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Hello !
Today, I’d like to suggest the addition of a tank you may have never heard or seen pictures of. It is none other than a T-10 derivative which was used to test the turret of the famous object 775, when the project was still ongoing.
History
Spoiler
In 1963, even though work on the 775 tank had been ongoing for a year, the technical requirements were still not set in stone and even the very design of a crewless hull was questioned.
In fact, while the vehicle was envisionned in such a way, Soviet engineers were getting more and more keen on making it more conventional. It was not until an order from the 12th Directorate of the GKOT (State commitee to military vehicles) that the crewless hull came back.
On February 1st, 1964, the GKOT approved a former order of the NTS recommending to concentrate work on the Rubin ATGM. The 775 was to undergo factory trials as soon as late 1964 and 3 vehicles would have to be readied the following year for state and troop trials.
In March 1964, ChTZ submitted the blueprints of a tank with a turret housing both the gunner and the driver. However, it soon became clear to Shavyrin, head of the design bureau at ChTZ, that the factory wouldn’t be able to produce a wooden mockup in time.
The 125 mm gun was first tested on an artillery mount and then on an ISU-152, as usual. Yes, I will also suggest this one at some point.
One of the toughest parts of the project was developing an “automatic course stabilizer”, the system that would stabilize the driver when driving and always make him face forward. This system could also be turned off.
The VNII-100 created this system based on the autopilot system AP-31 used in aircrafts as well as other systems straight up borrowed from planes. The system was first trialed in a T-55 in July-August 1964, showing good results as the accuracy of the stabilisation was at worst off by 1,5°.
The final product was to be showcased on a 734 (T-10M) hull. The tank would use the 775 turret, with the crew laid out as it would be in the real tank.
It was perfectly functional : when the turret reached 60° to the side (0° being straight forward), the driver’s seat started turning backward until the turret reached 110°. By that point, the seat would be fully reversed. It should also be noted that the tank had a second driver, in the hull, that would deal with gear shifting and braking.
15 test pilots went on to test the vehicle from September 11 to November 4, for a total of 14 runs over a distance of 42 km. And if you’re wondering, no, the drivers did not feel any kind of sickness from having such a weird position.
Specifications
Crew : 3
- Driver
- Driver
- Gunner
Armament
- One 125 mm gun D-126
Ammo
Spoiler
Same ammo as used on the 775 : Rubin ATGM and Bur rockets.
Sights : Unknown name (x4-x10)
Elevation : +18°/-5°
Dimensions
- Weight : ~ 44 t (While the turret and main gun of the T-10M weigh 11 891 kg, the 775’s is not known but can safely estimated as at least twice as light.)
- Length : 7,25 m
- Width : 3,52 m
- Height : ~ 2,20 m
Mobility
- Engine : V-12-6 (750 hp)
- Top speed : 50 km/h / -10 km/h
- Transmission : 4 forward / 1 reverse
Armor
Spoiler
This but with a 775 turret. 
Sources
- Техника и Вооружение N°11/2024
- Техника и Вооружение N°06/2024
- Отечественные бронированные машины 1945-1965 гг. M.V. Pavlov, I.V. Pavlov