For the Soviet amphibious jet, see Beriev A-40. For the Soviet ground-attack aircraft nicknamed "The Flying Tank", see Ilyushin Il-2.
The Antonov A-40 Krylya Tanka (Russian: крылья танка, meaning "tank wings") was a Soviet attempt to allow a tank to glide onto a battlefield after being towed aloft by an airplane, to support airborne forces or partisans.[1] A prototype was built and tested in 1942, but was found to be unworkable. This vehicle is sometimes called the A-40T or KT.
Instead of loading light tanks onto gliders, as other nations had done, Soviet airborne forces had strapped T-27tankettes underneath heavy bombers and landed them on airfields. In the 1930s, there were experimental efforts to parachute tanks or simply drop them into water. During the 1940 occupation of Bessarabia, light tanks may have been dropped from a few meters up by TB-3 bombers, which, as long as the gearbox was in neutral, would allow them to roll to a stop.
The biggest problem with air-dropping vehicles is if their crews are dropped separately, they may be delayed or prevented from bringing them into action. Gliders allow crews to arrive at the drop/landing zone along with their vehicles. They also minimize exposure of the valuable towing aircraft, which need not appear over the battlefield. So the Soviet Air Force ordered Oleg Antonov to design a glider for landing tanks.
Antonov was more ambitious. Instead of building a glider, he added a detachable cradle to a T-60 light tank bearing large wood and fabric biplane wings and a twin tail. Such a tank could glide into the battlefield, drop its wings, and be ready to fight within minutes.
One T-60 was converted into a glider in 1942, intended to be towed by a Petlyakov Pe-8 or a Tupolev TB-3. The tank was lightened for air use by removing its armament, ammunition and headlights, and leaving a very limited amount of fuel. Even with these modifications, the TB-3 bomber had to ditch the glider during its only flight, on September 2, 1942, to avoid crashing, due to the T-60's extreme drag (although the tank reportedly glided smoothly). The A-40 was piloted by the famous Soviet experimental glider pilot Sergei Anokhin. The T-60 landed in a field near the airport, and after dropping the glider wings and tail, the driver returned it to its base. Due to the lack of a sufficiently powerful aircraft to tow it at the required 160 km/h (99 mph), the project was abandoned.[1]
Specificationsedit
Antonov A-40
Data from The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995[2]
The T-80, the T-84 and the Mil Mi-24 have also been nicknamed Flying Tank, the first two for their great speed for a land vehicle, the latter for its great resilience for an airborne vehicle.
The attack plane Ilyushin Il-2 has also been nicknamed "the flying tank".
Gunston, Bill (1995). The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875–1995. London: Osprey. pp. 19–20. ISBN1-85532-405-9.
Kotelnikov, Viktor (2015). "Russia's Real Flying Tanks". The Aviation Historian (13): 124–129. ISSN 2051-1930.
Shavrov, V. (1997). "Istoriya konstruktsiy samoletov v SSSR". Bronekollektsiya (4).
Winchester, Jim (2005). The World's Worst Aircraft: From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters. Barnes & Noble Books. p. 62. ISBN978-0-7607-6742-9.
Zaloga, Steven J.; James Grandsen (1984). Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two. London: Arms and Armour Press. pp. 192–3. ISBN0-85368-606-8.
External linksedit
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antonov A-40.
T-60 modifications 2016-01-11 at the Wayback Machine at battlefield.ru
at unrealaircraft.com
at the Russian Aviation Page
, illustrated page in Lithuanian
by Lew Holt in Modern Mechanics and Inventions, July 1932.
January 01, 1970
antonov, soviet, amphibious, beriev, soviet, ground, attack, aircraft, nicknamed, flying, tank, ilyushin, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material. For the Soviet amphibious jet see Beriev A 40 For the Soviet ground attack aircraft nicknamed The Flying Tank see Ilyushin Il 2 This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Antonov A 40 news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2013 Learn how and when to remove this message The Antonov A 40 Krylya Tanka Russian krylya tanka meaning tank wings was a Soviet attempt to allow a tank to glide onto a battlefield after being towed aloft by an airplane to support airborne forces or partisans 1 A prototype was built and tested in 1942 but was found to be unworkable This vehicle is sometimes called the A 40T or KT A 40 Krylya Tanka Designer s model of the Antonov A 40 Role Glider Manufacturer Antonov Designer Oleg Antonov First flight 1942 Status Cancelled Primary user Soviet Air Force Number built 1 Developed from T 60 tank Contents 1 Design and development 2 Specifications 3 See also 4 References 4 1 Citations 4 2 Bibliography 5 External linksDesign and development edit nbsp TB 3 bomber carrying a T 27 tankette 1935 Instead of loading light tanks onto gliders as other nations had done Soviet airborne forces had strapped T 27 tankettes underneath heavy bombers and landed them on airfields In the 1930s there were experimental efforts to parachute tanks or simply drop them into water During the 1940 occupation of Bessarabia light tanks may have been dropped from a few meters up by TB 3 bombers which as long as the gearbox was in neutral would allow them to roll to a stop The biggest problem with air dropping vehicles is if their crews are dropped separately they may be delayed or prevented from bringing them into action Gliders allow crews to arrive at the drop landing zone along with their vehicles They also minimize exposure of the valuable towing aircraft which need not appear over the battlefield So the Soviet Air Force ordered Oleg Antonov to design a glider for landing tanks Antonov was more ambitious Instead of building a glider he added a detachable cradle to a T 60 light tank bearing large wood and fabric biplane wings and a twin tail Such a tank could glide into the battlefield drop its wings and be ready to fight within minutes One T 60 was converted into a glider in 1942 intended to be towed by a Petlyakov Pe 8 or a Tupolev TB 3 The tank was lightened for air use by removing its armament ammunition and headlights and leaving a very limited amount of fuel Even with these modifications the TB 3 bomber had to ditch the glider during its only flight on September 2 1942 to avoid crashing due to the T 60 s extreme drag although the tank reportedly glided smoothly The A 40 was piloted by the famous Soviet experimental glider pilot Sergei Anokhin The T 60 landed in a field near the airport and after dropping the glider wings and tail the driver returned it to its base Due to the lack of a sufficiently powerful aircraft to tow it at the required 160 km h 99 mph the project was abandoned 1 Specifications edit nbsp Antonov A 40 Data from The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 2 General characteristicsCrew Two Capacity 1 T 60 tank Length 12 06 m 39 ft 6 75 in Wingspan 18 00 m 59 ft 0 75 in Wing area 85 8 m2 923 5 sq ft Empty weight 2 004 kg 4 418 lb Gross weight 7 804 kg 17 205 lb See also editWinged tank Baynes Bat a British design of World War II to add glider wings to a tank General Aircraft Hamilcar a military glider of the period capable of carrying light tanks Messerschmitt Me 321 and Junkers Ju 322 German gliders designed to be capable of carrying light armored vehicles The T 80 the T 84 and the Mil Mi 24 have also been nicknamed Flying Tank the first two for their great speed for a land vehicle the latter for its great resilience for an airborne vehicle The attack plane Ilyushin Il 2 has also been nicknamed the flying tank References editCitations edit a b Winchester 2005 p 62 Gunston 1995 p 20 Bibliography edit Gunston Bill 1995 The Osprey Encyclopedia of Russian Aircraft 1875 1995 London Osprey pp 19 20 ISBN 1 85532 405 9 Kotelnikov Viktor 2015 Russia s Real Flying Tanks The Aviation Historian 13 124 129 ISSN 2051 1930 Shavrov V 1997 Istoriya konstruktsiy samoletov v SSSR Bronekollektsiya 4 Winchester Jim 2005 The World s Worst Aircraft From Pioneering Failures to Multimillion Dollar Disasters Barnes amp Noble Books p 62 ISBN 978 0 7607 6742 9 Zaloga Steven J James Grandsen 1984 Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two London Arms and Armour Press pp 192 3 ISBN 0 85368 606 8 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Antonov A 40 T 60 modifications Archived 2016 01 11 at the Wayback Machine at battlefield ru Antonov KT flying tank at unrealaircraft com KT 40 flying tank at the Russian Aviation Page Krylja Tanka illustrated page in Lithuanian Flying Tanks that Shed Their Wings by Lew Holt in Modern Mechanics and Inventions July 1932 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Antonov A 40 amp oldid 1184347335, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
