Self-propelled artillery installation (ACS) is considered a combat vehicle, consisting of an artillery gun mounted on self -propelled chassis. This type of armored vehicle performs combat missions different from other tanks, so it has characteristic features.
Use of self-propelled guns
Self-propelled guns have a powerful long-range weapon, capable of hitting the enemy at considerable distances, so that it makes no sense to come close to the enemy. On the self-propelled guns there is no powerful defense, since they must not fire at the front line, but from the rear of the main troops. Roughly speaking, self-propelled guns are powerful long-range artillery capable of quickly changing their position independently after a shot. However, since the beginning of World War II, this armored vehicle was used not only in the form of heavy howitzers, but also as assault guns, supporting attacking troops with its fire, as well as tank destroyers capable of hunting and destroying enemy armored vehicles both from close and long range.
Successful and failed SPG projects
One of the most famous self-propelled guns during the war of 1939-1945 is the Soviet SU-76, SU-100, SAU-152 “St. John’s Wort” and the German “Stug” and “Yagpentera”. These are examples of successful developments of this type of equipment, which not only fought effectively in battles, but also gave impetus to future technologically advanced generations of self-propelled artillery equipment. But there were also unsuccessful attempts to create a super-powerful self-propelled guns, for example, the American T-95 (PT-self-propelled guns) or the German superheavy tank Mouse, which ended in complete failure, as the designers and developers forgot that "the best is the enemy of the good."
American self-propelled guns of World War II
T-28 "Turtle", called T-95 - PT-self-propelled guns, is an American self-propelled artillery installation of a test sample, created during the Second World War and is a tank destroyer. Some historians rank this model as superheavy tanks. This self-propelled gun was designed since 1943, but by the end of the war its serial production was not launched. The only thing that the designers managed to do was make two prototypes in 1945-1946. By its mass, the T-95 tank (PT-self-propelled guns) is the second after the German Mouse.
The history of the production of "Turtles"
At the end of 1943, a program was launched in the United States to develop heavy armored vehicles. To this, the Americans were prompted by global studies of the military situation on the Western Front, which showed that the Allied forces may need a heavy combat vehicle that can break through the enemy’s complex defenses.
The developers took the base of the T-23 medium tank and the electronic transmission of the heavy T1E1 as the basis for the future T-95 PT-SAU. Armored sheets 200 mm thick and a new 105 mm gun were installed on this basis. This gun could pierce and destroy almost any concrete structure.
It was planned to release 25 of these machines during the year, but the command of the ground forces opposed such plans and recommended that only three tank destroyers with a mechanical transmission be manufactured. While all the bureaucratic nuances were being agreed upon, by March 1945, five military vehicles had already been ordered, whose protection increased to 305 mm of armor, due to which the weight of the T-95 PT-SAU (prototype photo is located below in the article) increased to 95 tons.
Initially, it was planned to make a tank without towers with the ability to accommodate a crew of four people. But in February 1945, the T-28 tank was renamed the T-95 self-propelled gun.
T-95 (PT-SAU): application history
Towards the end of the war, two combat vehicles were manufactured in Europe and on the Pacific Front. They had two pairs of tracks, which significantly increased their width, and an engine with a capacity of 500 horsepower. This, however, was very small for the movement of an extra-heavy installation. Such an engine was also placed on the Pershing tank, but it was twice as light as the Turtle. By the way, the T-95 was awarded that name. The tank destroyer is a model with a maximum speed of only 12-13 km / h.
Thus, this armored self-propelled gun was practically “standing”, which did not suit the army leadership, since self-propelled guns had to be delivered to the required point only by rail. But here, not everything turned out to be safe. Due to the second pair of tracks, the width of the self-propelled gun was greater than the railway platform. In order to somehow accommodate the T-95, it was necessary to remove additional tracks, which took at least four hours.
Features of the technique
This tank destroyer was conceived by the developers as a powerful self-propelled artillery fortress that could “crack” any enemy fortification structure , without being afraid of retaliatory strikes.
It really was a battle monster. The weight of 95 tons was distributed over four tracked tracks, each 33 cm wide. A 105 mm caliber gun could penetrate almost any fortification and armor at a distance of 19 kilometers. But the biggest feature of this technique was its armor - on the front of the tank it was 13 cm, on the side - 6.5 cm, and the bottom of the hull had armor of 10-15 cm.
However, low speed and slowness did not allow to find the T-95 (PT-SAU) combat use.
Military operations of various armies have shown that armored vehicles must combine averaged characteristics both in power and protection, and in mobility and maneuverability. Due to the lack of just the last two parameters, the T-95 was rejected by the US military command.
Tortoise Weaknesses
In addition to the fact that the flaws of this tank were significant, self-propelled guns, despite powerful armor, were also easily vulnerable, as shown by technical sea trials. T-95 (PT-ACS) penetration zone had the following.
The most vulnerable spot of this tank destroyer is its chassis. A few hits in the tracks - and the self-propelled gun locks in place, and then do what you want with it. She doesn’t have a gun turret; she cannot deploy a cannon. Additional weapons, except for the Browning commander machine gun, the self-propelled guns also do not.
Also a weak point is the side armor, the thickness of which does not exceed 65 mm. The fast maneuverable tanks and self-propelled guns of World War II could quickly get around the T-95 from the flank and rear and cause serious damage leading to the death of the crew.
Another weak point of this self-propelled gun was the commander's hatch, which did not have sufficiently powerful armor.
And the last minus "Turtles." After the war, it became clear that the power of weapons and armor did not decide the outcome of the battle. The stake was placed not on super-heavy military equipment, but on a mobile and compact one, which could quickly change its location, strike a blow at the enemy and just as quickly retreat back. But just to load the tank destroyer PT-SAU, it was necessary to spend about four hours, which under the conditions of modern wars is simply unacceptable luxury. Such equipment can be destroyed even at the loading stage.
Technical parameters of self-propelled guns "Turtles" T-28 (T-95)
- The weight of the equipped combat vehicle of the first design is 86 tons, after the second - 95 tons.
- The crew is four people.
- The length of the self-propelled gun is about 7.5 m, the width is 4.5 m, and the height is about 3 meters.
- Ground clearance - 50 cm.
- The thickness of the frontal part is 30-31 cm.
- The thickness of the sides is 6.5 cm, and the stern is 5 cm.
- The caliber of the main gun is 105 mm, the additional commander's machine gun is 12.7 mm.
- Engine power - 500 l. from.
- Power reserve on the road - 160 kilometers.
What happened to the only T-95 models?
Work on these self-propelled guns was stopped in 1947, as T-29 and T-30 heavy tanks with gun turrets began to be designed on their base.
The only prototypes of super-heavy tank destroyers that did not take part in real combat battles ended their days in a sad way: one model completely burned out during the fire so that it could not be restored, and the second simply broke down and was scrapped.
After 27 years, a decommissioned prototype was found in Virginia. After the restoration, he was paraded at the popular Patton Museum (Kentucky).
Summary
The result of the review of self-propelled guns "Turtles" shows us that each type of armored vehicles must correspond to its time.
According to its characteristics, the American T-95 was an excellent machine until the outbreak of World War II, but with the development of armaments it catastrophically lagged behind the main types of armored and artillery troops not only of its allies, but also of potential opponents. Further work on a backward project was economically unprofitable, because it was closed.
Studying the negative experience of past years, modern designers of military equipment are trying to design weapons in such a way that they meet the requirements of the war and maximize the performance of combat missions.