We all know about the Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell. But few people are familiar with the history of the Tsar Tank.
Once in 1914, a young obscure engineer Nikolai Nikolaevich Lebedenko proposed an unusual project to the Russian Tsar Nikolai II for consideration.
Tsar Tank Lebedenko.
Lebedenko composed a very bold letter with a presentation of an amazing tank. Having carefully read the drawings, the Emperor sent Nikolai Nikolaevich an invitation to visit the palace.
In early January 1915, the inventor arrived for an audience with Nicholas II. He brought with him a small, independently moving wooden model of the future tank with a gramophone spring instead of an engine.
Lebedenko made a strong and positive impression on the sovereign. The idea to create a self-propelled wheeled armored vehicle inspired the tsar so much that he immediately gave the order to allocate two hundred and ten thousand rubles for its implementation.
Tsar Tank Lebedenko.
In May 1915, work began on the creation of the first self-propelled armored Russian vehicle. Lebedenko's working activity, together with two outstanding designers Stechkin and Mikulin, took place on a classified territory near the village of Orudevo Dmitrovsky. There was a barbed wire fence around the perimeter, and armed soldiers patrolled the area.
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In his project, the inventor used the concept of a cart-cart. He remembered such a cart for its large wheels, thanks to which he could not notice dirt, ditches and other irregularities in the road.
Outwardly, Lebedenko's car resembled a machine gun of an artillery gun, only several times enlarged and with huge nine-meter wheels with spokes. The rear wheels were much smaller - one and a half meters in diameter.
The overall dimensions of the tank were truly gigantic. In the widest part - twelve meters, in length - about eighteen, in height - eight. A stationary machine-gun cabin was installed at the top. On the sides of the T-shaped frame were two movable turrets, also with Maxim machine guns. The frontal part, stern and sides were armored.
The monster's weight was sixty tons. "Mastodon" could accommodate ten to fifteen crew members. Two trophies were installed on the giant - aircraft carburetor engines "Maybach".
The armored vehicle was built pretty quickly. Already in August 1915, the tank went to the training ground for its first and, unfortunately, the last test.
Crushing birches, the giant wheels drove a few meters until the rear rollers hit a hole. The joint efforts of the engines and the crew did not give a positive result. The car got stuck.
When designing the Tsar-Tank, mistakes were made in the calculations. The main blunder is incorrect weight distribution. The largest part of the total weight of sixty tons came from the rear wheels.
A special commission was assembled, which decided to close the project. The main reason for the completion of the development is that Lebedev's car could not independently move around the area without problems.
A number of shortcomings in the giant wheels were also revealed - one accurate hit of the enemy shell on the spokes was enough to completely immobilize the tank and thereby remove it from the battle.
There was no money for further development due to the fact that the First World War was going on.
Wheeled tank Lebedenko.
In the early years, the tank was guarded by soldiers. Then the Revolution came, the car turned out to be of no use to anyone, and in 1923 it was simply dismantled for scrap.
What happened to the inventor Nikolai Lebedenko? It is only known that in 1917 he emigrated to America.