Obyekt 279

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The Obyekt 279, on display at Kubinka Armour Museum.

Obyekt 279 (Объект 279) was a Soviet prototype heavy tank developed in Kirov plant in Leningrad by a group headed by engineer L. A. Troyanov in 1957. The special-purpose tank was intended to fight on cross-country terrain that was unaccessible to conventional tanks and acted as vehicle to break through enemy defensive positions. It was planned as tank of the Reserve of Supreme Command.

This tank was a unique version boasting increased cross-country capability. The tank featured four-track running gear mounted on two longitudinal retangular hollow beams, used as fuel tanks. The tank hull (269 mm of armor thickness) was protected against HEAT projectiles. It comprised large cast irregular shape structures with variable thickness and slope. The all-cast front part of the hull was rounded in shape with thin armor panels against HEAT projectiles which ran around the edges of the front and sides of the hull. The sides of the hull were also cast and had similar protective armor panels. The all-cast turret (front armor thickness 305 mm) was round in shape with anti-HEAT protective panels mounted at 70 degrees of angle. The coupling place of turret with roof was protected. Tank was fitted with 130 mm rifled cannon M-65 (firing APDS rounds with muzzle velocity 1000 m/s) and co-axial 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machinegun, stabilized in two planes by "Groza" stabilizer. The gun was provided with semi-automatic loading system. Firing control system comprised optical/radar rangefinder, auto-guidance system and L2 night-sight with IR searchlight. The tank suspension was hydro-pneumatic with complex hydrotransformer and three-speed planetary gearbox. The track adjuster was worm-type. Also, tank was fitted with the NBC and auto fire-fighting systems, smoke laying equipment, and combat compartment heating/cooling system. The specific ground pressure of this heavy vehicle did not exceed 0.6 kgf/cm2. The track chain, running practically along the whole track length provided for increased cross-country capabilities on swampy terrain, soft soils and area full of cut trees, hedgehogs, antitank obstacles and the like. The powerful 16 cylinder 1000 hp engine 2DG-8M enabled the 60-ton vehicle to attain 55km/h speed with active range of 300 km on one refuel.

The tank successfully underwent all trials. However, it was abandoned, like all new heavy tanks in 1959 by Nikita Kruschev, who was a rocket fan and preferred rocket (like IT-1 (ИТ-1) with Дракон (Dragon) ATGMs tanks. The only sample of this unique vehicle is today exhibited at the Kubinka Tank Museum, fifty kilometres outside Moscow.