How the first tanks appeared in the USSR. The first tanks of the First World War. A breakthrough in the technical equipment of armies. The first use of tanks in the First World War.

It makes sense to talk about Russian developments of that time.

At the beginning of the last century, the whole world lived in anticipation of a war the likes of which humanity had never yet known. On the eve of this war, states united into military-political alliances, fought “small” wars, honed the combat skills of their armies, and invented new types of weapons. One of them is the tank, which first appeared on the battlefields in 1916 and changed all the prevailing ideas about war at that time.

Russia was the first-born in the development of a new machine: in 1911, the son of the brilliant Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev, Vasily, developed the project super heavy tank, which combined all the advanced engineering solutions of that time. Here are the technical characteristics of this tank: weight 173.2 tons; armor weight 86.46 tons; weapon weight 10.65 tons; crew 8 people; length with gun 13 m, hull length 10 m, height with raised machine-gun turret 4.45 m, height with lowered machine-gun turret 3.5 m, hull height 2.8 m; gun ammunition 51 rounds; armor thickness 150 mm (front) and 100 mm (sides, rear, roof); engine power 250 l. With.; maximum speed 24 km/h; average specific ground pressure 2.5 kg/cm2.

The tank was supposed to be armed with 120 mm naval cannon, which was mounted in the bow of the hull. A machine gun turret mounted on the roof, which could rotate 360°, was raised outward and lowered inward, also using a pneumatic drive. A compressor driven by an engine provided the required amount of compressed air in the power compartment.

To transport a tank across railway it could be placed on railway ramps and move under its own power.

It is admirable that a talented Russian engineer looked far ahead, arming his brainchild with a large-caliber gun (guns of this caliber, 122-125 mm, are installed on almost all modern domestic tanks). The tanks that crawled onto the battlefields of the First World War were much weaker armed, but they successfully carried out combat missions. Undoubtedly, Mendeleev's tank, whether it was launched in mass production, would become the most outstanding weapon that war, invulnerable and formidable. It is interesting that many of the engineering solutions outlined in the project of Vasily Mendeleev’s tank were implemented much later and no longer in our country. For example, air suspension was used in the light English airborne tank "Tetrarch", and the Germans in 1942 copied the system of lowering the hull to the ground exactly, with almost no changes, using it in the super-heavy 600-mm self-propelled mortar "Thor". However, the priority here still remains with Russia.

In 1914, already at the height of the fighting of the First World War, the Main Military Technical Directorate received two projects for tracked armored vehicles. The first is the “All-terrain vehicle” of the Russian inventor A.A. Porokhovshchikov.

After much delay, on January 13, 1915, Porokhovshchikov was allocated 9,660 rubles for the construction of an all-terrain vehicle. And on February 1, 1915, in workshops located in the barracks of the Nizhny Novgorod regiment, stationed in Riga, the designer had already begun building a prototype. Three and a half months later, the all-terrain vehicle left the workshops and its testing began. This day - May 18, 1915 - should be considered the tank's birthday.

The world's first tank had all the basic elements of modern combat vehicles: a hull, weapons in a rotating turret, and an engine. The body is streamlined, the armor thickness is 8 millimeters. Very significant angles of inclination of the armor made it more resistant to armor-piercing weapons. Chassis protected by bulwarks. The prototype hull consisted of several layers of steel with a layer of hair and sea grass and was not penetrated by machine gun fire.

A. A. Porokhovshchikov's all-terrain vehicle with a combat weight of 4 tons with a crew of two people reached speeds on the highway of up to 25 kilometers per hour.

On a hard road, the “All-terrain vehicle” moved quite confidently, despite the weak engine (10 hp), and on December 29, 1916, it reached a speed of 40 versts/hour, which was exceptional high rate. At the same time, the car could not move at all on loose snow. Porokhovshchikov applied for funds to build an improved model, the All-Terrain Vehicle-2, already with an armored hull and an armament of four machine guns, but this was refused. In its conclusion about the “All-terrain vehicle-2”, the GVTU rightly (which happened infrequently) pointed out a number of shortcomings of the project, such as: the impossibility of simultaneous combat operation of three machine guns in the turret (or “conning tower”, as the inventor himself called it), the lack of a differential at the mover, slipping of the rubber belt on the drum, and in general its vulnerability, low cross-country ability of the vehicle when driving on loose soil, extreme difficulty in turning, etc. It is possible that in the future A. Porokhovshchikov would have been able to eliminate the most serious shortcomings, but there was no time for this in 1917. And the front, first of all, needed a special positional tank, capable of tearing through multi-row wire barriers, overcoming wide ditches and generally “ironing” the enemy’s defenses.

Porokhovshchikov’s all-terrain vehicle was tested several months earlier than the British tested their “little Willie.” But the English tank, tested on January 30, 1916, was immediately put into service under the brand name MK-1.

In September 1916, the first reports appeared in the press about the use of a new weapon by the British - the “land fleet”. These messages were published in the newspaper “New Time” dated September 25 (old style) 1916. In connection with these messages, the article “Land Fleet - Russian invention", which revealed to the general public the unsightly role of the Main Military-Technical Directorate in delaying Russian work on the creation of new weapons - all-terrain combat vehicles.

The second project, embodied “in hardware” in Russian Empire, is the “Tsar Tank” by N.V. Lebedenko, aka “Bat”. The idea for this unique structure was born to Captain Lebedenko during his service in the Caucasus, when he first saw the carts of local peasants. Being a well-connected person, he “reached out” to the “Father of Russian Aviation” himself, Nikolai Egorovich Zhukovsky. He recommended his nephews to him - students B.S. Stechkin and A. Mikulin. Software development appearance It was like a gun carriage enlarged several times with two huge 9-meter drive wheels with tangential spokes (by the way, the strength of these wheels was calculated personally by N.E. Zhukovsky) and a smaller, man-sized steering wheel. The Tsar Tank was armed with two guns and machine guns. Each wheel was powered by its own Maybach engine with a power of 240 Horse power(!). The main disadvantages of this tank were quite high pressure on the ground and the spokes are slightly vulnerable to enemy artillery. During the design process, B. Stechkin and A. Mikulin managed to implement a number of brilliant technical solutions. At the beginning of 1915, a brilliantly calculated project was presented at the State Higher Technical University, and the self-propelled model, reduced several times, successfully overcame obstacles in the form of pencil boxes and books in the playroom of Tsarevich Alexei Nikolaevich.

And finally, the day of sea trials has arrived. 60 versts north of Moscow, near ancient city Dmitrov, near the Orudevo station, an area was cleared in the forest, which, for the purpose of secrecy, was surrounded by a palisade and an earthen rampart. In August 1915, on the appointed day, in the presence of numerous representatives of the army and the military ministry, the car driven by Mikulin began to move quite confidently, immediately, like a match, breaking a birch tree that was in the way. This event was met with applause from those present. However, after walking several tens of meters, the miracle tank got stuck with its rear wheel in a shallow hole and was unable to move further, despite all the efforts of the Maybach engines, red from the effort - even their efforts were not enough to pull out the Tsar Tank.

After such a major failure, interest in the Lebedenko tank immediately died out, the tank was abandoned in the same place where it was tested; in 1923, what was left of the “Bat” by that time was dismantled, and only the remains of the earthen rampart now remind us of the ambitious project of Captain Lebedenko.

As a result of this, during the First World War, Russian tanks never appeared on the battlefields. But armored vehicles were produced in large numbers, which took an active part in both the First World War and the Civil War that began in Russia. Typically, a fairly significant part of them were produced on the chassis of the first domestic cars from the Russo-Balt company. Several types of such armored vehicles were produced, but the GVTU received the greatest financial and moral support from the project of engineer Kegress, who proposed converting all military equipment to half-tracks. But this reasonable decision was not destined to come true until 1917 - two revolutions prevented it.

Only in 1919, the Putilov plant produced 6 Austin-Putilovsky-Kegress armored cars, which in the same year entered into battle on the side of the Bolsheviks in battles against the troops of N.N. Yudenich near Petrograd. In the west such combat vehicle called the “Russian type of tank.”

The First World War brought a huge technical breakthrough in the military industry. Its course, especially the events of 1915, showed the need to create more mobile units in the armies.

Tanks - new progressive weapons for battle

The first tanks of the First World War appeared in 1916. This technical result was achieved by English and French engineers. Before talking about their characteristics, we need to understand why the first tanks appeared in the First World War. Fighting began vigorously, but the activity lasted literally a month. After this, the battles began to be mainly of a positional nature. This development of events did not suit any of the warring parties. The methods of warfare that existed at that time, as well as military equipment did not allow us to solve the problem of breaking through the front. It was necessary to look for a radically new solution to the problem.

The military leadership of England (and, in general, France) was wary of the initiatives of engineers to build armored vehicle on wheels or on tracks, but over time the generals realized the need to increase the level of technical equipment of their armies.

British tanks of the First World War

During the war, British engineers created several models of armored vehicles. The first option was called "Mark-1". The "baptism of fire" took place on September 15, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The first tanks of the First World War were still technically “damp”. According to the plan, it was necessary to use 49 tanks in battle. Due to technical problems, 17 tanks were unable to take part in the battle. Of the 32 tanks, 9 were able to break through the German defenses. After the first battle, problems that needed to be eliminated immediately became visible:

The armor should be stronger. The metal of the Mark-1 tank could withstand bullets and shell fragments, but in the event of a direct shell hit on the vehicle, the crew was doomed.

The absence of an engine room separated from the “salon”. While driving, the temperature in the tank was 50 degrees, all exhaust gases also went into the cabin.

What could this tank do? In principle, there is still a little to do: overcome wire and trenches up to 2 meters 70 centimeters wide.

Modernization of British tanks

The first tanks of the First World War were modernized during the course of hostilities. The Mark-1 tanks were no longer used in battles, because changes immediately began to be made to the design. What has been improved? It is clear that, given the continuation of hostilities, it was not possible to immediately improve the design of tanks. By the winter of 1917, production of the Mark-2 and Mark-3 models began. These tanks had more powerful armor, which a conventional shell could no longer penetrate. In addition, more powerful guns were installed on the tanks, which gradually increased the effectiveness of their combat use.

In 1918, mass production of the Mark-5 model began. The tanks of the First World War gradually became more combat-ready. For example, only the driver now controlled the tank. Speed ​​specifications have improved because engineers installed a new four-speed gearbox. The temperature inside this tank was no longer so high because a cooling system was installed. The engine was already to some extent separated from the main compartment. The tank commander was in a separate cabin. The tank was also equipped with another machine gun.

Tanks of the Russian Empire

In Russia, which also took part in the hostilities, work on the creation of the tank was in full swing. But it is worth noting that Russian tanks of the First World War never appeared on the battlefields, although they were very much needed tsarist army. main reason- absolute technical inability. Russian engineer Lebedenko was noted for creating the largest tank in the world in 1915, weighing more than 40 tons. It was called "Tsar Tank". During testing at the test site, the tank, equipped with two 240 l/s engines, stalled. They couldn't start it. Special technical characteristics, except for its size, the model had nothing.

German tanks from the First World War

By the end of the First World War, Germany, which lost the war, also acquired its own tanks. It's about about the A7B model. If you look at the tanks of the First World War, photos of which are in this article, you can see that at that time this model was very modern. The front of the tank is protected by 30 mm of armor, which made it difficult to penetrate this vehicle. The commander was on the upper platform (1.6 meters above ground level). The firing range was up to two kilometers. The tank was equipped with a 55-mm cannon, which had 100 rounds of ammunition. high-explosive fragmentation shells. In addition, the cannon could fire armor-piercing and grapeshot shells. With the help of a cannon, the tank could easily destroy enemy fortifications.

On March 21, 1918, a tank battle took place between the Germans and the British. German firsts The tanks of the First World War, as it turned out, were much more combat-ready than the British Mark 5. It is easy to understand the reason for the enormous advantage of the Germans: the British did not have guns on their tanks, so they could not shoot at the enemy so effectively.

A harbinger of progress

The French Renault tank produced in 1917 was already similar in shape to the modern one. The tank, unlike English models, could reverse. The crew entered and exited through the hatch ( British tanks during the First World War were equipped with doors on the side of the tank). The tank's turret could already rotate, that is, shooting took place in different directions (the tank could shoot left and right, and forward).

The first tanks of the First World War could not be absolutely technically perfect, because humanity always moves towards the ideal through mistakes and modifications.

The First World War differed from all previous wars in the abundance of innovations - military aviation, submarine warfare, chemical weapons and, of course, tanks, which brought the battles out of the deadlock of trench warfare.

UK tanks

The very first tank of the war was built on September 9, 1915 in Great Britain. At first it was called "Little Willie", but after it was finalized and put into production, it was given the name "". On September 15, 1915, tanks of this type were used in combat for the first time, in France, during the Battle of the Somme.

First combat use tanks showed that the design of the Mark I is imperfect. Tanks broke down, were easily penetrated, drove slowly - all these shortcomings led to huge losses. As a result, it was decided to significantly change the car. The tail was removed, the muffler was changed, the exhaust pipes were reconstructed, the thickness of the armor was increased - and as a result, the changes led to the appearance of first the Mark IV, and then the last British tank First World War.

In parallel with the Marks, in 1917 the British built the Whipett, or Mark A, high-speed tank - a fairly fast and reliable vehicle that showed itself well in combat. The Whipett was very different from other British tanks, but the main vehicles were still diamond-shaped - the British began producing tanks of a new format after the First World War.

Tanks of France

The first French tanks were the Schneider and Saint-Chamon, built in 1917. These machines had a number of disadvantages, but were quite effective at massive use. As a result, the tanks were converted into armored personnel carriers - their design turned out to be suitable for these purposes.

Played a much larger role in the development of world tank building french tank Renault FT-17 - the world's first production light tank, the first tank with a classic layout and the first tank with a rotating turret. The idea for its development came to Colonel Etienne in 1916, when he decided that the army really needed a type of tank to accompany infantry. As a result, it was decided to create a small, cheap machine, ideal for mass production. It was planned to produce 20-30 such machines per day, which would make it possible to fully equip French army tanks.

The development of the new car was undertaken by designer-manufacturer Louis Renault. As a result, the Renault FT-17 was born in 1917 - the result of much trial and error.

Immediately after entering the battlefield, the tanks received worldwide recognition. They were supplied to Russia (then to the USSR), Poland, USA, Japan, Italy, Romania, China and a number of other countries. car for a long time improved, and after the war it remained in service with many countries, and in France it was still the main tank. Some examples of the Renault FT-17 survived right up to the present day, and took part in hostilities at its initial stage.

In the end it was design features Renault FT-17 became the basis for further tank building.

Tanks of Russia

Even before the First World War, Russia had a tank project created by the son of D.I. Mendeleev, Vasily Dmitrievich Mendeleev. Unfortunately, the tank project was never implemented.

Already in the First world war Nikolay Lebedenko developed the first Russian tank- “Tsar Tank”. This huge vehicle, with a crew of 15 people and a hull length of 17.8 meters, was armed with powerful guns and was impressive in its size. Was built prototype, however, during road trials, he almost immediately got stuck with a wheel in a small hole, and the engine power was not enough to pull the car out. After such a failure, work on this tank was completed.

As a result, during the First World War, Russia did not produce its own tanks, but only actively used imported equipment.

Tank Germany

In Germany, the role of tanks in the war was understood too late. When the Germans realized the power of tanks, German industry had neither the materials nor the manpower to create combat vehicles.

However, in November 1916, engineer Vollmer was ordered to design and build the first german tank. The tank was presented in May 1917, but did not satisfy the command. An order was given to design a more powerful machine, but work on it was delayed. As a result, the first German A7V tank appeared only in 1918.

The tank had one significant feature - protected tracks, which were so vulnerable on British and French vehicles. However, the car had poor cross-country ability and was generally not good enough. Almost immediately the Germans created new tank, A7VU, more similar in shape to English tanks, and this vehicle was already used more successfully, becoming the progenitor of future heavy tanks.

October 25, 2013

Self-propelled armored van

It is impossible to imagine a modern army without tanks. They are the main ones impact force ground forces. But the history of the use of these combat vehicles has not even reached the century mark.

The idea of ​​​​protecting a foot soldier from enemy fire has been developed for a long time. Siege towers, used since ancient times, are proof of this. But we needed a vehicle that could move in infantry combat formations and support it with its fire.

One of the ancestors modern tanks can be considered the great Leonardo Da Vinci. His self-propelled armored van, according to calculations, was supposed to be driven by the muscular power of people, through levers and gears. The design assumed the placement of lungs artillery pieces and an observation tower. The wooden and metal hull plating was supposed to reliably protect the crew from arrows and firearms. True, the project did not come to practical implementation.

Crawler

The idea of ​​​​creating armored mechanisms was revived in the 19th century, when engines, first steam, and then internal combustion and electric, became widespread.

The first known project, which combined the current elements of a tank - caterpillar tracks, engine, artillery and machine gun armament and armor protection, was developed by the French engineer Edouard Bouyen in 1874. His car was supposed to weigh about 120 tons and reach speeds of up to 10 km per hour. The planned armament is 12 cannons and 4 mitrailleuses (predecessors of the machine gun). The number of crew was amazing - 200 fighters! This project was patented, but remained on paper.

The impetus for the development of tank forces was given by the battles of the First World War. After a relatively short period of maneuver, a protracted positional period began. There was a crisis of military thought. The saturation of the infantry with rapid-fire rifles, machine guns, artillery, and the engineering equipment of defensive lines led to the fact that neither side was able to break through the front. Dense rifle and machine gun fire literally mowed down the advancing troops. At the cost of huge losses, only small tactical successes were achieved. Some completely new methods of breaking into defensive formations were needed. It was then that the first tanks entered the war arena, along with poisonous gases.

The British are considered the founders of tanks. It was they who first put them into mass production and used them on the battlefield. However, the issue of primacy is quite controversial. The fact is that the Russian engineer Porokhovshchikov developed back in 1914 and in 1915 created a model of an “all-terrain vehicle” with caterpillar tracks, weighing 4 tons, with a crew of 2 people. The project was highly approved and tested, but for some unclear bureaucratic reasons it was not until serial production not completed. The tests took place in May 1915, that is, several months earlier than the British.

However, England is considered the official birthplace of tanks. It went from there modern name. By the way, there are discrepancies on this matter. According to one version, the tank (in English this means tank, tank) was so named in connection with external resemblance with a metal tank. Another version says that this happened during secret operation for the transfer of combat vehicles to the theater of military operations, when they were transported under the guise of containers with liquids.

The very first tanks were called Mark I, and were divided into “females” (with machine gun armament) and “males” (with mounted guns). The weight of the combat vehicle reached 8.5 tons. The height of the tank was 2.5 meters, width up to 4.3, length up to 10 meters with a wheeled “tail”. The layout of the tank was carried out according to a diamond-shaped pattern. The 105 horsepower engine could move this armored miracle over rough terrain at speeds of up to 6 km/h. The crew of 8 people was protected by 12 mm frontal armor, which at that time was good cover from fire small arms and machine guns. They were armed with 1 gun and 4 machine guns (“males”) or 5 machine guns (“females”). The series of tanks amounted to 150 units.

The first combat use of tanks took place on September 15, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Although design flaws were immediately identified, the effect was still amazing. Armored monsters terrified the defenders German soldiers. During one day of battle, the British managed to achieve tactical success, breaking through the enemy’s defenses to a depth of 5 km, suffering losses 20 times less than what had happened before.

Thus, the combat significance of tanks was proven. The development of armored vehicles continued actively in all large states. Soon it was simply impossible to imagine the armed forces without tanks.

After few years tank forces will celebrate their centenary. The appearance of the armored fighting vehicle has changed beyond recognition. But the main requirements are the same - speed, maneuverability, security and firepower.

Since the First World War and to this day, tanks have dominated the fields of wars and local conflicts. In the USSR, tank building was well established. Tanks were modernized and became more and more efficient.

First tanks

Tanks first found combat use on the fields of the First World War. However, neither Russian nor German troops ever used tanks on the Eastern Front. The first stage in the development of tank building in Soviet Russia began copying captured samples captured during Civil War. Thus, based on the Renault tanks captured in the battles near Odessa in 1919, a series of 12 tanks was created at the Sormovsky plant in Nizhny Novgorod. The next step was the creation of the MS-1 tanks, which found their first combat use in battles on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929. By the end of the thirties they began to be used as fixed firing points.

Searches and solutions

The second stage can be called the period 1929 - 1939, when our own tanks were created on the basis of projects acquired abroad. Some cars contained significant borrowings, others - much less. The main task was to give the Red Army a large number of tanks that are easy to manufacture and operate. This is how the relatively simple and mass-produced Soviet light tanks “T-26” and “BT” appeared, which proved themselves well in military conflicts of the interwar period.

The period of the 1930s for the whole world and not only for the USSR was a time of searching for solutions to what exactly a tank should be. There were a variety of ideas and concepts: from tactical and technical data to methods of application. The idea of ​​​​creating a multi-turret tank in the USSR was reflected in the appearance of the T-28 and T-35 tanks, designed to break through enemy fortifications.

"T-28" performed well during the Polish campaign and in difficult conditions Soviet-Finnish War. However, after the war with Finland, they settled on the idea of ​​​​creating a single-turret tank with projectile-proof armor. A great success was the creation of the V-2 diesel engine, which was installed during the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War for all Soviet medium and heavy tanks. So, back on November 3, 1939, People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov and People's Commissar of Medium Engineering Ivan Likhachev reported to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks that Soviet tank builders in short term“We achieved truly outstanding results by designing and building tanks that have no equal.” We were talking about the T-34 and KV tanks.

First in the world

On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, tank production was launched in Kharkov, Leningrad and Stalingrad (before the war they began to master the production of T-34). And by the beginning of World War II, the USSR surpassed any army in the world in the number of tanks. In addition, one of the features of the USSR was the massive (for example, in comparison with Germany) production of armored vehicles, which also played a significant role in the military conflicts of the late 1930s.

Refusal of light tanks

The period of the Great Patriotic War is characterized by a number of trends. Firstly, during the evacuation of industry to the east of the country and huge losses in tanks in the first months of the war, the creation and production of simple and cheap combat vehicles was required. This became the second most popular tank after the T-34, the T-60, created on the basis of the T-40 amphibious tank.

Armed with a 20 mm automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm machine gun, the tank played important role in the battle of Moscow. Its further development was the T-70 and T-80 light tanks with enhanced armor protection and a 45-mm cannon.

However, after 1943, further design and production of light tanks in the USSR was considered inappropriate due to their great vulnerability, although Germany and the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition continued to produce such vehicles in varying proportions.

"Thirty-four"

The second trend has become very fast development and the aging of tanks - if in 1941 the Soviet T-34 and KV with 76 mm guns were almost invulnerable in tank battles, then from mid-1942 the picture changed - it was necessary to create more powerful tanks. The USSR took the path of creating, if not an ideal, but simple and mass-produced tank, which became the T-34/76 and T-34/85.

"T-34" became the most mass tank Second World War. In total, about 48 thousand Thirty-Fours were produced during the war years. For comparison: there are 48 thousand Sherman tanks, and about 9.5 thousand German T-IV tanks.

The T-34 really turned out to be the best option for domestic industry, army and specific combat conditions from the Caucasus to the Arctic.

Similar trends were reflected in the creation of heavy IS tanks. In addition, if before the Great Patriotic War self-propelled guns did not occupy a significant place in the Red Army’s weapons system, then from the middle of the war, on the contrary, self-propelled guns began to play a significant role and their mass production began.

After the war. Three tanks

The post-war period is characterized by a generalization of the experience of the Second World War. Conceptually, heavy and medium tanks were left in service, and from the early 1960s there was a transition to the creation of a main tank.

In the USSR of the 1970-1980s, there were essentially three main tanks. The first was the T-64 (produced in Kharkov) - fundamentally new car, in which a number of truly revolutionary ideas were embodied. However, the tank remained too difficult to master and operate. However, the vehicle was not removed from service and remained in western districts THE USSR.

The second vehicle was the T-80 developed at the Kirov plant; the first vehicles were produced there, and mass production was launched in Omsk. The tank had a gas turbine engine, and due to the increased speed, the chassis also changed.

The third, and one of the most famous models, was the T-72, which was modernized several times. Its production was established in Nizhny Tagil. The post-war period is also characterized by large-scale exports Soviet armored vehicles, due to both economic and political reasons. In a number of countries it has been established and own production. First of all, this concerns the Warsaw Pact countries and partly China. Relatively simple and cheap soviet tanks found widespread use in wars and local conflicts in Africa and Asia.