At the beginning of the twentieth century, with the light hand of Sir Winston Churchill, a new type of combat vehicle appeared - a tank. He rightfully became the king of the battlefields of the First World War. Around the same time, a civil war broke out in another European country. It should be noted that after the invention of the machine gun, with its density of fire, the importance of cavalry in the conduct of hostilities receded into the background. Attacks in the horse drawn sunk into oblivion, there were only military guards, reconnaissance, communications. And so, one Nestor Makhno decided to install a machine gun on a cart, and one Semyon Budyonny checked in practice the possibility of a massive use of the invention of his enemy ally. So the concept of strategic cavalry appeared, a vivid example of which was the First Horse Army. Years passed. The "strategic cavalry" in the Soviet Union was reborn into the "Theory of Deep Breakthrough", which already envisaged the massive use of mechanized units. After the Kiev maneuvers of 1935, this issue was also attended to in Germany. And here, both Soviet and German military experts faced one problem - forcing the mobility of numerous water barriers with mobile units, primarily the seizure of bridgeheads. They solved this problem in different ways. If German experts developed a device to ensure buoyancy or to overcome barriers on the bottom of linear tanks, then Soviet designers created floating machines.
Development of amphibious tanks
The first serial Soviet amphibious tank T-37A was adopted in August 1933, it was replaced in February 1936 by the T-38. Given the experience of operating these machines, a new model was developed - T-40. He was recognized by experts as the best Soviet amphibious tank of the pre-war period. After June 22, 1941, all further development of new equipment was suspended in favor of securing production in production. After a
radical change in the war, as we advanced west, our troops had to overcome a large number of rivers, straits, estuaries and lakes. Since most rivers flow in the meridional direction, their western banks in the Northern Hemisphere are high, which additionally interferes with forcing. Therefore, after the war ended, it was decided to continue work on the creation of watercraft. The development task was issued to the factory No. 112 Krasnoye Sormovo, and later the All-Russian Research Institute of Transport Engineering. The brainchild of the latter ("Object 740") and went into series under the index PT-76.
Amphibious tank "Object 907"
Almost immediately after the entry of the PT-76 into service with the Soviet tank forces, the question arose of its modernization. At the beginning of 1959, the design team of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant began work on the design of a new model, which received the designation “Object 907”. Already in August, engineers Yu. M. Sorokin and S. A. Fedorov submitted for testing the first assembled machine.
Device and construction
The layout of the tank was performed according to the classical scheme, with the rear location of the power unit. The armored body has been significantly modified, compared with the base model. The front part was in the shape of a ship's nose. Although the thickness of the armor plates has not changed, more rational tilt angles have increased protection. "Object 907" was equipped with a forced diesel engine with a capacity of 280 horsepower. Despite the increase in the mass of the tank, the speed of movement, both on the highway (45 km / h) and on water (11.2 km / h), did not decrease. The machine was equipped with a system of anti-nuclear protection, in connection with which the air supply of the engine and the inhabited compartment was divided. The armament of the tank consisted of a rifled gun D-56TS, with vertical stabilization, and a machine gun SGMT. The model was equipped with a telescopic sight and night vision device. The tests that have begun revealed that the tank has no advantages, and when moving on water it showed low stability and a tendency to dive, which served as the reason for the closure of the project. The only car built was in the BTT Museum in Kubinka.
Another “Object” - medium
In addition to the modernization of the floating PT-76, there was another project under the index "Object 907" - a medium tank. This machine was developed in accordance with the requirements for ST developed at a meeting held by the USSR Ministry of Defense Industry in May 1952. The new apparatus was supposed to enter the troops to replace the main T-54 tank. The car was supposed to be equipped with a 100 mm D-54 cannon. Unfortunately, only a solid-cast hull and parts of the tower were built in metal, after which the project was closed due to a change in the USSR military doctrine and a reduction in non-nuclear weapons.
World of Tanks: Object 907 reborn
After the appearance of the “World of Tanks” on the computer market, developers introduced into the game not only vehicles embodied in metal, but also various models that existed only on paper. They did not ignore Object 907. WOT began testing it in the spring of 2013. The Object 907 is a Tier X Soviet medium tank. The tactics of the game on it are not much different from those on other top STs: fast roundabout maneuvers, shooting on the go, group actions, reconnaissance. Accordingly, the installed modules: ventilation, gun stabilizer, enlightened optics.
Purchase options
Now we turn to the question that worries many gamers: "How to get the" Object 907 "?" The answer is simple: this tank will neither be sold nor pumped. This will be a machine that can be won by participating in clan battles as part of special campaigns. It remains only to wait. Although some supertests, especially close to the developers, already have such a machine in the hangar.