Complex era
Goddard (r * h * goddard), Ph.D. 1918, invented the use of shaped
charge warheads, rocket launchers, 50 years after the invention of
the tank has become a serious problem, while the French Nordisk in
1953 ─ A Weishi successfully
developed the first generation anti-tank missiles SS ─ 10, and 56
years into combat, anti-tank weapons, fighting to create a new
chapter. Shaped
charge HEAT hit the target at the top of the jet (the fastest)
speeds of up to 7,000 to 10,000 meters per second, the temperature
can reach 1100 degrees! Pressure not to mention, it
simply just use water cannons firing on the mud.Shaped charge warhead drugs most
commonly used type of cover material is copper.Explosive charge generally
high explosive detonation velocity of fierce repression, or B
explosives made of injection equipment. Here
to explain is that the jet is very thin very fine crystalline metal
penetrator itself is a solid rather than people usually think of
"high temperature of molten steel", simply because the fluid
properties of very thin so have nothing.
As a result of a shaped charge warhead, anti-tank missiles and
rocket-propelled grenades to attack man greatly enhanced, for
example, the first generation of Soviet equipment Hornet 3M6
anti-tank missiles (AT-1), 3M14 (AT-3),
France The
SS10 anti-tank missiles were still in power armor 300MM or more,
and man-portable anti-tank rocket launcher is also a growing threat
to the safety of the tank, such as the U.S. M72, the famous Soviet
PRG-7, also reached its power 300MM, that
is, in addition to tanks, portable anti-tank missiles and
rocket-man soldiers can also be a threat to the safety of the
tank.
China's production of a certain type of man
rockets.
In a
number of regional conflicts, carrying with use of shaped charge
warhead missiles and rocket launchers killing infantry a lot of the
world's most advanced main battle tank, its prevalence, second to
none. October
8th, 1973 at the Egyptian anti-tank missiles and military use AT3
RPG7 rocket launcher in one hour on the annihilation of Israel's
ace 190 armored brigade, to destroy the Western M60 tanks, hundreds
of the most advanced vehicles, shocked the
world. The
tank was used to enhance the physical thickness to enhance defense
capability has reached a dead end road alone to enhance the
thickness of armor against shaped charge warhead has almost no
possibility of suffering shaped charge warhead against
the People have to wonder
whether the tank has come to an end, and for a tank useless
rampant. "Marine of the King" position faces an
unprecedented crisis.
Had created a brilliant record of the
Soviet AT3 anti-tank missiles.
First to realize this crisis is that the Soviet Army, in the
common-man anti-tank rocket launchers and equipment,
first-generation anti-tank missiles at the same time, the Soviet
Army became aware of his armored assault force is also facing the
same level of anti-tank weapons, the West's
threats ,
when Soviet equipment T54, T55 and T62 tanks and other conventional
casting are homogeneous steel armor, confirmed by the range test,
T54/T55 thick front armor at least 150 mm, and side turret armor
thickness to reach 250 mm in order to resist the Soviet 85 mm
shaped charge their own equipment. If
you want to resist the T-62 of the 115 mm armor-piercing tank armor
will have increased to 215 mm front, if to achieve this thickness,
the tank would be too heavy and not fight. The
traditional steel armor but can not afford to fight against these
weapons, forced by the pressure of anti-tank weapons development,
developer of Soviet armor began a new journey.
Chinese-tank gun shaped
warhead.
In the latter part of World War II, the Soviet Union has embarked
on a non-metallic armor and light shields embedded research and
testing, just as in the post-war Soviet conventional forces to meet
the needs of armored steel, not only for large-scale applications,
in the late 1950s early 1960s the threat is increasing
anti-armor weapons, the Soviet research departments devote to the
development of new armor. Iron and
Steel Research Institute in which the Soviet Union, Moscow
Institute of Prussian meter ladder, Kubinka Academy of armor
technology, and many research institutes have started to test the
new armor.
Soviet
researchers first proposed in the new generation of non-metallic
tanks and armored embedded laminated on the idea that is popular
sandwich composite armor. To
this end, they test a lot of material, in the T64 tank still in the
prototype phase, researchers have tested dozens of materials
embedded mezzanine, in the early shape of the T64, using the
slotted casting method, is When
cast in front of the location of the main armored reserve groove,
the groove and then back to a specially designed cast aluminum
alloy, so that when the jet intrusion, interference of different
materials will be blocked jet, reducing the jet penetration
capability ,
despite good results, but the problems caused by this design is not
acceptable: the front turret thickness is too large (reportedly
close to 600MM), and the cast aluminum is easy to fire, but would
also produce toxic gases willand so on, and soon rejected by the
military.
Aluminum sandwich material for
testing.
Then researchers began a two-hybrid steel hardness test as a
sandwich, slotted turret casting is still used, the specific way
the manufacture of high hardness steel is first pre-cast in the
mold, but only after the casting. This
armor against armor-piercing capability and can be an effective
lever to wear damage, but repeated anti-poor flexibility, and for
jet penetration, there are good results, because there is a certain
mixture of the gap between the plates can make jet divergence,
and using
a special fire-resistant ester (special rubber) filled, can
interfere with and block jet, but excessive weight of this armor
does not meet the military's tanks to reduce the total weight of
the principle requires, also rejected by the military.
Early models of the T64 turret.
By this time another experimental center in the Soviet Union, the
development of ceramic materials has made considerable progress,
the Soviet Union has tested alumina ceramic (Al2O3) ceramic
zirconia (ZrO2) and other ceramic
materials. Here
to explain simply, there are two types of ceramic materials, namely
monolithic ceramic and ceramic composite structure structure,
monolithic structural ceramics including oxide ceramics (mainly
Al2O3 ceramic) and non-oxide ceramics (eg:
SiC, Si3N4, AlN and
TiB2, etc.), and the binary system (for example: B4C-TiB2-based
ceramics). In
general, non-oxide ceramics with higher physical properties and
relatively low density (TiB2-based ceramics in addition to
outside), as alumina ceramic armor material is more favorable than
the Al2O3. However, these
materials with a more expensive method than hot technology on the
cost structure is much higher than the oxide ceramic.
According to Soviet strategic thinking, the Soviet tank designers
did not hesitate to take the price to be accepted on the
composition of the oxide ceramic, which is famous of Al2O3, also
known as aluminum oxide, said some of the more
straightforward, Bauxite is also possible to call
it. Developer
of the Soviet Union who did not take the kind of Western ceramics
sheet structure, but after they adopted a more optimized design
calculations, spherical, T64 improved by using ceramic composite
armor structure is as high hardness alloy +
alumina The special ceramic balls + lead +
high hardness alloy steel fiber. This
ceramic armor technology is very sophisticated array of ceramic
balls were arranged in sets of constraints in the steel, and then
cast in the mold of one kind of fire-resistant polyurethane
(special rubber) to fill the gap, in this structure, when the
temperature jet
penetrates the outer layer of composite steel armored invasion,
because of the irregular arrangement of ceramic ball, plus special
rubber composition of the gap so that the jet be squeezed in
different directions and blocking, repeated alternately to achieve
destruction of the jet effect. Similarly, in the face of
such an armor piercing bomb penetrated the core is the same
principle when the bomb damage to the
core. In
general, armor against armor-piercing bomb bomb damage depends
mainly on the core-core, and against the metal jet, the jet is the
consumption of energy and blocking the continuity of the
jet.
In the early 1960s a series of tests, the use of alumina ceramic
balls for laminated composite armor achieved good results, the
success of most anti-tank weapons against attack, and soon to be
T64 tanks, armored This improvement plan
check As T64B official
equipment. The distribution
of T64 improved armor is this: the first on the body armor and a
thickness of 200MM 78 ° angle was
arranged. 90MM thickness of the first deck and
the next was 60 degrees angle layout. The
front turret armor thickness of 500MM or so (thanks to composite
armor, floating slightly different angles in different locations),
turret side of 120-90MM (cast armor steel).
T64 tank turret in the aluminum
oxide ceramic balls and the main armored turret
structure.
Left
for the use of fin-stabilized APDS for live testing of the profile,
you can see the core is not armor-piercing bomb sandwich, shows T64
turret is extremely strong.
So using this as
alumina ceramic composite armor actually has a new sandwich how
much protection capacity? The
author believes that the T64 ceramic composite armor defense
capabilities of the penetrator can reach 450mm or more, while the
HEAT's defense capability can reach 600mm.
Range in Smolensk Soviet
experiments conducted by the well-documented ability of this new
type of armor. Soviet
T64 was modified to a tank as a target, the use of static power
armor to attack anti-tank missiles in the 550MM, the loud noise
after the tanks are safe, the main front turret armor is shaped
only by the metal jet "dig" a more
than 300 MM's hole, place the ammunition in the car and the animal
used to simulate the crew were safe, we can see, the use of a
ceramic composite armor of the T64 can effectively resist the time,
most of the anti-tank weapons, new armor
design a success.
But
in the process of actually, T64 revealed a large number of
problems, such as: turn off the engine often for no reason,
liquid-gas suspension system often fails (mass production model to
cancel the suspension), the extraordinarily high failure rate of
transmission, automatic loading machine as the
crew nightmare
(glitches for 115 mm fixed loading-loading machine, the use of
artillery and loading machine 125 basically solved the problem),
fire control systems often fail ... in view of T64's "very
reliable" armored Administration
sent a team, with a T-64A tank-like vehicles, came to the Ural tank
plant, explain to the talented designer Karl Zaitsev a mission: to
develop a cheaper, simpler structure,
performance more reliable T-64A tanks.
Carl Zaitsev accepted this task, in the armor of the T64 and the
Administration to provide "172 Project" prototype for a detailed
study and testing, under the Tajik people clearly find the T64 and
the "172 Project" of the problem lies , in many
difficult problems within a short time before Carl Zaitsev sure to
complete the tasks assigned above is only one way - start all over
again.
Carl decided to adopt his design of the "167 Project", based on the
combination of some of the "172 Project" tested on proven mature
technology to develop a new tank, the project code-named "172M
project." Only the
advantages of borrowing T-64A, and put into operation without
setting the "167 Project" and the modified T-62's
strengths. To report on the above, still known
as T-64A modified. In
order to obtain research funding, Carl Zaitsev "sneak" to "172M"
project "in the name of the project so that the armored
Administration only" 172 Project "to improve model results, Carl
Zaitsev successfully get funding, but also smooth
the They spent.
When the armored tanks Administration sent experts to the so-called
"172M project" to study when it is found that the immediate rumble
of tanks, are they not a new improved version of T64, there is a
new design has a different origin of the
main battle tanks. To this end, armored tanks
Administration was very angry, severely reprimanded he did not obey
orders. But Carl
Zaitsev know "172M project" is promising, because it uses a proven
technology, T-64 than the low cost, simple
operation. Fully comply with all requests armored
Administration. In August
1969, Carl Zaitsev retired, his assistant and "172M engineering"
design team leader Weinie quarter Ketuo Fu took over the chief
architect.Experiments were
carried out five years, "172M project" kind of car well through
almost all of the pilot project. 1973 designated as T-72.
T72 of the early prototypes.
T72
in the design of the time, under the Tajik Soviet designers to
fully implement the idea of the number of saturated operations in
all aspects of large quantities of equipment, taking into account
factors, armor protection is no exception.
Despite a series of tests, alumina (Al2O3) achieved very good
results, but the money also allows designers to cost of headache as
a large number of troops trying to tank, the military must be
cost issues
to consider, T72 armored tank design is consistent with the
Administration had proposed, "easy production, low cost, able to
cope with the current major fire threat, to maintain fire
superiority of the West, with a high reliability and service" and
other requirements . In armor protection, the
designers also move enough brains to meet the military requirements
of this almost harsh.
First, the designers under the Tajik analysis was the main
anti-tank fire, found that use of shaped charge warhead anti-tank
missile and rocket threat to man among the first, so the main armor
in the T72 design, but also give priority
to against shaped charge
warhead. 60
years beginning in a series of tests, the Soviet Iron and Steel
Research Institute (hereinafter referred to Niistali) experts found
that the silica glass fiber for metal jet has a good protective
effect, because the softening temperature of quartz glass is much
higher than steel, when heated to 1800 degrees Celsius
remained semi-solid state, so its fully able to withstand severe
thermal shock. In
the manufacturing process, quartz glass fiber manufacturing process
should be much easier, I used analysis of T72 quartz glass fiber
using split-phase approach to corrosion and then calcined silica
content of 95% or more is made of low-cost, high
oxidation silica
glass fiber, (in here to explain, many of the domestic translation
agency translation of the name of such substance is extremely
confusing, general domestic military institute, said the substance
is - glass fiber reinforced phenolic) in such a glass
fiber high
temperature (even more than 1100 degrees Celsius), the intensity is
still high, may ensure the casting process basically does not
damage the laminated quartz glass, so that you can cast while in
the turret directly to the reserved even within the casting forming
the groove. This process greatly simplifies the
turret of the manufacturing time and process
procedures.
t72 turret dissection lateral map,
you can see their thick.
At the same time, the researchers also found through experiments,
the fiber laminated armor on the projectile / armor jet angle with
the defense capabilities and composite sandwich density varies:
when armor angle less than 40 degrees greater density of composite
sandwich materials large,
better protection, but sandwich-density housing and can not meet or
exceed the high-nickel steel back; and when the angle is greater
than 60 degrees, the smaller the density of laminated materials,
protective effect but better.Therefore,
the first Soviet main battle tank used on the 22-degree angle is
calculated by the optimization is the use of protective materials
and their density and structure inseparable.
Protection in the body, in order to maintain the weight T72 and T64
are used as a silicified quartz glass fiber composite sandwich,
which, T64 on the body armor is the first high-hardness alloy steel
80MM, 100MM of silicified quartz glass
fiber , 20MM steel back,
10MM lead-lined composition, complemented by 22-degree angle to
enhance defense capabilities. The early
models of the first T72 and T64 on the armor of similar until age
began to change later T72B positive body armor
structure. On the improved situation, I
will do in the next article will detail.
Early T64 and T72
armored car first schematic (t72 sandwich than the number of T64 is
less)
Case for the high-nickel steel armor, followed by the white part of
special rubber, blue for the high hardness steel sandwich (T72 no
such layer), high-oxygen silicon glass sandwich, armor steel plate
(thickness ranging from different models),
with lead-lined
The protective effect, this
is the use of composite armor materials of different density, the
formation of the jet's destruction. The
traditional shaped charge warhead hits T72 turret, the speed up to
8000 / S through the first jet of hot metal by 80MM constitute the
first high-nickel steel deck, and then invaded by the 104MM quartz
glass fibers of the second layerarmor,
in the process, the glass fiber layer of the crystal fragments
continue to cut into the metal fragment jet, armor multi-layer
stacked alternately arranged alternately cut materials of different
densities, and ultimately completely cut off jet path, to achieve
the protective purposes. I
believe that the use of glass fiber composite armor armor-piercing
defense capability of the T72 300-350mm equivalent homogeneous
steel version, the shaped charge HEAT defense capability equivalent
to 400MM-500MM homogeneous steel plate.This value has been enough to
withstand a variety of equipment was generally anti-tank
weapons. By the late 1970s, the Soviet
Union began another leap on armored tanks.Please pay attention to the subsequent
return of the red nobles - King papers.