688 Object "Fable"
At the end of the 70-x - the beginning of the 80-s after analyzing the combat use of infantry fighting vehicles in Afghanistan, it became clear that the armor protection and firepower of the serial BMP-1 and BMP-2 are insufficient to perform combat tasks assigned to the machines of this class. This was the reason that the USSR Minister of Defense Industry was invited by Soviet engineers and designers to create a new machine that fully meets the requirements of the modern war. We can say that it began with this story creating a fundamentally new infantry fire support machine, known as the “688 object”.
Especially for the development of a new machine at SKB KMZ a group of young specialists was assembled under the leadership of one of the leading engineers V.A. Zinoviev. Due to the fact that the work on the project was not work towards the improvement of the BMP-1 and BMP-2 already in service with the Soviet Army, the main difficulty was to develop the layout scheme of the future BMP. According to the new technical requirements, the armored protection of the machine must withstand a direct hit to the frontal armor of small-caliber shells fired from guns mounted on Western BMP samples, the onboard armor had to withstand shelling from an 12,7-mm machine gun from any distance. And given the prospects for further modernization of their weapons. A significant increase in frontal armor posed a rather difficult task for designers, since the placement of the engine compartment, traditional for BMP, in front of the armor case, but not protected by thick armor plates, was balanced by combat and airborne units. This layout allows you to create machines capable of movement on water, that is, amphibians.
One of the prototypes of the future BMP-3 with a rendered armament complex, nicknamed "Mercedes", in the exposition of the BTVT museum in Kubinka
Right view of the uninhabited pilot tower of the future BMP-3. The 30-mm AG-17 automatic grenade launcher is clearly visible.
The option of displacement of the fighting compartment sharply reduced the combat effectiveness of the BMP (when firing at the course, the dead zone was too large) and made landing and landing difficult. Therefore, at the suggestion of the chief designer of SKB KMZ A.A. Blagonravova, it was decided to apply the layout scheme used to create tanks. However, here the stumbling block was the location of the engine. Initially, the engineer A.I. Nikonov, with a longitudinal arrangement of the power unit in the center of the stern of the armored hull, with the possibility of landing troops through the aisles along both sides. After the construction of the wooden model, it became clear that the width of the aisles (60 cm) was clearly insufficient for a quick landing or landing, even without full equipment. Then a wooden model was made with a transverse version of the engine arrangement, proposed by engineer E.M. Panfilov, who, along with the first layout, was presented for comparison and analysis of the mock commission created by A.A. Blagonravov. In the second sample, landing was carried out through one passage located above the engine. After familiarization with the mock-ups, a commission led by P.I. Kirichenko came to the conclusion that the transverse arrangement of the engine is more successful. It is P.I. In the future, Kirichenko made great efforts to keep the “object 688”, and then BMP-3, despite the collapse of the economy, general chaos and the incapacity of the country's leadership during the perestroika period, to continue to be issued and to join the troops.
BMP-3 "classic". It was in this form that the "688 object" in September 1987 was adopted by the USSR
By the beginning of the 80-ies, a prototype copy of the new machine was built, the “602 sample”, a characteristic feature of which was that all the weapons were installed in one unit and were located on the roof of the armored corps above the fighting compartment. The armament consisted of an 30-2 42-mm automatic gun, a 30-mm AG-17 automatic grenade launcher, a Konkurs anti-tank launcher, and a PKT machine gun coupled to the gun. Nevertheless, this sample was rejected by S.А. due to insufficient firepower. Zverev, then Minister of Defense Industry of the USSR. After a long search for a solution to the task of increasing firepower, the following model of BMP, the “7,62 sample”, was released, with more powerful weapons consisting of 603-mm guns connected in one block and a launcher (converted for the BMP tank gun D-100Т10С) the ability to launch ATGM "Bastion", 2-mm automatic cannon, one PKT machine gun 30-mm, paired with a gun, and two course-gun PKT, located on the sides of the front of the case. However, the 7,62-mm gun was too heavy for the machine, which, according to its requirements, must be able to swim. Therefore, one of the most talented gunsmiths, V.P. Gryazev. In a very short time, he created a new 7,62-mm gun - launcher, the weight of which amounted to only 100 kg, and the angle of vertical guidance increased to 100. He also created a more sophisticated 230-mm automatic cannon with increased accuracy and a new mechanism for ejection of spent cartridges on the “street” for the new BMP.
In September 1987, the “688 object” was adopted by the Soviet Army under the designation BMP-3 (classic). The armored body of the car was assembled from rolled armor plates by welding, with an embrasure in it for firing from a personal rifle weapons landing. A V-shaped 10-cylinder diesel engine UTD-29 with a capacity of 500 l was chosen as the power unit. with. The maximum speed on the highway was 70 km per hour (with a power reserve of up to 600 km), the speed of movement on water up to 10 km per hour.
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