The idea of creating an atomic tank driven by a nuclear power plant appeared in the middle of the 20th century, when humanity naively believed that an ideal source of energy had been found, safe, practically eternal and applicable even in everyday life.
In addition, some believe that the Object 279 is a Soviet nuclear tank, although it had a traditional diesel engine.
American developments
So, the concept of nuclear tanks began to develop in the United States at the Question Mark III conference in Detroit in June 1954. It was assumed that the nuclear reactor would make the power reserve practically unlimited and allow the equipment to be combat-ready even after long marches. Two options were developed, the first proposed a special machine that would supply power to others during a long drive. The second option involved creating a tank with a nuclear reactor inside, protected on all sides by powerful armor.
TV-1 and TV-8
As a result of the development of the second result, the TV-1 project weighing 70 tons and frontal armor 350 mm appeared. The power plant consisted of a reactor and a turbine, and was capable of operating for more than 500 hours without refueling. The tank was armed with a 105 mm T140 cannon and several machine guns.
In August 1955, a conference was held under the number Question Mark IV, at which an improved and lightweight R32 project appeared, characterized by a weight reduced by 20 tons, 120 mm armor located at a high angle and a 90 mm T208 gun. The tank was protected at the level of contemporary medium tanks, but had a power reserve of more than 4,000 without refueling. As in the case of its predecessor, the matter was limited to the project.
It was planned to convert the M103 into nuclear tank for various tests, but the car was never built.
Also in the United States, they created an interesting nuclear tank, the Chrysler TV-8, which accommodates the crew and most of the mechanisms along with a nuclear reactor inside a huge tower mounted on a maximally reduced body with electric motors driving it inside. To be fair, it is worth noting that the first version of the tank was equipped with a 300-horsepower eight-cylinder diesel engine driving a generator. Besides the unusual appearance, TV-8 was supposed to float thanks to the displacement of the tower. It was armed with a 90 mm T208 cannon and 2 7.62 machine guns. A very progressive solution for its time was the installation of external cameras designed to save the crew’s eyes from flashes of explosions outside.
Work was also carried out in the USSR, although less actively. It is sometimes believed that a Soviet nuclear tank was created on the basis of the T-10, built in metal and tested, but this is not true. In 1961, TPP-3 was built and put into operation, which is transportable nuclear power plant, which moved on an extended heavy tank chassis and provided power to itself along with power to military and civilian facilities in the Far North and Siberia.
It is worth mentioning once again the so-called Object 279 nuclear war tank, which in fact is unlikely to be able to withstand an explosion and protect its crew.
Also sometimes I remember a certain tank with nuclear shells. Probably they could call it the T-64A, with a turret-mounted launcher, capable of firing both conventional TURS and tactical missiles with a nuclear charge. This combat vehicle was called Taran, had a mass of 37 tons, a crew of 3 people and was intended to disable enemy forces from a distance beyond their reach.
Despite the abundance of projects, a nuclear tank was never created. Why? If only because the slightest damage in battle turned it into a small nuclear bomb, with a guarantee that it destroyed its crew and allies around. Even without damage, the crew had to be constantly changed to avoid excessive radiation exposure. Such shortcomings turned out to be critical and even in our time there is no way to overcome them.
“Object 279” – very original Soviet project heavy tank for nuclear war conditions...Appearance atomic weapons required the military to reconsider both the strategy and tactics of combat operations. But the role of tanks has only increased. After all, as it turned out, of all types of military equipment, tanks turned out to be the most resistant to the effects of all damaging factors of a nuclear explosion. Of course, improvements were required... Object 279 is a tank optimized for operation in a full-scale nuclear war. Its design has two “highlights”: an original chassis with four tracks, and a body in the shape of an elongated ellipsoid.
The cast hull was complemented by anti-cumulative screens, which gave the tank unusual shape, reminiscent of a “flying saucer”. According to the designers, this was supposed to prevent the tank from capsizing when exposed to a powerful shock wave.
The four-track undercarriage gave the heavy tank unique maneuverability: when overcoming obstacles, it was almost impossible to plant it “on its belly,” and the ground pressure of the 60-ton vehicle was only 0.6 kg/sq.cm.
It was assumed that such super cross-country ability would be needed to pass through the destruction zone near the epicenter of an atomic explosion. In addition, to protect against Soviet tank armies, the Europeans were seriously planning to use nuclear land mines to destroy reservoirs and river channels to flood and swamp the area.
But the original design also had its very significant drawbacks: large power losses, turning resistance increased by 12 times compared to the “classic”, difficulty in maintenance and repair. Object 279 was manufactured and tested, but for many reasons it did not become a production vehicle. Now the unique tank is in the tank museum in Kubinka...
Rumors are heard from behind the scenes of military developments that this unique car will still receive the right to life, having undergone serious modernization in the conditions modern world. Well, let's hope so! Performance characteristics tank Object 279:
Dimensions:
length – 10.2 m (without trunk 6.77 m)
height – 2.5 m
width – 3.4 m
Weight – 60 t
Armor:
forehead – 93-269 mm
side – 100-182 mm
tower – 217-305 mm
Weapons:
M-65 gun 130 mm caliber
KPVT machine gun 14.5mm caliber – 1 pc.
Ammunition – 24 rounds
Engine– diesel 16-cylinder H-shaped four-stroke DG-1000 or 2DG-8M
Power reserve – up to 250 km
Speed – up to 55 km/h
Crew – 4 people
After the end of World War II, the world's superpowers were seriously concerned about how to build more missiles, so that if something happened, they would certainly bomb enemy military factories, bases, airfields, and even woodsheds. And the newly invented nuclear bombs seemed to be the ideal solution to this problem. But the missiles with nuclear filling had to be somehow delivered to the addressee. Ballistic missiles were then still in their infancy, but bombers were ideal. But even the most powerful of them had their own range of action. And in order to increase the flight range, the United States resorted to an exotic method. They were developing an atomic bomber powerful enough to carry a nuclear reactor on board and still get airborne.
At this time, the largest bomber, the Convair B-36, was created, called the Peacemaker. It became the basis of strategic nuclear forces USA during the Cold War, as it could deliver missiles to targets on the territory of the USSR. But, fortunately, it was never used as a bomber, but served as a reconnaissance aircraft. Its huge size made it possible to place high-resolution cameras on it, and high altitude flight made it inaccessible to anti-aircraft artillery.
On June 22, 1957, one such bomber was transporting a nuclear bomb from Biggs Air Force Base to Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. When approaching the final target, the bomb fell 500 meters from the nuclear weapons depot, and only by a miracle did it not happen powerful explosion. Soon after this, the Peacekeepers were withdrawn from service.
Atomic tank
During the Cold War, NATO leadership received information that the USSR was planning to use nuclear weapon for conducting ground war. Not wanting to lose face, the Americans began development. The concept of a tank capable of repelling a nuclear strike was presented by Chrysler in 1954 at a military conference in Detroit.
The first project, designated TV-1, was a 70-ton combat vehicle, armed with a 105 mm T140 cannon and protected by 350 mm frontal armor. The next prototype already weighed 20 tons less (50 in total!). The reactor provided the tank with an estimated range of almost 6,500 km.
Despite the fact that this direction was considered promising, none of the nuclear tank projects even reached the stage of building a prototype, since such tanks were very expensive, and they also had to change crews very often so that soldiers did not receive an excessive dose radiation from the reactor.
Davy Crockett Nuclear Bazooka
One of the smallest-yield mass-produced nuclear weapons developed during the Cold War, it was named after the American folk hero Davy Crockett. The weapon was created in 1949 with the aim of protecting European countries(particularly West Germany) from the Soviet invasion. The gun could be mounted on a tripod or jeep. And to service it, only three people were required: one carried the gun itself, the second carried the carriage, and the third, dripping with nuclear sweat, carried the rocket.
Unfortunately for America and fortunately for the world, the Davy Crockett was not a very effective weapon. Like any other recoilless rifle, its accuracy was very low, and, having fired towards the enemy, one could only guess what target the missile hit. In addition, these same missiles emitted a very strong radiation in the warehouses, infecting the soldiers. Therefore, in the 1970s, the nuclear bazooka was removed from service.
Nuclear space probe
Researchers are very interested in Jupiter's satellites Galileo because of the ice they contain. It is believed that there may be life in the underground oceans under the ice. For satellite research NASA and Laboratory jet propulsion proposed to use the atomic space probe JIMO (Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter).
This was not the first such case; nuclear reactors spaceships have already been installed - for example, on the Voyager, Galileo and Cassini probes. But these were very small radioisotope thermoelectric generators. In the case of JIMO, the plan was to create a real monster capable of powering a variety of scientific equipment and, most importantly, a communications system. But when it came to practice, NASA realized that this was too ambitious a project and there was currently no way to finance it. Therefore, our brothers in mind on Europa will have to wait some more time.
Nuclear car
A car powered by a small nuclear reactor was introduced by Ford in 1958 and was called the Nucleon. The reactor and fuel capsule were located at the rear of the car, and double walls of the car were supposed to be used to protect passengers and the driver. On one capsule with fuel, the car could travel about 8,000 km.
The concept car was never put into production because it was determined that the car's design would not be able to withstand the amount of lead needed to protect passengers and environment from radiation. In addition, the slightest accident involving a car with a nuclear engine could lead to unpredictable consequences.
Nuclear jet engine (Project Pluto)
In the late 1950s, the United States began to develop intercontinental missiles. One of the first projects was “Pluto”: a nuclear ramjet engine that made it possible to launch SLAM class rockets. The first nuclear ramjet, the Tory-IIA, underwent two tests at the Nevada nuclear test site in 1961 and 1964. But the creators quickly realized that it was unsafe even for themselves. Therefore, "Pluto" did not gain distribution.
Nuclear icebreaker
The nuclear-powered icebreaker Lenin, the first of its kind in the world, was launched on December 5, 1957. By his existence he showed that the peaceful atom is not a myth. The icebreaker had excellent performance: in the first six years of operation, it covered more than 82 thousand nautical miles and independently navigated more than 400 ships. Over the entire period of operation, 654 thousand miles were covered, of which 563.6 thousand miles were in ice.
In 1989, having worked for more than 30 years, the icebreaker retired and is now permanently moored in Murmansk.
Atomic backpack
In the USSR and the USA, compact nuclear charges were developed, called “special nuclear mine” (MADM) and “nuclear mine” (SADM). They could be used to create zones of destruction, rubble, fires, floods and radiation damage to the area. The charges were backpacks that could be carried by two soldiers or even one. The land mines weighed about 170 kg (although the very first one weighed 770 kg!), and the mines - 68 kg.
In the 1960s, the Americans put forward the idea of creating a so-called nuclear mine belt along the border of the GDR and the Federal Republic of Germany. For this purpose, the United States transported about a hundred nuclear mines. Knowing how fragile their mechanisms are, you understand how lucky Europe was then.
Atomic cannon
It was called "Atomic Annie", and at that time it was the heaviest piece of mobile artillery used by the US Army. The 280 mm M65 cannon weighed almost 78.5 tons in the stowed position. The giantess also had ammunition to match: 272- and 364-kilogram shells with the ability to install a nuclear warhead.
A total of 20 guns of this type were manufactured from 1951 to 1953. At the same time, the M65 was and remains the only artillery piece that fired a projectile with a real warhead. The shot was fired on May 25, 1953 during Operation Upshot-Knothole Grable. The 15 kiloton projectile successfully flew into the horizon and detonated quite beautifully there.
The gigantic cannon, figuratively speaking, was destroyed by howitzers and missile systems. They were more mobile and numerous. Therefore, already in 1960, Annie began to be withdrawn from service, and the last of the M65-armed artillery battalions was disbanded in December 1963.
In the mid-1950s, as part of work to create a tank applicable in nuclear war, designers from the American company Chrysler presented an unusual tank project under the designation TV-8.
The design of the TV-8 tank is modular; the lower part can be separated from the main body for easier transportation. Additionally, unlike most tanks, where the crew is located in the hull and the rotating turret is located above, the TV-8 has the entire crew, gun and machine guns, and engine all located in a massive turret. The tank was supposed to have a crew of four people, but if necessary, it could be controlled by only two people - the driver and the gunner.
At first it was assumed that there would be an electric generator in the aft part of the tower that would power two tracked engines, then they considered the option of a gas turbine engine, and finally settled on a steam engine that received heat from a small nuclear reactor installed, again, in the tower.
The Chrysler TV-8 tank was equipped with a 90 mm T208 gun with hydraulic cylinders. The ammunition was stored behind a steel bulkhead that separated it from the crew compartment. Two .30 caliber co-axial machine guns were located in the front, and on the roof was a 50 caliber machine gun, which was controlled by remote control.
The TV-8 tank was equipped with external video cameras that relayed the image to screens in the crew compartment. This was done so that the crew could see their surroundings without having to open any hatches. It was also supposed to protect the crew from the flash of a tactical nuclear explosion.
The tank's armor consisted of two layers around the fighting compartment. The outer part was multi-layer armor, which was supposed to protect the inner layer by diverting the jet of cumulative shells exploding on it. The curved shape of the tower was supposed to ensure its strong rebound. The inner layer of armor was a traditional thick metal plating.
Despite its 25 tons of weight, the Chrysler TV-8 tank could float. Movement on water was to be carried out using jet water cannons.
The project to create the Chrysler TV-8 tank was never realized. Chrysler was unable to convince the US military that this unusual tank had any significant advantages over traditional combat vehicles. In 1956, the TV-8 project was canceled.
Performance characteristics of the Chrysler TV-8 tank
Combat weight: 25 tons;
Crew: 4 people;
Dimensions: length - 8.9 m; width – 3.4 m; height - 2.9 m;
Armament: 90 mm T208 gun; 0.3 caliber coaxial machine gun (coaxial), 0.5 caliber machine gun with remote control;
Engine: Chrysler V-8 steam engine powered by a nuclear reactor located in the tower
In the last century, the possibility of the Cold War escalating into a full-scale nuclear conflict did not seem so incredible, and both sides - the USSR and the USA - were preparing for such a development.
For artillery pieces Nuclear shells with a caliber of 152 mm and higher were developed, tanks and armored vehicles were made hermetically sealed, equipped with an overpressure system and anti-radiation lining.
In such conditions, the USSR needed a heavy tank capable of operating in a nuclear war: well protected, able to overcome rubble and possessing high firepower, as well as being resistant to damaging factors nuclear explosion. Under these conditions, the most unusual armored vehicle project, the Object 279, was born.
Through nuclear wastelands
To operate in enemy territory exposed to nuclear strike, the tank needed absolute cross-country ability - the ability to make its way through rubble, craters and radioactive swamps. For this purpose, “Object 279” was equipped with a unique chassis - four tracked movers were placed under the bottom of the hull.
Photo: pds.exblog.jp This design of the chassis practically ensured that the car had virtually no ground clearance. It prevented a heavy tank from landing on the bottom and made it possible to easily overcome vertical obstacles: anti-tank obstacles, hedgehogs, etc.
At the same time, the specific ground pressure of the 60-ton vehicle was only 0.6 kgf/cm², almost like that of a light tank.
The hull of the Object 279 was of a special ellipsoidal shape, which, according to the creators, was supposed to prevent the tank from overturning by the blast wave.
The H-shaped 16-cylinder diesel engine DG-1000 with a hydromechanical transmission accelerated this 60-ton vehicle to 55 km/h.
305 mm of armor and absolute invulnerability
The tank's hull had a cast curved shape and was equipped with thin-sheet anti-cumulative screens that covered the hull in front and along the sides, complementing its contours to an elongated ellipsoid.
The thickness of the frontal armor of the hull reached 269 mm, and the thickness of the turret - 305 mm. The thickness of the side armor, located at an angle of 45 degrees, reached 182 mm.
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The frontal armor of the Object 279 was invulnerable: domestic 122 mm guns and foreign 90 mm guns could not penetrate it when fired from any angle, even with cumulative shells.
Interestingly, with this level of protection, “Object 279” was distinguished by a small reserved volume - 11.47 m³. For comparison: the total reserved volume of the much less protected IS-2 tank was 12.9 m³.
Night sight and weapon stabilizer already in the 50s
“Object 279” was distinguished by a number of innovations: a 130-mm cannon with a semi-automatic loading mechanism and mechanical ammunition rack was installed in the turret, which significantly increased the rate of fire.
The operation of the loader with a semi-automatic cassette type ensured a rate of fire of 4-7 rounds per minute. At the same time, the creators of the tank also worked on a full-fledged automatic loader, which would allow a rate of fire of 10-15 rounds per minute.
Due to the dense layout of the Object 279, the ammunition load was only 24 rounds for the cannon and 300 rounds for the 14.5 mm KPVT machine gun.
The tank had advanced aiming and observation devices at that time: a TPD-2S stereoscopic rangefinder sight with independent stabilization, a two-plane electro-hydraulic "Groza" stabilizer, a TPN night sight combined with an L-2 IR illumination device and a semi-automatic fire control system. Much of this equipment appeared on serial Soviet tanks only in the 60s.
The tank's crew consisted of four people, three of whom - the commander, loader and gunner - were in the turret, and the driver was in the front of the hull in the center.
By Khrushchev's decision
Tests revealed large power losses when driving on viscous soil, and the difficulty of maintenance and repair in the field. The tank's maneuverability was also not up to par - its resistance to turning was 12 times higher than that of vehicles of similar mass with a classical layout.
However, Khrushchev put an end to the fate of Object 279 and other heavy tanks, who eventually forbade the military to accept into service any tanks that weighed more than 37 tons. Therefore, the unusual giant never saw mass production.