Today, the tank acts as the main firepower of modern armies. And the one who always in a duel can always create favorable conditions to defeat an enemy tank always wins. The firing range in this case is crucial, because it allows you to fire at the enemy from a shelter or inaccessible zone.
Range Reducing Forces
Currently, design engineers are developing more and more new models to increase the firing range of modern tanks. But no matter how hard they try, they will not be able to completely eliminate the factors that reduce the range of the projectile.
In theory, if an external force did not act on the shell during the flight, it would fly in a straight line. But under the influence of gravity, he is attracted to the ground, loses its original speed and range, changes its path to a parabola.
In addition, any flying body is affected by the force of air resistance, which not only reduces the speed of flight, but also tends to overturn the projectile and give it a vertical rotational movement. By reducing the influence of these factors, it is possible to achieve that the maximum range of the tank will be greater.
The main ways to increase the firing range
To reduce the effect of gravity, you can resort to only one way - to reduce the weight of the tank shell. Measures to reduce weight are extremely rare, because the penetration ability of the head also depends on it.
Reducing the air resistance of the projectile gives a special streamlined shape, which improves its aerodynamic properties. The head is sharpened, and the part of the shoulder part is mowed at a certain angle. To eliminate the rollover of flying ammunition, it is given its own rotational movement.
To make the shell rotate around its own axis, special spiral channels are cut in the barrel before being mounted on the tank. The firing range increases in this case, but another problem appears - derivation, or the deviation of the projectile to the right or left of the line of shot.
The direction of displacement in the vertical axis depends on the direction of twisting of the channels inside the barrel. If they go up to the right, then the flying projectile will deviate to the right side, and when aiming the gunner must take the lead to the left.
Flight speed and trajectory
There is another factor that affects the flight range - the initial velocity of the projectile. Accordingly, the smaller the initial acceleration, the closer the enemy tank should be located. The firing range also depends on the throwing angles, which, in turn, are determined again by the initial speed. The more meters per second the core overcomes during the flight, the smaller the angle must be set to hit the target.
All of these factors — derivation, throw angle, initial flight force — determine the projectile trajectory. The main task facing the engineers at this stage of the development of tank technology is to give the projectile a more direct glide path - a vertical flight line. Now it is a parabola.
Effective firing range
One main indicator of the effectiveness of guns that are mounted on anti-tank guns and on a tank is called the direct firing range, that is, the distance the projectile will fly, deviating from the vertical path by a distance not exceeding the height of the target being hit. Speaking directly about tanks, the glide path height should be no more than 2 meters.
In order to improve the defense of positions, to make it more stable, it is necessary first of all to increase the range of a direct shot. Increasing the distance at which effective fire can be conducted according to the enemy’s technique, combined with the massive use of tank guns, makes it possible to increase the effectiveness of defense.
Design engineers strive to increase the initial velocity of the projectile so that the aiming range of the tank becomes higher. The effective fire distance indicator is in direct proportion to the initial acceleration of the ammunition — it is ten to twenty percent higher than the initial “swiftness”. For example, at a speed of 1000 m / s, the flight range will be 1100-1200 meters.
Shell Dispersion
The strength of the projectile from the tank’s barrel also affects the flight time - the higher the acceleration rate, the less time the core will spend in the air. This is essential when shooting at moving targets, reduces the number of errors made when the trajectory is incorrectly predicted.
The dispersion of shells also affects the effectiveness of shooting - the average hit area of each shot fired at the target. The deviation of the hit of the nucleus from the aiming point increases with the distance to the target. This occurs under the influence of various factors, including Coriolis acceleration. It is not possible to completely eliminate dispersion.
Firing range
At this stage in the development of military equipment, engineers introduce various means that allow them to hit enemy forces at a distance of 10 km or more. It is impossible to say exactly what range of fire of a tank standing in service with each individual army - each model has a different one.
To increase the flight range, designers not only use the methods listed above, but also create new means of firing. Now there are two main types of such tools:
- ATGM - anti-tank guided missile, is part of the armament of most tanks and anti-tank systems, used to have the abbreviation PTURS - anti-tank guided missile.
- BOPS is an armor-piercing feathered sub-caliber projectile that stabilizes in air not due to rotation around its own axis, but due to aerodynamic solutions.
So, for example, the firing range of the T-90 tank with anti-tank guns is about 5000 meters, and you can fire at the destruction of BOPS guns at a distance of 0.1 km.
The armament of the T-90 tank
The main weapon of the T-90 tank is a 125-mm smoothbore gun, which is paired with a machine gun mount and mounted on trunnions, providing greater flexibility when aiming at the target. The stabilization system is represented by the Jasmine design. The new gun has great accuracy, fast reloading - about 6.5 seconds due to the automatic loader.
One of the exceptional features of the gun is the ability to fire guided missiles. The firing range of the T-90 tank with ATGM guns is 5 km. This is ensured by modern designs of both guidance systems and rockets themselves.
The missile projectile control complex is represented by a laser guidance channel with a ballistic computer, an automated control unit and the actual shots, which are produced by guided missiles for a tank gun. The engineering solutions presented make it possible to hit both stationary targets and those moving at speeds of more than 70 km / h with an accuracy of more than 60%.
The armament of the T-80
The T-80 tank became famous for being the first gas turbine engine in the world. It allowed to reduce the time of preparation of the machine for further operation. Due to the fact that the engine was no longer required, the machine could:
- Start driving immediately at positive temperatures.
- Proceed with relocation 2-3 minutes after starting the power plant at an ambient temperature of -18 degrees Celsius.
- Start driving in 20-30 minutes under more severe climatic conditions.
It is currently an outdated model, but is still in service in some countries. It was developed in 1976. The main gun is represented by a 125 mm gun type 2A46-1.
The firing range of the T-80 tank from the main gun is about 3, 700 meters. At the beginning of its production, it was not equipped with guided missile shells. Subsequent modifications of the equipment acquired anti-tank systems, and the missile range was about 5 kilometers.
