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Object 278 Heavy Tank w/ gas turbine engine

The Object 278 was the first heavy tank on which a gas turbine engine was installed. Created on the basis of components and assemblies of tanks IS-7 and T-10. It was created simultaneously with objects 277 and 279. The hull is welded, curved side sheets of varying thickness. The gun with an ejector system blowing the barrel has a semi-automatic loading mechanism with electric drive. The tank has an automated fire control system.

Since the mid 50s. in the USSR, work was underway to create a new generation of heavy tanks. The USSR Council of Ministers Decree of August 12, 1955 provided for the creation of new heavy tanks and engines for them. The Leningrad Kirov Plant was assigned to develop, within the combat mass, 52-55 tons of tanks “Object 277” with diesel, “Object 278” with a gas turbine engine and, together with VNII-100, a special-purpose tank “Object 279” mass 60 tons. For the tank “Object 277 ”Leningrad Plant No. 800 was to develop the M-850 diesel, the Sverdlovsk Turbine Plant was entrusted with the development of the DG-1000 diesel for the Object 279 tank, and the turbine engine for the Object 278 tank was to develop the LKZ. The Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant was assigned to develop the Object 770 tank weighing up to 55 tons and the A-100 engine for this tank.

Tanks "Object 277" and "Object 770" were developed on a single TTT, had almost the same combat and technical characteristics, but differed in the layout and design of units, components and systems. Tank "Object 278" was a variant of the tank "Object 277" and differed from it in the engine-transmission compartment, which housed the gas turbine engine. Tank "Object 279" compared with these heavy tanks had a higher maneuverability due to the presence of a propulsion unit with four tracks and had enhanced armor protection against conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction.

All of these experimental tanks had a classical layout scheme, a crew of four, were armed with a 130-mm rifled gun and equipped, in addition to the Object 278, with various diesels, whose power was equal to or slightly above 735 kW (1000 hp) . The tanks were installed unified night vision devices, systems PAZ, PPO, TDA and communications. An anti-aircraft machine-gun unit was not envisaged in tanks, since tanks were developed at a time when the potential enemy had already armed jets, and anti-tank helicopters had not yet appeared. The combat mass of the developed tanks was in the range of 55-60 tons. The increase in combat mass was due to the need to protect against a shock wave of a nuclear explosion, as well as against powerful guided anti-tank missiles (projectiles) that appeared abroad.

The tank "Object 278" was developed according to the same tactical and technical requirements as the tank "Object 277" and differed from it only in the engine-transmission compartment in which it was supposed to install the GTD-1 gas turbine engine, a three-stage planetary gearbox with rattling degrees freedom, two two-stage PMP with friction discs, working in the oil, and two double-row combined side gearbox. The planetary gearbox provided three forward gears and one reverse gear. The engine was located aft across the hull of the tank. Due to the installation in the tank of a gas turbine engine, the design of the armored hull was changed, the capacity of the main fuel tanks was increased from 820 to 1,300 liters, and additional capacity

- from 250 to 650 liters. Cruising the tank on the highway remained the same - 300 km. In 1961, two prototypes of the GTD-1 engine were manufactured for the tank, tests of which showed that the characteristics of a number of elements did not correspond to the calculated values. In the process of finishing the engine, two GTE variants were developed: with stationary and rotating heat exchangers. Estimated specific fuel consumption for an engine with a stationary heat exchanger was 304 g / kWh (290 g / hp. "H). For an engine with a rotating heat exchanger, the calculated specific fuel consumption was 287 g / kWh (211 g / hp / h). Actually, GTE power was 441 kW (600 hp) instead of the given 735 kW (1000 hp), and specific fuel consumption was -572 g / kWh (420 g / hp.h) instead of the given 425 g / kWh (335 g / hp / h).

By resolution of the USSR Council of Ministers on July 19, 1960, the work on the “Object 278” heavy tank was stopped.