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T-100 (Project)

1939 WINTER WAR WORLD WAR 2 X-TANK

History

The multi-turret tank was a staple between the two world wars and was partly influenced by the "land ship" approach of the First World War (1914-1918). Thus, the tradition continued in the 1930s, with several countries including the United Kingdom, Germany and the Soviet Union investing in the development of such types. The main Soviet development during this period was the multi-turret T-35 heavy tank, itself influenced by the independence of the British Vickers. This led to poor performance in the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), especially due to poor armor protection, and subsequent plans attempted to correct the flaws in the design.

It was this effort that eventually produced the famous KV-1 series of heavy tanks for the Red Army and spawned two other (now largely forgotten) competing designs, the "T-100" (the focus of this article) and the SMK (the It is described in detail elsewhere on the website).

The T-100 and SMK are very similar in appearance and use a traditional track and wheel arrangement based on multiple small wheels, rear-mounted engines and an elongated fuselage. However, the main physical mass of both are two in-line turrets, the main turret is located amidships and mounts a 76.2mm gun, while the secondary turret mounts a 45mm anti-tank gun close to the bow. It was originally intended to include as many as five turrets, but this requirement was dropped early in development (engineers initially opposed the multiple turret approach).

Both designs ended up using a torsion bar suspension system and multiple 7.62mm DT machine gun positions. The required armor protection should be against 45mm rounds at close to medium range and 75mm rounds at medium to long range.

Therefore, the armor is welded into both products to provide maximum strength and protection for the crew and key interior functions.

Although only one SMK form was built, two T-100s were completed. The model consists of up to eight personnel responsible for various tasks related to the tank. The tank measures 27.5 feet long, 11.1 feet wide and 11.2 feet high. Power comes from a single GAM-34BT 12-cylinder liquid-cooled gasoline engine that produces 800 horsepower, allowing road speeds of 22 mph and a range of up to 120 miles (less when driving off-road). The propulsion equipment consists of no less than eight twin tire wheels located on one side of the hull.

The drive sprocket is mounted on the rear and the chain idler is mounted on the front. Five track deflection rollers are used along the upstream side of the track.

The main weapon became the L-11 weapon with 120 projectiles. Secondary armament is the Red Army's proven 45mm anti-tank gun. Housed in independently operated turrets, the T-100 has battleship-like characteristics with a wide arc of fire, each capable of engaging different enemies simultaneously.

Machine guns added infantry defenses to those trying to charge vehicles with explosives. With one turret in the front and one in the middle, connected by the engine at the rear, the size of the car is relatively well balanced, but its length still makes it unwieldy and bulky while adding weight - T-100 belt Here comes the scale weighing 58 tons.

In addition to the usual evaluation and testing, both the T-100 and the SMK were used in the "Winter War" with neighboring Finland (November 1939 - March 1940). The SMK was destroyed by enemy mines in December 1939 and abandoned for two months before being recovered by the Soviets - it was never repaired or reused. The T-100 performed slightly better on exposure, the armor protection proved noisier to the Finnish 37mm and 45mm anti-tank guns. Still, it had terrible properties for a frontline combat system and was never officially approved for adoption/mass production.

In 1940, at least one of the two T-100 pilot vehicles was converted for a self-propelled gun (SPG) role, with the 130mm naval gun as the primary weapon (as a one-off "SU-100Y") against heavy Finnish bunker fortifications . Out of desperation, this sole specimen was then used to defend Moscow (1941-1942) against the invading Germans.

The competing SMK design, although also ignored by the Soviet authorities, was reduced by its engineers to a single turret shape and became the classic KV-1 heavy tank described elsewhere on this page.