Not so long ago, the general public saw for the first time photographs of a promising infantry fighting vehicle based on the Armata universal platform. The official "premiere" of this technique should take place only on May 9, so while the public and specialists can only speculate and try to find out all possible details, using only the scarce materials available. In anticipation of the first official display of new combat vehicles, one can recall previous attempts to create such projects.
Within the framework of the "Armata" project, several types of equipment are being developed, including a heavy infantry fighting vehicle. The prerequisites for the emergence of such a technique are simple. In armed conflicts of recent decades, which have been characterized by numerous clashes in cities, the existing armored vehicles have shown themselves not in the best way. The existing booking was insufficient to protect against grenade launchers or large-caliber small arms. Thus, promising armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles must have a booking with a higher level of protection. Reinforcement of armor also leads to an increase in the weight of the structure, as a result of which an armored personnel carrier or BMP of a heavy class can have a combat mass at the level of tanks.
Heavy armored personnel carrier BTR-T during a demonstration at the VTTV-2003 exhibition, Omsk, June 2003
Heavy armored personnel carrier BTR-T on the track of the landfill. Omsk, June 2003
BTR-T enters the transporter to be sent to the landfill. Omsk, July 1999
Several foreign projects (primarily Israeli) are known, in which it was proposed to build heavy armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles based on existing tanks. Thus, the Israeli industry was building new equipment based on captured T-55 tanks, as well as its own Centurion and Merkava. Armored personnel carriers "Akhzarit", "Namer", etc. have proven themselves well in operation, and have also become an example for foreign designers of armored vehicles.
In the nineties, employees of the Transport Engineering Design Bureau (Omsk), seeing certain successes of Israel, began to develop a new heavy armored personnel carrier on a tank chassis. The BTR-T project, created under the leadership of D. Ageev, meant the re-equipment of the T-55 medium tank using a number of special equipment. After such a modification, the tank was supposed to become a highly protected vehicle for transporting soldiers and their fire support in battle. The BTR-T project provided for measures aimed at both changing the purpose of the base machine and increasing the level of protection and some other characteristics.
For obvious reasons, during the construction of the BTR-T armored personnel carrier, the armored hull of the base tank had to undergo the greatest changes. To accommodate the troops and new weapons, a special superstructure had to be developed, designed to be installed instead of the native roof of the T-55 tank. The add-on had an interesting design intended to increase the level of protection against side attacks. So, the sides of the superstructure were made double, with a large spacing of sheets horizontally. In fact, the inner sheets were a continuation of the sides of the tank hull, and the outer ones were located at the level of the side screens. Between the inner and outer side plates, there was a volume to accommodate various equipment and property. As a result, instead of "classic" shelves above the tracks, there were relatively large boxes located along the entire hull, from the frontal part of the hull to the stern.
Additional booking was provided not only on the sides of the vehicle. New protection modules appeared on the frontal sheet of the hull, a new roof and mine protection were used. The latter was an additional armor plate installed at some distance from the bottom of the hull. There is no exact information about the level of mine protection, but it is known that the modifications of the frontal armor, including the installation of the Kontakt-5 dynamic protection system, made it possible to bring its equivalent level to 600 mm. Thus, the BTR-T could conduct combat operations in the same order with modern tanks of different types.
The hull layout after the conversion of the base tank should have remained the same, albeit with a number of serious reservations. All habitable volumes, inside which the crew of the vehicle and the landing force were located, were located in the front and middle parts of the hull. The engine compartment was still located in the stern. This arrangement had both advantages and disadvantages. Its main advantage was the relative simplicity of converting tanks into heavy infantry fighting vehicles. The main disadvantage lay in the inconvenience of the landing due to the impossibility of arranging a full-fledged aft hatch.
The heavy armored personnel carrier BTR-T was supposed to retain the power plant of the tank, on the basis of which it was built. Thus, it was planned to use V-55 diesel engines of various modifications with a power of up to 600-620 hp on promising technology. The transmission also had to remain the same, without any changes. It included a main multi-plate clutch, a five-speed gearbox, final drives and planetary swing mechanisms. The general characteristics of the mobility of a heavy armored personnel carrier should have remained at the level of the corresponding parameters of a basic medium tank.
After all the modifications, the combat weight of the vehicle was to increase to 38.5 tons. The dimensions of the BTR-T corresponded to the size of the T-55 (excluding the cannon). The hull length was 6.45 m, width - 3.27 m, height - about 2.4 m. A slight increase in combat weight in combination with the use of the old engine made it possible to maintain mobility at the level of the base T-55. The maximum speed of the BTR-T armored personnel carrier reached 50 km / h, the cruising range was 500 km. The car could drive up an ascent of 32 °, climb a wall with a height of 0.8 m, cross a ditch with a width of 2, 7 m and overcome a ford up to 1, 4 m. It was possible to cross water obstacles along the bottom, at a depth of no more than 5 m.
To provide fire support for the landing force, the BTR-T armored personnel carrier was to be equipped with an original combat module. On the roof of the hull, a shoulder strap was provided for the installation of a low-profile turret with the necessary weapons. For more efficient use of the internal volumes of the hull, the shoulder strap of the turret was shifted to the left side. In the turret space there was a gunner's workplace, which rotated with the turret. As conceived by the authors of the project, the BTR-T could be equipped with weapons of various types. It could carry machine guns of various types and calibers, small-caliber automatic cannons and guided missiles.
Several prototypes of a promising heavy armored personnel carrier with different weapons have been repeatedly demonstrated at various exhibitions. It is known about the existence of a combat module with a remotely controlled NSV machine gun, as well as a turret with a 2A42 automatic cannon of 30 mm caliber, a machine gun and a Kornet missile system with a mount for one missile container. The advertising materials featured other configurations of the combat module using similar weapons. The armored personnel carrier could be equipped with modules with a machine gun and missiles, a cannon and two missiles or two 30-mm cannons. Also, the PKT machine gun and automatic grenade launchers were offered as weapons for the BTR-T. Probably, the development and construction of one or another version of the combat module should have continued after receiving the corresponding order.
Regardless of the combat module used, the BTR-T armored personnel carriers were to be equipped with smoke grenade launchers. On the stern of the enlarged caterpillar shelves, four groups of three launchers 902B "Tucha" were provided. They were supposed to be used for camouflage in battle, in order to further increase survivability.
The habitable volumes of the T-55 base tank were not very large, which, among other things, affected the capacity of the BTR-T. Due to the superstructure of the hull, it was possible to increase the available volumes, ensuring the accommodation of the crew and troops. The own crew of a heavy armored personnel carrier was supposed to consist of two people: a driver-mechanic and a gunner-commander. The first was located "in the old place", the second - in the tower. In the habitable volume, it was possible to place only five places to accommodate the paratroopers. One was placed between the commander-gunner and the starboard side of the corps. Four more places were placed in the aft part of the habitable volume, at the sides.
For embarkation and disembarkation, the crew and troops had to use a set of hatches in the hull superstructure. The driver and commander had their own hatches located behind the frontal plate and on the turret, respectively. For the landing, two hatches were provided, located in the stern sheet of the superstructure, between the stern parts of the fenders, as on the domestic airborne combat vehicles of the first models. When landing, the paratroopers had to lift the hatch covers and secure them in an upright position for use as additional protection. After exiting the hatch, the paratroopers had to walk along the roof of the engine compartment and descend to the ground through the stern or side of the vehicle.
The habitable volume was equipped with an air conditioning system and protection against weapons of mass destruction. To monitor the environment, the crew and troops could use a set of periscopic devices. The characteristic design of the sides did not allow equipping the BTR-T with a set of embrasures for firing personal weapons. Nevertheless, this opportunity came at the price of a significant increase in the protection of the crew and paratroopers.
BTR-T on the track of the landfill during the display at the VPV-2003 exhibition. Omsk, June 2003
Heavy armored personnel carrier BTR-T at the exhibition site of the VTTV-2003 exhibition. Omsk, June 2003
View of the tower with the armament of the BTR-T heavy armored personnel carrier from the left side. Omsk, June 2003
The BTR-T armored personnel carrier has enhanced protection not only in front, but also along the sides. Omsk, June 2003
On the BTR-T, the additional DPM fuel tanks, unlike the T-55 base tank, are hidden under the armor. Omsk, June 2003
The lower part of the BTR-T hull, in addition to rubber-fabric screens, has additional protection in the form of steel plates along the entire length of the transport-fighting compartment. Omsk, June 2003
The first demonstration of the prototype of the BTR-T heavy armored personnel carrier took place in 1997. The shown armored vehicle was built by Omsk specialists on the basis of the T-55 serial tank. In the future, prototypes of the new armored personnel carrier were regularly demonstrated at various exhibitions in order to attract potential customers.
The promotional materials mentioned a whole set of advantages of the proposed armored personnel carrier. It was argued that the proposed project makes it possible to equip the armed forces with modern highly protected equipment for transporting soldiers and their fire support. Given the proliferation of T-55 tanks, one could assume that the BTR-T project would be of interest to a large number of countries. Through the use of a tank chassis, it was possible to provide a sufficiently high level of protection and mobility at the level of medium and main tanks of common types. Customers were offered a choice of several combat modules with different weapons, which should have attracted additional attention to the new development.
The drawings of a heavy armored personnel carrier based on the T-55 tank were made by V. Malginov. Scale 1:35
The production of BTR-T vehicles from the existing T-55 tanks could be deployed at any production facilities with the necessary equipment. So, equipment for the Russian armed forces could be built in Omsk, and the needs of foreign customers could be satisfied through cooperation. In this case, KBTM could supply ready-made sets of equipment necessary for re-equipping the tank, and the customer's industry had to independently remake the armored vehicles using the supplied components.
However, the BTR-T armored personnel carrier was not without its drawbacks. First of all, an outdated platform can be considered a disadvantage. The T-55 medium tank has long failed to meet modern requirements for such equipment and therefore cannot be effectively used for its intended purpose. Nevertheless, with certain reservations, the T-55 can be a good platform for vehicles of other classes. It is possible to assess such a potential of this tank only taking into account the conditions of the intended operation of equipment based on it. The materials on the new project mentioned the possibility of creating a similar combat vehicle built on the chassis of other domestic tanks.
A noticeable drawback that passed to the armored personnel carrier from the base tank is the rather small volume of the manned compartment, due to which the BTR-T vehicle is capable of transporting only five paratroopers. In addition, the layout of the hull could negatively affect the performance of combat missions. Due to the engine compartment in the stern, it was necessary to make landing hatches in the middle of the hull. Because of this, the paratroopers had to dismount through the roof of the hull, risking injury or being killed.
The starting customer of the BTR-T heavy armored personnel carrier could be the Russian Ministry of Defense. At the storage bases of the ground forces there was a fairly large number of unused T-54 and T-55 tanks that could be used as the basis for promising armored personnel carriers. Nevertheless, in the late nineties and early two thousandths, our country did not have the financial ability to order a sufficient amount of such equipment.
BTR-T tower. right side view. In front of the commander's hatch there is an ATGM mounting bracket. Omsk, June 2003
The left front part of the BTR-T hull, the hatch and viewing devices of the driver are visible. Omsk, June 2003
The front sheet of the BTR-T hull is equipped with dynamic protection units similar to the T-80U tank. Omsk, June 2003
Front view of the BTR-T turret. To the left of the remotely controlled machine gun mount, the 1PN22M sight is visible. Omsk, June 2003
On the roof of the BTR-T hull on the starboard side there are hatches for access to the internal equipment of the vehicle. Omsk, June 2003
BTR-T rear view. The rear hull sheet remained unchanged, the same as on the T-55 base tank. Omsk, June 2003
Potential customers from foreign countries also showed no interest in the new Omsk development. The BTR-T armored personnel carrier had both pros and cons. Probably, the disadvantages of the car outweighed, as a result of which it was never able to become the subject of contracts with third countries. Even the widespread distribution of T-55 tanks, which are in service in many countries, did not contribute to receiving orders.
For a long time, there was no news about the BTR-T project. There were reasons to consider it stopped due to the lack of prospects. Nevertheless, in the fall of 2011, interesting information appeared about the construction of armored personnel carriers based on medium tanks. It was reported that the armed forces of Bangladesh have completed the re-equipment of 30 T54A battle tanks into a variant of the BTR-T heavy armored personnel carrier. The details of this alteration and the specifics of the participation of Russian enterprises (if any) remained unknown.
The project to create a heavy armored personnel carrier BTR-T was not crowned with success. The Russian army was unable to acquire such equipment due to the difficult economic situation, and in addition, it had claims to some design features, such as the absence of embrasures and the landing of troops through hatches in the stern sheet of the hull superstructure. Foreign countries also did not order ready-made armored personnel carriers-T or purchase sets of equipment for re-equipping existing tanks. Probably, the reasons for refusing purchases were the same as in the case of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Nevertheless, the BTR-T project, despite the unsuccessful completion, made it possible to collect a lot of useful information about the creation of heavy armored personnel carriers. It is quite possible that the developments on the unsuccessful BTR-T project several years later were used in new projects, and also made it possible to form the appearance of promising equipment for a similar purpose, including a heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on the Armata platform.
