Tanks of the Second World War. USSR tanks of the Great Patriotic War: characteristics and photos Domestic tanks of the Second World War

The history of the creation of two famous WWII tanks is very interesting. It can explain the rather ambiguous assessment of these two vehicles, and provides an explanation for some of the failures of our tankers that took place in the summer of 1941. The whole problem is that not even experimental, but conceptual cars went into production.
None of these tanks were created to arm the army. They were only supposed to show what a tank of its class should look like.
Pre-war tanks produced by plant No. 183. From left to right: BT-7, A-20, T-34-76 with L-11 cannon, T-34-76 with F-34 cannon
Let's start with KV. When the leadership of the country of the Soviets realized that the tanks in service were so outdated that they were no longer tanks at all. Then a decision was made to create new technology. Certain requirements for this technology were also put forward. Such a heavy tank should have had anti-ballistic armor and several guns in several turrets. For this technical project, the design of machines called T-100 and SMK began.
QMS


T-100


But the designer of the SMK, Kotin, believed that a heavy tank should have a single turret. And he had the idea to create another car. But his entire design bureau was busy creating the ordered QMS. And then he was lucky: a group of students from the Armored Tank Academy arrived at the plant for their graduation project. These “students” were entrusted with creating a new tank. Without hesitation, they shortened the SMK body, leaving room for one tower. A second cannon was stuck into this tower instead of a machine gun. And the machine gun itself was moved to the rear niche of the turret. The armor was strengthened, bringing the weight of the project to that specified in the task. We stumbled upon knots, the drawings of which were studied at the academy. They even took components from an American tractor that had been discontinued in the States 20 years earlier. But they didn’t change the suspension, copying it from the SMK. Despite the fact that the length of the tank has decreased by 1.5 times. And the number of suspension units decreased by the same number. And the load on them has increased. The only thing the “students” themselves did was install a diesel engine. And according to these drawings the KV tank was created. Presented for testing along with the T-100 and SMK.
The very first KV, autumn 1939


But then it started Finnish War and all three tanks were sent to the front. Which revealed the complete superiority of the KV concept over other tanks. And the tank, despite all the objections of the chief designer, was accepted for service. The Great Patriotic War, which began soon, revealed all the shortcomings of the HF design. The tank turned out to be extremely unreliable, especially these tanks suffered from suspension failures and components copied from an American tractor. As a result, in 1941, only about 20% of these vehicles were lost to enemy fire. The rest were abandoned due to breakdowns.
QMS in battle


SMK blown up by a landmine in the depths of Finnish positions


Military people are generally conservative people. If they considered a heavy tank to have a multi-turret, then this is exactly what they ordered. And if the tanks for raids were wheeled and tracked, then this is exactly the type of vehicle they ordered. To replace the BT-7 series tanks. But they wanted to get a vehicle protected from anti-tank artillery. Why was it supposed to make inclined armor? The Koshkin military design bureau in Kharkov issued an order for such a vehicle.
A-20


A-32


But he saw a completely different car. Therefore, together with the vehicle ordered by the military, which received the index A-20, he made almost exactly the same one, A-32. Almost, with 2 exceptions. Firstly, the mechanism of movement on wheels was removed. Secondly, the A-32 had a 76.2 mm cannon. Instead of 45 mm on the A-20. At the same time, the A-32 weighed a ton less than the A-20. And in tests, the A-32 proved to be more preferable than the A-20. Especially when the next modification of the A-34 vehicle was released, with more durable armor and an F-32 cannon, the same as on the KV. True, the weight of the tank increased by 6 tons. And the spark plug suspension, inherited from the A-20, began to not hold up.
Tank A-34 (2nd prototype)


But the Red Army was in dire need of new tanks. And despite the identified defects, the tank went into production. And even with a more powerful and heavier F-34 cannon. Koshkin and the gun designer Grabin knew each other. Therefore, even before the appearance of this gun in service, he received a set of drawings. And based on them, he prepared a place for a cannon. And the medium T-34 turned out to have a more powerful gun than the heavy KV. But as a result of design costs, the situation turned out to be close to the situation with HF. T-34s of the first releases were more often abandoned due to breakdowns than due to combat damage.
The very first KV, but in the spring of 1940 after its conversion according to the KV-2 project. And the turret from the very first KV, which had the number U-0, was installed on the tank number U-2.


This is not to say that the designers did not recognize the shortcomings of their cars. The fight against “childhood diseases” of structures began immediately. As a result, by 1943 we managed to obtain those famous T-34 and KV that we know about. But in general, these vehicles were considered only as temporary, until the appearance of new tanks. So Kotin worked on the KV-3 with a 107 mm cannon. And the design bureau in Kharkov over the T-34M. The design of the car, with a transverse engine and vertical sides. The T-34M even managed to be put into production. We made about 50 sets of parts for this type of tank. But before the capture of Kharkov, not a single tank had time to be completely assembled.
T-34M, also known as A-43.


And so it turned out that the tanks of victory were tanks whose appearance was not foreseen. And their adoption was considered a temporary measure and not for long. Tanks that were not intended to be used as main ones, and which were simply design concepts.
It cannot be said that in 1940, after the shortcomings of our new tanks were identified, there were no attempts to create new vehicles. I already wrote about the T-34M project. There was an attempt to create a new heavy tank. Received the index KV-3. In the project of this vehicle, an attempt was made to eliminate the shortcomings inherent in the KV-1 and KV-2 tanks (the same KV-1, but with a new turret and a 152-mm howitzer), and the experience of the war with the Finns was also used in the project. It was planned to arm this tank with a 107 mm cannon. However, tests of the first model of the gun were not successful. It was difficult and inconvenient for the loader to work with ammunition of this size and weight. Therefore, the tank presented for testing in the summer of 1941 was armed with the same 76 mm cannon. But then the war began and in September 1941 the experimental vehicle went into battle on the Leningrad Front. From which she did not return and is officially listed as missing. But there is a report from one of the commanders of the Red Army, who claimed that the tank that broke through into the depths of the German defense was fired upon by 105-mm German howitzers. From the fire of which the ammunition detonated. The turret was torn off, and the tank itself was completely destroyed.
KV-3. Layout.


The newsreels are probably familiar to everyone. They show a seven-wheeler KV-3 with a turret from the KV-1.


But neither the T-34M nor the KV-3 were considered as the main tank of the Red Army before the war. It was supposed to be a car with the T-50 index. The prototype of this vehicle was created in 1940 and looked very much like the T-34, only it was slightly smaller in size. But it had the same 45-mm sloped armor, although the vehicle was armed with a 45-mm cannon and 3 machine guns. The project was considered not entirely successful; the machine turned out to be too high-tech. And the factories where it was planned to be produced could not master it. And the tank turned out to be too heavy for its class.
T-126 in Kubinka


Then it was decided to reduce the thickness of the armor to 37 mm, remove the forward machine gun, and install not a stack of machine guns in the turret, but one machine gun. Apply a number of other technical solutions aimed at reducing weight and manufacturability of production. All this pushed back the start of production to June 1941. And production vehicles appeared in the army after the start of the war. In total, not many such tanks were produced, several dozen. The plant for their production was evacuated from Leningrad, and at the new location it was decided to begin production of other types of machines.
T-50


Its competitor created at the Kirov plant


But we will continue to talk about unknown Soviet tanks of the 2nd World War. I already wrote about the T-34M project, but the developments of this project turned out to be in demand. In 1943, the T-43 tank, which was the direct successor to the T-34M project, was put into service. But the appearance of “Tigers” and “Panthers” on the battlefields did not allow this vehicle to go into large production. But it served as the basis for the best WWII tank, the T-44. By mid-1942 it became clear that the Red Army needed a new medium tank. The design of such a tank, called the T-43, was completed by June 1943. The main requirement of the military, to provide maximum protection with a minimum increase in mass, was fulfilled. Its hull, which inherited the T-34 configuration, already had all-round 75 mm armor. The thickness of the frontal part of the turret, in which the 76.2 mm F-34 tank gun was installed, was increased to 90 mm (versus 45 mm for the T-34). But the length of the engine-transmission compartment could not be reduced, as a result of which fighting compartment it turned out to be less. Therefore, in order to provide the crew with the necessary internal space, the designers used a torsion bar suspension, more compact than a candle suspension with vertical springs, as on the BT and T-34 tanks. Superior to the T-34 in terms of armor protection and not inferior in armament to the heavy tank KV-1 and KV-1s, the medium tank T-43, however, approached the heavy tanks in terms of specific ground pressure, which negatively affected maneuverability and range. And its design was extreme, excluding further modernization. And when the serial “thirty-four” was equipped with an 85-mm cannon, the need for the T-43 temporarily disappeared, although it was the turret from the T-43 that was used with minor modifications for the T-34-85 tank, so the experience of working on it was not in vain. The fact is that the test run of the T-43 is 3 thousand km. clearly proved the correct choice of torsion bar suspension for a medium tank and the futility of gradually changing the traditional layout.
T-43


T-34 and T-43


It became clear that a fundamentally different machine was needed. It was this that they began to design at the Morozov Design Bureau. The result of the work was the T-44 tank. The creation of the T-44 tank began at the end of 1943. The new tank received the designation “Object 136” and in the series - the designation T-44. On new car not only did they use a transverse engine arrangement, but also a number of other technical innovations. If implemented separately, on different tanks, they would not have given a noticeable effect, but together they made the T-44 design one that determined the development of domestic armored vehicles for decades. The height of the engine-transmission compartment was reduced by moving a new type of air cleaner from the camshaft of the Y-shaped engine to the side. By the way, the B-44 diesel itself was equipped with improved fuel equipment, which made it possible to increase power from 500 to 520 hp. With. with the same cylinder volume as on the previous B-34. In place of the fan, which protruded beyond the dimensions of the crankcase, a compact flywheel was installed. This made it possible to mount the diesel engine on a low, rigid, but light engine frame, and as a result, the body height was reduced by 300 mm.
Two experimental samples of T-44


The medium T-44 and its German counterpart, the heavy T-V “Panther”.


They also introduced other design developments that could not be implemented on serial T-34s. So new scheme The engine and transmission compartment made it possible to move the turret of a new design with the 85-mm ZIS-S-53 cannon to the center of the hull, where the tankers were less affected by the tiresome angular vibrations of the vehicle, and the long-barreled gun could not stick into the ground when moving over rough terrain. Firing accuracy has also increased. And most importantly, this alignment allowed the designers to increase the thickness of the frontal armor plate to 120 mm without overloading the front rollers. We would like to add that the increase in the strength of the front plate was facilitated by the relocation of the driver's hatch to the roof of the hull and the abandonment of the ball mounting of the course machine gun, since combat experience revealed its insufficient effectiveness. In the new tank, the course machine gun was rigidly fixed in the bow of the hull, and in the vacant place next to the driver was placed fuel tank. On the T-44-85 prototype there was a small gap between the second and third road wheels. On production vehicles the gap was between the first and second rollers. In this form, the T-44 successfully passed state tests and was adopted by the Red Army in 1944. T-44 tanks were mass-produced in Kharkov.
T-44


From the end of 1944 to 1945, 965 tanks were manufactured. T-44s did not take part in hostilities. Although they began to enter the troops in the spring of 1945. So until May 9, 1945, into service with individual guards tank brigades 160 tanks of this type were received. Which were in the 2nd echelon of the active army. And which should have been an unpleasant surprise for the Germans if they had new types of tanks. For example, the Panther-2 being developed. But there was no need for this type of tank. And the T-44 did not take part in the hostilities. Even against Japan. Thus falling out of sight of military historians. It's a pity. Because this tank was the best tank of the 2nd World War.

Tank was adopted by the Red Army in May 1931. It was developed on the basis of a wheeled-tracked vehicle designed by the American designer Christie and was the first in the BT family (Fast Tank ), developed in the Soviet Union. The tank hull, assembled by riveting from 13-mm thick armor plates, had a box-shaped cross-section. The driver's entrance hatch was mounted in the frontal plate of the hull. The armament was housed in a cylindrical riveted turret.The tank had high speed qualities. Thanks to the original design of the chassis, it could move both on tracks and on wheels. On each side there were four large-diameter rubber-coated road wheels, with the rear road wheels serving as drive wheels, and the front wheels being steerable. The transition from one type of propulsion to another took approximately 30 minutes. The BT-2 tank, like subsequent tanks of the BT family, was produced at the Kharkov Locomotive Plant named after. Comintern.

Before the October Socialist Revolution, there were no tanks in the Russian army. In 1917, there were only 13 armored vehicle divisions, in addition, there were several scooter battalions and companies and 7 armored trains.

In battles with the interventionists, starting in 1919, the Red Army captured tanks, mainly of English and French production, among its trophies. They were repaired and, as the crews were trained, used in battles against the White Guards and interventionists. From November 1918 to March 1921, the factories of Soviet Russia produced 75 armored trains, 102 armored platforms and over 280 armored vehicles.

The first Soviet tank Domestic tank building began to develop during the Civil War. On the instructions of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, Sormovo workers and engineers, during an incredibly difficult period for the country, produced a batch of light tanks (15 vehicles) similar to the captured French Renault tank. The first Soviet tank, which came out of the gates of the Sormovo plant on August 31, 1920, was named “Freedom Fighter Comrade Lenin.”

During the Civil War, over 80 armored squads and 11 tank squads were formed. From tanks Soviet made The seventh auto-tank detachment was formed, which, in particular, participated in the parade on Red Square on February 23, 1922.

The initial stage of Soviet tank building was characterized to a large extent by copying the designs of foreign tanks. But already at that time a critical approach to borrowing foreign ideas was evident. It is no coincidence that the first Soviet tank carried all the main features of the “classic” tank that have been preserved to this day. These include the placement of cannon armament in a rotating turret, the location of the fighting compartment in the middle part of the tank, and the engine-transmission compartment in the rear, a relatively low tracked outline with a rear drive wheel and elastic suspension elements in the chassis of the tank.

In 1927, the armored units of the Red Army were represented by only one tank regiment and six armored vehicle divisions, not counting armored trains. They were armed with a small number of foreign tanks: 45 Ricardo, 12 Taylor and 33 Renault. By that time, 54 Soviet-made armored vehicles, created on the basis of the AMO F-15 truck, had entered service.

At the same time, the first steps were taken in creating self-propelled artillery. So, in 1925, a 76-mm anti-aircraft gun was placed on a caterpillar tractor.
Formed in 1924 in Moscow, the Technical Bureau of the Main Directorate of Military Industry of the Supreme Economic Council, headed by engineer S.P. Shukalov, among other works in the field of artillery and tank technology, completed the project for the T-16 light tank. It was the first to embody the original technical ideas and design solutions of Soviet tank builders. In particular, the carburetor air-cooled engine was combined in a single block with a gearbox and a turning mechanism, the unit was located across the body.

In the summer of 1925, the project was transferred to the Bolshevik plant for the final development of technical documentation and production prototype tank. Based on the results of testing this sample, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR accepted the tank under the brand name MS-1 ("small escort") into service with the Red Army on July 6, 1927. Since November 1927, a modified version of the T-18 was put into production. By May 1, 1929, the Bolshevik plant produced the first 30 MS-1 tanks. These were the first mass-produced tanks of the USSR Armed Forces. Over the course of three years, four industrial series of tanks were produced.

The next example of the “maneuverable” tank T-24, designed in 1928, was manufactured in Kharkov and soon put into production. Thus, the end of the 1920s was marked by the deployment of serial production of domestically designed tanks.

The industrialization of the country, begun in accordance with the first five-year plan, ensured the systematic development of tank building as a branch of mechanical engineering. This was facilitated by the adoption by the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks on July 15, 1929, of the resolution “On the state of defense of the USSR,” and the subsequent decision of the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR. In accordance with this decision, it was envisaged to organize the production of wedges, small, medium, large (heavy) and bridge tanks.

Tank design bureaus were created at a number of factories. The aircraft engine department of the Bolshevik plant was converted into a tank department. The backbone of the department consisted of designers transferred from Moscow. From the end of 1929, the leading role in the design of new tanks, which was previously carried out by the Moscow bureau, was assumed by the experienced design and mechanical engineering department (OKMO), headed by N.V. Barykov.

The development of domestic tank building received unflagging attention and constant support from well-known party and statesmen K.E. Voroshilov, S.M. Kirov, G.K. Ordzhonikidze.
As the design and production of the first Soviet tanks progressed, tank builders were trained. It was in the late 20s - early 30s that N.A., who later became famous, entered tank building. Astrov, N.A. Kucherenko, S.N. Makhonin, A.A. Morozov, L.S. Troyanov and others. The period of the first half of the 30s was characterized by the formation of a tank weapons system, the functional division of tanks according to the specific application, which was determined by their design features and combat characteristics. In a short time, the T-27 tankette, the T-37 small amphibious tank, and a light infantry tank T-26, light high-speed wheeled-tracked tank BT (modifications BT-2, BT-5, BT-7 and BT-7M were subsequently produced), medium three-turreted tank T-28 and heavy five-turret tank T-35.

The armor of small and light tanks was designed to protect against rifle and machine gun fire, and for medium and heavy tanks - from artillery fire from small caliber guns. Characteristic Features tankettes and small amphibious tanks were the use of a car engine and a number of components (gearboxes, rear axle elements) of production cars.

Serial production of the T-26 tank began in 1931. This tank underwent structural modifications during production; 23 modifications were produced. The vast majority of T-26 tanks were armed with 45 mm cannons. In 1938-1940, tanks were equipped with a telescopic stabilized sight TOP-1, which increased accuracy aimed shooting from the tank on the move. Tanks armed with flamethrowers were released, some of the tanks were equipped anti-aircraft machine guns, as well as radio stations. On the basis of the T-26 tank, armored personnel carriers for transporting infantry and cargo (shells, fuel), armored tractors and bridge laying vehicles were designed.

The T-26 tank was relatively slow-moving and was intended mainly to support and escort infantry. In total, by 1941, about 11 thousand tanks were manufactured. For exemplary fulfillment of the government’s task to strengthen the country’s defense capability, the plant named after. Voroshilov in April 1940 was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

The production of the BT wheeled-tracked tank was established at the Kharkov plant. This tank was characterized primarily by high maneuverability due to the use of a wheeled-tracked propulsion system. The tank was equipped with a powerful aircraft engine, which provided greater power density. The speed of the tank on wheels reached 80 kilometers per hour, and on tracks - about 50. The armament was similar to that of the T-26 tank. Over the years of production, more than 8 thousand BT tanks of various series were transferred to the armored forces of the Red Army. In 1935, the plant was awarded the Order of Lenin.

The T-28 medium tank was put into production at the Krasny Putilovets plant and was mass-produced since 1933. This tank was designed to overcome heavily fortified enemy defensive zones and was in service with separate tank brigades.

The T-35 heavy tank had the largest mass of all tanks produced in the Soviet Union at that time. The tank was produced in small batches, and if the weight of the prototype was 42 tons, then by the end of the production period - 1939, it increased to 55 tons. The tank's armament was placed in five rotating turrets - one of circular rotation and four with limited sectors of fire. This tank was considered a reserve tank of the High Command and was supposed to be used when breaking through particularly strong and pre-fortified defensive lines.

Common to the T-28 and T-35 tanks was the use of a powerful M-17 aircraft engine; the main armament was a 76-mm cannon. Detailed designs for the tanks were completed at OKMO under the leadership of O.M. Ivanova. Individual components of the tanks were unified.

Aware of the threat of an armed attack on our country from aggressive capitalist powers, our party and the Soviet government showed constant concern for the growth of the power of the Red Army. If in 1930 170 tanks were manufactured, then in 1931 740, in 1932 more than 3 thousand, in 1933 more than 3.5 thousand, approximately the same number were produced annually in 1934 and 1935.

In addition to tanks, considerable attention was paid to the development of other types of weapons adjacent to tanks. In 1931, the Revolutionary Military Council of the USSR decided to develop self-propelled artillery units for mechanized and motorized formations of the Red Army. Among them, self-propelled anti-aircraft installations, installations with dynamo-reactive guns, and self-propelled guns on tractor chassis were considered. Much work on the creation of self-propelled artillery installations in the first half of the 30s was carried out at the OKMO plant named after Voroshilov and at the Bolshevik plant. In 1931 - 1939 self-propelled artillery units of the closed type SU-1 and AT-1, semi-closed type SU-5 ("small triplex"), open type SU-6, SU-14, etc. were built. The main developments were carried out under leadership of P.N. Syachintova. The progress of the work was observed by the secretary of the Leningrad Regional Party Committee S.M. Kirov and Deputy People's Commissar of Defense M.N. Tukhachevsky.

Domestic self-propelled artillery units, created at the initial stage of development of a new type of weapon, were distinguished by the originality of their design, while wide unification of their chassis with the base tanks was ensured. Thus, for the first time in world practice, a whole system of self-propelled artillery vehicles was created in the USSR, starting with light ones designed for direct support of tanks and infantry, their escort and fire cover from air attack, and up to heavy installations designed to suppress enemy pockets resistance, places of concentration of manpower and equipment, destruction of fortifications, etc.

After 1937, work on the creation of self-propelled artillery units was significantly reduced. Focus on ground forces was given to tanks. In the initial period of the Great Patriotic War, self-propelled artillery was practically absent in the arsenal of the Red Army.

The mid-30s in the domestic tank building industry was associated with work to improve the designs of serial tanks. At a pilot plant in Kharkov, a group of designers, using the ideas of the inventor N.F. Tsyganov, an experimental BT-IS tank was designed and manufactured on the basis of the BT-5 tank. This tank was equipped with a drive to six of the eight rollers; the front rollers were steerable. The tank had high mobility and increased survivability of the propulsion. In the conditions of army workshops A.F. Kravtsov created a number of interesting devices that increased the mobility and maneuverability of T-26 and BT tanks. Moreover, BT tanks, with the help of various types of pontoons, were able to overcome water obstacles afloat and even dive under water for a covert approach to the shore occupied by the enemy. Devices were also created with the help of which T-27 wedges could be transported by air on an external sling under a transport aircraft and dropped from a low altitude to the ground.

A large program of research and development work in the pre-war period was carried out by the Leningrad Experimental Mechanical Engineering Plant named after Kirov (formed in 1933 on the basis of OKMO). There, along with the production and testing of new combat vehicles (self-propelled artillery, wheeled-tracked tanks, etc.), work was also carried out in the development of fundamentally new schemes and design solutions for chassis components (tracks with a rubber-metal hinge, torsion bar suspension, etc. .), creation of equipment for underwater driving of tanks when overcoming water obstacles, etc. This work was carried out under the leadership of N.V. Barykov by a group of capable designers and researchers, including G.V. Gudkov, M.P. Siegel, F.A. Mostov, G.N. Moskvin, V.M. Simsky, L.S. Troyanov, N.V. Tseitz. The career path in tank building of famous designers M.I. began with participation in experimental work at the Kirov plant. Koshkina, I.S. Bushneva, I.V. Gavalova, A.E. Sulina and others. Already in the mid-30s, the most distinguished tank builders were awarded state awards.

At all stages of experimental development, from issuing assignments to making decisions on completed work, the leading role belonged to the leadership of the Directorate of Motorization and Mechanization (since 1934 - Automotive and Armored Directorate) of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army I.A. Khalepsky, G.G. Bokisu, I.A. Lebedev.

The works and research of V.I. were of great importance for the development of tank science. Zaslavsky, A.S. Antonova, A.I. Blagonravova, N.I. Gruzdeva, M.K. Christie and other scientists.
Three types of gasoline engines were installed on tanks in the first half of the 30s: on small tanks and wedges - automobile type, on the T-26 tank - a special air-cooled tank, and on BT, T-28 and T-35 tanks - aviation, adapted for installation in tanks. But vehicles with gasoline engines had an increased fire hazard and high fuel consumption, which reduced the tanks’ range. The reliability of the engines was low, and the cost was significant.

The issue of creating a special tank engine, adapted to run on heavier fuel - diesel - came up on the agenda. By the beginning of the 30s, special diesel engines found some use in the world aircraft industry. At the Central Institute of Aviation Engines, established in 1930, a department of oil engines was created, headed by A.D. Charomsky. The main task of the department is to create aviation diesel engines that provide high fuel efficiency with minimal weight and sufficient power for aviation. At the same time, work was launched in a similar direction at the Ukrainian Research Institute of Internal Combustion Engines, which was headed by Ya.M. Mayer. The Kharkov plant, which mastered the production of the BT tank, was also involved in the work on creating an aviation diesel engine. The main design solutions of the BD-2 engine were laid down by the designers Ya.E. Vikhman and others in the engine department, headed by K.F. Chelpan. The first experimental samples of the engine were assembled in 1934.

Work on a high-speed twelve-cylinder diesel engine at the Kharkov plant was ultimately aimed at creating a tank version. Unlike the aviation one, it had to have specific features: the ability to work mainly in variable modes, with an unsteady load and frequent reaching the maximum rotation speeds, in the presence of dust, increased resistance in the path of air entry and exhaust gases.

CIAM T.P. staff Chupakhin, M.P. Poddubny and some others provided great assistance to the Kharkov residents in finalizing the design of the diesel engine. In December 1936, the V-2 engine was tested in the BT-7 tank.

In 1939, the new engine passed 100-hour state tests and was accepted for serial production in December. The organization of diesel production at the plant was headed by Deputy Chief Engineer S.N. Makhonin. In 1939, the diesel production of the Kharkov plant was separated into an independent plant, equipped with first-class equipment for that time. D.E. was appointed director of the plant. Kochetkov, chief designer T.P. Chupakhin, head of the design department I.Ya. Trashutin. The first production V-2 engines were installed in BT-7M tanks and Voroshilovets artillery tractors. Soon, V-2 diesel engines began to be installed in new generation tanks - KB and T-34. By this time, and subsequently, the design bureau was extensively working on creating various modifications of diesel engines of various capacities, including six-cylinder ones for the T-50 tank. For working on the design of the V-2 diesel engine Stalin Prize was awarded T.P. Chupakhin.

In connection with the emerging strengthening of anti-tank artillery in 1936, work began on the creation of the world's first tanks with shell-proof armor. The designers of the Leningrad Experimental Mechanical Engineering Plant named after Kirov began this work.

The first Soviet tank with anti-ballistic armor was the T-46-5, built in 1938 at the Kirov plant. It was created as a “small tank with heavy armor.” The project called for the creation of a single-turret 22-ton tank with an armor thickness of up to 60 mm. For the first time in the USSR, a cast turret was installed on a tank. The armor plates of the hull were mainly connected by electric welding. Following the first, the T-100 heavy double-turret tank was designed and built by the summer of 1939 at the same plant. A 45 mm cannon was installed in the front lower turret, and a 76 mm cannon was installed in the main turret, located on the turret box above the front turret. The movement of the tank was provided by a powerful aircraft carburetor engine. The thickness of the main armor reached 60 mm, the mass of the tank was 58 tons, the crew consisted of six people. A self-propelled artillery mount was also created on the basis of the T-100 tank. The main layout work was carried out by a group of designers under the leadership of E.Sh. Paleya.

Beginning in 1937, the design of promising tanks with projectile-proof armor began Kirov plant in Leningrad and a plant in Kharkov. In August 1938, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks considered the issue of tank building development. The USSR Defense Committee gave the task to create tank models with enhanced armor protection by July 1939.

The successful solution of the task was largely facilitated by the developers of new brands of materials and technology for the production of sheet armor; foundry workers, welders and other specialists were also involved in the work on creating thick-armored tanks. As a result of research and experimental work in laboratories and factories manufacturing tank armored hulls, a technology for the production of medium and high hardness armor was developed and mastered, which was subsequently used for the manufacture of armored hulls and turrets of the new KB and T-34 tanks. At the same time, thick-armored turrets were cast for experimental tanks and experimental research. Significant creative contributions to these works were made by D.Ya. Badyagin, I.I. Bragin, V.B. Buslov, A.S. Zavyalov, G.F. Zasetsky, L.A. Kanevsky, G.I. Kapyrin, A.T.Larin, B.S. Nitsenko, N.I. Perov, S.I. Sahin, S.I. Smolensky, N.V. Schmidt et al.

In May 1938, at a meeting of the USSR Defense Committee, the project of the A-20 wheeled-tracked tank was considered, and wishes were expressed to develop and manufacture a similar, but better armored tracked tank, the A-32, submitted for consideration on the initiative of the chief designer of the Kharkov plant M.I. Koshkina.

At the end of 1938, the projects of the A-20 and A-32 tanks were considered by the Main Military Council. After the messages made by M.I. Koshkin and A.A. Morozov about the design features of both tanks, the projects were approved and the construction of prototypes was allowed for subsequent presentation to the state commission.

By mid-1939, prototypes of the A-20 and A-32 tanks were manufactured. The labor intensity of manufacturing the A-20 tank was approximately twice as much as the labor intensity of manufacturing the A-32 tank. During sea trials, both samples showed almost equivalent results, sufficient reliability and operability of mechanisms and devices.

The maximum speed of both tanks on tracks was the same - 65 kilometers per hour. The average speeds of the tanks were also approximately equal, and the operational speeds of the A-20 tank on wheels and tracks did not differ significantly. In other words, from the point of view of movement speeds, the A-20 tank had no advantages over the “purely” tracked version. Field tests of two prototypes revealed their compliance with tactical and technical requirements. The prototypes of the A-20 and A-32 tanks were superior in strength and reliability to all previously produced models.

It was decided that the A-32 tank, as it has a reserve for increasing mass, would be advisable to protect with more powerful armor, accordingly increasing the strength of individual parts and changing gear ratios. Therefore, soon the A-32 tank, weighing 19 tons, was weighted to 24 tons and successfully passed additional tests in the fall of 1939. At the same time, documentation was developed for a tank with an armor thickness of 45 mm.

In August 1939, at a meeting of the Main Military Council, it was decided to henceforth abandon the wheeled-tracked propulsion system as complex, unreliable and occupying a significant amount of space. The presence of such a combined propulsion system made it difficult to solve the main problem of that time - strengthening the armor protection of tanks.

In December 1939, the Defense Committee decided to manufacture the T-34 medium tank, which was a heavier and improved version of the experimental A-32 tank (weight about 26 tons, 76 mm caliber gun, V-2 diesel engine, speed 55 km/h ).

In 1940, two T-34 tanks of the first production made a run along the route Kharkov - Moscow. After their display in the Kremlin, the leaders of the party and government on March 31, 1940, decided to begin production of new tanks for arming the Red Army.

In the process of preparing technical documentation for the T-34 tank for mass production, the plant carried out technological modifications to the design. During this period, the designers, headed by M.I. Koshkin and A.A. Morozov, together with plant technologists headed by S.B. Ratinov and A.N. The Chinovs did a lot of work, which made it possible to significantly simplify and reduce the cost of production of the T-34 tank, bringing its manufacturability to a level not achieved at that time in any other similar vehicle.
Significant work on the production of drawings and technical documentation for mass production of tanks was carried out under the leadership of the head of the design bureau N.A. Kucherenko.

In mid-1940, the first production tanks came out of the factory. Collaboration designers and technologists working on the creation of the T-34 tank is a striking example of the real provision of mass production of tanks at their low cost.

Great assistance to the plant during the period of its reconstruction and preparation of new production was provided by the Kharkov party bodies and, in particular, by the first secretary of the regional party committee A.A. Epishev. An important role in mobilizing workers to solve new problems belonged to the party organization of the plant, headed by the party organizer of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) S.A. Skachkov. The rapid and successful development of the production of T-34 tanks in 1940 would have been unthinkable without great specific assistance from the People's Commissariat of Medium Engineering (head of the Main Directorate and at the same time deputy people's commissar A.A. Goreglyad, people's commissar until October 1940 I.A. Likhachev, and from October - V.A. Malyshev). Practice combat use T-34 tanks showed that on the ground, under conditions of operations in the spring-autumn period of the year and especially in winter, only tracked vehicles can provide tactical mobility.

Two theories of tank development coexisted in the 30s: with powerful weapons and protection, achieved by reducing speed and cross-country ability, and its opposite: with the maximum possible mobility by reducing the power of fire and protection, were decisively rejected. The T-34 tank was based on a new theory of a harmonious combination of the maximum possible indicators of fire power, protection and mobility. And the tank’s high technological efficiency in production, simplicity and reliability of its design ensured its reputation as a classic, the best tank of its time. For developing the design of a new medium tank in April 1942, A.A. Morozov, M.I. Koshkin (posthumously) and N.A. Kucherenko were awarded the Stalin Prize.

Work in the pre-war years on new medium tanks was not limited to the development and production of the T-34 tank. A group of designers headed by A.A. Morozov, continued to search for further ways to improve medium tanks. This was all the more necessary since the T-34 tanks of the first production were found to have separate design flaws: imperfection of observation devices and insufficient visibility of the terrain, inconvenience of using the ammunition rack, unreliability of the main clutch, fragility of the chassis components, insufficient communication range and reliability of the tank radio station, cramped fighting compartment, mainly the turret. Soon, a significant part of the discovered deficiencies were eliminated. In 1940, it was planned to produce more than 600 T-34 tanks, but the plant transferred only 115 vehicles into service.

In 1941, the plant began working at full capacity, and before the start of the Great Patriotic War, it produced 1,225 T-34 tanks.

Since 1938, heavy tanks with shell-resistant armor have been developed in parallel at the Leningrad Experimental Engineering Plant named after Kirov and at the Kirov Plant. Several weapon placement options were developed; the first option - the T-100 tank and the second option, named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov - SMK, were in many ways similar. Work on the SMK tank, carried out at the Kirov plant (head of the design bureau Zh.Ya. Kotin), revealed certain difficulties associated with a rational solution for armor protection with a strict limitation on the tank's weight to 55 tons. In addition to the SMK tank, a project was developed for a heavy single-turret tank with shortened body. The work on the SMK tank was carried out by a group led by A.S. Ermolaev, and on the second option - a single-tower, named KB in honor of Klim Voroshilov - the group of N.L. Dukhova. N.V. was directly involved in the layout work. Zeits.

The characteristic features of the KB tank were the significant thickness of the frontal and side armor - 75 mm and low (for a heavy tank) ground pressure. The tank used an individual suspension of road wheels with a torsion elastic element. The mass of the tank reached 47.5 tons, the engine was a V-2 diesel engine, and the speed was 35 km/h.

The creation of the KB tank played a role important role in the development of not only domestic, but also global tank technology. The first sample of the KB tank was manufactured in September 1939 and during the military conflict on the Karelian Isthmus it was sent there (as were the experimental SMK, T-100, SU-100U and SU-14-2 vehicles) to participate in the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line. Thanks to good armor and higher mobility compared to other heavy vehicles, the KB tank revealed its undeniable advantages. As a result, the KV heavy breakthrough tank, like the T-34, was accepted for production and service with the Red Army in December 1939.

At the same time, during the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line, an urgent need emerged to use an even more powerful weapon than the 76-mm cannon with which the KV tank was armed. At the beginning of 1940, to destroy enemy pillboxes, a 152-mm howitzer was urgently installed in the oversized turret. Four samples of such a KV-2 tank were built at the final stage of the battles and showed high combat effectiveness. Factory testers took part in testing KB tanks: A.I. Estratov, drivers K.I. Kovsh, V.M. Lyashko et al.

For outstanding success in creating and mastering the production of new machines, the Kirov Plant team was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1939, and the Order of the Red Banner in 1940. For developing the design of a new type of tank Zh.Ya. Kotin was awarded the Stalin Prize.

During 1940, the Kirov Plant produced 246 KB tanks. Under the leadership of Zh.Ya. Kotin in 1940 - 1941, work continued to further strengthen the armor and armament of the heavy tank, and experimental vehicles were built. However, the creation of more powerful tanks was not completed before the start of the war.

At all stages of development, testing and organization of production at the KB tank plant, this work was under constant control by the Leningrad Regional Committee and the City Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), with great support provided by A.A. Zhdanov and A.A. Kuznetsov. M.I. came to the plant about this. Kalinin and K.E. Voroshilov. An important mobilizing role was played by the Kirov communists, led by party organizer M.D. Kozin. The plant was provided with the necessary assistance and support in fulfilling the important task of the Motherland.
It was initially planned to use the L-11 artillery system of 76.2 mm caliber, created in the second half of the 30s, as the main armament of the KB and T-34 tanks. It differed from those previously installed in the T-28 and T-35 tanks by higher ballistic characteristics and increased armor penetration.

In 1941, production of the F-32 and then F-34 tank guns was launched for installation in the T-34 tank, and for installation in the KB - the ZIS-5 gun, developed under the leadership of V.G. Grabina.

According to the views that existed during the 30s on the functional division of tanks in battle and operations, a necessary addition was made. light, medium and heavy tanks included small amphibious tanks. They were mainly used for reconnaissance and combat protection. The development line of small tanks after the T-37A was continued by the T-38 tanks (entered service in 1936) and in the pre-war years the T-40 light tanks (designed by N.A. Astrov) were completed.

To increase the power of fire, twin 12, 7 and 7.62 mm machine guns were installed on the T-40 tank. The tank was floating and equipped with a propeller. As an elastic suspension element on light tank Torsion bars were installed for the first time.

The extensive work carried out on the eve of the war to create new tanks was combined with the development of new military theoretical provisions that provided for the widespread use of tanks in combat and operations. New Soviet tanks not only far exceeded the characteristics of contemporary foreign tanks, but also the level of development of anti-tank weapons of the potential enemy. A large role in the evaluation of newly created samples of domestic armored vehicles was assigned to the ABTUKA Scientific Testing Range. There, a lot of work was continuously carried out on testing and researching experimental, modernized and production tanks. All activities of the tank industry were carried out under constant control by the customer: the Automotive and Armored Directorate of the Red Army, which since 1937 was headed by D.G. Pavlov, and then Y.N. Fedorenko.

On the eve of the war, the tank industry was a powerful branch of Soviet mechanical engineering, the brainchild of the pre-war five-year plans. Defense industry Soviet Union at an increasing pace ensured continuous supply Soviet army first-class weapons. During the period from 1939 to June 1941, more than 7.5 thousand tanks were manufactured. In 1940 alone, 2,794 of them were manufactured. But relatively few new types of tanks were built in the same year (246 KB and 115 T-34). The army's need for new KB and T-34 tanks was estimated at 16.6 thousand vehicles. In order to ensure that the Red Army was re-equipped with new tanks in a short time, tractor factories were involved in their production, but it was not possible to completely complete preparations for production by the start of the war. Only the Stalingrad Tractor Plant in the first half of 1941 gave the army its first batch of vehicles.

On the eve of the treacherous attack of Nazi Germany on the USSR, there were 1,861 KB and T-34 tanks in the Red Army, including 1,475 vehicles (508 KB and 967 T-34) in the western military districts. There were several times more tanks T-37A, T-38, T-26, BT-5, BT-7, T-28 and others. The share of new types of tanks was only 18.2%. The average strength of troops with all types of combat vehicles reached only 53%. Of the tanks in service, a significant number were in need of major and medium repairs. However, in mid-1941, the production volume of new types of tanks (KB and T-34) was already 89%.

The factor of surprise in an attack on our country played a significant role in the nature of the fighting at the initial stage of the war. As a result of the treacherous attack on the USSR, fascist German troops, equipped with a large number of off-road vehicles and armored personnel carriers, four thousand tanks, concentrated in four tank groups, managed to achieve significant successes in a number of narrow areas of the Soviet-German front. However, in a number of directions, Soviet tank crews, showing resilience and mass heroism, managed to stop the advance of fascist tank forces and even launch strong counterattacks. Well-organized actions of individual tank units and mechanized formations armed with new Soviet tanks made it possible not only to delay the enemy, but also to push him back.

German generals later admitted that in oncoming battles, German tank forces felt the crushing power of the new Soviet tanks, against which German tank weapons and anti-tank artillery were powerless. Soviet KB and T-34 tanks hit at a distance of over one and a half thousand meters, while German tanks could hit Soviet tanks from a distance of no more than 500 m, and only when firing at the side or stern. Unfortunately, the new heavy and medium tanks KB and T-34 have not yet been properly developed everywhere. The personnel called up from the reserve did not have the opportunity to prepare well for the specifics of the combat use of the new material unit.

From the very first days of the war, the issue of repairing damaged tanks of new types and appropriate equipment for mobile repair shops arose. To repair and restore the T-34 and KB tanks, brigades formed at tank manufacturing plants urgently went to the combat areas. They were made up of skilled workers and craftsmen and made a significant contribution to the repair business, although apart from light machine tools and repair equipment and a limited number of spare parts, there was nothing else in the “flights”.

The situation at the front already in the first weeks of the war confronted the country's tank industry with the need to significantly increase the scale of production of combat vehicles.
On June 24-25, 1941, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks considered the urgent needs of the tank industry. A report on this issue was made by the Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, People's Commissar of Heavy Engineering V.A. Malyshev. The adopted resolution set the priority task of creating a powerful tank building base in the Volga region and the Urals, and provided for a number of measures aimed at expanding the production of KB, T-34, T-50 tanks, artillery tractors and tank diesel engines. GKO Resolution No. 1 of July 1 was aimed at taking specific measures to increase the production of tanks. The production program for KB and T-34 tanks was increased at the Kirov and Kharkov plants and at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant (STZ). The Krasnoye Sormovo plant was involved in the production of T-34 tanks.

The production of tanks during the war was managed by the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry, formed on September 11, 1941, headed by V.A. Malyshev.

The initial armament plans of the Red Army planned to launch widespread production of the T-50 light tank, developed on the eve of the war at the Voroshilov plant and having characteristics that were satisfactory for that time: a weight of 14.5 tons with an armor thickness of up to 37 mm, a 45-mm gun, a powerful diesel engine, allowing speeds of up to 50 km/h (chief designer S.A. Ginzburg). But its production by the summer of 1941 in Leningrad had not yet been established. The development of production of the six-cylinder engine and modification of the V-2 diesel engine was also delayed. Under these conditions, it was considered necessary to urgently launch preparations for the production of T-50 tanks in other regions of the country, in particular in Moscow. To produce components and components, the drawings of the T-50 tank were urgently sent to a number of factories of various departments. The small T-40 tanks previously produced at the Moscow plant, for which the army had little need, were supposed to be discontinued. However, the tank was easy to manufacture due to the use of automotive components, so a simplified non-floating modification was created on the basis of the T-40 tank - the T-30 tank with a 20-mm ShVAK rapid-fire cannon, but still with thin bulletproof armor. Considering the impossibility of quickly switching to the production of the T-50 tank, which is much more complex and labor-intensive than the T-30, the chief designer of the plant N.A. Astrov, in an extremely short time frame (two weeks), designed a more powerful light tank, the T-60, with frontal armor 35 mm thick, which was quickly manufactured.

Soon, a decision was made to master the production of T-60 light tanks at factories in Kirov, GAZ and others. For the creation of designs for new types of light tanks N.A. Astrov was awarded the Stalin Prize.

High combat characteristics of the T-34 medium tank (weight 28.5 tons, crew of four, armor thickness 45 - 52 mm, powerful diesel engine, maximum speed 55 km/h), combined with the optimality of its design, high manufacturability and low cost put this tank in first place in the armament structure of the armored forces. To produce T-34 tanks, the Krasnoye Sormovo plant was rebuilt. Already on the ninth day of the war, V.A. arrived at the plant. Malyshev. Soon the reconstruction of old and construction of new workshops began, construction was carried out around the clock. Plant Director D.V. Mikhalev, chief engineer G.I. Kuzmin, party committee secretary S.D. Nesterov and other production commanders did not leave the plant for several days, organizing the production of military equipment. The Gorky regional and city party and Soviet bodies provided great assistance to the plant, since broad inter-factory cooperation was envisaged. In October 1941, the plant produced the first T-34 tanks and produced 173 vehicles by the end of the year.

During the difficult summer-autumn period of 1941, the production of T-34 tanks at STZ began at an increasing pace (plant director B.Ya. Dulkin, chief engineer A.N. Demyanovich). At the same time, the plant continued to produce STZ-NATI tracked tractors and STZ-5 artillery tractors. In addition to this, the plant, with the participation of Kharkov residents, began producing V-2 diesel engines in November 1941.

The plant's supply of metal, fuel, raw materials and other materials, as well as components, was seriously disrupted. It was urgent to establish relationships with new suppliers. During this period, a lot of work was done, in particular, by the plant designers (chief designer N.D. Werner) to find substitutes for scarce components and to simplify the design of the tank. In October 1941, Deputy People's Commissar A.A. arrived at the plant. Goreglyad, who soon took over the management of the plant as a director. Such an organization of plant management was necessary due to the fact that STZ, during a very difficult period of battles on the Soviet-German front, during the Battle of Moscow, was the only major manufacturer of T-34 tanks.

As of December 1, 1941, 1,731 tanks remained in the active army, of which 1,214 were light. Therefore, the importance of the thousand tanks manufactured by the Stalingraders in the second half of 1941 is difficult to overestimate.
During a difficult period for the country, the ardent patriotism, selfless dedication and devotion of the Soviet people to the ideals of communism, loyalty to the Motherland and the cause of the Lenin Party manifested themselves with particular force. The hard work of Kharkov and Leningrad residents was noted by the government. For exemplary fulfillment of the task of producing tanks and tank engines in September 1941, a large group of workers and engineering and technical workers of the factories were awarded orders and medals of the USSR, the Order of Lenin was awarded to the Kharkov Diesel Plant, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor was awarded to the director of the Kirov plant I.M. .Zaltsman and chief designer - Zh.Ya. Kotin. But the further operation of these plants in connection with the approach of the fronts to Kharkov and Leningrad became impossible. In just one month, by October 19, 1941, the tank production of the Kharkov plant was completely curtailed and sent to the Urals, which made it possible to soon begin production of military equipment needed by our army to fight the fascist invaders in a new place. The Ural Tank Plant was created there. Plant Director Yu.E. Maksarev, Deputy Chief Technologist I.V. Okunev were in the workshops almost all the time, promptly resolving numerous issues. Chief designer A.A. Morozov, his deputy N.A. Kucherenko, designers M.I. Tarshinov, Ya.I. Baran, V.G. Matyukhin, A.Ya. Mitnik and others did not go home for days. A wide range of concerns related to organizing the life of evacuees, supplying and feeding factory workers, along with production problems took over the factory party organization headed by the party organizer of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and deputy secretary of the party committee K.D. Petukhov. By the end of the year, partially using imported ready-made components, parts and blanks, the plant manufactured and handed over the first 25 T-34 tanks to the Red Army.

The Leningrad Kirov Plant, having produced 451 heavy KB tanks since July 1941, was forced to stop their production in October under the blockade of the city. By decision of the State Defense Committee of October 6, 1941, a mass evacuation of workers, engineering and technical personnel, tank production employees of the Kirov Plant and members of their families to the Urals was launched.

The restructuring of the production of the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant (ChTZ) to produce heavy tanks was carried out starting from the first days of the war. S.N. was appointed chief engineer of the plant. Makhonin, at the end of June N.L. arrived at ChTZ from Leningrad. Dukhov, who assumed the position of chief designer of tank production at the plant. Tank building specialists soon began arriving at the plant. The merger of two renowned teams - Leningraders and Uralians - made it possible to create a powerful center for the production of heavy tanks, the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (ChKZ). It also included a team of Kharkov engine builders and divisions of a number of other factories evacuated from the central regions of the country. I.M. became the director of the plant. Zaltsman, who was soon appointed deputy people's commissar.

The plant, which united teams of large engineering enterprises in its ranks, became the only manufacturer of heavy tanks from October 1941. Since July 1941, work at the plant, like at most other defense industry enterprises, was carried out around the clock, in two shifts. The working day for most categories of workers and engineering workers lasted 11 hours. During the intense period of the war, work at the plant went on continuously, without days off.

The Chelyabinsk plant continued to produce S-65 diesel tractors for some time, used in the army to tow heavy field artillery systems. At the same time, production of a high-speed modification, the S-2 artillery tractor, was launched.

To organize the production of heavy tanks, the plant urgently moved thousands of machines from the reduced tractor production, and organized new workshops and areas. At the same time, new buildings were erected, and extensions were made to the old ones. In a short time, hundreds of fixtures, dies, models were designed and manufactured, and special tools were created. In the forging industry, in connection with the development of tank production, it was necessary to significantly change the technology for forging blanks. The tank parts were much larger than the tractor parts, and the steel grades also differed significantly from the tractor steel grades. This affected the heating temperature and the entire heat treatment process.

The installation of a 15-ton hammer required for hot stamping of crankshaft blanks for tank engines resulted in a serious problem. It was necessary to mount a heavy hammer without stopping the work of the workshop. The concrete foundation for the hammer, 20 meters deep, according to the design of civil engineer N.F. Bausov, was poured into a pit dug by the caisson method, under the conditions of the existing production. The lower chabot was soon installed on the foundation and modified on site using the method proposed by engineer A.I. Gurvich. So one of many was decided serious problems establishing the production of heavy tanks and engines for them.

At a very alarming moment for the Motherland, as well as in the subsequent period, one could see a massive manifestation of the high consciousness and responsibility of the Ural-Kirov residents, their high labor impulse, which made it possible to begin production of the powerful military equipment so necessary for our army in the shortest possible time. This is a considerable merit of the factory party organization (party organizer of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks at the plant M.D. Kozin), who managed to unite and focus the factory team on solving the most important tasks for the defense of the country. By the end of the year, the plant had supplied the Red Army with more than 500 KV tanks.

To establish serial production of V-2 diesel engines at ChKZ, it was necessary to master the processing of many high-precision parts, casting of high-precision shaped castings from light alloys, new thermochemical processes, assembly and debugging of fuel equipment. In mastering the serial production of diesel engines, an important role was played by the engineers of the evacuated Kharkov plant and, above all, by the chief designer of ChKZ for diesel engines, I.Ya. Trashutin and deputy chief engineer Ya.I. Nevyazhsky. Serial production of tank diesel engines in Chelyabinsk began in December. The production of diesel engines was also mastered at the plant in Sverdlovsk (director D.E. Kochetkov, chief designer T.P. Chupakhin). Soon, work began on the design and construction of a motor plant in Altai.

When developing tank production in the east of the country, numerous difficulties arose everywhere, which were courageously overcome by home front workers.

Factories evacuated from the West often arrived at new locations with incomplete staff. Cadre workers were partially drafted into the army. The equipment was dismantled in a hurry; it was not always possible to load everything necessary and deliver it safely to the new location. Plants had to be located either on already developed territories of existing plants, or starting with the construction of temporary and then permanent structures. At the same time, it was urgently necessary to train new personnel, train women and youth in working professions, and retrain workers in the necessary specialties.

In the first days after the start of the war, it was decided to create a powerful base for the production of armor plates for tank corps in the eastern regions of the country. Miners, miners, blast furnace operators, and workers of many other professions worked with enormous effort, on whose labor the successful operation of the tank industry depended.

People's Commissar of Tank Industry V.A. Malyshev spent a lot of time at the factories of the industry, solved a lot of primary issues and problems, established connections with other industries to supply the factories with everything necessary, organized the construction of production facilities and residential premises. The industry headquarters - the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry - was located in Chelyabinsk at the end of 1941. An industry design institute was also located in Chelyabinsk (director A.I. Solin, chief engineer N.F. Zubkov), which bore the brunt of the design and organization of construction and installation work at the reconstructed and newly created tank, armored hull and engine factories of the People's Commissariat .

At one of the largest factories in the country, the Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (Uralmash), the production of hulls and turrets of heavy KV tanks was launched. The work was mainly concentrated in the newly created armor production. Uralmash workers mastered the technology of processing and welding armor steel for the first time. Additional difficulties arose due to the fact that before the war the plant produced single products and was not adapted for mass production. Therefore, much attention was paid to the manufacture of specialized equipment. Milling machines were adapted to perform boring work, gear cutting machines were often used as rotary machines. A giant press was used to straighten armor sheets. Fundamental changes were made to the work of thermal shops. Almost all workshops underwent redevelopment.

The restructuring of the plant was carried out at an accelerated pace. People did not leave the plant for days. Director B.G. devoted a lot of effort and energy to rebuilding the plant. Muzrukov and party organizer of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) M.L. Medvedev. In a matter of days, over 500 machines were moved and strengthened on new foundations. Despite the measures taken, in August 1941 the plant was able to produce only five armored hulls of KB tanks, and even then they were made from blanks brought to the plant. In September, the situation with the production of armored hulls improved. At the end of the month, Uralmash began producing products in accordance with the approved schedule.

In the context of the ongoing deployment of production of heavy and medium tanks and the urgent need for them (each assembled vehicle was registered and the daily delivery of vehicles was reported to I.V. Stalin) great importance acquired the development of large-scale production of light tanks using automobile units. A significant part of the Kolomna Locomotive Plant, evacuated to Kirov, began production of T-60 light tanks in a new location in unsuitable premises. The newly formed plant (director E.E. Rubinchik) needed a significant replenishment of machine tools, and the majority of workers and engineers were not prepared for the production of tanks. In a matter of days, a new production technology was developed and equipment was installed. In January 1942, tank production was mastered. Track tracks were sent from Stalingrad, components and assemblies of the motor unit and power transmission - from Gorky. For the successful completion of the government task for mastering the production of tanks, the plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.

In the first days of the war, the question arose about transferring the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ), which belonged to the system of the People's Commissariat of Medium Engineering (People's Commissar S.A. Akopov), to the production of defense products. The Gorky people had to switch to the production of light tanks, tank engines, armored vehicles, mortars and other military equipment as soon as possible. At the same time, production of trucks necessary for transporting military and economic cargo continued. In accordance with the developed schedule, the enterprise was restructured and the placement of equipment in the workshops was changed. The issues of ensuring the supply of bearings, electrical equipment and other necessary products to the car plant were resolved.

During the period of perestroika, GAZ mastered new technological processes, established the production of rubber products and rolled metal. In order to reduce the labor intensity of manufacturing products, in a number of cases riveting was replaced by welding, forging by casting, and machining by stamping. The plant, one of the first in the domestic industry, mastered automatic submerged arc welding.
The automobile plant began to develop the T-60 tank, which had just been developed at the Moscow plant. During the evacuation of the plant on October 15, 1941, one of the first tank models covered the path from Moscow to Gorky under its own power in just 14 hours.

During the Battle of Moscow, enemy air raids began on Gorky, high-explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped on the automobile plant, but work did not stop. The plant continued to supply T-60 tanks to the front. By the end of 1941, 1,320 light tanks were produced, which played a significant role in the counter-offensive of our army, which drove the Nazi troops back from Moscow. For exemplary fulfillment of the task of producing defense products in December 1941, GAZ was awarded the Order of Lenin. A large group of car manufacturers were awarded orders and medals. The Order of Lenin was awarded to the blacksmith I.I. Kardashin, plant director I.K. Loskutov, mechanic A.I. Lyakhov.

In the second half of 1941, 4.8 thousand tanks were manufactured. Including light over 40%, medium 39%, the rest - heavy. In general, the tank production plan was only completed by 61.7%.

During 1942, the expansion of tank production at industry factories continued. The production of T-34 tanks, which were produced by several factories, quickly increased. The necessary changes were made to the T-34 in order to simplify the design of the tank, improve combat performance and reliability. The main design developments were carried out in the main design bureau, headed by A.A. Morozov.

At armored hull factories, automatic welding of armor under a layer of flux became widespread already in the first half of 1942. At Uralmash, in order to reduce the labor intensity of manufacturing KB tank hulls, significant changes were made to the technical documentation, approved by the chief designer of the tank Zh.Ya. Kotin, who reduced labor costs for machining of cases by four times. Back in 1941, the movement of front-line brigades began at the plant. The first such brigade was the brigade of M.V. Popova, who carried out boring of the KV tank hulls. Initially, this operation took 18 hours. Soon, the waste workers improved the technology for processing armored hulls. As a result, the hulls began to be bored in 5.5 hours. An example of the maximum reduction in time spent on performing an operation was shown by nineteen-year-old Komsomol member A.A. Lopatinskaya. She completed her shift assignment 300%; soon Anya Lopatinskaya headed the front-line Komsomol brigade of girls.

In March 1942, Uralmash received a new task - to begin expanded production of armored hulls for the T-34 tank, while the production of KB tank hulls was reduced. As a result of the shock work, the plan for the second quarter of 1942 was exceeded. In July, the plant was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for its exemplary performance of the task of producing tank armored hulls. Among the awarded were 150 plant employees; Orders of Lenin were awarded to production manager D.E. Vasiliev, director B.G. Muzrukov, steelmaker D.D. Sidorovsky and others. Steelmaker Ibragim Valeev was awarded the Stalin Prize in 1943 for his high performance in melting high-quality steels.

By the middle of 1942, the plant already had production lines set up for the production of homogeneous parts for hull production, and high-speed automatic welding was widely used. To produce the turrets of the T-34 tank, they were stamped on a ten-thousand-ton press. It was a very brave decision. A total of 2,670 towers were produced by stamping.

In the spring of 1942, a patriotic movement of thousand workers - workers who fulfilled production standards by 1000% or more - developed at the factories of the industry. Such labor productivity was achieved through a set of measures: maximum rationalization of the worker’s movements, the use of high-performance equipment, maximum use of machine power, selection of optimal processing modes, use of special tools, combination of operations, etc. Patterner Anatoly Chugunov was the first at Uralmash to achieve an unprecedented output of -1900%.

The first thousand-man at the Ural Tank Plant was turner G.P. Nikitin. His achievement was soon repeated by tool turner A.E. Panferov. Thousanders-blacksmiths A.A. appeared. Kovalenko, M.I. Lyapin and V.I. Mikhalev. In May, entire brigades of thousanders were already working, led by S.M. Pinaev, V.G. Seleznev and others. The most distinguished brigades were awarded the honorary title of guards. The first such brigade was the Komsomol youth team led by Tanya Brevnova. The Komsomol youth brigade of female blacksmiths Sima Uzdemir, working with a three-ton hammer, fulfilled two norms daily. Soon the brigade of V.M. became guardsmen. Volozhanina and others. Throughout all the years of the war, the front guard brigades held high the honor of the plant and won first places in the All-Union competition of front brigades. For the successful development of the production of T-34 tanks, the Ural Tank Plant (director Yu.E. Maksarev, chief engineer L.I. Korduner) was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, large group workers and technical workers of the plant were awarded orders and medals.

The entire year of 1942 passed at the plant under the sign of a continuous increase in the production of tanks; in the fourth quarter, 4.75 times more of them were produced than in the first. The introduction of automatic welding of tank hulls under a layer of flux increased labor productivity by approximately 8 times. E.O. was directly involved in debugging the new technological process. Paton. The tanks were assembled on a conveyor belt, and numerous production lines operated. The technology of casting turrets from armor steel into raw molds using machine molding was very effective. This method, developed and implemented by engineers I.I. Bragin and I.V. Gorbunov, gave significant cost savings and made it possible to increase the production of towers to 30-32 units per day (in December 1941, 5-6 units were produced per day).

For its successes, the plant was repeatedly recognized as the winner of the socialist competition among tank industry factories, it was awarded the Challenge Red Banner of the State Defense Committee, and in 1943 the plant was awarded another Order of the Red Banner. Among those awarded the Order of Lenin were plant director Yu.E. Maksarev, chief designer A.A. Morozov, master K.I. Kartsev, foreman of machine operators V.M. Volozhanin, blacksmith A.A. Kovalenko and others.

The Krasnoye Sormovo plant continued to pick up the pace of production of T-34 tanks. By the end of 1941, new workshops had been built, several thousand dies and fixtures, as well as measuring and cutting tools, had been manufactured. Already at the end of October, the Komsomol youth brigade, headed by molder Nikolai Shcherbina, became famous at the plant. Ivan Chernotalov’s team was hard at work in the reinforcement shop. One of the oldest personnel workers of the plant A.I. Khramushev headed the front-line molding team, which ensured high-quality casting of tank turrets, and S.I. Komarov - a team of stampers. Khramushev and Komarov were subsequently awarded the Order of Lenin.

In January 1942, there were 132 at the plant, in March - 213 and in May - 546 front-line brigades. Much attention at the plant was paid to training young workers and improving their skills. Invaluable help Veterans of the plant assisted in this matter.

In May 1942, the management of the plant was renewed, E.E. Rubinchik was appointed director, A.I. became party organizer of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. Andreev. For the success achieved in increasing the production of tanks, the Krasnoye Sormovo plant was awarded the Order of Lenin in January 1943. At the same time, the work of 260 leading workers of the plant was recognized with high state awards.

For exemplary fulfillment of government tasks for the production of T-34 tanks and tank engines, STZ was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor in February 1942 (director K.A. Zadorozhny). The work of 248 employees of the tractor plant and related factories was awarded with orders and medals. In the summer of 1942, the front came very close to Stalingrad. The plant was tasked with removing twice the number of tanks from the production line by the end of August. From the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry, the implementation of this task was ensured by the First Deputy People's Commissar A.A. Goreglyad, V.A. was appointed as the authorized representative of the State Defense Committee for Stalingrad. Malyshev. To complete the task, it was allowed to use the hulls and engines of damaged tanks from the repair fund of the military department. As a result of the heroic work of the Stalingrad residents, who were constantly subjected to bombing and then shelling, it was possible to use the industrial potential of the city to the maximum extent for defense purposes. In just 20 days of August 1942, STZ gave the army 240 T-34 tanks, after which their production practically ceased, only repair and restoration work continued. Many workers at the tractor plant were evacuated to the eastern regions of the country at that time.

In 1942, ChKZ confidently picked up the pace of production of heavy KV tanks. The movement of Stakhanovites-thousanders at the plant was started by turner G.P. Exlakov. He was followed by milling machine operator Anna Pashnina, the youngest of the Kirov residents awarded the Order of Lenin. She organized and led the first front-line brigade of female machine operators at the plant. Each of the young workers mastered several specialties and learned how to set up machines themselves. At the initiative of master V.D. Bakhteev, a new form of competition was born, in which the results of work were noted not at the end of the shift, but hourly. Blacksmith G.V. showed examples of labor heroism. Arzamastsev and shop manager I.S. Belostotsky, tank test drivers P.I. Barov and K.I. Ladle, turner V.V. Gusev and steelmaker A.I. Platonov, chief engineer S.N. Makhonin, shop managers N.P. Bogdanov and F.S. Bulgakov, heads of design teams N.L. Dukhov and I.Ya. Trashutin and others. In July 1942, the State Defense Committee instructed the plant to organize mass production of T-34 tanks without stopping the production of heavy tanks. The main conveyor line, where tractors were previously assembled, was completely refurbished to produce new products. During the preparation of production, numerous organizational and technical issues. Significant assistance was provided by leading specialists of the Ural Tank Plant Ya.I. Baran, V.M. Doroshenko, N.F. Melnikov and others. On August 5, the first manufactured components and parts began to arrive for assembly, and on August 22, the first T-34 tank rolled off the plant’s assembly line.

Design work on heavy, medium and light tanks continued into 1942. The KB heavy tank was a breakthrough tank; it easily penetrated enemy anti-tank defenses. The characteristics of the KB tank were significantly higher than the characteristics of the most powerful German tanks. T-III tanks and T-IV, used in the initial period of the war. The KB tank was invulnerable to fire from most enemy anti-tank weapons; it was not harmed by fire from the main weapons of German tanks. Even air bombing, other than a direct hit from aerial bombs, was not scary for him. But already in 1942, the KB tank began to gradually lose its advantages. On the battlefield, the enemy began to use self-propelled artillery units armed with powerful cannons. Sub-caliber armor-piercing shells were introduced, significantly increasing the power of tank weapons and anti-tank artillery. Artillery systems with a higher initial projectile velocity appeared.

At the ChKZ design bureau, under the leadership of chief designer Zh.Ya. Kotin in the winter of 1941-1942, work began on the design of promising modifications of the heavy tank: KV-7, KV-8, and KV-9. In the KV-7 tank, instead of a circular rotation turret, twin and even triple guns were installed in a fixed armored cabin. The fire control system provided for maintaining volley fire, as well as single shooting from each gun separately. An ATO-41 flamethrower was installed in the turret of the KV-8 tank, which ensured the release of a combustible mixture at a distance of up to 100 m. In January 1942, after showing prototypes in Moscow to members of the government, the KV-8 tank was accepted for production. In the turret, in order to free up space for the flamethrower equipment, the 76 mm gun had to be replaced with a 45 mm one. The KV-9 tank differed from the main KB tank by the presence of a 122-mm howitzer gun designed by F.F. Petrova.

In the spring of 1942, to replace the KB tank, the design of a new tank began, which had the properties of a heavy tank with the mass of a medium tank. This formulation of the problem was dictated by the revealed advantages of the T-34 tank compared to the KV. The T-34 tank had less manufacturing complexity, was more transportable and had higher mobility. In terms of armament and armor protection, the T-34 tank was almost equivalent to the KV heavy tank.

The main layout work on the new tank, designated KV-13, was carried out by N.V. Tseits. Due to the dense arrangement of components and assemblies, it was planned to reduce the dimensions and weight of the new tank compared to the serial KV. But this work was temporarily stopped. In order to improve the characteristics of the serial tank without stopping production, it was decided to partially modernize the KB. Thus, the weight of the vehicle body was slightly reduced by reducing the thickness of the sides and reducing the silhouette; in addition, the tracks were lightened. Many components and assemblies of the tank were also modernized. As a result, the mass of the tank decreased by approximately 5 tons, and the speed increased from 34 to 43 km/h. The new modification of the KV-1S tank was equipped with improved transmission and chassis components. In the counteroffensive near Stalingrad, KV-1S tanks played a significant role.

In 1943, for this work, a group of workers from the Kirov plant N.L. Dukhov, A.S. Ermolaev, L.E. Sychev, N.M. Sinev, E.P. Dedov, A.F. Lesokhin, G.A. Mikhailov, A.N. Sterkin, N.F. Shashmurin, as well as A.I. Blagonravov were awarded the Stalin Prize.

Tanks T-34 (left) and T-43 Designers of the Ural Tank Plant under the leadership of A.A. Morozov, in addition to work on improving the serial T-34 tank, in the summer of 1942 they began working on a new T-43 tank, characterized by enhanced armor, the introduction of a torsion bar suspension, etc. However, work was also temporarily suspended.

The T-60 light tank was a relatively weakly armed tank for direct infantry support. To solve independent problems by units armed with a light tank, more than powerful tank. Therefore, at GAZ the chief tank designer N.A. Astrov with the participation of automotive designers headed by A.A. Lipgart, in a short time, developed the design of a new light tank weighing 9.2 tons, branded T-70. It was armed with a 45 mm cannon, the thickness of the frontal armor was 45 mm, the maximum speed was 45 km/h, and the tank had a crew of two people. The tank was equipped with two 6-cylinder automobile engines, connected in series into a single power unit. The first prototype of the T-70 tank was manufactured back in December 1941. This tank was approved by the government and already in the first half of 1942 GAZ switched to serial production new tank. The creation of the T-70 tank was awarded the Stalin Prize.

The experience of combat operations of our armored forces accumulated during 1941-1942 allowed us to draw some conclusions. Weak interaction between tanks and infantry, artillery and aviation was revealed. Tank commanders made poor use of the terrain for a covert approach to the enemy, and rarely used radio to call for artillery fire during the battle and as a means of control. The identified shortcomings served as the basis for the development of instructions for the tactical and operational use of tank units of the Red Army, and also required modifications to the design of the tanks.

In order to eliminate the noted shortcomings, changes were made to the design of the tanks. Thus, a new radio station was installed on the T-34 tank, and a commander’s cupola was constructed to improve observation conditions from the tank. Some T-34 tanks were additionally armed with an ATO-41 flamethrower. The radio stations were installed on T-70 command tanks. To increase the cruising range of the tanks, additional external fuel tanks were installed on a number of vehicles.

In order to streamline control over increasing combat properties and ensuring the reliability of combat vehicles, the Main Quality Inspectorate was established in 1942 at the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry. Representatives of the inspection were at the fronts, assigned to tank units and formations. They informed the chief designers about the quality, combat and operational characteristics of the tanks. The functions of the employees also included providing assistance to the troops in training personnel in the specifics of operating new models, in the evacuation, repair and restoration of armored vehicles.

In October 1942, the State Defense Committee decided to begin work on the creation of self-propelled artillery units of two types: armored like the T-34 medium tank, with a 122-mm howitzer, designed to support and escort tanks, and lightly armored, with a 76-mm cannon, intended for direct fire support for infantry.

At the end of October 1942, Zh.Ya arrived at Uralmash. Kotin, who was simultaneously the chief designer of the Kirov plant and deputy people's commissar of the tank industry. After familiarization with the production of the T-34 tank and a comprehensive analysis of the proposals, it was decided to take the chassis of the T-34 tank and the swinging part of the M-30 field divisional howitzer as the basis for the new self-propelled artillery mount. The general layout of the installation, designated SU-122, was entrusted to N.V. Chicken. Designers V.A. put a lot of work and creative effort into the creation of the SU-122. Vishnyakov, G.F. Ksyunin, A.D. Nekhlyudov, G.V. Sokolov and others. To complete the work within a given time frame, high-speed design was used, and close cooperation was established with technologists and production workers. In December 1942, the first batch of SU-122 was manufactured and demonstrated to party and government leaders. By decree of the State Defense Committee it was adopted by the Red Army.

Soon, 25 self-propelled guns were handed over to crews formed and trained in the Urals, and a train with the SU-122 was sent to the Volkhov Front. For the creation of a new type of artillery weapons in 1943, the Stalin Prize was awarded to the chief designer L.I. Gorlitsky, N.V. Kurin and others. A group of workers and engineers of the plant were awarded high state awards.

At the plant in Kirov (director K.K. Yakovlev) in 1942, the SU-12 (SU-76) self-propelled artillery mount, armed with a 76-mm ZIS-Z cannon designed by V.G., was designed and manufactured. Grabina. The chassis design was based mainly on the components of the T-60 light tank. However, the first batch of vehicles had design flaws, as a result of which in 1943 a modified modification with a rearranged transmission and power unit borrowed from the T-70 tank went into mass production. The new self-propelled gun was assigned the brand SU-76M. Its mass reached 10.5 tons, armor thickness up to 35 mm, maximum speed 41 km/h. Subsequently, for the development of the design of this installation, the Stalin Prize was awarded to the chief engineer of the plant L.L. Terentyev and the chief designer M.N. Shchukin. In the spring of 1943, the plant was awarded the Order of the Red Star.

In 1942, a number of tank, armored hull and engine factories and production facilities operated in the Volga region, the Urals and the eastern regions of the country. During 1942, the tank industry produced about 24.7 thousand tanks, including experimental ones. More than 24.4 thousand combat vehicles were transferred to the army. Of this amount, 10% were KB heavy tanks, over 50% were T-34 medium tanks, and about 40% were T-60 and T-70 light tanks. But the tank fleet of the Red Army was still dominated by light tanks (more than 60%).

In January 1943, at one of the armored hull factories of the tank industry, a Komsomol youth brigade of electric welders was created, headed by E.P. Agarkov. A month later she won the championship among factory teams, and in March 1943 she was recognized as the best in socialist competition. In total, there were 15 people in Agarkov’s brigade, 13 of them were girls.

In November 1944, E.P. Agarkov proposed combining teams of welders and installers into one integrated one. As a result, a single flow was created for the installation and welding of armored turrets, a senior foreman, three shift foremen, four foremen and eight workers were released. Optimal organization of labor, combined with advanced training of workers and the partial introduction of automatic welding, made it possible to increase production output by 2.5 times with less manual labor.

The significance of E.P.’s undertaking Agarkov was huge. In 1944 alone, by consolidating production groups in the tank industry, over 6 thousand people were released. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR E.P. Agarkov was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1943. In 1946 he was awarded the Stalin Prize. Members of the brigade E.P. were awarded high state awards. Agarkov, the Order of Lenin was also received by brigadier F. T. Serokurov.

Improvement technological processes was carried out with the direct participation of specialists from research institutes. A great contribution to the development of the production of armored hulls and turrets was made by specialists from the research institute, headed by Stalin Prize laureate A.S. Zavyalov. Under the guidance of Professor V.P. Vologdina, at ChKZ, for the first time in the domestic mechanical engineering, the technology of surface hardening of parts with high-frequency currents was developed and introduced into production. The use of innovation reduced the time spent on heat treatment by 30-40 times, while saving high-alloy steel was achieved while simultaneously increasing the wear resistance of parts. In 1943, as a result of using new technology, the plant received savings of over 25 million rubles. For the development of the high-frequency hardening method, V.P. Vologdin was awarded the Stalin Prize. In 1943, a new transmission with a planetary rotation mechanism of a fundamentally new type for heavy tanks was designed and manufactured. For this development, the Stalin Prize was awarded to G.I. Zaichik, M.A. Kreines, M.K. Christie and K.G. Levin.

In February 1943, the Main Directorate for Tank Repair (GURT) was created within the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry, headed by First Deputy People's Commissar A.A. Goreglyad.
Factories in the industry, together with army repair units, did a lot of work to return damaged combat vehicles to service. At the same time, it was often possible to modernize older tanks. The work of the repair services of the army and industry cannot be overestimated. The production of repaired tanks continuously increased during the war. Since March 1944, the repair and restoration of tanks and self-propelled artillery units were entrusted to the People's Commissariat of Defense. Part of the repair plants of the People's Commissariat of Tanks and Industry was transferred to the army. But the production of spare parts for army repair units was still mainly carried out by tank industry factories.

In total, 430 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns were repaired during the war years, that is, each industrially manufactured tank was repaired and restored on average more than four times.
Since among the trophies of the Red Army there were a significant number of serviceable and combat-ready German tanks T-III and T-IV, on their basis, a team of designers led by G.I. Kashtanov developed domestic self-propelled artillery units SU-76I and SU-122I with a 76-mm cannon and a 122-mm howitzer. About 1.2 thousand of them were manufactured.

The widespread use of tanks with high combat characteristics by the Red Army in battles against the Nazi invaders forced the tank industry of Nazi Germany to quickly develop and organize the production of new tank designs, such as the Panther, Tiger, as well as the Ferdinand self-propelled guns. At the same time, German industry modernized the tanks produced and increased the power of the weapons by installing guns of a larger caliber or with a longer barrel to increase initial speed projectile. After the defeat at Moscow and then at Stalingrad, the Nazi command relied on the use of new and modernized tanks and self-propelled artillery units, armed with 75-, 88- and 128-mm cannons, protected by thick armor.

The domestic tank industry, in order to maintain superiority over the German armored vehicles, continued the development of new tanks in 1943, modernized self-propelled artillery units, and increased the production of heavy and medium vehicles. At the same time, industry factories began to pay more attention to improving the quality of combat vehicles.

Self-propelled artillery unit SU-152 At the end of November 1942, the ChKZ design bureau began developing the design of a heavy self-propelled artillery unit armed with a powerful 152-mm howitzer gun ML-20S. Almost the entire composition of the design bureau took part in this work, headed by L.S. Troyanov.

The production of working drawings of the new self-propelled gun, branded SU-152, began in December 1942, and on January 25, 1943, a prototype was assembled in record time. By February 7, tests of the first sample were successfully completed, and the vehicle was put into service. Before the beginning of March, the first batch of 35 vehicles was manufactured and supplied to heavy self-propelled artillery regiments. In July 1943, only one of these regiments, which took part in the battles on the Kursk Bulge, destroyed about two dozen German Tiger tanks and Ferdinand heavy self-propelled guns.

Initially, self-propelled artillery was subordinate to the chief of artillery of the Red Army, technical support and repair of self-propelled guns were carried out through the Main Artillery Directorate. Since April 1943, self-propelled artillery units came under the command of the commander of the BTiMV Ya.N. Fedorenko. This contributed to closer interaction between tanks and self-propelled guns, simplified the maintenance and repair of self-propelled guns, and the training of military specialists.

The SU-152 development team was awarded the Stalin Prize. Among them were tank builders Zh.Ya. Kotin, S.N. Makhonin, L.S. Troyanov and the creators of the artillery system S.P. Gurenko and F.F. Petrov.
The next big initiative work of the ChKZ designers, after the SU-152, was the development of a new heavy tank, the IS (Joseph Stalin). Individual components of the chassis and the track of the KV tank were transferred to the new tank without significant redesign. The design of the tank's hull and turret, the installation of instruments and weapons were decided upon in a new way, and an original planetary-type rotation mechanism developed by A.I. was introduced. Blagonravov.

The work largely took into account the experience of developing the KV-13 tank, and the shortened chassis was retained. Prototypes of the tank were manufactured in two versions: with a 76 mm gun and with a 122 mm howitzer gun. The appearance of the first samples of the German heavy tank "Tiger" on the Soviet-German front in January 1943 set the plant the task of speeding up the development of a new heavy tank in every possible way and strengthening the power of its weapons. Therefore, an 85-mm experimental long-barreled gun designed by V.G. was installed on the third prototype. Grabina.

Forced testing of the new tank revealed both the strengths of the vehicle’s design and certain shortcomings. Master drivers of ChKZ and the Experimental Plant under it, including P.I., played an active role in testing the new tank. Petrov, awarded the Order of Lenin. To improve the tank's mileage on low-lying soils bearing capacity The supporting surface of the caterpillar was lengthened, and the chassis was strengthened by adding a sixth roller. Has been installed new gun type D-5T designed by F.F. Petrova. The tank received the IS mark (IS-1). However, the tank was not yet ready for mass production.

In the summer of 1943, in the midst of work on a new heavy tank, changes occurred in the leadership of the People's Commissariat and ChKZ. V.A. again became the People's Commissar of the tank industry. Malyshev, and I.M. was appointed director of the plant. Zaltsman, who was People's Commissar for one year. At that time, the director of the plant was A.A. Goreglyad and then M.A. Dlugach. For a long time, the chief engineer of the plant, S.N., acted as director. Makhonin.
After the Battle of Kursk, it was necessary to quickly strengthen the armament of Soviet tanks. As a result, it was decided to develop a modification of the KV-1S heavy tank by installing a new turret with an 85-mm cannon on the tank chassis. In August 1943, such a KV-85 tank began to be manufactured.

In May 1943, Uralmash created the second modification of a self-propelled artillery mount based on the T-34 tank with a powerful 85-mm D-5S cannon. The unit, branded SU-85, was accepted for serial production and service in August 1943. By the end of the month, 150 machines of this type had been manufactured. Operating directly in tank battle formations, these self-propelled guns provided continuous fire support our troops, hitting the armor of all types of German tanks. In the period preceding the battles of 165 on the Kursk Bulge, German aviation launched a massive bombing attack on Gorky's military industry facilities. As a result, GAZ suffered significant damage: the water supply was destroyed and the electricity supply was cut off. The bombing of the plant continued for fifteen nights in a row. Many car manufacturers were killed and wounded. But the plant continued to produce military equipment, people showed examples of dedication and labor heroism. Having eliminated the damage, the plant already completed the program by 127% in July (director I.K. Loskutov, chief engineer K.V. Vlasov).

Since the combat properties of the T-70 tank could not be considered as highly as at the end of 1941, it was discontinued in 1943. Instead, a new light tank T-80 was designed, adapted for combat in urban conditions (gun elevation angle up to 65 degrees). The armor of the tank's sides, bottom and roof was strengthened, and the crew was increased to three people. But for installation in the tank, forced engines were needed, but they could not be created in a short time. From the second half of 1943, GAZ began to master the production of SU-76M, which soon went into service with the army in large quantities (daily production of up to 38 vehicles).

Simultaneously with the production of tanks and self-propelled guns, GAZ produced the BA-64 light armored car, created on the chassis of the GAZ-64 all-terrain passenger car (lead designer V.A. Grachev). In 1943, the track width of the base vehicle was increased, which increased the vehicle's stability. Based on the GAZ-67B model, production of the BA-64B armored car, equipped with bullet-resistant tires, was launched. The body of the vehicle was made of bulletproof armor with rational angles of inclination of the sheets. The modification of the armored car was adapted for movement on a railway track thanks to additional wheels with flanges. For the creation of this machine V.A. Grachev was awarded the Stalin Prize.

The Kirov plant's new IS-1 heavy tank entered production at the end of 1943, and soon production of another, much better armed tank began. The D-25T cannon installed in the new tank, developed under the leadership of F.F. Petrov, was much more powerful than the 85-mm D-5 cannon installed in the IS-1 tank (its muzzle energy was 2.7 times greater). This made it possible to finally consolidate the superiority of Soviet heavy tanks over German ones. The new tank received the IS-2 brand; a DShK large-caliber anti-aircraft machine gun was installed on its turret. After successfully completed state tests, the new tank was delivered to a training ground near Moscow, where a shot was fired from the D-25T cannon at the frontal armor of the German Panther tank. The shell pierced the frontal armor of the Panther, hit the rear hull plate and, tearing it off, threw it several meters away.

Already at the end of 1943, the first serial IS-2 tanks were manufactured, and production of the ISU-152 on the IS tank chassis with a 152-mm howitzer gun began. A significant part of the promising design developments in the field of heavy tanks was carried out at the Experimental Plant under the leadership of Zh.Ya. Kotina. For the development of the design of the IS tank and an artillery self-propelled gun based on it, the Stalin Prize was awarded to Zh.Ya. Kotin, A.S. Ermolaev, E.P. Dedov, K.N. Ilyin, G.N. Moskvin, G.N. Rybin, N.F. Shashmurin and others.

A special page in the history of tank building in the Urals is the history of the formation of the Special Volunteer Tank Corps in February-April 1943. Using the workers' own savings, tanks, equipment, uniforms and ammunition were purchased and transferred to the army. All weapons were manufactured at factories in excess of plan. Over 100 thousand applications were submitted to the military registration and enlistment offices of the Urals from volunteers who wanted to become soldiers of this corps. The corps entered battle during the Oryol operation on July 27, 1943 as the 30th Ural Volunteer tank corps as part of the 4th Tank Army.

In the battles against the Nazis, the Urals showed examples of selfless courage and heroism. Over one and a half thousand tank crews of the corps were awarded orders and medals, and 22 of them were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

For exceptional services to the state in organizing the production of armored vehicles and skillful leadership of teams in 1943, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor was awarded to plant directors D.E. Kochetkov, Yu.E. Maksarev and B.G. Muzrukov and chief designer A.A. Morozov.
In total, in 1943, the domestic industry produced more than 20 thousand tanks of various types and 4.1 thousand self-propelled guns. Of the total number of tanks, about 4% were heavy, 79% were medium, the rest were light, and self-propelled guns were light 49%, medium 34% and heavy 17%.

The Ural Tank Plant was still the leading plant in the production of the most popular tank, the T-34. The Stalin Prize for modernizing the T-34, improving its production technology, with significant savings in materials, labor and cost reduction was awarded to plant director Yu.E. Maksarev, chief engineer L.I. Korduner, engineers Ya.I. Baran, I.I. Atopov, N.I. Proskuryakov and others.
At all stages of testing modernized and newly created experimental tanks, a large role was assigned to tank testers, including driver mechanics. Among the best tank driving masters in the industry were F.V. Zakharchenko, I.V. Kuznetsov, N.F. Nosik et al.

The design team of the Ural Tank Plant, led by A.A. Morozov, in March 1943 began testing a prototype of the T-43 medium tank, the design of which involved extensive use of components and parts of the serial T-34 tank. But a number of characteristics of the T-43 tank deteriorated (pressure increased, power reserve decreased), in addition, the transition to the production of the T-43 tank instead of the T-34 would inevitably lead to a reduction in the production of tanks and their supply to the army. Therefore, the design team soon began work to strengthen the armament of the T-34 tank and create a new medium tank T-44.

The work of artillery designers to create tank guns with calibers greater than 76 mm has been carried out since 1940. By the summer of 1943, various experimental 85 mm tank guns had been manufactured. Guns designed by F.F. Petrov brand D-5 in versions for tanks and self-propelled guns had been mass-produced since August 1943, and the guns of the plant (director A.S. Elyan) LB-1 and TsAKB - S-50 and S-53 still needed fine-tuning. At the Krasnoye Sormovo plant these guns were installed in experienced tanks T-34. One of the options for installing an 85-mm cannon in the T-34 tank was adopted as a basis (developed by V.V. Krylov and others). At the Ural Tank Plant, following the Sormovichi team, a second option was developed for installing the gun in a new turret with an extended shoulder strap. At the end of 1943, all three experimental guns installed in tanks entered testing. Based on their results, the ZIS-S-53 gun was accepted for production and installation in the serial T-34-85 tank.

People's Commissar of Tank Industry V.A. took part in resolving issues related to strengthening the armament of the T-34 tank at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant. Malyshev, People's Commissar of Armaments D.F. Ustinov, commander of armored and mechanized forces Ya. N. Fedorenko, head of the Main Artillery Directorate N.D. Yakovlev. They provided the plant with great assistance in the manufacture and testing of prototypes of the T-34-85 tank. In January 1944, this tank was put into service. For the development of an 85-mm cannon for the T-34 tank, the Stalin Prize was awarded to I.I. Ivanov, A.I. Savin, G.I. Sergeev.

The weight of the T-34-85 tank reached 32 tons, the crew was five people, the hull armor was 45 mm, and the turret was up to 90 mm, a powerful diesel engine allowed it to reach a maximum speed of 55 km/h.
Since the situation at the front required saturation of the tank forces with combat vehicles capable of fighting the new German heavy tanks, a lot of work was carried out at ChKZ in 1944 to expand the production line of heavy IS tanks, and the production of T-34 tanks was discontinued. The cost of the tank steadily decreased and at the same time its reliability increased and its service life increased.
The service life of IS tanks and self-propelled artillery units at its base before the first medium repair was increased to 1,200 km, and from the start of operation to major overhaul - up to 3,000 km (500 engine hours).

During the war years design department in engine engineering under the guidance of I.Ya. Trashutina made a number of changes to the design of the V-2 diesel engine. Thus, thanks to the loop oil supply, wear has been significantly reduced and the durability of the crankshaft has been increased. A strengthened crankshaft and cylinder liners, a higher flow oil pump, new connecting rod designs, an improved piston and oil filter etc. As a result, the engine life is significantly increased. An all-mode speed controller was introduced into the V-2-34M engine instead of a dual-mode one. The V-2-IS engine, unlike previous modifications, was equipped with an inertia starter in addition to starters of previous types, a more powerful generator and a number of other components.

For radical improvements in technology and success in the production of heavy tanks and engines, director I.M. was awarded the Stalin Prize. Zaltsman, chief engineer S.N. Makhonin, chief technologist S.A. Khait, tank building engineers A.Yu. Bozhko, A.I. Glazunov, engine engineers I.Ya. Trashutin, Ya.E. Vikhman, M.A. Meksin, P.E. Sablev and others. In 1945, the Order of Lenin was awarded to the diesel design bureau of the Kirov plant.

For the successes achieved in the production of military equipment, ChKZ was awarded the Order of the Red Star in August 1944, and the Experimental Plant, headed by Zh.Ya. Kotin, for special services in the creation of new models of heavy tanks and self-propelled artillery units - the Order of Lenin. In 1944, two more self-propelled artillery mounts with 122-mm cannons - ISU-122 and ISU-122-2 - were put into production at ChKZ.
The last major work of the design bureaus of the Experimental Plant and ChKZ was the creation of the third modification of the IS tank, later called IS-Z. The original design of the hull and turret made it possible to significantly increase the armor protection of the IS-Z compared to the IS-2.

In the late autumn of 1944, sea trials of the new tank began. After inspecting the new vehicles by representatives of the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command G.K. Zhukov and A.M. Vasilevsky tanks were sent to the testing ground, which were successfully completed by the beginning of 1945. Soon followed by the decision to begin production of the IS-Z tank.

For radical improvements in the design of a heavy tank and the creation of a new tank, the Stalin Prize was awarded to a group of designers from the Kirov and Experimental Plants: N.L. Dukhov, L.S. Troyanov, M.F. Balzhi, G.V. Kruchenykh, V.I. Torotko, several hundred tank builders were awarded orders and medals. In 1945, ChKZ was awarded the Order of Kutuzov, 1st degree.

At the beginning of 1944, all factories that produced T-34 tanks switched to producing a new modification of the T-34-85 tank. In May 1944, another modification of the T-34-85 tank with an ATO-42 flamethrower was put into service. By this time, the development of the design of the new T-44 medium tank was almost completely completed. The new tank was characterized by more powerful armor protection than the T-34, a simplified hull shape, and the absence of a driver's hatch in the upper frontal plate, which greatly increased its shell resistance. More advanced gearboxes and turning mechanisms used in a newly configured power plant with a transverse engine, and a new torsion bar suspension for the rollers ensured increased mobility of the tank. All the experience from the combat use of the T-34 tank was used in developing the design of the new medium tank. Subsequently, the T-44 tank was modernized several times; tractors and engineering vehicles were created on its basis.

For developing the design of a new tank and radically improving the existing medium tank, the Stalin Prize was awarded to A.A. Morozov, M.I. Tarshinov, N.A. Kucherenko, A.A. Moloshtanov, B.A. Chernyak and Ya.I. Ram. The Order of Lenin was awarded to the design bureau of the Ural Tank Plant. The T-34 tank (including the T-34-85) was a reliable and easy-to-manufacture vehicle. In terms of combat qualities, it had no equal in either domestic or foreign armored vehicles.

By 1945, the service life of T-34 tanks and self-propelled artillery units at its base before the first medium repair was increased to 1,500 km, and from the start of operation until major overhaul was 3,500 km (600 engine hours).

In 1944, Uralmash switched to the production of a new self-propelled gun SU-100, which was equipped with a powerful D-10S cannon of 100 mm caliber, which exceeded the characteristics of the new tank and anti-tank guns of the Nazi army. The self-propelled gun was equipped with two sights - a telescopic articulated one for direct fire and a panoramic sight - for firing from closed positions. For the development of self-propelled artillery systems, the Stalin Prize was awarded to L.I. Gorlitsky, A.A. Kizima, S.I. Samoilov, A.N. Bulashev, V.N. Sidorenko.

For a long time, GAZ was practically the only supplier to the front of wheeled armored vehicles and light tracked artillery self-propelled guns SU-76M. In 1945, the service life of the SU-76M before the first medium overhaul was increased to 1,800 km, and from the start of operation until major overhaul was 4,000 km (650 engine hours).
The year 1944 ended in an atmosphere of general labor upsurge caused by the major successes of the Soviet Armed Forces in expelling the Nazi invaders from the territory of our Motherland. The high spirit of socialist competition, mass patriotism, and the desire to speed up the defeat of the hated invaders inspired industry workers to perform great feats of labor. The creative initiative of the masses was skillfully directed and supported by the party organizations of the tank factories. Komsomol organizations were active, leading the patriotic movement of young workers, engineers and technicians. The largest factory party organizations were headed by energetic and experienced party organizers of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks).

By the beginning of 1945, there were people in the industry. Excellent results have been achieved. The labor intensity of manufacturing the T-34 tank compared to the pre-war level was reduced by 2.4 times, the heavy tank by 2.3 times, the armored hull of a medium tank by almost 5 times, and the diesel engine by 2.5 times. In the tank industry, output per worker more than doubled between 1940 and 1944.

For exceptional services in organizing the work of the tank industry and the production of first-class military equipment in 1944, the title of Hero of Socialist Labor was awarded to People's Commissar V.A. Malyshev.
During 1944, the tank industry produced 29 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units, including self-propelled guns-12 thousand.

Having entered the final stage of the Great Patriotic War, the domestic tank industry could rightfully be proud of the great successes achieved by the industry's workers. New Soviet tanks and self-propelled artillery units, which were continuously supplied to the Red Army, thanks to their excellent combat characteristics, made it possible to raise Soviet military art to a higher level. The outstanding victories of the Red Army on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War and major successes in the work of industry were the result of the enormous organizational activity of our party, the dedication and courage of soldiers at the front, and the labor valor of home front workers.

This made it possible by 1945 to switch part of the production capacity and material resources of the tank industry to the production of civilian products necessary for the restoration of the national economy destroyed by the war.

The production of military equipment in 1945 was still carried out mainly in the eastern regions of the country. The Ural Tank Plant alone provided the front with 2.1 thousand T-34-85 tanks in the first quarter of 1945. In May, the plant reported to the State Defense Committee about the production of the 35,000th tank.

In the first quarter of 1945, the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant produced about 1.5 thousand IS tanks and self-propelled artillery units. In total, during the war years, this plant produced 13 types of heavy tanks and artillery self-propelled guns, 6 types of diesel engines, manufactured 18 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units installations and 45.5 thousand diesel engines of various modifications.

The most popular tank during the Great Patriotic War was the famous T-34. More than 50 thousand of them were produced. In addition, about 6 thousand self-propelled artillery units were created on the basis of the T-34.

For the great contribution of tank builders to the victory over Nazi Germany In 1945, the following plants were awarded: the Order of Lenin Motor Plant in Altai, the Order of the Red Banner Uralmash Plant, the Order of the Patriotic War 1st degree to the Ural Tank Plant, Krasnoe Sormovo Plant, Gorky Automobile Plant, Stalingrad Tractor Plant and some others.

The achievements of tank builders during the war were equated to battles won at the front. Many industry leaders were awarded high military ranks and the military orders of Suvorov and Kutuzov. The title of Hero of Socialist Labor in 1945 was awarded to the first deputy people's commissar A.A. Goreglyad and chief designer N.L. Dukhov.

The names of many production innovators, wartime drummers, designers and technologists, assemblers and testers, machine operators and foundry workers, workers and specialists in many other professions are worthy of honorable mention. Their labor contribution was worthily included in the heroic chronicle of the Patriotic War. The work of more than 9 thousand tank builders during the war was awarded high government awards.
During the war years, tank factory designers developed and manufactured more than 80 prototypes of new combat vehicles.

During the war years, the tank industry produced about 100 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units. Counting the production of tanks from the second half of 1941 to the end of the first half of 1945, the Soviet tank industry produced and handed over to the Red Army about 97.7 thousand tanks and self-propelled artillery units.

In commemoration of the outstanding role of the armored and mechanized troops of the Red Army during the last war, the enormous contribution of the tank industry to providing the Soviet troops with first-class equipment, which honorably fulfilled their duty to the Motherland, the national holiday Tankman Day was established in 1946.

After the victorious end of the Great Patriotic War, tank industry enterprises received the task of mastering the production of products necessary to restore the national economy and to meet the priority needs of the Soviet people. Factories that produced tanks during the war switched to producing civilian products.

The term “tank” in Ozhegov’s dictionary is explained as “an armored self-propelled combat vehicle with powerful weapons on a tracked track.” But such a definition is not a dogma; there is no unified tank standard in the world. Each manufacturing country creates and has created tanks taking into account its own needs, the characteristics of the proposed war, the manner of upcoming battles and its own production capabilities. The USSR was no exception in this regard.

History of the development of tanks of the USSR and Russia by model

History of invention

The primacy of the use of tanks belongs to the British; their use forced military leaders of all countries to reconsider the concept of warfare. The use by the French of their Renault FT17 light tank determined the classic use of tanks for solving tactical problems, and the tank itself became the embodiment of the canons of tank building.

Although the laurels of first use did not go to the Russians, the invention of the tank itself, in its classical sense, belongs to our compatriots. In 1915 V.D. Mendeleev (the son of a famous scientist) sent a project for an armored self-propelled vehicle on two tracks with artillery weapons to the technical department of the Russian Army. But for unknown reasons, things did not go beyond design work.

The idea itself of installing a steam engine on a caterpillar propulsion device was not new; it was first implemented in 1878 by Russian designer Fyodor Blinov. The invention was called: “A car with endless flights for transporting goods.” In this “car”, a track turning device was used for the first time. The invention of a caterpillar propulsion device, by the way, also belongs to the Russian staff captain D. Zagryazhsky. For which a corresponding patent was issued in 1937.

The world's first tracked combat vehicle is also Russian. In May 1915, tests of the armored vehicle D.I. took place near Riga. Porokhovshchikov called “All-terrain vehicle”. It had an armored body, one wide track and a machine gun in a rotating turret. The tests were considered very successful, but due to the approaching Germans, further tests had to be postponed, and after some time they were completely forgotten.

In the same year, 1915, tests were carried out on a machine designed by the head of the experimental laboratory of the military department, Captain Lebedenko. The 40-ton unit was an artillery carriage enlarged to gigantic proportions, driven by two Maybach engines from a downed airship. The front wheels had a diameter of 9 meters. According to the creators, a vehicle of this design should easily overcome ditches and trenches, but during testing it got stuck immediately after it started moving. Where I stood long years until it was cut into scrap metal.

Russia ended the First World War without its tanks. During the Civil War, tanks from other countries were used. During the battles, some of the tanks passed into the hands of the Red Army, on which the workers’ and peasants’ fighters entered the battle. In 1918, in a battle with French-Greek troops near the village of Berezovskaya, several Reno-FT tanks were captured. They were sent to Moscow to participate in the parade. Lenin’s fiery speech about the need to build our own tanks laid the foundation for Soviet tank building. We decided to release, or rather completely copy, 15 Reno-FT tanks called Tank M (small). On August 31, 1920, the first copy left the workshops of the Krasnoye Sormovo plant in Nizhny Tagil. This day is considered to be the birthday of Soviet tank building.

The young state understood that tanks were very important for waging war, especially since the enemies approaching the borders were already armed with this type of military equipment. The M tank was not put into production due to its particularly expensive production price, so another option was needed. According to the idea that existed in the Red Army at that time, the tank was supposed to support the infantry during an attack, that is, the speed of the tank should not be much higher than the infantry, the weight should allow it to break through the defense line, and the weapons should successfully suppress firing points. Choosing between our own developments and proposals to copy ready-made samples, we chose the option that allowed us to organize the production of tanks in the shortest possible time - copying.

In 1925, the tank was launched into mass production, its prototype was the Fiat-3000. Although not entirely successful, the MS-1 became the tank that laid the foundation for Soviet tank building. At his production site, production itself and the coherence of the work of different departments and factories were developed.

Until the early 30s, several of their own models T-19, T-20, T-24 were developed, but due to the lack of special advantages over the T-18, and due to their high cost of production, they did not go into series.

Tanks of the 30-40s - a disease of imitation

Participation in the conflict on the Chinese Federal Railway showed the inadequacy of the first generation tanks for dynamic development battle, the tanks showed practically nothing, the cavalry did the main work. A faster and more reliable car was needed.

To select the next production model, we went the beaten path and purchased samples abroad. The English Vickers Mk - 6 tons was mass-produced in our country as the T-26, and the Carden-Loyd Mk VI wedge was produced as the T-27.

The T-27, which at first was so tempting to produce due to its low cost, was not produced for long. In 1933, wedge heels were adopted for the army
amphibious tank T-37A, with weapons in a rotating turret, and in 1936 - T-38. In 1940, they created a similar amphibious T-40; the USSR did not produce more amphibious tanks until the 50s.

Another sample was purchased in the USA. Based on the model of J.W. Christie, a whole series of high-speed tanks (BT) was built; their main difference was the combination of two propellers, wheeled and tracked. To move when marching, BTs used wheels; when fighting, they used caterpillars. Such a forced measure was necessary due to the poor operational capabilities of the tracks, only 1000 km.

BT tanks, which develop quite high speeds on the roads, fully suited the changed military concept Red Army: breakthrough of the defense and through the resulting gap high-speed deployment of a deep attack. The three-turreted T-28 was developed directly for the breakthrough, the prototype of which was the English Vickers 16-ton. Another breakthrough tank was supposed to be the T-35, similar to the English five-turret heavy tank “Independent”.

During the pre-war decade, many interesting tank designs were created that did not go into production. For example, based on the T-26
self-propelled semi-closed AT-1 type (artillery tank). During the Second World War, they will again remember these cars without a cabin roof.

Tanks of the Second World War

Participation in civil war in Spain and in the battles at Khalkhin Gol showed how high the explosion hazard of a gasoline engine is and the inadequacy of bulletproof armor against the then nascent anti-tank artillery. The implementation of solutions to these problems allowed our designers, who had suffered from the disease of imitation, to create truly good tanks and KVs on the eve of the Second World War.

In the first days of the war, a catastrophically large number of tanks were lost; it took time to establish production of the uncompetitive T-34 and KV at the only evacuated factories, and the front desperately needed tanks. The government decided to fill this niche with cheap and quick-to-produce light tanks T-60 and T-70. Naturally, the vulnerability of such tanks is very high, but they gave time to expand the production of Victory tanks. The Germans called them “indestructible locusts.”

In battle under the railway. Art. Prokhorovka was the first time that tanks acted as “cementers” of the defense; before that they were used exclusively as attack weapons. In principle, until today, there have been no more new ideas for the use of tanks.

Speaking about WWII tanks, one cannot fail to mention tank destroyers (SU-76, SU-122, etc.) or “self-propelled guns” as they were called by the troops. The rotating relatively small turret did not allow the use of some powerful guns and, most importantly, howitzers on tanks; for this purpose, they were installed on the bases of existing tanks without the use of turrets. In fact, Soviet tank destroyers during the war, except for weapons, were no different from their prototypes, unlike the same German ones.

Modern tanks

After the war, light, medium and heavy tanks continued to be produced, but by the end of the 50s, all major tank manufacturers concentrated on the production of the main tank. Thanks to new technologies in the production of armor, more powerful engines and weapons, the need to divide tanks into types disappeared by itself. The niche of light tanks was occupied by armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, so the PT-76 eventually became an armored personnel carrier.

The first post-war mass-produced tank of a new type was armed with a 100 mm gun, and its modification for use in radioactive zones. This model became the most popular among modern tanks; more than 30,000 of these vehicles were in service in over 30 countries.

After tanks with a 105 mm gun appeared among potential enemies, it was decided to upgrade the T-55 to a 115 mm gun. The world's first tank with a 155mm smoothbore gun was named.

The ancestor of the classic main tanks was. It fully combined the capabilities of heavy (125mm gun) and medium tanks (high mobility).

The experience of using medium and heavy tanks in the war with Finland showed that 30-40 mm armor can no longer provide protection from fire anti-tank guns and that controlling multi-turreted tanks in battle is very difficult. For this reason, the new heavy tank KV-1 received shell-proof armor and was made with a single turret, with a classic layout. In the front part of the welded box-section hull there was a control compartment, in the middle there was a fighting compartment, and power point was located at the rear of the body.

The tank was produced with two types of turret: welded from sheets 75 mm thick or cast with a wall thickness of 95 mm. During production, the armor protection of the hull was reinforced with additional 25 mm screens, and the wall thickness of the cast turret was increased to 105 mm. Therefore, it is not surprising that the KV-1 emerged victorious from the battle, sometimes bearing dozens of dents from shells on its armor. Initially, a 76.2 mm L-11 cannon was installed, then an F-32 of the same caliber, and since 1941 the KV was produced with a 76.2 mm ZIS-5 cannon. The KV-1 was mass-produced from 1940 to 1942. A total of 4,800 KV vehicles of various modifications were produced. On the basis of the KV-1, the KV-2, KV-3, KV-8, KV-9 and others tanks were created.