Light tank T 80 drawings. When did the first tanks appear in the USSR?

In battles he showed that for a tank armed with a cannon the crew; consisting of two people is no longer sufficient: the tank commander had to perform the functions of a gunner and loader, which negatively affected the control of the tank in battle and the rate of fire. In addition, constantly developing means of combating tanks forced us to strengthen armor protection. Based on these premises, in 1943 the design bureau of the GAZ plant developed a new light tank T-80 with a crew of 3 people, with enhanced armor protection. One of the features of the tank was the large elevation angle of the 45 mm gun (up to 65 degrees).To ensure shooting at large elevation angles, for example when fighting in urban conditions, the tank was equipped with a K-8T anti-aircraft collimator sight. This sight made it possible to fire at air targets. The tank was put into production at plant No. 40 in Mytishchi, but after the production of 81 tanks, production was discontinued. One of the reasons for making this decision was the difficulties in mastering the production of the new GAZ-80 engine.

In the fall of 1942, the design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant, under the leadership of N.A. Astrov, developed the T-80 light tank, to replace the T-70 light tank, which was being discontinued. A prototype of the vehicle passed field tests in December 1942. The tank was put into production at plant No. 40 in Mytishchi, Moscow region. In 1943, their production was discontinued. The T-80 tank was the last example of domestic light tanks from the Great Patriotic War. Patriotic War. The insufficient number of crew of the T-70 tank (two people: commander, also gunner and loader and driver) made it extremely difficult to control the tank and fire. From the very first moment the T-70 light tank was adopted by the Red Army, its main weakness was obvious to Soviet military specialists - its single-seat turret. But the tank design still had reserves that could be used to eliminate this shortcoming.

The GAZ tank design bureau, headed by N.A. Astrov, promised this to the military even when showing the GAZ-70 prototype and immediately got into work almost immediately after the serial production of the T-70 was established. During late spring, summer and early autumn 1942, it was found that installing a two-man turret would greatly increase the load on the engine, transmission and chassis of the tank. Tests of the T-70 tank, loaded to 11 tons, fully confirmed these fears - during the tests, suspension torsion bars burst, tracks broke, and transmission components and assemblies failed. Therefore, the main work was carried out to strengthen these structural elements, which successfully ended with the adoption of the T-70M modification into service by the Red Army. Also, by the fall, a two-man turret for the T-70 tank was manufactured and successfully tested, but two circumstances stood in the way of mass production.

The second prototype with the new turret received the factory designation 080 or 0-80. For more convenient placement of a gun with the possibility of anti-aircraft firing and two crew members, it was necessary to widen the diameter of the shoulder strap and make an armored barbette ring with a thickness of 40 mm-45 mm under the inclined edges of the turret. Due to the wider turret shoulder strap, it became impossible to dismantle the engine without first removing the turret - the armor ring began to overlap the removable over-engine armor plate.

In December 1942, prototype 080 successfully passed field tests and was adopted by the Red Army under the designation T-80. However, the organization of its production was not planned at GAZ, since the transition of the Gorky auto giant to the production of the “eighty” could entail a decrease in the production volume of SU-76 tanks and self-propelled guns, which was unacceptable in wartime conditions. Armor protection - bulletproof. The tank's welded hull was made of rolled armor plates with thicknesses of 6 mm, 10 mm, 15 mm, 20 mm, 25 mm, 35 mm and 45 mm. Design armored corps and the location of the main hatches and hatches remained almost the same as on the T-70 tank, with the exception of the side plates, the thickness of which was increased to 25 mm and the roof - to 15 mm-20 mm.

The tank's oversized welded turret, made of 35 mm and 45 mm thick armor plates located at rational angles of inclination, was shifted to the left side. It had a new embrasure and mantlet mounting design, which provided large elevation angles for the main weapon. The welded joints of the turret were reinforced with armored angles. A high, stationary commander's turret was installed on the roof with an entrance hatch closed by a hinged hinged armored cover and a periscope viewing mirror device placed on the rotating base of the hatch and providing the tank commander with all-round visibility. To the left of the commander's cupola there was a gunner's hatch, which was also closed with a hinged hinged armored cover. The upper prisms of the commander's, gunner's and driver's viewing instruments had armor cover. An armored antenna input cup was located behind the commander's cupola. To make it easier to accommodate troops, special handrails were welded to the tank hull and the sides of the turret. Due to the installation of a new turret, the height of the vehicle, compared to the height of the T-70M tank, increased by 135 mm.

Tactical and technical characteristics of tanks:


Combat weight, tons
Crew, people
Case length, mm
Width, mm
Height, mm
Ground clearance, mm
Armament
A gun	45 mm 20k mod. '38	45-k-m 20Km model 42g.	45-mm 20Km model 42	45-mm 20Km model 42
Machine gun	2 x 7.62 mm DT
Ammunition (with/without radio):
shells
cartridges
Reservation, mm:
forehead of the body
hull side
roof
tower
gun mask
Engine
Power, hp
Max speed on highway, km/h:
Cruising range on the highway, km

The systems that ensured engine operation were similar to the power plant systems of the T-70M tank. The engines were started using either two ST-06 electric starters with a power of 2 hp connected in parallel. With. (1.5 kW) each, or manual winding mechanism. Two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 440 liters were located behind armored partitions in an isolated compartment on the left side of the rear compartment of the hull. On the right side of the aft compartment there was a fan and radiator for the engine cooling system. The tank's cruising range on the highway reached 320 km. The transmission and chassis were the same as on the T-70M tank.

The insufficient reliability of the uprated engines and the difficulties of mastering their production, as well as the deterioration of the vehicle’s cross-country ability due to the increased weight, reduced the combat and specifications tank.
From front-line reports we know about the use of several T-80s in self-propelled artillery regiments in 1944. There is also information about the receipt of reinforcements from the 5th Guards tank brigade On February 15, 1945, two T-80 tanks arrived from repair.

Sources:

Svirin M. N. "Tank power of the USSR";
Zheltov I. G., Pavlov I. V., Pavlov M. V., Solyankin A. G. "Soviet small and light tanks 1941-1945";
Shunkov V.N. "Weapons of the Red Army";
G.L. Kholyavsky "Complete encyclopedia of tanks of the world 1915 - 2000";
Steven J. Zaloga, James Grandsen: Soviet tanks and combat vehicles of World War Two;
Janusz Magnuski. Lekki czołg rozpoznawczy T-80. "Nowa Technika Wojskowa";
Mikhail Baryatinsky "All tanks of the USSR. The most complete encyclopedia."

< Назад

Since the First World War and to this day, tanks have dominated the fields of wars and local conflicts. In the USSR, tank building was well established. Tanks were modernized and became more and more efficient.

First tanks

Tanks found for the first time combat use on the fields of the First World War. However, neither Russian nor German troops ever used tanks on the Eastern Front. The first stage in the development of tank building in Soviet Russia was the copying of captured samples captured during Civil War. Thus, based on the Renault tanks captured in the battles near Odessa in 1919, a series of 12 tanks was created at the Sormovsky plant in Nizhny Novgorod. Next step was the creation of the MS-1 tanks, which found their first combat use in battles on the Chinese Eastern Railway in 1929. By the end of the thirties they began to be used as fixed firing points.

Searches and solutions

The second stage can be called the period 1929 - 1939, when our own tanks were created on the basis of projects acquired abroad. Some cars contained significant borrowings, others - much less. The main task was to give the Red Army a large number of tanks that are easy to manufacture and operate. This is how the relatively simple and mass-produced Soviet light tanks “T-26” and “BT” appeared, which proved themselves well in military conflicts of the interwar period.

The period of the 1930s for the whole world and not only for the USSR was a time of searching for solutions to what exactly a tank should be. There were a variety of ideas and concepts: from tactical and technical data to methods of application. The idea of creating a multi-turret tank in the USSR was reflected in the appearance of the T-28 and T-35 tanks, designed to break through enemy fortifications.

"T-28" performed well during Polish campaign and in the difficult conditions of the Soviet-Finnish War. However, after the war with Finland, they settled on the idea of creating a single-turret tank with projectile-proof armor. Great success was the creation of the V-2 diesel engine, which was installed during the Great Patriotic War on all Soviet medium and heavy tanks. So, back on November 3, 1939, People's Commissar of Defense Voroshilov and People's Commissar of Medium Engineering Ivan Likhachev reported to the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks that Soviet tank builders in short term“We achieved truly outstanding results by designing and building tanks that have no equal.” We were talking about the T-34 and KV tanks.

First in the world

On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, tank production was launched in Kharkov, Leningrad and Stalingrad (before the war they began to master the production of T-34). And by the beginning of World War II, the USSR surpassed any army in the world in the number of tanks. In addition, one of the features of the USSR was the massive (for example, in comparison with Germany) production of armored vehicles, which also played a significant role in the military conflicts of the late 1930s.

Refusal of light tanks

The period of the Great Patriotic War is characterized by a number of trends. Firstly, during the evacuation of industry to the east of the country and huge losses in tanks in the first months of the war, the creation and production of simple and cheap combat vehicles was required. This became the second most popular tank after the T-34, the T-60, created on the basis of the T-40 amphibious tank.

Armed with a 20 mm automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm machine gun, the tank played an important role in the Battle of Moscow. Its further development was the T-70 and T-80 light tanks with enhanced armor protection and a 45-mm cannon.

However, after 1943, further design and production of light tanks in the USSR was considered inappropriate due to its great vulnerability, although Germany and countries anti-Hitler coalition The production of similar machines continued in varying proportions.

"Thirty-four"

The second trend was the very rapid development and aging of tanks - if in 1941 the Soviet T-34 and KV with 76 mm guns were almost invulnerable in tank battles, then from mid-1942 the picture changed - it was necessary to create more powerful tanks. The USSR took the path of creating, if not an ideal, but simple and mass-produced tank, which became the T-34/76 and T-34/85.

"T-34" became the most mass tank Second World War. In total, about 48 thousand Thirty-Fours were produced during the war years. For comparison: there are 48 thousand Sherman tanks, and about 9.5 thousand German T-IV tanks.

The T-34 really turned out to be the best option for domestic industry, army and specific combat conditions from the Caucasus to the Arctic.

Similar trends were reflected in the creation of heavy IS tanks. In addition, if before the Great Patriotic War self-propelled guns did not occupy a significant place in the Red Army’s weapons system, then from the middle of the war, on the contrary, self-propelled guns began to play a significant role and their mass production began.

After the war. Three tanks

The post-war period is characterized by a generalization of the experience of the Second World War. Conceptually, heavy and medium tanks were left in service, and from the early 1960s there was a transition to the creation of a main tank.

In the USSR of the 1970-1980s, there were essentially three main tanks. The first was the T-64 (produced in Kharkov) - a fundamentally new machine in which a number of truly revolutionary ideas were embodied. However, the tank remained too difficult to master and operate. However, the vehicle was not removed from service and remained in western districts THE USSR.

The second vehicle was the T-80 developed at the Kirov plant; the first vehicles were produced there, and mass production was launched in Omsk. The tank had a gas turbine engine, and due to the increased speed, the chassis also changed.

The third, and one of the most famous models, was the T-72, which was modernized several times. Its production was established in Nizhny Tagil. The post-war period is also characterized by large-scale exports of Soviet armored vehicles, due to both economic and political reasons. A number of countries also established their own production. First of all, this concerns countries Warsaw Pact and partly China. Relatively simple and cheap soviet tanks found wide application in wars and local conflicts in Africa and Asia.

Good day everyone and welcome to the site! Friends, today we will talk about an interesting in appearance, but not very remarkable car in globally. It's about light tank fourth level of the USSR is T-80 guide.

Frankly speaking, this vehicle is mediocre because it is not much different from its predecessor, the third-tier light tank T-70. Indeed, T-80 characteristics very similar to younger brother, but the level of fighting here is higher and for this reason life in a random house is not at all sugar.

TTX T-80

We will start with the fact that we have a small margin of safety at our disposal, especially in comparison with equipment of levels 5-6, as well as a mediocre viewing range of 330 meters.

If we talk about the survivability of our today's hero, there will be little good. The point is that T-80 characteristics the reservations are meager, from the forehead, exactly the same as those of its predecessor. But if the T-70 could tank head-on at its level, then in our case, 75 millimeters of adjustment in the VLD is achieved by almost everyone, starting with classmates.

Other armor sections T-80 World of Tanks even more subtle, be it the forehead of the turret or the side projection of the vehicle, almost any enemy penetrates us everywhere, with the only exception being the machine-gun armament of vehicles at a lower level.

But as opposed to cardboard armor, we have small dimensions and a fairly low silhouette. As you know, such advantages are reflected well in camouflage, so find Soviet light tank T-80 hidden in the bushes is not an easy task.

As for the driving characteristics of this unit, they are far from perfect. Compared to other light tanks at tier 4 T-80 WoT has a rather weak maximum speed, low dynamics and only good maneuverability. All this tells us that this machine is mobile, but very tight and lazy.

gun

The armament in our case is by no means monotonous, because there are two guns to choose from. True, both options can hardly be called strong, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves, now you will understand everything yourself.

Let's start with the fact that T-80 gun There is a top one, level five. This heavy machine gun with a loading drum for 5 projectiles. The alpha strike for each projectile is small, but the rate of fire and reload are very high and we can deal approximately 1475 damage per minute, which is not bad at all.

The problem is that with this barrel light tank T-80 has very weak penetration, which is barely enough to fight with classmates, but even at level 4 there is a technique that you cannot penetrate even with gold.

At the same time, the accuracy of this machine gun also leaves much to be desired. The scatter is large, the convergence is slow and there is no stabilization. Because of all these nuances firepower T-80 WoT in this configuration it is incredibly low, not to mention that in battles against levels 5-6 you will not be of any use at all.

The pre-top gun looks much more advantageous; its one-time damage is again low, but it has a high rate of fire, thanks to which the DPM T-80 World of Tanks turns out even more worthy, now it is approximately 1570 units.

In addition, with this T-80 gun, the tank receives good penetration, with which you can confidently fight even against most fifth levels. Of course, you will need gold to break through TT-5 and most sixes, but this is much better than not breaking through anyone.

With this barrel, things are much better in terms of accuracy. The analysis here is very compact, the information is excellent and only the stabilization has any complaints. In addition, the T-80 WoT received good elevation angles in both cases; the gun tilts down by 8 degrees.

Advantages and disadvantages

Initially, it seems that this device is very mediocre in terms of general characteristics This pure truth. But by choosing the right weapon, namely a 45-mm cannon, T-80 World of Tanks a certain potential appears, which will be easier to reveal if you know the advantages and disadvantages of the tank.
Pros:
Pleasant level of camouflage;
Good maneuverability;
High rate of fire and suitable DPM;
Excellent accuracy;
Not a bad penetration;
Comfortable vertical aiming angles.
Minuses:
Weak armor;
Poor viewing range;
Small margin of safety;
Mediocre mobility for a light tank;
Small one-time damage.

Equipment for T-80

Installation additional modules this tank needs it and it’s important to do this right choice. The problem is that we don't have much choice, but don't let that stop you. To achieve maximum results for tank T-80 equipment put the following:
1. – a win-win option that will give the necessary boost to several at once important characteristics in complex.
2. – this module will allow you to solve the review issue without any problems, and it will also suit the style of play on this machine, but more on that later.
3. – goes well with the previous point and makes us even less noticeable, which is good for survival.

Crew training

This aspect is even more responsible and complex. Here you are free to choose whatever you want, but we are still limited by the fact that our crew consists of only three people, which is why it is even more important not to make a mistake. So for T-80 perks It should be taught in approximately this order:
Commander (radio operator, loader) – , , , .
Gunner – , , , .
Driver mechanic - , , , .

Equipment for T-80

If the process of selecting equipment and leveling up skills for crew members can be difficult, then purchasing consumables is much simpler. If you don't have enough silver, you can opt for a set of , , . But if finances don’t constrain you, you like to get the most out of everything, take T-80 equipment as , , . It is also worth noting that this tank does not burn often, so the fire extinguisher can be replaced with one.

Tactics for playing the T-80

You already understand that the armor of this vehicle is weak, its mobility leaves much to be desired, and its safety margin is small. From this we conclude that in the case T-80 tactics fighting involves playing from the second line.

Initially, you are required to take an advantageous position in the bushes, from where a good shot will open. Thanks to a very accurate weapon, having activated the camouflage network, Soviet light tank T-80 can calmly fire at a distance and not be afraid of getting caught in light.

Of course, you have to keep an eye on the mini-map and in cases where the direction is broken and the enemy is advancing, you will have time to use your mobility to retreat. Of course, if there are few enemies on the line, T-80 World of Tanks may not give up the position, but send them to the hangar before they get to you. It is absolutely not advisable to engage in close combat, especially when we're talking about about a higher level enemy.

In addition, our mobility is mediocre only by the standards of light tanks. Otherwise T-80 WoT– this is a very mobile machine, thanks to this quality you become good tank support, able to quickly come to the aid of allies on the other flank or return to defend the base.

In conclusion, I would just like to remind you that monitoring the situation around you is very important and as soon as light tank T-80 falls into the light, it is better to hide immediately, because not only opponents in your visibility zone, but also enemy artillery can shoot at you.

The T-80 tank was developed in the fall of 1942 at the Gorky Automobile Plant design bureau under the leadership of N. A. Astrov. A prototype of the vehicle passed field tests in December 1942. The tank was put into production at plant No. 40 in Mytishchi, Moscow region. A total of 75 tanks were produced and their production was discontinued in 1943. The T-80 tank was the last example of domestic light tanks during the Great Patriotic War.

Light tank T-80

It was created on the basis of the T-70M light tank and differed from it by the installation of a double turret, an increased angle of maximum elevation of the cannon and coaxial machine gun, enhanced armor protection, the use of a more powerful power plant and the combat weight of the vehicle increased by 2 tons. The general layout of the vehicle was fundamentally the same as that of the T-70M tank, but with accommodation for three crew members. The tank had five compartments: control compartments in the front part of the hull, combat compartments in the middle part, transmission compartments in the front part of the hull on the right side, engine compartments in the middle part along the right side of the hull, and aft compartments. The driver was located in the bow of the hull, offset to the left side. In the rotating turret, to the left of the gun, there was a gunner, and to the right was the tank commander, who was also the loader. In the middle part of the hull along the starboard side, two in-line engines were installed on a common frame, forming a single power unit. The transmission and drive wheels were located in the front.

Light tank T-80

The tank's armament consisted of a 45-mm cannon mod. 1938 with a vertical wedge bolt and a coaxial 7.62-mm DT machine gun mounted to the right of it. The length of the gun barrel was 46 calibers. The height of the firing line is 1630 mm. The vertical aiming angles of the twin installation ranged from -8 to +65° and made it possible to fire at air targets, as well as at the top floors of buildings during combat in the city. When shooting at ground targets, the TMF-1 telescopic sight was used, at air targets and the upper floors of buildings - red dot sight K-8T. The gun was equipped with an electric trigger. To align the twin installation, a gear mechanism for turning the turret and a screw lifting mechanism were used. The direct fire range was 3600 m, the longest was 6000 m. The rate of fire was 12 rounds per minute. The tank's ammunition included 94-100 rounds for the cannon and 1008 rounds for the DT machine gun (16 discs). The initial speed of an armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 1.43 kg was 760 m/s, and a fragmentation projectile with a mass of 2.15 kg was 335 m/s. Additionally, one 7.62 mm PPSh submachine gun with ammunition 213 rounds (3 disks) and 12 hand grenades F-1.

Armor protection - bulletproof. The tank's welded hull was made of rolled armor plates with thicknesses of 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 35 and 45 mm. The design of the armored hull and the location of the main hatches and hatches remained almost the same as that of the T-70 tank, with the exception of the side plates, the thickness of which was increased to 25 mm and the roof - to 15-20 mm.

The welded tank turret of increased dimensions, made of armor plates 35 and 45 mm thick, located at rational angles of inclination, was shifted to the left side. It had a new embrasure and mantlet mounting design, which provided large elevation angles for the main weapon. The welded joints of the turret were reinforced with armored angles. A high, stationary commander's turret was installed on the roof with an entrance hatch closed by a hinged hinged armored cover and a periscope viewing mirror device placed on the rotating base of the hatch and providing the tank commander with all-round visibility. To the left of the commander's cupola there was a gunner's hatch, which was also closed with a hinged hinged armored cover. The upper prisms of the commander's, gunner's and driver's viewing instruments had armor cover. An armored antenna input cup was located behind the commander's cupola. To make it easier to accommodate troops, special handrails were welded to the tank hull and the sides of the turret. Due to the installation of a new turret, the height of the vehicle, compared to the height of the T-70M tank, increased by 135 mm.

Two hand-held tetrachlorine fire extinguishers were used as fire-fighting equipment in the tank.

In the engine compartment along the starboard side there was a GAZ-203F power unit, which consisted of two series-connected in-line four-stroke six-cylinder GAZ-80 carburetor engines with a total power of 170 hp. With. (125 kW) with K-43 carburetors. The systems that ensured engine operation were similar to the power plant systems of the T-70M tank. The engines were started using either two ST-06 electric starters connected in parallel with a power of 2 liters. With. (1.5 kW) each, or manual winding mechanism. Two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 440 liters were located behind armored partitions in an isolated compartment on the left side of the rear compartment of the hull. On the right side of the aft compartment there was a fan and radiator for the engine cooling system. The tank's cruising range on the highway reached 320 km.

The transmission and chassis were the same as on the T-70M tank.

The electrical equipment of the machine was made according to a single-wire circuit. The voltage of the on-board network was 12 V. Two 3-STE-112 batteries connected in series with a voltage of 6 V and a capacity of 112 Ah and a GT-500S generator with a power of 380 W with a relay regulator RRK-GT- were used as sources of electricity. 500C. The tank used a 12RT radio station located in the turret and a TPU tank intercom.

The insufficient reliability of the uprated engines and the difficulties of mastering their production, as well as the deterioration of the vehicle's maneuverability due to the increased weight, reduced the combat and technical characteristics of the tank.

The T-80 tank with a 45-mm VT-43 cannon was developed jointly by the design bureau of plant No. 40 and OKB No. 172 at the beginning of 1943. It was manufactured prototype cars. The T-80 tank with the VT-43 cannon was not accepted for service and was not in mass production.

The vehicle differed from the production model of the T-80 tank by installing more powerful weapons. The crew consisted of three people.

An experimental 45-mm VT-43 tank gun of increased power designed by OKB No. 172, coaxial with a 7.62-mm DT machine gun, was installed in the tank as the main weapon. The barrel length was 68.6 calibers. The VT-43 cannon was created on the basis of the VT-42 cannon in relation to installing it in the turret of the T-80 tank and ensuring the appropriate elevation angle. In this regard, the lifting mechanism and knurling mechanism of the gun were newly developed. Vertical aiming angles ranged from -4 to +78°. When shooting, a TMF-1 telescopic sight and a K-8T collimator sight were used. The practical rate of fire of the gun in the tank reached 9-10 rounds per minute. The initial speed of the armor-piercing projectile with a mass of 1.43 kg was 950 m/s. The tank's ammunition included 94 rounds for the cannon and 1008 rounds for the DT machine gun (16 discs). Additionally, one 7.62-mm PPSh submachine gun with 213 rounds of ammunition (3 discs) and 12 F-1 hand grenades were stowed in the fighting compartment.

Armor protection, power point, transmission, chassis and electrical equipment remained unchanged, so the mobility characteristics were kept at the same level as the base vehicle.

After successful testing, the gun was adopted for service on the T-80 tank, but due to the cessation of serial production of this tank, further work on it was curtailed.

T-80- Soviet light tank of the Second World War. Developed in the summer and autumn of 1942 at the tank design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant (GAZ) under the leadership of Nikolai Aleksandrovich Astrov, the leading developer of the entire domestic line of light tanks of that period. In December 1942, the T-80 was adopted by the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and was mass-produced at the Mytishchi Plant No. 40. Production of the T-80 continued until September 1943, when it was replaced on the assembly lines of Plant No. 40 by the self-propelled artillery mount SU -76M. A total of 77 units and two prototypes of T-80 light tanks were produced, which took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War in 1943. Due to the unreliable operation of the propulsion system, weak weapons in 1943 and the great need of the Red Army self-propelled units The SU-76M T-80 was discontinued. On the basis of the T-80 at the beginning of 1943 it was built experienced tank with a high-power 45-mm VT-43 tank gun, but it was not adopted by the Red Army. Thus, the T-80 became the last domestically developed wartime light tank.

History of creation

From the very first moment the T-70 light tank was adopted by the Red Army, Soviet military experts pointed out its main weakness - its single-seat turret. But the design of the tank still had reserves that could be used to eliminate this shortcoming. The GAZ tank design bureau, headed by N.A. Astrov, promised this to the military even after the demonstration of the GAZ-70 prototype and got into work almost immediately after the establishment of serial production of the T-70. During the late spring, summer and early autumn of 1942, it was determined that installing a two-man turret would greatly increase the load on the tank's engine, transmission and chassis. Tests of the T-70 tank, loaded with up to 11 tons, fully confirmed these fears - during the tests, suspension torsion bars burst, tracks broke, and transmission components and assemblies failed. Therefore, the main work was carried out to strengthen these structural elements; it successfully ended with the adoption of the T-70M modification into service by the Red Army. Also, by the fall, a two-man turret for the T-70 tank was manufactured and successfully tested, but two obstacles stood in the way of mass production.

The first of these was the insufficient power of the GAZ-203 twin propulsion system. It was planned to increase it by boosting it to 170 hp. With. in total due to an increase in the cylinder filling ratio and an increase in the compression ratio. The second obstacle arose from the requirement to provide large elevation angles for the gun to hit targets on the upper floors of buildings in urban battles. This could also make it possible to increase the fire countermeasures of enemy aircraft. In particular, the commander of the Kalinin Front, Lieutenant General I. S. Konev, insisted on this. The already developed two-man turret for the T-70 did not satisfy this requirement and was redesigned to allow firing from a gun at a high elevation angle. The second prototype with the new turret received the factory designation 080 or 0-80. For more convenient placement of a gun with the possibility of anti-aircraft firing and two crew members, it was necessary to widen the diameter of the shoulder strap and make an armored barbette ring with a thickness of 40-45 mm under the inclined edges of the turret. Due to the wider turret shoulder strap, it became impossible to dismantle the engine without first removing the turret - the armor ring began to overlap the removable armor plate above the engine.

Design

The T-80 had a typical layout for Soviet light tanks of that time. The tank had five compartments, listed below in order from the front of the vehicle to the rear:

transmission compartment;
management department;
engine compartment on the starboard side of the middle of the hull;
fighting compartment on the left side of the middle of the hull and in the turret;
the aft compartment, where the fuel tanks and engine radiator were located.

This layout scheme determined the overall set of advantages and disadvantages of the tank within the framework of vehicles of its class. In particular, the front location of the transmission compartment, that is, the drive wheels, led to their increased vulnerability, since it was the front end of the tank that was most susceptible to enemy fire. On the other hand, unlike the Soviet average and heavy tanks, the T-80's fuel tanks were located outside the fighting compartment in a compartment isolated by an armored bulkhead, which reduced the risk of a fire if the tank was damaged (especially high for a vehicle with gasoline engine) and this increased the survivability of the crew. Other advantages of the layout chosen for the T-80 include the low height and total weight tank (compared to other mine-layout vehicles), achieved, moreover, despite the forced use of the “lanky” GAZ-203F power unit. As a result, the dynamic characteristics of the tank increased, and it did not require a powerful specialized engine. The tank crew consisted of three people- driver, gunner and vehicle commander, who also served as a loader.

Armament

The main armament of the T-80 was a rifled semi-automatic 45-mm tank gun mod. 1938 (20-Km or 20Km) The gun was mounted on axles in the plane of longitudinal symmetry of the turret. The 20-Kimela gun had a barrel length of 46 calibers, the height of the firing line was 1630 mm, the direct fire range reached 3.6 km, the maximum possible was 6 km. The gun was paired with a 7.62 mm DT machine gun, which could easily be removed from the twin mount and used outside the tank. The twin installation had a range of elevation angles from −8° to +65° and all-round horizontal firing. The rotating mechanism of the gear-type turret, with a manual drive, was located to the left of the tank commander, and the lifting mechanism of the gun (screw type, also with a manual drive) was located on the right. The machine gun's release was mechanical; the gun was equipped with an electric trigger.

The gun's ammunition capacity was 94-100 rounds of unitary loading (cartridges). When firing armor-piercing shells, the extraction of the spent cartridge case was carried out automatically, and when firing fragmentation shells, due to the shorter recoil length of the barrel due to the small initial speed fragmentation projectile, the semi-automatic did not work, and the commander had to open the bolt and remove the spent cartridge manually. The theoretical rate of fire of the gun was 12 rounds per minute, but due to the need to manually extract the spent cartridge case from a fragmentation projectile, the rate of fire in practice was several times lower, 4-7 rounds per minute.

Production

Serial production of the T-80 began in Mytishchi at plant No. 40 in February 1943. Production volumes were small; before production ended in October 1943, about 80 vehicles were produced. The total number of T-80s produced remains unclear. According to documents of the Main Armored Directorate of the Red Army, a total of 75 “eighties” were built. However, reports from the People's Commissariat of the Tank Industry contain slightly different figures. According to this department, 81 T-80 tanks were produced in 1943, and 85 throughout the war. However, this number may include prototypes, experimental and pre-production vehicles. Also, some authors include experimental vehicles built by GAZ in total number released T-80.

The cessation of production of the T-80 was to a certain extent due to several reasons: to a lesser extent - the unreliable operation of the forced M-80 propulsion system (in the sources its designations also differ - the indices M-80 or GAZ-203F are mentioned); to a greater extent, the reasons were the insufficient firepower and armor protection of the “eighty”. By the end of 1943 - beginning of 1944, the upgraded propulsion system was brought to an acceptable level of reliability, but there was no question of resuming production of the T-80.

Specifications

Combat weight, t	11,6
Crew, people	3
Case length, mm	4285
Case width, mm	2420
Armor type	heterogeneous rolled high hardness
Reservation - hull forehead (top), mm/deg.	35/60°
Reservation - hull forehead (bottom), mm/deg.	45/−30° and 15/−81°
Reservation - hull side, mm/deg.	25/0°
Reservation - hull rear (top), mm/deg.	15/76°
Reservation - hull rear (bottom), mm/deg.	25/−44°
Reservation - bottom, mm	10
Reservation - hull roof, mm	15
Reservation - gun mantlet, mm/deg.	35
Reservation - turret side, mm/deg.	35/5°
Reservation - turret roof, mm	10 and 15
engine's type	twin in-line 4‑stroke 6‑cylinder carburetor
Engine power, l. With.	2×85
Highway speed, km/h	42
Speed over rough terrain, km/h	20 - 25
Cruising range on the highway, km	320
Cruising range over rough terrain, km	250
Specific power, l. s./t	14,6
Suspension type	torsion bar individual
Specific ground pressure, kg/cm²	0,84
Climbability, degrees.	34
Wall to be overcome, m	0,7
Ditch to be overcome, m	1,7
Fordability, m	1,0