T-34 tank engine: characteristics, manufacturers, advantages and disadvantages

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41

When they talk about advanced weapons, they first of all mean the power of a weapon capable of inflicting a crushing defeat on the enemy. The legendary T-34 tank became the personification of the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II. But there are less significant components, for example, the V-2 tank engine, without which the legend could not exist.

Military equipment works in the most difficult conditions. Motors are designed to use low-quality fuel, minimal maintenance, but at the same time they must retain their original characteristics for many years. It was this approach that was embodied in the creation of the diesel engine of the T-34 tank.

Prototype engine

In 1931, the Soviet government set a course to improve military equipment. At the same time, the Kharkov Locomotive Plant named after. The Comintern was given the task of developing a new diesel engine for tanks and aircraft.

The novelty of the development was to be fundamentally new characteristics of the motor. The nominal speed of the crankshaft of diesel engines of that time was 260 rpm. Then, as in the assignment, it was agreed that the new engine should produce 300 hp at a speed of 1600 rpm. And this already made completely different requirements for the methods of developing components and assemblies. The technology that would have made it possible to create such an engine in the Soviet Union did not exist.

Design Bureau was renamed Diesel, and work began. After discussing possible design options, we settled on a V-shaped 12-cylinder engine, 6 cylinders in each row. It was supposed to be started from an electric starter. At that time, there was no fuel equipment that could provide fuel for such an engine. Therefore, as a high-pressure fuel pump, it was decided to install a high-pressure fuel pump from Bosch, which was subsequently planned to be replaced with a pump of our own production.

Before the creation of the first test sample, two years passed. Since the engine was planned to be used not only in Soviet tank building, but also in aircraft building on heavy bombers, the light weight of the engine was specially stipulated.

Motor modification

They tried to create an engine from materials that had not previously been used to build diesel engines. For example, the cylinder block was made of aluminum, and it, unable to withstand the tests on the stand, constantly cracked. The high power caused the light, unbalanced motor to vibrate violently.

BT-5 tank, which was testeddiesel engine, never reached the landfill under its own power. Troubleshooting of the motor showed that the crankcase block, crankshaft bearings were destroyed. In order for the design embodied in paper to migrate to life, new materials were needed. The equipment on which the parts were made was also not good. There was a lack of precision workmanship.

In 1935, the Kharkov Locomotive Plant was replenished with experimental workshops for the production of diesel engines. Having eliminated a certain number of flaws, the BD-2A engine was installed on the R-5 aircraft. The bomber took to the air, but the low reliability of the engine did not allow it to be used for its intended purpose. Moreover, by that time more acceptable variants of aircraft engines had arrived.

Preparation of the diesel engine for installation on the tank was difficult. The selection committee was not satisfied with the high smoke, which was a strong unmasking factor. In addition, high fuel and oil consumption was unacceptable for military equipment, which should have a long range without refueling.

Main difficulties behind

In 1937, the team of designers was understaffed with military engineers. At the same time, the diesel engine was given the name V-2, under which it went down in history. However, the improvement work was not completed. Part of the technical tasks were delegated to the Ukrainian Institute of Aircraft Engine Building. The team of designers was supplemented by employees of the Central Institute of Aviation Motors.

In 1938, state tests of the second generation of V-2 diesel engines were carried out. Three motors were presented. Nonepassed the tests. The first had a jammed piston, the second had a cracked cylinder block, and the third had a crankcase. In addition, the high-pressure plunger pump did not create sufficient performance. It lacked manufacturing precision.

In 1939, the motor was finalized and tested.

Subsequently, the V-2 engine was installed in this form on the T-34 tank. The diesel department has been reformed into a tank engine plant, with the goal of producing 10,000 units a year.

Final version

At the beginning of World War II, the plant was urgently evacuated to Chelyabinsk. ChTZ already had a production base for the production of tank engines.

Some time before the evacuation, diesel was tested on a heavy KV tank.

For a long time, the B-2 was subjected to upgrades and improvements. Disadvantages were also reduced. The advantages of the engine of the T-34 tank made it possible to judge it as an unsurpassed example of design thought. Even military experts believed that the replacement of the V-2 with new diesel engines in the 60-70s was due to the fact that the engine was outdated only from a moral point of view. In many technical parameters, it surpassed the novelties.

You can compare some of the characteristics of the B-2 with modern engines to understand how progressive it was for that time. The launch was provided in two ways: from a compressed air receiver and an electric starter, which provided increased “survivability” for the T-34 tank engine. Fourvalves per cylinder increased the efficiency of the gas distribution mechanism. The cylinder block and crankcase were made of aluminum alloy.

The ultra-light engine was produced in three versions, differing in power: 375, 500, 600 hp, for vehicles of different weights. The change in power was achieved by forcing - reducing the combustion chamber and increasing the compression ratio of the fuel mixture. Even an 850 hp engine was released. with. It was turbocharged from the AM-38 aircraft engine, after which the diesel engine was tested on the KV-3 heavy tank.

Already at that time, there was a trend towards the development of military engines running on any hydrocarbon fuel, which simplifies the supply of equipment in war conditions. The engine of the T-34 tank could run on both diesel and kerosene.

Unreliable diesel

Despite the demand of People's Commissar V. A. Malyshev, diesel never became reliable. Most likely, it was not a matter of design flaws, but that the production evacuated to ChTZ in Chelyabinsk had to be deployed in a huge hurry. The materials required by the specifications were missing.

Two tanks with B-2 engines were sent to the United States to investigate the causes of premature failure. After carrying out annual tests of the T-34 and KV-1, it was concluded that the air filters do not retain dust particles at all, and they penetrate into the engine, leading to wear of the piston group. Due to a technology flaw, the oil contained in the filterflowed through contact welding in the body. Dust, instead of settling in the oil, freely entered the combustion chamber.

Throughout the war, work on the reliability of the engine of the T-34 tank was carried out constantly. In 1941, the 4th generation motors could barely work out 150 hours, while 300 were required. By 1945, the engine life could be increased by 4 times, and the number of malfunctions was reduced from 26 to 9 for every thousand kilometers.

The production capacity of ChTZ "Ur altrak" was not enough for the military industry. Therefore, it was decided to build factories for the production of engines in Barnaul and Sverdlovsk. They produced the same V-2 and its modifications for installation not only on tanks, but also on self-propelled vehicles.

ChTZ "Ur altrak" also produced engines for various vehicles: heavy tanks of the KV series, light tanks BT-7, heavy artillery tractors "Voroshilovets".

Tank engine in civilian life

The career of the T-34 tank engine did not end with the end of the war. The design work continued. It formed the basis for many modifications of tank V-shaped diesel engines. B-45, B-46, B-54, B-55, etc. - they all became direct descendants of the B-2. They had the same V-shaped, 12-cylinder concept. Various hydrocarbon mixtures could serve as their fuel. The body was made of aluminum alloys and was lightweight.

In addition, the V-2 served as a prototype for many other engines that were not related to military equipment.

Civil ships "Moskva" and "Moskvich" received the same engine as the T-34 tank, with minor changes. This modification was called D12. In addition, diesel engines were produced for river transport, which were 6-cylinder halves of V-2.

Diesel 1D6 was equipped with shunting locomotives TGK-2, TGM-1, TGM-23. In total, over 10 thousand units of these units were produced.

MAZ mining dump trucks received 1D12 diesel. The engine power was 400 liters. with. at 1600 rpm.

Interestingly, after the improvements, the potential of the engine has increased significantly. Now the assigned motor resource before the overhaul was 22 thousand hours.

Characteristics and design of the T-34 tank engine

The fast, compressorless diesel V-2 was water-cooled. Cylinder blocks were located in relation to each other at an angle of 60 degrees.

The operation of the motor was carried out as follows:

1. During the intake stroke, atmospheric air is supplied through the open intake valves.
2. The valves close and the compression stroke occurs. The air pressure increases to 35 atm and the temperature rises to 600 °C.
3. At the end of the compression stroke, the fuel pump delivers fuel at a pressure of 200 atm through the injector, which ignites at high temperature.
4. Gases begin to expand dramatically, increasing pressure to 90 atm. Engine power cycle in progress.
5. Graduationsvalves open and exhaust gases are expelled into the exhaust system. The pressure inside the combustion chamber drops to 3-4 atm.

Then the cycle repeats.

Trigger

The way to start a tank engine was different from a civilian one. In addition to the electric starter with a capacity of 15 hp. c, was a pneumatic system consisting of compressed air cylinders. During the operation of the tank, the diesel pumped up pressure of 150 atm. Then, when it was necessary to start, air through the distributor entered directly into the combustion chambers, causing the crankshaft to rotate. Such a system ensured starting even with a missing battery.

Lubrication system

The motor was lubricated with MK aviation oil. The lubrication system had 2 oil tanks. The diesel had a dry sump. This was done so that at the moment of a strong roll of the tank on rough terrain, the engine would not go into oil starvation. The working pressure in the system was 6 - 9 atm.

Cooling system

The power unit of the tank was cooled by two radiators, the temperature of which reached 105-107 °C. The fan was powered by a centrifugal pump powered by an engine flywheel.

Fuel system features

High pressure fuel pump NK-1 originally had a 2-mode regulator, which was later replaced by an all-mode one. The injection pump created a fuel pressure of 200 atm. Coarse and fine filters ensured the removal of mechanical impurities contained in the fuel. The nozzles were closed type.