IMR-2 with KMT-R trawl
Note. In the first article about IMR-2, an inaccuracy was made. It says (including in the captions to the photo) that a KMT-4 mine trawl was used on the vehicle. For IMR-2, the KMT-R trawl was developed, for which the knife sections of the KMT-4 trawl were taken. KMT-R was developed in 1978-85. within the framework of research work "Crossing", where they developed a built anti-mine trawl for armored vehicles (tanks, BMP, BML, armored personnel carriers, BTS, BMR and IMR). The studies were not completed - the military leadership of the USSR considered that the existing trawling means were sufficient and the creation of additional means was inappropriate. As a result, only the IMR-2 and later the IMR-2M were armed with a trawl of this type. But back to history.
Part 2. Application of IMR-2
Afghanistan. The first baptism of fire of the IMR took place in Afghanistan. But, as usual, there is a minimum of information about the application. Even the officers of our former Kamenets-Podolsk Engineering School had little to say. Mainly about BMR and trawls. IMRs were seen mainly at the Salang Pass. But the reviews about the work of these machines are only good.
In the overwhelming majority of cases, the IMR of the 1969 model, created on the basis of the T-55 tank, operated in Afghanistan. Since about 1985, the first IRM-2s appeared on the basis of the T-72 and with improved mine resistance. In Afghanistan, IMRs were mainly used as part of traffic support units (OOD) and road groups. Their task was to dismantle blockages on the roads, clear roads at passes from snow drifts and landslides, overturned cars, as well as restore the roadway. Therefore, in the zone of responsibility of the protection of each motorized rifle regiment, OODs were created as part of the BAT, MTU-20 and IMR, which made it possible to constantly keep the track in a passable condition.
When the columns of combat units were moving, a combat outpost was necessarily assigned, which could include the IMR. Here, for example, is the marching order of combat security of a motorized rifle battalion during an operation in the Bagram area on May 12, 1987: foot reconnaissance, a tank with a roller mine sweep, followed by an IMR-1 engineering vehicle and a tank with a universal tank bulldozer. The main column of the battalion is next.
In Afghanistan, in the conditions of rocky and hard soils, the knife trawl was practically not used. The same can be said about the demining launcher - there were practically no suitable targets for it either.
WRI is the first in Afghanistan. 45th engineer regiment
IMR-2 in Afghanistan. 45th engineer regiment
Chernobyl. But Chernobyl became the real test for IMRs. When the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant happened, equipment of the IMR type turned out to be very useful. In the course of eliminating the consequences of the disaster, the engineering troops faced complex tasks that required a creative approach to their solution, namely, increasing the protective properties of engineering equipment to perform work in the immediate vicinity of the destroyed power unit. Already in May, missions up to 12 WRIs were carried out there. The main attention was paid to their improvement, increasing the protective properties. It was in Chernobyl that these machines showed their best qualities and only the IMR turned out to be the only machine capable of operating near the destroyed nuclear reactor. She also began to erect a sarcophagus around the reactor, delivered and installed crane equipment.
IMR-2 about 4 power units
In Chernobyl, some shortcomings in the design of IMR-2 were also affected, about which Lieutenant Colonel E. Starostin, a former teacher of the Kamenets-Podolsk Engineering Institute, spoke about. He and his subordinates were among the first liquidators of the accident. E. Starostin arrived at the NPP on April 30, 1986: Despite the fact that the IMR-2 turned out to be the most suitable machine for those conditions, some shortcomings were also identified. Later we listed them to the representatives of the experimental landfill from Nakhabino and the manufacturer's plant. The first is the bulldozer knife itself. On the front, it had a welded steel sheet of 8-10 mm. This was enough for work in earthen soils. And when it was necessary to disassemble the debris from concrete, the latter often punched through the frontal sheet of the blade, radiation graphite fell into the holes, and no one took it out of there, and the holes were welded. And, as a result, the background radiation of the car was constantly growing. The second is the slow operation of the hydraulics, as a result of which more time is spent on a certain type of work, and there is radiation around. The third - the inconvenience in working with the radio station, which was behind on the right - it is better that it was on the left. Fourth, the GO-27 chemical reconnaissance device was located on the left side of the mechanic in the corner, and in order to take readings from it, the mechanic had to lean to the side - and he was driving, and it was not desirable to be distracted. It is better to transfer the device to the operator's cab. Fifth - insufficient visibility from the mechanic's seat - when the blade is in the working position, the blind zone for the view is about 5m. Because of this, - continues E. Starostin, - on the very first day we almost fell into a deep ditch behind the fence of the station.
IMR-2. To work as in battle
Already from the end of May, modernized vehicles with replacement began to arrive at the station. To enhance protection from radiation on these machines, the operator's tower, the operator's hatch and the driver's hatch were covered with 2-cm lead plates. In addition, the driver received an additional lead sheet on his seat (under the fifth point). It was the bottom of the car that was least protected. The machine was intended to quickly overcome contaminated areas during hostilities, but here it is slow to work in small areas and therefore the effect of radiation from the ground was quite strong. Later, even more powerful machines appeared in the zone.
Medinsky V. A., another participant in the liquidation of the accident, recalls (for more details, see the Global Catastrophe website).
On May 9, he, together with his subordinates, arrived at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. IMR and IMR-2 were immediately thrown to the station to row graphite, uranium, concrete and other things that had flown out of the reactor. The spots of radioactive contamination were such “… that chemists were afraid to go there. By and large, they had nothing to drive under the reactor. Their most protected vehicle, the PXM, had an attenuation coefficient of only about 14-20 times. IMR-2 has 80 times. And this is in the original version. When the sheet lead arrived, we additionally strengthened the protection by putting a centimeter or two of lead wherever possible. At the same time, track mine trawls and launchers of elongated demining charges with all the equipment were removed from the vehicles as they were completely unnecessary. Formally, the operator is the commander of the vehicle, but in that situation the mechanic was the main driver, since he had to work with bulldozer equipment, in addition, the control units of the KZ and OPVT systems are with him. " The fact is that the short circuit (collective protection) system was triggered by the command "A" - atom! In the event of a nuclear explosion, the automation turns off the blower for about 15 seconds, turns off the engine, puts the car on the brake, closes the blinds, inlets for the blower and gas analyzer, etc. (read above). When the shock wave passes (within these 15 seconds), then the openings of the gas analyzer and the blower open, the blower starts up, and all the rods (high pressure fuel pump, brakes, shutters) are able to turn on for normal operation. “This is in a nuclear explosion,” writes V. Medinsky, “when such a flow is short-lived. But there is no explosion! The flow of such power continues to affect, and you can wait for everything to return to normal endlessly. The car is muffled (and even not one, but all in turn)! And here the qualification of a driver-mechanic comes out on top. Only a trained person can think of switching on the OPVT control unit (there is such a cunning switch "OPVT-KZ"), and not panic, connect all the rods, start the engine of the machine and the supercharger and calmly continue to work. " On the first day, all the dirt IMRami raked closer to the walls of the reactor, and in some places - in heaps. " When the question arose about the removal of "radioactive" dirt from the site around the reactor to the burial grounds, a way out was found "in the form of containers for household waste (ordinary, standard), which the IMR grabbed and lifted with a gripper-manipulator. They were installed on PTS-2. PTS took them to the burial ground. There, another IMR unloaded containers into the actual repository. It feels good.
IMR-1 removes radioactive waste. Lead plates are clearly visible on the body
But IMR-2 did not have a ripper scraper. Instead, it had a launcher for elongated demining charges. That is, there is nothing to fill the actual containers with. We quickly solved this problem by welding an ersatz grab made of sheet steel onto the gripper-manipulator. However, this led to the fact that the grip stopped completely closing (normally the tongs close with a decent, cm 20 overlap) and because of this it was not possible to set it to the stowed position. The volume of the resulting grab was larger than the volume of the scraper, so it was decided to abandon the standard scraper-rippers from the IMR. So, within two days, a "scraper" made of an excavator bucket came to us. It fit very well in the grip, had a very weak volume, but weighed about 2 tons, that is, as much as the entire carrying capacity of the stele. The trades took this matter into account, and after about a week or two, a car arrived with the correct grab (and gripper tongs in the spare parts). The first "dinosaur" (IMR-2D) arrived at about the same time. " V. Medinsky also describes in more detail the first IMR-2D: “The car has been greatly changed. To begin with, there were no windows on it. Instead, there are three television cameras and two monitors (one for the operator, the other for the mechanic). Mehvod's view was provided by one television camera (to the right of the hatch), the operator two (one on the boom, the second on the boom head). The mechanical drive TV cameras and the one on the boom had swing drives. The one on the head looked at the manipulator, turned with it and looked like a cylinder about half a meter long and 20 centimeters in diameter. A gamma locator was installed next to it. But the manipulator…. I do not know who and what told the developers, but the grab that they put on the first "dinosaur" could have been used somewhere on the Moon or a gold mine, but for our business it was clearly small. Its volume, God forbid, was 10 liters! True, it was not used very weakly either. Since the most active materials, as a rule, did not have a large volume, the gamma locator made it possible to very accurately identify them. Another feature of the first two IMR-2D was the absence of bulldozer equipment (the second copied the first, but differed from it in a normal grab, it came in two weeks). All had a very powerful air filtration system (a kind of hump on the blinds based on an air filter from the T-80). The most important feature was the enhanced anti-radiation protection. And at different levels - different. On the bottom 15000 times, on the hatches (both) 500 times, on the levels of the driver's chest 5000 times, etc. The mass of the vehicles reached 57 tons. The third (arrived in July) differed from the two previous ones by the presence of windows (two pieces, forward and left-forward, completely indecent, 7 centimeters thick, which made it look like the embrasures of a bunker) near the driver. The operator still has television cameras and a monitor. " We add that the bulldozer equipment remained standard, the weight of the machine increased to 63 tons.
IMR-2D. The gamma-locator (white cylinder) is clearly visible on the gripper-manipulator head. The attachment of the bucket to the gripper pliers is also clearly visible.
Experts from the Institute of NIKIMT worked on these machines (IMR-2D). According to the memoirs of E. Kozlova (Ph. D., a participant in the liquidation of the consequences of accidents at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986-1987), on May 6, 1986, the first group of specialists from the Research and Design Institute of Installation Technology (NIKIMT) on decontamination - B. N. Egorov, N. M. Sorokin, I. Ya. Simanovskaya and B. V. Alekseev - went to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant to provide assistance in eliminating the consequences of the accident. The radiation situation at the station was continuously deteriorating. Another, no less important, task faced by the NIKIMT employees was to reduce the radiation level around Unit 4 to acceptable levels. One of its practical solutions was associated with the arrival of IMR-2D clearing vehicles. By the order of the Ministry dated 07.05.86, NIKIMT was ordered to perform a number of works, including the creation, in an extremely short time, of two robotic complexes based on the IMR-2 army vehicle to eliminate the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. All scientific management and organization of work on this problem were entrusted to the Deputy Director A. A. Kurkumeli, the head of the department N. A. Sidorkin, and the leading specialists of the institute became responsible leaders of various areas of work for the implementation of this task, who, working around the clock, were able to produce a new modernized IMR-2D in 21 days. At the same time, the engine was protected by filters from the ingress of radioactive dust, a gamma locator, a manipulator for collecting radioactive materials into a special collection, a grab that could remove soil up to 100 mm thick, special radiation-resistant television systems, a tank periscope, an operator's life support system and driver, equipment for measuring the radioactive background inside and outside the car. IMR-2D was coated with a special highly decontaminated paint. The machine was controlled on a television screen. It took 20 tons of lead to protect it from radiation. Protection throughout the entire internal volume of the car in real conditions was about 2 thousand times, and in some places it reached 20 thousand times. On May 31, NIKIMT employees for the first time tested IMR-2D in real conditions near the 4th unit of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant from the side of the turbine hall, which gave the leadership of the Chernobyl headquarters a true picture of the distribution of gamma radiation power. On June 3, the second IMR-2D vehicle came from NIKIMT, and both vehicles began to work in the zone of the highest radiation. The work carried out using this technology sharply reduced the overall radiation background around Unit 4 and made it possible to start building the Shelter using the available equipment.
IMR-2 on the way to Chernobyl
One of the IMR-2D testers was Valery Gamayun, a designer from NIKIMT. He was destined to become one of the first who managed, on IMR-2D, modified by the institute's specialists, to approach the destroyed 4th power unit and make the appropriate measurements in the radioactive zone, take a cartogram of the area around the destroyed nuclear power plant. The results obtained formed the basis for the plan of the Government Commission to clean up the contaminated area.
As V. Gamayun recalls, on May 4, he, together with the deputy director of NIKIMT A. A. Kurkumeli went to a military training ground in Nakhabino, where they participated in the selection of a military engineering vehicle. We chose IMR-2 as the most satisfying one. The car immediately entered NIKIMT for revision and modernization. The IMR was equipped with a gamma-locator (collimator), a manipulator for collecting radioactive materials, a grab that could remove a layer of top soil, a tank periscope and other equipment. In Chernobyl, later they began to call her a thousand.
On May 28, V. Gamayun flew to Chernobyl, and the next day he met the first IMR-2D car, which arrived by rail in a train of two cars. The car turned out to be badly shabby after transportation, it was clear that it was being transported at maximum speed. I had to put the IMR in order. To do this, a sealed agricultural machinery plant was opened, where milking machines were repaired earlier. The necessary tools and machinery remained in perfect order there. After the repair, the IMR was sent on a trailer to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. It was May 31st. To Gamayun: “At 14:00, our IMR was standing on the road near the first block of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The radiation level at this starting position reached 10 r / h, but it was necessary to have time to make a trip before flying around the helicopters, which usually raised dust with their propellers, and then the radiation background increased to 15-20 r / h. All over the world, the dose of safe radiation was considered to be 5 roentgens, which a person could receive during the year. During the Chernobyl disaster, this norm for liquidators was raised 5 times. At the starting position, I had to think out a lot on the go. They decided to move in reverse, since the driver's cab was initially protected from radiation by less than the operator's seat. They took off their shoes, and, in order not to bring radiation dust into the cockpit, in some socks sat down in their places. At this point, communication between the driver's cab and the operator's compartment was working normally. But some intuition suggested that it could be interrupted, therefore, just in case, we agreed that if it refused, we would knock. When we moved, the connection really disappeared. Due to the roar of the engine, the agreed knock with the blow of the key was barely discernible, and there was no connection at all with those who were expecting our return outside the danger zone. And here we realized that if something happens, for example, if the engine stalls, there will simply be no one to get us out of here, and we will have to return on foot through the contaminated area, and even in the same socks. And at this time my collimator (dosimeter) went off scale, and it was not possible to take readings from it. The car had to be modified again. We did this at the same milking machine repair plant. Only after that, regular exits to the affected area around the destroyed reactor began, as a result of which a complete radiation reconnaissance was made and a cartogram of the area was taken. Soon I was summoned to Moscow - to prepare other machines for sending to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant."
IMR-2D works at the 4th block
IMR-2 worked 8-12 hours a day. At the very collapse of the block, the machines worked for no more than 1 hour. The rest of the time was spent on preparation and travel. This intensity of work led to the fact that, despite all the protection measures, the radioactivity of the inner surfaces of all three IMR-2D, especially in the crew accommodation (underfoot), reached 150-200 mR / h. Therefore, soon the machines had to be replaced with fully automated technology.
The Klin complex became such a technique. After the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, an urgent need arose to create automated equipment for eliminating the consequences of the accident and performing ground tasks without direct human participation. Work on such a complex began in April 1986 almost immediately after the accident. The development of the complex was carried out by the VNII-100 design bureau in Leningrad. Together with the Urals by the summer of 1986, a robotic complex "Klin-1" was developed and built, which consisted of a transport robot and a control machine based on IMR-2. The robot car was engaged in clearing debris, pulling equipment, collecting radioactive debris and waste, and the crew of the command vehicle controlled all these processes from a safe distance, while being in the middle of a protected vehicle.
According to the deadline, the complex was supposed to be developed in 2 months, but the development and manufacture took only 44 days. The main task of the complex was to minimize the presence of people in an area with a high level of radioactivity. After completing all the work, the complex was buried in the burial ground.
The complex consisted of two cars, one was controlled by a driver-mechanic, the second was controlled remotely by an operator.
Control machine of the complex "Klin-1"
Working, remotely controlled machine of the "Klin-1" complex
The machine "Object 032", created on the basis of the engineering clearing machine IMR-2, was used as a working machine. Unlike the base vehicle, Object 032 had additional equipment for decontamination, as well as a remote control system. In addition, the possibility of "habitability" of the machine remained. The engine compartment and the undercarriage have been modified to increase reliability when working under conditions of exposure to ionizing radiation.
To control the unmanned vehicle, the Object 033 control vehicle was manufactured. The main battle tank T-72A was taken as the base. A special compartment housed the crew of the car, which consisted of a driver and operator, as well as all the necessary equipment for monitoring and controlling the car. The body of the vehicle was completely sealed and lined with lead sheets for enhanced radiation protection. In the center of the machine, units for starting the engine were installed, as well as other specialized equipment.
In the elimination zone, several IMR variants worked, which differed in the level of radiation attenuation. So, the first IMR-2 provided an 80-fold attenuation of radiation. This was not enough. Several IMRs were equipped with protective lead screens by the engineering troops, which provided a 100-fold attenuation of radiation. Subsequently, IMRs providing 200-500 and 1000-fold attenuation of radiation were manufactured in the factory: IMR-2V "centurion" - up to 80-120 times; IMR-2E "dvuhsotnik" - up to 250 times; IMR-2D "thousand-meter" - up to 2000 times.
Almost all the IMRs that were then in the ranks ended up in Chernobyl and they all stayed there forever. During the operation, the machines accumulated so much radiation that the armor itself became radioactive.
IMRs at the equipment cemetery in the Chernobyl area
After the Chernobyl accident, it became necessary to further modernize IMR-2. The subsequent modernization of the vehicle led to the appearance of the IMR-2M variant, which was adopted by the decision of the Chief of Engineering Troops on December 25, 1987. On the new vehicle, the weight was reduced to 44.5 tons (45.7 tons in the IMR-2), it was performed on base of the T-72A tank. A set of demining charge launchers was removed from the vehicle (due to the appearance of a special self-propelled launcher "Meteorite" (demining installation UR-77, Kharkov Tractor Plant), as well as the fact that during operation this installation turned out to be very capricious. The scraper-ripper was returned (as in the first IMR), which made the machine more versatile in terms of performing work in areas of destruction - destruction of the ridge of high rubble, pulling out large beams, debris, collection of debris, collapse of the ridge of the funnel etc. The machine was produced from March 1987 to July 1990 and is known as an intermediate or transitional sample of IMR-2M of the 1st embodiment (conditionally IMR-2M1).
IMR-2M of the first version. Kamyanets-Podolsk Engineering Institute. At the stern, frames are visible to which the PU demining charge was previously attached
In 1990, the machine underwent another modernization. The changes affected the grip of the manipulator. It was replaced by a universal bucket-type working body, which could hold objects comparable to a matchbox, work as a grab, back and front shovel, scraper and ripper (the scraper-ripper was removed as a separate piece of equipment).
IMR-2M of the second option. The new bucket-type working body is clearly visible
By 1996 (already in the independent Russian Federation), on the basis of IMR-2 and IMR-2M, the IMR-3 and IMR-3M clearing vehicles were created on the basis of the T-90 tank. In terms of equipment composition and tactical and technical characteristics, both vehicles are identical. But IMR-3 is designed to ensure the advancement of troops and perform engineering work in areas with a high level of radioactive contamination of the terrain. The multiplicity of attenuation of gamma radiation at the locations of the crew - 120. IMR-3M is designed to ensure the advancement of troops, including on radioactively contaminated areas, the rate of attenuation of gamma radiation at the locations of the crew is 80.
IMR-3 in operation
Tactical and technical characteristics
clearing machine IMR-3
Length - 9.34 m, width - 3, 53 m, height - 3, 53 m.
Crew - 2 people.
Weight - 50.8 tons.
Diesel engine V-84, 750 hp (552 kW).
The power reserve is 500 km.
The maximum transport speed is 50 km / h.
Productivity: when arranging passages - 300-400 m / h, when laying roads - 10 - 12 km / h.
Excavation performance: excavation - 20 m3 / hour, bulldozing - 300-400 m3 / hour.
Crane lifting capacity - 2 tons.
Armament: 12.7 mm NSVT machine gun.
The maximum boom reach is 8 m.
IMR are part of the road engineering and obstacle divisions and are used as part of traffic support and obstacle groups along with demining installations, tank bridge stackers, providing the offensive of tank and mechanized first-echelon units. So, one IMR-2 is included in the road engineering department of the road engineering platoon of the ISR clearing group of the tank (mechanized) brigade, as well as the clearing platoon of the clearing engineering company of the road engineering battalion of the engineering regiment.
The main modifications of IMR-2:
IMR-2 (ob. 637, 1980) - an engineering clearing vehicle, equipped with a boom crane (lifting capacity 2 tons at full reach of 8.8 m), bulldozer blade, mine sweep, PU demining charge. Serial production since 1982
IMR-2D (D - "Modified") - IMR-2 with enhanced protection against radiation, attenuation of radiation up to 2000 times. We worked in Chernobyl. At least 3 were built in June-July 1986.
IMR-2M1 - a modernized version of the IMR-2 without a demining launcher, a range finder and a PKT machine gun, but with enhanced armor. The boom crane is supplemented with a ripper scraper. The performance of the engineering equipment remained the same. It was put into service in 1987, produced from 1987 to 1990.
IMR-2M2 - a modernized version of the IMR-2M1 with more powerful multifunctional bulldozer equipment, the boom crane received a universal working body (URO) instead of a pincer gripper. URO has the capabilities of a manipulator, grab, back and front shovel, scraper and ripper. Introduced into service in 1990.
"Robot" - IMR-2 with remote control, 1976
"Wedge-1" (ob. 032) - IMR-2 with remote control. A prototype was built in June 1986.
"Wedge-1" (ob. 033)- vehicle control "object 032", also on the chassis IMR-2. Crew - 2 people. (driver and operator).
IMR-3 - engineering machine for clearing, development of IMR-2. Diesel B-84. Dozer blade, hydraulic boom-manipulator, knife track mine sweep.
Types of work performed by IMR-3
To date, an engineering barrage vehicle, in particular the IMR-2M (IMR-3), is the most advanced and promising engineering barrage vehicle. It can carry out all types of work in conditions of radioactive contamination of the area, severe damage to the atmosphere by aggressive gases, vapors, toxic substances, smoke, dust and direct fire exposure. Its reliability has been confirmed in the course of eliminating the consequences of the most grandiose disasters of our time and in the combat conditions of Afghanistan. IMR-2M (IMR-3) is available not only in the military sphere, but also in the civilian sphere, where the use of its universal capabilities guarantees great benefits. It is equally effective as an engineering barrage vehicle and as an emergency rescue vehicle.
The list of operations performed by the WRI is wide. This, in particular, is a track-laying on medium-rugged terrain, in shallow forests, on virgin snow, on slopes, uprooting stumps, felling trees, making passages in forest and stone rubble, in minefields and non-explosive obstacles. With its help, you can dismantle debris in settlements, emergency buildings and structures. The machine carries out a fragment of trenches, pits, backfilled equipment and shelters, backfilling of holes, ditches, ravines, preparation of ditches, scarps, dams, crossings through anti-tank ditches and scarps. IMR allows you to install sections of bridges, arrange ramps and exits on water crossings. It is advisable to use it for work on soils of categories I-IV, in quarries and open workings, to fight forest and peat fires, to perform lifting operations, to evacuate and tow damaged equipment.
Clearing snow is a completely peaceful job for the WRI. Volgograd, 1985
