Even in the pre-war years, designers of many countries repeatedly made attempts to create a missile tank, which would use guided missiles as the main weapon. The closest to this goal were German engineers, who at the end of World War II were the first in the world to create anti-tank guided missiles, but did not manage to establish their mass production.
The first to guess the installation of ATGM as the main weapon on the
French tanks. This was implemented on the LT AMX-13 in 1959-1960. A little later, the same idea was picked up by Soviet engineers, who in 1964 presented a prototype of the fundamentally new Object 775 tank. A small and maneuverable
combat vehicle with powerful missile weapons was to become a thunderstorm of any enemy equipment.
Going back to the roots
By the second half of the 20th century, Soviet engineers already had experience in designing missile tanks, because it was in the USSR in the early 30s that the world's first model of this class of military equipment RBT-5 was developed (to this day it has not been preserved, the progenitor - BT-5 - can be seen by visiting the tank museum in Kubinka). It was equipped with two unguided missiles, had low survivability, short range and was found to be ineffective, which is why its development was soon discontinued.
For more than 30 years, Soviet scientists have gained considerable experience in the development of tank technology. In addition, the dream of
guided anti-tank missiles was realized, and ATGMs were now actively used not only by European countries, but also by the United States. All this served as an impetus to the start of work on the development of the Soviet missile tank.
Work began in 1962 at a design bureau based on the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. Isakov Pavel Pavlovich was appointed project manager, who by this time had distinguished himself by creating a fundamentally new class of military equipment - infantry fighting vehicles. Having extensive experience, he was the first to propose not just to equip ATGM equipment, but to create a new tank.
Gemstone tank
The engineers of KB ChTZ managed to do the almost impossible - in a minimum short period (less than two years) they managed to create a new, fully operational missile tank. This can be explained by the fact that the development was carried out simultaneously in two directions - separately developed options for the anti-aircraft missile system and the design of the new tank.
A team of engineers led by Isakov was to create a new chassis for the Object 775 tank, as well as a layout diagram. We can say that all work was completed by March 1, 1964.
The development of air defense systems began on March 30, 1963. Work was carried out on the creation of two complexes at the same time - Astra and Rubin, the best of which was to be used as the main weapon. By a decision of the Scientific and Technical Council on March 1, 1964, the Rubin air defense system was recognized as the best option.
SAM "Rubin"
The development of SAM was carried out by a team of designers in the Kolomna Design Bureau of Engineering under the leadership of Boris Shavyrin. The complex included a radio command guidance system and 125-mm guided missiles 150 cm long. Consider why it was decided to install weapons of this type on the "Object 775".
To hit the target, it was enough to put an infrared beam on it. The projectile fired at a speed of 550 m / s in the blink of an eye and easily penetrated vertically placed sheets of armor 500 mm thick at a distance of 4 km. This, combined with a high rate of fire (5-6 rounds / min), allowed the SAM to easily destroy any target.
However, this complex had a significant drawback - in the event of an obstacle, even a smoke screen, the projectile “blind” was lost, lost its target and went to self-destruction. Subsequently, this fact did not allow the adoption of an experimental Soviet missile tank for service.
Armed to the teeth
To hit targets, the missile tank could use not only Rubin missiles, but also Typhoon, which were slightly weaker and were able to penetrate only 250 mm of armor at the same distance. In addition, unguided high-explosive high-explosive rockets "Bur" were used with a maximum range of 9 km.
To launch various types of shells at OKB-9, the D-126 cannon with a 125-mm caliber was specially developed for the “Object 775”. It had a semi-automatic loading mechanism, a stabilizer 2E16, stabilizing it in two planes, and was controlled by an operator commander. In total, the ammunition included 72 shells - 24 ATGMs of the Typhoon type and 48 NURSs of the Bur type.
Additionally, the tank was equipped with a 7.62 mm SGMT tank machine gun, which could be used to destroy manpower and lightly armored vehicles.
Tenacious and invisible
If the "Object 775" went into mass production, then it could be called an inconspicuous tank destroyer. And all thanks to its layout scheme and a special crew accommodation system - the driver and commander.
They were in a special plastic capsule located in the tower, which could rotate with it. Moreover, the driver’s seat had a special design, which allowed him to always look forward at any position of the tower.
The introduction of such design solutions was able to significantly reduce the height of the tank - now, for protection, he could use even minor terrain folds. The machine was also equipped with a self-entrenching mechanism, as well as plastic knockouts, which reduced the force of penetrating radiation on the crew in the event of a nuclear explosion. All this significantly increased the survivability of the tank.
Tank heart
A 5-cylinder 5TDF 700-liter 5-cylinder diesel engine was installed on the "Object 775". S., which was previously used on the T-64. To meet new standards, the engine was subjected to minor refinement. Without changes, it was decided to use liquid cooling, a transmission with two 7-band gearboxes.
Isakov decided to abandon the torsion bar suspension system in favor of hydropneumatic suspension. This decision allowed the tank to change its clearance right while driving. Track rollers with an internal damping system, as well as tracks with rubber mounts, were also borrowed from the T-64.
Further fate
Despite the high maneuverability, survivability, invisibility and high firepower, proven during field tests, the tank was not adopted for service. Only one single specimen has survived to this day, which can be seen by visiting the tank museum in Kubinka. The reasons that did not allow to start mass production of machines are many:
- Low reliability of the guidance system.
- Poor visibility by the crew of the battlefield, which was due to the low silhouette of the machine.
- A complex device that required large resources in the manufacture.
"Object 775" gave rise to a new branch of military equipment - tank destroyers. Later, the Object 780 was developed on its basis, and the Object 287 was also developed, but these representatives were not accepted into service. Success was expected only by IT-1, which took over the very best from its ancestors and became a “clean” missile tank.