The Second World War is over. Artillery died down on the battlefields, prisoners of war returned to their homes, Germany paid indemnity, and the Soviet Union had the largest and most technically equipped land army. This superiority was visible to any military specialist from the results of the Soviet-Japanese war of 1945
In September 1945, a joint military parade of troops was held in Berlin. Allied countries demonstrated their strength and development to each other. Who has superiority in tanks was visible to the naked eye. Compared to the American M-24 Chaffee and the British Comets, the IS-3 heavy tank in the amount of 53 units of the 71st Guards Heavy Tank Regiment looked like a real steel monster, predatory and merciless. But the development of tanks did not stop there and did not even slow down.
Prerequisites for the emergence of the project "Object 730"
At the end of the war, the production of the IS-3 continued. The conditions for the use of tanks have changed, now they did not live for several battles, but had to serve for several years. Tanks of the war years were unsuitable for such a task. The last hopes for the IS-3 collapsed when, during one of the tests, a 100-mm armor-piercing projectile hit the edge of the frontal part (allfamous "pike nose"). The hull burst at the seams, and the machine was out of order. All issued copies were aimed at eliminating deficiencies, and the mass production of the IS-3 was discontinued.
Now, taking into account the accumulated experience and new tasks, Soviet tank builders had to create a more advanced combat vehicle. At that time, two tank plants operated on the territory of the Union - Leningrad Kirov and Chelyabinsk Tractor. In Leningrad, after the blockade was lifted, a branch of Experimental Tank Plant No. 100 was organized, Zh. Kotin became the director. This is where the "Object-260", or IS-7, was born.
It was the best tank of its time, surpassing foreign counterparts in terms of parameters, but having a number of shortcomings. A number of test failures played against the tank. By that time, vehicles that were too heavy were being phased out. Bridges and railway platforms could not withstand them.
In 1948, a task was issued - to create a new machine, relatively inexpensive, reliable, with a mass of up to 50 tons.
Second IS-5
There is some confusion in the numbering of Soviet tanks. The project "Object 730" bore the number IS-5. But there was already an IS-5 - "Object 248", but it was never launched into the series. As part of the work on the Object 730 project, an improvement in the IS-4 was conceived. A number of components and assemblies were prepared for replacement to reduce the weight of the machine.
Development on it began in 1948 and by 1950 had not yet been completed. Tests revealed many shortcomings. Thus, the number was given a second life, IS-5 - "Object 730".
The work was delayed for severalyears, and in 1953 the tank was put into service under a different name. The IS-5 never entered the series, but new engines, transmissions, weapons, etc. were tested on it.
Specifications
A welded hull with sloping top and bent side plates and a "pike nose" were in the final version of the Object 730 project. The tank had a cast streamlined turret. As weapons, two machine guns, one paired with a 122-mm D-25TA cannon, the second near the loader's hatch. The combat weight was equal to 50 tons. The vehicle is capable of climbing 32 degrees and crossing ditches of 2.7 m. Power of 700 liters. with. allowed to overcome walls of 0.8 m and reach speeds of up to 43.1 km / h. The crew of the usual four people, the armor of the tower in 250 mm reliably protected them. The power reserve was 180-200 km. There were 30 shells for the gun, and 1000 rounds for machine guns.
First trials
In April 1949, a wooden model of the tank was delivered to Moscow. A list of improvements was made. The project was approved in May, and then the preparation of drawings began. The preparation of documents was completed only by the end of June. The work was delayed, and they did not have time to assemble experimental tanks for the tests scheduled for August. It was decided to use the IS-4 with attachments from the IS-5. "Object 730" was left aside for a while. Engine power was limited to 700 hp. with. Some units were also tested on the IS-7.
Failures and improvements
September was the month of factory testing. IS-5 shouldwere to go 2000 km, but there were flaws in the transmission. It was decided to develop and use an 8-speed planetary gearbox on the machine. VNII-100 was engaged in the development of technical documentation, and LKZ provided three prototypes. Tests have shown the advantage of the new unit.
Among other things, the tank was equipped with an ejection cooling system and a new gun mounting scheme. Three more pieces of equipment for testing were released in March 1953. After testing one of them, the next state tests began at the Rzhevsk training ground.
Now, despite the difficulty of the track, 200 km have been covered. Two tanks covered up to 200 km per day, and the third more than 280. A week and a half later, the commission issued a conclusion on the successful completion of the tests. "Object 730" met the stated requirements and surpassed foreign counterparts. Despite all the improvements and alterations, the potential for modernization was left.
Rebirth in T-10
In the summer of 1950, 10 prototypes of the tank were created. They were tested at various test sites. Not everything was finalized, but nevertheless the car met the requirements. A new list of works was compiled, and the release into the series was again postponed. The original project has undergone major changes repeatedly and changed its name to IS-8, IS-9 and IS-10.
For example, a special mechanism for sending a projectile was provided. Thanks to this, the rifled 122-mm D-25TA gun fired 3-4 rounds / min. The guidance system of a machine gun coaxial with a cannon was regulated usingsingle electric drive TAEN-1. The box was made 8-speed, and a B-12-5 with 700 hp was used as a power plant. with. Caterpillars borrowed from the IS-4 provided ground pressure of 0.77 kg/m.
The final tests of the machine were completed in December 1952. In March 1953, a tragic event for that time took place - the death of I. V. Stalin. But the abbreviation IS was adopted in honor of him - "Joseph Stalin". And in the order of the Minister of Defense on putting the tank into series, the vehicle was called T-10.
Production started slowly, with 10 units this year, 50 the next, and 90 the year after.
Modifications
When you reach one vertex, you need to move to the next one, so did the constructors. A two-plane weapon stabilization system was created at the Leningrad Design Bureau. If earlier vertical movements were compensated, now horizontal ones are also compensated. A new T-2S sight has been developed and installed. Put into production in 1956, and in 1957 the T-10B was released.
A year later, a new modification appeared. In serial production, it was replaced by the T-10M. This tank was equipped with a more powerful weapon M-62T2S (2A17). Armor-piercing shells reached speeds of up to 950 m/s and pierced 225 mm of armor from 1000 m.
All technical improvements made it the best tank of its time, for almost forty years the "Object 730" was in service andmodified according to requirements. This is the most massive tank in Russia, and possibly the world. It was not created for export, the only military conflict in which it participated was the entry of troops of the Warsaw Pact countries into Czechoslovakia.
The last heavy tank of the Soviet Union
So, in the fifties, the last Soviet heavy tank was adopted, then there were various modifications of it. It was the best creation of the military industry, which absorbed all the technical developments of its time. They removed it from service after the collapse of the Union, in 1993
