The project of a heavy tank Major Magrini (Italy)
At the end of 1916, Italian engineers began work on several promising projects. tanks. Foreign experience in combat use has shown the advantages of such equipment, which was the reason for starting to create their own samples. Most of the early Italian-designed projects never left the stage of early design work for one reason or another. One of these developments, which remained on paper, was the project of the heavy tank fort Major Magrini.
In the early stages of development of armored vehicles, the concept of a “mobile fort” was particularly popular. It was assumed that a promising tank should be a large and well-protected self-propelled machine with a variety of weapons. She should have been able to move over rough terrain and escort the advancing infantry. A characteristic feature of the tank-fort was to be a high combat mass at relatively low maximum speeds. Over time, progress in the field of tanks allowed to abandon such ideas, but until the end of the First World War several such projects were developed.
In the last months of 1916, shortly after the first battle involving British tanks, Italy began creating several of its own projects. Part of this work was carried out by engineers on their own initiative and without an order from the army. One of these projects was created by Major Magrini. The officer formed the appearance of a promising combat vehicle and soon offered documentation for the Ansaldo project. In the future, it was this company that could start mass production of equipment, but this did not happen.
For several reasons, the draft of Major Magrini did not interest the military, which is why it remained on paper. One consequence of this was the absence of an official designation. In some sources, the project is named after the company and the author - Ansaldo Magrini or Ansaldo Margini Mangiapan. Other materials contain a designation that speaks about the main characteristics of the vehicle: Fortino Mobile Tipo Pesante (“Heavy-duty Mobile Fork”). All these names, despite significant differences, are equivalent and denote the same development.
The only known scheme of the tank fort Major Magrini
According to reports, Major Magrini only formed the overall look of a promising heavy tank-fort and did not have time to determine certain details of the project. At the time of consideration by the potential customer, the project stipulated the main features of the architecture, the approximate composition of the weapon, the power plant and the undercarriage. Other features of the machine should be determined later, after receiving the order and the official technical specification. For this reason, many features of the project were not identified and, as a consequence, remained unknown.
One of the main requirements set by the designer Magrini in front of his project was a high level of protection. This requirement, as well as some other features of the tank led to the appearance of an unusual hull shape. It was planned to use a structure of complex shape, consisting of several major large units. The lower one, which was distinguished by its large dimensions, contained the undercarriage and the power plant, while the smaller upper one was to perform the functions of a fighting compartment.
The lower unit of the hull of the tank Magrini had to have a rectangular shape with a more complex longitudinal section. A wedge-shaped frontal part of the body with inclined upper and lower sheets was proposed. Behind the upper part was provided a horizontal roof of small length. Behind the roof was a vertical sheet, forming a ledge in front of the central part of the roof, placed below. An interesting feature of the Ansaldo Magrini tank was the symmetrical shape of the hull. From the point of view of the general contours, the lower unit was supposed to be two identical blocks interconnected.
In the central part of the roof of the lower unit there was a fighting compartment with an oval-shaped body. The front and aft parts of the fighting compartment had a cylindrical shape, the sides were vertical. Directly on the cylindrical parts were placed shoulder straps of two towers. It was proposed to close the space between the towers with a curved roof. An original tower design was proposed. Both towers had a sloping frontal sheet with a slot for outputting a gun barrel, a pair of inclined zygomatic sheets and a roof formed by three separate sheets. The board and the stern were to be made as a single curved part.
Major Magrini suggested using a more than original chassis. If the projects of Gino Turrinelli managed “only” with four tracked carts, Magrini decided to use eight such units. Four carts should be mounted horizontally under the central part of the hull. They had to perform the functions of the main driver. Four other trucks were planned to be used as a means of increasing maneuverability and mobility. Two carts were proposed to be installed in the fore and aft of the hull with a slope towards the center of the machine. When hitting an obstacle, an extra pair of tracks was supposed to facilitate climbing it.
According to some information, the author of the original project proposed a non-standard look of the power plant. In order to ensure the required reliability of the power plant and transmission associated with a complex chassis, Major Magrini decided to equip the tank with four sets of necessary equipment at once. The armored vehicle was supposed to use four petrol engines with its own transmission in each. In such a system, one motor had to drive its own pair of caterpillars. To simplify the layout of the required units, the project implied the use of an electric transmission. Thus, only engines and generators were placed in the engine compartment, and the traction motors were located near the undercarriage.
The main weapon of the tank Fortino Mobile Tipo Pesante, according to the author of the project, should have been two guns of 75 caliber mm. They should be mounted in turntable towers using tumbovy installations. In this case, the axis of rotation of the guns and their pedestals in the horizontal plane should coincide with the axis of the towers. The proposed complex of artillery weapons allowed to fire within wide sectors, as well as in a certain range of ranges. The caliber of the proposed weapons made it possible to effectively defeat most of the targets characteristic of the battlefield of the First World War.
Perhaps a promising heavy tank could be equipped with a number of machine guns. So, in the remaining drawing, you can notice a number of openings in the sides, which could be both inspection hatches and the basis for machine-gun installations. The placement of installations around the perimeter of the combat compartment made it possible to significantly expand the shelling angles.
According to calculations, the combat mass of the prospective tank-fort was supposed to reach 70 t. At the same time, there was reason to believe that using a sufficiently thick reservation could have significantly increased this parameter. Both in design and in modified form, the tank needed a high-power propulsion system. In addition, the main gasoline engines had to have excess power to ensure proper operation of electric motors, taking into account the loss of energy in a non-standard transmission. As a result, the Magrini tank could hardly show high mobility, although the original undercarriage made it possible to rely on good cross-country maneuverability.
Like other early tanks, the Ansaldo Magrini Mangiapan needed a large crew. To control the movement of the machine, the use of machine-gun weapons and coordinating the actions of all the fighters in the crew had to enter at least 15-20 people. As the project was finalized in accordance with the wishes of the customer, the crew size could change. Regardless of the number of people, the entire crew was to be located in a large manned compartment of the corps, which unites the command and control sections.
In January, 1917, the Ansaldo company management got acquainted with the new initiative developments, including the project of Major Magrini. Immediately and without detailed study of the project, it was determined that the tank Fortino Mobile Tipo Pesante is extremely complex in production and operation. It did not have to rely on high performance. At the same time, a relatively powerful cannon-machine-gun armament was of some interest in the context of the combat use of the tank as a means of supporting infantry.
It is possible that already at the first study of the tank-fort Magrini project, the leaders of the Ansaldo company made conclusions and considered this development unpromising. However, they did not deny the author and stop all work. Together with other recent developments, the Ansaldo Magrini tank was proposed to the military department. The last word in this case turned out to be for a potential customer, due to which the engineering company had a certain chance to receive the order.
At the end of January 1917, a meeting was held dedicated to new projects of heavy tanks designed by J. Turrinelli and Major Magrini. The military reviewed both projects and made their decision. Both cars recognized too complex and not worth the attention. The production and operation of such equipment were inexpedient, and taking into account the industrial potential of the country - it is almost impossible. In addition, by this time the Italian army has already reached an agreement on the supply of foreign-made armored vehicles. In accordance with the newest treaty, in the near future, France was to transfer to Italy a certain number of Schneider CA1 and Renault FT-17 tanks. Tanks-forts own development did not fit into the existing plans.
According to reports, after receiving the refusal of the military, Major Magrini stopped work on a heavy tank of his own design. J. Turrinelli, the author of the second project, considered at the end of January 1917, in turn, continued the development of his ideas, which later led to the emergence of a new version of the tank-fort. This development, however, also could not get the approval of the military and remained in the form of a set of drawings.
At the end of 1916, no country in the world had experience developing tanks, which led to the appearance of very original designs, much of which, for one reason or another, did not even reach the construction of prototypes. At the same time, the military of the leading countries quickly learned to determine the prospects of certain projects. In particular, the Italian army already at the beginning of 1917 of the year realized the inexpediency of building heavy and super-heavy tank-forts. None of these projects received the approval of the army; Not one such tank was built or tested, let alone exploited in the army. Because of this, Major Magrini’s project remained in stories as a curious technical curiosity characteristic of its era.
On the materials of the sites:
http://aviarmor.net/
http://landships.activeboard.com/
http://forum.worldoftanks.com/
In the early stages of development of armored vehicles, the concept of a “mobile fort” was particularly popular. It was assumed that a promising tank should be a large and well-protected self-propelled machine with a variety of weapons. She should have been able to move over rough terrain and escort the advancing infantry. A characteristic feature of the tank-fort was to be a high combat mass at relatively low maximum speeds. Over time, progress in the field of tanks allowed to abandon such ideas, but until the end of the First World War several such projects were developed.
In the last months of 1916, shortly after the first battle involving British tanks, Italy began creating several of its own projects. Part of this work was carried out by engineers on their own initiative and without an order from the army. One of these projects was created by Major Magrini. The officer formed the appearance of a promising combat vehicle and soon offered documentation for the Ansaldo project. In the future, it was this company that could start mass production of equipment, but this did not happen.
For several reasons, the draft of Major Magrini did not interest the military, which is why it remained on paper. One consequence of this was the absence of an official designation. In some sources, the project is named after the company and the author - Ansaldo Magrini or Ansaldo Margini Mangiapan. Other materials contain a designation that speaks about the main characteristics of the vehicle: Fortino Mobile Tipo Pesante (“Heavy-duty Mobile Fork”). All these names, despite significant differences, are equivalent and denote the same development.
The only known scheme of the tank fort Major Magrini
According to reports, Major Magrini only formed the overall look of a promising heavy tank-fort and did not have time to determine certain details of the project. At the time of consideration by the potential customer, the project stipulated the main features of the architecture, the approximate composition of the weapon, the power plant and the undercarriage. Other features of the machine should be determined later, after receiving the order and the official technical specification. For this reason, many features of the project were not identified and, as a consequence, remained unknown.
One of the main requirements set by the designer Magrini in front of his project was a high level of protection. This requirement, as well as some other features of the tank led to the appearance of an unusual hull shape. It was planned to use a structure of complex shape, consisting of several major large units. The lower one, which was distinguished by its large dimensions, contained the undercarriage and the power plant, while the smaller upper one was to perform the functions of a fighting compartment.
The lower unit of the hull of the tank Magrini had to have a rectangular shape with a more complex longitudinal section. A wedge-shaped frontal part of the body with inclined upper and lower sheets was proposed. Behind the upper part was provided a horizontal roof of small length. Behind the roof was a vertical sheet, forming a ledge in front of the central part of the roof, placed below. An interesting feature of the Ansaldo Magrini tank was the symmetrical shape of the hull. From the point of view of the general contours, the lower unit was supposed to be two identical blocks interconnected.
In the central part of the roof of the lower unit there was a fighting compartment with an oval-shaped body. The front and aft parts of the fighting compartment had a cylindrical shape, the sides were vertical. Directly on the cylindrical parts were placed shoulder straps of two towers. It was proposed to close the space between the towers with a curved roof. An original tower design was proposed. Both towers had a sloping frontal sheet with a slot for outputting a gun barrel, a pair of inclined zygomatic sheets and a roof formed by three separate sheets. The board and the stern were to be made as a single curved part.
Major Magrini suggested using a more than original chassis. If the projects of Gino Turrinelli managed “only” with four tracked carts, Magrini decided to use eight such units. Four carts should be mounted horizontally under the central part of the hull. They had to perform the functions of the main driver. Four other trucks were planned to be used as a means of increasing maneuverability and mobility. Two carts were proposed to be installed in the fore and aft of the hull with a slope towards the center of the machine. When hitting an obstacle, an extra pair of tracks was supposed to facilitate climbing it.
According to some information, the author of the original project proposed a non-standard look of the power plant. In order to ensure the required reliability of the power plant and transmission associated with a complex chassis, Major Magrini decided to equip the tank with four sets of necessary equipment at once. The armored vehicle was supposed to use four petrol engines with its own transmission in each. In such a system, one motor had to drive its own pair of caterpillars. To simplify the layout of the required units, the project implied the use of an electric transmission. Thus, only engines and generators were placed in the engine compartment, and the traction motors were located near the undercarriage.
The main weapon of the tank Fortino Mobile Tipo Pesante, according to the author of the project, should have been two guns of 75 caliber mm. They should be mounted in turntable towers using tumbovy installations. In this case, the axis of rotation of the guns and their pedestals in the horizontal plane should coincide with the axis of the towers. The proposed complex of artillery weapons allowed to fire within wide sectors, as well as in a certain range of ranges. The caliber of the proposed weapons made it possible to effectively defeat most of the targets characteristic of the battlefield of the First World War.
Perhaps a promising heavy tank could be equipped with a number of machine guns. So, in the remaining drawing, you can notice a number of openings in the sides, which could be both inspection hatches and the basis for machine-gun installations. The placement of installations around the perimeter of the combat compartment made it possible to significantly expand the shelling angles.
According to calculations, the combat mass of the prospective tank-fort was supposed to reach 70 t. At the same time, there was reason to believe that using a sufficiently thick reservation could have significantly increased this parameter. Both in design and in modified form, the tank needed a high-power propulsion system. In addition, the main gasoline engines had to have excess power to ensure proper operation of electric motors, taking into account the loss of energy in a non-standard transmission. As a result, the Magrini tank could hardly show high mobility, although the original undercarriage made it possible to rely on good cross-country maneuverability.
Like other early tanks, the Ansaldo Magrini Mangiapan needed a large crew. To control the movement of the machine, the use of machine-gun weapons and coordinating the actions of all the fighters in the crew had to enter at least 15-20 people. As the project was finalized in accordance with the wishes of the customer, the crew size could change. Regardless of the number of people, the entire crew was to be located in a large manned compartment of the corps, which unites the command and control sections.
In January, 1917, the Ansaldo company management got acquainted with the new initiative developments, including the project of Major Magrini. Immediately and without detailed study of the project, it was determined that the tank Fortino Mobile Tipo Pesante is extremely complex in production and operation. It did not have to rely on high performance. At the same time, a relatively powerful cannon-machine-gun armament was of some interest in the context of the combat use of the tank as a means of supporting infantry.
It is possible that already at the first study of the tank-fort Magrini project, the leaders of the Ansaldo company made conclusions and considered this development unpromising. However, they did not deny the author and stop all work. Together with other recent developments, the Ansaldo Magrini tank was proposed to the military department. The last word in this case turned out to be for a potential customer, due to which the engineering company had a certain chance to receive the order.
At the end of January 1917, a meeting was held dedicated to new projects of heavy tanks designed by J. Turrinelli and Major Magrini. The military reviewed both projects and made their decision. Both cars recognized too complex and not worth the attention. The production and operation of such equipment were inexpedient, and taking into account the industrial potential of the country - it is almost impossible. In addition, by this time the Italian army has already reached an agreement on the supply of foreign-made armored vehicles. In accordance with the newest treaty, in the near future, France was to transfer to Italy a certain number of Schneider CA1 and Renault FT-17 tanks. Tanks-forts own development did not fit into the existing plans.
According to reports, after receiving the refusal of the military, Major Magrini stopped work on a heavy tank of his own design. J. Turrinelli, the author of the second project, considered at the end of January 1917, in turn, continued the development of his ideas, which later led to the emergence of a new version of the tank-fort. This development, however, also could not get the approval of the military and remained in the form of a set of drawings.
At the end of 1916, no country in the world had experience developing tanks, which led to the appearance of very original designs, much of which, for one reason or another, did not even reach the construction of prototypes. At the same time, the military of the leading countries quickly learned to determine the prospects of certain projects. In particular, the Italian army already at the beginning of 1917 of the year realized the inexpediency of building heavy and super-heavy tank-forts. None of these projects received the approval of the army; Not one such tank was built or tested, let alone exploited in the army. Because of this, Major Magrini’s project remained in stories as a curious technical curiosity characteristic of its era.
On the materials of the sites:
http://aviarmor.net/
http://landships.activeboard.com/
http://forum.worldoftanks.com/
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