The past twentieth century was marked by the rapid development of technology, including military. Both single enthusiasts and entire design teams worked on the creation of new models. Some developments are significantly ahead of their time. Here is one of such unique machines and this article will tell.
History of creation
The design of the new A-44 tank began to be developed in the design bureau at the Kharkov Locomotive Plant under the leadership of Alexander Alexandrovich Morozov in the first quarter of 1941. According to the conspiracy theory of one of our compatriots, now living in the UK, the index “A” in the name of the car means “Autostradny”, but this is not so. In pre-war Kharkov, three design bureaus working for the defense industry were concentrated. For the projects developed by these design bureaus, three indices were allocated: “A”, “B” and “C”. The design bureau of the Barricades factory, which designed the artillery guns, was assigned the letter “B”, and the design bureau of the Kharkov Tractor Plant, which was in charge of diesel engines, was assigned the index “B”. Therefore, until now, most tank diesels carry this letter in their name. The lead designer of the A-44 was appointed A. Behr, who in May 1941 presented a draft layout of the tank. Work on this machine was planned to continue in the second half of the year, and by the beginning of 1942 to make a prototype for testing. However, the outbreak of war and the subsequent evacuation crossed out these plans.
Device and construction
The layout of the A-44 tank, with the engine in front, was formed after Morozov’s analysis of the result of shelling the experimental T-34 tank from anti-tank artillery from different sides. The most secure for the crew was breaking through the armor from a rear angle. Even after the transmission was destroyed and the engine ignited, the crew could leave the car without injuring themselves. Also, turning the car “backwards” allowed to save a rather long barrel of F-42 or ZiS-4 guns, which were planned to be installed on the specimen, from grazing the ground when overcoming obstacles and when performing maneuvers on rough terrain. The fighting compartment, respectively, was located at the rear of the car. The ammunition of the tank was, depending on the design and type of guns, up to 100 armor-piercing, sub-caliber and high-explosive fragmentation shells. In this compartment there were three crew members: commander, gunner and loader.
Periscope and telescopic sights were used to monitor the terrain and conduct firing. In the front of the case (left) was the control compartment. It housed the gunner-radio operator and driver. The power plant consisted of a V-6 diesel engine and was located in the middle of the car. Armor - homogeneous, protivosnaryadny with a tower and a body of rolled sheets made by welding. For its time, the design of the machine was truly revolutionary, for example, the first serial tank of this configuration was adopted only in 1979. It was an Israeli Merkava (chariot).
The revival of a forgotten project
In connection with the tragic events in the early 40s of the last century, the work on the revolutionary project was closed, and almost no one, except historians of the national tank construction, remembered it for 70 years. The A-44 gained a second life thanks to the Wargaming company, which in August 2010 introduced the game World of Tanks, dedicated to armored combat vehicles of the mid-20th century. In 2013, our hero was in one of the branches of the development of Soviet armored vehicles. According to the accepted classification, the A-44 is a ST (medium tank), although as a result of numerous improvements to the project, an increase in the caliber of the gun and armor, the mass was exceeded and it moved into the heavy category. Next, we will review the modules and equipment for a comfortable game on the A-44. A guide on this tank will also be useful for beginner gamers.
A-44: Overview
After opening and buying the A-44, it is first necessary to retrain the crew. Applying camouflage to the tank will also not be superfluous, as it will reduce the visibility of equipment, which in combination with a low silhouette will significantly help in virtual battles and increase survival. The top gun will provide a good penetration and infliction of tangible damage to the enemy. The investigated tower will increase the viewing range and turning speed. An additional 15 millimeters of circular armor will not be superfluous. Top-end walkie-talkie and engine we get from the previous tank, so they can be purchased immediately. We study and buy the transmission first of all, which will allow you to safely install additional equipment. Based on the characteristics of the ZiS-6 gun, we need reinforced mixing and a gun rammer. Improved ventilation will also not be superfluous.
Application tactics
And now we’ll conduct a guide on the tactics of using the A-44 in the game. The design features of the tank both complicate the game under certain conditions, and open up certain new opportunities. This is the first ST in the game, characterized by the rear location of the tower, which will allow you to quite successfully play the "reverse rhombus" on maps with urban buildings and single buildings. Powerful reservation of the front projection will help in the game at medium and long distances. Roll out and make a shot is undesirable, since you have to open a significant part of the body, which is fraught with rapid death in battle. The ability to rotate the tower 360 degrees allows you to fight backwards, but you should not forget that from this angle - the weakest armor reservation.
In the end, it can be noted that this unit is a good medium tank, which has good speed, dynamics and a powerful weapon. Therefore - forward, successful rush and reliable def!