BP-60 Assault Trailer
In September 1942, the idea of ??creating an armored sled based on the T-60 at the GABTU was addressed by representatives of the Scientific Automotive Institute (NATI). By September 16, the draft design of the DP-60 sleigh (amphibious trailer based on the T-60 tank), developed by the engineers of NATI L.F. Kiselev and V.F. Goranov, was considered GABTU KA. The project was offered in three versions. The most interesting was the version with a fighting weight of 3.3 tons. The base was taken body T-60, which was made in the aft hatch and closed loopholes. The landing of the sleigh in this variant was 8 people. True, initially at the GABTU, the variant with the preservation of a gun turret with weapons was considered more interesting.
As of November 11 in the territory of GAZ them. Molotov there were 212 hulls and turrets of the T-60, as well as 47 sets of hulls and turrets of the T-30. Also, a stock of 120 hulls and 50 T-60 turrets was located at plant No. 37. With such reserves, the idea of ??creating an armored trailer using the T-60 hull looked very tempting. Production costs should have been minimal, which means that the trailers would have been cheap, and the issue using the available reserve would have been solved.
The final draft was prepared in early October 1942. The trailer, designated as BP, had a fighting weight of 3.5 tons, its capacity increased to 10-12 people. In addition to infantry, he could carry 5-7 barrels of fuel. It was planned to use a T-34 as a trailer. For this purpose, a special sled assembly was attached to the stern tow hooks of the tank, to which, in turn, the trailer hitch was attached. Calculation of the trailer, if necessary, could be unhooked from the tank, without going outside.
At the same time, similar designs based on the NATI projects were developed by two more enterprises. On September 29, a letter was sent to the Director of Plant No. 180, in which it was proposed to manufacture 4 prototypes of trailers for the T-34 tank, using the T-60 tank hull for this. A similar order from the People's Commissar of Medium Machine Building Akopov was sent to GAZ. In the correspondence, the offspring of the GAZ is referred to as “armored vehicles”; only one document mentions the product index BP-60 (armored trailer based on T-60).
The mass of armored vehicles was 4 tons, which fit in with the requirements of the GABTU. For one T-34 it was possible to hook two trailers, the total number of troops at the same time reached 20 people. The sled clung to the T-34 with a drawbar made of steel pipes.
The first 4 samples of armored vehicles were manufactured at plant number 180 by the end of November 1942. Works were supervised senior designer NATI Garanov, one of the authors of the project. Sleds were released in two versions, differing from each other in the design of the coupling device. The first version of the device was equipped with hooks, the second - with eyes. According to the results of factory tests on November 27, a technical meeting was held at the plant, according to which it was decided to introduce a number of changes into the sled design. Skis were lengthened in the front and rear parts, the design of coupling devices was altered, the rear rims strengthened. Later Garanov was sent to GAZ imeni Molotov, where he also participated in the preparation of the production of armored vehicles. The first samples of the BP-60 were ready in Gorky by January 1943.
The tests conducted January 13-14, 1943 at the NIIBT Polygon in Kubinka, had to be carried out according to an abbreviated program. When determining the smallest turning radius of the drawbar, they were bent. It was possible to make two checkouts: in the first, 5 kilometers long, two armored vehicles took part, in the second, 3 kilometers long, only one armored ones. In both cases, the sleigh was towed with a full landing force. T-34 confidently towed as one of the armor, and a couple. The average speed was 25 km / h on the highway and 20 km / h on the virgin snow (the thickness of the snow cover reached 400 mm).
During the tests, a landing of 10 people with personal weapons took 20-25 seconds to embark, the landing took 30-35 seconds. The design of the rear landing hatches with loops on the side was considered not very convenient, it was recommended to redo it. Inside the landing was placed directly on the floor (the benches were not provided for due to the small height of the T-60 hull), which caused a lot of inconvenience. In this case, excessive shaking while driving was not felt. According to the test results, the loopholes and the design of the embrasure covers were found to be quite convenient. At the same time, while driving along virgin snow and country roads, a cloud of snow dust was rising, making it impossible to target the landing from the loopholes. In addition, shooting tests revealed the presence of dead firing zones from a sled.
The production of sleighs from the T-60 hulls began at GAZ at the end of January 1943, and in January the production of sleighs began in Saratov. As of March 3, 1943 GAZ them. Molotov produced 250 armored vehicles, of which 35 were sent to the 1st Tank Army, 75 to the Western Front and 41 to the Northwestern Front. In addition, Plant No. 180 produced 24 copies that went to the Kalininsky Front. As of December 21, 1943, 120 assault sleds were in stock, which were planned to be transferred to the troops: 60 to the 2nd Baltic Front, 30 to the 1st Baltic Front and 30 to the Belarusian Front. The exact number of released sleds BP-60 is unknown, but the total release from GAZ imeni Molotov and plant number 180 is estimated at 300 pieces.
Alas, there are no details about their combat use. Nevertheless, the idea itself turned out to be very interesting. Similar sleds were developed in other countries, but compared to the BP-60, they looked frivolous.
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