«Object 730». Heavy Tank T-10. Soviet heavy tank

The Second World War ended. Artillery droned on the battlefield, prisoners of war returned to their homes, Germany paid indemnities, and the Soviet Union had the largest and most technically equipped land army. This superiority was evident to any military specialist following the results of the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945.

In September 1945, a joint military parade of troops was held in Berlin. The allied countries demonstrated their strength and development to each other. Who has superiority in tanks, was visible to the naked eye. Compared to the American M-24 Chaffi and the British Comet, the heavy tank IS-3 in the number of 53 units of the 71st Guards heavy tank regiment looked like a real steel monster, predatory and merciless. But the development of tanks did not stop there and did not even slow down.

Prerequisites for the appearance of the "Object 730" project

After the war, the production of IS-3 continued. The conditions for the use of tanks have changed, now they lived not several fights, but had to serve several years. Tanks of the war years proved to be unsuitable for such a task. The last hopes for IS-3 crashed when, during one of the tests, a 100 mm armor-piercing projectile hit the edge of the frontal part (known as the "pike nose"). The body burst at the seams, and the car went out of order. All copies issued were aimed at eliminating shortcomings, and serial production of IS-3 was discontinued.

Now, taking into account the accumulated experience and new tasks, the Soviet tank builders had to create a more perfect combat vehicle. On the territory of the Union at that time, operated two tank factories - Leningrad Kirov and Chelyabinsk Tractor. In Leningrad, after the blockade was lifted, the branch of the Experimental Tank Plant No. 100 was organized, the director was J. Kotin. Here was born the "Object-260", or IS-7.

It was the best tank of its time, superior in parameters to foreign analogs, but had a number of shortcomings. A series of failures on the tests played against the tank. By that time, too heavy machines were beginning to be abandoned. They could not stand bridges and railway platforms.

In 1948, the task was given to create a new machine, relatively inexpensive, reliable, with a mass of up to 50 tons.

Second IS-5

There is some confusion in the numbering of Soviet tanks. Project "Object 730" carried the number of IS-5. But the IS-5 was already - "Object 248", but the series was never launched. Within the framework of the work on the project "Object 730", the improvement of IS-4 was conceived. A number of units and assemblies were prepared to replace the weight of the machine.

Developments on it began in 1948 and by 1950 were not yet completed. Tests revealed a lot of shortcomings. Thus, the number was given a second life, IS-5 - "Object 730".

The work was delayed for several years, and in 1953 the tank was adopted for service under a different name. The IS-5 never entered the series, but new engines, transmissions, weapons and so on were worked out.

Specifications

The welded case with inclined upper and bent side sheets and "pike nose" were at the final version of the project "Object 730". The tank had a cast tower of streamlined shape. As weapons, two machine guns, one coupled with a 122mm D-25TA gun, the second near the loading hatch. Combat weight was equal to 50 tons. The machine is capable of overcoming the rise of 32 degrees and crossing the ditches in 2.7 meters. The power in 700 liters. from. Allowed to overcome the walls in 0.8 m and develop a speed of up to 43.1 km / h. The crew in the familiar four people, the tower armor in 250 mm reliably protected them. The power reserve was 180-200 km. The gun had 30 rounds, and for machine guns - 1000 cartridges.

The first tests

In April 1949, the wooden model of the tank was delivered to Moscow. A list of improvements was made. The project was approved in May, and then the preparation of the drawings began. Preparation of documents was completed only by the end of June. The work was delayed, and to collect the experienced tanks for the tests scheduled for August, did not have time. It was decided to use IS-4 with mounted units from IS-5. "Object 730" was temporarily left out for a while. The engine power was limited to 700 liters. from. Some units were also tested on the IS-7.

Failures and improvements

September was the month of factory testing. The IS-5 was to pass 2000 km, but there were some shortcomings in the transmission. It was decided to develop and apply an 8-speed planetary gearbox. VNII-100 was engaged in the development of technical documentation, and LKZ provided three prototypes. The tests showed the advantage of the new unit.

Among other things, the tank was equipped with an ejection cooling system and a new gun installation scheme. Three more units of equipment for testing were released in March 1953. After testing one of them at the proving ground of Rzhev began another state tests.

Now, despite the complexity of the route, 200 km were passed. Two tanks passed up to 200 km per day, and the third more than 280. After a week and a half the commission issued a report on the successful completion of the tests. "Object 730" met the requirements and exceeded foreign counterparts. Despite all the improvements and alterations, the potential for modernization was abandoned.

Reincarnation in the T-10

In the summer of 1950, 10 prototype tanks were created. They were tested at various ranges. Not all was finalized, but nevertheless the machine met the requirements. A new list of works was compiled, and the issue was postponed again. The original project underwent major changes many times and changed its name to IS-8, IS-9 and IS-10.

For example, there was a special mechanism for sending the projectile. Thanks to this rifled 122-mm D-25TA gun produced 3-4 projectiles / min. The guidance system of the machine gun, coupled with the gun, was regulated with the help of a single electric drive TAEN-1. The box was made 8-speed, and as a power plant used V-12-5 in 700 liters. from. Caterpillars borrowed from the IS-4, provided ground pressure of 0.77 kg / m.

The final tests of the machine were completed in December 1952. In March 1953, a tragic event occurred at that time - the death of JV Stalin. But the abbreviation IP was adopted in his honor - "Joseph Stalin." And in the order of the Minister of Defense to set up the tank in the series, the car was called the T-10.

Production started slowly, in the same year, 10 units were produced, in the next year - 50, and in a year - 90 units.

Modifications

When one vertex is reached, it is necessary to move to the next one, so did the designers. A system of two-plane stabilization of armament was created in the Leningrad design bureau. If earlier vertical movements were compensated, now they are horizontal. A new T-2S sight was developed and installed. It was put into production in 1956, and in 1957 T-10B was launched.

A year later a new modification appeared. In serial production, he was replaced by T-10M. This tank was equipped with a more powerful weapon M-62T2S (2A17). Armor piercing projectiles developed speeds of up to 950 m / s and pierced 225 mm of armor from 1000 m. The slotted brake of the slit type absorbed most of the recoil when shot, shortening the time to the next.

All the technical improvements made him the best tank of his time, for almost forty years "Object 730" was in service and modified according to requirements. This is the most massive tank in Russia, and possibly the world. For export was not created, the only military conflict in which participated - the entry of troops of the Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia.

The last heavy tank of the Soviet Union

So, in the fifties the last Soviet heavy tank was adopted, followed by its various modifications. This was the best creation of the military industry, which absorbed all the technical achievements of its time. He was removed from the arsenal after the collapse of the Union, in 1993.