292 object, caliber 152,4 mm
One of the main combat tasks of modern tank is a guaranteed defeat not only of already existing models of armored vehicles of a potential enemy, but also those that, given the prospect of modernization, may appear in the near future. Increasing the power of the main armament of an armored car is one way to solve this problem. Towards the end of the 80s of the last century, prerequisites appeared that suggested that the USSR began to lose its position as a leader in world tank building powers, therefore, engineers and tank designers of the Soviet Union, realizing the need to increase the firepower of domestic tanks produced in series, were actively looking for various opportunities for them modernization and improvement. In addition to work on creating machines with an uninhabited tower, work was carried out all over the world in the direction of installing high-powered guns in an inhabited tower.
The development of a new main battle tank, designated the “292 object”, is a prime example of advancing design thinking in this direction. “Object-292” was created by a group of Soviet engineers of the design bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant (now JSC “Spetsmash”) together with scientists and engineers of the VNII “Transmash”. The general management of the work was carried out by the general designer N.S. Popov, A.K. Dziavgo, it was he who later will tell you that originally it was planned to install an 152,4-mm rifled gun on a tank. The ballistic performance of the 152,4-mm guns was better than that of the 125-mm, but its dimensions did not allow it to be installed in the “native” T-80 tower. From his statement: “We agreed with the director of the Petrel Research Institute (the Petrel Research Institute) (it was in this Central Research Institute that work was carried out to create a rifled gun) N.N. Khudkov on the implementation of ideas for the development of six-inch rifled gun caliber 152,4 mm. We liked this idea not only because it is one of the main calibers of land and naval artillery, and, therefore, in the future highly unified, but also because it made it possible to use a projectile of increased power to fight tanks, helicopters and infantry . But soon it was necessary to correct the intended plan - the supporters of the smooth-bore cannon “won” ... ”. It can be added that another reason for which it was decided to abandon the rifled gun in favor of a smooth-bore gun was the fact that after the collapse of the USSR all the funding aimed at its creation was discontinued.
The first and only copy of the OBT "Object-292" was built in September 1990. The prototype was a machine created on the basis of the T-80U tank chassis (undercarriage, body booking, individual torsion bar suspension design - everything was left unchanged). In fact, it was a T-80U with a new, specially designed turret installed, capable of holding a 152,4-mm cannon. Also from the T-80U "Object-292" differed in the design of the fighting compartment. A characteristic feature of the new design was the thoughtful location of the ammunition, it was placed in a special turret niche, which reduced the risk of detonation of the ammunition during the penetration of the frontal armor of the tower. In 1991, the new tank was tested at the Rzhevsky range, and, according to experts, the car showed excellent fighting qualities. This showed that the idea of installing an 152,4 mm tank on a tank is a quite feasible task and has the right to continue to exist.
All work was carried out under the direction of General Designer N.S. Popov. His deputy, twice State Prize winner A.K. Dziavgo, said: “We agreed with the director of the Central Research Institute Nikolai Nikolayevich Khudkov on the implementation of the idea of developing a six-inch rifled gun with 152,4 mm caliber. We liked this idea not only because it is one of the main calibers of land and naval artillery, and, therefore, in the future highly unified, but also because it made it possible to use a projectile of increased power to fight tanks, helicopters and infantry . But soon it was necessary to correct the intended plan - the supporters of the smooth-bore cannon “won”. However, this only increased the pace of work. ”
The creation of a sample of a tank armed with a cannon more than 125 mm refuted the existing opinion that the 140 mm limit for tank guns, after which insurmountable obstacles in the form of low survivability and plastic deformation of the barrel arise. In addition to the cannon, it was allegedly planned to install one 7,62-mm machine gun and ATGM on the tank. However, due to subsequent events in the USSR, then the “Object-292” events were never brought to adoption and launch into mass production, remaining in a single copy. It is difficult to say now what the further fate of this unusual tank would be if the Soviet Union had not collapsed and the work on the project had been brought to its logical conclusion. But it can be argued that the majority of the results obtained during its creation will be seen in future samples of both domestic and foreign tank building. "Object-292", in essence, is a transitional model in the process of creating a fourth-generation tank.
The development of a new main battle tank, designated the “292 object”, is a prime example of advancing design thinking in this direction. “Object-292” was created by a group of Soviet engineers of the design bureau of the Leningrad Kirov Plant (now JSC “Spetsmash”) together with scientists and engineers of the VNII “Transmash”. The general management of the work was carried out by the general designer N.S. Popov, A.K. Dziavgo, it was he who later will tell you that originally it was planned to install an 152,4-mm rifled gun on a tank. The ballistic performance of the 152,4-mm guns was better than that of the 125-mm, but its dimensions did not allow it to be installed in the “native” T-80 tower. From his statement: “We agreed with the director of the Petrel Research Institute (the Petrel Research Institute) (it was in this Central Research Institute that work was carried out to create a rifled gun) N.N. Khudkov on the implementation of ideas for the development of six-inch rifled gun caliber 152,4 mm. We liked this idea not only because it is one of the main calibers of land and naval artillery, and, therefore, in the future highly unified, but also because it made it possible to use a projectile of increased power to fight tanks, helicopters and infantry . But soon it was necessary to correct the intended plan - the supporters of the smooth-bore cannon “won” ... ”. It can be added that another reason for which it was decided to abandon the rifled gun in favor of a smooth-bore gun was the fact that after the collapse of the USSR all the funding aimed at its creation was discontinued.
The first and only copy of the OBT "Object-292" was built in September 1990. The prototype was a machine created on the basis of the T-80U tank chassis (undercarriage, body booking, individual torsion bar suspension design - everything was left unchanged). In fact, it was a T-80U with a new, specially designed turret installed, capable of holding a 152,4-mm cannon. Also from the T-80U "Object-292" differed in the design of the fighting compartment. A characteristic feature of the new design was the thoughtful location of the ammunition, it was placed in a special turret niche, which reduced the risk of detonation of the ammunition during the penetration of the frontal armor of the tower. In 1991, the new tank was tested at the Rzhevsky range, and, according to experts, the car showed excellent fighting qualities. This showed that the idea of installing an 152,4 mm tank on a tank is a quite feasible task and has the right to continue to exist.
All work was carried out under the direction of General Designer N.S. Popov. His deputy, twice State Prize winner A.K. Dziavgo, said: “We agreed with the director of the Central Research Institute Nikolai Nikolayevich Khudkov on the implementation of the idea of developing a six-inch rifled gun with 152,4 mm caliber. We liked this idea not only because it is one of the main calibers of land and naval artillery, and, therefore, in the future highly unified, but also because it made it possible to use a projectile of increased power to fight tanks, helicopters and infantry . But soon it was necessary to correct the intended plan - the supporters of the smooth-bore cannon “won”. However, this only increased the pace of work. ”
The creation of a sample of a tank armed with a cannon more than 125 mm refuted the existing opinion that the 140 mm limit for tank guns, after which insurmountable obstacles in the form of low survivability and plastic deformation of the barrel arise. In addition to the cannon, it was allegedly planned to install one 7,62-mm machine gun and ATGM on the tank. However, due to subsequent events in the USSR, then the “Object-292” events were never brought to adoption and launch into mass production, remaining in a single copy. It is difficult to say now what the further fate of this unusual tank would be if the Soviet Union had not collapsed and the work on the project had been brought to its logical conclusion. But it can be argued that the majority of the results obtained during its creation will be seen in future samples of both domestic and foreign tank building. "Object-292", in essence, is a transitional model in the process of creating a fourth-generation tank.
Information