The T-10 heavy tank is the last but not the least
The initial impetus for the development of a new heavy tank was the fact that by the end of the 40s of the last century three types of tanks of this class were in service with the Soviet Army - the IS-2M, IS-3 and IS-4, but none of them met all the requirements of the military and all of them have already been discontinued. Therefore, by the end of 1948, a technical assignment for the design of a heavy tank was developed at the GBTU, and the design bureau of the Chelyabinsk plant was selected as a developer, Zh. Kotin was appointed chief designer. The Object 730 was supposed to be equipped with a chassis similar to the IS-4, but the hull shape was borrowed from the IS-3 for some unknown reason. The upper limit of the mass of the equipped tank was determined at 50 tons.
the first prototype of the T-10 tank.
The preliminary design was completed by April 1949, and a life-size wooden model was built in May. The tank had seven road wheels per side, and the characteristic pike nose hull inherited from the IS-3. Construction of a prototype of the Object 730, which was supposed to be called the IS-5, began immediately. Having successfully passed factory tests, the prototype became the basis for an installation batch of 10 tanks, which entered testing in the same 1949 year. Two stages were successfully completed, and in April-May 1950, the stage of state tests began at the NIBT test site in Kubinka. In general, the commission, based on the test results, assessed the tank positively, recommending it for serial production, after completing the elimination of the identified deficiencies (mainly for logistics). In addition, in the summer, tests were carried out for a guaranteed resource, and military tests followed in the fall. However, the volume of improvements was great, the tank was constantly being improved and changed. The resulting tank was so different from the prototype that the name was successively changed to IS-6, then IS-8, IS-9 and finally IS-10 (some sources indicate that the tank originally had the IS-8 index). The changes required verification, and therefore the tank underwent all new factory, control and state tests. Dented the sad experience of adopting incompletely finished machines, and the customer and the developer carefully checked all the implemented solutions and changes. Even in the context of the escalation of the Cold War and the conflict in Korea (which could easily turn the cold phase into a very hot one - nuclear), every month spent on meticulous tests saved millions of rubles in the future, thousands of man-hours on repairs and possibly saved the lives of crews … As a result, the fine-tuning dragged on until December 1952, and mass production was scheduled for the spring of 1953. But due to the death of I. V., Stalin and the subsequent reshuffle of leaders of different ranks, the adoption of the Soviet Army was delayed - the first serial tanks left the plant only by the end of the year. At the same time, the name of the tank was changed from the IS-10 to the modest T-10.
heavy tank T-10
Already after the start of mass production, in 1954, a version of the D-25TS gun, equipped with the PUOT-1 "Uragan", was developed and brought to a vertical stabilization. At the Leningrad Kirov Plant, a prototype "Object 267 sp.1" was built to test this weapon, the tank was additionally equipped with a new gyro-stabilized sight TPS-1, upon completion of tests, the tank was put into service in the fall of 1955 under the designation T-10A ("Object 731"). The new installation of the gun and its drives required a slight change in the shape of the turret in the embrasure area and the gun mask; in addition, the gun barrel was equipped with an ejection device to reduce the gas contamination of the fighting compartment. The vertical guidance mechanism and the galvanic shock device of the shutter were modernized (before that the trigger was only mechanical). In parallel with the "Object 267 sp.1" was tested and "Object 267 sp.2", with a two-plane stabilizer, but this version was brought later, and its adoption took place in 1957 under the designation T-10B. In addition to the PUOT-2 "Thunder", the tank is equipped with a T2S-29-14 sight, otherwise no changes were introduced. In this case, it is extremely important to note that new modifications of the tank appeared due to the development of new, more advanced types of weapons and equipment, and not to "pull" it to the original tactical and technical requirements of the customer, as it happened with previous heavy tanks - the stake is on long-term, but thorough testing before being put into service fully paid off.
heavy tank T-10A
At this time, the design bureau of the Perm plant No. 172 created a new 122mm gun M-62-T2 (2A17) with a high initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile - 950 m / s. Equipped with a two-plane stabilizer 2E12 "Liven", the gun has been tested since 1955 on various experimental machines. The next stage of the modernization of the tank did not stop only at the replacement of the main armament, the large-caliber machine guns DShKM caliber 12.7mm were replaced by 14.5mm KPVT (both paired and anti-aircraft), while the ammunition load was reduced to 744 cartridges, with the same number of shells (30 pieces). The tank also received a full set of night vision devices - commander's TKN-1T, gunner TPN-1-29-14 ("Luna II") and driver-mechanic TVN-2T, for which infrared searchlights were equipped. The shape of the tower has changed again, and in addition a spare parts box has appeared in its stern. The engine was replaced by a V-12-6, boosted to 750 hp.
one of the first T-10M tanks
Created on the basis of the experimental "Object 272" in mass production, the tank was named T-10M, becoming the last modification of the family. But in the course of production, various changes were made, for example, the 8-speed gearbox was replaced by a 6-speed one, in 1963, an OPVT was added to overcome fords up to 5 meters deep, since 1967, sub-caliber and cumulative projectiles have been introduced into the ammunition load. Serial production of the tank was discontinued in 1966, the author could not find exact data on the number of vehicles produced - Western estimates of 8000 tanks produced are not credible, domestic authors indicate "more than 2500", which is most likely an underestimate. In any case, the T-10 tank is without a doubt the most massive post-war heavy tank, and possibly the most massive heavy tank in the history of tank building in the world. High operational characteristics and timely modernization allowed it to be in service for 40 years - the order to withdraw from service was given only in 1993! The tank was not exported to other ATS countries, and did not participate in hostilities (except for the operation "Danube" to bring Warsaw Pact troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968).
heavy tank T-10M (the embrasures of the day and night sights are clearly visible).
The T-10 tank became the evolutionary peak of the Soviet concept of a heavy tank - compact and relatively light, designed primarily for breaking powerful defenses (a significant part of them were in service with the GSVG), while the task of fighting tanks was relegated to the background. The armor provided sufficient protection against the armor-piercing shells available at the beginning of the 50s, but the rapid development in the 50s and 60s of the last century, cumulative shells and missiles nullified the advantages of heavy tanks over medium ones, and fundamentally different approaches were required to counter them. Like many other types of equipment that were born during the transition period, the T-10 received a very ambiguous assessment of both contemporaries and historians of armored vehicles - on the one hand, one cannot fail to note the high security, mobility and firepower of the tank, which surpasses the average T-54/55, but the appearance of the T-62 with a smooth-bore 115mm cannon and not much inferior in protection has narrowed the gap (again increased with the adoption of the T-10M). At the same time, it became clear that a fundamentally new tank was required, a single tank - the main battle tank, which would combine the mobility, security and armament of heavy and medium ones, surpassing them all. Even after all the upgrades, the T-10 could not meet the new requirements, and as the T-64 and T-72 arrived, it was put into long-term storage awaiting disposal.
heavy tank T-10M (to the right of the gun - IR searchlight of the night sight).
And in conclusion, I would like to note such a rare role of the last heavy tank of the USSR as … the firing unit of an armored train! Yes, in the USSR there were armored trains after the Great Patriotic War, and the T-10 was used either in the form of tanks proper, installed on special railway platforms (which could leave if necessary), or only towers from them.
heavy tank T-10M from the composition of the Museum of Armored Vehicles in Kubinka.
Technical description of T-10, 10A, 10B and 10M tanks
The tank is assembled according to the classical scheme, with the location in the stern of the engine compartment, the forward placement of the control compartment and the fighting compartment between them. The body of the tank is assembled from rolled armor plates (flat, bent and stamped), the tower is made in the form of a single casting, with a welded sheet roof armor in the stern, which contains the commander's cupola and the loader's landing hatch. The bow part of the hull "with a hump" is made similar to the IS-3 - it consists of three armor plates with large angles of inclination, while the upper part consists of two plates (connected along the middle of the bow of the tank) with a significant deviation from the longitudinal axis of the tank. The fourth plate, installed with a very large slope, is the roof of the control compartment and has a triangular sliding hatch for the driver's landing.
The upper part of the side has a large slope, it is a flat armor piece, while the lower part of the side is made in the form of a bent plate with a reverse slope in the upper part. The bottom of the tank is stamped, trough-shaped (this makes it possible to slightly reduce the height of the side armor from below, in the least affected part, thereby reducing the mass), flat in the transmission area. The stern armor plate is hinged for easy access to the transmission units. The undercarriage has an independent torsion bar suspension and consists of seven road wheels and three carrier rollers. During the tests, a beam torsion was chosen - consisting of seven rods, instead of a single rod. This is due to the small length of the torsion bars, which are installed coaxially for the right and left sides, while leaving a small space between them along the tank axis (i.e., the length of each is less than half the width of the hull, while usually the torsion bars had a length equal to the width of the hull, with were installed with the shift necessary for their placement, in pairs). The first, second and seventh balancers are equipped with hydraulic shock absorbers.
Twelve-cylinder, four-stroke V-shaped engine V-12-5 with a capacity of 700 hp. was a further development of the V-2, but had a very large number of differences, first of all, a driven centrifugal supercharger stood out. The B-12-6, which replaced it, was modified and boosted to 750 hp. at 2100 rpm. The power train was a modified planetary gears and turns of the "3K" type, provided 8 forward gears and two reverse gears (later 6 and 2). The main clutch in the classical sense was absent - the MPP neutral gear provided a mechanical shutdown of the engine. Further, the torque was supplied to two-stage final drives (with simple gear and planetary gear sets) and to drive wheels with replaceable 14 gear rims.
Fuel was housed in three internal and two external tanks - two aft 185 liters each (later 270 liters each) and one bow 90 liters, and tanks on the wings in the stern with a capacity of 150 liters. All tanks are connected to a single fuel system of the tank and do not require overflow from external to internal as they are used up. The total capacity in this way is 760 (later 940) liters of fuel, which gave a cruising range on the highway of 200..350 km. The driver has a TPV-51 observation device in the hatch cover, and two TPB-51 to the right and left of the hatch; in the dark, a TVN-2T night vision device is used. The tank commander is located to the left of the gun, behind the gunner, and has a commander's cupola with rotation independent of the turret, equipped with seven TNP observation devices along its perimeter, and the TPKU-2 commander's tank periscope. The gunner has at his disposal a daytime periscopic gyroscopic sight with a stabilized field of view T2S-29-14, a night sight TPN-1-29-14 and an observation device TPB-51. The loader has one TNP observation device and a VK-4 collimator sight for handling an anti-aircraft machine gun, for firing at air targets, and a PU-1 for firing at ground targets. The tank's armament is located in a streamlined cast turret and consists of a 122mm D-25T rifled gun on the first series and a D-25TS on the T-10A and 10B tanks, or an M-62-T2 gun similar in caliber. D-25T / TS was equipped with a two-chamber muzzle brake of an active type, M-62-T2 - a slotted reactive type. D-25TS and M-62-T2 had an ejection device for purging the barrel after firing. Additional armament is a twin heavy machine gun DShKM, or KPVT and a similar anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on the turret above the loader's hatch. The tower is equipped with a rotating floor.
The ammunition load consists of 30 separate-loading rounds placed in the turret and hull of the tank, cartridges for large-caliber machine guns are partially prepared for firing and packed in boxes (two of which are mounted on machine guns), partially in the zinc boxes of the factory packaging. To facilitate the action of the loader, there is a mechanical rammer; an automatic-type loader mechanism is installed on the T-10M tank, with manual supply of charges and shells. The use of the rammer provides a rate of fire of up to 3 rounds per minute, the loading mechanism allows you to fire at a rate of fire of 3-4 rounds per minute.
For the sake of brevity, only the armament control system of the T-10M tank will be considered, as the most advanced representative.
With the commander's target designation, the tank commander, having detected the target and determining the range to it, gives the command to open fire, indicating the nature of the target, the distance to it, the direction and method of firing.
After that, combining the TPKU-2 crosshair with the target, he warns the crew with the command "tower to the right (left)!" and presses the button located on the control handle of the device. At the same time, control over the horizontal drive of the tower passes to the commander (as indicated by a signal lamp in the tower) and turns at maximum speed until the line of sight aligns with the longitudinal axis of the tower, the commander holds the crosshair on the target and the button pressed until the tower stops completely. After that, control on the tower again passes to the gunner, and he searches for the target in the field of view of the T2S-29 sight (or TPN-1 "Luna II" at night) and, according to the data received from the commander, sets the range on the sight scale in accordance with the type of projectile … In the presence of lateral movement of the target, the gunner holds the central rear sight of the mark, accompanying the target for some time.
In this case, the angular velocity of the target will be calculated and the movable vertical thread will deviate by the value of the lateral correction (based on the specified distance to the target), and the gunner uses not the central mark, but a square or stroke through which the vertical thread passes to fire the shot. At this time, the loader removes the specified type of projectile from the stack and puts it on the carriage of the loading mechanism. Holding it with the left hand, it activates the mechanism - the tray automatically goes to the loading line and the projectile is sent to the breech until the leading belt is bitten with grooves, after which it automatically returns back (but not to its original position). Without waiting for the end of the operation of the machine, the loader removes the sleeve corresponding to the projectile (the charges of high-explosive and armor-piercing projectiles differ and it is categorically unacceptable to use an inappropriate charge for firing) and inserting it into the breech with the muzzle, presses the bottom on the rubber stop - after that the carriage drive is turned on and the sleeve is sent, whereby the tray moves back to its original position, and the tool unlocks, going into a stabilized mode. By pressing the ready button and announcing the command "Ready!", The loader closes the circuit, removing the blocking of firing.
At night, when using the TPN-1-29-14 ("Moon II") sight, the gunner determines the lateral correction independently, and introduces the vertical correction for the range by shifting the aiming point according to the sight scale.
Brief tactical and technical characteristics of tanks:
Crew - 4 people.
Curb weight - 50 tons
Full length - 9, 715 meters (T-10, 10A and 10B) or 10, 56 meters (T-10M)
Width - 3.518 meters
Height - 2, 46 meters (T-10, 10A and 10B) or 2, 585 meters (T-10M)
Maximum speed - 42 km / h (T-10, 10A and 10B) or 50 km / h (T-10M)
Cruising on the highway - 200-350 km (for tanks before 1955 and after)
Cruising on a country road - 150-200 km (for tanks before 1955 and after)
Specific ground pressure - 0.77 cm2
Armament:
122mm rifled gun D-25T (D-25TS, M-62-T2), 30 rounds of separate loading ammunition.
A coaxial 12.7mm machine gun and a 12.7mm ammunition machine gun with a total ammunition load of 100 rounds (300 in six boxes for a coaxial machine gun, 150 in three boxes for an anti-aircraft machine gun and 550 rounds in factory-packed zinc boxes).
The T-10M tank is armed with coaxial and anti-aircraft 14.5mm KPVT machine guns with a total of 744 rounds of ammunition.
Reservation:
Body forehead - 120mm top and bottom
Hull side - 80mm
Tower forehead - up to 250mm
