Technological breakthrough. The first combat use of tanks. The first tanks of the First World War. A breakthrough in the technical equipment of armies The first use of tanks in the First World War

home Tank - armored fighting machine on caterpillar tracks, usually with cannon armament

as the main one. At the very beginning, when tank building first appeared and developed, tanks were produced exclusively with machine gun armament, and after the Second World War ended, experiments began to create tanks with missile weapons. There are even tanks with a flamethrower. Accurate definition there is no tank, since its idea was constantly changing and differed in different armies. Tanks from the First World War, when meeting them for the first time, you may not recognize them at first; it seems that these are not tanks at all (for example, Saint-Chamond), or, take, for example, the Swedish Strv-103 vehicle, which is not classified like a tank, but like a tank destroyer. Some vehicles (for example, Type 94), which are called “small tanks” in Russian literature, are called wedges in Western literature. Despite the fact that the heavy assault tank Tortoise (A39) is called a tank, it does not have a rotating turret, and therefore some experts classify it as a super-heavy self-propelled gun. Tanks differ from other tracked combat vehicles with cannon armament mainly in their ability to quickly transfer fire over a wide range elevation angles and horizontal angles. In most cases, they achieve this by installing a cannon in a turret rotating in a horizontal plane, although there are a few exceptions. For example, a self-propelled artillery unit, it is similar to a tank in its design, but is intended to solve completely different tasks: destroying enemy tanks from ambushes or fire support for troops from a closed firing position, so it has some differences, and this primarily concerns balance " firepower /security.”Composition of armor tank troops specifically divided into tanks and “specialized combat vehicles” in order to allocate “specialized combat vehicles” into special units in accordance with the applied military doctrine. For example, during WWII used the doctrine of General McNair, which assigned the role of fighting enemy tanks to “tank destroyers” (M10 Wolverine, M18 Hellcat) - as combat vehicles were called, structurally similar to light or medium tanks with effective anti-tank weapons, while the tanks themselves had different the task is to support the infantry in battle. In domestic literature, the same vehicles are called anti-tank self-propelled guns.

Where did the name itself come from?

The word "tank" comes from English word tank, and is translated as “tank” or “tank”. Its name comes from here: when the time came to send the first tanks to the front, British counterintelligence started a rumor that the Russian government had ordered a batch of fuel tanks from England. And the tanks were sent along railway under the guise of tanks (lucky that gigantic size and the shape of the first tanks fully corresponded to this version). They were even written in Russian, “Caution. Petrograd". That's how the name stuck with them. It is curious that in Russia the new combat vehicle was called “lokhan” from the very beginning (another translation of the word tank).
History of the development of the design and combat use of tanks

The appearance of tanks
Tanks appeared during the First World War. After the immediate initial maneuvering stage of combat operations, balance was established on the fronts (the so-called “trench warfare”). It was almost impossible to break through the enemy's deeply layered defense lines. The only way, by which it was possible to prepare an offensive and break into the enemy’s defenses, consisted in the powerful use of artillery in order to destroy defensive structures and destroy the living forces, and then introduce your troops into the breakthrough. But it turned out that it would not be possible to bring troops into the “clean” breakthrough area quickly enough due to the roads being plowed up and destroyed by explosions, and besides, the enemies along the existing railway and dirt roads in the depths of their defense managed to bring up reserves and block the breakthrough. Build tanks decided in 1915 almost simultaneously by Great Britain, France and Russia. The first English model of the tank was completely ready in 1916, and when the tank passed tests, production received the first order for 100 vehicles. It was a Mark I tank - a rather imperfect combat vehicle, which was produced in two modifications - “male” (with cannon armament in the side sponsons) and “female” (only with machine gun armament). It soon became known that the machine gun “females” had rather low efficiency. They could not fight enemy armored vehicles and had great difficulty destroying firing points. After that, they released a limited series of “females”, which still had a machine gun in the left sponson, and a cannon in the right. The soldiers immediately aptly called them “hermaphrodites.”
For the first time tanks (model Mk.1) were used by the British army against the German army on September 15, 1916 in France, on the Somme River. During this battle, it was determined that the design of the tank was not sufficiently developed - of the 49 tanks that the British prepared for the attack, only 32 moved to their original positions (and 17 tanks broke down), and of these thirty-two that launched the attack, 5 got stuck in the swamp and 9 failed due to technical reasons. However, even these remaining 18 tanks managed to advance 5 km deep into the defense, with losses in this offensive operation turned out to be 20 times less than usual.
Despite the fact that due to the small number of tanks, the front was not completely broken through, the new kind military equipment nevertheless showed its capabilities and it turned out that tanks have a great future. When tanks first appeared at the front, German soldiers were terribly afraid of them.
The main allies of the British on the Western Front, the French, developed and produced a very successful (so successful that it was still used at the beginning of World War II in the armies of Poland and France) light tank Renault FT-17. While this tank was being designed, many solutions were used for the first time, which later became classic. It had a rotating turret with a light cannon or machine gun installed in it (unlike the “sponsonal”, that is, in the protrusions on the sides of the hull, weapon arrangement in the Mk.1), low specific ground pressure (and, as a result, high maneuverability ), relatively high speed and good maneuverability.
In Russia, one of the first to be created was the Porokhovshchikov tank (“Russian all-terrain vehicle”) and the Lebedenko wheeled tank, each of which was made in only one (experimental) copy. The designers explain this either by the impracticality of the design or by the “inertia of the tsarist government.” The Russian army in the First World War had neither domestic nor imported tanks. Already during civil war White Army used the tanks that it received from the Entente countries in small quantities. One of the Renault FT-17 tanks captured by the Red Army in the spring of 1919 was sent to Moscow, where it was dismantled and examined. So the problem of creating domestic tank was decided by the creation of M-type tanks based on the design of the French Renault FT-17. The first of the M-type tanks was called “Freedom Fighter Comrade. Lenin." In the period from 1920-1921, 15 tanks were produced, but in the spring of 1921, due to the end of the civil war and intervention, the project was closed. These tanks did not participate in battles; they were used only in agricultural work (like tractors) and in military parades.

Tanks of the interwar period (1919-1938)

In the period between the world wars, other states, in addition to Great Britain, France and Germany, decided to develop tanks. At the same time, when the general staffs and governments of major world powers were discussing the results of the First World War, and understood the inevitability of the future, even more bloody war, they also developed global combat strategies. The General Staffs adopted a strategy that gave great importance tank troops and set corresponding tasks for weapons designers and factories producing tanks.
In the interwar period, tank builders and the military did not yet have a consensus on the optimal tactics for using tanks and their design. As a result, tanks of such designs were produced, which subsequently proved their unviability, due to their narrow specialization, and due to the fact that they were not always used for their intended purpose. Thus, light tanks were relatively lightly armored, although quite often high-speed (for example, the Soviet BT-7 ).
Their armor served only as protection against bullets small arms and shell fragments, and at the same time it could easily be penetrated by anti-tank rifle bullets and shells anti-tank guns, starting with caliber 37 mm. The armament of these tanks of this period was also too weak (artillery calibers 25-37 mm), the number of its crew was insufficient (2-3 people), and the living conditions were at the limit of the physiological capabilities of tankers. At the same time, in the early 1930s, the talented American tank designer J. Christie created an original independent suspension scheme. At that time, designs for amphibious and even air transportable tanks were being quite actively developed.
The inactive multi-turret giants, which carried several different-caliber cannons and machine guns, such as the French
70 ton Char 2C
and Soviet 50-ton
This scheme also included a larger number of crew (up to 10-12 people), which led to the difficulty of centralized fire control in a combat situation and slightly complicated the design. Large dimensions (especially length and height) could expose it and, as a result, increase vulnerability on the battlefield. The then adapted carburetor engines aviation type solved the low traction and dynamic qualities of such “supertanks”, especially when turning. During the interwar period, the first tanks with diesel engines were developed, for example, in Japan in 1932 (Mitsubishi diesel, 52 hp). In the USSR, already in the mid-1930s, they developed a program for the widespread dieselization of tanks of all classes, but only medium and heavy vehicles were actually equipped with such engines (V-2 diesel, 500 hp). In other countries, diesel engines were installed on tanks on a relatively limited basis until the 1950s.

Tanks of the war period (1939-1945)

The Second World War became an occasion to increase and improve the production of tanks. In just 6 years, tanks have made a huge leap forward than in the previous twenty. At this time, many tanks already had anti-ballistic armor, powerful long-barreled guns (caliber up to 152 mm), and at the end of the war they already had the first night (infrared) sights (although experiments on installing them on tanks were carried out in the USSR even before the war) , and the radioification of tanks began to be considered a necessary part of them. The tactics of using tanks have also improved significantly. Already in the first period of the war (1939-1941), German military leaders showed the whole world how the use of tank formations makes it possible to carry out operations for operational and strategic encirclement and quickly win the war (the so-called “blitzkrieg”). Nevertheless, other states (Great Britain, France, Poland, the USSR, etc.) created their own theories of tactics for using tanks, in many ways similar to the German one. During the Second World War, the German school improved by increasing the armor and length of guns, surveillance devices (including infrared night vision devices), habitability, and the Soviet school took advantage of manufacturability and mass production, making major changes to the design of basic types of tanks only when absolutely necessary.
T-34
HF
IP
The Soviet tank school also created quite successful models of other types. armored vehicles, self-propelled artillery installations and tank destroyers. American school from the very beginning it lagged behind in terms of layout and manufacturability, but it still managed to catch up by the end of the war due to the deployment of mass production of a few selected models, good quality steel and gunpowder, as well as radio equipment (at least two radios per tank). The most successful German tanks were:
PzKpfw IV
"Tiger" , with some reservations
"Panther"
And "Royal tiger".
But the best Soviet tanks that took part in World War II were recognized medium tank T-34 (in different options, including its later version T-34-85
with different modifications of 85 mm guns) and heavy tank IS-2 .
And the best American tank was M4 Sherman , which was widely supplied to the USSR under Lend-Lease.
Tanks of the post-war period

Tanks of the post-war period are divided into three generations.
The first generation of post-war tanks began to be created directly during the Second World War, although they did not take part in hostilities: these are Soviet medium T-44
T-54
and heavy tanks:
IS-3
IS-4
IS-7
T-10
American:
M26 Pershing
M46 "Patton"
M47
English A41 "Centurion" and others.
Light tanks are finally turning into specialized combat vehicles: amphibious (Soviet PT-76), reconnaissance (American M41 Walker Bulldog) and later air transportable (American M551 Sheridan). Since the mid-1950s. medium and heavy types of tanks are giving way to the so-called. "standard" or "basic" battle tank». Characteristic Features These tanks are equipped with enhanced projectile-proof armor, large-caliber guns (minimum 90 mm), including smooth-bore guns suitable for launching rockets, powerful diesel engines, and later the first means of protecting the crew from weapons of mass destruction. This type of tank (but still first generation) includes the Soviet ones:
T-55 T-62
American M48
English Chieftain
French AMX-30 and others.
The second generation of post-war tanks was created in the 1960-1970s. for actions in conditions of enemy use of weapons mass destruction(WMD) and taking into account the emergence of new powerful anti-tank weapons. These tanks receive improved armor, full complex to protect the crew from weapons of mass destruction, are equipped with electronics (laser rangefinders, ballistic computers, etc.), their firepower is increased through the use of larger caliber guns, and high-power multi-fuel engines are beginning to be used. Soviet tanks of this period are equipped with an automatic loader. The second generation tanks include Soviet ones:
T-64
T-72
American M60
West German Leopard-1
During this time, a number of extensive programs were also undertaken to upgrade first-generation tanks to the level of second-generation tanks, such as the M48A5 (US Army) and M48A2G (Bundeswehr) upgrades to the M60 level.

By Tank performance characteristics the first and second generations of the USSR were able to get ahead of their probable opponents, but the need to limit the weight and size of the main type of tank (due to the need to fit into a standard railway gauge) and some lag in equipping with electronics led to rapid obsolescence Soviet tanks the first and second post-war generations, which was confirmed in the wars of the 1960-1990s. in the Middle East.
Third generation tanks were created in the 1970s-1980s, and began to enter service with the troops in the 1980s. Tanks of this generation are characterized by the use of new, high-tech protective equipment ( active protection, dynamic protection), saturation with advanced electronics, some models of tanks are beginning to be equipped with heavy-duty and compact gas turbine engines.
Tanks of this generation include Soviet and Russian:
T-72B
T-80
T-90
American M1A2 Abrams
West German "Leopard-2"
French "Leclerc"
and others.

Tank design

Layout
Currently, the vast majority of tanks are created according to the so-called classical layout scheme, the main features of which are the installation of the main armament (gun) in a 360° rotating turret and the rear location of the engine and transmission compartment. The exception here is the Swedish tank Strv-103
(crazy scheme) and Israeli tanks "Merkava"
models 1, 2, 3 and 4 with a front engine compartment.

Tank engine

In the early stages of tank building development, gasoline was usually used. carburetor engine automobile, and later aviation type (including star-shaped engines). Immediately before the Second World War, as well as during it, diesel engines became widespread (mainly in the USSR and the USA), becoming the main type of tank engines throughout the world from the second half of the 1950s, later replaced by multi-fuel engines, and in the last two -three decades and gas turbine engines (GTE). First serial tank with a gas turbine engine as the main engine became Soviet T-80

In the 1930-1950s. there were disputes between supporters and opponents of the use as power plant tanks of two types of internal combustion engines - carburetor and diesel. This dispute ended in a final victory for the diesel engine supporters. Nowadays, the main debate is between supporters and opponents of the use of diesel engines and gas turbine engines in tanks. Both types of engines have their own advantages and disadvantages. During the First World War, a steam tank was built, and in the 1950s, a number of nuclear tank projects were developed in the United States, but all these types of power plants ultimately did not become widespread.

Advantages of gas turbine engines over diesel engines:
Less consumption of lubricating fluids.
Less preparation time for launch, especially in cold weather.
Exhaust gases from gas turbine engines are much less toxic and can be directly used to heat the tank, while tanks with diesel engines require a special heat exchanger.
The application of torque is more favorable for a transport vehicle, the adaptability coefficient is 2.6. This coefficient determines the reduction in the number of shifts when driving over rough terrain.
More simple system transmissions.
Better “non-stalling”, that is, the ability of the engine to continue working even if the tank hits an obstacle or gets stuck in deep mud.
The level of unmasking noise is 1.75-2 times lower.
The service life of gas turbine engines is 2-3 times higher than that of piston engines, due to the balance and minimization of rubbing surfaces in the engine.
Great compactness.
More power for the same size (weight)

Advantages of a diesel engine over a gas turbine engine:

Greater reliability in dusty conditions. Unlike aircraft turbines, a tank turbine operates close to the ground and per minute passes through several cubic meters of air, often containing large amounts of dust raised by the tank. Hence, the requirements for the incoming air purification system are much higher.
Slight power drop when high temperatures environment.
Fuel consumption is 1.8-2 times lower, that is, on the one hand, cheaper operation, on the other, a greater range with the same amount of transported fuel
The cost of a diesel engine is up to ten times less.
Better fire safety due to the use of low-flammability diesel fuel.
Possibility of repair in field conditions.
Another important advantage is the ability to start a tank’s diesel engine from a tug, i.e., “from a pusher”, so a tank with such an engine has a high probability of continuing its task with the help of another tank
Diesel engines heat up less and are therefore less noticeable to thermal imagers.
To overcome water barriers along the bottom, a tank with a gas turbine engine requires an exhaust pipe - exhaust into the water is impossible for it. Comparative military tests of the T-64A and T-72 tanks with diesel engines 5TDF and V-46, respectively, and the T-80 with a gas turbine engine GTD-1000T , carried out government commission, showed
T-80 tanks, nominal power density which exceeded the T-64A and T-72 by 30 and 25%, respectively, have an advantage in tactical speeds in European conditions by only 9-10%, and in Central Asia- no more than 2%.
The hourly fuel consumption of gas turbine tanks was 65-68% higher than diesel tanks, the kilometer consumption was 40-50% higher, and the fuel range was 26-31% less; this led to the need, when organizing marches, to provide for the possibility of refueling T-80 tanks during daily marches.
At an altitude of 3 km above sea level, the power loss for the 5TDF engine reached 9%, for the V-46 - 5%, and for the GTD-1000T - 15.5%.

Diesel tanks are currently in tank fleets in 111 countries, and gas turbine tanks in tank fleets in 9 countries. Developers, manufacturers and suppliers of gas turbine tanks are the USA and Russia ( Soviet Union). Diesel tanks form the basis of the tank fleets of the armies of all countries of the world, with the exception of the United States. Development of global tank construction and the tank market in 2003-2012. define 25 special programs, of which 23 relate to diesel tanks, only 2 to gas turbine tanks. In Germany, MTU Friedrichshafen is currently developing new high-tech fourth-generation 890 series diesel engines for future armored fighting vehicles. Many countries buying tanks prefer models with a diesel engine and even require the replacement of gas turbine engines with diesel engines as a condition for admission to the tender. So, in 2004, Australia chose the M1A2 Abrams tank as its future tank, but on the condition that the tank’s gas turbine engine would be replaced with a diesel engine. In the USA, a tank was even developed specifically for export purposes M1A2 Abrams with a diesel engine.
There are design solutions that can significantly improve the performance of diesel engines. In general, despite the statements of supporters of each type of engine, at present it is impossible to talk about the unconditional superiority of one of them.
Modern diesel engines, as a rule, are multi-fuel, can operate on the entire spectrum of fuels: gasoline of all types, including high-octane aviation gasoline, jet fuel, diesel fuel with any cetane number, but rated fuel in Peaceful time Aviation kerosene is used for them. The vast majority of diesel engines are equipped with a turbocharging system, and in last years and intercoolers of charge air (intercoolers).

Chassis
All tanks have a tracked propulsion system, the prototype of which was patented back in 1818 by the Frenchman Dubochet. This design of the chassis allows the tank to easily move in off-road conditions, various types soils. The tracks of modern tanks are made of steel, with a metal or rubber-metal hinge (RMH), along which the tank rides on road wheels (usually rubber-coated; in modern tanks their number is from five to seven). In some models, the upper part of the caterpillar, sagging, rests on the support rollers; in others, special support rollers of small diameter are used. As a rule, in the front part there are guide wheels, which, together with the tension mechanism, provide the required track tension. The tracks are driven by engaging their drive wheel, the torque to which is supplied from the engine through the transmission. By changing the rewinding speed of one or both tracks, the tank can turn, including turning on the spot.

An important parameter is the area of ​​that part of the caterpillar that is in contact with the ground (the supporting surface of the caterpillar), more precisely, the ratio of the mass of the tank to this area - the specific pressure on the ground. The smaller it is, the softer the soil the tank can move on, i.e., the higher its cross-country ability.

Specific ground pressure of some modern tanks

All tanks have a suspension system - a set of parts, components and mechanisms connecting the vehicle body with the axes of the road wheels. The suspension system is designed to transfer the weight of the tank through the road wheels and caterpillar track to the ground, to soften shocks and impacts acting on the tank hull, and to quickly dampen hull vibrations. The quality of the suspension system largely determines the average speed of tanks moving across the terrain, the accuracy of fire on the move, the performance of the crew, and the reliability and durability of the tank's equipment.

The First World War brought a huge technological breakthrough in military industry. Its course, especially the events of 1915, showed the need to create more mobile units in the armies.

Tanks - new progressive weapons for battle

The first tanks of the First World War appeared in 1916. This technical result was achieved by English and French engineers. Before talking about their characteristics, we need to understand why the first tanks appeared in the First World War. Fighting began vigorously, but the activity lasted literally a month. After this, the battles began to be mainly of a positional nature. This development of events did not suit any of the warring parties. The methods of warfare that existed at that time, as well as military equipment did not allow us to solve the problem of breaking through the front. It was necessary to look for a radically new solution to the problem.

The military leadership of England (and, in general, France) was wary of engineers’ initiatives to build an armored vehicle on wheels or on tracks, but over time, the generals realized the need to increase the level of technical equipment of their armies.

British tanks of the First World War

During the war, British engineers created several models of armored vehicles. The first option was called "Mark-1". The "baptism of fire" took place on September 15, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. The first tanks of the First World War were still technically “damp”. According to the plan, it was necessary to use 49 tanks in battle. Due to technical problems, 17 tanks were unable to take part in the battle. Of the 32 tanks, 9 were able to break through the German defenses. After the first battle, problems that needed to be eliminated immediately became visible:

The armor should be stronger. The metal of the Mark-1 tank could withstand bullets and shell fragments, but in the event of a direct shell hit on the vehicle, the crew was doomed.

The absence of an engine room separated from the “salon”. While driving, the temperature in the tank was 50 degrees, all exhaust gases also went into the cabin.

What could this tank do? In principle, there is still a little to do: overcome wire and trenches up to 2 meters 70 centimeters wide.

Modernization of British tanks

The first tanks of the First World War were modernized during the course of hostilities. The Mark-1 tanks were no longer used in battles, because changes immediately began to be made to the design. What has been improved? It is clear that, given the continuation of hostilities, it was not possible to immediately improve the design of tanks. By the winter of 1917, production of the Mark-2 and Mark-3 models began. These tanks had more powerful armor, which ordinary projectile I couldn’t break through anymore. In addition, more powerful guns were installed on the tanks, which gradually increased the effectiveness of their combat use.

It started in 1918 mass production Model "Mark-5". The tanks of the First World War gradually became more combat-ready. For example, only the driver now controlled the tank. Speed ​​specifications have improved because engineers installed a new four-speed gearbox. The temperature inside this tank was no longer so high because a cooling system was installed. The engine was already to some extent separated from the main compartment. The tank commander was in a separate cabin. The tank was also equipped with another machine gun.

Tanks of the Russian Empire

In Russia, which also took part in the hostilities, work on the creation of the tank was in full swing. But it is worth noting that Russian tanks of the First World War never appeared on the battlefields, although they were greatly needed by the tsarist army. main reason- absolute technical inability. Russian engineer Lebedenko was noted for creating the largest tank in the world in 1915, weighing more than 40 tons. It was called "Tsar Tank". During testing at the test site, the tank, equipped with two 240 l/s engines, stalled. They couldn't start it. Special technical characteristics, except for its size, the model had nothing.

German tanks from the First World War

By the end of the First World War, Germany, which lost the war, also acquired its own tanks. We are talking about the A7B model. If you look at the tanks of the First World War, photos of which are in this article, you can see that at that time this model was very modern. The front of the tank is protected by 30 mm of armor, which made it difficult to penetrate this vehicle. The commander was on the upper platform (1.6 meters above ground level). The firing range was up to two kilometers. The tank was equipped with a 55-mm cannon, the ammunition load of which included 100 high-explosive fragmentation shells. In addition, the cannon could fire armor-piercing and grapeshot shells. With the help of a cannon, the tank could easily destroy enemy fortifications.

On March 21, 1918, a tank battle took place between the Germans and the British. The first German tanks of the First World War, as it turned out, were much more combat-ready than the British Mark 5. It is easy to understand the reason for the enormous advantage of the Germans: the British did not have guns on their tanks, so they could not shoot at the enemy so effectively.

A harbinger of progress

The French Renault tank produced in 1917 was already similar in shape to the modern one. The tank, unlike English models, could reverse. The crew entered and exited through the hatch (British tanks from the First World War were equipped with doors on the side of the tank). The tank's turret could already rotate, that is, shooting took place in different directions (the tank could shoot left and right, and forward).

The first tanks of the First World War could not be absolutely technically perfect, because humanity always moves towards the ideal through mistakes and modifications.

Having barely begun, by 1915 the First World War had reached a dead end in a positional “meat grinder”: the sides stood opposite each other, destroyed each other daily with artillery, but could not advance, since the infantry was mowed down by machine guns. Leading generals quickly realized that armored vehicles could become a “cunning nut” for a machine gun “bolt,” the first of which (still horse-drawn) was invented by Leonardo da Vinci. But although in the twentieth century there were already cars with internal combustion engines, their maneuverability on wheels through trench mud, to put it mildly, left much to be desired.

From the blog

Then British military engineers proposed using a tracked one instead of a wheeled automobile chassis (tractors with tracks were already being produced in advanced countries at that time) and in 1916 they created the first real tank - Mark I. Its baptism of fire occurred on September 15, 1916, when the number of those killed in the battle was already counted already went for hundreds of thousands.

The imperfection of the engines and design of the first armored hulks led to the fact that out of 50 vehicles brought to the front, only 18 vehicles were able to roll out to the battlefield. However, they were enough to break through the German defenses: on a front of 10 kilometers in five hours, British troops managed to advance 4-5 km; the new British “monsters” caused a real shock among the Germans. But for more success There were simply no tanks anymore, the Germans quickly “sealed” the hole that had formed in the front, and there were still two whole years of the First World War ahead before the Entente finally managed to bring Germany to its knees. This is where tanks helped more seriously - by the end of the war, the Entente countries had hundreds of them, and their design became much more advanced. The Germans lost, partly because they underestimated the importance of tanks and produced very few of them until the very end of the war. The awareness of the need to create powerful tank forces will come to German generals only by the next, World War II. The first British, “diamond-shaped” tanks after the end of the First World War were actively supplied to various allies of the British.

One is mine good friend The other day I posted a photo of a tank on FB with a caption written in the style: forgive all the seals, here’s a tank for you instead. But in fact, all cats are cats. Tanks to your feed. And consider this the beginning of a kind of flash mob. I will try to post not only photos of tanks, but also some information and history about them.

First tank

Speaking about the first tank, I will not consider projects attributed to Da Vinci, or anything else that was not actually implemented. It was only in “Da Vinci’s Demons” that his tanks, under Turkish banners, cut across the expanses of Italy. History is silent about this fact, so that we can only talk about the appearance of the first tank on the battlefields since the First World War. Although, undoubtedly, there were some developments earlier.

England can fully be called the ancestor of tank forces; it was they who were the first to construct and use a tank in battle, or, as they called it then, a “land cruiser.” First World War, trench, colossal losses, which the troops began to suffer during the assault on fortified areas, primarily the losses in manpower from machine-gun fire, forced the military and engineers to think about coming up with something like this in order to effectively and with the least loss of life destroy, first of all, enemy machine guns, yes and generally cross a road riddled with craters and wrapped in kilometers of barbed wire. Which was not yet in one row there.

English Colonel Dunlop Swinton, recalling the stories of his Australian friend about the new American “Holt Caterpillar Tractor”, capable of moving across a washed-out field, decided to attach armor to it and install a cannon. Swinton interested representatives of the Committee of Imperial Defense with his proposal to create a “machine gun fighter”. The latter organized tests in February 1915. The Holt was loaded with one and a half tons of ballast. "Holt" puffed, strained and emitted clouds of black smoke, but did not move even five. Alas, the committee members were disappointed and perhaps we would not have seen tanks on the battlefields for quite some time if Winston Churchill had not become interested in this project.

Churchill, who was at that time the First Lord of the Admiralty, appreciated the prospects that a new combat vehicle could bring to the battlefield, and assembled a group of engineers at the Admiralty. The result of their work was the prototype of the first tank, “Little Willie”. The first test of this tank took place on September 15, 1915. Having traveled only a few meters, “Little Willie” lost one of its tracks, after a quick repair of which, the second track fell off. Also, this tank prototype could not overcome the “trench”, i.e. a ditch 1.2 meters wide. It was another failure, and a complete one.

"Big Willie" on trial, 1916, from blog

But, just a few months later, thanks to the proposal of Naval Aviation Lieutenant Wilson, who came up with a completely new device, already in the form of a diamond with huge tracks, the new tank- “Big Willie.” On February 2, 1916, this tank successfully passed all tests on a specially prepared field. 4-meter craters and trenches are overcome, and wire fences are destroyed. But, despite the success of the tests, Field Marshal Kitchener (Horatio Herbert Kitchener) stated that this was just an “expensive toy.” Twenty years later, another military leader will talk about the same thing: “Why do we need tanks? We have cavalry." Nevertheless, the British authorities are ordering a hundred “land cruisers.”

From the blog

The first tank, the prototype of which, was called differently: “Big Willie”, “Wilson’s Machine”, “Mother” and even “Centipede”. This tank entered serial production with the designation “Mark-1”, or Mk.I. Based on the type of weapons installed on the tank, the Mk.I began to be divided into “males” and “females”. The first type (“male”) was a cannon type and was armed with two naval 6-pounder (57 mm) guns with an effective firing range of 1800 m and a rate of fire of 15-20 rounds per minute. The second (“female”) carried six Vickers machine guns and had no guns. Moreover, in battle, the cannon “male” had to support the “female”.

Mk.I, ("male"), named C-15, France, 25 September 1916, from blog

In total, between 1916 and 1917, 75 vehicles with cannon and machine gun armament were produced. The first battle in which the Mk.I series tank took part took place on September 15, 1916, at the Battle of the Somme. Then 18 tanks took part in the battle, although it was originally planned to use 50 tanks. The effect was stunning. The Germans, on a 10 km wide front section where these tanks were used, simply fled and the British troops were able to advance 5 km deep into the German defense in 5 hours of the offensive, which, in principle, is a lot for “trench warfare” with its very serious defensive fortifications.

Mk.I in camouflage, 1916, from the blog

Classification: Heavy tank/infantry tank

Combat weight, t 28.45 ("male"), 27.43 ("female")

Crew, people 8

Dimensions

Body length, mm 8060 (without tail) 9910 (with tail)

Body width, mm 4200 (“male”), 4380 (“female”)

Height, mm 2450

Ground clearance, mm 420

Booking

Armor type Rolled steel

Body forehead, mm/deg. 10-12

Hull side, mm/deg. 10-12

Hull feed, mm/deg. 10

Bottom, mm 5-6

Housing roof, mm 5-6

Armament

Caliber and brand of gun 2 × 57-mm (6-pound) “Hotchkiss” L/40 (“male”)

Barrel length, caliber 40

Ammunition for gun 332 (“male”)

Firing range, km 1.8

Optical sights

Machine guns 4 × 8 mm “Hotchkiss” (“male”);

4 × 7.7 mm Vickers,

1 × 8 mm "Hotchkiss" ("female")

Mobility

Engine type: Daimler, carburetor, 6-cylinder, liquid cooling

Engine power, l. With. 105 (at 1000 rpm)

Highway speed, km/h 6.4

Cruising range on the highway, km 38

Colonel V. Nesterkin

September 2016 marks 100 years since the start of the combat use of tanks. This happened during the First World War. Tanks took part in hostilities for the first time on the side of the British in the operation on the river. Somme on September 15, and then, almost six months later, in April 1917, the French used them in the battle of Craon. Germany initially underestimated the importance of tanks. Time was lost, and until the end of the war only about 100 armored tracked combat vehicles were produced there. Thus, the fighting on the river. The Somme became the starting point from which the appearance of a new type of weapon - tanks - began.

British tank "Mark 1"

The combat effect of the British vehicles on the Somme was then assessed very vaguely, although it should be noted that the number of tanks that took part in the fighting was small - only 18 vehicles operated on a front 10 km wide. The British advanced 4-5 km, but the problem of the breakthrough could not be completely solved. Tactical success was not developed into an operational one. Those tanks produced mainly a psychological effect. Contemporaries wrote that the Germans “felt completely defenseless in the face of these monsters, who climbed onto the parapet of the trenches, constantly pouring machine-gun fire on them. They were followed by small groups of infantry, throwing in the trenches hand grenades"But in general, the tanks successfully fulfilled the role of countering machine-gun fire (the losses in manpower among the British in that offensive operation were almost 20 times less than in similar conditions earlier) and were a means of breaking through the defense, although they were not reliable from a technical point of view vision (of the 49 vehicles that the British prepared for the attack, only 32 moved to their original positions, 17 tanks failed due to technical problems, of the 32 that launched the attack, five got stuck in the swamp and another nine also failed for technical reasons). Nevertheless, even the remaining 18 tanks were able to advance 5 km into the defense.

A serious prerequisite for the need for a new type of weapon was the situation at the fronts. In 1915, Germany concentrated its main efforts on Eastern Front, planning to take Russia out of the war. But, having reflected the breakthrough German armies, Russian troops forced the enemy to switch to positional forms of fighting. On Western Front both sides also conducted a strategic defense. The fighting entered the stage of trench warfare. The opponents surrounded themselves with rows of barbed wire and equipped shelters for cannons and machine guns. Any attack cost large casualties, incommensurate with some of the results achieved. Trench warfare reached a dead end largely due to the advent of machine guns.

Many military experts believed that armored fighting vehicles would help solve this problem. In addition, numerous and varied armored vehicles were already operating on the fronts, the successful use of which confirmed their importance. However, they had a significant drawback: the maneuverability of heavy vehicles on the battlefield was low.

To cope with difficult task, military engineers proposed installing a tracked one instead of a wheeled automobile chassis on these combat vehicles. By that time, similar mechanisms were already actively produced in various countries(used on tracked tractors) and the technology for manufacturing tracks in general was developed. The British Defense Department began to receive designs for various tracked combat vehicles.

In the spring of 1915, a specialized Committee on Landships was organized under the British Admiralty. The creation of this organization was supervised by the Naval Aviation Service, which had its own interest in armored combat vehicles. They were needed to protect continental naval bases.

The final decision to build tanks was made in 1915, and the first prototype of the combat vehicle was ready in 1916. A tank, that is, a “tank” (from the English tank - tank, tank, tank), this means was called in order to misinform the enemy when transporting it by rail. After successful tests, the first order for 100 vehicles was issued and production began. It was the Mark-1 tank (sometimes called Mk.I) - a rather imperfect, even at that time, combat vehicle, produced in two modifications - a "female" tank ("woman", from the English female tank) with a combat weight 27.43 tons and a “male” tank (“man”, from the English male tank) weighing 28.45 tons. Subsequently, the term male tank was used for a long time in the meaning of “cannon tank”.

In profile, the Mk.1 had an unusual diamond shape. This was supposed to provide the greatest track length, which would allow it to overcome the wire fences and wide trenches (2.7-3.5 m) that prevailed on the battlefields of that period of the war. The armor of the combat vehicle protected against small arms fire and shell fragments, but could not withstand a direct hit from the shell itself.

The use of this hull shape made it impossible to place weapons in the towers (due to the overall height being too large). In this regard, the main weapons were placed in sponsons along the sides of the tank (sponson is a ship's term for the section of the upper deck that protrudes beyond the borg line). The layout of the machine did not imply a clear division into compartments. The engine and transmission, installed in length, occupied a significant part of the internal space. They were separated from the sides and sponsons with weapons by passages. At the front end of the hull there was a control compartment.

The tank's crew consisted of eight people. The tank commander (junior lieutenant - lieutenant) also served as a frontal machine gun shooter (sometimes an assistant driver) and was located, like the driver himself, in the control compartment on the left, the driver on the right. In each of the sponsons there were a gunner and a loader (on “males”) or two machine gunners (on “females”), and in the passages in the rear part of the hull there were two assistant drivers. In a number of cases, a ninth member was added to the crew, whose task was, being in the rear of the tank (at the radiator), to protect the rear sector of the tank from enemy infantry using personal weapons.

The main armament of the “male” tanks was two rifled 57-mm cannons with a barrel length of 40 klb. Each was a rapid-firing version modified in 1915. naval gun(adopted into service back in 1885). Both guns were mounted in sponsons on pedestal rotating mounts. Cylindrical armor shields were attached to the rotating part, covering the sponson embrasure. The gun was aimed using a shoulder rest, without any mechanisms. The gunner on each side was located to his left, and his position limited the horizontal guidance angles. The full ammunition load of the guns included 334 (in some samples 207) unitary rounds, which were stored in the lower part of the sponsons and on special racks. The maximum firing range of the guns was 6,860 m, and the effective range was about 1,800 m.

Behind the guns were installed two 7.7-mm Hotchkiss machine guns with an air-cooled barrel. In addition, on tanks of both variants such a machine gun was placed in its frontal part, and in some cases another one was installed at the stern. "Hotchkiss" was removable and fired through embrasures, which were covered the rest of the time with armored covers.

The tanks of the "female" variant were armed only with four 7.7-mm Vickers machine guns, which had water-cooled barrels. These weapons were mounted on pedestal mounts with rotating shields, similar to the protection of 57 mm guns. The pointing angles of the machine guns provided a generally significant field of fire, limited only by the far-out protruding tracks of the tank. The cartridges for them were stored in loaded belts of 320 pieces, while the full ammunition load was 5,760 pieces for a male tank and 30,080 for a female tank.

In addition, each crew member had a revolver, from which he could fire different parts The tank was equipped with ports (embrasures) that were closed with armored covers. Due to the low mobility of the combat vehicle and the presence of closed sectors of fire for the main weapons, the crew’s personal weapons were assigned important role as a means of defense in close combat.

The main means of observing the terrain for the crew were inspection hatches in various parts of the hull, which were closed with armored covers that made it possible to adjust the inspection slot within certain limits. In addition, the commander and driver had periscopic viewing devices in the roof of the cabin, but due to the difficulty of using them in combat conditions, they were soon abandoned. WITH inside the viewing slots were covered with protective glass, but the latter was easily broken during shelling, and tankers were often injured from their fragments or splashes of lead that fell through the open slots.

Any means of internal and external communications there was none in the tank. For external communication they tried to use various visual means - flags, lanterns, but in conditions of poor visibility on the battlefield and especially from inside other tanks, they turned out to be ineffective. Pigeon post was used on some tanks, but the birds did not tolerate the conditions inside the vehicle and died. Attempts were made to use telephone communication through a cable unwound from the tank, but its length turned out to be insufficient. The only reliable, but naturally dangerous, means was communication through foot messengers.

On the Mk.I, an in-line six-cylinder water-cooled gasoline engine with a displacement of 13 liters and a maximum power of 105 l/s was installed in the middle part of the hull, allowing it to move on the highway at speeds of up to 6.4 km/h. Two fuel tanks with a capacity of 114 liters were located on the sides at the very top of the tank, since gasoline was supplied to the engine by gravity. Gasoline refueling was enough for 38 km of highway. If the tank was tilted too much while moving, the fuel supply could be interrupted, and then one of the crew members manually poured gasoline from the tank into the carburetor with a bottle. The radiator of the engine cooling system was located at the rear of the tank, and the exhaust pipes were led to the roof and did not have mufflers.

The tank was equipped with three gearboxes: the main two-stage mechanical one, with sliding gears, and two onboard (also two-stage) gearboxes, which were connected to each other by a differential. Three or four people simultaneously took part in controlling the transmission: the driver, who controlled the main clutch and gearbox, as well as who coordinated the actions of the others; the tank commander, who controlled the onboard brakes and one or both assistant drivers, who were responsible for the onboard gearboxes.

The rear wheels served as a turning mechanism in the tank. In one of the battles, the wheels were hit by a shell, but the combat vehicle did not lose control. After this, rear wheels were not installed on tanks.

Mk.I tanks were produced in 1916-1917. A total of 75 units of each type were produced.

Main dimensions of the tank (in mm): length 8060 without rear wheels, 9910 with wheels, hull width 4,200 ("male") and 4,380 ("female"), height 2,450, ground clearance 420. Rolled steel armor was used as protection thickness (in mm): in the frontal part of the hull, side and stern - 10-11, roof and bottom - 5-6. The tank could overcome: a rise with a slope of 22°, a wall 1 m high, a ditch up to 3.5 m wide and a ford 0.45 m deep.

Although due to the small number of tanks (which were initially called “land ships”, since they tried to reproduce the main characteristics of naval warships on land) and their imperfections in 1916, the front could not be completely broken through, a new type of military equipment showed its capabilities, confirming that he has a great future.

By the end of the war, tanks began to be used on a much larger scale, but they still had to long haul until you fully realize your potential. High fighting qualities and acceptable manufacturability in subsequent years were the basis for the tank becoming a mass-produced weapon.

Despite the fact that in those years Russia developed its own original designs for all-terrain combat vehicles (in 1916 by V.D. Mendeleev, in 1917 by S.P. Navrotsky) and built experimental models (in 1916 by N.A. . Gulkevich, in 1917 N. N. Lebedenko), due to the shortsightedness of the tsarist government, the Russian army did not have its own tanks at that time.

The First World War differed from all previous wars in its abundance of innovations - military aircraft, submarine warfare, chemical weapons and, of course, tanks, which brought battles out of the stalemate of trench warfare.

UK tanks

The very first tank of the war was built on September 9, 1915 in Great Britain. At first it was called "Little Willie", but after it was finalized and put into production, it was given the name "". On September 15, 1915, tanks of this type were used in combat for the first time, in France, during the Battle of the Somme.

Mark I

First combat use tanks showed that the design of the Mark I is imperfect. Tanks broke down, were easily penetrated, drove slowly - all these shortcomings led to huge losses. As a result, it was decided to significantly change the car. The tail was removed, the muffler was changed, the exhaust pipes were reconstructed, the thickness of the armor was increased - and as a result, the changes led to the appearance of first the Mark IV, and then the last British tank First World War.

Mark V

In parallel with the Marks, in 1917 the British built the Whipett, or Mark A, high-speed tank - a fairly fast and reliable vehicle that showed itself well in combat. The Whipett was very different from other British tanks, but the main vehicles were still diamond-shaped - the British began producing tanks of a new format after the First World War.

Whippet

Tanks of France

The first French tanks were the Schneider and Saint-Chamon, built in 1917. These machines had a number of disadvantages, but were quite effective when used extensively. As a result, the tanks were converted into armored personnel carriers - their design turned out to be suitable for these purposes.

Saint-Chamond
Schneider

The French Renault FT-17 tank, the world’s first serial tank, played a much larger role in the development of world tank building. light tank, the first tank with a classic layout and the first tank with a rotating turret. The idea for its development came to Colonel Etienne in 1916, when he decided that the army really needed a type of tank to accompany infantry. As a result, it was decided to create a small, cheap machine, ideal for mass production. It was planned to produce 20-30 such vehicles per day, which would allow the French army to be fully equipped with tanks.

The development of the new car was undertaken by designer-manufacturer Louis Renault. As a result, the Renault FT-17 was born in 1917 - the result of much trial and error.

Renault FT-17

Immediately after entering the battlefield, the tanks received worldwide recognition. They were supplied to Russia (then to the USSR), Poland, USA, Japan, Italy, Romania, China and a number of other countries. car for a long time improved, and after the war it remained in service with many countries, and in France it was still the main tank. Some examples of the Renault FT-17 survived right up to the present day, and took part in hostilities at its initial stage.

In the end it was design features Renault FT-17 became the basis for further tank building.

Tanks of Russia

Even before the First World War, Russia had a tank project created by the son of D.I. Mendeleev, Vasily Dmitrievich Mendeleev. Unfortunately, the tank project was never implemented.

Mendeleev's armored vehicle

Already in the First world war Nikolay Lebedenko developed the first Russian tank- “Tsar Tank”. This huge vehicle, with a crew of 15 people and a hull length of 17.8 meters, was armed with powerful guns and was impressive in its size. A prototype was built, but during sea trials it almost immediately got stuck with a wheel in a small hole, and the engine power was not enough to pull the car out. After such a failure, work on this tank was completed.

Tsar Tank

As a result, during World War I, Russia did not produce its own tanks, but only actively used imported equipment.

Tank Germany

In Germany, the role of tanks in the war was understood too late. When the Germans realized the power of tanks, German industry had neither the materials nor the manpower to create combat vehicles.

However, in November 1916, engineer Vollmer was ordered to design and build the first german tank. The tank was presented in May 1917, but did not satisfy the command. An order was given to design a more powerful machine, but work on it was delayed. As a result, the first German A7V tank appeared only in 1918.

A7V

The tank had one significant feature - protected tracks, which were so vulnerable on British and French vehicles. However, the car had poor cross-country ability and was generally not good enough. Almost immediately, the Germans created a new tank, the A7VU, more similar in shape to English tanks, and this vehicle was used more successfully, becoming the progenitor of future heavy tanks.

A7VU