Vasily Mendeleev: biography, achievements

Vasily Mendeleev is a talented Russian engineer, inventor, author of the first Russian tank. As it often happens, its projects were applied only after several decades.

Biography

Vasily Dmitrievich Mendeleyev was born on December 30, 1886 in St. Petersburg, where he spent his childhood and youth. Mendeleev graduated from the Shipbuilding School of Engineering of the city of Kronstadt in 1906. From 1908 to 1916 he worked at the shipbuilding plant as a designer of submarines, tugboats and specialized warships used for setting up minefields (minzagi). At the same time inspired by new ideas, Vasily Mendeleev is developing a project to build an armored tracked vehicle - the first tank in the history of domestic engineering. From 1919 to 1922 he worked at the plant "Cubanol" in Ekaterinodar (now known as the machine-tool plant named after Sedin, located in the city of Krasnodar) as a leading design engineer. Vasily Dmitrievich passed away in 1922 from typhus, having lived only 35 years.

Engineer's family

The engineer's father, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, was a great scientist who made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian science. His merits in the field of chemistry, physics, geology, economics and metrology are known to everyone. One of his most significant discoveries is the periodic system of chemical elements, which is one of the unique laws of the universe, on the basis of which all the natural sciences about the phenomena and laws of living nature were literally "grown". But Vasily Mendeleev can rightly be proud of the merits of his other relatives.

His mother, Anna Ivanovna Mendeleeva (nee Popova), half Russian, half Swede, was a talented artist and devoted most of her life to raising children. The elder sister of Vasily Dmitrievich, Love Block - the wife of the poet Alexander Blok, an actress. Vasily also had a twin sister, Maria, a famous Russian cynologist and an expert. In the UK, she introduced a new breed of dogs from the group of pug-dogs - the English setter. And finally, Vasily Mendeleyev's brother, Ivan, is known for his services in the field of Russian philosophy and metrology.

The ingenious inventor

Vasily Mendeleev made a lot of discoveries in his professional field. The design of the tank, an armored, armed caterpillar fighting vehicle - a vivid example of his sensational developments. From his famous father, the young engineer inherited an inquisitive mind and a craving for invention, which determined his life path.

For four years, all his free time from studies Devoting to the development of a project of a combat vehicle, which could give protection to the attacker, and defeat the enemy simultaneously.

The vast experience in the field of military shipbuilding helped the shipbuilding engineer design a combat vehicle. His project was a very bright, bold and original work, the implementation of which was carried out in a later practice of the structure of military equipment. Its development was rather not a tank, but a real fortress on a crawler track in the form of a rectangular box. For the first time in the design, the inventor proposed an antiskatter armor and a delineated defense.

The project was released in 1911. Vasily Mendeleev decided to present it to the Russian military department, which did not immediately notice the importance of this invention. Therefore, before becoming famous, the development of a talented designer for a long time was covered with dust in the archive.

However, the design of Mendeleyev's sea mine immediately found its application in the naval defense of Petrograd.

"The armor is strong, and our tanks are fast ..."

Up to now, there are sketches of two variants of the combat vehicle, as well as comprehensively executed calculations by Mendeleyev and a detailed explanatory note in which the genius of engineering argued for the need to implement the project. His invention, he proposed to provide a 120-millimeter gun, located in the bow of the armored body, and a powerful weapon, placed in a rotating turret, which could rise and fall under the influence of a pneumatic drive. In addition, Vasily Dmitrievich provided for a thorough armor protection. In the front of the machine, the thickness of the armor was 150 mm, and at the stern and along the sides - about 100 mm.

The internal combustion engine developed by him with a capacity of about 250 horsepower developed a speed of up to 24 km / h. The crew could be eight people. The inventor foresaw the grandiose technical discoveries that were made only after tens of years.

Tanks with gasoline Vasily Mendeleev envisaged in the stern part of the structure above the bottom in isolated compartments.

The transmission meant four gears for forward driving and one gear for driving backward. And finally, Vasily Dmitrievich's combat vehicle was supposed to provide four control posts, thanks to which any of the crew could take control in case of death or injury to the driver. But, regrettably, Mendeleyev's project in the Military Ministry was not accepted, arguing that the realization of this invention is impossible. And the creator of the world's first tank was forgotten in due course.

The invention of air suspension

The scientist also considered the use of a pneumatic suspension of the bottom of the hull, which would allow to further regulate the clearance from the maximum to the minimum value and would have the ability to work in two modes - blocked and independent. Thanks to this invention, the tank could move with a half-lowered body, and also, if necessary, lower the car body to the ground. According to Mendeleyev, changing the ground clearance in the heat of battle could save the light-vulnerable chassis of the car. This idea was subsequently enforced only in 1942 when the heavy self-propelled mortar Tor was created.

In conclusion

Russian engineer-designer, a talented inventor, developer of the project of the first Russian tank - this was Vasily Mendeleyev. Biography embraces his brief, but very rich life of genius of domestic engineering. Unfortunately, his works were appreciated only after his death. The unusual invention of the designer for a long time did not find support from the ministry. A grandiose project was subsequently carried out by the followers of the brilliant Russian engineer, which was Vasily Mendeleyev. His photos, unfortunately, are almost not preserved, but many drawings and drawings of the famous tank are available.