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HISTORY OF TECHNOLOGY, TECHNOLOGY, OBJECTS AROUND US
Tank. History of invention and production
Directory / The history of technology, technology, objects around us Tank - an armored fighting vehicle, most often on tracks, as a rule, with cannon armament as the main one.
The technical prerequisites for creating a tank appeared at the end of the 1888th century - by that time a caterpillar mover, an internal combustion engine, armor, rapid-fire cannons and machine guns had been invented. The first caterpillar steam-powered tractor was created back in XNUMX by the American Bater. On the eve of the First World War, as already noted, the Holt industrial caterpillar tractor appeared, which can be considered the immediate predecessor of the tank. But some prerequisites were not enough - there was a lack of urgent need. The First World War, which had just begun in 1914, rigidly defined this need. When the opponents threw millions of armies into the offensive, they never imagined that machine guns and cannons would literally sweep away the regiments and divisions going on the attack. Huge losses forced the soldiers in the end to hide in the trenches and dugouts. In the West, the front froze and turned into a continuous line of fortifications stretching from the English Channel to the border with Switzerland. The war has reached the so-called positional impasse. They tried to find a way out of it with the help of artillery - thousands of guns for several days, or even weeks, plowed every meter of enemy positions with shells. There seemed to be nothing left alive. But as soon as the attacking infantry got out of the trenches, the surviving cannons and machine guns of the defenders again inflicted monstrous losses on them. It was then that tanks appeared on the battlefield. The idea to create a combat tracked vehicle capable of moving over rough terrain through trenches, ditches and barbed wire was first expressed in 1914 by the English Colonel Swinton. After discussion in various instances, the Ministry of War as a whole accepted his idea and formulated the basic requirements that a combat vehicle had to meet. It was supposed to be small, have caterpillars, bulletproof armor, overcome funnels up to 4 m and wire fences, reach speeds of at least 4 km / h, have a cannon and two machine guns. The main purpose of the tank was the destruction of barbed wire and the suppression of enemy machine guns. Soon, in forty days, Foster's firm created a combat vehicle based on the Holt caterpillar tractor, which was called the Little Willy. Its chief designers were engineer Tritton and Lieutenant Wilson. "Little Willy" was tested in 1915 and showed good driving performance. In November, the Holt firm began manufacturing a new machine. The designers had a difficult problem without making the tank heavier, to increase its length by 1 m so that it could overcome four-meter trenches. In the end, this was achieved due to the fact that the contour of the caterpillar was given the shape of a parallelogram. In addition, it turned out that the tank hardly takes vertical embankments and steep elevations. To increase the height of the toe, Wilson and Tritton came up with the idea of putting the caterpillar on top of the hull. This significantly increased the cross-country ability of the vehicle, but at the same time gave rise to a number of other difficulties associated, in particular, with the placement of guns and machine guns. The armament had to be distributed along the sides, and so that the machine guns could fire on the course to the side and back, they were installed in the side ledges - sponsons. In February 1916, the new tank, named "Big Willie", successfully passed sea trials. He could overcome wide trenches, move across a plowed field, climb over walls and embankments up to 1 m high. Trenches up to 8 m did not represent a serious obstacle for him.
The hull of the tank was a box-frame made of corners, to which armored sheets were bolted. The chassis was also covered with armor, which consisted of small unsprung road wheels (the shaking in the car was terrible). Inside, the "land cruiser" resembled the engine room of a small ship, on which you could walk without even bending down. For the driver and commander in front there was a separate cabin. Most of the rest of the space was occupied by the Daimler engine, gearbox and transmission. To start the engine, 3-4 people teams had to rotate a huge crank until the engine started with a deafening roar. On the machines of the first brands, fuel tanks were also placed inside. Narrow passages remained on both sides of the engine. Ammunition was on shelves between the top of the engine and the roof. On the move, exhaust gases and gasoline vapors accumulated in the tank. Ventilation was not provided. Meanwhile, the heat from the running engine soon became unbearable - the temperature reached 50 degrees. In addition, with each shot of the gun, the tank was filled with caustic powder gases. The crew could not stay in combat places for a long time, fumed and suffered from overheating. Even in battle, tankers sometimes jumped out to breathe fresh air, while not paying attention to the whistle of bullets and shrapnel. A significant drawback of the "Big Willie" turned out to be narrow caterpillars that got stuck in soft soil. At the same time, a heavy tank sat on the ground, stumps and stones. It was bad with observation and communication - the viewing slots in the sides did not provide inspection, but the spray from the bullets that hit the armor near them hit the tankers in the face and eyes. There was no radio contact. Carrier pigeons were kept for long-distance communications, and special signal flags were used for short-range communications. There was also no internal intercom. Driving the tank required considerable effort from the drivers and the commander (the latter was responsible for the brakes on the right and left side tracks). The tank had three gearboxes - one main and one on each side (each of them controlled a special transmission). The turn was carried out either by braking one caterpillar, or by switching one of the onboard gearboxes to the neutral position, while the first or second gear was switched on on the other side. With the caterpillar stopped, the tank turned almost on the spot. For the first time, tanks were used in the battle on September 15, 1916 near the village of Fleur-Courslet during the grandiose battle on the Somme. The British offensive, launched in July, yielded negligible results and very tangible losses. It was then that the commander-in-chief, General Haig, decided to throw tanks into battle. There were 49 of them in total, but only 32 reached their original positions, the rest remained in the rear due to breakdowns. Only 18 participated in the attack, but in a few hours they advanced along with the infantry into the depths of the German positions for 5 km on a front of the same width. Haig was pleased - in his opinion, it was the new weapon that reduced infantry losses by 20 times against the "norm". He immediately sent a demand to London for 1000 combat vehicles at once.
In subsequent years, the British released several modifications of the Mk (this was the official name of "Big Willie"). Each next model was more perfect than the previous one. For example, the first production tank Mk-1 weighed 28 tons, moved at a speed of 4 km/h, was armed with two cannons and three machine guns. Its crew consisted of 5 people. The later MkA tank had a speed of 8 km / h, weight - 9 tons, crew - 6 people, armament - 18 machine guns. MkC with a weight of 5 tons developed a speed of 6 km / h. The crew on this tank consisted of four people, and the armament consisted of four machine guns. The last amphibious tank MkI, created already in 19, had a rotating turret, a crew of four and an armament of three machine guns. With a weight of 5 tons, he developed a speed of 13 km / h on land, and 1918 km / h on water. In total, the British produced 13 tanks of 5 different modifications during the war years.
Gradually, the tanks were adopted by other warring armies. The first French tanks were developed and produced by Schneider in October 1916. Outwardly, they looked little like their English counterparts - the tracks did not cover the hull, but were located along its sides or under it. The undercarriage was sprung with special springs, which facilitated the work of the crew. However, due to the fact that the upper part of the tank hung heavily over the tracks, the Schneiders' maneuverability was worse, and they could not overcome even minor vertical obstacles.
The best tank of the First World War was the Renault FT, manufactured by Renault and having a weight of only 6 tons, a crew of two, armament - a machine gun (a cannon since 1917), a maximum speed of 9 km / h. "Reno" FT became the prototype of the tank of the future. For the first time, the layout of the main components, which still remains classic, found its resolution on it: engine, transmission, drive wheel - at the back, control compartment - in front, rotating tower - in the center. For the first time, on-board radio stations were installed on Renault tanks, which immediately increased the controllability of tank formations. A large-diameter drive wheel helped to overcome vertical obstacles and get out of funnels. The tank had good maneuverability and was easy to operate. For 15 years, he served as a model for many designers. In France itself, Renault was in service until the end of the 30s, and it was produced under license in 20 more countries.
The Germans also tried to master new weapons. Since 1917, the Bremerwagen company began production of the A7V tank, but the Germans were never able to establish their mass production. Their tanks participated in some operations, but in quantities not exceeding a few dozen vehicles.
On the contrary, the Entente countries (that is, England and France proper) had about 7 tanks by the end of the war. Here, armored vehicles received recognition and firmly established themselves in the weapons system. Lloyd George, the British premier during the war, said: "The tank was an outstanding and amazing innovation in the field of mechanical aid to warfare. This final English response to German machine guns and trenches undoubtedly played a very important role in hastening the victory of the Allies." Tanks were widely used by the British in the fighting.
In November 1917, a massive tank attack was carried out for the first time. 476 vehicles participated in it, supported by six infantry divisions. It was a huge success for a new type of weapon. Firing from cannons and machine guns, the tanks tore down the barbed wire and overcame the first line of trenches on the move. In just a few hours, the British advanced 9 km deep into the front, losing only 4 thousand people. (In the previous British offensive near Ypres, which lasted four months, the British lost 400 thousand people and managed to penetrate the German defenses only 6-10 km). The French also massively used tanks several times. So, in July 1918, more than 500 French tanks participated in the battle of Soissons. Author: Ryzhov K.V.
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