Who created the engine for t 34. The most massive and most combat

When they talk about advanced weapons, they first of all mean the power of weapons capable of inflicting a crushing defeat on the enemy. The legendary T-34 tank became the personification of the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II. But there are less significant components, for example, the V-2 tank engine, without which the legend could not exist.

Military equipment works in the most difficult conditions. Motors are designed to use low-quality fuel, minimal maintenance, but at the same time they must retain their original characteristics for many years. It was this approach that was embodied in the creation of the diesel engine of the T-34 tank.

Engine prototype

In 1931, the Soviet government embarked on a course to improve military technology. Then the Kharkov steam locomotive plant named after. The Comintern was tasked with developing a new diesel engine for tanks and aircraft.

The novelty of the development was supposed to lie in fundamentally new characteristics of the motor. The nominal crankshaft speed of diesel engines of that time was 260 rpm. Then, as in the assignment, it was agreed that the new engine should produce 300 hp at a speed of 1600 rpm. And this already made completely different requirements for the methods of developing components and assemblies. The technologies that would allow creating such an engine in the Soviet Union did not exist.

The design bureau was renamed to Diesel, and work began. After discussion possible options designs, settled on a V-shaped with 6 cylinders in each row. It had to be started from an electric starter. At that time, there was no fuel equipment that could provide fuel for such an engine. Therefore, it was decided to install a Bosch high-pressure fuel pump, which was later planned to be replaced with a pump of our own production.

Before the creation of the first test sample two years have passed. Since the engine was planned to be used not only in Soviet tank construction, but also in aircraft construction on heavy bombers, the low weight of the engine was specially stipulated.

Modification of the motor

They tried to create the engine from materials that were not previously used for the construction of diesel engines. For example, the cylinder block was made of aluminum, and, not withstanding the tests on the bench, it constantly cracked. The high power caused the light, unbalanced motor to vibrate violently.

The BT-5 tank, on which the diesel engine was tested, never made it to the landfill on its own. The fault finding of the motor showed that the crankcase block and the crankshaft bearings were destroyed. In order for the design embodied in paper to migrate into life, new materials were needed. The equipment on which the parts were made was also not suitable. There was a lack of manufacturing accuracy class.

In 1935, the Kharkov steam locomotive plant was replenished with experimental workshops for the production of diesel engines. Having eliminated a certain number of defects, the BD-2A engine was installed on the R-5 aircraft. The bomber was lifted into the air, but the low reliability of the engine did not allow it to be used for its intended purpose. Moreover, by that time, more acceptable versions of aircraft engines had arrived.

Preparing the diesel engine for installation on a tank was difficult. The selection committee was not satisfied with the high smoke, which was a strong unmasking factor. In addition, high fuel and oil consumption was unacceptable for military equipment, which should have a large power reserve without refueling.

The main difficulties are behind

In 1937, the design team was supplemented with military engineers. At the same time, the diesel engine was named B-2, under which it went down in history. However, the improvement work was not completed. Part technical tasks were delegated to the Ukrainian Institute of Aviation Engine Building. The team of designers was supplemented with employees Central Institute aviation engines.

In 1938, state tests of the second generation of V-2 diesels were carried out. Three motors were presented. None passed the tests. The first had a jammed piston, the second had a cracked cylinder block, and the third had a crankcase drip. In addition, the high pressure plunger pump did not provide sufficient capacity. He lacked the precision of manufacturing.

In 1939, the motor was modified and tested.

Subsequently, the V-2 engine was installed on the T-34 tank in this form. The diesel department was reformed into a plant for the production of tank engines, the goal of which was to produce 10,000 units per year.

Final version

At the beginning of World War II, the plant was urgently evacuated to Chelyabinsk. ChTZ already had a production base for the production of tank engines.

Some time before the evacuation, the diesel was tested on the KV heavy tank.

For a long time, the B-2 underwent modernizations and improvements. The disadvantages also diminished. The merits of the T-34 tank engine made it possible to judge it as an unsurpassed model of design thought. Even military experts believed that the replacement in the 60-70s of the B-2 with new diesel engines was caused by the fact that the engine was obsolete only from a moral point of view. By many technical parameters it was superior to new items.

You can compare some of the characteristics of the B-2 with modern engines to understand how progressive it was for that time. The launch was provided in two ways: from a receiver with compressed air and an electric starter, which ensured increased "survivability" of the engine of the T-34 tank. Four valves per cylinder increase the efficiency of the gas distribution mechanism. The cylinder block and crankcase were made of aluminum alloy.

The ultra-light motor was produced in three modifications, differing in power: 375, 500, 600 hp, for vehicles of various weights. The change in power was achieved by forcing - reducing the combustion chamber and increasing the compression ratio of the fuel mixture. Even an 850 hp engine was released. With. It was turbocharged from the AM-38 aircraft engine, after which the diesel was tested on the KV-3 heavy tank.

Already at that time, there was a tendency to develop military engines operating on any hydrocarbon fuel, which simplifies the supply of equipment in war conditions. The engine of the T-34 tank could run on both diesel fuel and kerosene.

Unreliable diesel

Despite the demand of the People's Commissar V.A.Malyshev, the diesel engine did not become reliable. Most likely, the matter was not in design flaws, but in the fact that the production evacuated to ChTZ in Chelyabinsk had to be deployed in a great hurry. Materials that were required according to the specifications were not available.

Two tanks with B-2 engines were sent to the United States to investigate the causes leading to premature failure. After the annual tests of the T-34 and KV-1, it was concluded that the air filters do not trap dust particles at all, and they penetrate the engine, leading to wear of the piston group. Due to a flaw in the technology, the oil contained in the filter leaked out through the contact welding in the housing. Dust, instead of settling in the oil, freely entered the combustion chamber.

Throughout the war, work on the reliability of the T-34 tank engine was carried out constantly. In 1941, the engines of the 4th generation could barely work 150 hours, while 300 were required. By 1945, the service life of the engine could be increased 4 times, and the number of malfunctions was reduced from 26 to 9 per thousand kilometers.

The production capacity of ChTZ "Uraltrak" was not enough for the military industry. Therefore, it was decided to build factories for the production of engines in Barnaul and Sverdlovsk. They produced the same B-2 and its modifications for installation not only on tanks, but also on self-propelled vehicles.

ChTZ "Uraltrak" also produced motors for various equipment: heavy tanks of the KV series, light tanks BT-7, heavy artillery tractors "Voroshilovets".

Tank engine in a peaceful life

The career of the T-34 tank engine did not end with the end of the war. The design refinement continued. It formed the basis for many modifications of tank V-shaped diesel engines. B-45, B-46, B-54, B-55, etc. - all of them became direct descendants of B-2. They had the same V-shaped, 12-cylinder concept. Various hydrocarbon mixtures could serve as fuel for them. The body was made of aluminum alloys and was distinguished by its lightness.

In addition, the B-2 served as a prototype for many other engines that had nothing to do with military equipment.

The civilian ships "Moskva" and "Moskvich" received the same engine as on the T-34 tank, with minor changes. This modification was called D12. In addition, diesel engines were produced for river transport, which were 6-cylinder V-2 halves.

The 1D6 diesel engine was used to equip shunting locomotives TGK-2, TGM-1, TGM-23. More than 10 thousand units were produced in total of these units.

MAZ dump trucks received a 1D12 diesel engine. The engine power was 400 hp. With. at a speed of 1600 rpm.

Interestingly, after the modifications, the potential of the engine has grown significantly. Now the assigned service life is up to overhaul was 22 thousand hours.

Characteristics and design of the engine of the T-34 tank

The high-speed, compressorless diesel V-2 was water-cooled. The cylinder blocks were positioned in relation to each other at an angle of 60 degrees.

The motor worked as follows:

1. During the suction stroke, atmospheric air is supplied through the open intake valves.
2. The valves close and a compression stroke occurs. The air pressure rises to 35 atm and the temperature rises to 600 ° C.
3. At the end of the compression stroke, the fuel pump delivers fuel at a pressure of 200 atm through the injector, which is ignited by the high temperature.
4. The gases begin to expand sharply, increasing the pressure to 90 atm. A working stroke of the engine takes place.
5. The exhaust valves open and exhaust gases are discharged into the exhaust system. The pressure inside the combustion chamber drops to 3-4 atm.

Then the cycle repeats.

Trigger mechanism

The way to start a tank engine was different from a civil one. In addition to an electric starter with a capacity of 15 liters. c, was a pneumatic system consisting of compressed air cylinders. During the operation of the tank, the diesel engine pumped up a pressure of 150 atm. Then, when it was necessary to start, the air through the distributor went directly into the combustion chambers, forcing the crankshaft to rotate. Such a system was able to start even with a missing battery.

Lubrication system

The engine was lubricated with MK aviation oil. The lubrication system had 2 oil tanks. The diesel had a dry sump. This was done so that at the moment of a strong roll of the tank on rough terrain, the engine did not switch to oil starvation. The working pressure in the system was 6 - 9 atm.

Cooling system

The power unit of the tank was cooled using two radiators, the temperature of which reached 105-107 ° C. The fan was driven by a centrifugal pump driven by the engine flywheel.

Features of the fuel system

The high-pressure fuel pump NK-1 originally had a 2-mode regulator, which was later replaced by an all-mode regulator. The high pressure fuel pump created a fuel pressure of 200 atm. Coarse and fine filters ensured the removal of mechanical impurities contained in the fuel. The nozzles were of a closed type.

Why is the thirty-four engine still produced?

In the shadow of the T-34 tank, the engine of this machine remained, which is so successful that - attention - it is still being produced. The V-2 tank diesel engine began to be produced on the day the Second World War began - September 1, 1939. But the elegance of its design is still amazing.

He was 50 years ahead of time ...

It sounds strange, but initially the 12-cylinder V-2 diesel was developed for heavy bombers, although it did not take root in aviation: the engineers did not manage to squeeze the required number of "horses" out of it. However, the aviation legacy remained, for example, in the "cast-iron era" of engine building, the engine received an aluminum cylinder block and a large number of light-alloy parts. The result: very high power-to-weight ratio.

The design itself was incredibly progressive. Strictly speaking, the V-2 diesel engine differs from modern super-diesels for passenger cars, mainly in the absence of electronics. For example, fuel injection was carried out by high-pressure plunger pumps, and not the now fashionable Common Rail system. But it had four valves per cylinder, like most modern engines, and overhead camshafts, while many engines of the time still managed with lower camshafts, and sometimes a pair of lower valves per cylinder. The B-2 received direct fuel injection, which is the norm for modern diesel engines, but in the 1930s, pre-chamber or vortex-chamber mixture formation was more often used. In short, the V-2 diesel was 50 years ahead of its time.

Battle of concepts

And yes, he was a diesel. In fact, the T-34 was far from the first tank with a diesel engine; Japanese tank builders used diesel engines especially actively in the pre-war years. But the T-34 is considered the first tank designed specifically for a diesel power plant, which allowed it to capitalize on its merits as much as possible.

But German tanks for a very long time remained faithful to multi-cylinder carburetor (gasoline) engines, and there were many reasons for this, for example, a shortage of non-ferrous metals, and later a shortage of diesel fuel.

Soviet engineers relied on diesel. By the way, the V-2 engine made its debut on the BT-5 tank even before the Great Patriotic War, but acquired the main fame, of course, in the engine compartment of the "thirty-four".

The diesel had several advantages. Less fire hazard is one of them, but far from the only one. Fuel efficiency was no less important, which affects the tank's autonomy, that is, its ability to devour kilometers without refueling. For example, the T-34 could drive about 400 km on the highway, the German Pz IV - about 300 km, and the Soviet tank was one and a half times more powerful and almost as fast.

Diesel created less interference with radio electronics (there is no ignition system), and could also run on any fuel, including gasoline and aviation kerosene. During the war, this was an important advantage: roughly speaking, having discovered a barrel with some liquid hydrocarbon of the required viscosity, the soldiers could use it as fuel by adjusting the fuel pump rack. The operation of a diesel engine on gasoline is harmful to the engine, but in critical situations, the ability to move the tank from its place is more important than resource issues.

Over time, the diesel concept won out, and today the use of heavy fuel for tanks is the norm.

The secret of longevity

Diesel V-2 is associated with the T-34 tank, although during the war it was used on many other combat units, for example, another winning tank - the heavy IS-2.

Over time, the power and designations of the motor have changed. For example, the classic V-2-34 engine for thirty-fours developed 500 hp, the version for the IS-2 was called V-2IS and produced 520 hp, for the KV-2 tank the same engine was boosted to 600 hp. With.

Even during the war, attempts were made to increase power, including through pressurization, for example, a prototype V-2SN with a centrifugal supercharger developed 850 hp.

But they began to seriously force the engine after the war. So, the T-72 tank received a version of the B-46 naturally aspirated with a capacity of 700 hp, and modern T-90 tanks have a turbo version of the V-2 engine with a capacity of 1000 hp. (for example, engines of the B-92 series).

Even during the war, the V-2 engine began to be used on self-propelled guns, tractors and other equipment, and after that it was actively used for peaceful purposes. For example, the V-31 modification was received by the DET-250 diesel-electric tractor.

In addition to the classic V-shape with 12 cylinders, lines of motors with a different number and arrangement of cylinders have spun off from the B-2 family, including for use on ships. For the BMP, "flat" six-cylinder versions of the B-2 with a large camber angle were developed.

Of course, the V-2 engine and its modifications had many "competitors" who tried to oust the T-34 engine from the engine compartments of later tanks. You can recall one of the most incredible 5TDF tank engines for the T-64 and T-72. The two-stroke five-cylinder diesel engine with ten pistons, two crankshafts and double supercharging amazed the imagination with the cleverness of the design, and yet the evolutionary race was won by the descendants of the B-2 engine.

Why was he so tenacious? Its creators “guessed” the basic parameters and layout, which ensured the efficiency of the design and a large margin for growth. Perhaps this is how technical genius manifests itself: to fulfill not only the momentary requirements, but also to think about the next steps.

Modest heroes

And now is the time to pay tribute to the people who created and developed the B-2 engine family. Its development was carried out in the 1930s at the Kharkov steam locomotive plant under the leadership of Konstantin Chelpan, and at later stages - Timofey Chupakhin. Ivan Trashutin took part in the creation of the B-2, who later became the main engine operator of Tankograd, a tank production in Chelyabinsk.

The V-2 engine began to be produced in Kharkov, then in Stalingrad and Sverdlovsk, but the bulk of the engines were produced by the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, which arose after the evacuation of several tank factories to the rear. It was at ChTZ that the lion's share of the V-2 engines was assembled during the war, and the same plant was engaged in the development of the concept in the post-war period, including under the leadership of the famous designer Valentin Chudakov.

Konstantin Fedorovich Chelpan (May 24, 1899 - March 11, 1938) - Soviet designer of diesel engines, head of the diesel department of the Kharkov steam locomotive plant, head of the design team for the creation of the V-2 tank diesel engine, used, in particular, in the T-34 tank. Chief Designer for Mechanical Engineering (since 1935).
...
Under the leadership of Chelpan, an aluminum tank diesel V-2 was created, which was installed in the T-34 tank and other vehicles. For the development of the engine, the engineer received the Order of Lenin and the title of Chief Designer in 1935.

Arrested on December 15, 1937 in the "Greek conspiracy" case. Convicted by the Commission of the NKVD of the USSR and the prosecutor USSR to be shot. On March 11, 1938, he was shot in a Kharkov prison.
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konstantin_Fyodorovich_Chelpan

And the protocol: "Chelpan Konstantin Fedorovich - to shoot. People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Yezhov, Prosecutor of the USSR Vyshinsky." True, their signatures are not in the protocol, but there is a signature ... of a junior lieutenant of state security in the Kharkiv region, a certain Yankilovich. There is also a piece of paper fifteen centimeters in size that, on the basis of the order of the deputy. the head of the Kharkov department of the NKVD, Major Reikhman, the sentence was carried out on March 11, 1938 by the commandant Zeleny, the military prosecutor Zavyalov and the head of the prison Kulishov.

The designers, employees of the Chelpan department courageously refused the testimony given under torture at the trial, but this did not save either GI Aptekman, MB Levitan, or Z.B. Gurtovoy, or their colleagues from being shot.
http://www.greekgazeta.ru/archives/nomer03/articles/28.shtml

In the same 1937, KhPZ, among many enterprises and organizations, was swept by a wave of struggle against "enemies of the people." The extermination of highly qualified personnel of managers, specialists, foremen and workers began. The prologue to this was a letter from the military representative P. Sokolov to the People's Commissar K.E. Voroshilov "about the overwhelming majority of" former people "in the leadership of the tank department of the plant." The campaign was immediately supported by the party leadership of the plant, headed by A. Epishev. A full set of charges were brought against the "saboteurs": K.F. Chelpan was accused of "disrupting the government assignment for the production of diesel engines" and "deliberate organization of diesel engine defects", G.I. The pharmacist was arrested, recalling the breakdowns that occurred during the tests, which served as confirmation of his "sabotage" activities. Together with all were arrested Chief Engineer KhPZ F.I. Lyashch, who "rendered the machines in disrepair", the chief metallurgist A.M. Metantsev and many others, "recruited" by the director of the KhPZ I.P. Bondarenko, the list of charges to which included almost all imaginable and inconceivable atrocities - from "dulling vigilance" to "organizing an explosion at the plant" ... people ". The extermination of highly qualified personnel of managers, specialists, foremen and workers began. The prologue to this was a letter from the military representative P. Sokolov to the People's Commissar K.E. Voroshilov "about the overwhelming majority of" former people "in the leadership of the tank department of the plant." The campaign was immediately supported by the party leadership of the plant, headed by A. Epishev. A full set of charges were brought against the "saboteurs": K.F. Chelpan was accused of "disrupting the government assignment for the production of diesel engines" and "deliberate organization of diesel engine defects", G.I. The pharmacist was arrested, recalling the breakdowns that occurred during the tests, which served as confirmation of his "sabotage" activities. The chief engineer of the KhPZ F.I. Lyashch, who "rendered the machines in disrepair", the chief metallurgist A.M. Metantsev and many others, "recruited" by the director of the KhPZ I.P. Bondarenko, the list of charges to which included almost all imaginable and inconceivable atrocities - from "dulling vigilance" to "organizing an explosion at a factory" ...

Respect to the author of the article !!!
However, the list of materials on the shortcomings of the T-34 is not yet complete.
If you complete the main article, I will be only glad.
After all, the weakest point of the T-34 tank was its "bracelets". This is what the designers call the tracks. The tank had the miraculous ability to take off his shoes. For various reasons and for the slightest reason. Even the ritual of a tanker arose as soon as the convoy stopped the mechanics - the drivers jumped out and tapped the outer half fingers with a sledgehammer.
The tank's suspension was greatly facilitated by its suspension. More precisely, its absence. The suspension was nominally, because practically it was in a compressed form all the time. The ground clearance decreased - the caterpillar received excessive slack.
The reason for this is the ever-increasing combat weight and low technology for making springs. The springs were hardened "by eye" and no one had previously upset them
Guidance mechanisms. T-34 With electric drive. But in fact, they were simply twisted by hand.
And the Germans have jewelry hydraulics, the Americans have a gun stabilizer.
Let's go further. Engine
The author is a little mistaken about its origin and design. Diesel is brilliant and we still have not come up with a full replacement for it. The T-90 still has the same diesel engine, the differences are in the details.
It's not about that. The diesel was good. BUT
It used the fuel equipment of our Robert Bosch ...
And no need to say that our de learned then to sharpen it on their own with a file. The Soviet Union did not learn how to make diesel fuel equipment until its very collapse.
The second is that a specialist in tuning diesel equipment even now is worth the weight of despicable metal. And then? - well, probably 10 people in the whole country.
And strange things. It turns out that from fifty to seventy percent of the T-34 tanks were produced in gasoline versions. And somehow these numbers do not seem dubious to me

Gasoline engine on the T-34

Let's start from the end, that is, with the installation of a gasoline engine on the T-34 tank. Indeed, this was the case. From the fall of 1941 until the summer of 1942, diesel engines were practically not produced. And the MT-17 gasoline engine was installed on the T-34 tank. This is German aircraft engine primitive design, which we released under license.

Its antiquity is visible even in the photograph - the engine does not have a cylinder block, each cylinder has its own jacket.

MT-17 is a tank version of the engine. Despite its ancient design, the engine was perfect for a tank. He, with the help of a simple adjustment, allowed him to change his power from three hundred and eighty to seven hundred horsepower. In terms of torque at low revs, it surpassed the tank diesel of the T-55 tank. In theory, he needed aviation gasoline, but in practice, given its huge cylinder displacement and low compression ratio of 5.5, he could work on anything. It had a resource of three hundred hours and was well mastered in production. For the price, it was five times cheaper than a diesel. All that was left was to move the fuel tanks out of the fighting compartment to the stern, and the result would be a pretty decent tank with a cheap engine mastered in production.

Such a tank, only with a diesel engine, was made in several copies.

As for the famous V-2 diesel engine that was installed on the T-34, there are many myths about it.
The first myth tells that B-2 is so wonderful because it came from aviation. There were two aircraft diesel engines in development. AD-1 had a camber angle of forty-five degrees and not sixty as in the B-2 and the cylinder diameter was one hundred and fifty millimeters with a piston stroke of one hundred and sixty-five millimeters, against one hundred and fifty to one hundred and eighty for the V-2 engine. Diesel AN-1 generally had cylinders with a diameter of one hundred and eighty millimeters and a piston stroke of two hundred.
These parameters will often be mentioned in the article because they are the main ones when describing the engine.
The aircraft trace is manifested in the fact that the diesel engineers were consulted by the designer Klimov. He was just engaged in the production of a French aircraft engine under license, which was designated in the homeland as the M-100.
The second myth. The Germans could not copy our wonderful diesel. Considering that we bought fuel equipment for a diesel engine in Germany before the war, then this myth is not true.
The third myth. The B-2 engine is so wonderful that its descendants are still on the T-90 tank. Here I want to upset you, the descendants of the B-2 are still standing on modern tanks because the country's leadership had rams for a long time. They spent all the people's money on the development of a tank gas turbine and on an exotic diesel engine for the T-64 tank. There was simply no money left for a conventional diesel engine.
Here I would like to make a small lyrical digression. Our country is potentially rich, but three types of completely different tanks for one country are too many. And two more types of attack helicopters. Even richer America does not allow this.
Modern science recommends that the cylinder diameter be equal to the length of the piston stroke. The first to use this was the designer of aircraft engines Shvetsov. He took as a basis the piston group of the American Wright Cyclone engine produced under license from us as ASh-63 with a dimension of one hundred and fifty-five by one hundred and seventy-five and reduced the piston stroke length to one hundred and fifty millimeters. As a result, the best Russian piston aircraft engine ASh-82 appeared.

As you can see, in the descendants of B-2, the dimension of the piston group is far from ideal.
Our new tank has a new diesel engine. For him, they took a cylinder diameter of one hundred and fifty millimeters, and the piston stroke was reduced to one hundred and sixty millimeters. As a result, the engine displacement decreased from 38.88 liters to 34.6 liters, and the power increased from one thousand horsepower to one thousand five hundred horsepower. And the liter capacity has almost doubled.

The famous V-2 and its famous fan far beyond the dimensions of the engine, due to which the hull of the T-34 tank was added thirty centimeters of the hull height.

The last of the V-2 family (on the top photo) with a thousand horsepower and a new engine with a capacity of one and a half thousand horsepower installed on the T-14 tank and the T-25 infantry fighting vehicle - you can read about them on this website.
As for seventy or even fifty percent of the T-34 tanks produced with a gasoline engine, this is a strong exaggeration.