How dinosaurs died out - the last heavy tanks (part of 5)

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How dinosaurs died out - the last heavy tanks (part of 5)


Experienced and Experimental Heavy Tanks THE USSR.

At a time when the heavy tank EC-2 had not yet come to its final appearance, and it was being debugged in a series, silhouettes of new heavy tanks appeared on the drawing boards, but not all of them would have a chance to incarnate in the metal.


Wooden mock-up EC-6.


In June, 1944 of the year, the design bureau of the plant No. 100 was presented in GBTU a draft design of a heavy tank EC-6, the feature of which was the use of electric transmission. The review of the project did not reveal any advantage over the tanks “Object 701” and “Object 703”, but its superiority over EC-122 was obvious. Refinement of the main tactical and technical characteristics included, first of all, a limitation on the mass of the tank to 50 tons and invulnerability from frontal fire 88mm with sabot projectiles from 500 distance of meters and more. It was also decided to build two prototypes - the “252 Object” with mechanical transmission and the “253 Object” with electromechanical, as it was originally intended. It was planned to arm the tanks with the designed 122mm D-30 gun with a high initial velocity of the projectile. The body armor in the frontal parts had a thickness of 100mm (top sheet) and 120mm (bottom sheet), the tower was cast with wall thickness up to 150mm. The shelling of 88mm and 105mm with German guns confirmed durability even higher than that required, and did not penetrate from 50 meters into the upper armor plate, the lower 120mm armor sheet was struck only from a short distance.


Tank "Object 252"


“252 Object” was the first to go to the factory tests, and in the period from 8 to 27 in November 1944, sea trials were conducted on the Sverdlovsk-Chelyabinsk route. The transmission worked as a whole satisfactorily (the gearbox overheated when driving in high gear and excessive efforts to turn off the main clutch, reaching 60-65 kgf.), The tank was easily controlled and showed good average speeds. However, the chassis with rollers of large diameter and without supporting rollers had an unacceptably small resource - the rollers were deformed already after 200-250 kilometers of run. Launching of the undercarriage and guns was carried out on the converted EC-122 tank, which was reloaded to 50 tons. The result of the tests was the revision of the rollers designed by the Design Bureau of Plant No. 100 anew, but with the gun it was more difficult - on November 17, after numerous failures and rework, it finally failed and required factory repair.


Scheme of the electric transmission of the tank EC-6.


Meanwhile, the second sample of the EC-6 tank, the “253 Object” with an electromechanical transmission, but a chassis from the serial EC-2, with road wheels and supporting rollers, was put to the test. Theoretically, this type of transmission promised great benefits - improved traction at low revs, better tank control. But due to the large mass of aggregates miracle did not happen. Unfortunately, on the very first exit, when overcoming a snow-covered field, a fire occurred in the engine compartment, and the extinguishing equipment did not function properly (although it detected a flame). The tank burned out and could not be restored.
Shortly after the accident, all work on the project EC-6 turned.


Tanks "Object 252" and "Object 253" (clearly visible differences in the chassis).


Using all the accumulated experience in designing, mass production and combat use of heavy tanks, as well as the results of the work on experimental machines, at the end of 100, Plant No.1944 of the year began the outline design of the next heavy tank. After the allocation of funds (not without personal intervention of L. Beria, to whom J. Kotin turned to - since the People's Commissariat of the tank industry has already exhausted all the planned funds for other projects), the design work on the topics “257 Object”, “258 Object” and “Object 259 ”and their final analysis led to the development of tactical and technical requirements, which formed the basis of a completely new project -“ 260 Object ”.


Drawings of the first version of the "260 Object".


The working drawings of this machine, which received the index EC-7, were ready by the beginning of September 1945. The hull form repeated the EC-3, with a characteristic triangular nose, but the tank was larger - on the order of 65 tons of curb weight. The power plant in the form of two diesel engines B-11 or B-16, working on the generators of an electromechanical transmission. The alleged armament of high-power 122mm guns was not made, and as an alternative, the 130mm C-26 gun, with ballistics from the B-13 naval gun, was designed.


Wooden model of the tank EC-7.


After constructing a full-size model and the work of the mock-up commission, it was decided to make changes to the project and build two prototypes. The first of them finished in September 1946, and by the end of the year passed up to 1000 kilometers of sea trials. The main headache was the power plant - due to the lack of the engine of the required power, it was supposed to use a pair of B-16 diesel engines or a high-power engine being developed by plant No. 800. However, the latter was never created, and the paired unit, after a long and ineffectual refinement, was found to be completely unsuitable. Then, together with the plant №500 Minaviaproma diesel engine TD-30 was created, based on the aviation ACh-300. Despite the dampness of the structure and the need for refinement, it was he who was installed on the first two samples of the tank. A simple manual gearbox with synchronizers transmitted torque to the planetary two-stage steering mechanism. Chassis with rear drive sprocket consisted of large-diameter media rollers on board, without supporting rollers. An independent torsion bar suspension using beam torsions and double-acting hydraulic shock absorbers was thoroughly tested on production tanks. It is worth noting the use for the first time in the domestic tank building caterpillars with rubber-metal hinge, double-action hydraulic shock absorbers and a number of other innovations.


Drawings of the final version of the "260 Object".


In 1947, the 260 Object project underwent a number of significant changes, in particular the hull was broadened, and the profile of the tower changed. On the basis of the C-26 gun, a new C-70 with a barrel length 54 caliber (which gave the 33,4 to the kilogram armor-piercing projectile initial speed 900 m / s) was created. Significantly expanded the composition of auxiliary weapons - now it consisted of one 14,5mm KPVT and two 7,62mm RP-26 paired with a gun, one anti-aircraft CPVT on a remote controlled turret, placed on a long rod, pair RP-46 in the rear of the fenced niches (rigidly mounted in armored boxes outside the tank for fire forward) and a pair of RP-46 on the sides of the aft tower niche, for shooting back.



The crew consisted of a 5 man, placed apart from the driver in the tower. The commander was sitting to the right of the gun, the gunner to the left, and behind the right and left were two loaders. Their work was facilitated by an electric charging mechanism, created by the type of marine installations. The gunner received a stabilized sight, which allowed him to fire a shot from a cannon only if the axis of the bore was the same as the line of sight. As a power plant, it was decided to use the marine diesel M-50T, hp 1050 power. at 1850 rpm The transmission is replaced by a gearshift and cornering mechanism of the “3K” type. This allowed the tank with a mass of 68 tons to reach speeds in 60 km / h! At the same time, thanks to the use of hydraulic power amplifiers, the control was notable for its ease and obedience.



Four experimental tanks were built by the summer of 1948, and after passing the factory tests transferred to the state. One of the corps was attacked by German 128mm guns and its own 130mm - both could not penetrate frontal armor. During the tests, one of the tanks burned down, after ignition of the engine that had become exhausted. The order for an experimental batch in 50 tanks remained unfulfilled, and after a decision was made to limit the mass of heavy tanks to a limit of 50 tons, the fate of the project was finally decided.


Tank EC-7 on trial.



"277 object".


In 1956, the Red Army GBTU developed tactical and technical requirements for a heavy tank, which was to replace the T-10. The design bureau of the Kirov factory in Leningrad set about creating a tank, with a wide use of ideas and separate units from the EC-7 and T-10 tanks. Received the index "Object 277", the new tank was created according to the classic layout, its chassis consisted of eight supporting and four supporting rollers on board, suspension on beam torsions, with hydraulic shock absorbers on the first, second and eighth rinks. The hull was assembled from both rolled and molded parts - the sides were made of curved plates of rolled armor, while the nose part was a single casting. The tower was also cast, hemispherical in shape. A developed niche contained a mechanized ammunition to facilitate the actions of the loader. Armament consisted of X-NUMXmm M-130 guns, stabilized in two planes with the help of the Thunderstorm stabilizer, and a KPVT machine gun coaxed with 65mm. 14,5 ammunition of separate loading shots and 26 cartridges for machine guns. The gunner had a TPD-250C stereoscopic rangefinder sight, the tank was equipped with a full set of night vision devices. The power plant consisted of a X-NUMX-cylinder V-shaped diesel M-2, hp 12 power. at 850 rpm Transmission planetary, type "1050K", made in the form of a single unit of the mechanism for changing gears and turns. In contrast to the transmission of the T-1850 tank, the belt brakes of the planetary turning mechanism were replaced with disc brakes. The crew consisted of 3 people, three of whom (commander, gunner and loader) were in the tower. With a mass of 10 tons, the tank showed a maximum speed of 4 km / h.


"Object 277" in Kubinka.



Drawings of the tank "Object 277".


Two copies of the 277 Object were released, and shortly after the start of the test, work on it was stopped. The tank favorably differed from the T-10 with more powerful weapons and a more sophisticated SLA, including a range finder, but the ammunition load was small. In general, the "277 Object" was created on the basis of well-developed in a series of units and did not require lengthy refinement.


Tank "Object 770" on trial


The second competitor was the tank of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant - "Object 770". Unlike the "277 Object", it was decided to design the tank from scratch, relying only on advanced solutions and using new units. A characteristic feature of the tank was a fully molded hull, the sides of which differed in both differentiated thickness and variable angle of inclination. A similar approach can be traced in the booking of the forehead of the body. The turret is also completely cast, with a variable thickness of armor, reaching up to 290mm in frontal parts. The armament and LMS of the tank are completely analogous to the “277 Object” - the 130mm M-65 cannon and the KPVT machine gun coupled with the 14,5, 26 rounds of ammunition and 250 ammunition. Of interest is the power unit of the tank, made on the basis of the 10-cylinder diesel DTN-10, with a vertical arrangement of cylinder blocks, which was installed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the tank. Engine power was 1000 hp at 2500 rpm The transmission of the tank included a hydraulic transducer and a planetary gearbox, the parallel inclusion of which allowed for one mechanical and two hydromechanical forward gears, and one mechanical reverse gear. The running gear included six large-diameter road wheels each on board, without supporting rollers. Suspension rollers hydropneumatic. The tank was notable for ease of operation and good dynamic characteristics.


The tank "Object 770" in the exposition of the armored museum in Kubinka.



"279 Object"


The most interesting of the projects submitted to the competition without a doubt can be considered a heavy tank "Object 279". This tank, unique in its design, was designed at the design bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant, but headed the development of L.S.Troyanov. In spite of the conservative "Object 277", the machine was created completely anew, and not only for the units used, but also for the concept. Cast housings with differentiated armoring, elliptical shapes were met before, but in this car the idea was brought to the absolute. Assembled from four molded parts, the body was covered around the perimeter with an anti-cumulative screen that complemented its contours to an elliptical shape (not only in plan, but also in vertical section). Thanks to the reduced-to-limit zabronevuyu volume that made up the entire 11,47 m3, it was possible to achieve unprecedented values ​​of armor thickness both normal and reduced - the frontal body armor reached 192mm at large angles of inclination and backing, onboard armor to 182mm, at smaller angles. The cast hemispherical tower had a circular 305mm reservation, with the exception of the stern.


scheme of booking the tank "Object 279".


The armament was all the same 130mm gun M-65 and 14,5mm KPVT machine gun, with an 24 ammunition shot in a mechanized ammunition with semi-automatic loading and 300 cartridges for a machine gun. The combined efforts of the loader and the cluster semi-automatic loader ensured the firing rate in 5-7 shots per minute. The MSA included a stereoscopic rangefinder sight with independent stabilization of the field of view of the TPD-2С, a two-plane electro-hydraulic stabilizer "Thunderstorm" and a full set of night-vision devices. The power plant of the tank was developed in two versions - diesel DG-1000 power 950 l. with. at 2500 rpm or 2DG-8М with power 1000 l. with. at 2400 rpm Both engines 4-x stroke, 16-cylinder, H-shaped with horizontal cylinders (to reduce the height of the body). The transmission of the tank also differed unusual and innovative approach - hydromechanical and planetary 3-x speed gearbox, with the shift between the two higher gears was automated.



But the most striking detail of the tank is certainly its undercarriage, whose special feature was the use of four tracked movers! The tank hull was supported by two box structures, which were also fuel tanks, each of which, in turn, carried a pair of tracks. In relation to a single mover, the chassis consisted of six road wheels, three supporting rollers, a sloth, and a driving sprocket. Individual suspension, hydropneumatic, adjustable. Thus, the concept of clearance became only a formality, and the tank could overcome vertical obstacles without threatening to sit on the bottom of them. The specific pressure was also very small - only 0,6 kg / m2, which allowed to overcome deep snow and swampy areas. The disadvantages of the selected running gear were poor maneuverability and increased resistance to movement, especially on heavy soils. Maintainability left much to be desired, due to the high complexity of the design and inaccessibility of the inner pair of tracks.
A prototype tank was built in the 1959 year and began to pass tests, but it immediately became clear that so much an expensive machine has no chance of mass production. The successor of the T-10 was to be one of the two tanks, "seven hundred and seventieth," or "two hundred and seventy-seventh," but none of the contestants were ever adopted.







Photos of the tank "Object 279" from the exposition of the Military History Museum of Armored Personnel Weapons, Kubinka.


Table of tactical and technical characteristics of tanks:
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4 comments
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  1. Vadim
    0
    31 August 2011 21: 49
    I have long been dreaming of getting to Kubinka / to the museum / Who was telling me how it was? And how's the money and how it works?
    1. Dovmont
      0
      1 September 2011 18: 40
      I would also wander there with pleasure!
    2. Mesniy
      0
      6 September 2011 10: 32
      go to their official - everything is written there
  2. panzersoldat
    0
    1 September 2011 15: 30
    Well, who are the tankers?
  3. surgeon1997
    0
    30 March 2013 11: 47
    how to understand ???

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