Tank cruiser. Project. P. Osokin. THE USSR. 1942

Information from TsAMO RF, 38 Foundation, 11350 inventory, case number 1356, page 4-6.
Chief of the Main Armored
Management of the Red Army
Copy: To the head of the military department of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) (Moscow)

Desiring to help her beloved Motherland in her fight against the fascist hordes and deed to answer orders No. 55 and 130 of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Comrade Stalin, I have developed and bring to your attention a project of a new powerful type of armament of the Red Army - "tank cruiser".

On 11.6.1942, this project was reported to me by the Chief of the Ural Military District Armored Forces Division, Colonel Evdokimov, the engineers of the department entrusted to him and the Deputy Commander of the District Air Force, Major General aviation comrade Sokolov. They recognized my proposal as valuable and interesting in the defense sense, and some technical instructions were made to finalize the project.
Colonel Evdokimov, going to Moscow the next day, promised to personally report to you about my proposal and ask you to call me to Moscow for a personal report.

More than a month has passed since then and all the instructions made to me in the project have been fulfilled. About this, I 2.7.1942 of the year was telegraphically reported to Colonel Evdokimov (UralVO), with a request to speed up my trip to Moscow.

Having no answer to the telegram, 18.7.42 of the year, I turned to my chief of the unit, the divinger, comrade. Andreev, reported to him on his project and proposals, and received permission to apply in this case to the relevant, higher authorities.

Convinced of the expediency and great military significance of the tank cruiser I propose, I consider any further delay in advancing the project highly undesirable. for this reason, I ask you to call me to Moscow as soon as possible in order to personally report this project to you, or the authoritative commission of specialists and engineers of tactical armies appointed by your order.

Considering my proposal serious, I, having already experience in design work, give myself at the same time a full account of the possible difficulties in the practical implementation of the project, but I firmly believe that these difficulties will fully pay off the fighting qualities of the new machines.

I spent on the development of the "tank cruiser" project, mainly during off-duty hours, over 500 hours, and this fact also requires bringing the matter to its logical end.

In the case of a favorable decision on the implementation of the project, my practical suggestions related to this, I ask permission to report in person.
Currently, I am a representative of the Leningrad Aviation and Technical Courses for Improving the Air Force named after K.E. Voroshilov (address: Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk region, 2-I dam, mailbox 529). If necessary, on the question of my business trip to Moscow, I ask you to write off with Major General Aviation Comrade. Ivanov - Head of the University of the Main Directorate of the Air Force of the Red Army or with his deputies.
When I call, I ask for your instructions about issuing me travel documents for transportation on the Magnitogorsk-Sverdlovsk-Moscow airlines, as this will shorten the trip time by 5-7 and will facilitate the speedy resolution of the issue.

I would like to telegraphically inform me about the decision you made at the above service address for courses.

Constructor
Colonel Engineer Osokin
July 27, 1942
TsAMO RF, 38 Foundation, 11350 inventory, case # 1356, page 4-6.

Comments

[Denis]

Loved giant projects, here's another one

In 1932, in the Soviet Union, which was constantly developing tank themes, the German engineer Edward Grote, who was then working at the invitation of the design bureau of the Leningrad Bolshevik plant, issued two conceptual designs for superheavy tanks. Armament, located in three or six towers, had to consist of eight cannons. As the "main caliber", the designer suggested installing a pair of 305-mm naval guns from battleships of the "Sevastopol" type. The crew of the tank was to be 40 people, and the combat weight was approaching 1000 tons. The tank was to be driven by internal combustion engines with a total capacity of about 24 hp. The running gear provided for an electrically controlled hydraulic transmission and hydraulic roller suspension (an advanced solution for the 000s). The Commission of the Office of Motorization and Mechanization of the Red Army recognized the design of the tank too bulky and low-tech. After Grote failed in 1930 with his TG medium tank, the engineer was asked to leave the USSR.

But the story of the Soviet giants did not end there. UMM became interested in the project of a 600-ton tank, the development of which was carried out by a designer from the research department of the Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization of the Red Army M.V. Danchenko. However, soon the activity was curtailed, apparently, not without the influence of Marshal M.N. Tukhachevsky - a supporter of light and mobile military equipment.

Fortunately, they did not undertake to build

[Su-9]

Not built. And well done. Once again demonstrates the sanity of the leadership of the army and the country in the 40s!
A Osokin’s project is not even criticized. If only I thought how this miracle would reach the front line. How could such a person get a colonel engineer ...

[Misantrop]

Quote: Su-9

How could such a person get a colonel engineer ...

Well, he was also an aircraft technician. He did not invent an "aircraft cruiser", he had enough education to understand that this miracle would not have taken off ... Well, a tank cruiser does not need to fly ...

[Aleks tv]

On a serious note, he could only be seen in the form of an "armored train on tracks" or a mobile bunker.
But also does not roll.

2- 152mm,
5- 76mm.
Total 5 tanks and 2 self-propelled guns. They will cope with such a land cruiser in various ways.
He is too vulnerable.

But interesting.

[Gennady1973]

Odnoznano! I agree. They will tear a rag like an ace.

[svp67]

Quote: Aleks tv

Total 5 tanks and 2 self-propelled guns. They will cope with such a land cruiser in various ways.
He is too vulnerable.

And by and large:
1 - U87
2 - a platoon of 88mm anti-aircraft guns ....

[SPHINX]

Interesting, yes, and some ideas are very good. For example, four tracks, two on each side. Unlike a conventional tank, if you lose one, you will not get a stake here, but you will retain at least some maneuverability (theoretically.)

[Stas57]

generally crazy ideas
see LJ at the same Pasholka more than enough

[smart ass]

Disable the tracks on one side and all 270 tons turn ... 270 tons of trash)) spent 500 hours on stupidity)))) the artillery battalion for 5 minutes of work ... I would not call a cruiser ... ahh "projectile receiver" it would be prettier

[silver_roman]

one aerial bomb and there isn’t this tsepelin - dreadnought.
enough enthusiasts!

[Basileus]

Is this a remake or a real project? It’s just that on alternatehistory there is both that and that)

[Peacemaker]

Mouse nervously smokes on the sidelines

[Denis]

Quote: PeaceMaker

Mouse nervously smokes on the sidelines

Although it was embodied in metal, it is still possible to touch it in Kubinka. There were delusions

"Rat" (German: "Ratte"), P1000 - designation of an extra-heavy breakthrough tank and artillery support, a land cruiser weighing up to 1000 tons, a draft of which was developed in Germany in 1942-1945. Information on the manufacture of at least one prototype is not available.

In June 1942, the Krupp concern presented Hitler with a project for a super-heavy 1000-ton tank. After discussing the project with the Reichsminister of armaments Albert Speer, the project received the symbol “Ratte” - “Rat” (obviously, by analogy with the project of the tank “Maus” - “Mouse”).

The designers of the tank were engineer Edward Grotte and Dr. Hacker. Even before the war, while working in the USSR with a group of German specialists who were specially invited in March 1930 to work on the creation of new tanks, Grotte offered Soviet military circles projects of such superheavy tanks, which were rejected in favor of domestic projects due to difficulties in the implementation by the domestic industry of technically complex innovative developments of Grotte.

With the alleged artillery armament, the Rat tank could theoretically fight (for example, as a mobile coastal defense fort) even with sea cruisers and battleships. In the land war, the Rat tank, probably possessing low mobility (due to its large size and relatively low specific power), would be invulnerable to artillery fire (except for land artillery of special power) and anti-tank mines, but not protected from air bombardments .

Tank "Rat" could be considered as one of the possible embodiments of the "weapon of retaliation", but its creation was not able to have a significant impact on the course of the war, and therefore this project is of interest only as a technical incident.

Main technical characteristics of the land cruiser Ratte:
Tank weight: 1000 tons
Tank length: 39 m (with gun)
Case Length: 35 m
Tank Width: 14-15 m
Tank Height: 11 m
Reservation: 250 mm
Engines: marine diesel MAN or gasoline Daimler-Benz with a total capacity of about 16000 hp
Guns: 28-cm SKC / 34 (2 guns in the tower, in one of the options it was supposed to additionally install a third gun of a caliber of 128 mm). Anti-aircraft automatic guns: 2-cm Flak 38 (2 to 8 guns)
Highway speed: up to 40 km / h
Developed several options for arming the tank "Rat", differing in caliber and the number of anti-aircraft guns. For example, modifications of a tank with anti-aircraft guns of 3,7-cm Flak 18/36 or 5,5-cm Gerat 58 were considered.

[rexby63]

Grote in general, in my opinion, set himself the goal in life of ruining the USSR and Germany.

[Denis]

Quote: rexby63

set a goal in life to ruin the USSR and Germany

Here it’s different, he’s like showing himself a half-dozen, but the rest ... well, not a bit

[xomaNN]

In the pre-war era, it was possible to frighten at adversary parades with a similar monster (with very great doubt about the practical feasibility of the project as a moving unit). Then all the European powers tried to build multi-tower tanks. And ours with T 28, T 35 were noted :) And for 43 years ... unless the engineer colonel really wanted to personally meet the leader.

[Megatron]

This topic is already a thousand times remusoline.

[Uhe]

It seems that Tukhachevsky was a big fan of such monsters. It is good that Pavlov himself was a more far-sighted military leader who promoted the T-34 and KV projects to the troops (which, however, did not save him from being shot for the failure of the first month of the war). And by the 42nd, Stalin was already in charge of the whole economy, and he knew very well in weapons, personally examined everything. Such disgrace would not have passed through him. The USSR won the war partly because the high command, led by Stalin, was much more far-sighted than the Nazis, so it was able to concentrate on the main thing, while the Germans made their miraculous weapons, spitting on the opinion of the military from the front, demanding to focus on spent T-3s and T-4, not raw T-5 and T-6. However, the T-6 was much worse, but all one - raw. Ours have been far-sighted, honing their tanks to the perfection of technology and low cost thereof.

[They <b>accompany you</b>]

everything is relative
What is a medium tank?
it is obvious that the intermediate link between the wedge heel and this monster
monster or not
270 tons - 30 people 9 tons per 1 person (60 tons 5 people 12 tons per person) and these are only tankmen + 50 people landing
it is clear that the design itself is a question but playing with numbers is interesting IMHO

[505506]

Graphomaniac delirium !!! And how many times is "I", "I" repeated. Close-minded but ambitious! By the way, in my opinion, this nonsense has already been posted on the site.