Light tank with heavy armor. How LTTB was created
Light tanks of the first period of the Great Patriotic War were created as cheap and simple vehicles suitable for mass production under difficult conditions. By 1943, the industry of the Soviet Union had recovered, and the need for a good light tank had not gone away. Design bureaus got to work, and by the end of March 1944, a project loomed on the horizon that could not be called anything other than a light tank with heavy armor. It was with this name (LTTB, “light tank with heavy armor”) that this vehicle ended up in World of Tanks.
T-50: return to a wonderful tank with a disgusting fate
In the spring of 1943, the leadership of the Main Armored Directorate (GABTU KA) realized that the development resources for the T-70 light tank were coming to an end. The result of deep modernization was the T-80 with a two-seat turret and a souped-up engine, but by the time the tests were completed, this tank was hopelessly outdated. Even the installation of a long-barreled VT-43 cannon, which remained experimental, poorly solved the problem of increasing firepower. The situation with booking was even worse. The T-70 was created to protect the frontal projection from fire from a 37-mm anti-tank gun, and at the beginning of 1943, the basis of German anti-tank artillery was already the 75-mm Pak 40 cannon, which gradually replaced the 50-mm Pak 38 cannon. And even the Pak 38 penetrated Soviet light tanks almost right through.
The problem of strengthening the T-80's armor turned out to be insoluble, and how long could it be possible to modernize the vehicle, which was actually a deep redesign of the small T-40 amphibious tank? In the end, the T-60, created on the basis of the T-40, was just a “budget” addition to the T-50, which weighed almost 3 times more and had much more significant reserves for modernization. Alas, a number of problems, primarily with the power plant, did not allow full-fledged production of the T-50 to be launched, which is why the T-70 appeared in the winter of 1942. Astrov’s brainchild was inferior to the T-50 in almost all characteristics, but it turned out to be much simpler, without scarce components, and the organization of its production at enterprises that were already producing the T-60 was a short-lived matter.
It is believed that after the T-80 was discontinued, the development of light tanks in the USSR ended. Some domestic military historians recall the initiative developments that were proposed by the factories that produced the SU-76 self-propelled guns. In fact, there was no stop. Another thing is that no more bets were placed on GAZ and other enterprises that produced light tanks and self-propelled guns based on them. The T-70 base was not considered promising, since the weight of 10–12 tons was the limit for it, and there was no suitable power plant. In a word, a new car had to be created from scratch.
T-50, the most advanced light tank at the time of its creation. Alas, his fate was unfortunate. But 1.5 years after the completion of production, it was in demand again
The first signs of a change in priorities took place at the end of April 1943. At this time, the characteristics and test results of the T-50 were extracted from the archive. The tank, created according to requirements dating back to the beginning of 1940, even in the spring of 1943 surpassed the new T-80 in all characteristics. To make it relevant to the realities of the spring of 1943, only three things were required:
- - replace the 45 mm cannon with a more powerful weapon;
- - solve the problem with the power plant;
- - resolve the issue with the production base and design bureau.
The first point seemed the least problematic. The dimensions of the T-50 turret theoretically made it possible to install a 76-mm F-34 or 57-mm ZIS-4 cannon inside, although the commander would have to be removed from it. On the other hand, no one bothered to redesign the tower itself and solve this issue. As for the engine, here too the problem was potentially solvable. YaAZ was supposed to master the licensed production of American GMC-4–71 diesel engines, and the paired installation of such engines made it possible to obtain the necessary power.
Even with the production base and design bureau, the situation did not look critical. In the summer and autumn of 1941, plant No. 174 named after. Voroshilov, manufacturer of the T-50, was evacuated first to Chkalov (now Orenburg), and then to Omsk. In 1942, after abandoning the production of the T-50, the plant began producing T-34 tanks. However, the team, which had extensive experience in the development and production of light tanks, has largely been preserved. The desire to produce our own tank instead of the “alien” T-34 has also been preserved. Among those who were evacuated to Omsk were former designers of pilot plant No. 185, which before the war acted as the main incubator of advanced ideas in the Soviet tank industry. In a word, there were potential conditions for the return of the modernized T-50 to the production line.
Increasingly clear contours
For the first time, the T-50, pulled out of mothballs and processed, flashed in the report of the head of the BTU GABTU KA, engineer-colonel S.A. Afonin in July 1943. The report was compiled immediately after the end of the Battle of Kursk, where the Germans massively used a number of new models of tanks and self-propelled guns. According to the report, it was necessary to master the production of the T-80, but at the same time this tank was characterized as not meeting modern requirements. For this reason, Afonin proposed to allocate a group to work out the technical design of a light tank of a more modern design.
57-mm ZIS-4 tank gun model 1943. Based on the results of the shelling of the Tiger, this weapon was chosen as one of the means of combating the new German tank
The report included tactical and technical requirements for a new light tank, which surprisingly overlapped with the T-50. The new vehicle was supposed to weigh 15 tons, while the armor thickness was supposed to be 45 mm. The crew, as in the T-50, consisted of 4 people. A pair of GMC diesel engines with a total power of 220 hp was offered as a power plant. According to calculations, such a power plant would allow it to reach a maximum speed of 45 km/h. True, it was proposed to place the transmission in the front of the car.
Significant differences from the T-50 were the armament and turret. It was planned to use the 57-mm ZIS-4 cannon as a weapon, the production of which was restored at Factory No. 92, although only briefly, in 1943. An alternative was the 76-mm F-34 cannon, with which the ZIS-4 was unified in most parts. It was planned to install a three-man turret with a turret ring diameter of 1600 mm on the tank, which solved the problem of placing a more powerful gun and three crew members in it. Judging by the requirements, instead of a DT machine gun, a GVG (SG-43) machine gun was supposed to be paired with a cannon; another machine gun was supposed to be installed in the hull next to the driver.
Work on the first version of the promising light tank did not progress beyond the tactical and technical requirements. It was the first one, since over the next 2 years the planned light tank was changed several times, eventually being transformed beyond recognition. The project was first seriously reworked in early December 1943. During this time, the ZIS-4 completely disappeared from the list of promising guns, and a serious problem arose with the GMC engines. Due to the bombing, licensed production was never organized, and the engines supplied under Lend-Lease were barely enough for the Y-12 tractors. In addition, the mass of the tank had already increased to 20 tons, and the twin 110-horsepower engines were clearly not enough to ensure acceptable dynamic characteristics.
According to the new requirements, the light tank had to be equipped with a certain engine with a capacity of 300 horsepower. There was such an engine, it was called V-4. Another thing is that the last unsuccessful attempts to master its production took place in the fall of 1941. It was the inability to establish production of B-4 in a new location and the urgent need for the scarce B-2 that became the reasons for the removal of the T-50 from production. Where the B-4 was supposed to be produced again, history is silent. The production of the V-4 was eventually mastered; for a long time it was installed on the PT-76 and BTR-50 tanks based on it, but this engine was already called the V-6, and this happened after the war.
76-mm S-54 cannon, which was proposed as armament for the second version of a promising light tank
Increasing the mass of a promising tank and the search for a new power plant for it began for a reason. According to the new requirements, the thickness of the front plate increased to 75 mm, and the thickness of the tower to 60 mm. Just in case, I remind you that we are talking about a light tank, and not a T-43. The weapon was supposed to use a 76-mm S-53 cannon with the ballistics of a 3-K anti-aircraft gun. In the second half of 1943, this gun was seriously considered as an alternative to the F-34; it was tested in the T-34 and the SU-76BM self-propelled gun. As a result, the S-54 lost to the much more promising 85-mm D-5T cannon.
At this moment, the design bureau team of plant No. 174 began working on the promising tank. The work was headed by G.V. Gudkov, chief designer of the T-50 tank. I.S. also worked on the new tank. Bushnev, former chief designer of plant No. 185, who also played an important role in the creation of the T-50. Active correspondence related to design began between GABTU KA and the plant. According to a letter dated January 26, 1944, they decided to leave the choice of location for the transmission to the factory design bureau (and it was immediately returned to the rear of the hull). It was also clarified that the armor thickness of 60 mm specified in the TTT for the turret referred to a welded rolled structure. If casting was used, the thickness of the armor should have increased to 75 mm. Once again, the requirements for the power plant have changed. According to the same letter, SKB-75 (Chelyabinsk) began work on the 8-cylinder V-engine V-20, which was a shortened V-2. After the next clarification of the requirements, work began in the design bureau of plant No. 174.
On March 20, 1944, the factory design bureau presented the results of work on a promising light tank. By this point, the body and, in theory, the chassis had been worked out. The hull length was 5450 mm (more than half a meter longer than the T-50). The width turned out to be greater by 10 cm, and the height by 3 cm. To install a turret with a large ring diameter (1660 mm - larger than that of the T-34–85), the sides of the hull were made of two parts. Despite significant differences from the T-50, the design school of Plant No. 174 was clearly noticeable in the hull design. As for the chassis, the influence of plant No. 185 was more visible here. Instead of an individual torsion bar suspension, the rollers were supposed to be locked into bogies, with two rollers on each, but the bogie itself was installed on a torsion bar suspension. A similar design (but with a spring suspension) was originally intended for the T-100 heavy tank developed by plant No. 185.
Factory sketch of the hull of a new light tank, which was designed by a group of designers from the design bureau of plant No. 174. Despite a number of differences, continuity with the T-50 is obvious
It was supposed to use one of two types of engines: either the V-4 or the promising 8-cylinder V-20 engine. According to the project, at 1750 rpm it was supposed to develop a power of 300 hp. A forced version of the engine was also proposed, the maximum power of which was estimated at 400–450 hp. Transmissions were also offered to choose from. The basic gearbox was a regular manual with six forward and two reverse gears. As an alternative, a 6-speed planetary gearbox with electromagnetic control was developed. The box was supposed to be grouped with a turning mechanism like an IS tank. Two variants of the planetary rotation mechanism were also studied. It was planned to produce 2 prototypes of the tank, differing from each other in transmissions.
Light tank with heavy armor
But by the time the design of the hull and chassis was completed, GABTU's appetites had grown. The customer was no longer satisfied with the 75 mm armor plate on the front hull. According to the amendments, the new light tank was supposed to have a 90 mm thick front hull sheet, and the upper side sheets were supposed to have the same thickness. The thickness of the turret forehead first increased to 90 mm, but in subsequent edits the figure appeared... 200 mm! The sides of the turret have become thicker from 60 to 90 mm. At the same time, the mass of the designed tank reached 22 tons.
The GABTU was also not happy with the armament: instead of the S-54, which was abandoned at the end of 1943, the tank was supposed to be armed with an 85-mm D-5T cannon. In addition, the tank was to be equipped with a GVG anti-aircraft machine gun, later replaced by a DShK. As a result, by the end of March 1944, a project loomed on the horizon that could not be called anything other than a light tank with heavy armor. For comparison: a 90 mm rolled front plate was intended for the IS-2 heavy tank; at long distances it could not be penetrated by the 88 mm Pak 43 cannon. It was with this name (LTTB, “light tank with heavy armor”) that this vehicle ended up in the World of Tanks, since no indexes were assigned to the potential product.
This is what the new light tank from factory No. 174 could have looked like after all the changes requested by the GABTU KA. Reconstruction of Vsevolod Martynenko, on the basis of which a model for World of Tanks was created
After the memo dated March 20, 1944, no news was received from plant No. 174. This was due, among other things, to the fact that the development of a new light tank took place in free time from other work. In the spring of 1944, this time was practically gone. The design bureau's work concentrated on the T-34–85, and there was no time for light tanks. In addition, in April 1944, SKB-75 actually abandoned work on the V-20 engine. GABTU KA tried to find an opportunity to resume work in another place, but to no avail. At that time, the attempt to resume production of the B-4 ended in nothing. No engine - no tank.
This could be the end of this story, but not everything is so simple. In July 1945, with the sanction of the GABTU KA, scientific work was carried out to study the issue of strengthening the armor of the T-50. A rough mathematical calculation showed that with an increase in mass to 24 tons, the tank received armor adequate to the heavy IS-2 tank. Moreover, its turret, according to the description, was supposed to resemble the IS-3 turret in its shape. But then the fun begins. At the same time, a certain light tank under the symbol T-64 appears in the documents. There are no images of this car. There is only a description, but it is amazing. As planned, the 26-ton vehicle was supposed to have a thickness of the upper frontal sheet of 45 mm, but at an angle of only 8 degrees. The thickness of the cast front part is off the charts - 200 mm! The thickness of the hull sides was estimated at 150 mm, and the stern at 75 mm. The thickness of the tower was estimated at 220 mm. And this already turned out to be a real “light tank with super-heavy armor.”
It can be assumed that these sketches are nothing more than a rough mathematical calculation, and no serious work has been carried out in this direction. But that's not true. Self-propelled guns were supposed to be built on the same base. These same installations appear in the long-term plans for arming the Red Army, dated October 1945. The first such vehicle was to be a self-propelled gun, armed with a 100 mm cannon and with armor protection that would guarantee it would not be penetrated by a 75 mm German cannon from all distances. Apparently, they were talking about the 7.5 cm KwK 42 L/70, which was installed on the Panther and the Panzer IV/70 fighter. One might assume that the description refers to the SU-101 (Uralmash-1), but the combat weight of the self-propelled gun was estimated at 25 tons, which is 10 tons lighter than the Sverdlovsk vehicle. The second self-propelled gun was supposed to have a mass of 20 tons and be equipped with a 122-mm howitzer. In plans for the development of self-propelled artillery for 1946–50, plant No. 40 (now MMZ, Mytishchi) was appointed responsible for these self-propelled guns. The first 50 self-propelled guns of both types were planned to be received in 1947.
8-12-2016, 11:45
Hello to all fans of light equipment, the site is here! Friends, today our guest is an amazing car, a very playful, dynamic, and not lacking in weapons light tank of the eighth level of the USSR - this is LTTB guide.
Not many people know, but the abbreviation of the name of our firefly stands for Light Tank of Heavy Armor. However, in order to figure out whether our firefly is as armored as its name suggests, we need to take a closer look LTTB characteristics, at the same time we’ll find out why it’s good and how best to use it in battle, especially after the release of update 0.9.18, where LTTB was transferred from the seventh level to the eighth.
TTX LTTB
First of all, everyone who goes into battle on this firefly should understand that it has a standard safety margin by LT-8 standards (but small in the general sense), as well as not the largest, but good basic visibility of 380 meters.
If we consider LTTB TTX reservations, quite a lot can be said here, because this unit corresponds to its full name. Let's start with the security of the frontal projection. Initially, it may seem that 90 millimeters is not much, but on our side we have excellent armor angles, so the reduction of the VLD is 180 millimeters, and the turret boasts a reduction of armor thickness of up to 200 millimeters, depending on the angle of entry of the projectile.
You will be surprised, but even in the aft projection our light tank LTTB World of Tanks is able to catch ricochets, since the inclined top plate is located at an even more comfortable angle than the front VLD. True, it is nominally thinner and the adjustment here is about 70-100 millimeters, but you must admit, for an LT this is very good.
But there is no hope at all on the sides, on this side everything is standard, everyone you meet will punch you, so it’s better not to expose yourself sideways to anyone. To sum up, I would like to say that LTTB tank, cannot fully rely on your armor, ricochets will delight you quite often.
However, our firefly is not famous for its armor; it has an even stronger side - mobility. As you may have already noticed, LTTB WoT has excellent top speed, very good maneuverability, but the ratio of horsepower per ton of weight is simply beyond praise, we have excellent dynamics, the best on the level.
gun
In terms of weapons, this device is also by no means weak; the creators awarded it with a truly long-barreled gun, which will give you the opportunity to inflict decent amounts of damage.
LTTB gun has a rather weak alpha strike, but thanks to its good rate of fire we have decent damage per minute, which is about 2000 units.
The armor penetration parameters of all light tanks became average after the release of patch 0.9.18, but LTTB World of Tanks Here, compared to some, the LT-8 lags slightly behind. However, our firefly can still penetrate even level ten tanks, but we will have to target vulnerable spots and we will not be able to cause damage to everyone, so carry at least 15 gold sub-calibers with you to feel more comfortable in battle.
But in terms of accuracy, our weapon is one of the best among its classmates. You will find a comfortable dispersion, fairly fast aiming, and even stabilization will allow you to hit the target well while moving at medium distances. But light tank LTTB Board WoT received very modest vertical aiming angles, the gun practically does not bend down, only 3 degrees, and it lifts up rather weakly, by 15 degrees.
Advantages and Disadvantages
To understand the whole essence of the machine, to realize how fun and dynamic gameplay awaits you, you need to clearly understand what advantages LTTB World of Tanks what should be emphasized and what shortcomings need to be leveled, so let's highlight these nuances separately.
Pros:
Ricochet armor;
Good review;
Excellent mobility (maximum speed, dynamics, maneuverability);
Very worthy DPM;
Comfortable precision.
Cons:
Nominally weak armor;
Quite large dimensions;
Small alphastrike;
Poor elevation angles.
Equipment for LTTB
A good way to increase the efficiency of your vehicle and make your time in battle easier is to install additional modules. Accordingly, this issue needs to be taken seriously and LTTB equipment the following will do:
1. is a good helper in our kit, which will make the existing worthy PDM even more formidable.
2. – we can’t go anywhere without it, because one of our main responsibilities is reconnaissance, and the greater the review, the more feasible this task is.
3. – everything is simple here, this module gives a massive increase in characteristics, it will perfectly complement the assembly.
If, after several battles, you lack accuracy, there is an alternative to the third point - which will increase the speed of aiming. However, the above list of equipment, I would call the most relevant.
Crew training
In order to fully unleash the potential of a tank, it is extremely important to properly upgrade the crew sitting inside. A lot will depend on the skills you choose, and for a firefly like this, it is important not only to increase stealth, survivability and visibility, but to make a good bet on the comfort of dealing damage, so for LTTB perks should be taught in the following order:
Commander - , , , .
Gunner – , , , .
Driver - , , , .
Loader (radio operator) – , , , .
Equipment for LTTB
Consumables are partially responsible for your safety in battle, but in order to save money or if you have little silver in stock, it is better to stick with a standard gentleman’s set of, , . However, for a light tank every bit of safety margin is important, every second counts, and for this reason it is much wiser to carry LTTB equipment in the form , , . Of course, instead of the last option, you can take, the tank does not burn often.
Tactics for playing LTTB
We have a very dynamic tank in our hands, it has everything a good firefly needs, and in addition we got armor that can ricochet and very good weapons, the only question is how to use it.
For LTTB tactics behavior in battle can be very diverse, but do not forget that your main task is to obtain intelligence for your team. In view of this, at the beginning of the battle you can occupy some bush and shine passively, but don’t sit too long, our stealth is not the best among the LT-8 and it’s better to leave the dangerous point in advance.
You won't be bored for the rest of the fight. light tank LTTB WoT never stands still, you must constantly move, periodically stepping over the “line” when enemy shells whistle overhead, but our equipment will have the opportunity to send someone to the hangar.
Don't forget about your gun, LTTB tank quite capable of showing his teeth and doing it very harshly. Thanks to excellent mobility, you can approach the enemy from the most unexpected angles and fire 1-2 shots with impunity while he tries to understand what is really happening.
Otherwise, feel free to use your wild dynamics. Even if the enemy sees you, but the position allows you, you can LTTB World of Tanks capable of quickly popping out from behind cover, making a shot and hiding back. This trick can be done many times, just act wisely, wait until your opponent is distracted or if he missed, it is advisable to know the reload time of his weapon.
Frankly speaking, until you sit behind the lever of this tank, it is difficult to understand how good it is. Soviet light tank LTTB reveals itself during the game, however, you must remember that you need to play carefully. Take care of your safety margin, constantly monitor the mini-map and use all your attentiveness; creativity is also welcome.