Vasily Mendeleev is a talented Russian engineer, inventor, author of the first Russian tank. As often happens, his projects were applied only after several decades.
Biography
Vasily Dmitrievich Mendeleev was born on December 30, 1886 in St. Petersburg, where he spent his childhood and youth. Mendeleev graduated from the shipbuilding school of engineering of the city of Kronstadt in 1906. From 1908 to 1916 he worked at the shipyard as a designer of submarines, towing ships and specialized warships used for setting minefields (minzags). At the same time, Vasily Mendeleev, inspired by new ideas, is developing a project for the construction of an armored tracked vehicle - the first tank in the history of Russian engineering. From 1919 to 1922 he worked at the Kubanol plant in Yekaterinodar (now known as the Sedin Machine Tool Plant, located in the city of Krasnodar) as a leading design engineer. Vasily Dmitrievich passed away in 1922 from typhus, having lived only 35 years.
Engineer Family
The father of the engineer, Dmitry Ivanovich Mendeleev, was a great scientist who made an invaluable contribution to the development of Russian science. His merits in the fields of chemistry, physics, geology, economics and metrology are known to everyone. One of his most significant discoveries is the periodic system of chemical elements, which is one of the unique laws of the universe, on the basis of which all the natural sciences about the phenomena and laws of living nature were literally “grown”. But Vasily Mendeleev can rightfully be proud of the merits of his other relatives.
His mother, Anna Ivanovna Mendeleev (nee Popova), half Russian, half Swedish, was a talented artist and devoted most of her life to raising children. The elder sister of Vasily Dmitrievich, Lyubov Blok is the wife of the poet Alexander Alexandrovich Blok, an actress. Vasily also had a twin sister, Maria, a famous domestic dog handler and expert. In the UK, she bred a new breed of dog from the group of cops - the English setter. And finally, the brother of Vasily Mendeleev, Ivan, is known for his achievements in the field of Russian philosophy and metrology.
The ingenious inventor
Many discoveries in his professional field were made by Vasily Mendeleev. The design of the tank, an armored, armed tracked combat vehicle is a vivid example of its sensational developments. From his famous father, the young engineer inherited an inquiring mind and a craving for invention, which determined his life path.
For four years, all his free time from studies, he He devoted the development of the design of a combat vehicle, which could both give protection to the attacker and hit the enemy at the same time.
Vast experience in the field of military shipbuilding helped the shipbuilding engineer design a combat vehicle. His project was a very bright, bold and peculiar work, the implementation of which was carried out in the later practice of the structure of military equipment. Its development was more likely not a tank, but a real crawler-mounted fortress in the shape of a rectangular box. For the first time, the inventor intended anti-projectile armor and delimited protection.
The project was released in 1911. Vasily Mendeleev decided to submit it to the military department of Russia, which did not immediately note the importance of this invention. Therefore, before becoming famous, the development of a talented designer for a very long time was covered with dust in the archive.
However, the construction of the Mendeleev’s sea ​​mine immediately found its application in the naval defense of Petrograd.
“The armor is strong, and our tanks are fast ...”
Outlines of two versions of a combat vehicle, as well as correctly executed calculations by Mendeleev and a detailed explanatory note, in which the genius of engineering argued the need for the implementation of the project, have survived. He proposed to equip his invention with a 120-mm cannon located in the bow of the armored corps, and powerful weapons placed in a rotating turret, which could rise and fall under the influence of a pneumatic drive. In addition, Vasily Dmitrievich provided a thorough armor protection. At the front of the vehicle, the thickness of the armor was 150 mm, and at the stern and sides it was about 100 mm.
He developed an internal combustion engine with a capacity of about 250 horsepower and developed a speed of up to 24 km / h. The crew could be eight people. With its development, the inventor foresaw grandiose technical discoveries that were made only after decades.
Tanks with gasoline Vasily Mendeleev foresaw in the aft part of the structure above the bottom in isolated compartments.
The gearbox involved four gears for moving forward and one gear for moving backward. And finally, the combat vehicle of Vasily Dmitrievich assumed the provision of four control posts, thanks to which any of the crew could take control if the driver was killed or injured. But, regrettably, the Mendeleev’s project was not accepted at the Ministry of War, arguing that the realization of this invention was impossible. And the creator of the world's first tank was forgotten over time.
The invention of air suspension
The scientist also considered the use of a pneumatic suspension of the bottom of the case, which would further regulate the clearance from maximum to minimum and would have the ability to work in two modes - locked and independent. Thanks to this invention, the tank could move with a half-lowered body, and also, if necessary, lower the machine body to the ground. According to Mendeleev, a change in ground clearance in the heat of battle could save an easily vulnerable chassis of the car. This idea was subsequently carried out only in 1942 when creating the heavy self-propelled mortar "Tor".
In conclusion
Russian design engineer, talented inventor, project designer of the first Russian tank - that was Vasily Mendeleev. The biography covers his short, but very eventful life of the genius of domestic engineering. Unfortunately, his work was appreciated only after his death. The extraordinary invention of the designer for a long time did not find support from the ministry. The grandiose project was subsequently carried out by the followers of a brilliant Russian engineer, which was Vasily Mendeleev. Unfortunately, his photo was hardly preserved, but many drawings and drawings of the famous tank are available.