Resurected Russian tank destroyer

maple_leaf_eh said:
Before you lionize the Russians for their WWII technology, remember they were brutalizing their own people, savaging the landscape with filthy factories and industrial pollution, and still making primitize equipment. Their tanks were crude beyond belief. Yes it is a 12cylinder engine, but it starts with compressed air. Almost no electricals, except for a few lights. Bearings? Don't need them. The tank would be dead in weeks, long before it wore out from the inside. Slag in the welds? Pffft. If the third and fifth tanks can finish the attack, that is a successful production run.
Click to expand...

It sounds just like the New General Motors! Don't need a jack or a spare tire in the all new Chevy Cruze,......
 
Nothing wrong with using compressed air to turn over and start a tank. In fact the very reason they used compressed air starts Vs electric is when its -40c and more the batteries may not turn things over. I followed the operators manual for the T72/M84AB translated and reprinted from the US Army Foreign System Test Group to keep the Canadian trials and evaluations T72M1s operating. In fact one thing that impressed me to no end was taking a T72 that had sat outside and unattended for a year and after two hours work having it running again. I VERY much doubt one would get a Leopard to do the same. Yes Soviet wartime armour did not compare to western or Axis armour in regards to fit and finish but it was very hands on simple to build, operate and maintain. Take a PPSH41, crude but effective.
As for polluting the enviornment and pollution I think the Soviets back then had other concerns at the time and had they folded things would have been very bleak indeed. The two "war winners" in my books are 1. U.S. (western) material and 2. Soviet numbers
Hi Juster. Your right about the commonality of engines and as a further note the T34 (family of motor) was a (believe it or not) a refined diesel aircraft motor from the 1930s the motor was furthe developed and refined over the years and serve in Soviet armour right up to and including the T72. Soviet design was VERY evolutionary Vs Revolutionary and they really stuck to the tried and true and what works, just keep tweaking it better.
 
Last edited:
XRCD011 said:
That tank looks like it was a "gate guardian" in some village that was starting to be a bit shabby and in need of attention. Here is a T34 that had an interesting life and must be a little time capsule once recovered, I believe they did get this tank running again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNJ-acc9Qsk
Click to expand...

Notice that in this video, the tracks are turning even if it spent so many decades under water! KISS Make it big and use the KISS, Keep It Simple & Stupid proof!
henry
 
XRCD011 said:
Soviet design was VERY evolutionary Vs Revolutionary and they really stuck to the tried and true and what works, just keep tweaking it better.
Click to expand...
Exactly, the Russians produced one medium tank with limited variants and one heavy tank with a fair bit of variation. They had improved prototypes, not in production. They lost so many dead that they didn't have the trained manpower for much other than simple mass production of the same design.
Good to see the Russians have some pride in their history.
Here is the gun:
ML-20S_152mm_howitzer-gun_M1937_for_SU-152.jpg
 
Here is a museum in Slovakia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rAFzP5_lc
A Jagpanzer re-enactment in Poland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97889ym40O8
Here is finding German tanks in Russia (in Polish): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IveQvn9wcYY
The Kubinka tank museum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zztfeGUBc

But the two best tank and artillery museums are NO 1: The UK just North of Doodle Door on the Southwest coast where I heard the tanks shooting. I can't remember the name right now but I will find it. And No 2 the French one near Namur. When I will have some time, I will post pictures of both. I have to go and find them in my backup drives!
Enjoy!
Henry
 
Hnachaj, I have been to the museum in Svidnik many times!! It is a fantastic museum, and the battles fought around there during the Fall/winter of 1944/1945 have been a source of great interest for me. The Valley of Death, Carpathian Mountains, are fascinating. I always enjoyed seeing the armour and equipment still lying about.
Thank you for posting these links.

hnachaj said:
Here is a museum in Slovakia: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7rAFzP5_lc
A Jagpanzer re-enactment in Poland: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97889ym40O8
Here is finding German tanks in Russia (in Polish): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IveQvn9wcYY
The Kubinka tank museum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6zztfeGUBc

But the two best tank and artillery museums are NO 1: The UK just North of Doodle Door on the Southwest coast where I heard the tanks shooting. I can't remember the name right now but I will find it. And No 2 the French one near Namur. When I will have some time, I will post pictures of both. I have to go and find them in my backup drives!
Enjoy!
Henry
Click to expand...
 
Coyote Ugly said:
Exactly, and it's just too clean inside and out to have been outside for 68 years. There's no dirt in the wheels, no moss growing on it. It would have sunk further down. No dead grass underneath it when they moved it.

The wiring, gaskets, oil, etc would have had to been checked and replaced as it just wouldn't start as easy as it did. It was well maintained over the years.
Click to expand...

Think you hit it, I would have expected that the tracks would have been rusted tight.
 
Juster said:
Look at the smooth running tracks on this guy straight from the bog:
Click to expand...

That was from a bog - possibly no air down there to hasten corrosion rates.


bog water:

eh can be from +100 mv to -100 mv, pH can vary.

I guess it's possible the eh-ph were in a zone characteristic of metallic iron?

fascinating stuff

605px-Pourbaix_Diagram_of_Iron.svg.png


yes, I am a nurd. . .
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom