Floating battalion: on tanks in the Baltic Sea
Tanks and pontoons
В previous section stories it was about tank storage company and living conditions of the Estonian hinterland, who met a young graduate of the Omsk tank-technical school. This time we will talk about the third separate tank battalion, in which I continued to serve as the company’s deputy technical engineer in November 1968. It was a unique military unit in its own way. The fact is that the battalion was armed with medium, 36-tonne T-55 tanks, adapted through some design modifications to sailing on water.
On each tank, on the left and right sides, pontoons were hung, which were made of aluminum alloy and were not sealed, and their entire internal volume was filled with foam. The pontoons were equipped with gearboxes, through which the torque from the drive wheels of the tank was transmitted to the propellers located in the stern. The pontoons had additional fuel tanks, which, when pontooned, were connected to the tank's fuel system, thereby increasing the cruising range on the water. The capacity of each pontoon, if memory serves, was 550 liters.
The process of hanging pontoons on an armored vehicle was called pontooning. For this purpose, special "fangs" were welded to the tank in the front and rear of the hull, to which the pontoons were attached using hinged brackets. Moreover, the drive wheels of the tank were simultaneously connected to the pontoon gearboxes. And on the tower, special eyes were welded, to which a triangular bracket with a winch and a pulley was attached during the pontoon. With this device, the pontoon was raised from the ground to the required height to connect to the tank.
A wave-reflecting shield was attached to the pontoons in front of the tank. In addition, the combat vehicle was completely sealed with a special putty, with the exception of the turret hatch, on which a special box was installed, which allowed the commander to be in his hatch and not be afraid of being overwhelmed by the sea wave.
There was also a device consisting of a system of cables and blocks, which allowed the pontoons to be dropped from the driver's seat when leaving the water to land from the driver's seat, and the tank entered the battle.
It is known that the air for the engine of the tank enters through the louvers on the roof of the transmission compartment, and the exhaust gases come out of the pipe located at the level of the fenders. To isolate these places from water, a rectangular "basket" was installed above the roof of the transmission compartment, which had neither a bottom nor a roof. And a telescopic pipe was attached to the end of the exhaust pipe, and the exhaust came out vertically to a meter height. To prepare the tank for float, it took about an hour and a half, all exclusively by the crew.
ZIL-157 vehicles - truck tractors with special semi-trailers - arrived in the indicated area and dropped the pontoons in pairs so that the tank could drive between them. And the pontooning began.
ZIL-157 with tank pontoons. Source: otvaga2004.ru
It is not hard to guess that the battalion for the transportation of pontoons had an automobile company in the state - the so-called company of floating vehicles, in abbreviated form - RPS. It consisted of 64 towing vehicles, two for each of the 31 tanks, and two spare.
In addition to combat, technical and material support units, the battalion also had a company of amphibious tanks - 31 PT-76 tanks.
On tanks to Sweden
What was the purpose of this 3rd OT, which in the garrison was simply called a floating battalion?
The battalion, having made a march by land, arrived at the indicated pontooning area, at some distance from the coast, hung the pontoons and entered the water. So the march on the water barrier began.
Theoretically, the fuel range could be enough to reach Finland or Sweden. The limitation was only in the height of the wave - when the sea was roughly 3 points, it was forbidden to go sailing.
The order of battle on the march looked like this: a company of amphibious tanks sailed in front of the column with the task of capturing a bridgehead on the enemy coast during landing and holding it until the main forces disembarked. Ahead, left and right, as well as behind, the battalion was covered by the ships of the Navy. By the way, the command of the Navy tried for a long time to "bargain" from the Ground Forces for our battalion, but something above "did not grow together."
It was not easy to march on the water.
The tank driver was sitting at the levers, not seeing anything, as the waves flooded the observation devices. And all the hope was in the commander, who controlled the actions of the driver via internal communication and had to have certain skills acquired in the process of training in driving lessons, first a single tank, then as part of a platoon, then as part of a company.
Controlling the tank was no different from moving on the ground: by tightening the right or left swing lever, the driver braked the corresponding track, and the opposite side "ran" in the direction of the turn.
The difference was that the driver on the water could not see the road. Everything depended on the commander: how timely he would give the command to stop the turn, because water is not land, the movement of the tank will continue for some time in the direction of the turn. Hence the constant "yaw" along the course. It happened, albeit very rarely, that during a long voyage the driver could not withstand the load (stuffiness, pressure of a closed volume) - fainting also happened.
The average speed in second gear was 13 km / h. For comparison, the PT-76 amphibious tank could only sail at a speed of 11 km / h.
In addition to the usual march, firing at floating targets with combat shells was also practiced. For studies and training on the water, there was a water center, not so far from Klooga, on the shores of the Baltic Sea. And at a distance of several kilometers from our water center, the submarine base of Paldiski was visible, where we, the landings, were denied access.
Throughout the summer period, there were several tanks with suspended pontoons at the hydrodrome, on which training was practiced, and several driver mechanics led by an officer for their protection and maintenance. I happened to be on duty there several times. Resort, and more!
Naturally, there was no time to be bored in a floating tank battalion: combat training, in fact, is twice as intense as usual. After all, naval training was also added to the land training.
By the way, for every day of training on the water, both officers and conscripts were entitled to additional sea rations, so to speak, enhanced nutrition. I remember that it included meat pâté and chocolate.
Tanks don't sink
My personal problem, as a technical engineer, was that I simply did not have a place afloat during the march. And I was at the stern of the last tank, exposed to the sun, wind and sea waves. But we usually did not swim for more than four hours, and I did not experience any misadventures in this regard during my service in the battalion. Usually the weather in the summer in the Baltic was good. And in bad and swimming was forbidden.
Tanks with pontoons were practically unsinkable, since on the water the pontoons' fastening to the tank was tightly wedged under the weight of the vehicle.
Senior comrades said that during the tests, somewhere in one of the northern seas, they placed three tanks in a line at an interval of a kilometer and detonated an atomic bomb at an altitude of 1 km (I do not remember how powerful it was). As a result, the tank in the center went under water, one of the outer tanks also went under water, but immediately surfaced, and the second outer tank lost one of the pontoons, but did not sink, but hung on the surviving pontoon.
What can not be said about the amphibious tanks PT-76 or "petas". The center of gravity of this tank was very unstable, and if it started to leak in the seals, and the drainage means could not cope, then the tank very quickly, especially when rolling, lost stability.
Further, the tank heeled aft, then took a position with the gun upward, and the car went to the bottom in a matter of minutes. On marches and exercises, this did not happen with me, but during the driving lessons at the vododrome one "petashka" sank. Fortunately, the depth in the bay was no more than three to five meters. Since all this happened not far from the coast, divers later hooked on the tank with a cable, and the tractor pulled it ashore.
It's funny, but the commander of a company of amphibious tanks, taking this opportunity, wrote off all the missing property in the company: they say, it sank along with the tank and became unusable.
Sailing in the battalion was carried out every summer. Once, I remember, we landed at the Riga Training Center in Latvia.
And also in our battalion there was a post of deputy battalion commander for naval training. We called this position in abbreviated form as follows: "zamkomomorde".
It was occupied by the captain of the third rank Chumakov. He officially wore a navy uniform. I cannot describe the scope of his duties, I only remember that without his signature, the floatation was impossible. He was rude, straightforward, constantly smoked "Belomor" and regularly pestered the cute, curvy freelance typist Lyudochka.
One amusing incident is also connected with it.
Usually, during the voyage, he was on one of the escort ships, but one day he decided, so to speak, to feel the process from the inside. He swam in the stern of one of the tanks, when suddenly a wave came and drenched him ankle-deep. He took off his shoes and hung them on the stern basket to dry his socks and boots. The sun was shining, our captain of the third rank was overwhelmed and lost his vigilance. A sharp gust of wind blew off socks and one boot into the sea. When they went ashore, they heard a lot of things from him, which were never heard again in the future.
To be continued ...
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