On April 28 this year, Lieutenant General Yu. Kovalenko, former 1st Deputy Head of the Main Armored Directorate of the RF Ministry of Defense, speaking about Russian tanks, said that the Russian military industry has a lot to offer even the most demanding customer. So, he noted that not so long ago the Kazakh military department turned to the Russian Federation with a request to produce floating T-72s for Kazakhstan. This request somewhat surprised Russian experts. Why and where did the Kazakhs decide to sail in tanks?
According to Y. Kovalenko, there is only one option - the Kazakhs are preparing to divide the Caspian.
Kazakhstan is unlucky with its fleet. So, in the late 90s, Kazakh sailors managed to lose five patrol "Dontles" (gratuitous gifts from the USA and Germany) - the boats sank at the time of the storm. Undoubtedly, the fleet of Kazakhstan has strengthened since then, but, according to experts, its combat effectiveness is not very high. And here is a new, rather original attempt to increase the country's position in the Caspian Sea. Will the Kazakh military be able to sail the seas on tanks, let's see.
So, at the beginning of 1951 in the USSR, work began on the design of individual systems for tanks. Prototypes for T-54 tanks were already created in 1952. In the same year, they passed the first river tests on the Oka. In the period 1953-1954, individual floating equipment for tanks was tested at sea. In 1957, the floating craft, named PST-54, was adopted by the Soviet army. According to the staffing table of a motorized rifle division, there should be such systems in it according to the presence of tanks, that is, up to 187 units. The production of PST-54 was carried out at the plant No. 342 in the city of Navashino. Retrofitting of T-54 tanks for mounting the PST-54 was carried out in Kharkov, at plant No. 75. The T-54 tank, which was adapted for use by the PST-54, received the code name "Object 485".
At the same time, the design bureaus were working on the creation of individual floating systems for the new T-55 tanks and the ZSU-57 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. These systems were called PST-55 for the T-55 and for the modified ZSU-57, which received the factory index "object 510", PST. In the 59th year, the Leningrad State Tank Plant No. 174 and the 342nd Mechanical Plant in Domodedovo PST were unified. Already in the 60th year of the last century, the improved PST-U was in service with the USSR army.
Structurally, the PST-U system consisted of five steel pontoons (two main pontoons were on the sides, two folding ones, which were also located on the sides, and one aft). Filling the pontoons with polystyrene provided 40% of the PST-U buoyancy reserve with the T-54 tank. The total mass of PST-U was 10 tons. The driving wheels of the tank set in motion two propellers, providing a maximum afloat speed of about 12 km / h. On land, the maximum speed of the T-54 equipped with PST-U was about 19 km / h. 500 liters of fuel tanks of the floating craft provided a cruising range of about 60-80 km, while the tank's fuel was not used.
The tank, equipped with PST-U, could move on the water surface, the excitement of which reached five points. Carrying out firing from a tank cannon was possible with an excitement of 1.5 points. In addition, together with the tank, it was allowed to transport up to 25 troops (for the ZSU-57, the landing could be up to 40 people. The tank crew hung the craft on the tank for 35 minutes. Without leaving the car, the crew could drop the PST-U almost instantly. The PST was transported by 4 ZIS-151 vehicles.
The development of special floating systems continued to develop. So, already in the 62nd year, a lightweight floating craft PS-1 was tested, intended for T-55 tanks and BTS tank tractors. The weight of the new PS-1 was already slightly more than 5.5 tons. Weight reduction was achieved due to the use of aluminum alloys in the construction of the pontoons. The BTS tractor with PS-1 afloat developed a maximum speed of over 13 km / h, and when reversing, about 8 km / h. When towing through water, the speed of the system reached 19 km / h. On land, the BTS tractor with the PS-1 could move at a speed of up to 25 km / h. Up to 100 km. the power reserve of the system has been increased. The PS-1 was transported by two ZIL-157V vehicles.
PS-1, based on the tests carried out, surpassed PST-U and PST-54 in its seaworthiness. Already in the 65th year, after minor modifications, PST-63 (new designation PS-1) was adopted by the SA of the USSR.
Further work to improve the floating systems for the T-55 and T-62 tanks led to the emergence of new modifications called PST-64 and PST-63M.
Soviet heavy tanks were not deprived of attention either. So, in 1955-1957, the Leningrad TsKB-50 was developing a "project 755", which was a similar floating craft for the heavy T-10 tank. Three prototypes of "Project 755" were built in Gorky, at the Krasnoye Sormovo shipyard. However, there was no further development of this project.
Simultaneously with displacement watercraft for tanks in the late 50s, work was underway to design high-speed amphibious amphibious systems on hydrofoils. So, at the Navashinsky shipyard in 1958, a high-speed hydrofoil tank landing system was developed, which was named "Project 80". The system consisted of 2 boats with folding hydrofoils. Each boat had a displacement of 12 tons. "Project 80" made it possible to transport a medium tank to a distance of up to 400 kilometers at speeds up to 30 knots. Each pontoon boat had its own 1000-horsepower engine on board. In the 61st year, a prototype of the complex was created.
In 1967-1968, two prototypes were tested and the serial production of amphibious vehicles began. "Project 80" was equipped with two battalions - one each in the Black Sea and the Baltic.
You can read more about the "project 80" here.
