Armament, armor protection and mobility are the main characteristics of any modern tanks. The ability to destroy a target from a maximum distance, quickly change position, and if necessary to withstand an enemy attack are considered mandatory qualities for this type of armored vehicles. Nevertheless, the fantasy of weapons designers has no limits. As a result of their experimentation, unusual tanks are obtained. With a rather original design, they are not adapted to military realities. Amazing monster tanks were never put into mass production. How eccentric concepts did not have further development? What are the tanks? In order to achieve a consensus between mobility, security and armament, the arms manufacturers of many countries created their own unique models of armored vehicles. An overview of the world's strangest tanks is presented in this article.
Heavy tank N. Barykova
T-35 is a development of Soviet engineers. The process was led by designer N. Barykov. It was designed during 1931-1932. According to experts, with a multi-tower layout, the T-35 is the first Soviet armored vehicle that belongs to the heavy class. Structurally, this model consisted of five towers, making it possible to fire immediately from all the guns. The five-turret tank was equipped with three guns (one 76.2 mm and two 45 mm caliber) and six 7.62 mm machine guns. Arms control was carried out by eleven soldiers. However, according to experts, the real monster tanks during the First World War were at the disposal of the German army. One German A7V was controlled by 18 people. Despite its uniqueness, the further development of the T-35 did not follow in Soviet tank building. Military parades have become the only area of its application. As it turned out, this unusual tank with a multi-tower layout was absolutely not suitable for a real battle. The reason was the presence of the following disadvantages:
- The commander could not simultaneously coordinate the firing of all guns.
- Due to its large size, this tank was an easy target for the enemy.
- Due to too much mass for the T-35, only thin bulletproof armor was provided.
- The tank developed a very low speed: it could overcome no more than 10 km per hour.
T-35 is a pretty beautiful and very formidable model, but completely hopeless. For this reason, the Soviet leadership decided not to develop the idea of multi-tower combat armored vehicles.
Stridsvagn 103
This model is the exact opposite of N. Barykov’s tank. Designed by Swedish weapons designers. He has been in service with the Swedish army since 1966. In the history of tank building, Strv.103 is the only example of a main battle tank that does not have a tower. Armored vehicles are equipped with a 105-mm gun, the place for installation of which became the frontal sheet of the hull. To aim the gun horizontally, this unusual tank was rotated around its axis. For vertical aiming, there was a special electro-hydraulic suspension system with which the feed was raised or lowered.
Due to such an unusual layout, the Swedish tank is very squat, with a height of not more than 2150 mm, so Strv.103 could be reliably masked and used for ambushes. The only weak point of the tank is its chassis. When it was damaged, the armored vehicles became completely helpless: without the presence of caterpillars, aiming the gun was impossible. Despite this flaw, the Strv.103 was used as the main battle tank by the kingdom's armed forces until the 1990s. Replaced by the German "Leopards-2."
"Amphibian"
This model of armored vehicles was designed by American inventor John Christie. Tank "Amphibian", according to experts, during testing, swam the Hudson. To transport military guns or any other cargo by water was considered its main purpose. Especially for this purpose, on top of the tracks on both sides, the Amphibian was equipped with balsa floats. From above they were covered with casings, for the manufacture of which they used thin sheets of steel. The tank was equipped with a 75 mm gun. In an effort to eliminate the roll of the tank during navigation, the gun was mounted on a movable frame. With this design, the gun, if necessary, could be moved forward, thus distributing the mass of the tank evenly. During the battle, the gun was moved back and forth. This unusual tank was shown to the public in June 1921. Despite the original design, the US Department of Amphibian was not interested. In total, the American arms industry released one single instance.
Chrysler tv-8
This sample was developed by employees of the Chrysler company in 1955. A tank feature is as follows:
- TV-8 equipped with a huge fixed tower. The place of its installation was lightweight chassis.
- The tower was equipped with a compact nuclear reactor, with the help of which power was supplied to the armored vehicles.
- Tank tower with special television cameras. This design decision was taken to prevent the blinding of crew members from the explosion of atomic bombs.
TV-8 was created for fights using nuclear weapons. It was planned to install two 7.62-mm machine guns and one T208 90 mm caliber gun on the tank. The project made a strong impression on the United States Army Command. However, the idea of creating a small nuclear reactor proved to be difficult. In addition, there was a risk that water could enter it. This would have led to disastrous consequences, both for the soldiers in the tank and for the nearest armored vehicles. The atomic tank was created in a single copy. I had to refuse further design.
Tank Tortuga 1934
This model of armored vehicles was created by weapons designers of Venezuela. The developers aimed to frighten neighboring Colombia with their creation. However, according to experts, the result was dubious. Even the name of the tank does not contain a threat, and in translation into Spanish means "turtle". Tortuga with pyramid-shaped armor mounted on a 6-wheeled Ford truck. The tower is equipped with one 7mm Mark 4B machine gun. A total of 7 copies of these combat vehicles were made.
Russian "Tsar Tank"
The author of this model was the Soviet engineer Nikolai Lebedenko. His creation is a wheeled combat vehicle. When creating the chassis, 9-meter front wheels and a rear roller with a diameter of 150 cm were used. In the central part of the tank, a place was assigned for a stationary machine-gun cabin, which is in a suspended position 8 m above ground level. The width of the Tsar Tank is 12 m. By 1915, the author was ready for a new project, according to which it was planned to equip the tank with three machine guns: two on the sides and one near the wheelhouse. The idea was approved by Nicholas II and soon the engineer began to implement. They tested a new tank in the forest. However, the testing did not go smoothly: the rear roller was very stuck and the unit could not be removed even with the help of the powerful Maybach trophy engines, which were used in a padded German airship. Throwing unsuccessful attempts to get the tank, it was left to rust. In revolutionary times, no one remembered this model, and in 1923 they cut it into metal.
About the “Object 279” by J. Kotin
During the Cold War, engineers from the Soviet Union and the United States competed to create a heavy tank capable of effectively completing combat missions at the epicenter of a nuclear explosion. However, the designers of both states did not advance further than prototyping. In the city of Leningrad, the design work was led by the legendary designer of armored vehicles Joseph Kotin. In 1959, under his leadership, the Soviet heavy tank Object 279 was created;. Its unusual appearance is as follows:
- Tank with a curved body, elongated in the form of an ellipsoid. Such a design decision was taken to prevent the overturning of the tank resulting from a nuclear explosion by a shock wave.
- The chassis consisted of four caterpillar tracks, which until then had not been practiced in tank building. This chassis design allowed the use of armored vehicles in the most difficult areas. The tank drove easily in swampy and snowy places. Army equipment for landing tanks, such as "hedgehogs" and "stumps", for the "Object 279" did not pose a danger. Thanks to the chassis design, overcoming them prevented the landing of the tank.
Despite the presence of undeniable advantages, the release of this model was never established. The tank turned out to be slow-moving. In addition, for its mass production required significant financial investments. Difficulties could arise during the maintenance and repair of the “Object 279”. This tank was made in a single copy. Today it can be seen at the Central Museum of Tank Weapons in Kubinka.
AMX-13
It is the fastest firing light tank developed by French designers in 1946-1949. Armored vehicles are characterized by an unusual design. In the tank, a swinging tower was used, for which weapons-trunnions are used to install weapons. The tower itself contains two parts: a lower swivel and a swinging upper one, which was equipped with a gun. Unlike traditional designs of tank towers, the swinging one has an advantage - due to its immobility relative to the guns, armored vehicles can be equipped with the simplest loading mechanism possible.
Shells in the AMX-13 are fed according to the "drum" scheme. Behind the breech of the gun was allocated space for two drum shops, each of which contains 6 ammunition. The rotation of the stores and the release of the next ammunition is carried out due to the force of the rollback. In this case, the projectile rolls onto a special tray, which coincides with the axis of the gun channel. Shooting is carried out after the ammunition is in the barrel with the bolt closed. According to experts, within one minute the AMX-13 can fire up to 12 shots. This rate of fire is quite high. In addition, thanks to the use of a drum circuit in a tank crew, a loader is not needed. The idea of the French gunsmiths was successful. Production of these tanks was put on stream. The number of issued AMX-13 was 8 thousand units. Today, this model is used by the armies of more than ten countries.
Skeleton tank
It is an experienced light tank of the United States, developed during the First World War. According to experts, at that time armored vehicles of this class, due to the short length of the tracks, were not suitable for crossing wide ditches. The increase in length led to a heavier tank. The solution to the problem was the invention of the original design, which was as follows: for the manufacture of a frame supporting large caterpillars, they decided to use ordinary pipes, and a place was allocated between the caterpillars for the fighting compartment. The US skeleton tank was built in 1918. The Aberdeen Proving Ground became the testing site. In the postwar period, the design of this sample was discontinued. During the Cold War, attempts were made to resume the development of tanks and other models of armored vehicles with skeletal layout.
Despite the fact that the samples within the framework of the “Combat Systems of the Future” program successfully passed field tests, they never entered the arsenal of the American army. Also, their serial production was not established. The matter was limited only to conceptualization and design. One of these models was the RIPSAW robotic, remotely controlled combat vehicle (ARAS program). This model was created under the standard combat module "Crowse". Also, the use of machine guns of 7.62 and 12.7 mm calibers was not ruled out. This project was launched in 2006 and is considered one of the most promising. The work is being carried out by American officers and scientists at the Arms Research Engineering Center.
Fahrpanzer
According to experts, lightweight movable armored wheeled structures turned out to be quite effective. As weapons, small-caliber artillery is used. Similar models are called armored carriages. Various modifications were designed. Also, the caliber of artillery was not limited. Weapon samples were also called "self-propelled armored carriages." Widely used during the First World War. Carriages were mainly used to strengthen field positions. They also tried to operate as an offensive weapon. One of such samples was the invention of the German engineer Maximilian Schumann. The thickness of the armored dome was 2.5 cm. The gun mount bed became the place of its installation. Major Schumann’s tank with a rectangular body and a slight recoil of the gun used direct fire. The combat crew consisted of two people. Weighed the creation of a German designer up to 2200 kg. Widely used in the First World War. Germany and Austria-Hungary became the producing countries of this unusual tank. Until 1947 it was in service with the Swiss army.
A-40
This model is a hybrid of a tank and a glider. The Soviet T-60 was used as a base. Design was conducted under the guidance of USSR designer Antonov. It was created to deliver armored vehicles to partisans by air. After landing the A-40 on the ground, the glider was disconnected and the A-40 became the standard T-60. Due to the fact that the combat vehicle weighed a lot (almost 8 tons) so that the glider could lift it into the air, Soviet engineers had to remove all the ammunition from the T-60. According to experts, due to this, the design became completely useless. A-40 made one single flight in September 1942. This tank was assembled in one copy.
