Hello WOTers!
We know that firepower-protection-mobility is an important parameter to measure the combat effectiveness of a tank, and tank design in the traditional sense tends to seek a balance between the three. However, there are always designers who have a penchant for powerful firepower, so there are a few tanks that make an appearance in this issue - you may be familiar with their traditional forms, but after the "shotgun for gun", are you still sure that you can handle their gameplay?
01
Cannons, bigger cannons!
BT-203
BT-2 replaced with 203 guns!
As the name suggests, a 2-mm recoilless gun with breech loading was installed in the turret of the BT-203. The turret was redesigned, the tail of the gun protruded from the rear, and the pitch angle was -3/+20 degrees. The gun was designed by Kurchevsky, the "father of recoilless guns" in the Soviet Union, and fired a 62-kilogram high-explosive projectile, although the weight was only 63 percent of the ammunition of the same caliber, but the power still reached 1.5 times that of the 152-mm gun! It is said that the BT-203 had built a prototype car, but during the test, it was found that the huge wind explosion and vibration when the gun was fired would cause serious damage to the hull, so it was quickly stopped. In addition, other recoilless gun projects designed by him, such as the 76-mm aircraft gun, the 152-mm torpedo boat gun, and the 305-mm gun installed on the destroyer "Engels", were also canceled due to structural and performance defects, and the designer himself was shot for "unreliable weapons".
▲ Fierce is fierce, it is to reload one shot in an hour!
SU-203
SU-152换上203炮!
▲ SU-203 scheme for installing the 203mm U-203 howitzer
Attempts to install a 203-mm howitzer on the SU-152 began in the spring of 1943, shortly after it was officially equipped with troops, and Plant No. 9 began to combine the lightweight 203-mm U-3 howitzer with the ML-20 gun mount, reduce the weight of the gun, and add a large two-chamber muzzle brake, but failed to solve the pitch and reloading problems. In May of the same year, Plant No. 172 was redesigned on the basis of the newly developed 203-mm M-4 mortar, increasing the usable space in the fighting compartment and optimizing the internal layout so that the theoretical rate of fire reached 1-1.5 rounds per minute. Despite the incredible power of the 100-kilogram high-explosive projectile, its armor-piercing shells were not as penetrating into concrete as the original SU-152 gun, making this design only on paper.
▲ SU-203 scheme with 4mm M-203 mortar installed
SU-SMK-180
SU-100Y换上180炮?
▲ A 180mm B-1-P that is usually used as a naval gun or shore defense gun
Photographed at the Vladivostok fortress complex
In 1940, the Main Directorate of Armored and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army (GABTU) proposed the design of a new heavy self-propelled gun for use against enemy bastions. Requires 122, 130, 152 or 180 mm guns. The 180-mm gun was to be mounted on the SMK heavy tank, and if necessary, the chassis design could be modified and the thickness of the armor could be reduced. Although GABTU quickly realized the impracticality of this requirement and removed it from the file, if it moved to the design stage, its combat performance and shape would not be difficult to speculate - In terms of firepower, the only 180-mm gun available in the Soviet armory at that time was the B-1-P, which was capable of firing a projectile weighing 97.5 kg at a muzzle velocity of 920 meters per second, and was later used in Project 261; in terms of appearance, since the chassis of the SMK heavy tank was similar to that of the T-100, the general structure of this self-propelled gun should have many similarities with the SU-100Y.
▲ SU-SMK-180的想象图
Project 279 (152/240)
279工程/ISU-152/T-54换上152/240炮！
▲ Project 279 where the TRS-240 was installed
▲ Comparison of the size of the 152mm rocket (far left) and the T-55 tank
In the late 50s and early 60s, several Soviet design bureaus were involved in the development of new large-caliber dual-purpose launchers for Project 279, ISU-152 and T-54, capable of firing anti-tank missiles and guided rockets. The first version of the NII-1 was the TRS-240, which launched a rocket with a caliber of 240 mm and a weight of 70 kg (warhead 18 kg) with a rate of fire of 5-7 rounds per minute, and later designed a slightly smaller TRS-152 with a caliber of 152 mm and a weight of 62 kg (warhead 6.25-7 kg) in cooperation with the VNII-100, with an increased rate of fire to 9-12 rounds per minute. Both launchers were planned to have an automatic loading device, and a prototype gun was also created for testing on the ISU-152 for TRS-152, but neither was further developed.
▲ Project 279 for the installation of TRS-152, ISU-152 and T-54 profiles
ShKH PST 152
"Jet Scorpion" replaced with 152 guns!
In 1948, the Czech military determined the requirements for a new self-propelled gun - LP light tanks or TVP medium tanks for chassis, 76.2, 100 or 152 mm caliber for guns, and designed 9 options according to the needs of tank and artillery units. Among them, the 152mm ShKH 43.5/675-TVP, referred to as the ShKH TVP-152, with a turret and a 152mm gun. According to the design parameters, the 152 mm gun fires 43.5 kg armor-piercing shells with a muzzle velocity of 675 meters per second, the turret can be rotated in all directions, and the gun pitch angle is -5/+70 degrees, which needs to meet the needs of direct or indirect fire. The tank weighs about 32.6 tons and is powered by a 983-horsepower domestic V16 engine, with a maximum road speed of more than 60 kilometers per hour. Due to the collapse of TVP, and even the entire Czech project of domestically developed tanks, the self-propelled artillery based on it naturally came to naught.
▲ The 152mm J2 that could be its main gun
AMX30 ACRA
AMX30 for 142 guns!
Influenced by the American MGM-151 "Oak Stick" weapon system, France also launched the "High Speed Anti-Tank Missile (ACRA)" project in 1961, for which the front of the turret of an AMX30 was modified to install sighting and guidance equipment, and a 142 mm dual-purpose launcher with a muzzle brake. In addition to the laser-guided ACRA, the ammunition used included an unguided rocket of the same caliber, with a warhead of 2 kg of TNT/RDX mixture, a discharge speed of 550 meters per second, and then 700 meters per second propelled by its own engine, stabilized by 6 projectile wings. Due to the high cost and long development cycle of the ACRA-related system, France finally decided to abandon the system and turn to the Franco-German cooperation "Hult". The only AMX30 ACRA test vehicle was scrapped after the last test launch in 1974.
▲ AMX30 ACRA and the once highly anticipated ACRA missile
Assault Panther
"Panther" for 150 guns!
In June 1944, according to the requirements of the Army Ordnance Headquarters, Krupp designed a "assault mortar" equipped with a 150 mm howitzer based on the Panther tank. The gun is the StuH 43/1, the same model as the Grizzly assault gun, with a barrel length of only 12 calibers, capable of projecting 38 kg of high-explosive shells (8.5 kg of warhead) at a maximum muzzle velocity of 240 m/s to 4200 meters away, and has a good damage effect on buildings. The tank retains the Panther's omnidirectional turret, but with a new rangefinder, a Tiger observation tower, and a mouse sight. Obviously, with the carrying capacity of the Panther tank, this design is quite overkill, and the performance advantage over the Grizzly is not obvious, so it is reasonable that it was not put into production in the later stage of the war, when chassis resources were already tight.
▲ Restoration carried out by later generations of model enthusiasts
02
Write at the end
The cannon is not only a man's romance, but also enough to make the opponent's heart tremble. Although there are many restrictions, the deafening explosion when the cannon is fired, and the refreshing feeling of hitting the target are all unstoppable!