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SU-152 Object 120 "Taran"

In 1957, on the basis of a resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR in the framework of research on the subject of "Ram" in the Design Bureau "Uralmashzavod" under the leadership of the Civil Society. Efimova began the development of an experimental prototype of a tank destroyer armed with a powerful cannon with a direct firing range of up to 3000 meters. Self-propelled installation "Object 120" was created on the basis of the SU-152P and differed from it by the presence of a rotating turret with a 152 mm M69 smoothbore gun. A prototype tank destroyer was made in 1960. In the same year, work on the topic was stopped at the factory test stage in connection with the beginning of the creation of more effective anti-tank weapons.

The most powerful anti-tank self-propelled guns, "Object 120" was also called "Taran" [Ram]. According to the muzzle energy of an armor-piercing projectile, this machine has no equal, it seems to me. 18.5MJ (12.5kg at a speed of 1720m / s) - modern tank guns are noticeably more modest. And,the modern smooth-bore guns in tanks are also less accurate, but the 152-mm M-69 gun with a rifled barrel is very lethal. However, nothing is given for free - it is not for nothing that this heavy-duty machine is only in the museum hall.

In the early 1960s it turned out that the armor-piercing caliber shells of the tank guns D-10T, D-25 and M-62, which are armed with medium tanks T-54 and T-55 and heavy tanks T-10 and T-10M, were not able to break through the frontal armor of the hull nor the turret of the American M-60 tank and the English "Chieftain" tanks. The Soviet military leadership hastily initiated several parallel projects at once. Heavy-duty self-propelled guns, new smooth-bore and rifled guns with OBPS and ATGMs, new shells for old guns - in general, all that could come to mind at the same time.

The self-propelled guns "Taran" was just in one of these areas and created. The gun developed in OKB-9 with an incredibly long - even by today's standards - 59.5-caliber (9045 mm without a rather big muzzle brake) that pierced a 290 mm thick armor plate with 2000 m. This made the new self-propelled gun practically a superweapon - at that time there were no tanks capable of withstanding such a blow. And even if someone had survived, it would hardly have preserved their combat effectiveness after such a blow.

Self-propelled tank fighter SU-152 ("Object 120") was developed in Sverdlovsk in the design office of Uralmashzavod under the leadership of G.S. Efimova. The development of the fighter tanks was carried out on the basis of the Decree of the Council of Ministers of the USSR of May 8, 1957 as part of research on the topic No. 9 ("Taran"). The aim of the work was to create an experimental model of a tank destroyer armed with a powerful cannon with a direct-range firing range of 3000 m.

According to the specifications of the Uralmashzavod, it was necessary to create a self-propelled caterpillar armored tracked self-propelled gun with a combat weight of 25-30 tons, designed to fight tanks, self-propelled guns and other enemy targets at long ranges. Crew - 3-4 people. The maximum speed is 55-65 km / h. Cruising range - 400-500 km. The armor protection of the frontal parts of the hull and turret should not have been affected by 57 mm caliber armor-piercing shells with an impact speed of 950 m / s with a heading angle of 0 °. The noise level inside the machine should not exceed 115 decibels, and the level of CO - 0.4 mg per 1 liter of air. At a direct firing range, the gun was supposed to break through a 300 mm steel armor plate located at a 30 ° angle to the normal floor and a 150 mm plate at 60 °. The mass of the gun should not exceed 4500 kg. Uralmashzavod was appointed the lead contractor for the tank destroyer and the installation of a gun in it (the topic was headed by the chief designer of Uralmashzavod G.S. Efimov). The plan-card provided for the production of 2 experimental guns in the II quarter of 1959. The completion of work on the topic was planned for the I quarter of 1960.

To create a gun with high desired characteristics, the SKB-172 team (leader M.Yu. Tsiryulnikov) together with other performers on the topic (NII-24, NII-13, TsKB-393, Uralmashzavod) in 1957, studies were conducted to identify the optimal caliber guns. It was found that with a given ultimate mass of the system of the required armor penetration, the caliber of the guns in the range from 130 to 152.4 mm was satisfied. The preliminary design of the 152.4 mm SKB-172 gun was issued to Uralmashzavod in December 1957 for preliminary assembly of the gun mount on a tank destroyer. In this advance project, the barrel length reached 10,405 mm, and the average recoil resistance force was 47 tf. In the preliminary project of a 130 mm gun with the same barrel length, the mass of the gun was 3800 kg, that is, it was 700 kg lighter. In February 1958 on the basis of the research conducted and based on real capabilities, it was decided at the GKOT Technical Council to establish the range of a direct shot at a target height of 3 m - 2500 m. The initial projectile speed of 130 mm rifled guns should have been 1800 m / s, and 152.4 mm smooth-bore - 1600-1700 m / s. The total barrel length for both guns should not exceed 8500 mm.

In 1958, Perm plant 172 manufactured and tested firing on a ballistic installation M36-BU-3 experimental 130-mm and 152.4-mm barrels and ammunition. In 1958, plant No. 172 produced experimental trunks, with the help of which it was planned to conduct a new stage of verification. Comparative tests showed that, despite the significant difference in calibers, guns are superior to each other in some respects and lose in others. So, the 152-mm gun used a heavier armor-piercing shell, but accelerated it to lower speeds. The M-68, in turn, was ahead of the heavier system in armor penetration at zero meeting angles, while with an increase in angle it showed less high performance. In general, from the point of view of technical characteristics, the two guns were equivalent. The most important advantage of the 152-mm gun M-69 was the proposed range of ammunition. Unlike a smaller caliber system, it could use cumulative shells. Great power, gain in some characteristics and the presence of a cumulative shot led to the fact that the M-69 was recommended for use on the "Object 120".

The test results were discussed on March 6, 1959 at a meeting of representatives of Uralmashzavod, plant No. 172 and NII-24. Due to the fact that for the NII-24 130-mm rifled gun only the armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile was developed, and for the 152.4-mm gun - the cumulative and armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile, it was decided to design and manufacture plant No. 172 for installation in a fighter tanks 152.4 mm smoothbore gun, designated M69 ("Taran"). In January 1960, two guns made by Plant No. 172 were sent to Uralmashzavod for installation in a self-propelled tank fighter. In 1960, a prototype of the SU-152 “Object 120” tank destroyer was manufactured.

The self-propelled SU-152 "Object 120" self-propelled gun was created on the basis of the SU-152P self-propelled gun and differed from it by the presence of a rotating tower in which the M69 152.4 mm smoothbore gun was installed. Due to the increased length of the barrel of the gun (9045 mm), the initial velocity of the armor-piercing-subcaliber non-rotating projectile was 1710 m / s, and the range of a direct shot at a target 2.0 m high reached 2050 m. The maximum pressure in the barrel was 392 MPa (4000 kgf / cm) . A shell weighing 11.66 kg at a range of 3000 m pierced a vertically located armor plate 310 mm thick. The gun had an ejection system for purging the barrel channel after firing and a slotted muzzle brake, due to which the maximum recoil length was only 300 mm. To ensure a high rate of fire, artillery shots were located in a drum warhead, and the barrel was automatically brought to the loading angle for the loading period. Using a manual hydraulic mechanism, the gun was pointed in the vertical plane in the range of angles from -5 to + 15 °. The rotation of the tower was carried out using an electric motor drive.

The self-propelled gun installation kit for the SU-152 “Object 120” tank destroyer also included two AK-47 assault rifles and 20 F-1 hand grenades. The ammunition for the gun consisted of 22 rounds with armor-piercing, anti-caliber and fragmentation shells. Aiming at the target during the day was carried out using the telescopic sight TSh-22, at night - using a periscopic night sight. The armored hull and turret were welded and provided bulletproof crew protection. The maximum thickness of the armor was 30 mm.

In parallel with the choice of guns, a solution was made to the chassis issue. Since the late forties, Uralmashzavod has been working on three promising self-propelled guns built on the basis of a unified chassis. The latter was based on a number of original ideas and used some new solutions for domestic technology. Nevertheless, the novelty had a negative impact on the course of the project, due to which, even after several years of fine-tuning the chassis, it retained a number of serious drawbacks. By the time Taran started, two of the three projects were closed, and the development of the self-propelled gun SU-100P was still ongoing, but already in order to create a new chassis. It was a revised version of an existing armored vehicle that they proposed to use in a new project.

The proposed 152-mm gun was large in size and made corresponding requirements for the fighting compartment. In this regard, it was decided to use not the SU-100P chassis, but its revised version, based on the main ideas of the closed project SU-152P. In this case, the problem of dimensions was solved by lengthening the casing and adding a pair of track rollers. Thus, the new “Object 120” was to be based on a modified and improved seven-roller chassis.

In a machine weighing 27 tons, a diesel engine with a capacity of 353 kW (480 hp) was installed. Torque from the engine through the main clutch was transmitted to a mechanical dual-threaded transmission and drive wheels. The maximum speed of the vehicle was 63 km / h. For external communication, the radio station R-113 was used, internal - TPU R-120.

the "Object 120" was capable of striking in a frontal projection all existing medium and heavy tanks of a potential enemy at ranges of kilometers, ie. from outside the range of effective response fire. The developed cumulative ammunition made it possible to obtain sufficient characteristics, and the 43.5-kg high-explosive fragmentation expanded the combat capabilities of the self-propelled gun.

High firepower was also ensured by successful reloading means. After the shot, the gun returned to the loading angle, and the drum stack simplified the loader's work. Due to this, the crew could make up to 2 shots in 20 seconds. In this respect, the SU-152, at least, was not inferior to other vehicles with artillery weapons, incl. smaller calibers.

The disadvantage of "Object 120" could be considered a relatively low level of protection. The most powerful sections of the hull and turret had armor only 30 mm thick, which protected only from small and medium caliber shells. The hit of ammunition from 76 mm and above threatened the most serious consequences. However, this feature of the ACS was not considered a disadvantage due to the low probability of being hit by enemy fire from a range of 2.5-3 km.

Of course, this monster weighed a lot, but the chassis of the SU-152P completely coped with it. Which, in fact, is not surprising - after all, the Taran, in fact, was the very same SU-152P with a closed turret and a modernized gun of the same caliber (6 "). In general, the self-propelled gun came out quite light - only 27 tons, and if it weren’t for the huge muzzle muzzle brake, it would probably have dashingly jumped when firing.

However, the lightweight lightweight mounted rammer did not particularly facilitate the work of the loader in the compact tower - with an armor-piercing projectile back and forth, the benefit is separate loading, but with OFS, 43kg (according to other sources - “only” 35kg). Apparently, due to the extraordinary weight of the barrel, the developers didn’t even plan to install a stabilizer for firing on the move, it was supposed to use self-propelled guns only from a place and from ambushes - especially since the maximum armor thickness did not exceed 30 mm.

All together led to the realization that the time for extensive development had already passed. While testing the self-propelled guns, it turned out that a similar result can be achieved with the help of an ATGM carried by one person, and if there was a need for something with a barrel, the smooth-bore gun D-81 with a caliber of only 125 mm and one and a half times shorter - it penetrates with OBPS from the same two kilometers 270mm armor.

It turned out that a specialized tank destroyer was not needed - it was time for missile tank destroyers and smoothbore guns with OBPS. Therefore, the mighty "Taran" went straight to Kubinka, to the BTT Museum, where it remains to this day.