The Tsar Tank , also known as the Netopyr’ which stands for pipistrellus (a genus of bat), was an unusual Russian armoured vehicle developed by Nikolai Lebedenko, Nikolai Zhukovsky , Boris Stechkin , and Alexander Mikulin from 1914 on-wards. The Tsar Tank project was scrapped after initial tests deemed the vehicle to be under-powered and vulnerable to artillery fire.
Tsar Tank History:
Developed in the earliest days of tank development, it was not alone among many other strange designs. It differed from modern tanks in that it did not use caterpillar tracks—rather, it used a tricycle design. The two front spoked wheels were nearly 9 meters (27 feet) in diameter; the back wheel was smaller, only 1.5 meters (5 feet) high, triple wheel, to ensure maneuverability. The upper cannon turret reached nearly 8 meters high. The Tzar Tank hull was 12 meters wide with two more cannons in the sponsors Additional weapons were also planned under the belly. Each wheel was powered by a 250 hp (190 kW) Sunbeam engine.
The Tsar Tank received its nickname because its model, when carried by the back wheel, resembled a bat hanging asleep. The huge wheels were intended to cross significant obstacles. However, due to miscalculations of the weight, the back wheel was prone to be stuck in soft ground and ditches, and the front wheels were sometimes insufficient to pull it out. This led to a fiasco of tests before the high commission in August 1915. The Tzar Tank remained in the location where it was tested, some 60 kilometers from Moscow until 1923 when it was finally taken apart for scrap. The Tsar Tank was the inspiration for the IG-227 Hailfire-class droid tank in Star Wars.
Development Of Tsar Tank:
According to the memoirs of the Lebedenco, the idea of this machine was prompted by the Central Asian carts, carts, which, thanks to large wheels, easily could overcome the potholes and ditches. Therefore, in contrast to the “classical” tanks, tracked, the Tsar tank was wheeled combat vehicle and the design resembled a greatly enlarged gun carriage. Two huge spooked front wheels have a diameter of about 9 meters , rear ring was considerably less, about 1.5 m Underneath the planned installation of additional machine-gun turret. The design speed of movement of vehicles was 17 kph.
- Crew: 10
- Length: 17.8 m | Width: 9 m | Height: 12 m
- Weight: 60 ton
- Engine: Two 250HP Maybach Sunbeam engine
- Performances: 580 hp
- Maximum speed: 17 km/h
- Suspension: Wheeled
- Armor: unknown
- Main Armament: 12 Water Cooled Mashine Guns