Tank of the Tsar

The Tank of the Tsar (so known under the name of Ru Нетопырь, Netopyr , meaning Bat Pipistrellus , or Tank Lebedenko , according to the Patronym of its inventor), is a Russian prototype of Blindé developed during the First World War. The project was abandoned after the first tests, which determined that the tank was not powerful enough and that it was vulnerable to the Artillerie.

The tank was original by its concept, based on a motricity by Tricycle and not by caterpillars. The nose gear wheels had almost nine Mètre S of diameter and the aft wheel, smaller, only 1,5 m height to ensure a good maneuverability. The higher turret gun measured almost 8 meters, the hull almost 15 meters length with two additional guns in the Sponson S. Of others weapons equipped the belly with the structure.

The vehicle was called Netopyr because the prototype, inclined towards the back by its small wheel, resembled a bat sleeping.

The enormous wheels had been designed to cross important obstacles but, because of miscalculations on the weight of the system, the small aft wheel easily penetrated mud and the soft earth, while the large ones were insufficiently strong to leave the machine these situations. These defects were considered to be crippling during several tests missed before a high commission in August 1915. One left the tank where these tests had taken place, to approximately 60 km of Moscow, until it is dismantled in scrap in 1923.

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External bonds

'' Lebendenko (gold Tsar) Tank ''
'' Tsar tank. Russia. 1915. Private laboratory off Lebedenko. ''

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