Unusual tanks of Russia and the USSR. Mendeleev's tank

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Unusual tanks of Russia and the USSR. Mendeleev's tank


In this article we will talk about the first heavyweight project tankincluded in history as "Mendeleev's tank." Vasily Dmitrievich Mendeleev (1886 - 1922) developed the design of his super heavy tank in the 1911 year. Working at 1908 - 1916 as a designer at a shipyard, in his free time he thought about how to create such a machine that would be well-armored and invulnerable for gun and artillery fire, had crushing fire power and could fulfill any combat task . As we know, he was a naval engineer, and in his creation one can trace the basic concepts of the construction of ships of that time, in particular battleships.

On August 24, 1916, V. D. Mendeleev submitted the draft for consideration. It should be noted that the project was developed very carefully, to the smallest detail. The machine, according to the designer, resembled a land battleship rather than a tank familiar to our understanding. However, at that time, by analogy with the sea, tanks were called land fleet. The design of the tank, although the name of the self-propelled gun is more suitable for it, was a box-shaped hull 10 m long (length with a gun 13 m), 2.8 m high. Reservation: forehead 150 mm (solid plate), side, feed 100 mm (solid plate ), the roof is 76 mm (assembled from five cast plates), which was a very high rate at that time. Such armor could withstand a hit of 152 mm. The car was virtually invulnerable to anyone weapons At that time, for its destruction it would have taken a direct hit of at least an 305-mm projectile of a naval gun, here V.D. Mendeleev was the first engineer to use counter-booking. The running gear of the car was based on a pneumatic suspension of support rollers (onboard 6 small-diameter support rollers, 5 supporting and 4 guides, the upper rear wheels were leading), which allowed the car to change the ground clearance or even sink to the ground with heavy shelling to avoid damage to the undercarriage parts. It was also supposed to lower the hull to the ground to increase the accuracy of shooting. VD Mendeleev, taking into account the impressive weight of the car, provided for the chassis design the ability to move by rail by installing on special carts on wheels that could be driven by the engine of the car, allowing it to move by rail independently. The landing of a crew of eight (commander, mechanic, helmsman, gunner, machine gunner, three gunners) and loading of ammunition was carried out through the door, located in the aft armor.



The car also provided for internal lighting from the electrical system. The estimated mass of the machine is 172 tons, with a specific pressure on the ground no more than 2,7 kg / cm2. Estimated speed - 24 km per hour, when the power of the carburetor engine with water cooling in 250 horsepower. The engine was located in the rear part of the hull with a slight displacement to the left side, behind the fuel tanks located in the center of the armored hull, the tanks of which were enough for the vehicle to go 50 km without additional refueling. The tank had a mechanical transmission with a four-speed gearbox, 4 - forward, 1 - back. On the roof of the hull there was a rotating retractable machine-gun (one 7,62-mm Maxim machinegun) cylindrical turret with a circular firing sector, which in the stowed position was lowered inside the hull. The turret booking was 8 mm. The disadvantage of such a deployment was the presence of dead zones, but the project provided for loopholes in the sides of the vehicle for firing crew members from personal weapons. The main armament, the Koné 120-mm naval gun, was located in the front armor plate, with a swiveling armored cannon mask, which was one of the main features of the design, the angle of the horizontal pickup was 16 °. The shells were fed along a pneumatic suspension monorail, thereby significantly increasing the rate of fire of the gun. The Kone gun at that time had almost no indestructible targets. By all indications, it was a formidable and majestic war machine, which was on the shoulder the most difficult and dangerous missions. But the story of this project was over. Later, in the fall of 1916, V.D. Mendeleev again tried to present the design of his car, which had already been upgraded to the combat use of British tanks, but was not considered. There is almost no data about this project.



Although this project remained unfulfilled in reality, it was an important stage in the history of the development of tank building. Neither the project itself, nor its thorough elaboration interested the military department, it was not accepted for consideration and was put on the back burner, like many other similar projects.
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13 comments
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  1. makarov
    +1
    23 November 2013 08: 19
    Subsequently, analogs of the project were introduced in the form of the so-called. "Land cruisers" with a bunch of towers and turrets studded with guns and machine guns. Wasted a lot of money and a lot of time on gigantomania projects.
  2. +1
    23 November 2013 08: 54
    Estimated weight of the machine - 172 tons
    That would have killed the project, the bridges could not stand
    Yes, and engines capable of moving this then were not yet
    1. +1
      23 November 2013 13: 25
      Quote: Denis
      ... Yes, and engines capable of moving this then were not yet

      The engine was planned by the author from a submarine.
      Well, the tank itself was worth as one submarine.
  3. Jedi
    -2
    23 November 2013 10: 54
    "the project was carefully designed down to the smallest detail." wonderful tank !!! "tiger" is a dull shit compared to this super tank! and English "little villies" generally smoke nervously in the direction of the somma river ... the miracle worker Mendeleev was mistaken in one thing - it was necessary (in addition to the mass of 172 tons and armor of 150-100mm) to declare the speed of movement over rough terrain at 70 km per hour. then maybe the selection committee would not send him three funny letters with wishes to hangover and sleep it off ...
    1. +3
      23 November 2013 12: 38
      Quote: Jedi
      "the project was carefully designed down to the smallest detail." wonderful tank !!! "tiger" - dull shit compared to this super tank!

      lol Mdya A working machine, with similar armor and a cannon of equal caliber (only caliber, do not touch the ballistics wink ) appeared when tanks and self-propelled guns, drove around the globe, for about thirty years. True, it was anti-tank, weighed only 75,2 tons, was "raw" (to bring, still did not have time) and was called "Yagdtiger"
  4. +3
    23 November 2013 13: 30
    It was an interesting time for creativity. smile
    The author of the project not only thought about this tank in his spare time (as stated in the article). Mendeleev realized it completely in his free time from his main job, in four years. On the initiative.
  5. +5
    23 November 2013 13: 47
    in a man’s head worked I take off my hat before his work hi
  6. +2
    23 November 2013 14: 40
    what kind of tank projects were not invented at that time! good
  7. 0
    23 November 2013 22: 10
    Quote: starhina01
    in a man’s head worked I take off my hat before his work hi

    thinker with diverse interests - from chemistry to tank building! In our time, this is impossible
  8. bevatec
    -5
    24 November 2013 06: 52
    In vain, dad and his son carried out chemical experiments, apparently from childhood he sniffed all sorts of rubbish. To move from place and disperse 24 tons with a 172 l / s engine, a shitty engineer out of it to 250 km / h, and why take it on yourself at that time 86 tons of armor? Something very scary he dreamed of after dad's reagents.
    1. 0
      24 November 2013 12: 28
      Quote: Bevatec
      In vain, dad and his son carried out chemical experiments, apparently from childhood he sniffed all sorts of rubbish. To move from place and disperse 24 tons with a 172 l / s engine, a shitty engineer out of it to 250 km / h, and why take it on yourself at that time 86 tons of armor? Something very scary he dreamed of after dad's reagents.

      sorry, tank building and engine building were in their infancy at that time, different concepts were explored. British "diamond tanks", like all tanks of that time, were also far from ideal, even getting stuck in barbed wire. Their only advantage at that time was that there was practically no counter-weapon against them, except for artillery and the tanks themselves.
      1. 0
        24 November 2013 20: 11
        with rifles and machine guns made their way.
        Our General Staff even issued a manual on the fight against "tanks", which described in detail the methods of their destruction: from concentrated rifle and machine gun fire to grenades, land mines and artillery
  9. Jedi
    +1
    24 November 2013 08: 56
    Quote: BigRiver
    The author of the project not only thought about this tank in his spare time (as stated in the article). Mendeleev realized it completely in his free time from his main job, in four years. On the initiative.

    sorry, what does it mean "fully implemented" ??? he MADE a real working model in his shed and drove it around the village at a speed of 25 km per hour? and periodically fired from a cannon with a caliber of 150mm at the disgruntled and doubting peasants of his genius?
    1. 0
      24 November 2013 13: 45
      Quote: Jedi
      ... what does it mean "fully implemented" ??? he MADE a real working model in his shed and drove it around the village at a speed of 25 km per hour? and periodically fired from a cannon with a caliber of 150mm ...

      I agree. Better to formulate more precisely. Sorry if you are confused through my fault laughing
      I give it in this edition: "developed a project."
      The gun, by the way, is 120 mm.
      And it is customary to write “Kane”, not 'Kone. ”Well, this is for the author of the article.
  10. +1
    24 November 2013 11: 28
    In fact, the project is very interesting. Just as usual, the silence of the generals prevented him from developing and getting his own tanks into the troops (which would be called armored vehicles, not tanks, by the way =)).
    When adjusting to the mind, it was possible to reduce the mass, we could have thought of making inclined armor, etc.
    Well, and so, in fact, a lot of interesting things were laid down in the project, which was later implemented one way or another. The same air suspension.
    1. +3
      24 November 2013 11: 54
      Quote: hort
      Just as usual, the silence of the generals prevented him from developing and getting his own tanks into the troops

      Not only with us.
      The first project of an all-terrain armored fighting vehicle was developed by the captain of the French army Levasseur in 1903, but was not implemented. The project of a wheeled-tracked tank was presented in 1913 to the Austrian Ministry of War by Lieutenant G. Burshtyn. The draft was superimposed with the resolution "the man has gone mad"
  11. 0
    24 November 2013 20: 38
    Vasily Dmitrievich was a marine designer.
    He studied at the Kronstadt Marine Engineering School (shipbuilding department).
    Designed submarines and minefields.

    His talent is not disclosed. Died of typhoid ...

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