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Porokhovschikov vezdekhod

Most historical references tell about the first tank in the world - the British tank Mark I, which was used for the first time in history in combat conditions. This happened in September 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Everybody knows how this tank looked: huge, clumsy, armed with a cannon and machine guns sticking out on the sides, with ridiculous steering wheels at the back. However, this tank, despite all its minuses, did a lot of useful things for the allies, not so much even with its dubious firepower, as with the ability to iron the Germans wire barriers and overcome their fortifications, affecting the enemy soldiers also psychologically.

However, the Briton was not the first in the world. The current combat vehicle that meets all criteria for a tank, appeared in Russia earlier, namely on May 18, 1915. And it is precisely this day that can rightly be considered the birthday of a tank. Of course, there were previously numerous projects of such machines, starting from the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, were also abroad, were in Russia. It is enough to recall a tank designed by Vasily Mendeleev, the son of the great chemist. His project suggested the construction of a giant armored vehicle weighing 170 tons, equipped with a 120-millimeter gun. But, despite several know-how applied by the author, that tank was hopeless.

The designer of the first tank created in Russia was Alexander Aleksandrovich Porokhovshchikov, a hereditary nobleman who came to the founder of the “Slavonic Bazaar”, the famous Moscow entrepreneur and Slavophile Alexander Porokhovshchikov - son, Patriarch of All Russia Alexy I (Simansky) - uncles, and the popular Soviet actor, also Alexander Porokhovshchikovu - native grandfather. Alexander Alexandrovich lived a surprisingly bright, short life, which fell on the most tragic segment of Russian history. Perhaps, if he were born in another era, sooner or later he would certainly have become a world celebrity, like Tesla or Edison.

Intelligent, energetic, fearless, and deeply devoted to the Motherland, he, being a very young man, designed a light aircraft, called the "Powdersmith No. 1" by him, which he himself controlled. Later he created the world's first two-axle aircraft, which supplied the tracked chassis, which also had no analogues in the world. It is not surprising that this talented designer and became the creator of the Russian tank.

The Porokhovshchikov project was born in January 1915. The designer, working alone, was given to predict the coming evolution of combat vehicles. His offspring, called "Rover", had a streamlined shape, sealed enclosure that allowed to overcome water obstacles, and multi-layered armor, the concept of which other inventors came after years.

The armor consisted of two steel sheets, the gap between which was filled with sea grass. So two problems were solved: protection of the crew from bullets and thermal insulation. A rotary machine-gun tower with a hatch was provided. The tank was set in motion by a 10-horsepower gasoline engine, two-cylinder, liquid-cooled. The driving force of the car was the only caterpillar - a tape made of rubberized canvas stretched over the drums. Plus there were also wheels - the car went on a wheeled course on hard roads, while the caterpillar did not touch the ground, although it was spinning, and on loose soil the car “sat” on the caterpillar.

But it was this caterpillar that became the Achilles' heel of the project. First, the rubberized tape occasionally slipped on the drums, and they were idling. Secondly, moving on a smooth substrate, for example, in snow, Porokhovshchikov's tank began to slow down, because the tape lacking protectors had nothing to cling to the ground. Big problems were with the turn of the car, for this purpose, swivel wheels were used, which were constantly stuck.

In essence, Porokhovshchikov was only one step away from the ideal; it was enough for him to “cross” his offspring with another outstanding Russian discovery, a caterpillar tractor, invented even earlier by steam train engineer Fedor Blinov. That did not happen.

The automotive department of the Main Military-Technical Directorate of the Russian Army did not appreciate its obvious advantages, finding it generally unpromising. But when the English tank and its counterparts in other armies, (among which the French version was particularly successful), began to change the nature of the war, Porokhovshchikov and his project were remembered and suggested that he modify his tank. So there was a "Rover-2", already with two caterpillars. But, unfortunately, this option was also rejected at the drawing stage.