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TD-200 assault tank trailer

Not the best attempt to create an armored personnel carrier for the safe transportation of infantry on the battlefield. The TD-200 was a further development of the sleigh driven by the tank, only now it was a closed armored car with embrasures, the tests were carried out in 1942, the case did not go beyond the three experimental samples.

The creation of armored personnel carriers in the Red Army was thought of in the 1930s, but things did not move further than experimental work. However, a kind of transporter was used in the Soviet-Finnish war. The armored sledges (drags) designed by Sokolov allowed the protected infantry to accompany the tanks. In the spring of 1941, about 300 sleds of this type were still stored in warehouses. Activity on this topic was resumed at the end of 1941.

The department of inventions of the Main Automobile and Armored Directorate of the Red Army (GABTU KA) was literally swamped with proposals with designs of armored sleds of various types. Among these proposals were quite exotic designs. For example, the design engineer of plant No. 112 V.E. At the end of February 1942, Gubanov proposed a draft of the amphibious assault tank trailer (BDTP). It was a shortened T-34 hull with a standard turret and armor. In summer, the trailer moved on tracks, in winter, skating rinks and tracks were removed, and skis were to be installed instead. According to the calculation of the author, the mass of the BDTP was 10-15 tons. They would have to be produced in three versions - landing, combat-landing and a special type. According to the author of the project, the BDTP could be designed and built at plant No. 112 as soon as possible. To speed up the work, the prototypes were supposed to have the usual hull from the T-34, while the combat mass of the armored vehicles increased to 15-20 tons, and the number of landing places increased from 10 to 15.

Many people regard the analysis and study of various inventions that came to Moscow from all over the USSR during the war as a waste of time. In fact, it is not. Of course, many of the inventions proposed by initiative citizens were impracticable, but even 1% of successful ideas fully justified the pile of papers processed by experts. One of these nuggets went February 16, 1942 to Moscow from Chelyabinsk. Its author was the Deputy Chief Metallurgist of Plant No. 78 D.I. Chizhikov. In a letter to Stalin, Chizhikov described an armored trailer using the undercarriage of a T-60 tank.

At that time, the idea of tank trailers agitated the minds of many inventors, but in this case the author, as they say, got into the jet. Instead of single-handedly promoting his idea, the inventor offered it to plant number 200, which perceived the design as his brainchild. As you know, its shirt closer to the body. In addition, the Chizhikov armored trailer was notable for its simplicity of design, relatively small mass, and the use of already used units of the T-60 tank. Thanks to this whole project, green light was given.

Chizhikov’s idea turned out to be much more realistic than previous proposals. The length of the TD trailer was 4.5 m, width - 2 m, and height - 1 meter. Chassis for the trailer was taken from the T-60. True, the armor and the capacity of the trailer Chizhikov exceeded the wishes of the military. The thickness of the sides was 40 mm, the bow and stern - 30 mm, the roof - 20 mm, and the bottom - 15 mm. TD was calculated for 25 paratroopers who could fire from 14 loopholes opened from the inside. With such parameters, the combat weight of the trailer was 9 tons, but the tractor was supposed to be a solid KV-1.

At plant number 200, a group was created that led the topic of the armored trailer TD. As for Chizhikov, he acted as a consultant and at the same time promoted his offspring, bombarding all instances with letters in case of delayed work. According to the report of the senior military representative of Plant No. 200, a military engineer of the 2nd rank Pestov, by March 20, three samples of a trailer were built at the plant, which received an index of TD-200 (transport of the landing party 200).

For most of the characteristics, the prototypes corresponded to the concept put forward by Chizhikov. According to the requirements of the GABTU, the TD-200 were to ensure the landing of the assault force through the aft hatch both in the standing position and on the move. The landing force was located inside the trailer on the benches, 5 people each. Total TD-200 had 10 loopholes for firing: 3 from the sides, 2 in front and 2 at the stern. Loopholes were made with closing gates. Factory tests of TD-200 were started on April 16. The first running tests showed that the average movement speed of the TD-200 No. 1 over the KV-1 was 16 km / h. It was covered 48 km, of which 37 km along the cobblestone highway and 11 km along the country road. It was noted that the trailer can not be unhooked on the go, clearance of 300 mm was insufficient. After testing, the prototype, which initially had single-winged upper hatches, was redone, which led to a delay in testing for a month. On April 22, Chizhikov wrote another letter to Stalin with a request to assist in the acceleration of work, however, this had no effect on the course of the tests. The tests took place in May 1942. They coincided with the exercises at the Chelyabinsk Tankodrome.

During the tests, the TD-200 was tested at full load: 20 fighters sank into the trailer, landing took 60 seconds. In addition, a successful landing was made on the move (speed 4–5 km / h). A full load trailer was tested off-road. Despite the damage, there was not a single case of caterpillars falling. June 15, factory testing is completed. Inspection of the chassis TD-200 number 1 showed that the trailer quite successfully passed the factory program. Despite the well-rolled tests, there was no decision on the serial production of the TD-200 (the GABTU conclusions on the results of tests in correspondence were not found, there is no resolution on whether to accept the trailer for service, or to refuse) On this work on the trailer ended.

This is probably due to the fact that the trailers were too heavy. At a meeting on February 27, 1942, tactical and technical requirements were adopted for the armored vehicles needed by the Red Army. According to these requirements, the combat mass of the trailer should not exceed 5 tons, and the number of paratroopers was 15 people. The TD-200 with a combat mass of 10 tons and a landing force of 20 people clearly did not fit into this framework.