The T-44 was not produced in large numbers, like the BT, or the T-34, did not go through the entire war. Didn't become the main tank for the army. But it is still a worthy representative of the Soviet tank building.
Its creation began at the end of 1943, at the Design Bureau of the Ural Tank Plant, under the leadership of A. A. Morozov.
In the creation of the T-44, the developments of three tanks, the famous T-34, T-34M and T-43, were widely used.
T-34M
Development of the T-34M began in 1940, in parallel with the T-34. It was planned to install a more powerful 60 mm frontal armor, a 600-horsepower engine, and an 8-speed gearbox. Undercarriage with 6 support 3 carrier rollers. They wanted to place the engine across the hull, turning it 90 degrees, they could reduce the length of the vehicle and increase the ammunition capacity of the 76 mm cannon to 100 rounds (for the T-34 - 77). This tank promised to surpass the T-34 in all respects (armor, firepower, mobility). But in the end, the military command did not support the innovations of the designers, apparently they did not want to dissipate forces, focusing on the T-34, and the project was curtailed. The designers were entrusted with another task - the design of the T-43.
At the same time, the creation of tanks weighing 30, 40, 50 tons, with frontal armor of 75, 90, 120 mm, guns of 57, 76 and 107 mm caliber was interrupted. But the meeting of the Germans in the summer of 1941 with the T-34 and KV was, according to their own recollections, a very unpleasant "surprise". I think a meeting with the T-34M, they would not be happy either.
T-43
The T-34 tank was modernized several times during the war and reached its ceiling. The Red Army needed a new medium tank class vehicle. The design of the T-34 was completed by June 1943. The main requirement for him was - maximum protection, with a minimum increase in the mass of the tank.
The hull had a circular 75 mm armor, the frontal part of the turret was 90 mm (for comparison, the T-34 had 45 mm). But the length of the engine compartment could not be reduced, so the fighting compartment turned out to be smaller. To provide the crew with more space, the designers for the first time on a medium tank installed a torsion bar suspension, more miniature than the candle one, with vertical springs, like on the T-34.
The T-43 surpassed the T-34 in armor protection, approached the KV in terms of firepower, but greatly increased the specific pressure on the ground, which had a bad effect on mobility and power reserve. And its design came out to the extreme. Excluding the possibility of large upgrades. Therefore, when the T-34 was equipped with an 85 mm cannon, the T-43 was no longer needed.
But the experience of its creation did not disappear, for example: its test run of 3 thousand km, clearly showed the correctness of the installation of the torsion bar suspension. It became clear that a fundamentally new machine was needed - it was called the T-44.
T-44
It also used the transverse arrangement of the engine, but also a number of new technical innovations, as a result, the design of the T-44 for several decades determined the development of tanks in the USSR.
The height of the MTO was reduced by transferring a new type of air cleaner from the camber of the V-shaped engine to the side. The V-44 diesel engine was equipped with improved fuel equipment, which made it possible to increase the power from 500 to 520 hp. with., with the same volume of cylinders as on the B-34. In place of the fan, which protruded beyond the dimensions of the crankcase, a compact flywheel was installed. This made it possible to install the diesel engine on a low, rigid and light engine mount. Thus, the height of the body was reduced to 300 mm. The fan was moved to the stern sheet, this improved the cooling of the transmission units.
The water and oil radiators were placed horizontally (on the T-34 they stood vertically), under the cover of the transmission compartment, in a uniform air flow, so the cooling system became more efficient.
The engine was connected to a new 5-speed gearbox, an overdrive with a gear ratio of 0, 7. The side clutches and gears were taken from the T-34.
The new MTO scheme made it possible to move the turret with the 85-mm cannon (as on the modernized T-34) to the center of the hull, where the crew was less exposed to angular vibrations, and the gun was not at risk of being stuck in the ground. When moving over rough terrain, the accuracy of shooting has also increased.
The frontal armor of the hull was increased to 120 mm, the driver's hatch was moved to the roof of the hull, and the ball mount of the course machine gun was removed. And a fuel tank was installed in the vacant space.
The T-44 successfully passed all the tests and was adopted by the Red Army.
At the end of the 40s, a new tower was developed with a 100 mm D-10T cannon, or LB-1 ("Lavrenty Beria", since he was the deputy chairman of the State Defense Committee and was in charge of armaments). A turret with a DShK anti-aircraft machine gun was installed on the roof of the loader's hatch, the sides and chassis were covered with 6 mm cumulative screens. This modernization was named T-44-100.
With the appearance of the T-54, the T-44 was not removed from service, in 1961 the engine, power transmission, and chassis units were unified with those installed on the T-54. Night vision devices were installed. In 1966, an armament stabilizer was installed in two planes. He remained in service with the Soviet army until the end of the 70s.
They did not participate in hostilities, except for the participation in the operation to suppress the rebellion in Hungary in 1956. Participated in the filming of Ozerov's epic "Liberation" - in the role of German "Tigers"
On the basis of the T-44, they produced artillery, tank tractors, engineering vehicles. A total of 1,823 tanks of this type were created, the tank was produced until 1947.
TTX medium tank T-44
Weight, t - 31.5
Armament - 85 mm ZIS-S-53 cannon, 2 DTM machine guns
Armor, mm, hull - 120-45, tower 90-75
Engine - diesel V-44 power 520 hp with.
Max. Speed on the highway, km per hour - 55
Cruising in store, km - 235
Length with gun, mm - 7650
Body length, mm - 5850
Width, mm - 3100
Case width, mm - 2000
Height, mm - 2400
Clearance, mm - 430
Crew - 4
The mass of the modernized T-44M reached 32 tons, the maximum booking was 120 mm, and the speed was 57 km per hour.
The mass of the T-44-100 reached 34 tons, the speed was 55 km per hour. Armament 100-mm cannon LB-1, or D-10T, anti-aircraft machine gun DShK, two machine guns DTM, or GVG.
