Unusual tanks of Russia and the USSR. МХТ-1 (mortar chemical tank)
In the 30-s of the twentieth century in the USSR, in addition to work on the development, creation of new types of machines, research was also carried out in the field of installation on the existing production models of the most diverse weapons, from flamethrowers and mortars to heavy 122-mm mortars. The idea of equipping tanks not only with cannon or machine-gun armament, but also with various other types of armaments, has interested designers since the very beginning of the appearance of tanks as combat vehicles. Experiments on the installation of mortars on the tank were conducted during the First World War in all developed countries. One of the first samples of this type of machine can be considered an experienced English heavy tank Mk IV "Tadpole", on which, on a platform specially created in the rear of the hull, in 1917 An 87,2-mm Stokes mortar was installed. As is known, almost half of the losses in manpower during the war were losses from the defeat by mortar fire. This was taken into account by all military engineers and designers who created and improved this type of weapon. In this article we will consider one of these projects, namely the tank MXT-1 - the mortar chemical tank, or self-propelled mortar. The experienced and the only copy of this tank was built on the basis of the light twin-turbo T-26 tank of the 1931 model of the year already produced by the Soviet industry. Which, in turn, was created on the basis of the British Vickers bought a six-ton. For its time, it was a good machine with acceptable combat and driving performance, but not having gun armament. However, with the high rates of development of anti-tank artillery by the end of the 30's, the T-26 tank was hopelessly outdated, the troops understood this, and military engineers often attempted to find this tank more rational use.
The mortar chemical tank was designed and created by the engineer of the 6th mechanized brigade Ptitsyn (unfortunately, his name was not preserved in the archives) with the support of the brigade commander Gennady Ivanovich Brynkov, chief of the chemical forces of the Trans-Baikal Military District. The T-26 serial tank in the repair shops of the brigade was re-equipped and re-equipped, the left machine gun turret was removed from it, the turret box was modified and modified so that a mortar could be installed inside the hull, the chassis of the tank and the right turret were left unchanged. The armament of the tank was the KhM-107 mortar of the 1931 model (modernized MS-107 mortar or the Stokes mortar), some sources mention the 107-mm KhM-4 mortar, also of the 1931 model (XM chemical mortar), designed according to the imaginary triangle scheme ( two links, three hinges), firing eight-mine mines weighing from 6.5 kg to 7.2 kg at a distance of more than 2000 meters, equipped with chemical warfare agents, smoke or conventional high-explosive. In the stowed position, the mortar compartment of the machine was closed with multilayer shields aviation plywood. The armament of the right turret remained the same, the “native” 7,62 mm DT-29 tank machine gun in the ball mount, which made it possible to reliably protect the tank in the event of an attack by enemy infantry. The crew consisted of three people, a commander (aka a tower shooter), a driver and a mortar man. In fact, it was a self-propelled mortar, mobile and well-protected. In July 1935, a prototype test was carried out, shooting was carried out both on the move and at stops, the machine showed good results and was the best suited for combat operations in the mountains and in wooded areas. However, the proposal to take the machine into service and launch it into mass production was not considered, the tank remained in stories tank design only as a prototype. Information about the future of this unusual project has not been preserved, just as the experienced prototype of this tank itself has not been preserved.
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