The largest tank - two Russian versions

It is difficult to imagine the army of any country without a tank, this heavy armored car, "fortress on caterpillars". Almost all developed countries have armored vehicles of all sizes. Very large cars are available in the American and German armies, but the largest tank was created by Russian engineers, and not in one, but in two versions.

The first model was created in 1915th. The car was so outstanding in size that it received not only the name of the Tsar Tank, but also several nicknames, such as Mammoth or Mastodon. The giant was called and by the name of its creator - Lebedenko's car. The world's largest tank was not at all like modern cars. Instead of the caterpillars we used, Nikolai Lebedenko supplied his offspring with huge wheels resembling the wheels of the Central Asian arba. The front wheels of the car had a nine-meter diameter and consisted of a rim and spokes. Instead of the rear Wheels engineer Lebedko used a 1.5-meter skating rink. The hull of this miraculous tank also did not have its usual outlines. It was T-shaped, and its length was twelve meters. Had the largest tank and machine-gun fire. It was fixed and located at an eight-meter height. Additional machine guns were placed on the front corners of the hull, which were slightly protruding from the wheels. The speed of the Tsar Tank reached 17 kilometers per hour.

As it is not surprising, the fantastic invention of Lebedko was approved not only by a number of instances, but by Nicholas II himself. At the audience, the engineer presented the Mammoth clockwork model and ran it, crawling along with the emperor on the floor of the reception room. The model overcame all obstacles, and Nicholas II opened financing for further developments. The working metal version of the Tsar-tank was collected in the forest near Dmitrov, however it did not pass the test. The largest elm tank in the swamp, as the front wheels could not pull out the back wheel of small diameter from the mud. In addition to the incorrectly distributed weight, the Tsar Tank had many other shortcomings. Huge wheels proved too vulnerable during artillery firing, and the small speed and large dimensions turned the car into an excellent target.

The project could not stand the tests and was closed, but without a trace the largest tank in the world has not disappeared - it became the ancestor of modern armored cars. Stechkin and Mikulin, young engineers who worked together with Lebedko, had a useful experience. The idea was also influenced by the engineer Pavesi, who created a number of powerful Wheeled tractors for the Italian army. The drawings of Tsar Tank became the basis for Pogohovshchikov's all-terrain vehicle, which, in turn, became the source of ideas for the first French tank.

Perhaps, without the ridiculous and ridiculous Mammoth, the largest tank "number two" would not have been built either. He was called IS-3. This powerful machine was developed by Soviet engineers in 1945. In real battles the tank did not participate, but at the Berlin parade the car was present and made an indelible impression on the allies of the USSR. From the rest of the machines this tank was characterized by its elongated body. This form of IS-3 was given, based on the experience of the Battle of Kursk. However, despite the powerful equipment and large sizes, this project did not develop further. Due to wartime the tank was developed too hastily, having inherited its technical drawbacks from IS-2.