In the dead ends of evolution - experienced, experimental and limited-edition heavy tanks of Western countries (end)
Another country with enough industry to produce heavy tanks was France. Immediately after the liberation in 1944, French politicians decided to prove their not purely nominal participation in the anti-Hitler coalition. Since at that time in the Allied forces (western, it should be noted) there were no tanks equivalent to the Pz. VI Ausf. B Tiger-II, it was decided to develop and launch a similar vehicle as soon as possible. Work on the development of tanks was carried out even in occupied France, and after the liberation continued with renewed vigor. Many solutions and even components were borrowed from the heavy Char B1 tank, which, although it accelerated the design, could not be called a successful technical solution.
Received the designation ARL 44, the new car outwardly resembled a grotesque hybrid of a tank from the First World War and the German Tiger-B - the characteristic caterpillar covering the hull and the bulky hull were adjacent to the monolithic inclined frontal armor of the hull of considerable thickness and a welded elongated turret with a developed aft niche and a small frontal area. booking. A long-barreled 90mm cannon with an armor-piercing projectile muzzle velocity of 1000 m / s (created by Schneider on the basis of a naval anti-aircraft gun) completed the exterior. Although initially there was no armament for the tank, and it was supposed to use the British 17-pound cannon or the American 76mm M1A1 - it was with the 76mm gun that the first prototype was produced in 1946. The change in the composition of the armament led to the fact that 40 hulls produced by FAMH were placed in storage, and only in 1949 did they receive new turrets with 90mm guns. An additional 20 tanks were produced by Renault.
The tank had a classic layout, the power plant consisted of a German Maybach HL230 gasoline engine with an output of 575 hp. and the electric transmission was located at the rear. The fighting compartment is located in the middle of the hull and the command compartment is located in the front. The 120mm hull frontal armor with a 45 ° slope made the ARL 44 the most heavily armored French tank for a long time. Entering service in 1950, tanks began to be replaced by American M47s already in 1953.
For such a short service life, the tanks managed to take part in the parade once (in 1951), which was the only significant event in their careers. In everyday operation, the tanks showed themselves from the worst side, which was quite expected from such a hastily put into production a sample.
France made the next attempt to build a heavy tank already in March 1945, perfectly aware of all the shortcomings of the ARL 44. Project # 141 was presented by AMX, according to which two prototypes were ordered, which received the index "M 4". Initially, the tank belonged to the medium, and in its details the strong influence of German tanks, primarily the Panther and Tiger-B, was unmistakably guessed. The case as a whole was similar (if not more than), but slightly smaller. The characteristic undercarriage, with large diameter staggered road wheels, nine per side, was also easily recognizable. The initially accepted maximum armor thickness of 30mm was considered absolutely unacceptable, and in the final version, at the request of the military, the protection was significantly increased. At the same time, the traditional type tower was replaced by the recently designed FAHM swinging tower.
Built in 1949, the hull of the first prototype, now called the AMX50, received a new 100mm cannon in winter, designed by Arsenal de Tarbes. Soon the second prototype was completed, which also received a 100mm gun, but in a slightly modified turret. The mass of these prototypes was already 53.7 tons, but the developer continued to consider them "average". Selection of the required engine turned out to be a problem, since according to the initial plans, the tank was supposed to surpass all medium tanks existing at that time in speed. The German carburetor Maybach HL 295 and the Saurer diesel engine were tested. However, both of them were unable to accelerate the tank over 51 km / h (which is, in general, not a bad achievement for such a machine).
The next stage in the evolution of the project began in 1951, after the completion of preliminary tests of prototypes. In response to the Soviet IS-3 heavy tanks, it was decided to strengthen the armament by installing a 120mm gun, while simultaneously increasing the security again. To accommodate the gun, a huge tower of the usual type was designed, but later the project was redesigned for a swinging tower. As a result of all the changes made, the curb weight of the tank, now officially called "heavy", increased to 59 tons. The first of ten prototypes ordered by DEFA (Direction des Études et Fabrications d'Armement, the state weapon design bureau) was presented in 1953.
This was followed by the decision to reinforce the booking again, and the nose section, designated as "re-armored", was made in the manner of the IS-3, while "gaining weight" with up to 64 tons. Tests of the built prototype revealed numerous problems, primarily with the suspension, which also required reinforcement.
As a result, it was decided to radically redesign the project in order to create a "lowered" version, redesigning a new cast hull with a reduced height, and a different turret ("Tourelle D" - that is, the fourth model of the tower).
The work bore fruit, and the final prototype, which appeared in 1958, weighed only 57.8 tons. However, the problems with the engine were not completely resolved, and the estimated speed of 65 km / h was never demonstrated.
Since only five prototypes of AMX50 tanks were produced, it makes no sense to dwell on their device and tactical and technical characteristics in detail - they all differed from each other. In general, they all had a classic layout, with a front-mounted control compartment, a fighting compartment in the central part and aft location of the engine-transmission compartment (in contrast to the German tanks "Panther" and "Tiger-B", which had a transmission in the front part case). In addition to the main gun and the 7, 5mm machine gun paired with it, it was planned to install a wide variety of additional weapons - one or two 7, 5mm machine guns on the turrets, a pair of 7, 5mm machine guns and a 20mm MG-151/20 cannon, and an additional machine gun on the loader's hatch.
A copy of the latest version of the AMX 50 with a cast body and a 120mm gun is now on display at the tank museum in the French city of Saumur.
Brief tactical and technical characteristics of tanks:
ARL 44
Crew - 5 people.
Curb weight - 50 tons
Full length - 10, 53 meters
Width - 3.4 meters
Height - 3.2 meters
Maximum speed - 35 km / h
Cruising on the highway - 350 km
Armament:
90mm DCA45 rifled cannon, 50 rounds of unitary loading ammunition.
7.5mm stationary machine gun in the frontal armor of the hull and 7.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun with a total ammunition load of 5000 rounds
Reservation:
Body forehead - 120mm top
AMX 50 (final version with cast hull and "Tourelle D" turret)
Crew - 4 people
Curb weight - 57.8 tons
Full length - 9, 5 meters
Width - 3.58 meters
Height - 3.1 meters
Maximum speed - 65 km / h (estimated, actually reached - 51 km / h)
Armament:
120mm rifled gun, 46 rounds of ammunition
7.5mm coaxial and 7.5mm anti-aircraft machine guns
Reservation:
Body forehead - 80mm top
Board - 80mm
Tower - 85mm swinging frontal armor
