Tank competence center
38th Scientific Research Testing Order of the October Revolution Red Banner Institute named after Marshal of armored forces Fedorenko, or simply NIBT "Polygon", was transferred from Kubinka near Moscow to Kazan in the fall of 1941. The capital of the Tatar ASSR, as you know, has long been involved in work on tank topics. So the evacuated institute was placed in the buildings of the former "Technical Courses of Osoaviakhim", or the "Kama" school, which has been training tankers since the early 1920s. By the beginning of the war, the country's largest tank school already existed in Kazan, which was later supplemented by a training center for British tanks Valentine and Matilda. The list of tank assets does not end there: Rebase No. 8 was transferred from Kiev, which later became a plant for the restoration of captured equipment. Until mid-1944, the tank repair plant restored about 640 enemy tanks, and in 1943, 349 armored vehicles at once. Over time, this enterprise mastered the restoration of the wrecked "Tigers" and "Panthers".
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The first comparative study of armored vehicles by NIBT specialists was sea trials of the T-34, Pz. Kpfw. III, Matilda III and Valentine II. At the new location, it was only possible to start research on January 27, 1942, although the corresponding directive of the General Staff came back in December. The German side in this armored four was represented by a tank lost by the Wehrmacht back in July 1941 (then the 18th Panzer Division left the equipment on the battlefield). During the tests, the T-34 proved its superiority in cross-country ability both on virgin snow and in overcoming anti-tank ditches.
By the summer of 1942, the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army ordered special tests of imported and captured tanks, which will be discussed in this article.
The report signed by the head of the 1st department of the "Polygon" Colonel-Engineer Alexander Maksimovich Sych at the end of July includes the following tanks (names from the original 1942 in parentheses): Medium Tank M3 1941 (American M-3 medium tank), Light Tank M3 1941 (American M-3 light tank), Valentine VII 1942 (Canadian Mk-III Valentine VII tank), 1940 Pz. Kpfw. III (German T-III tank) and Pz. Kpfw. 38 (t) Ausf. E 1939 (Czechoslovakian tank "Prague" TNG-S "38t). The last armored vehicle fell into the hands of the Red Army in August 1941 in the battle for Krapivino. The captured tanks were repaired in the workshops of the institute before testing. There was also an idea to test the British Mk-III Valentine tanks with the AEC A190 engine and the Mk-IIa with the Leyland engine, but there were no serviceable vehicles at the test site.
Who is the best?
The test program included a mandatory mileage of at least 1000 kilometers for each tank in various road conditions. In the process, the maximum speed of movement, fuel consumption, geometric cross-country ability and the ability to overcome a swamp and a water obstacle were determined. The tanks were supposed to ply along the highway on the Kazan-Laishevo section, along country roads, as well as through plowing, meadows and wet sand. The most interesting thing is that only imported tanks were able to meet the mileage standard and even surpass it, and the Light Tank M3 turned out to be the record holder - 2020 kilometers. The Wehrmacht vehicles left the race much earlier due to breakdowns.
Fuel quality was regulated separately. Since the Canadian Valentine VII arrived in Kazan with a GMC 6-71 two-stroke diesel engine, it was the only one prescribed diesel fuel. And with the "Americans" there were difficulties. High-octane gasoline was not available, so B-70 was used, and tetraethyl lead or a TPP additive had to fight the inevitable detonation. For each kilogram of fuel, 1 cm was added to the Light Tank M3 gas tank.3 additives, and for a Medium Tank M3 the TPP needed three times more gasoline for the same mass. Captured tanks did not rely on additives, and they ran on a standard B-70. In principle, the technical operating conditions allowed the use of fuel with an octane rating of 72-74 on the Wehrmacht vehicles, while the "Americans" demanded 80th gasoline.
The fastest, as expected, was a light American tank (250 hp for 12, 7 tons), which was able to reach 60 km / h on a cobblestone highway. Canadian Valentine VII with its 180 HP with. with a mass of 17 tons, it failed the tests - the maximum speed is only 26 km / h. There was no worse result. It is noteworthy that the testers, in spite of the tank's frank slow speed, curtsey in its direction, noting the relatively high average speed. The explanation is simple: good throttle response of the diesel engine and well-matched gears in the gearbox. Surprised everyone with the T-III, which accelerated to 45 km / h, which exceeded the passport data.
One could not blame the tested tanks for their modest appetites for fuel. The 27-ton Medium Tank M3 off-road (arable land, meadows and wet sand) showed an astonishing 570 liters per 100 kilometers! And this is the consumption of high-octane for those times, almost aviation gasoline. Naturally, the tank's range in such conditions was scanty - only 117 kilometers. The diesel "Canadian" used the least of all in such conditions - only 190 liters of cheap diesel fuel, but due to the 180-liter tank, the power reserve did not exceed 95 kilometers. The German tank had a similar power reserve on arable land, but the gas mileage was already 335 liters per 100 km. It was easier for the Czech "Prague" to fight in this sense: the fuel consumption is 185 l / 100 km and the cruising range is 108 km.
The Kazan Agricultural Institute became a testing ground for tank climbing and lateral rolls. This once again says that the "Polygon" did not have a specially prepared site for full-fledged research of armored vehicles. Nevertheless, the engineers managed to identify the geometric parameters of the cross-country ability of imported and captured tanks. Briefly about the conditions of the experiment. On natural slopes, the ground was covered with turf, the tanks entered it from a place without acceleration and in first gear. The test for the critical roll of the car was not static, but in motion. It turned out that the T-III climbs the best (slope of 35 degrees), and the worst of all the "Americans" and the Czech Pz. Kpfw.38 (t) (30 degrees each). The Valentine VII ended up in the middle and managed to overcome the 32-degree climb. The limiting factor in all cases was the low traction of the tracks with the ground: the capabilities of the engine and transmission made it possible to take steep slopes. The tanks slid at critical angles, while the road wheels ran into the ridges of the tracks. During the tests, I had to do a little magic with the light American M3: 15 special spurs were attached to the tracks. However, this did not lead to anything, but only caused the rear of the tank to burrow into the ground. By the way, a light tank from the United States, the only one of the test subjects, did not drop its tracks during lateral roll, but intended to roll over. As a result, the best roll result is 35 degrees, the rest (except for the T-III) got rid of the tracks already at a 25-26-degree slope. The German tank held up to 32 degrees.
Water and swamp tests
There was no special water ford in Kazan for testing the patency of tanks. Largely due to the unpreparedness of the Kazan site, NIBT "Polygon" in 1943 moved back to Kubinka. But in the summer of 1942, tanks crossed the Mesha River in the vicinity of the village of Sokura. The depth of the river was 1, 4 meters, cars crossed it on the move at maximum engine speed. The Medium Tank M3 was the first to go wrong when it dashingly crossed the river, but at the exit it flooded the engine compartment and drank water with an air intake located vertically in the stern leaf. A light tank from the United States managed to do everything much better than its older brother - he got ashore himself (albeit on the second attempt), and also did not take water into the engine. In the light M3, air intake is carried out in the vertical stern leaf, which saves when going ashore. The Canadian Valentine VII 1 crossed the 4-meter river easily, but could not climb the muddy bank. The driver backed up, and river water flooded the engine compartment of the tank above the level of the air cleaner. The tank was pulled out with the Voroshilovets tractor. Despite the failure, the engineers again praised the tank for its high speed in the river due to the throttle response of the diesel engine. When the turn came to the trophy T-III and "Prague", they did not even reach the shore: at a depth of 1, 3 meters, the water flooded the motors. One can only sympathize with the testers. The flooded tanks had to be evacuated, disassembled the engine, pour out water from the air cleaner, intake manifold and cylinders, dry electrical equipment, change the oil in the engine and lubricate the chassis.
The testers had to look for a swamp for tanks in the area of the villages of Boriskovo and Bolshie Otary. It turned out to be an old river bed 100 meters long and 1.2 meters deep, which, however, was quite passable for humans. They guessed the weather very well - it was raining for a day before the arrival. The tanks crossed the obstacle in a straight line back and forth, without changing gears. The 27-ton medium M3 got stuck after 30 meters, they tried to extract it with a log, but they broke the track and pulled it out with two tractors. The light M3 turned out to be a fine fellow and overcame the swamp back and forth in a fresh place, but when the testers drove it into the swamp in their own trail, it got stuck. The Valentine VII successfully completed the mission, but stalled while following its trail, but climbed out of the swamp with the help of a log. The T-III passed 50 meters and was hopelessly stuck, unlike its brother Pz. Kpfw.38 (t), which ran back and forth through the swamp.
In the final comparison, the testers noted the inconsistency of the parameters of the presented tanks, but highlighted the American vehicles for their high reliability and the ability of the average M3 to carry 10 soldiers with machine guns. The trophy cars, however, did not show themselves in any special way, at the same time they frankly failed the water procedures and finally went out of order even before overcoming 1000 kilometers.
