Teletank

The T-18 was released for testing on March 23, 1930, equipped with control equipment of the "Bridge-1" type. This equipment had a three-command control: right-left-stop. During testing, the tank, moving at a speed of 2.5-4 km / h, confidently carried out the operator’s commands, which confirmed the possibility of the full realization of the idea of ​​controlling the tank by radio.

In 1933, a specialized teletank TT-18 was manufactured (the TT index was assigned only in 1934). In total, at least 7 tanks of this model were produced. When creating the tank, all regular controls were removed from the car, and the new sixteen-command control equipment of the 1932 Ostekhbyuro system was placed in the driver’s place.

Unlike its predecessor, the TT-18 could perform more complex maneuvers:

• change the speed and direction of movement;
• stop and turn off the engine;
• undermine the explosive charge on board, etc.

The maximum possible telecontrol distance was 1.5 kilometers. The real one did not exceed 500-1000 meters in clear weather.

On January 8, 1933, 5 TT-18 tanks were handed over for testing to a special detachment No. 4 LVO , which also included the TT-26 and TT-27 television tanks. The purpose of the tests was to select the type of teletank for further work and mass production .

The tests lasted 10 days, and then were repeated in October of the same year. The test results were unfavorable for the TT-18.

Among the advantages were a good cross of the tank and the ease of following teams.

The main drawback, due to the small weight of the tank, as well as the relatively narrow track with a high silhouette, was the lack of the ability to move in a straight line. The tank was constantly turning left and right from shocks on potholes.

Due to this circumstance, the TT-18 tanks were not produced in series and were not in service.

In 1932, on the basis of the T-27 wedges, an experimental batch of 5 T-27 T-27 tankettes was launched.

In 1935-1936, a small series (55 pieces) of a telemechanical group of tanks was developed and produced. The group consisted of a teletank TT-26 - a light chemical (flamethrower) suppression tank and a control tank TU-26. The armament of the teletank consisted of a DT machine gun and a flamethrower installation. Also, 200-700-kg time bombs in an armored box were sometimes used, which the tank dropped near the enemy fortifications, which made it possible to destroy bunkers up to four levels underground. Teletanks were also capable of using chemical weapons, although they were not used in hostilities. The armament of the control tank is a 45-mm tank gun of the 1932 model and a DT machine gun.

The Red Army used remotely-controlled tanks in the Soviet-Finnish War of 1939-1940 and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War . Teletank was controlled by radio from a command tank at a distance of 500-1500 m, entering the telemechanical group. The Red Army had at least two teletank battalions at the beginning of the Second World War. ^[one]

During 1938-1939 in NII-20 NKAP , work was carried out to create and test telemechanical equipment for the group of tanks TT-BT-7, which consisted of a tele-tank and a control tank. Teletank was intended for reconnaissance of minefields , making passages in wire fences , flamethrowing, placing a smoke screen , degassing or contaminating the area with combat agents .

Teletank equipment included a receiving device and automation devices for governing bodies, armaments and servo controls of onboard friction clutches and brakes. The radio-telemechanical line was protected from false commands and interference and provided a maximum range of up to 4000 meters. The duration of continuous control was 4-6 hours. The control of the teletank could be carried out both directly by the driver , and at a distance using a push-button remote control. The mass of control equipment did not exceed 147 kg.

The equipment provided the execution of 17 control commands:

• movement (starting the engine, stopping the machine, shifting to a higher gear, shifting to a lower gear, turning left and right);
• armament (preparation of weapons for action, flame throwing, smoke fumes, contamination of the area with military air assaults, machine gun firing, turret turns to the right and left)
• self-destruction (preparation of the machine for an explosion, explosion, cancellation of preparation for an explosion and a reserve team).

The 7.62-mm radio-controlled machine gun of the Silin system , the KS-60 chemical equipment developed by the Moscow Compressor plant , and 1 kg of compressed TNT with a blasting device for destroying the equipment and the teletank were installed on a teletank. The Silin 7.62-mm machine gun with automatic reloading had a rate of fire of 700–1300 rds / min (the ShKAS machine gun was installed on the experimental machine). Ammunition was 1,000 rounds, a chemical device capacity of 400 liters ensured the production of 18 firing shots. The range of flamethrowing was 40-50 meters. Two tanks of chemical equipment KS-60 had a diameter of 330 mm and a length of 2550 mm. They were booked and located on the left and right on the fenders of the hull. When refueling a chemical chemical agent, the size of the infection area was 7200 m², while setting up a smoke screen for 8-10 minutes, an invisible zone 300-400 meters long was provided. When degassing contaminated areas, the capacity of the chemical appliance tank provided processing of an area of ​​360 m².

The control tank had the same armament as the linear tank, but with ammunition of 176 artillery rounds and 2142 cartridges (34 machine-gun disks ). The crew of the control tank consisted of three people.

The telemechanical group of tanks TT-BT-7 allowed the use of a control tank as a linear vehicle with artillery weapons and a tele-tank as a tank with chemical weapons, but with manual control.

State tests carried out in 1940 showed that, compared to the TT-26 teletyanks, the TT-BT-7 teletyanks had superior mobility and were simpler and more reliable in the design of telemechanical equipment. Reliable control of the teletank from the control tank with hatches closed on it and the use of standard monitoring devices was carried out at a distance of up to 1000 meters. However, targeted firing from a machine gun was impossible, and firing at an area was ineffective. Further work on the TT-BT-7 TV tanks with the outbreak of World War II was discontinued.

The development of the remote control system for the T-72B tank was carried out by the Moscow Institute of Electronic Technology as part of the Kaliningrad Research Institute by order of the Russian Ministry of Defense ^[2] .

• Self-propelled mine "Goliath"
• Battle robot
• T-26
• Phantom (Ukrainian)

• What is teletank? (Russian) (interview) (09.09.2004, 14:02). - Interview with a Soviet veteran who served on a teletank .. Date of treatment March 21, 2007. Archived February 22, 2012.
• Communications on the battlefield)
• The first Soviet tanks
• Light amphibious tank T-38
• 70th anniversary of the Ulyanovsk Higher School of Engineers
• Experimental and experimental samples created on the basis of the BT-7 tank