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T-42

1932 X-TANK

History

Before World War II (1939-1945), experimentation with indigenous tank designs was a way of modernizing the Soviet military. From 1930 to 1932, Bolshevik Plant 232, led by German engineer Eduard Groth (who was brought in to help with modernization), worked on various tank projects, including the "super-heavy" Panzer T-42 (also known as the Panzer T-42). name "TG-V").

When completed and appearing after dawn, the massive vehicle was designed to lead any Soviet advance on the ground - primarily as a "breakthrough tank" through force. However, this effort has had little success, as no examples were established before the focus shifted to more practical efforts.

The drafted design would have a combat weight of nearly 112 tons (short), with an estimated barrel length of about 60 feet, width of about 12 feet, and possibly the height of the machine. The engineers intended to power their huge creation with a pair of diesel engines with a combined output of 2,000 hp (1,000 x 2).

This will provide drive for the multi-arch track and wheel assembly, which contains the drive sprocket at the rear and the track idler at the front. The power pack should be coupled to the power delivery system, which undoubtedly adds to the complexity of the design.

There are no less than fifteen workers.

Various weapon schemes were created - one with five independently operating turrets, another with four, and another with three. The latter product is the most realistic - it houses a 107mm M1910/30 field gun in the main turret at the front of the hull, flanked by smaller turrets (derived from the BT-2 fast tank series), Each turret contained a 45mm M1932 -38 (20K) gun.

Up to five 7.62mm DTM machine guns can defend the tank (two machine guns will be equipped with a turret). Another main gun option is the Soviet 76.2mm field gun.

The hull was forced to have a stepped design so that each turret would pass correctly through the hull. The engine would be mounted in the rear compartment, making the fuel tank look long, bulky, and ultimately unwieldy.

The driver's position has been placed ahead of the bow to give him the best idea of ??what's to come. All told, the tank is estimated to have a top speed of 17 mph, but this is optimistic at best - most likely in the 9-12 mph range.

And the range itself will be severely limited, requiring two engines to power the volume of this car.

The T-42 suffered the same fate as many super-heavy tank projects of the interwar period and World War II. In the end, many were very impractical (and expensive) ventures with little tactical valuethey served more as propaganda. World War II was designed to show that mobility is a key quality, balanced against firepower and reliability.

While the T-42 could meet the firepower requirements, introducing two engines to do one job would severely limit its maneuverability and assume low reliability. In addition to the cost of designing, developing and producing this steel beast, there was the logistical nightmare of maintaining, repairing and transporting the mighty tank across Russian and European roads, bridges and railroads.