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IS-7: Unknown Soviet Monster Tank

2024

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Video: IS-7: Unknown Soviet Monster Tank

Video: IS-7: Unknown Soviet Monster Tank
Video: Russia's UNSTOPPABLE Heavy Tank, the IS-7 | Cursed by Design 2024, March
IS-7: Unknown Soviet Monster Tank
IS-7: Unknown Soviet Monster Tank
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Leningrad returns to the game

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The German "Tiger" against our IS-2 - a battle of technology The city on the Neva River was badly damaged by the Blockade. The lion's part of its factories in the form of the most valuable personnel and equipment was evacuated to the east. But only six months later after the rupture of the ring surrounding the city, they decided to restore them. The results were obtained quite quickly - already in the spring of 1945 the city was making ISU-152 self-propelled guns. But very soon, Leningrad had to remember the old days and again become a center for the development of tanks.

By the beginning of 1945, the military wanted a new heavy tank that could withstand the shelling of the 128-mm Yagdtigr gun - at that time the most powerful anti-tank gun in the world. Other tank factories were busy with the ongoing modernization of the tanks produced and the development of technological processes, because the interests of the front demanded as many products as possible. This provided a chance for Leningraders - no one expected miracles from just recovering from the blockade of the Kirov Plant and did not load it to the eyeballs.

Боковая и лобовая проекции ИС-7
Боковая и лобовая проекции ИС-7

Side and frontal projection IS-7. Side and frontal projection IS-7.

The IS-7 tank project presented by the factory workers was ready much earlier than the work of competitors in May 1945. Moreover, Leningraders have worked out as many as four options! They differed in engines: 1200 “horses” or a pair of two 600 forces each. And guns - 122 mm or 130 mm. The tank turned out to be very powerful, but, by Soviet standards, quite heavy - the mass, depending on the version, ranged from 59 to 65 tons. True, even this did not reach the famous "Royal Tiger", which weighed all 70.

The latest technology

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Our T-72B3 vs. German Leopard-2: Aliens from the Past

But everything else promised to be simply magnificent. The serious mass did not turn the IS-7 into a floppy barn - the planned 1200-horsepower engine could provide a maximum speed of 60 km / h. The frontal armor was sufficient to withstand any tank gun and withstand the hit of a heavy faustpatron.

The benefits of the project did not end there. Leningraders sought to use all the accumulated experience of the world, to which they managed to get. Therefore, the project of the future IS-7 included hi-tech for every taste. For example, a special mechanism with an electric drive that accelerates the loading of the gun. With its help, the rate of fire of a 130-mm gun with separate loading of the projectile was brought up to eight rounds per minute.

It was interesting to design and anti-aircraft weapons. These were built, protected by a light armored casing, two 7.62 mm and one 14.5 mm machine guns on the turret. It would be possible to shoot from them without leaving the tank, using the "tracking mechanism" of the remote control.

ИС-7 в заводском цеху
ИС-7 в заводском цеху

IS-7 in the factory floor. IS-7 in the factory floor. Related Materials

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Salutes: which cars and mechanisms are responsible for the festive mood With the help of shipbuilders, a completely new thing for the USSR tank industry was designed - the Sturm automated fire control device. Something similar was used on artillery ships to eliminate the effect of pitching. The gunner made the calculations, aimed a stabilized (from the same pitching) sight, and then clicked on the open fire button. But this was not followed by an instant shot. The automatic mechanism waited until the ship's hull took a level position. Only after this was the opening of fire. Now they wanted to apply the same thing to the tank - so that the accuracy of the shot would not be affected by vibrations of the hull and heavy gun.

Spied and the German experience of night battles. IS-7 had two infrared sights - for the driver and commander. The first was simpler and allowed to distinguish objects and relief at a distance of 50 meters. The second provided visibility up to 120 meters.

Note the fuel tanks of the new design. Made of rubber-fabric material, they could easily take a given shape. This made it possible to place tanks in hard-to-reach internal places of the hull, while it was easier to produce and easier to maintain than rigid analogues of complex shape.

ИС-7 на территории Кировского завода
ИС-7 на территории Кировского завода

IS-7 on the territory of the Kirov plant. IS-7 on the territory of the Kirov plant.

A spoon of tar

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What a comfortable foreign car: a test drive of the American Sherman tank. However, the desire to fill the tank with the most modern instruments and mechanisms had a downside. All this complicated the design and increased the risk of breakdowns. Therefore, they refused any innovations - such as, for example, from remotely controlled tower machine guns. This three was replaced with one 14.5-mm machine gun, and to use it, one of the loaders had to leave the car.

Or take the same engine. Leningraders couldn’t get from the industry a diesel engine with a capacity of 1, 200 “horses”, which the designers hoped for - there were some problems with it all the time. As a result, I had to confine myself to an engine for torpedo boats issuing 1, 050 forces. But all this was not something fundamentally scary - so far the main thing was passing the ministerial tests. The refinement of modern mechanisms and the search for an engine could be dealt with later, when the IS-7 will be adopted.

State tests

One of the two prototypes manufactured went on trial on November 23, 1947. The conditions were harsh: trying to check the reliability and operability of the structure, the tank was not going to spare. Until the completion of the tests in March next year, the IS-7 covered 2, 000 km without a single serious breakdown. The tank confidently showed a speed of 60 km / h and was distinguished by the ease of control that was atypical for Soviet cars, which caused enthusiasm among the test driver. The military were pleased.

Второй прототип перед началом министерских испытаний
Второй прототип перед началом министерских испытаний

The second prototype before the start of the ministerial tests. The second prototype before the start of the ministerial tests.

True, two days after the official completion of the tests, the prototype burned out - something went wrong in the engine, and the extinguishing system did not work. But the main thing was that this did not pass before the eyes of observers from Moscow. This, incidentally, was not the only state of emergency. During the in-plant tests, they managed to drop the first prototype first from the bridge (fortunately, without any special consequences), and then accidentally collide with a steam engine running at full speed. Fortunately, the tank, which had not noticed the train, had only just started moving in, so that the engine caught only the cannon. The tower sharply turned around and tore off the stopper securing the gun in the stowed position. After a short repair, the tank returned to service.

Change of concept

Ис-7 в экспозиции танкового музея в Кубинке
Ис-7 в экспозиции танкового музея в Кубинке

Is-7 in the exposition of the tank museum in Kubinka. Is-7 in the exposition of the tank museum in Kubinka. Everything seemed to be going well for the IS-7. Four more prototypes were built. The first batches were planned for the army of 15 and 50 cars. Shelling was carried out, showing excellent results. But then a bolt from the blue sky struck: in February 1949, the Council of Ministers decided to curtail development.

The mass of the heavy tank should now not exceed 50 tons. In the confrontation of the performance characteristics and logistics, the latter again won - the passage of a 65-ton IS-7 would not have survived by far every bridge. In addition, for its transportation it would be necessary to build special railway platforms and expand many tunnels. And from a technological point of view, the tank did not fit into the capabilities of the then domestic industry. Not least because of its saturation with high technology, mass production of the IS-7 would require serious investments in tank building. Just cranes to move around the workshops 65-ton engines would have flown a pretty penny. And the country destroyed by the war desperately needed funds for peaceful development …

Therefore, the unique IS-7 has remained an unrealized dream, embodied in only a few prototypes. Instead, a 50-ton IS-8 went into the series - aka the T-10. He became the last heavy tank of the Soviet Union: later the concept changed again, and the tanks ceased to be divided into light, medium and heavy. The era of a new type of armored vehicles was approaching in the world - the “main battle tank”.

IS-7: Unknown Soviet Monster Tank

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