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Light tank T 80 model 1943. When the first tanks appeared in the USSR. Use in combat

T-80
Light tank T-80 in the Armored Museum in Kubinka
T-80
Combat weight, t	11,6
Crew, people	3
Story
Number of issued, pcs.	70
Dimensions
Case length, mm	4285
Width, mm	2420
Booking
Armor type	heterogeneous rolled high hardness
Body forehead (top), mm/deg.	35/60°
Body forehead (bottom), mm/deg.	45/−30° and 15/−81°
Hull side, mm/deg.	25/0°
Hull stern (top), mm/deg.	15/76°
Hull rear (bottom), mm/deg.	25/−44°
Bottom, mm	10
Housing roof, mm	15
Gun mask, mm/deg.	35
Tower side, mm/deg.	35/5°
Tower roof, mm	10 and 15
Armament
Caliber and brand of gun	45mm 20-K
Barrel length, calibers	46
Gun ammunition	94-100
Angles VN, degrees.	−8…+65°
Angles GN, degrees.	360°
Sights	TMF-1, K-8T
Machine guns	1 × 7.62 mm DT
Mobility
engine's type	twin in-line 4‑stroke 6‑cylinder carburetor
Engine model	GAZ-203F (M-80)
Engine power, l. With.	2×85
Highway speed, km/h	42
Speed over rough terrain, km/h	20-25
Highway range, km	320
Cruising range over rough terrain, km	250
Specific power, l. s./t	14,6
Suspension type	torsion bar individual
Specific ground pressure, kg/cm²	0,84
Climbability, degrees.	34
Wall to be overcome, m	0,7
Ditch to be overcome, m	1,7
Fordability, m	1,0
T-80 on Wikimedia Commons

This is an article about a light tank from the Second World War. For the Soviet main battle tank, see article T-80

The T-80 became the last domestically developed wartime light tank.

History of creation

From the very first moment the T-70 light tank was adopted by the Red Army, Soviet military experts pointed out its main weakness - its single-seat turret. But the design of the tank still had reserves that could be used to eliminate this shortcoming. The GAZ tank design bureau, headed by N.A. Astrov, promised this to the military even when the GAZ-70 prototype was shown and got into work almost immediately after the serial production of the T-70 was established. During the late spring, summer and early autumn of 1942, it was determined that installing a two-man turret would greatly increase the load on the tank's engine, transmission and chassis. Tests of the T-70 tank, loaded to 11 tons, fully confirmed these fears - during the tests, suspension torsion bars burst, tracks broke, and transmission components and assemblies failed. Therefore, the main work was carried out to strengthen these structural elements; it successfully ended with the adoption of the T-70M modification into service by the Red Army. Also, by the fall, a two-man turret for the T-70 tank was manufactured and successfully tested, but two obstacles stood in the way of mass production.

The first of these was the insufficient power of the GAZ-203 twin propulsion system. It was planned to increase it by boosting it to 170 hp. With. in total due to an increase in the cylinder filling ratio and an increase in the compression ratio. The second obstacle arose from the requirement to provide large elevation angles for the gun to hit targets on the upper floors of buildings in urban battles. This could also make it possible to increase the fire countermeasures of enemy aircraft. In particular, the commander of the Kalinin Front, Lieutenant General I.S. Konev, insisted on this. The already developed two-man turret for the T-70 did not satisfy this requirement and was redesigned to allow firing from a gun at a high elevation angle. The second prototype with the new turret received the factory designation 080 or 0-80. For more convenient placement of a gun with the possibility of anti-aircraft firing and two crew members, it was necessary to widen the diameter of the shoulder strap and make an armored barbette ring with a thickness of 40-45 mm under the inclined edges of the turret. Due to the wider turret shoulder strap, it became impossible to dismantle the engine without first removing the turret - the armor ring began to overlap the removable over-engine armor plate.

Production

Serial production of the T-80 began in Mytishchi at plant No. 40 in February 1943. Production volumes were small; about 80 vehicles were produced before production ended in October 1943. The total number of T-80s produced remains unclear. According to documents of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army, a total of 70 “eighties” were built. However, reports from the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry contain slightly different figures. According to this department, 81 T-80 tanks were produced in 1943, and 85 throughout the war. However, this number may include prototypes, development and pre-production vehicles. Also, some authors include experimental vehicles built by GAZ in the total number of T-80s produced. According to plant number 40, only 66 tanks were produced in 1943, and 11 of them were delivered twice. Hence the confusion. In total, together with four prototypes of the GAZ plant, 70 cars were built.

The cessation of production of the T-80 was to a certain extent due to several reasons: to a lesser extent - the unreliable operation of the forced M-80 propulsion system (in the sources its designations also differ - the indices M-80 or GAZ-203F are mentioned); to a greater extent, the reasons were the insufficient firepower and armor protection of the “eighty” as of 1943 (see section “”) and the extreme need of the Red Army for the SU-76M self-propelled artillery mounts. By the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, the upgraded propulsion system was brought to an acceptable level of reliability, but there was no question of resuming production of the T-80.

Due to the unreliable operation of the propulsion system, weak weapons for 1943, and the great need of the Red Army for self-propelled guns SU-76M, the T-80 was discontinued. On the basis of the T-80, an experimental tank with a high-power 45-mm VT-43 tank gun was built at the beginning of 1943, but it was not adopted by the Red Army. However, according to other sources, the curtailment of the production of these tanks was simply caused by the destruction of the production facilities of the Gorky Automobile Plant as a result of a series of unpunished bombings by the Luftwaffe in 1942.

Description of design

Armored hull and turret

The armored body of the tank was welded from rolled heterogeneous (surface hardening was used) armor plates with a thickness of 10, 15, 25, 35 and 45 mm. Armor protection is differentiated, bulletproof. The front and rear armor plates had rational angles of inclination, and the sides were vertical. The side of the T-80 was made of two armor plates connected by welding. To strengthen the weld, a vertical stiffening beam was installed inside the hull, riveted to the front and rear side parts. A number of hull armor plates (over-engine and over-radiator plates) were removable for ease of maintenance and replacement of various components and assemblies of the tank. The driver's workplace was located in the front part of the tank's armored hull with some offset to the left from the central longitudinal plane of the vehicle. The hatch for boarding and disembarking the driver was located on the frontal armor plate and was equipped with a balancing mechanism to facilitate opening. The presence of the driver's hatch weakened the resistance of the upper frontal part to projectile hits. The bottom of the T-80 was welded from three armor plates 10 mm thick, and to ensure rigidity, transverse box-shaped beams were welded to it, in which the torsion bars of the suspension units were located. An emergency hatch was made in the front part of the bottom under the driver's seat. The hull also had a number of air inlets, hatches, hatches and technological openings for ventilation of the habitable spaces of the tank, draining fuel and oil, and access to the necks of the fuel tanks and other components and assemblies of the vehicle. A number of these holes were protected by armored covers, flaps and casings.

Armament

The main armament of the T-80 was a rifled semi-automatic 45-mm tank gun mod. 1938 (20-Km or 20Km) The gun was mounted on axles in the plane of longitudinal symmetry of the turret. The 20-K gun had a 46-caliber barrel, the height of the firing line was 1630 mm, the direct fire range reached 3.6 km, the maximum possible was 6 km. The gun was paired with a 7.62 mm DT machine gun, which could easily be removed from the twin mount and used outside the tank. The twin installation had a range of elevation angles from −8° to +65° and horizontal circular fire. The rotating mechanism of the gear-type turret, with a manual drive, was located to the left of the tank commander, and the lifting mechanism of the gun (screw type, also with a manual drive) was located on the right. The machine gun's release was mechanical; the gun was equipped with an electric trigger.

The DT coaxial machine gun had 1,008 rounds of ammunition (16 discs), and the crew was also equipped with one PPSh submachine gun with 3 discs (213 rounds) and 12 F-1 hand grenades. In a number of cases, a pistol was added to this weaponry for firing signal flares.

Engine

The T-80 was equipped with a GAZ-203F power unit (later designated M-80) from twin four-stroke in-line six-cylinder carburetor liquid-cooled GAZ-80 engines. As a result, the maximum total power of the GAZ-203F unit reached 170 hp. With. (125 kW) at 3400 rpm. Both engines were equipped with K-43 type carburetors. The engine crankshafts were connected by a coupling with elastic bushings. To avoid longitudinal vibrations of the entire unit, the flywheel housing of the front GAZ-80 was connected by a rod to the right side of the tank. Each “half” of the GAZ-203F had its own ignition, lubrication and fuel supply systems. In the cooling system of the power unit, the water pump was common, but the water-oil radiator was two sections, each section was responsible for servicing its own GAZ-80. The GAZ-203F installation was equipped with an oil-inertia type air cleaner.

Like its predecessor T-70, the T-80 was equipped with an engine pre-heater for operation in winter conditions. A cylindrical boiler was installed between the side of the tank and the engine, in which heating was carried out due to thermosiphon circulation of antifreeze. The boiler was heated with an external gasoline blowtorch. The heater boiler and water-oil radiator were an integral part of the cooling system of the entire power unit of the tank.

The engine was started by two parallel-connected ST-06 starters (power 2 hp or 1.5 kW). The tank could also be started by hand or towed by another tank.

Transmission

The T-80 tank was equipped with a mechanical transmission, which included:

double-disc semi-centrifugal main clutch of dry friction “steel on ferodo”;
four-speed gearbox (4 forward gears and 1 reverse), parts from the ZIS-5 truck were used;
cardan shaft;
bevel final drive;
two multi-disc onboard clutches with dry friction “steel on steel” and band brakes with ferodo linings;
two simple single-row final drives.

All transmission control drives are mechanical; the driver controlled the rotation and braking of the tank with two levers on both sides of his workplace.

Chassis

The chassis of the T-80 tank was almost completely inherited from its predecessor, the T-70M. The vehicle's suspension is individual torsion bar without shock absorbers for each of 5 single-pitch solid stamped road wheels of small diameter (550 mm) with rubber bands on each side. Opposite the suspension units closest to the stern, travel limiters of the suspension balancers with rubber buffers were welded to the armored hull to soften the blows; for the first and third suspension units from the front of the vehicle, the role of limiters was played by support rollers. The lantern gear drive wheels with removable gear rims were located in front, and idlers unified with support rollers and a caterpillar tension mechanism were located in the rear. The upper branch of the caterpillar was supported by three small support rollers on each side. Fenders were riveted to the tank hull to prevent the track from jamming when the tank moved with a significant list on one of the sides. The caterpillar is small-linked and consists of 80 tracks; the width of the double-ridge track is 300 mm.

Electrical equipment

The electrical wiring in the T-80 tank was single-wire, the second wire being the armored hull of the vehicle. The sources of electricity (operating voltage 12 V) were a GT-500S generator with a relay-regulator RRK-GT-500S with a power of 500 W and two series-connected 3-STE-112 batteries with a total capacity of 112 Ah. Electricity consumers included:

Sights and observation devices

The twin installation of the 20-K cannon and DT machine gun was equipped with a TMF-1 sight for firing at ground targets and a K-8T collimator sight for firing at air targets and the upper floors of buildings. The driver's, gunner's, and commander's positions on the T-80 also each had one periscope viewing device for monitoring the environment outside the tank. However, for a vehicle with a commander's cupola, visibility could have been even better - the lack of viewing devices still affected it.

Means of communication

On T-80 tanks, a 12RT radio station and an internal intercom TPU for 3 subscribers were installed in the turret.

The 12RT radio station was a set of transmitter, receiver and umformers (single-armature motor-generators) for their power supply, connected to the on-board electrical network with a voltage of 12 V. From a technical point of view, it was a duplex tube shortwave radio station with a transmitter output power of 20 W, operating for transmission in frequency range from 4 to 5.625 MHz (wavelengths from 53.3 to 75 m, respectively), and for reception - from 3.75 to 6 MHz (wavelengths from 50 to 80 m). The different ranges of the transmitter and receiver were explained by the fact that the 4-5.625 MHz range was intended for two-way “tank-to-tank” communication, and the extended range of the receiver was used for one-way “headquarters-to-tank” communication. When parked, the communication range in telephone (voice, amplitude modulation of the carrier) mode in the absence of interference reached 15-25 km; while moving, it decreased slightly. A greater communication range could be obtained in telegraph mode, when information was transmitted by a telegraph key using Morse code or another discrete coding system.

The TPU tank intercom made it possible to negotiate between members of the tank crew even in a very noisy environment and connect a headset (headsets and laryngophones) to a radio station for external communication.

Modifications

Serial

The T-80 light tank was officially produced in a single production modification without any significant design changes during production. Serial combat and special vehicles (self-propelled artillery, ZSU, armored personnel carriers, armored personnel carriers, tractors, etc.) based on the T-80 light tank were also not produced.

Experienced

The lack of armament (primarily the low armor penetration of the 20-K cannon by the standards of the end of 1942) of the T-80 tank actively stimulated work on its re-equipment with a more powerful artillery system. As a solution to the problem, it was proposed to use a 45-mm long-barreled gun VT-42 jointly developed by Plant No. 40 and OKB No. 172 with the ballistics of a 45-mm anti-tank gun mod. 1942 (M-42) . This gun has already been successfully tested in the T-70 tank, however, due to the planned transition to the production of the T-80, it was not installed in the serial "seventies". However, the VT-42 did not have the ability to fire at high elevation angles required by the T-80, so its design had to be significantly redesigned. At the beginning of 1943, this work was completed, and a version of the 45-mm long-barreled gun VT-43 was successfully tested in the T-80 tank. With the exception of a higher muzzle velocity (950 m/s) and a larger maximum elevation angle (+78°), all other characteristics of the tank remained unchanged. The gun was adopted for arming T-80 tanks, but due to the cessation of their production, all work on it was completed.

Organizational and staffing structure

The T-80 light tank was intended to replace the T-70 light tank in the army and was to be used as part of separate tank brigades, tank regiments and armored battalions. However, due to the objective weakness of the T-70, from November 1943 the organizational structure was revised towards their exclusion from the tank brigades (united states No. 010/500 - 010/506), and from March 4, 1944, the General Staff of the Red Army released Directive No. Org/3/2305 on the exclusion of the T-70 from tank regiments. T-80s began to arrive at the front during the course of this reorganization, so it is not yet possible to establish exactly their place and number in the organizational structure. The surviving T-70s and new T-80s were transferred to reconnaissance armored battalions (they included a company of light tanks numbering 7 vehicles, the rest were BA-64 armored vehicles) and, for use as command vehicles, in self-propelled artillery units, armed with self-propelled guns SU- 76, which had the same type of chassis components and assemblies as the T-70M and T-80.

Combat use

As of 2007, no details of the combat use of T-80 light tanks have yet been found in archives and memoirs. The literature sometimes mentions complaints from the troops about the overload and insufficient reliability of the tank's power plant, but this may be a consequence of reports on military tests of the vehicle produced in mid-1943, where these shortcomings were actually noted. From front-line reports we know about the use of several T-80s in self-propelled artillery regiments in 1944. There is also information about the receipt by the 5th Guards Tank Brigade of two T-80 tanks from repair on February 15, 1945. In addition, on September 7, 1943, 27 T-80s (of which 20 were radio-equipped) were shipped to Tula to the 230th Tank Regiment. Another 27 vehicles were shipped there for the 54th Regiment of the 12th Guards. cd. Nothing is known about the use of the T-80 in the armies of other states besides the USSR.

Project evaluation

The Eighty, created under extreme wartime conditions, was the last in a series of Soviet mass-produced light tanks of the Great Patriotic War. According to the pre-war views of the Soviet leadership, light tanks were supposed to make up a significant portion of the material part of the tank forces of the Red Army, have a low production cost compared to medium and heavy vehicles, and also, in the event of a large-scale war, be produced in large quantities at non-specialized enterprises. The pre-war T-50 was supposed to be such a light tank. However, for a number of reasons (evacuation of the manufacturer, shortage of diesel engines, etc.), the production of the T-50 amounted to about 70 tanks. In addition, for plant No. 37, whose mobilization task was to master the production of the T-50, the task turned out to be impossible. However, a tank with characteristics close to the T-50 was objectively needed by the Red Army. The design bureau of plant No. 37 (later GAZ), headed by N. A. Astrov, starting from the T-40 small amphibious tank, which was well established in production, and consistently improving the idea of a light tank with the widespread use of cheap automobile units, managed to create such a tank by the end of 1942. the car that the T-80 was. The previous stages in this intense work were the T-60 and T-70 light tanks. However, the lighter weight “eighty” was not a full-fledged substitute for the T-50, inferior to the latter in a number of indicators: power density, visibility, armor protection (especially onboard), power reserve. On the other hand, the manufacturability and low cost of the “eighty” compared to other Soviet tanks (the legacy of the predecessor T-70) made it possible to fulfill the wishes of the top management about the potential possibility of mass production of such tanks at non-specialized enterprises, the ergonomics of the vehicle (a significant weakness of the “seventy”) could be considered acceptable. However, for reasons not directly related to the design of the tank, this potential opportunity was not realized in practice.

An important circumstance that influenced the fate of both the T-80 and domestic light tanks in general was the changed situation at the front. The appearance of T-34s in large numbers on the battlefield required the Germans to qualitatively strengthen their anti-tank artillery. During 1942, the Wehrmacht received a large number of 50 mm and 75 mm anti-tank guns, tanks and self-propelled guns armed with long-barreled 75 mm guns. If the frontal armor of the T-80 could at least somehow help against 50-mm shells in some cases, then the 75-mm long-barreled guns had no problems hitting the T-80 at any distances and battle angles (given thicknesses of homogeneous hull sheets for 50 -mm armor-piercing projectile: bottom sheet - 60 mm, ram sheet - 52 mm, top sheet - 67 mm). The latter's side armor did not save even the outdated 37-mm Pak 35/36 cannon from normal fire, although, compared to the T-70M, thickening the side armor to 25 mm improved its projectile resistance at oblique firing angles. As a result, when breaking through the defense prepared in anti-tank terms, T-80 units were doomed to high losses. The power of 45-mm shells was clearly insufficient to combat both enemy anti-tank guns and German armored vehicles (the frontal armor of even medium-sized modernized PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV could only be penetrated by a sub-caliber projectile from extremely short distances). Therefore, the attack on enemy armored forces by T-80 units had to be carried out primarily from ambushes, firing from short distances at the side and stern. This required high skill and skill from Soviet tank crews. The Battle of Kursk clearly demonstrated the validity of these theses in relation to the T-70; The T-80 in this regard was practically equivalent to the Seventy, which was one of the reasons for the cessation of production of light tanks in the USSR.

T-80 tanks are the main combat vehicles mass-produced in the USSR, starting in 1978. Operation was carried out until 1998. This combat unit was the first of its kind equipped with a system of dynamic protection against projectiles, as well as a power plant based on a gas turbine.

T-80 light tanks were also produced between 1942 and 1943. Only 70 samples were produced. Subsequently, its “stamping” at the plant was replaced by the production of SU-76M artillery systems. T-80 light tanks were no longer produced.

History of creation

The history of the tank dates back to 1964, when at a meeting of the CPSU Central Committee it was decided to develop a new combat vehicle, using the T-64 as a basis. The innovative tank was conceived as a carrier of a gas turbine engine, which would contribute to a power reserve of 450 kilometers with 1000 horsepower and a warranty period of 500 hours.

The reason for making this decision is due to the obsolescence of the T-64. The leadership relied on this as a means of increasing the operational characteristics of a combat unit. A special feature of this mechanism was that there was no need to warm up before starting work, which significantly reduced the time it took to bring the tank crew into combat readiness. Especially in harsh winter conditions.

First tests

From approximately 1968 to 1974, experimental T-80 tanks (then still bearing modest experimental names like “Object-219”) underwent a series of tests. Some showed unsatisfactory results in the operation of the new type of engine, some completely failed.

After a number of modifications, the equipment was tested again - either in highly dusty conditions or during maneuvers on virgin snow.

T-80 tanks with a diesel engine were noted for their high maneuverability when interacting with the vehicle. The vehicle easily moved to the front positions in order to attack the enemy, developing a speed of 20 to 30 km/h.

On different types of terrain, these tanks showed average speeds from 20 to 40 km/h, while oil consumption tended to zero, and fuel consumption ranged from 435 to 840 liters.

Tank T-80. Characteristics and modernization

In 1976, the Object-219 was put into service under the T-80 designation. This is how the first tanks with a gas turbine engine appeared. For comparison: the American Abrams tank was put into production only in 1980.

The T-80 tank (photo below) had a hull made of welded armor plates, largely similar in design to its predecessors - the T-72 and T-64A.

The turret is completely cast from armored steel, has a complex configuration and is equipped with a range finder. The caliber of the gun is 125 mm, the gun is equipped with a casing at the base of the barrel, the charging mechanism and the projectile loading system are in many ways similar to the T-64A. Also on the tower were the Utes anti-aircraft machine gun and the infantry PKT.

Rolled and cast steel, as well as combined. The weight of the T-80 tank was 42 tons. Length (including the gun) - approximately 9656 mm, hull - 6780 mm, width - 3525 mm, height (from the lowest point to the top of the turret) - 3525 mm.

T-80BV and other upgrades

Technological progress did not stand still. In 1978, an improved version appeared - T-80B. It was distinguished by the presence of a “Cobra” controlled weapon system, a tactical system for launching smoke bombs “Tucha” and reinforced armor for both the hull and the turret.

At the same time, the T-80BK model was developed at the Omsk plant.

In 1985, the T-80BV model entered service. It differs from its predecessor in the presence of dynamic protection on the turret and hull.

The last and most successful modification was the T-80U model, developed in the same 1985. The design principles were inherited from previous 80 models. The weight increased to 46 tons.

The fire control system has received a number of improvements, such as a night and day gunner's aiming complex and a commander's computer-sighting mechanism.

Innovations made it possible to fight not only against armored targets, but also against low-flying helicopters thanks to the integrated Reflex missile guidance control system. The fired projectile is aimed at the pointer by a laser beam at a distance of 100 to 5000 meters.

Performance characteristics of new products

T-80 tanks were rightfully considered one of the most advanced achievements of domestic design thought. For comparison, their tactical and technical characteristics should be considered.

The T-80BV had a mass of 43.7 tons, while the T-80U was heavier and weighed as much as 46.

The length of the first, including the cannon, was 9651 mm, while the improved model was shorter - 9556 mm.

As for the body itself, it’s the other way around. The T-80B had a length of 6982 mm and a width of 3582 mm, while the T-80U had characteristics of 7012 mm and 3603 mm, respectively.

The difference in height is almost invisible to the naked eye. The numbers indicate the difference only in the documentation - 2219 versus 2215 mm.

Discontinuation of production

The T-80 tank (photo below) had a number of modifications intended for export to different countries of the world. There are countless of them. For example, the model “eighty” with a diesel engine, produced in Kharkov under the marking T-80UD, formed the basis of the military equipment of Ukraine: “Oplot”, BM “Oplot” and T-84.

Production of the "eighty" was discontinued in 1998. The reasons, unfortunately, are unknown. Nevertheless, the combat vehicle is still in service with the army of the Russian Federation.

"Armata"

On May 5, 2016, at a parade on Red Square, the new generation T-14 tank on the Armata platform was presented to the general public.

It was developed as part of the “Future Combat Systems” project, as well as for participation in “network-centric warfare.” This term refers to a military doctrine proclaimed by NATO countries, which represents the coordination of the actions of offensive or defensive forces united into a single information network.

The T-14 became Russia's first stealth tank. The body of the vehicle is constructed of a special material that makes it difficult for the vehicle to be recognized by the main known radar waves and significantly reduces the distance required to lock on a target with Javelin or Brimstone-type missile guidance systems.

The peculiarity of the tank is that the crew is located entirely in the hull. The tower remains uninhabited, which also helps to protect crew members in combat conditions.

The Armata complex is equipped with the Afganit system, which allows it to intercept projectiles. The built-in system for forming smoke-metal curtains allows you to “blind” radio-controlled drones and mines due to signal distortion by the mentioned particles. This, in turn, does not harm the infantry and equipment accompanying the combat vehicle.

The T-14 is equipped with dynamic armor, the principle of which is based on firing an armor plate towards an incoming projectile. It is believed that this method of armoring is also capable of reflecting shots from an anti-tank grenade launcher.

Technical progress does not stand still; new types of weapons are being developed every day in secret laboratories. It is known that “Armata” has been put into production until 2020. And they do not plan to interrupt the “stamping” of innovative technology even in a crisis.

But what new product will be capable of surpassing the T-14, futuristic walking tanks? Time will show.

Developer: GKB under the direction of N.A. Astrov
Year of commencement of work: 1942
Year of production of the first prototype: December 1942

Immediately after the adoption of the GAZ-70 tank into service, and the establishment of its mass production under the designation T-70, alarming reports began to arrive from combat units. Despite the enhanced armor protection and armament compared to the T-40 and T-60, the new tank was still equipped with a single turret. This had an extremely negative impact on the work of the crew, since during the battle the commander of the vehicle was forced to simultaneously give orders to the driver, fire the cannon, supply ammunition himself, and load it himself.

The solution to this problem began in the spring of 1942, but then the new double turret developed by design bureau engineers under the leadership of Astrov was not accepted for installation on production T-70s due to numerous identified shortcomings. In particular, special attention was paid to the cramped conditions in the fighting compartment, as well as the increased weight of the tank, which negatively affected the chassis and transmission. Tests of the serial T-70, loaded to a weight of 11 tons, fully confirmed the calculations made - the tank's suspension torsion bars burst, tracks broke, and transmission components and assemblies failed. However, from the end of 1942, an improved modification of the T-70M entered mass production, in which most of the shortcomings were eliminated. In addition to the single tower...

A new turret, which was installed on a prototype tank under the symbol “080”. Unlike the previous project, it had a strongly beveled frontal plate, which was done specifically to achieve maximum firing angles in the vertical plane. This was required not only by the current front-line situation, where light tank units were used to storm city blocks, but also by individual commanders. For example, this was demanded by the commander of the Kalinin Front, Lieutenant General Konev, who wanted light tanks to be able to defend themselves from enemy air attacks.

The improvements were carried out as quickly as possible, but the innovations were not easy to achieve. For more convenient placement of a gun with the possibility of anti-aircraft firing and two crew members, it was necessary to widen the diameter of the shoulder strap and make an armored barbette ring with a thickness of 40-45 mm under the inclined edges of the turret. Due to the wider turret shoulder strap, it became impossible to dismantle the engine without first removing the turret - the armor ring began to overlap the removable over-engine armor plate.

The chassis was left the same, with five road wheels on board equipped with an individual torsion bar suspension, three support rollers, a front drive wheel and a rear guide wheel. The tank used a standard small-link caterpillar from the T-70, consisting of 80 tracks with a width of 300 mm.

The power plant has changed - instead of the GAZ-203 engine, a forced GAZ-203F was installed, which was a pair of two GAZ-80 engines with a power of 85 hp. every. The tank was equipped with a mechanical transmission, which consisted of a double-disc semi-centrifugal dry friction main clutch, a 4-speed 5-speed gearbox, a driveshaft, a main bevel gear, two multi-disc dry friction final clutches, band brakes with ferrodo linings and two simple single-row final drives .

The armament of the “080” remained the same (45-mm 20K cannon with a barrel length of 46 calibers and a 7.62-mm DT machine gun), except that the coaxial machine-gun-cannon mount received increased firing angles in the vertical plane, which ranged from -8 ° up to +65°. The gun's ammunition load was increased to 94 shells (according to other sources, up to 100). Despite its apparent obsolescence, the semi-automatic 20K cannon turned out to be very successful and was produced almost throughout the war. It was small in size and suitable for installation on any light tank produced after 1941. The only big drawback of this gun was the flaw in the semi-automatic mechanism - when firing a fragmentation shell, the recoil of the barrel was somewhat less and the mechanism did not work, so the tank commander had to manually remove the spent cartridge case from the chamber, which reduced the rate of fire from 15 to 7-10 rounds per minute. The practical firing range of the 20K was 3600 meters, the maximum - 6000 meters. The ballistic characteristics were also quite good. When firing armor-piercing shells (BR-240 or B-240) from a distance of 1000 meters, a 35-mm armor plate installed at an angle of 90° and a 28-mm armor plate installed at an angle of 60° were penetrated. After the BR-240P sub-caliber projectile was adopted, these figures increased to 72 and 59 mm, respectively. Moreover, under the best conditions, when firing was carried out from a distance of 100 meters or less, the sub-caliber projectile pierced a 96-mm vertically mounted sheet of armor. Thus, the 20K gun in close-range combat was a very strong opponent for all enemy medium and light tanks. the crew was also equipped with one PPSh submachine gun with 3 discs (213 rounds) and 12 F-1 hand grenades. In some cases, a pistol for firing signal flares was added to this weaponry.

The tank was equipped with two types of sights: TMF-1 for shooting at ground targets and collimator K-8T for shooting at air targets and the upper floors of buildings.

The radio equipment consisted of a 12RT radio station and an internal intercom TPU for 3 subscribers.

The hull of the tank, as well as the armor scheme, did not undergo significant changes, except that the thickness of the side armor plates was increased to 25 mm.

Testing of the new tank ended in December 1942 and was only partially successful. In terms of basic indicators, the “080” did not differ from the serial T-70, differing only in improved sectors of fire in the vertical plane and a less loaded engine. It was problematic to “squeeze” more out of the tank’s design, so at the beginning of 1943 it was decided to adopt the “080” under the designation T-80.

Production of the new vehicle was launched at plant No. 40 in Mytishchi, where from February to October 1943 it was possible to assemble from 75 to 85 units.
A number of foreign sources contain a figure of 120 tanks, but most likely this number included modified T-70Ms of the latest series. Further production of the T-80 was stopped due to the greater frontal demand for SU-76M self-propelled guns and the refusal to further develop light tanks.

Little is known about the combat use of T-80 tanks. As soon as these vehicles began to enter service, from November 1943 the organizational structure was revised towards their exclusion from the composition of tank brigades (united states No. 010/500 - 010/506), and on March 4, 1944, the General Staff of the Red Army released Directive No. Org/3/2305 on the exclusion of the T-70 from tank regiments. In other words, the command of the Red Army, taking into account the experience of using light tanks, was going to completely abandon them, replacing the T-70 and T-80 with armored vehicles.

However, in 1944, several tanks of this type became available to several tank units (self-made artillery regiments) operating in Western Ukraine and Hungary and were used as reconnaissance units, while the rest of the T-80 remained in the second line. There is also information about the receipt of two T-80 tanks for replenishment by the 5th Guards Tank Brigade on February 15, 1945, which arrived from repair. After the end of the war, the remaining tanks were transferred to training units and were soon scrapped.

Sources:
Svirin M.N. "Stalin's steel fist. History of the Soviet tank. 1943-1955". Eksmo, 2007
"The Complete Encyclopedia of World Tanks 1915-2000." Compiled by G.L. Kholyavsky. Harvest.Minsk\AST.Moscow. 1998

TACTICAL AND TECHNICAL DATA OF A LIGHT TANK
T-80 model 1943

COMBAT WEIGHT	11600 kg
CREW, people	3
DIMENSIONS
Length, mm	4285
Width, mm	2420
Height, mm	2170
Ground clearance, mm	350
WEAPONS	one 45 mm 20K cannon and one 7.62 mm DT machine gun
AMMUNITION	94-100 rounds and 1008 rounds for DT
AIMING DEVICES	optical sight TMF-1 and K-8T
RESERVATION	body forehead – 35 mm (top sheet) body forehead – 45 mm (bottom sheet) hull side – 25 mm feed - 25 mm (top sheet) feed - 15 mm (bottom sheet) tower – 35 mm tower roof - 10-15 mm body roof - 15 mm
ENGINE	twin unit GAZ-203F, carburetor, 12-cylinder, total power 170 hp.
TRANSMISSION	mechanical type: gearbox, main and final drives, final clutches with brakes
CHASSIS	(on one side) 5 road wheels, 3 support rollers, front drive wheel, fine track made of steel tracks
SPEED	42 km/h on the highway 20-25 km/h on a country road
HIGHWAY RANGE	320 km (on highway) 250 km (on a country road)
OBSTACLES TO OVERCOME
Elevation angle, degrees.	34°
Wall height, m	0,70
Fording depth, m	1,00
Ditch width, m	1,70
MEANS OF COMMUNICATION	radio station 12RT with whip antenna

Developed at GAZ in 1942.

History of the T-80

As combat use has shown, a crew of two is not enough for a tank armed with a cannon. In this regard, in 1942, GAZ began work on a new T-80 tank, which was supposed to have enhanced armor protection, a crew of three and a high gun elevation angle in order to shoot in urban conditions and at targets in the air.

In the same year, the prototype passed field tests, and its mass production began. Due to problems at the plant, only about 80 units were built, and then production of the tank was discontinued.

TTX

general information

Combat weight - 11.6 tons;
Crew – 3 people;
Quantity produced: 75-85 pieces.

Dimensions

Case length – 4285 mm;
Case width – 2420 mm.

Booking

Type of armor - heterogeneous rolled high hardness;
Body forehead (top) - 35/60° mm/deg;
Hull forehead (bottom) - 45/−30° and 15/−81° mm/deg;
Hull side - 25/0° mm/deg;
Hull stern (top) - 15/76° mm/deg;
Hull rear (bottom) - 25/−44° mm/deg;
Bottom – 10 mm;
Housing roof – 15 mm;
Gun mantlet – 35 mm;
Turret side - 35/5° mm/deg;
Tower roof - 10 and 15 mm.

Armament

Caliber and brand of gun - 45 mm 20-K;
Barrel length - 46 calibers;
Gun ammunition - 94-100;
HV angles: −8…+65°
GN angles - 360°;
Sight - TMF-1, K-8T;
Machine guns - 7.62 mm DT.

Mobility

Engine type - twin in-line 4‑stroke 6‑cylinder carburetor;
Engine power - 2 × 85 hp;
Highway speed – 42 km/h;
Speed over rough terrain – 20-25 km/h;
Cruising range on the highway – 320 km;
Cruising range over rough terrain – 250 km;
Specific power – 14.6 hp/t;
Suspension type: individual torsion bar;
Specific ground pressure - 0.84 kg/cm²;
Climbability – 34 degrees;
The wall to be overcome is 0.7 m;
The ditch to be overcome is 1.7 m;
Fordability - 1.0 m.

Tank photos

Modifications

The T-80 had a gun that was not powerful enough for 1942-1943, so active work was carried out to rearm it. There was a proposal to install a VT-42 45-mm cannon on the tank, which was successfully tested on the T-70 tank. Unfortunately, the VT042 could not fire at a high elevation angle, and it had to be radically redesigned. The new VT-43 gun met all the requirements and was soon adopted by the T-80, but all work on it ended with the cessation of tank production.

Application

In memoirs and archives there is still no information about the combat use of the T-80 - in some places there are only complaints about its unreliability and overload. It is known that several T-80s were used in 1944 in self-propelled artillery regiments, and that these tanks were in the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, the 230th Tank Regiment and the 12th Guards. cd.

Memory of a tank

Today, only one T-80 has survived, which is on display in the Kubinka Armored Museum.

Tank in culture

The T-80, due to its obscurity and small numbers, practically does not appear in computer games, although its influence can be traced here and there. For example, in the game "Panzer General" the T-70 is capable of attacking enemy aircraft, although in reality only the T-80 can do this.

320 Cruising range over rough terrain, km 250 Specific power, l. s./t 14,6 Suspension type torsion bar individual Specific ground pressure, kg/cm² 0,84 Climbability, degrees. 34 Wall to be overcome, m 0,7 Ditch to be overcome, m 1,7 Fordability, m 1,0 Media files on Wikimedia Commons This is an article about a light tank from the Second World War. For the Soviet main tank, see article T-80

Main tank T-80, Cuban.

The first of these was the insufficient power of the GAZ-203 twin propulsion system. It was planned to increase it by boosting it to 170 hp. With. in total due to an increase in the cylinder filling ratio and an increase in the compression ratio. The second obstacle arose from the requirement to provide large elevation angles for the gun to hit targets on the upper floors of buildings in urban battles. This could also make it possible to increase the fire countermeasures of enemy aircraft. In particular, the commander of the Kalinin Front, Lieutenant General I. S. Konev, insisted on this. The already developed two-man turret for the T-70 did not satisfy this requirement and was redesigned to allow firing from a gun at a high elevation angle. The second prototype with the new turret received the factory designation 080 or 0-80. For more convenient placement of a gun with the possibility of anti-aircraft firing and two crew members, it was necessary to widen the diameter of the shoulder strap and make an armored barbette ring with a thickness of 40-45 mm under the inclined edges of the turret. Due to the wider turret shoulder strap, it became impossible to dismantle the engine without first removing the turret - the armor ring began to overlap the removable over-engine armor plate.

Production

Despite the fact that the production of the T-80 at GAZ named after. Molotov was not planned; in practice, already in January 1943, on the initiative of the plant management and the People's Commissariat of Medium Engineering (NKSM), work was in full swing to prepare for its release. Already at the beginning of March, the first reference copy of the T-80 was built. During testing of the first production T-80, problems were discovered. After the 11th shot, the reaction rod bracket of the lifting mechanism was torn apart. Work has begun to fix the problem. Meanwhile, by March 11, 2 more tanks were ready, and 6 more were in assembly. By the end of the month, 8 T-80s were ready, although 7 of them were fully equipped with all units. Another 9 tanks were laid down and awaiting assembly. The reason why these tanks did not appear in the reports on the production of GAZ named after. Molotov, is that they were not officially accepted. In his monthly report, senior military representative Okunev wrote that due to problems when firing at maximum elevation angles, the tanks were accepted only conditionally. The tanks with defective gun mounts standing in the factory yard continued to wait in the wings. Since they were never accepted, the plant could not even send them to the training unit. The solution to the problem was to limit the elevation angle to 25 degrees. GBTU KA approved this proposal with a resolution that such T-80s can only be used in training units. True, only 2 tanks were transferred there. They ended up in the 1st tank training brigade. This happened in June 1943, when GAZ named after. Molotov was bombed. It is quite possible that the remaining vehicles were destroyed during its course. At least then it becomes clear where 4 tanks appear in the GAZ report - 2 training ones plus 2 prototypes.

Serial production of the T-80 began in Mytishchi at plant No. 40 in April 1943. Despite all the difficulties, already in April 1943, the assembly of the first T-80s began in Mytishchi. Although the assembly of the tanks was carried out in a very tense situation, by May 1 they managed to deliver 5 tanks, 2 of them radio-based. By June 1, they managed to deliver 7 more tanks, while all previously produced vehicles were equipped with radio stations. Then production of the T-80 completely stopped for a month. In June, the factory workers assembled 8 tanks, but the military did not accept them. The plant met the beginning of July with a backlog of 22 tanks. In fact, only 3 new tanks were assembled in July, the rest were being completed. The stock also included 11 tanks from April-May 1943, which underwent major modifications. This fact led to an error in estimating the number of T-80s produced by Plant No. 40. In July, the first shipments took place: 6 T-80s went to the Gorky Tank School, another 5 vehicles to the Syzran Tank School. The leadership of the Red Army did not dare to send the very first T-80s to combat units. Mass production began only in August, when 40 tanks were delivered. But after the Battle of Kursk, the leadership of the GABTU KA came to the conclusion that there was no point in further producing the T-70 and T-80. According to GKO decree No. 3964ss of August 21, 1943, from September 1, production of the T-80 at plant No. 40 ceased. According to documents of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army, a total of 70 “eighties” were built. However, reports from the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry contain slightly different figures. According to this department, 81 T-80 tanks were produced in 1943, and 85 throughout the war. However, this number may include prototypes, development and pre-production vehicles. Also, some authors include experimental vehicles built by GAZ in the total number of T-80s produced. According to plant number 40, only 66 tanks were produced in 1943, and 11 of them were delivered twice. Hence the confusion. In total, together with four samples of the GAZ plant, 70 vehicles were built, not counting several tanks destroyed during the bombing of Gorky. At the same time, Plant No. 176 managed to produce 334 sets of hulls and turrets; all unused ones were melted down.

The cessation of production of the T-80 was due to several reasons: to a lesser extent - the unreliable operation of the forced propulsion system M-80 (in the sources its designations also differ - the indices M-80 or GAZ-203F are mentioned); to a greater extent, the reasons were the insufficient firepower and armor protection of the “eighty” for 1943 (see section “”) and the extreme need of the Red Army for the SU-76M self-propelled artillery mounts. By the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, the upgraded propulsion system was brought to an acceptable level of reliability, but there was no question of resuming production of the T-80.

But, according to other sources, the curtailment of the production of these tanks was caused by the destruction of the production facilities of the Gorky Automobile Plant as a result of a series of bombings by the Luftwaffe in 1943.