment, etc. Such an approach ensured the protection of the crew against various threats and the effective solution of the main tasks, and also gave maximum unification with the existing models.
In the course of the previous project, an updated armored corps was developed, based on the units of the T-54 medium tank and intended for the installation of artillery weapons. The draft APBNP "Buffalo", it was decided to re-use this building, making some changes in its design. The main features of the hull remained unchanged, all improvements were associated with the new role of the armored vehicle.
In connection with this approach, the overall layout of the machine remains the same. The front and central parts of the hull, which formed a relatively large and high cabin, contained a total habitable compartment in which all the crew working places were located. The stern, as in the case of the base tank, accommodated the units of the power plant and transmission.
Preservation of the hull structure allowed to leave the same level of protection. SU-122-54 differed quite powerful booking, which without significant modifications passed to the "Buffalo". The frontal part of the body was covered with a large top sheet 100 mm thick, located at an angle 51 ° to the vertical. Bottom provided for a smaller 80-mm armor plating. Sideways, the cabin was defended by 80 mm boards, which were piled inward, with which they created large nadgusenichnye niches. The roof was made of 20-mm sheet. The stern of the hull was protected by armor thickness from 20 to 45 mm.
The layout of the engine compartment and the composition of the power plant again remained unchanged, corresponding to the project T-54. The basis of the power plant was a B-54 diesel engine with 520 horsepower. Next to him was a manual transmission, transmitting torque to the rear drive wheels. The project "Object 610" promised some reduction in combat mass in comparison with the base ACS, which allowed to increase mobility without using a new engine or transmission.
Chassis unchanged borrowed from the SU-122-54. It consisted of five large-diameter road wheels on each side. The rollers were equipped with an individual torsion bar suspension. In the previous project, the location of the rollers was changed to compensate for the large weight of the front part of the body. Because of this, the second and fourth intervals between the rollers were reduced in comparison with the first and third. Preserving the hull design entailed the use of the already proven chassis layout. The guide wheels remained in the front of the hull, the leading - in the rear.
In the front sheet of the case, a hole was left for the installation of weapons, but this time it had a much smaller size. For self-defense, the Buffalo machine was supposed to use a 14,5 caliber machine gun, mm with 400 ammunition ammunition. The machine gun was mounted in a mobile installation of a frontal sheet, covered with an armored mask. To disguise such weapons and the difficulty of correct identification of the armored vehicle on the battlefield, it was decided to use an additional cover. On the spherical mask of the machine gun a relatively short tube with an extended “muzzle” part was fixed, imitating the barrel of a gun. It was assumed that such an imitation of artillery weapons would not allow the enemy to immediately identify the machine as an observation point, which is a priority goal.
The crew of six people was to manage the “610 Object” APBNP. In front of the habitable compartment were the driver and the gunner, the rest of the crew were behind them. A set of access hatches remained in the roof of the cabin. The hatches were still equipped with their own viewing devices, but now, in addition to them, other equipment could also be used for observation.
The main objective of the Buffalo vehicle was to monitor the battlefield and issue target designation to other armored vehicles with artillery weapons. For this, it had to carry a developed set of viewing instruments, navigation equipment, etc. Thus, to determine their own coordinates, the Yantar-Track navigation equipment was proposed. It included the Yantar-A gyro course indicator, the track sensor, the plotter, and the driver’s direction indicator.
In addition to relatively simple periscopic devices, the tank commander's periscope TPKU, APD-09, APD-2, APBN-2 artillery bass gun, TKD PT-X-commander, reconnaissance theodolite RT-2, Long-Range Periscope PDU, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-5, Long-Range Periscope PDU, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconnaissance Theodolite RT-XNUMX, Long-Range Periscope Observing PDD, Reconstruction Theodolite RT-XNUMX; . Such a set of equipment made it possible to monitor the entire surrounding area and timely notice potentially dangerous objects. Also provided a determination of the direction to the target and the distance to it.
Having collected the necessary information about the target, the crew of the Buffalo could transfer them to other vehicles. To do this, on board the observation point there were radio stations 10PT and P-108.
The use of the finished corps, as well as the rejection of the use of artillery weapons, led to the fact that the overall dimensions of the APNP "Object 610" almost should not differ from the SU-122-54. The length of the car on the hull reached 6 m, width - 3,27 m, height on the roof of the cabin - 2,06 m. The absence of large and heavy units in the form of a gun and its installation led to a reduction in combat weight to 33 t. As a result, the specific power of the machine increased to 15,75 hp per ton. This did not increase the maximum speed, which remained at the level of 48 km / h, but increased the cruising range to 490-515 km.
The 610 Object project was developed by the middle of the 1955 year. Soon the new development documentation was submitted to the customer, after which the project was approved. Plant number XXUMX received permission to build two prototypes of APBNP "Buffalo". The presence of the reserve in the form of partially finished self-propelled guns SU-174-122 allowed to produce both required machines before the end of the year. After that, an experienced vehicle was released for testing. Over the next six months, two prototypes coped with all the necessary preliminary tests.
Self-propelled gun SU-122-54, on the basis of which was built APBNP "Buffalo". Photo 477768.livejournal.com
In the summer of 1956, the experienced "Buffaloes" were handed over to the Main Artillery Directorate for the following checks. Machines successfully coped with state tests, after which a new type of technology could be recommended for mass production and mass exploitation in the army. The issue of adopting equipment was to be resolved in the very near future.
Despite compliance with all the requirements and successful completion of all necessary tests, the 610 Object armored mobile observation post was not accepted for service and did not go into series. The release of this technique was limited to only two machines intended for use in testing.
The reasons for abandoning the Buffalo-type machine were directly related to the fate of the SU-122-54 self-propelled gun, as well as to the main trends in the development of the armed forces as a whole. Increased attention to rocket armaments and the planned reduction of the role of barreled artillery, as well as various technical and technological problems seriously affected the rate of production of ACS SU-122-54. In total, no more than eight dozen such machines were built. Because of such a small number of them, the need for a unified observation post could become a point of contention.
Obviously, all the advantages of the Buffal project could be fully revealed only with mass production and full-scale operation of the SU-122-54 self-propelled guns and mobile observation points. In this case, the army could actually save on the construction and maintenance of two types of equipment, having the highest possible degree of unification, both among themselves and with the production tank T-54. However, the ACS with the 122-mm cannon was not built in a large series, which is why the need for the 610 Object has disappeared. The deployment of the production of this machine "in the interests of" other self-propelled guns, apparently, considered inappropriate.
According to available data, in the second half of 1955, the plant No. 174 built only two “610 Objects”, after which such equipment was not produced. However, in some sources it is mentioned that such machines could later be built on the basis of the serial SU-122-54 after their removal from service and decommissioning. This version may have the right to life, since it is reliably known that a significant number of self-propelled guns after decommissioning were rebuilt by new projects. However, reliable evidence of the emergence of new mobile observation posts is not yet available and is unlikely to ever appear.
Artillery mobile armored observation posts "Object 610" / "Buffalo" were to replenish the composition of the units of the ground forces and increase their combat potential. However, this technique appeared in not the best time, and was also based on a not the best platform. As a result, even the successful passing of tests prevented the “Buffalo” from reaching the troops. Nevertheless, the army still needed such a technique, which is why new versions of armored vehicles of artillery intelligence soon appeared.
Based on:
http://dogswar.ru/
http://russianarms.ru/
http://shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com/
Pavlov M. Pavlov I. Medium tank T-54 and vehicles based on it. // Technique and weapons, 2008. No.10
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