Remember, we wrote about the first American tank - the Best 75, which was nothing more than a Holt tractor? Did you know that there were similar armored tractors in the Russian Empire too? Today I want to talk about them.
It must be said that Colonel N. Gulkevich, who submitted a report to the Main Artillery Directorate of the Army, suggested using the chassis of the same Holt and similar Alice-Chalmers to justify the need to create his own armored vehicle (“self-engine”, as Gulkevich called his brainchild) Accident or not - it's hard to say, but the development of tracked armored tractors began in England and in America and in Russia at about the same time.
The same "Allis Chalmers - Motor Truck".
After consideration and approval of the project in March 1916, work was carried out for two years on the modification and armament of a pair of 7-tonne half-track tractors of the Allis Chalmers - Motor Truck company, which showed the best results of movement on various types of terrain compared to the Holt tractors. Surprisingly, Gulkevich personally subscribed to these machines, “at his own expense,” despite the rather large quantities of purchased other tractors. But he needed just those!
Improvements touched the chassis - a front-wheel drive was installed, and controls: a separate place was provided for reversing, equipped with all controls. A starter was also installed. The five-speed transmission remained unchanged, as did the sixty-eight hp engine. (it allowed a heavy machine to move at speeds up to fifteen km / h).
The armor was installed six and a half mm thick from rolled steel. It was impossible to put it thicker - the mass of a fully equipped self-engine with a crew of seven people was almost twelve tons. The firepower of the armored vehicles was provided by a 76-mm anti-assault cannon and two "Maxims", which, incidentally, were installed in the tower on special ball mounts, the designer of which was also Gulkevich.
Promotional video:
Two armored tractors received their names - "Ilya Muromets" and "Akhtyrets". Later, one of them was renamed by the Bolsheviks in "Red Petersburg", but here's what exactly - here the sources diverge. One thing is known - both machines had to whimper, and they showed themselves well. "Muromets" defended the tranquility of Smolny, and "Akhtyrets" until 1920 "fought" on the Eastern Front of the Civil War.
* Red Petersburg * on disposal - a sad sight, rightly so.
Who knows, if the military department was in advance and help N. Gulkevich financially, perhaps there could be more such machines and they would play a more significant role in the history of Russian tank building. But … not destiny. In 1922, the command of the Red Army decided to write off and disassemble both vehicles, due to problems with spare parts and general wear and tear.
