Tank t 34 diesel engine. Military review and politics. The total number of tanks produced

The B-2 engine is perhaps the most famous diesel engine. Created in the late thirties, its various modifications still continue to serve. Of course, undoubtedly, the "thirty-four", the most famous tank of the Second World War, only the engine with which this tank was equipped remained in the shadows. This engine turned out to be so successful that modifications are still being produced today.

Serial production of the V-2 engine began on the day of the outbreak of World War II, September 1, 1939. The backlog of this engine is still surprising. This engine was several decades ahead of its time.

As strange as it may sound, this engine was originally developed for aviation, for Soviet heavy bombers. But it was not possible to make an engine that would satisfy the Soviet aircraft designers. For aviation, the power of this engine was not enough, and the engine did not take root in the aircraft industry.

However, this engine came to the court in the tank building. As a legacy from aviation, this engine, in the era of "cast iron" diesel engine building, acquired an aluminum cylinder block, and many other light-alloy parts. As a result, the engine had a high power-to-weight ratio.

The engine design was incredibly successful. Probably its main difference from supermodern engines is that the engine lacks electronics. Fuel injection into the B-2 cylinders was carried out using a twelve-piston high-pressure fuel pump. Now on modern diesel engines, fuel is supplied to the injectors using a common high-pressure accumulator (the so-called Common Rail system, which translates as "common rail").

However, each cylinder of the engine, like most modern diesels, had four valves and an overhead camshaft, while many diesels produced in those years had a bottom camshaft.

Unlike most diesel engines of that era, which applied the principle of pre-chamber or vortex-chamber mixture formation, the V-2 engine used direct fuel injection, as well as on modern diesel engines. So the V-2 engine was ahead of its time by five decades, no less.

Of course, not only Soviet tank builders paid attention to diesel engines. And the first tank in the world to have a diesel engine was the Japanese Type 89 tank, but this tank was originally produced with a gasoline engine. In contrast, the T-34 tank was originally designed for the V-2 diesel engine. This allowed the maximum use of all its advantages.

Throughout the war, the Germans used gasoline engines on their tanks. There were many reasons for this: a shortage of non-ferrous metals, a shortage of diesel fuel, the lion's share of which went to the needs of the navy.

B-2 was born in agony. The order for the development of a tank diesel engine was received in 1931, and it passed state tests only in 1939, and was put into mass production. Although, by that time he had already passed the "baptism of fire" on the KV tank during the Soviet-Finnish war.

One of the most important advantages of a diesel engine is its economy. It is believed that a diesel engine is less fire hazardous than a carbureted one. But this gain is, by and large, insignificant. Diesel fuel vapors easily flashed in fuel tanks... The tankers themselves said that it was safest to go into battle with full tanks.

The power reserve for a tank is essential. And in this respect, the diesel has won. For example, the range of the T-34 tank on the highway was 380 km, while that of the famous German Tiger tank was 140 km. Another German tank T-IV, with an engine power of 300 hp. s, the cruising range on the highway was 300 km.

Another important advantage of a diesel engine is its multi-fuel capacity. If necessary, the tank could be filled with gasoline or aviation kerosene, preferably with the addition of oil, and the movement could continue.

Of course, the use of this fuel quickly disabled the engine, but in the event of a critical situation, such factors were not paid attention to. Currently, the use of heavy fuel engines in tank building is the norm.

The V-2 engine, of course, was used not only on the T-34 tank, but also on the KV, IS family of tanks, and self-propelled artillery installations created on the basis of these tanks. Only the modifications were different: V-2-34, V-2IS, V-2-44. The engine power also changed slightly. If the T-34 power was equal to 500 liters. s, then on tanks of the IS family its power was increased to 520 hp. Already before the start of the war, there were 5 modifications of this engine.

Work to increase the engine power was carried out constantly. During the war, the V-2SN turbocharged engine was developed, the power of which was increased to 850 hp. This engine was tested on the IS-3 tank.

After the war, the modernization of the engine continued. For example, the B-46 engine, which was installed on the T-72 tank, developed a power of 700 hp, and the V-92 turbocharged engine for the T-90 tank reached 1000 hp.

At the end of the war, various modifications of the V-2 engine began to be actively used in the national economy. One of the engine modifications was installed on the well-known Soviet tractor produced at ChTZ - DET-250.

For the national economy, special derated engines were developed, produced under the "D" index. These engines were installed on tug boats, river trams, diesel locomotives, railcars, heavy vehicles MAZ, and were used as a generator drive.

Of course, numerous attempts were made in tank construction to replace the engines of the V-2 family with other, more modern ones. In the sixties, the 5TDF boxer engine was developed for the T-64 and T-72 tanks. The engines of this family had good characteristics, were compact, but extremely expensive and difficult to manufacture and operate. Therefore, the engines of the B-2 family remained the basis of Soviet and then Russian tank building.

So what is the secret of this engine? Its design, developed in the thirties, despite the fact that it has certain disadvantages associated with the development time of the engine, when many technologies in production were not available, even in our time, practically has not undergone any changes.

This engine was designed to grow. Developed more than 80 years ago, it still has decent characteristics in the 21st century. Engines of this family are still produced in Chelyabinsk at ChTZ and in Barnaul at Barnaultransmash.

This is the title of the chapter about the T-34 tank in the book by Zefirov and Dyogtev "Everything for the Front".
In it, the researchers tell how the "legendary T-34" was actually created and what it was.

Like practically everything in the USSR in the first half of the 20th century, this tank consisted of "advanced" Western technologies and parts.

“It happened like this: first, the industry got hold of some German or American engine, then it was hardly mastered in production, as they could“ modernize ”and“ improve ”.
The V-2 diesel engine was developed for the new T-34 and KV-1 tanks. It was created on the basis of the Austrian Maybach engine and the American tractor engine.
In turn, American-built Soviet tractors at Stalingradskolm and Chelyabinsk factories borrowed a lot from American tanks. It is no coincidence, for example, that the suspension of the Soviet tractor STZ-5 was made on the basis of the American Sherman M4A3E8 tank.

However, the serial diesel engine for the T-34 did not work out, and it was decided to use the M-17 aircraft engine on the tank. But he had a significant "drawback". "He was attached to work in a strong cold and clean air, which is not in the tank. Here, on the contrary, heat and dust, which causes overheating of the oil, increased wear "(from a note by the head of the 3rd department of the armored department of the GABTU of the Red Army, 1st rank military engineer Afonin).
In addition, this engine ran on high-octane AI-92 gasoline, but it was sorely lacking. Therefore, even kerosene and technical alcohol were poured into gas tanks.

In the end, the designers of the T-34 settled on a "converted" German BMW-VI engine.

As usual, there were a lot of defects in the production. For example, in a letter dated November 1942 to the BTU GABTU of the Red Army at plant No. 112 it was said that in 39% of cases the armor was defective ("did not get into the analysis"). Perhaps, it is precisely the high percentage of rejects that explains the fact that German sub-caliber shells easily pierced T-34 armor from 400-500 meters at an angle of 20 degrees, and 75-mm cumulative shells, which began to enter the Wehrmacht at the beginning of 1942, passed through 120- mm T-34 armor from 1000 meters.

According to the repair services of the Red Army in the summer of 1943, 76% of the T-34's combat losses were generally from the 50-mm Pak38 anti-tank guns and similar guns of the Pz.III tanks. "This once again debunks the myth that it was difficult for German tankers to fight thirty-fours."

Defective and useless on the T-34 were also gearboxes, optics, etc.

Poor technical and tactical characteristics of the T-34 forced the Soviet leadership to turn to the Americans for help. In December 1941, the T-34 and KV-1 tanks were handed over to the Americans for a comprehensive analysis and development of recommendations and technologies for eliminating defects in them.

Further, Zefirov and Dogtev cite dry excerpts from the analysis of the Americans.
"Soviet tanks showed extremely low reliability of the chassis and engine during tests. The T-34 failed and could not be repaired after 343 km.

Due to the extremely poor diesel air cleaner, a lot of dirt has accumulated in the engine. As a result, the pistons and cylinders have deteriorated to such an extent that they cannot be repaired. The tank has been removed from trials and it is planned to shoot it with a KV cannon and our "3" from an M-10 tank, after which it will be sent to Aberdeen (Great Britain), where it will be taken apart and left as an exhibit.

Chemical analysis of the armor showed that on both tanks, the armor plates are shallow hardened, and the rest of the armor is mild steel. Due to eiim, we believe that by changing the hardening technology, it is possible to reduce its thickness, while maintaining the same penetration resistance. This will reduce the weight of the T-34 by 8-10%.

The quality of the welding turned out to be worthless. The T-34 has an increased permeability of both the lower part when overcoming water obstacles, and the upper part during rain. A lot of water flows into the gap, which leads to the failure of electrical equipment and ammunition.

The F-34 cannon has a small initial speed - 385 m / s compared to the 75-mm gun M-3 of our "Sherman" (560 m / s).

Very bad tower design. The main disadvantage is that it is very tight. We cannot understand how tankers can fit in it in winter when they wear short fur coats. Very poor electrical turret rotation. The motor is weak, overloaded and strongly sparks, as a result resistances and steering speed adjustments burn out, gear teeth crumble.

Checking the tracks. I liked the idea of \u200b\u200ba steel track very much. But we believe that until feedback is received on the comparative results of the use of steel and rubber tracks on American tanks in Tunisia, there is no reason to abandon our idea - rubber.

The fingers on the T-34 tracks turned out to be poorly hardened and made of poor steel, as a result of which they quickly work and the track often breaks. We think the tracks should be heavier.

The T-34 suspension is borrowed from the American Christie tank. On our tank, because of the bad steel on the springs, it sags very quickly and therefore the clearance decreases.

We checked the air cleaner. Only a saboteur could design such a device.
From a mechanical point of view, the filter is made extremely primitive: in the places of electric spot welding, the metal is burnt, which leads to oil leakage.

Poor quality starters - low-power and unreliable design.

Transmission. The technician who worked with her was amazed that she was very similar to those with whom she worked 12-15 years ago. A firm was requested, which sent drawings of its A-23 transmission. To everyone's surprise, the transmission drawings turned out to be an exact copy of the ones sent. What struck us was not that it was copied from our designs, but that we abandoned it 15 years ago as outdated.

We believe that on the part of the Russian designer who put it in the tank, inhuman cruelty was shown towards the drivers (it is difficult to work).
During operation, the teeth on the gears completely crumbled on it. Them chemical analysis showed that thermal treatment is very poor and does not meet any American standards.

The cars turned out to be very slow-moving. Both the T-34 and the KV-1 were worse overcoming slopes than any American tank.

Very outraged bad job gearboxes. It can only be switched by 2 people. We will send our gearbox to our designers to replace the regular ones on the T-34 ".

As a result, the Americans sent many of their own technologies to the USSR, which replaced the Russians.

“It is not surprising that German light tanks PZ.II covered an average of 11,500, and medium Pz.IVs - 11,000 km. The average mileage of the T-34 before it was completely out of order was no more than 1,000 km.

The T-34 was a "hodgepodge" of components and assemblies assembled all over the world: a chassis from an American Christie tank, an engine from German aircraft, many units from Austrians and Italians, etc. Moreover, almost all of these components and assemblies were from prototypes of the late 20s - early 30s, such as the BMW-VI engine, which was installed on biplanes back in the mid 20s.

* The Germans called the T-34 "Mickey Mouse" because the upper turret hatches, which had a round shape, were not closed by Soviet tranquists in combat conditions - in order to improve ventilation and to prevent them from jamming.

When they talk about advanced weapons, they primarily mean the power of a weapon capable of inflicting a crushing defeat on the enemy. The legendary T-34 tank became the personification of victory Soviet Union in World War II. But there are less significant components, for example, the V-2 tank engine, without which the legend could not exist.

Military equipment works in the most difficult conditions. Motors are designed to use low-quality fuel, minimal maintenance, but at the same time they must retain their original characteristics for many years. It was this approach that was embodied in the creation of the diesel engine of the T-34 tank.

Engine prototype

In 1931, the Soviet government embarked on a course to improve military technology. Then the Kharkov steam locomotive plant named after. The Comintern was tasked with developing a new diesel engine for tanks and aircraft.

The novelty of the development was supposed to lie in fundamentally new characteristics of the motor. The nominal crankshaft speed of diesel engines of that time was 260 rpm. Then, as in the assignment, it was agreed that the new engine should produce 300 hp at a speed of 1600 rpm. And this already made completely different requirements for the methods of developing components and assemblies. The technologies that would allow creating such an engine in the Soviet Union did not exist.

The design office was renamed to Diesel, and work began. After discussing possible design options, we settled on a V-shaped with 6 cylinders in each row. It had to be started from an electric starter. At that time, there was no fuel equipment that could provide fuel for such an engine. Therefore, it was decided to install a Bosch high pressure fuel pump, which was later planned to be replaced with a pump of our own production.

Two years passed before the creation of the first test sample. Since the engine was planned to be used not only in Soviet tank construction, but also in aircraft construction on heavy bombers, the low weight of the engine was specially stipulated.

Modification of the motor

They tried to create the engine from materials that were not previously used for the construction of diesel engines. For example, the cylinder block was made of aluminum, and, not withstanding the tests on the bench, it constantly cracked. The high power caused the light, unbalanced motor to vibrate violently.

The BT-5 tank, on which the diesel engine was tested, did not reach the test site on its own. The fault finding of the motor showed that the crankcase block and the crankshaft bearings were destroyed. In order for the design embodied in paper to migrate to life, new materials were needed. The equipment on which the parts were made was also not suitable. There was a lack of manufacturing accuracy class.

In 1935, the Kharkov steam locomotive plant was replenished with experimental workshops for the production of diesel engines. Having eliminated a certain number of defects, the BD-2A engine was installed on the R-5 aircraft. The bomber was lifted into the air, but the low reliability of the engine did not allow it to be used for its intended purpose. Moreover, by that time more acceptable versions of aircraft engines had arrived.

Preparing a diesel engine for installation on a tank was difficult. The selection committee was not satisfied with the high smoke, which was a strong unmasking factor. In addition, the high fuel and oil consumption was unacceptable for military equipment, which should have a large power reserve without refueling.

The main difficulties are behind

In 1937, the design team was supplemented with military engineers. At the same time, the diesel engine was named B-2, under which it went down in history. However, the improvement work was not completed. Some of the technical tasks were delegated to the Ukrainian Institute of Aircraft Engine Building. The design team was supplemented by employees of the Central Institute of Aviation Motors.

In 1938, state tests of the second generation of V-2 diesels were carried out. Three motors were presented. None passed the tests. The first had a jammed piston, the second had a cracked cylinder block, and the third had a crankcase drip. In addition, the high pressure plunger pump did not provide sufficient capacity. He lacked manufacturing precision.

In 1939, the motor was modified and tested.

Subsequently, the V-2 engine was installed on the T-34 tank in this form. The diesel department was reformed into a plant for the production of tank engines, the goal of which was to produce 10,000 units per year.

Final version

At the beginning of World War II, the plant was urgently evacuated to Chelyabinsk. ChTZ already had a production base for the production of tank engines.

Some time before the evacuation, the diesel was tested on the KV heavy tank.

More for a long time The B-2 has undergone modernizations and improvements. The disadvantages also diminished. The merits of the engine of the T-34 tank made it possible to judge it as an unsurpassed model of design thought. Even military experts believed that the replacement in the 60-70s of the B-2 with new diesel engines was caused by the fact that the engine was outdated only from a moral point of view. In many technical parameters, it was superior to new items.

You can compare some of the characteristics of the B-2 with modern enginesto understand how progressive he was for that time. The launch was provided in two ways: from a receiver with compressed air and an electric starter, which ensured increased "survivability" of the T-34 tank engine. Four valves per cylinder increase the efficiency of the gas distribution mechanism. The cylinder block and crankcase were made of aluminum alloy.

The ultralight motor was produced in three modifications, differing in power: 375, 500, 600 hp, for vehicles of various weights. The change in power was achieved by forcing - reducing the combustion chamber and increasing the compression ratio of the fuel mixture. Even an 850 hp engine was released. from. It was turbocharged from the AM-38 aircraft engine, after which the diesel engine was tested on the KV-3 heavy tank.

Already at that time, there was a tendency to develop military engines that run on any hydrocarbon fuel, which simplifies the supply of equipment in war conditions. The engine of the T-34 tank could run on both diesel fuel and kerosene.

Unreliable diesel

Despite the demand of the People's Commissar V.A.Malyshev, the diesel engine did not become reliable. Most likely, the matter was not in design flaws, but in the fact that the production evacuated to ChTZ in Chelyabinsk had to be deployed in a huge hurry. The materials required by the specifications were not available.

Two tanks with B-2 engines were sent to the United States to investigate the causes leading to premature failure. After the annual tests of the T-34 and KV-1, it was concluded that the air filters do not trap dust particles at all, and they penetrate the engine, leading to wear of the piston group. Due to a flaw in technology, the oil contained in the filter flowed out through the contact welding in the housing. Dust, instead of settling in the oil, easily entered the combustion chamber.

Throughout the war, work on the reliability of the T-34 tank engine was carried out constantly. In 1941, the engines of the 4th generation could barely work 150 hours, while 300 were required. By 1945, the service life of the engine could be increased 4 times, and the number of malfunctions was reduced from 26 to 9 per thousand kilometers.

The production capacities of ChTZ “Uraltrak” were insufficient for the military industry. Therefore, it was decided to build factories for the production of engines in Barnaul and Sverdlovsk. They produced the same B-2 and its modifications for installation not only on tanks, but also on self-propelled vehicles.

ChTZ "Uraltrak" also produced motors for various equipment: heavy tanks of the KV series, light tanks BT-7, heavy artillery tractors "Voroshilovets".

Tank engine in a peaceful life

The career of the engine of the T-34 tank did not end with the end of the war. The design refinement continued. It formed the basis for many modifications of tank V-shaped diesel engines. B-45, B-46, B-54, B-55 and others - all of them became direct descendants of B-2. They had the same V-shaped, 12-cylinder concept. Various hydrocarbon mixtures could serve as fuel for them. The body was made of aluminum alloys and was distinguished by its lightness.

In addition, the B-2 served as a prototype for many other engines that were not related to military equipment.

The civilian ships "Moskva" and "Moskvich" received the same engine as on the T-34 tank, with minor changes. This modification was called D12. In addition, diesel engines were produced for river transport, which were 6-cylinder V-2 halves.

The 1D6 diesel engine was used to equip shunting locomotives TGK-2, TGM-1, TGM-23. More than 10 thousand units of these units were produced.

MAZ dump trucks received 1D12 diesel. The engine power was 400 hp. from. at a speed of 1600 rpm.

Interestingly, after the modifications, the potential of the engine increased significantly. Now the assigned service life is up to overhaul was 22 thousand engine hours.

Characteristics and design of the T-34 tank engine

The high-speed, compressorless diesel V-2 was water-cooled. The cylinder blocks were positioned in relation to each other at an angle of 60 degrees.

The motor worked as follows:

1. During the suction stroke, atmospheric air is supplied through the open intake valves.
2. The valves close and a compression stroke occurs. The air pressure rises to 35 atm and the temperature rises to 600 ° C.
3. At the end of the compression stroke, the fuel pump delivers fuel at a pressure of 200 atm through the injector, which is ignited by high temperature.
4. The gases begin to expand sharply, increasing the pressure to 90 atm. A working stroke of the engine occurs.
5. The exhaust valves open and exhaust gases are discharged into the exhaust system. The pressure inside the combustion chamber drops to 3-4 atm.

Then the cycle repeats.

Trigger mechanism

The method of starting a tank engine was different from the civil one. In addition to the 15 hp electric starter. c, was a pneumatic system consisting of compressed air cylinders. During the operation of the tank, the diesel engine pumped up a pressure of 150 atm. Then, when it was necessary to start, the air through the distributor went directly into the combustion chambers, forcing the crankshaft to rotate. This system was able to start even with no battery.

Lubrication system

The motor was lubricated aviation oil MK. The lubrication system had 2 oil tanks. The diesel had a dry sump. This was done so that at the moment of a strong roll of the tank on rough terrain, the engine did not switch to oil starvation. The working pressure in the system was 6 - 9 atm.

Cooling system

The power unit of the tank was cooled using two radiators, the temperature of which reached 105-107 ° C. The fan was driven by a centrifugal pump driven by the engine flywheel.

Features of the fuel system

The high pressure fuel pump NK-1 originally had a 2-mode regulator, which was later replaced by an all-mode one. The injection pump created a fuel pressure of 200 atm. Coarse and fine filters ensured the removal of mechanical impurities contained in the fuel. The nozzles were closed.

The T-34 76 tank is rightfully considered one of the best tanks of the Second World War, incorporating all the best qualities of these combat vehicles. It was recognized as the best for its time not only by the Soviet military, but even by their opponents, who directly faced this tank in combat conditions.

From the history of the T-34 tank

German tankers in 1941 could not oppose anything to the T-34 76 tank with its excellent armor and serious firepower. In addition to the optimal characteristics for wartime, the tank was distinguished by a fairly simple design, high manufacturability and adaptability to combat in various conditions. The tank was easily repaired in the field, which undoubtedly became its huge plus. Before the introduction of the Tigers, Panthers and Ferdinands into service in Germany, the Soviet T-34 was a mortal threat to the Germans. The T-34 entered into difficult battles and often emerged victorious from them.

Development of T-34 76

The T-34 was designed and assembled at the design bureau of the Kharkov steam locomotive plant. It was not only the famous design bureau of M.I. Koshkin, the Adolf Dick Design Bureau also took part in the work. The technical project in this bureau was prepared with a delay of a whole month, because of which A. Dick was arrested. As a result, only M. Koshkin became responsible for the project. In the process of work, the designers created two versions of the tank's propellers: wheeled-tracked and tracked, as a result, the second was preferred. In March 1940, two samples of the new tank were delivered to the Ivanovskaya Square of the Kremlin to demonstrate it to the military commission and the government. It should be noted that for this new combat vehicles on their own they covered as much as 750 kilometers from Kharkov to Moscow, moving off-road, and thus showing excellent cross-country ability. At the end of March, the Soviet industry began to produce tanks.

To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the T-34 tank was the best vehicle in the world, mobile, easy to manufacture, with anti-cannon armor and a powerful 76 mm cannon capable of penetrating any German tank of the 1941 model. The 37-millimeter guns of the Germans were practically powerless against the "thirty-four". Since 1941, the Wehrmacht began to produce "Panzer III", most of which were equipped with a 50 mm cannon, already more effective against T 34 armor. But penetration was ensured at a distance of no more than six hundred meters, and only if they fired a sub-caliber projectile, but the cannon The T-34 could penetrate the armor of early Panzer III modifications from two thousand meters. Later, modifications of the Panzer appeared with 60 and 50 millimeters of armor, but the T-34 pierced it with armor-piercing shells from a distance of 1,500 meters. Even the later and fortified Panzer III Ausf.M and Ausf.L models with 70mm armor could be penetrated by the thirty-four from a distance of five hundred meters.

It is worth noting the 45 mm armor of the T-34, which, due to its inclined design, often provoked ricochets when firing from long distances, which made it very difficult to fight this tank. But the T-34 had some drawbacks - poor visibility and not very reliable transmission. In addition, the fighting compartment was quite cramped and greatly hampered the work of the crew.

Tank device

First, about the T-34 76 in general terms:

• The combat weight of the tank was over thirty tons;
• Gun - L 11 and F 34 caliber 76.2 mm;
• Engine power - 500 horsepower;
• Maximum speed - 55 kilometers per hour;
• Crew - four people;
• About 20,000 units were produced.

Housing

In 1940, the T-34 hull was cooked from rolled armor plates. In the front part of the front plate there is a driver's hatch with a hinged cover. Further, in the upper part of the hatch cover, there is a central viewing device for the driver, and on the left and right, side viewing devices installed at an angle of sixty degrees to the longitudinal axis of the machine. On the right is the embrasure of the course machine gun in the ball bearing. The machine gun has no armor mask. The rear inclined hull plate is removable and bolted to the side plates. It has a rectangular hatch for access to the transmission compartment. On the side of the hatch there are two oval openings with exhaust pipes, protected by armored caps.

Tower

The turret of the tank is welded, conical made of rolled armor plates. The roof of the tower had a common hatch for the crew members. An observation device for a circular view is mounted on the hatch. In front of the hatch on the left side there was a PT-6 periscope sight, and on the right - a ventilation hatch.

Cannons

The tank was originally fitted with a 76.2 mm L-11 model gun with a 30.5 caliber barrel. It had a number of shortcomings, so it was soon replaced by the more successful F-32 cannon. After some time, the design bureau developed a modification of this gun, which was seriously superior to the previous version. The gun was named F-34, the length of its barrel increased to 41 caliber, which significantly increased the penetrating power of the gun. There was a 7.62 mm DT machine gun paired with a cannon, and a TOD-6 telescopic sight was used for direct aiming of the gun.

Chassis

The tank had five pairs of large-diameter road wheels. The guide and track rollers were rubber-coated, and the caterpillar chain was small-link from thirty-seven flat and thirty-seven ridge tracks. Outside, each track had lug spurs. In the rear of the hull, two spare tracks and two jacks were attached. Four pairs of rollers on board had an individual spring suspension, the springs were placed at an angle and were welded to the sides in the hull.

To begin with, the engine, which was installed on the famous T-34, KV and IS, is being produced ... until now! Today he regularly serves in our army - under the hoods of tanks and rocket carriers. No wonder: the design of the 12-cylinder V-engine with direct fuel injection, four valves per cylinder, overhead camshafts remains quite modern.

The range of the diesel T-34 is 30 more than that of the German Pz IV, and in fact it is one and a half times more powerful

By the way, it was originally developed in two versions, tank and aviation - yes, don't be surprised, in the early 30s the diesel engine was considered very promising in aircraft construction! This is where the engine has forged light alloy pistons and die-cast aluminum heads - the use of "winged metal" allowed for a high power density.

True, for a heavy bomber just the power was not enough. And the R-5 reconnaissance aircraft, on which the engine was installed, did not have enough diesel reliability. Nevertheless, in 1934, equipped with the "Fast diesel" BD-2, the BT-5 tank entered the proving ground, and in March next year The Kharkov steam locomotive plant, as well as its director Bondarenko and engine designers Konstantin Chelpan and Yakov Vikhman were awarded the Order of Lenin. Alas, work on the future great tank diesel engine was just beginning at that moment.

The motor, which was assigned the serial number B-2, turned out to be extremely unreliable, even at the stand it worked for only 10-15 hours - seizures appeared in the cylinders, on the bearing shells, and shaft journals. Inexperienced designers incorrectly distributed the loads on the main bearings, increased vibration destroyed body parts and crankshafts, crankcases cracked, studs flew ... It took two years to fine-tune, but the next tests showed that it was not possible to achieve reliability - one of three B-2 at the stand worked for 72 hours, the second one after 100 hours showed increased oil consumption, smoky exhaust and a crack in the cylinder head, the third one burst the crankcase. And again, nothing surprising: insufficient production culture and lack of high-precision equipment at the Kharkov steam locomotive named after the Comintern, design flaws inevitable for an inexperienced engineering team. After all, it was a new thing - nowhere in the world were they producing high-speed and high-power diesel engines at that time. But in the late 1930s, the guilty ones were found quickly: the order-bearers were arrested, Chelpan and Bondarenko were shot in 1938, Vikhman and his assistant Ivan Trashutin, who developed the 4-valve mechanism, miraculously survived.

Finally, on September 1, 1939, on the first day of World War II, serial production of the B-2 began. The advantages of a diesel engine seem obvious to us now: lower fire hazard, efficiency. In addition, the engine, which does not have an ignition system, created less interference with radio electronics, and could also run on any fuel, including gasoline and aviation kerosene. The range of the T-34 on the highway is 30 percent higher than that of the German Pz IV, and in fact it is one and a half times more powerful - as much as 500 forces - and faster.

There was only one problem - reliability. Rather, its complete absence. Even when Soviet engineers and the military in the mid-30s were arguing about the fate of new tank engines, the gasoline aircraft M-17 (which was a licensed copy of the BMW VI) provided a guaranteed resource of 250 hours. And in the technical passport of the T-34 the term warranty work indicated 150 hours, but, as established by a special commission of the Main Armored Directorate in November 1942, it "does not correspond to reality." In fact, the motor worked three times less. Air filters practically did not retain sand and dust, piston rings were worn out catastrophically because of this, oil consumption reached 30 kg per hour. On tests in the United States in 1943, the T-34 traveled only 665 km: the engine worked for 58 hours under load, 14 hours without load, in total there were 14 breakdowns.

Yes, only our military leaders did not particularly care about the insufficient resource of diesel engines. The tanks and, accordingly, their crews were cannon fodder, which the hero-marshals, led by the cannibal Generalissimo, threw into the jaws of the world massacre. This was especially clearly shown by the Battle of Kursk, in which four of ours fell on each German tank destroyed. In total, 35 467 T-34s were produced during the war years, at least 20 thousand of them died ...

In 1943, the service life of the main components and assemblies of the power plant was barely enough for 300-400 km, and only by 1946 it was possible to bring the mileage to 1200-1500 km. The total number of breakdowns has decreased from 26 to 9 per 1000 km. The share of vehicles that passed warranty tests increased from 27 to 44%. But two years later, it dropped again to 20% - both technology violations and the general low level of the B-2 design affected. Incidentally, the T-54 designed immediately after the war turned out to be so unreliable that the three leading tank factories had to be stopped for a year. Only by the mid-50s, the V-2 was brought to mind, and today its deeply modernized version with a capacity of 1000 hp, equipped with a turbocharger, is installed on the T-92 tank. How reliable is it? The question is purely rhetorical - after all, the average lifetime of a tank in modern combat does not exceed 10 minutes ...