The Soviet Union used to build tanks

Few people know that the Soviet Union has actually built a 6 ton tank, but this project has not been put into widespread use during the war.

In the early 1940s, the Soviet Union encountered many difficulties in the defense war against the Nazi invasion of the territory. Militia forces need more weapons to be able to fight the powerful firepower from the Nazi infantry. Therefore, designer Oleg Antonov came up with the idea of ​​making . flying tanks.

This seems to be impossible because tanks cannot fly. They are not aerodynamic means to fly nor do they have wings or engines that make it an "iron bird" . Antonov handled this by creating a "combo" of a Krylya Tanka (called tank wings) combined with a T-60 light tank and carried by a heavy bomber. Pe-8 or TB-3. This bomber was responsible for carrying the tank to the sky and releasing it so that the tank could land itself where needed.

Model of the "flying tank" of the Soviet Union.

T-60 tanks were selected for their light weight, only 5.8 tons and were mass-produced in large quantities at that time. This weight is also reduced when removing guns, ammunition, headlights and carrying less material.

"As for the wings of the tank" Krylya has two 2-storey 18-meter wings made of canvas and wood, which helps to reduce weight, the total length of the car is about 12m. The Soviet Air Force asked Antonov to design an aircraft that could carry tanks, not a tank that could fly.

Design of flying tanks.

In the autumn of 1942, designer Antonov and his engineering team completed the product of the Krylya Tanka tank in less than 3 weeks, developed from T-60 tanks. This new design is named A-40 or A-40T. In the first (and only) flight, the A-40 is piloted by pilot Sergei Anokhin. A TB-3 bomber was dedicated to lift the A-40 to the sky, the total weight of the tank now was 7.8 tons, including the Kylya Tanka wing.

This new design is named A-40 or A-40T.

Although there were many problems because the engine became too hot and the TB-3 was overloaded, it was not possible to maintain the necessary speed, but the flying tank could still cross the sky. However, soon after, there were many loud noises and the test crew had to leave the transport plane quickly. Quickly, the pilots cut the cable and the Anokhin pilot survived the flying tank.

The first and last test flight of "flying tank".

The flying tank actually worked. Anokhin even later reported that A-40 was farther than expected and Oleg Antonov's idea was not unbelievable. Ankhin landed in a nearby field, took off his wings and drove back to Monino. However, since no single plane is strong enough to carry 7.8-ton A-40 tanks with a speed of 160km / h to help the A-40 fly by itself after leaving transport aircraft and forces Soviet air force has permanently stopped the project.