Everyday zampotekh: when tanks fail
BTS-2. Photo: babs71.livejournal.com
Scuba divers
В previous section stories it was about a floating tank battalion stationed in the Estonian Klooga in the 60s. The combat unit, if necessary, was able to make a dash across the Baltic Sea up to Sweden and Finland. All this technical economy required timely maintenance, for which the deputy technicians were responsible. tank mouth.
In this article, I consider it necessary to turn again to the regular organization of the 3rd separate tank battalion, in which he began service in 1968. I will try to answer in advance any possible questions about the repair, operation and maintenance of armored vehicles. Memory is a very living matter, and over time, new circumstances of service appear, which it was not possible to describe earlier on the pages of the Military Review.
So, in addition to the previously mentioned units, the battalion had a diving platoon under the command of a midshipman. I don’t remember what equipment in this platoon was. But it's not hard to guess what this platoon was intended for. All personnel wore a naval uniform. Already trained divers came from the training units of the Navy.
Isolating gas mask AT-1. Source: protivogas.ru
One of the tasks of this platoon was the maintenance of the AT-1 rescue isolation apparatus, which were issued to each member of the tank's crew when overcoming a water obstacle. These devices were also equipped with inflatable containers operating on the principle of a lifebuoy, raising a person to the surface of the water. Probably, they were in service with submariners, as they provided evacuation from a depth of up to 40 meters. Swimming was prohibited without equipment for each participant.
But the repair platoon was directly related to my official activities. About him - in more detail and with knowledge of the subject. The platoon was commanded by Lieutenant Didenko, a graduate of the Omsk tank-technical school. The platoon was directly subordinate to the battalion's deputy technical officer, Captain Arapov.
I can still name, with an accuracy of 85-90%, what maintenance and repair facilities were in this platoon at the end of the 60s.
Repair rooms
TRM-A... Tank repair workshop of type A. Based first on ZIL-157, then on ZIL-131. Intended for the current repair of tanks in the field. A special body was installed on the car chassis, equipped with a set of special keys and accessories, spare parts and assemblies. There was, which is important, a removable boom crane with a lifting capacity of up to 1 ton. It was possible in the field to replace any unit of the power plant and transmission. Naturally, if time allowed. There were at least two such workshops in the platoon.
TRM-A.
TRM-B... Tank repair workshop type B. Designed for the production of screw-cutting, drilling, grinding works in the field. The body housed a lathe, a drilling machine and a sharpening machine. In addition, there was a detailed set of cutting tools (drills, reamers, etc.). In any repair department, usually - in one copy.
EGSM or an electric gas welding workshop. Intended for the production of electric and gas welding works. Inside there were a generator and an electrical panel for electric welding, an acetylene unit, oxygen cylinders and various accessories (wires, torches, cutters, hoses, welder masks, etc.). The most respected workshop in a military unit! That is why, in the first place, it was subjected to dismantling, plundering, and equipment failure due to the systematic use of the unit in the economic activity. Indeed, in Soviet times, all work to maintain the entire infrastructure in a standard condition fell on the shoulders of the military units themselves. Nobody gave any welding machines, cranes, or bulldozers from the outside. And it was constantly required to build and improve the living conditions of the military unit. So they dug, concreted, boiled, fenced ...
PRZS... Mobile repair and charging station. Intended for maintenance and charging of batteries. It was the least in demand due to the fact that charging batteries using the constant current method required several hours of continuous operation, and the preparatory process required a careful selection of batteries by type and, most importantly, by their degree of discharge. The work of this station was possible only with a long, at least a day, the presence of troops in one place. But she was also subjected to theft at an opportunity, since she had a large number of scarce devices and materials.
MTO... Machine for maintenance and minor maintenance of equipment in the field. Good and demanded technique. She provided all types of scheduled maintenance - daily, TO-1, TO-2, and so on. The repair shop had devices for flushing air, oil, fuel filters, units for refueling and changing oils, devices for checking and adjusting control drives, and much more useful. In addition, the flyer had a removable boom crane, similar to the TRM-A. Regardless of the standard equipment, this machine was in every battalion of the Ground Forces, be it a tank, motorized rifle or automobile, only the "stuffing" was different.
As for everyday amenities, all types of workshops had round cast-iron stoves for heating and sets of hanging hammocks for each crew member.
Repairmen - into battle!
Of course, these workshops were to be used only in real combat conditions or in exercises. And for maintenance and repair of equipment in peacetime, each fleet of combat vehicles had a stationary maintenance and repair center (PTOR), where posts were equipped for performing various work on equipment. Particular attention was paid to the rechargeable battery. The combat readiness of the unit to a very large extent depended on the level of training of the accumulator. Indeed, the timely and competent maintenance and charging of the battery depended on how reliable the start of the tank's engine would be, for example, when a unit was raised on a combat alert. Especially in winter.
Well, how not to mention tank tractors! The battalion had, it seems, three units of them, BTS-2 brand. A very necessary vehicle in the tank forces. After all, landfills, shooting ranges, tank courses were usually located on lands unsuitable for cultivation, most often swampy or sandy. And often military equipment got stuck, so much so that not every tractor could pull it out. A tank tractor is the same tank, only without a turret. Tractors were produced on the basis of the T-54, often on the basis of the T-44 (it is possible that at the Riga Tank Repair Plant). They were equipped with a powerful winch with a force of 25 tons, a removable boom crane, four towing ropes similar to those of a tank, as well as a system of blocks and pulleys that could increase the pulling force up to 75 tons. Instead of a tower, a platform for loads of up to 4 tons was placed on top, where spare road wheels, balancers, track links with fingers were usually placed - everything that most often broke and had a lot of weight. The tractor had a coulter designed to stop when pulling out stuck machines with a winch. In addition, the kit included two powerful jacks with which it was possible to hang the tank.
BTS-2. Photo: babs71.livejournal.com
How was all this supposed to be used in combat conditions?
Let's consider an example of an offensive. Behind the tank company, at a distance of visible communication, the REG (repair and evacuation group), including the TRM-A and a tank tractor, moved with the task of pulling out stuck tanks or evacuating damaged and damaged ones from under enemy fire to the nearest shelters. The group was also supposed to carry out routine repairs in the field, lasting no more than 2-3 hours. It cannot be longer, otherwise the company will go far away, and the repair and evacuation group will no longer catch up with it.
The main forces of the repair unit (remrots or, in our case, a repair platoon) moved 2-4 km behind the strike group. The task of the repairmen was simple - to quickly organize an SPPM (collection point for damaged vehicles) to repair equipment that the repair and evacuation group could not cope with. And who was in charge of the REG? That's right, the companies in charge.
All these alleged actions were practiced in peacetime at various exercises. And this did not always differ from the combat situation. Consider, for example, the case when I participated in pulling seven tanks out of the Estonian swamp at once during such training maneuvers.
But that's another story.
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