"Object 279". "Object 279" - Soviet experimental supertank: description

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

After the end of World War II, an arms race began. Already in August 1945, the first nuclear bombs fell. The inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki burned down in the radiation hell, and the superpowers began the active creation and production of atomic weapons and protection against them. What tasks were set for designers and scientists, we can only guess, but some projects have gained general fame. About some types of bombs, equipment, medical preparations became known from newspapers according to fragmentary information.

New weapons

Nuclear weapons have a large number of damaging factors, they had no analogues in the middle of the 20th century. In addition to the explosion itself and the huge temperatures that arise at the epicenter and turn metal into water, there was also a blast wave that collapsed houses and overturned any equipment, radiation burned out the eyes of all living things, an electromagnetic pulse burned out electronics, and penetrating radiation finished off everything that was still alive, even after many years.

Neither thick-walled bunkers, nor metal alloys, nor many meters of earth could reliably protect against the consequences of such an impact.

Tanks are notonly they are not afraid of dirt

Tank is an armored vehicle with caterpillar undercarriage, has a crew of 5 to 3 people. It overcomes impassability well, has weapons to destroy enemy vehicles and manpower. As the first tests showed, it is this type of equipment (especially if it was a heavy tank) that is most resistant to the effects of a nuclear explosion. The thickness of the armor and the mass made it possible to withstand the blast wave, partially protected from the electromagnetic pulse and radiation. The crew received enough life time to complete the combat mission. It sounds cruel, but in war the task is often valued more than the lives of people.

Number 279. The object and its history

In the USSR, the attitude to the development of military equipment was very interesting, the ministry issued the necessary performance characteristics, and the designers racked their brains over the task. In 1956, according to the same scenario, the USSR Ministry of Defense presented performance characteristics for a new tank. Frames were put up by weight of 50-60 tons and armament in the form of a 130-mm gun. The task was given to the design bureaus of the Leningrad Kirov Plant and the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. At that time, heavy Soviet tanks were represented by the following line: IS-2, IS-3, IS-4, T-10. None of them met the requirements of the times. There was nothing to oppose NATO tanks. Only the T-10 (after the modification of the T-10M) became a worthy rival to the American M103 and the British Conqueror. Several projects of that time are known, such as "Object 770", "Object 279", "Object 277".

Unlike other competitors in the place of the main heavy tank, "Object 279" was a completely new project, and not a reworking and improvement of the old ones. L. S. Troyanov from the Leningrad Design Bureau led the work on project 279. The object was designed for combat operations in difficult terrain and with the use of nuclear weapons.

Technical characteristics of "Object 279"

The tank "Object 279" had a standard layout with 11.5 cu. m under armor and a crew of 4 people. The armor for its time was the most perfect and not penetrated even at close range. The frontal armor was 192 mm, inclined by 60 degrees and had a turn angle of 45 degrees, so the reduced thickness of the armor reached half a meter. The hull consists of four massive parts, the tower is one-piece, in the form of a hemisphere, flattened, had a uniform armor belt, the reduced thickness reached 800 mm. This was a record level of protection without a combined booking.

The 130-mm M-65 rifled gun and the KPVT paired with it were in service. The M-65 had a slotted muzzle brake, an ejector, and compressed air purging the barrel. An armor-piercing tracer projectile leaves such a gun at a speed of 1000 m/s, muzzle energy is 1.5 times higher than modern 120-125-mm smoothbore guns, it was really a Soviet experimental supertank. "Object 279" also had a semi-automatic cassette-loading, which brought the rate of fire to 5-7 shots per minute. Unfortunately, there is little room for ammunition: only 24 rounds and 300machine gun ammo.

The systems for conducting and controlling fire, as well as night and conventional sights, were the most advanced, on serial vehicles such appeared only at the end of the 60s.

Heavy tank on the highway developed a speed of up to 50-55 km/h, and the cruising range was 250-300 km. The chassis was unparalleled. Instead of two tracks, this tank had four, the rollers were distributed in such a way that there was virtually no ground clearance, the weight on the bearing area was so small that there was no possibility of landing on the ground.

In addition to armor, armament and engine, the tank had the best protection systems against radiation, chemical and biological hazards. There were also fire extinguishing systems and thermal smoke equipment.

Testing "Object 279"

In 1959, the tank code number 279 was tested. The object did not perform well. Were identified shortcomings in the chassis. The car turned out to be clumsy, the speed dropped sharply on viscous soils. Repair and maintenance of such equipment is very difficult. It became clear that "Object 279" will not go into series, it was the most expensive and too highly specialized project. Its place was to be taken by "Object 277" or "Object 770".

The end of the development of heavy tanks was put by N. S. Khrushchev, when, after the demonstration of military equipment in 1960, he banned the adoption of tanks heavier than 37 tons. But, thanks to this, until the appearance of the T-80U, the experimental supertank "Object 279 "was the most powerful in the world. Now the only survivinga copy is in the BTVT museum in Kubinka.

War strategy

After the end of the Second World War, the tactics of warfare and, in general, the strategy of war have changed a lot. It became clear that with the modern development of fortifications, it is possible to break through a well-placed defense only with a lot of blood. The history of Soviet tanks and weapons clearly shows this. The Soviet Union had several sapper armies, which in a short time turned any piece of land into impenetrable territory. Leningrad is a prime example. From history, only the Brusilovsky breakthrough stands out for its effectiveness and relatively small losses. Soviet troops in Finland surprised everyone, in difficult weather conditions, when the snowdrifts were overhead, there was a swamp under the snow, and the frost was such that food turns to stone, they still pushed through the defenses. After these events, the release of special concrete-piercing shells was launched to break through the defense structures.

The advent of nuclear weapons has changed tactics. Thoughts began to appear that it was not necessary to break through the defense with equipment or manpower. In the place of the greatest concentration of protective structures, a nuclear charge explodes, troops in chemical protection equipment rush into the resulting breakthrough. The supertank "Object 279" was very suitable for such purposes. The logic is clear, but at that time the countries did not have enough experience in dealing with nuclear energy.

Nuclear testing

Nuclear testing began with US bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. America showed its strength and threwcall. The Soviet Union could not but react. After the war, a number of institutions were established to deal with the issue of creating a nuclear bomb. I. V. Kurchatov was the main one in this matter. It was thanks to him that the USSR received its nuclear shield and developed infrastructure for the use of atomic energy. America has ceased to be a leader in this matter, and a possible third world war has remained only cold.

Totsky polygon

Perhaps the worst nuclear weapons tests in the USSR were carried out at the Totsk test site on September 14, 1954. In the early 1950s, the United States conducted its nuclear weapons tests during military exercises, and the political leadership of the union decided to follow suit. Perhaps even then there was an idea about the Soviet experimental supertank. "Object 279" is just one of those known to us.

Initially, the exercises were going to be held at the Kapustin Yar training ground, but Totsky was higher in terms of security parameters. The exercises were called "Snowball", and they were conducted by Marshal Georgy Zhukov. In the spring, large-scale preparations for them began, including the evacuation of residents of nearby villages.

Observers from different countries arrived at the exercises, and marshals of war from the Union: Rokossovsky, Malinovsky, Konev, Bagramyan, Vasilevsky, Timoshenko, Budyonny, Voroshilov. There was also the Minister of Defense Bulganin and, of course, the first secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU Nikita Khrushchev.

A whole city was built at the test site, live animals were left at different points in order to learn from them later about the consequences of a nuclear explosion. Evil tongues claim that there were also prisoners sentenced to death. Aroundthe makeshift city had defensive fortifications, and troops waited in the wings beyond their borders.

The pilots who dropped the bomb received awards and early ranks. And what awaited the soldiers? After the explosion, the troops rushed into the affected area. At that time, the shock wave was considered the main damaging factor, and people did not have special protection against radiation.

There were all kinds of ground equipment at the training ground: trucks, artillery, escort vehicles and, of course, Soviet tanks. Also, 45 thousand military personnel took part. Most of them died in the next 10-15 years. The exercise was labeled "top secret". By 2004, 378 people survived from the participants in the Orenburg region.

During the exercise, the wind changed its direction and carried the cloud towards the city. Residents of seven districts of the Orenburg region were exposed to radiation to varying degrees. What conclusions were drawn from this in the Soviet Union, one can only guess, but the tests did not stop there, and a year and a half later, an order was received for a new tank - “Object 279”.

Unrealized projects

Unfortunately, the heavy tank "Object 279" remained only a project and a museum exhibit. In general, there are many such projects. The famous game World of Tanks made many of them well-known. For example, the German Maus, the heaviest tank of World War II. Two copies were created, none of them participated in the battles, and only one of them could move. Now in the Russian museum there is Maus, assembled from the usable parts of two tanks.

Such projects are amazing, they are very ambitious, violating the accepted foundations, but either the high cost or the simply unviability of the machine dooms them to a museum existence. However, they do their job, on their basis they create new and more successful options.

The plot for the post-apocalypse

In the well-known and already international series of books "Metro 2033" there are various military equipment: "Tigers", "Wolves", the T-95 tank, the BTR-82 and even the tank support vehicle "Terminator". Supertank "Object-279" optimally fits into the criteria of the post-apocalyptic world, it has a unique maneuverability and radiation protection systems. It's only a matter of time which of the writers will include such a twist in their story, and there is only one "Object 279".

Modern technology

Modern combat vehicles must be protected from radiation and chemical exposure. If there are no filters, then at least the cabin is sealed. Full protection will raise the cost of equipment several times. Everyone understands that gas masks, anti-rad pills, OZK, armor thickness and cabin sealing in real combat conditions will only prolong the life of the crew, but will not hide from the consequences. But when Russia is behind and there is nowhere to retreat, this is enough.