The V-2 engine is perhaps the most famous diesel engine. Created in the late thirties, its various modifications still continue to serve. Of course, the thirty-four is undoubtedly the most famous tank of the Second World War, only the engine that this tank was equipped with remained in the shadows. This engine turned out to be so successful that its modifications are still being produced.
Serial production of the V-2 engine began on the day the Second World War began, September 1, 1939. The backlog put into this engine surprises so far. This engine was decades ahead of its time.
No matter how strange it may sound, but initially this engine was developed for aviation, for Soviet heavy bombers. But it was not possible to make an engine that would satisfy Soviet aircraft designers. For aviation, the power of this engine was not enough, and the engine did not take root in the aircraft industry.
However, this engine came to the yard in tank building. As a legacy from aviation, this engine, in the era of "cast-iron" diesel engineering, acquired an aluminum cylinder block, and many other light-alloy parts. As a result, the engine had a high power density per unit weight.
The design of the engine was incredibly successful. Probably, its main difference from ultra-modern engines is that there is no electronics in the engine. Fuel injection into the B-2 cylinders was carried out using a twelve-plunger high-pressure fuel pump. Now, on modern diesel engines, fuel is supplied to the injectors using a common high-pressure accumulator (the so-called Common Rail system, which translates as “common rail”).
However, each cylinder of the engine, like most modern diesels, had four valves, as well as an overhead camshaft, while many diesels produced in those years had a lower camshaft.
Unlike most diesel engines of that era, which used the principle of pre-chamber or vortex-chamber mixture formation, the V-2 engine used direct fuel injection, as well as on modern diesel engines. So the V-2 engine was ahead of its time by five decades, no less.
Of course, not only Soviet tank builders paid attention to diesel engines. And the first tank in the world that had a diesel engine was the Japanese Type 89 tank, but initially this tank was produced with a gasoline engine. In contrast, the T-34 tank was originally designed for the V-2 diesel engine. This made it possible to use all its advantages to the maximum.
Throughout the war, the Germans used gasoline engines on their tanks. There were many reasons for this: the shortage of non-ferrous metals, the lack of diesel fuel, the lion's share of which went to the needs of the navy.
The birth of the B-2 took place in agony. An order for the development of a tank diesel engine was received in 1931, and it passed state tests only in 1939, and was launched in mass production. Although, by that time he had already passed the “baptism of fire” on the KV tank during the Soviet-Finnish war.
One of the most important advantages of a diesel engine is its economy. It is believed that a diesel engine is less fire hazardous than a carburetor. But this gain, by and large, is negligible. Diesel fuel vapors easily ignited in fuel tanks. The tankers themselves said that it was safest to go into battle with full tanks.
The power reserve for a tank is essential. And in this respect, diesel won. For example, the cruising range of the T-34 tank along the highway was 380 km, while the well-known German Tiger tank had this figure equal to 140 km. Another German tank T-IV, with an engine power of 300 liters. s, the cruising range on the highway was equal to 300 km.
Another important advantage of a diesel engine is its multi-fuel capability. If necessary, the tank could be filled with gasoline or aviation kerosene, preferably, of course, with the addition of oil, and it was possible to continue moving.
Of course, the use of this fuel quickly disabled the engine, but in the event of a critical situation, such factors were not paid attention to. At present, the use of heavy fuel engines in tank building is the norm.
The V-2 engine, of course, was used not only on the T-34 tank, but also on tanks of the KV, IS family, and self-propelled artillery mounts created on the basis of these tanks. Only the modifications were different: V-2-34, V-2IS, V-2-44. Engine power also changed slightly. If on the T-34 the power was equal to 500 hp. s, then on tanks of the IS family, its power was increased to 520 hp. Already before the start of the war, there were 5 modifications of this engine.
Work to increase engine power was carried out constantly. During the war, the V-2CH turbocharged engine was developed, the power of which was increased to 850 hp. This engine is being tested on the IS-3 tank.
After the war, the modernization of the engine continued. For example, the engine under the index V-46, which was installed on the T-72 tank, developed a power of 700 hp, and the turbocharged V-92 engine for the T-90 tank reached a power of 1000 hp.
At the end of the war, various modifications of the V-2 engine began to be actively used in the national economy. One of the modifications of the engine was installed on a well-known Soviet tractor manufactured at ChTZ - DET-250.
For the national economy, special derated engines were developed, produced under the index "D". These engines were installed on towing boats, river trams, diesel locomotives, railcars, MAZ heavy trucks, and were used as a generator drive.
Of course, numerous attempts were made in tank building to replace the engines of the V-2 family with other, more modern ones. In the sixties, the 5TDF boxer engine was developed for the T-64 and T-72 tanks. The engines of this family had good performance, were compact, but extremely expensive and difficult to manufacture and operate. Therefore, the engines of the B-2 family remained the basis of the Soviet and then Russian tank building.
So what is the secret of this engine? Its design, developed in the thirties, despite the fact that it has certain disadvantages associated with the development of the engine, when many technologies in production were not available, even in our time, has not undergone any changes.
This engine was created "for growth." Developed over 80 years ago, it still has decent performance in the 21st century. Engines of this family are still produced in Chelyabinsk at ChTZ and in Barnaul at Barnaultransmash.
The T-34 76 tank is rightfully considered one of the best tanks of the Second World War, which absorbed all best qualities these combat vehicles. It was recognized as the best for its time not only by the Soviet military, but even by their opponents, who directly encountered this tank in combat conditions.
From the history of the T-34 tank
German tankers in the forty-first year could not oppose anything to the T-34 76 tank with its excellent armor and serious firepower. In addition to the optimal characteristics for wartime, the tank was distinguished by a fairly simple design, high manufacturability and adaptability to combat in various conditions. The tank was easily repaired in the field, which undoubtedly became its huge plus. Before the Tigers, Panthers and Ferdinands entered service with Germany, the Soviet T-34 was a deadly threat to the Germans. The T-34 entered into the most difficult battles and often emerged victorious from them.
Development of T-34 76
The T-34 was designed and assembled at the design bureau of the Kharkov Locomotive Plant. It was not only the famous design bureau M.I. Koshkin, the design bureau of Adolf Dik also participated in the work. The technical project in this bureau was prepared with a delay of a whole month, because of which A. Dick was arrested. As a result, only M. Koshkin became responsible for the project. In the course of the work, the designers created two versions of the tank propulsors: wheeled-tracked and tracked, as a result, preference was given to the second. In March of the fortieth year, two samples of the new tank were delivered to the Ivanovskaya Square of the Kremlin to demonstrate it to the military commission and the government. It is worth noting that for this, the new combat vehicles covered as much as 750 kilometers from Kharkov to Moscow on their own, moving off-road, and thus showing excellent cross-country ability. At the end of March, Soviet industry began to produce tanks.
To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the T-34 tank was the best vehicle in the world, mobile, easy to manufacture, with anti-ballistic armor and a powerful 76 mm cannon capable of penetrating any German tank of the 1941 model. The German 37-mm guns were practically powerless against the "thirty-four". Since 1941, the Panzer III began to be produced for the Wehrmacht, most of which were equipped with a 50 mm cannon, already more effective against T 34 armor. The T-34 could penetrate the armor of early modifications of the Panzer III from two thousand meters. Later, Panzer modifications appeared with 60 and 50 millimeters of armor, but its T-34 pierced armor-piercing shells from a distance of one and a half thousand meters. Even the later and fortified Panzer III Ausf.M and Ausf.L models with 70 mm armor could be penetrated by the T-34 from a distance of five hundred meters.
It is worth noting the 45 mm armor of the T-34, which, due to its sloping design, often provoked ricochets when fired from long distances, which made it very difficult to fight this tank. But the T-34 also had disadvantages - poor visibility and a not very reliable transmission. In addition, the fighting compartment was quite cramped and greatly hampered the work of the crew.
Tank device
First, about the T-34 76 in general terms:
- The combat weight of the tank was more than thirty tons;
- Gun - L 11 and F 34 caliber 76.2 mm;
- Engine power - 500 horsepower;
- Maximum speed - 55 kilometers per hour;
- Crew - four people;
- Approximately 20,000 pieces were produced.
Frame
In 1940, the T-34 hull was made from rolled armor plates. In front of the frontal sheet there is a driver's hatch with a hinged lid. Further, in the upper part of the hatch cover, there is a central viewing device for the driver, and to the left and right side viewing devices installed at an angle of sixty degrees to the longitudinal axis of the machine. On the right is the embrasure of the course machine gun in a ball bearing. The machine gun has no armor mask. The rear inclined hull sheet is removable and is attached to the side sheets with bolts. It has a rectangular hatch for access to the transmission compartment. On the side of the hatch there are two oval holes with exhaust pipes, protected by armored caps.
Tower
The turret of the tank is welded, cone-shaped from rolled armor plates. The roof of the tower had a common hatch for crew members. A viewing device is mounted on the hatch for a circular view. In front of the hatch, on the left side, there was a PT-6 periscope sight, and on the right, a ventilation hatch.
guns
The tank was initially equipped with a 76.2 mm L-11 gun with a 30.5 caliber barrel. She had a number of shortcomings, because she was soon replaced by a more successful F-32 gun. After some time, the design bureau developed a modification of this gun, which was seriously superior to the previous version. The gun was named F-34, the length of its barrel increased to 41 calibers, which significantly increased the penetration power of the gun. There was a 7.62 mm DT machine gun coaxial with a cannon, and the TOD-6 telescopic sight was used for direct aiming of the gun.
Chassis
The tank had five pairs of large diameter road wheels. The guide and track rollers were rubber-coated, and the caterpillar chain was made of thirty-seven flat and thirty-seven ridge tracks. Outside, each track had lugs. In the aft part of the hull, two spare tracks and two jacks were attached. Four pairs of rollers on board had an individual spring suspension, the springs were placed at an angle and were welded to the sides in the hull.
About the oil consumption of the V-2 diesel engine and its numerous descendants (V-6 / V-6A / V-6B, V-46, A-650G, A-401, V-54T / A-712), installed on equipment as military (BTR-50, PT-76, T-72, ZSU Shilka), so economic (GT-T, ATS-59G, Vityaz DT-30, etc.) purpose and how to fight it is written in note .
When you stand near the T-34 tank, no matter where and in what condition it is, shiny with paint or, like ours, shabby and cut with a cutter, you want to take off your hat. Looking inside, in my thoughts I see here my grandfather Misha, the gunner-radio operator. I remember his story, how he crawled out of the car, enveloped in flames, near Vienna. This is the history of my people, the pride of my country. And the technical thought is still alive.
Technical thoughts led me with my GT-T to him, namely to his V-2-34 engine. More precisely, this is the SU-100 self-propelled gun, judging by the shape of the remains of the top of the hull cut off during the conversion of the combat vehicle into a transport vehicle.
Developed in the 30s, V-2 diesel engines are still characterized by high specific parameters, their specific gravity is only 2.05 kg / hp, and the specific fuel consumption is 165 g / hp * h. But the age of the design causes disadvantages, the main of which are: inefficient operation of oil scraper rings of an outdated design and, as a result, high oil consumption for waste - 20 g / hp * h; rapid wear of the valve guides and even greater consumption of oil that enters the cylinders after lubrication of the cylinder head camshafts.
The design of the GT-T tractor conveyor used the power plant of the PT-76 amphibious tank based on single-row diesel engines of the V-6 family, derived from the double-row V-2.
Many parts and assemblies of this type of motors are unified. Including the head of the main (left) cylinder block assembly, blocks with liners (silumin and cast iron) and pistons. On my B-6A, the wear of the valve bushings over 33 years of moderate operation has developed so much that with the manifold removed, the process of oil passage and combustion is observed at the valves with the naked eye. I had to change the cylinder head assembly.
The emergence of new materials and technologies makes it relatively easy to eliminate the above disadvantages. Nevertheless, over the long years of serial production of V-2, D12, A-650 and M-401 diesel engines, their design has remained practically unchanged. Yes, and in the engine compartments of modern Ural tanks, the original forms of the V-2 tank diesel engine are easily guessed.
At the end of the thirties, we created a unique tank engine that stepped over into the 21st century. To understand what we are dealing with and again admire the design idea, look into history.
In the early 30s of the twentieth century, not only we did not have special tank engines. Thoughts that we were the first to put diesel on tanks are not entirely true. The first diesel engine was used on serial tanks in 1932 by the Poles, followed by the Japanese. These were automobile diesel engines of small power. And the tanks were relatively light. In the first half of the 30s. Soviet tanks were equipped with exhausted aviation gasoline engines. The operating conditions of a tank engine are sudden changes in the operating mode, load fluctuations, difficult cooling conditions, air intake, etc. A tank engine must be more powerful than a car engine. For medium tanks, an easy-to-use, durable and trouble-free engine with a capacity of 300-400 hp was needed, with good adaptability to significant overloads. As German General G. Guderian wrote after the war, a tank engine should be considered the same weapon as a cannon.
In the early 1930s, against the background of the absence of special tank engines in the world, in general, in our country, they began to create a special tank diesel engine. It was a bold undertaking. The best design personnel were thrown into its implementation. Despite the lack of experience, the designers began work on creating a diesel engine capable of developing crankshaft speeds up to 2000 rpm. They decided to design it as universal, ie. suitable for installation on tanks, aircraft and tracked tractors. It was necessary to obtain the following indicators: power - 400-500 hp. at 1700/1800 rpm, specific gravity no more than 0.6 kgf/hp In the 1930s, diesel engines were worked on not only at the NAMI Automobile Institute, but also at the Central Institute of Aviation Motors. They were developed for installation on aircraft and airships. Created by CIAM aircraft engine heavy fuel AN-1 was highly economical and served as the basis for a number of many high-speed engines that are used to this day, the basis, and not the prototype, including the future tank engine.
By May 1, 1933, the BD-2 high-speed diesel engine was assembled and tested. But tests revealed so many defects in it that it was out of the question to put it on a tank. For example, a two-valve engine head would not deliver the intended power due to the low cylinder filling ratio. The exhaust was so smoky and caustic that it interfered with the work of the crews of experienced BT-5 tanks. The construction of the crankcase and crankshaft turned out to be insufficiently rigid. And yet, by the end of 1937, a new model of a four-valve diesel engine, which by that time had received the name B-2, was installed on the test bench. In the summer of 1939, the first serial V-2 diesel engines installed on tanks, artillery tractors and on test benches were subjected to the most stringent examination.
In 1939 began large-scale production the world's first 500-horsepower high-speed V-2 tank diesel engines, put into production by the same order of the Defense Committee, which adopted the T-34 and KV. The engine was born along with the tank. It had no analogues in world tank building. had amazing versatility.
Before the start of the Great Patriotic War, V-2 tank diesel engines were produced only by plant No. 75 in Kharkov. The pre-war developments of the Design Bureau of Plant No. 75 include the creation of a 6-cylinder V-4 tank diesel engine with a capacity of 300 hp. at 1800 rpm, designed for installation in a light tank T-50. Their production was to be organized at one plant near Moscow. The war prevented this. But plant No. 75 managed to produce several dozen of these engines. Other pre-war developments are V-5 and V-6 diesels (supercharged), created in "metal". Experimental diesel engines were also made: boosted in terms of speed up to 700 hp. V-2sf and 850 hp supercharged V-2sn. The outbreak of war forced them to stop this work and focus on improving the main V-2 diesel engine. With the outbreak of war, V-2 began to produce STZ, and a little later, plant No. 76 in Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Kirovsky (ChKZ). The first diesels in Chelyabinsk began to be produced in December 1941. I. Ya. Trashutin (all engines of post-war Ural tanks) became the chief designer of ChKZ for diesel engines. But there weren't enough motors. And in 1942, diesel plant No. 77 was urgently built in Barnaul (the first ten diesel engines were produced in November 1942). In total, these plants produced 17211 in 1942, 22974 in 1943 and 28136 in 1944. T-34 tanks and self-propelled units based on it were equipped with a V-2-34 diesel model (BT tanks had a V-2 diesel engine, and heavy KBs had its 640-horsepower version of the V-2K). It is a 4-stroke, 12-cylinder, V-shaped, high-speed, naturally aspirated, water-cooled, fuel-spray diesel engine. The cylinders are located at an angle of 60″ to each other. Rated engine power 450 hp at 1750 rpm of the crankshaft. Operating power at 1700 rpm - 500 hp The number of revolutions of the crankshaft at idle is 600 rpm. Specific fuel consumption - 160-170 g / hp. Cylinder diameter - 150 mm, displacement - 38.8 liters, compression ratio - 14-15. The dry weight of the engine is 874 kg.
In the post-war years, the following modifications of the V-2 and V-6 engines were used at armored vehicles: V-55, V-55V, V-54B, V-54, V-54G, V-54K-IS, V-54K-IST , V-105B, V-105V, V-34-M11, V-2-34KR, V-2-34T, V12-5B, V-12-6V, V-6B, V-6, V-6PG, V -6PV, V-6PVG, V-6M, V-6R, V-6R-1 and V-6M-1. B-2 was also adapted to the most diverse needs of the national economy with the birth of a large number of modifications. The designer's great success was the B-404C engine for the Kharkivchanka Antarctic snowmobile.
In the 1960s, the Trashutin Design Bureau created the V-46 turbo-piston diesel engines for the T-72 tanks and subsequent generations combat vehicles. Further development was the latest modifications of the V-82 and V-92, which at the turn of the century reached the parameters started by the designers of the V-2 in the 30s - specific gravity 1 - 0.7 kg / hp, power more than 1000 hp. at 2000 rpm. Equipped with a gas turbine pressurization, improved fuel equipment and a cylinder-piston group, the V-92S2 diesel engine is at the level of the best world models, and surpasses the majority in terms of economy and specific weight and size indicators. The mass of the V-92С2 engine is only 1020 kg, which is more than 2 times less than the mass of the AVDS-1790 (USA), C12V (England), UDV-12-1100 (France) engines. In terms of overall power, the V-92S2 surpasses them by 1.5 - 4.5 times, in terms of fuel efficiency - by 5-25%. has a torque reserve - 25-30%. Such a reserve greatly facilitates the control of the machine, increases maneuverability and average speed. Tank T-90 - one of the best serial images of the armored military equipment in the world due to the highest combat effectiveness, reasonable cost and amazing reliability.
Let's go back to our life in the Polar Mountains. Being engaged in geological research, I again found myself at the site where the SU-100 self-propelled tractor has been growing into the tundra for half a century. She, like three similarly reconstructed self-propelled guns-76 in other places, was left in the early 60s of the last century under open sky uranium geologists. To assess the condition of the insides of the V-2-34 diesel engine, I habitually opened the nozzle hatch in the head cover of the left cylinder block. What I saw amazed me. Shiny mirrors on the camshaft cams, everything is coated with a thin layer of oil.
As if the engine was stopped recently, and not 50 years ago. All fuel pumps (TNVD and BNK), as well as the air start distributor, were obviously borrowed at one time by passing AT-S-chiks. Loose right intake manifold. Removed starter and alternator. Everything else was in place and not very rusty.
After a short sledgehammer consumption, the control rods came to life, passing along the bottom of the hull from the driver's seat to the main and onboard clutches and brakes. The main one was turned off by pressing the pedal, but the engine did not want to turn over the flywheel, it was a stake. Those. In any case, without a bulkhead, it is not suitable for work. Having estimated the amount of work, the necessary equipment and strength, I returned to my geological camp.
Taking advantage of the non-working wet weather for the geologist, the next day, with a group of students, he began dismantling the cylinder head of the left collapse of V-2-34. Absolutely all the nuts were unscrewed without problems, even the nuts of the main anchor studs.
When lifting the cylinder head, the latter stuck with the gasket and did not want to separate from the surface of the block. As it turned out later, it was necessary to pick up the head with a shirt and cartridge cases. But this became clear much later, when disassembling the GT-T diesel engine, which at that time was standing right there, next to the “tank”. After the cylinder block, dressed on anchor studs, remained in place of the left camber, and the cylinder head assembly was taken to the side, another miracle appeared. All rubber seals, both of the anchor shafts and of the overflow tubes made of honey-coloured natural rubber, remained flexible.
My overgrown face was reflected in the mirrors of the cylinder liners. The fingers automatically ran along the upper edges of the mirrors - the wear on the sleeves was almost not felt. But there was no time to dismantle the pistons. At that time, I was not going to change the cylinder-piston group on my B-6A. Nevertheless, diesel fuel with used oil was poured into the cylinders, and the mirrors were additionally coated with grease. The entire left camber was covered with oiled tarpaulins for the winter.
Some time later, at the base, due to the age of the car, the main clutch jammed so that one of the rods from the shutdown leash was thrown out through the ejector into the street. In parallel with the replacement of the clutch, he began to prepare the replacement of the diesel cylinder head with one brought from the "tank", relatively new in terms of wear and at the same time old in age. By the way, my head was no longer native.
I changed it to the head of the main camber of the A-650 diesel engine, which was left over from the AT-C (product 712) and was stored in my reserve complete with a block and pistons. Then I did not change the piston because of the decent output on the sleeves of this block. When I removed the cylinder head from my engine, I was upset and puzzled by the very poor condition of the mirrors.
In addition to natural wear and decent wear, there were ring scratches on the liners, similar to piston ring sticking marks or cracks. This really could be. In history, there was a case of movement without water in a system of 300 meters, after it was dumped through a torn pipe. Then I changed the cylinder head along with the gasket and rubber seals of the bypass pipes. Here I had to regret the piston left on the "tank"!
The winter passed behind various other matters and worries at the base. My tractor was disassembled. Already in the summer I asked a friend for a GAZ-34039 to go for spare parts for a piston.
We went to GAZ to pick up a piston.
When we drove up to our lonely self-propelled gun, it turned out that someone curious, most likely a reindeer herder, scattered my packaging at the beginning of summer. There was water in the cylinders. The appearance of the cylinders was no longer so ideal. I regretted not taking everything at once. But, as it turned out, I still could not do this without disassembling the right camber. We pulled off the left block of cylinders. But to remove the pistons from the connecting rods, it is necessary to gradually turn the crankshaft.
Cylinder blocks B-2-34 removed. Motor rotates freely
And he did not turn - he stood like glued. The engine began to crank only after removing the nuts of the stitching and anchor studs of the right camber. The pistons went up along with the entire block and head. It became clear, and after removing the cylinder head, it is clear that the pistons in two cylinders with open valves simply rusted. It took a little fiddling before the cylinder block was lifted off the pistons and set aside.
The engine without cylinders rotated easily and we proceeded to dismantle the pistons, which, as you know, should be changed in pairs with sleeves. Field technology - the piston is gently warmed up with a blowtorch and beaten at the end of the piston pin with a non-ferrous metal punch. After reaching a sufficient temperature, the pin extends freely until the piston is released from the connecting rod and remains in the seat until it cools.
Since the left camber cylinders still suffered during the premature depreservation carried out by an unknown attacker, it was decided to take all the pistons so that there was plenty to choose a kit for the in-line B-6A. For 2 revolutions of the crankshaft for the fan wheel, all pistons with fingers were packed into boxes. It remained to load into the lawn and pack the extracted two cylinder blocks, removed fasteners and tubes. In the evening we set off on our way back. With a self-propelled tractor, my sense of duty remained ...
The preparation of the piston and the assembly of the engine took place already in late autumn. According to the plan, it was supposed to disassemble the native cylinder block V-6A GT-T and press liners from V-2-34 into it.
But it turned out that the sleeves that had worked for 33 years in the silumin jacket of the block did not want to leave it either with a sledgehammer or with a puller. Puller bar was bent. It was possible to advance the sleeve by 3 mm with a sledgehammer through a bar of copper. Obviously, it was necessary to heat the entire jacket of the block before extracting the sleeves.
But I remembered the stored aluminum alloy block from the A-650. Then I still didn’t want to make the car heavier with a cast-iron block from V-2-34, it is much heavier. But after the jacket of the block from AT-S was unsleeved and thoroughly washed, I saw cracks in it between the cylinder seats.
It is clear that such a head is suitable only for scrap or as a visual aid. There was nothing left but to assemble a block in a cast-iron jacket. When washing and cleaning the disassembled cylinder blocks V-6A, A-650 and V-2-34, I was struck by the strict conformity of the casting, despite the difference in years of manufacture and materials (silumin and cast iron), as well as perfect elasticity and the fresh smell of rubber emanating from the o-rings removed from the sleeves. They were brown rubber. The sleeve opening of the V-2-34 block, as well as the block from the A-650, was easily carried out with a screw puller.
The sleeves, which are in good condition, and the pistons from them were soaked in a barrel of diesel fuel and washed. Most of the piston rings are stuck in their grooves.
The rings of pistons removed from V-2-34 in comparison with the rings of worn pistons of the GT-T diesel engine, after cleaning, move without play in the grooves. My old pistons were no longer fit for work due to broken grooves. In preparation for assembling the engine, the piston rings were fixed with cotton thread. The only visual difference between the B-6A and B-2-34 pistons is that the bottom of the B-6 piston is smooth cup-shaped inside, and the bottom of the piston from the "tank" is made in the form of a grid of heat-removing ribs. The pistons from the B-2-34 were installed without any difficulty on the connecting rods of my B-6A in the same way that they were removed.
The assembly of the block, like all preparation work, was carried out on a table in warmth and good light. Sealing rubber rings of liners, together with seals and a gasket under the cylinder head, were purchased in advance from Neva-diesel LLC, St. Petersburg. In the end, it turned out that the B-2-34 cylinder block was re-assembled in a cast-iron jacket with 6 liners selected from 12. For control, the block ready for installation was subjected to hydraulic tests. During the day, it was filled with diesel fuel on the plane of the installation of the cylinder head mirror.
Konstantin Fedorovich Chelpan (May 24, 1899 - March 11, 1938) - Soviet designer of diesel engines, head of the diesel department of the Kharkov Locomotive Plant, head of the design team for the creation of the V-2 tank diesel engine used, in particular, in the T-34 tank. Chief designer in mechanical engineering (since 1935).
...
Under the leadership of Chelpan, an aluminum V-2 tank diesel engine was created, which was installed in the T-34 tank and other vehicles. For the development of the engine, the engineer received the Order of Lenin in 1935 and the title of Chief Designer.
Arrested on December 15, 1937 in the case of the "Greek conspiracy". Condemned by the Commission of the NKVD of the USSR and the prosecutor of the USSR to be shot. On March 11, 1938, he was shot in a Kharkov prison.
http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelpan,_Konstantin_Fyodorovich
And the protocol: "Chelpan Konstantin Fedorovich - to be shot. People's Commissar of Internal Affairs Yezhov, USSR Prosecutor Vyshinsky." True, their signatures are not in the protocol, but there is a signature ... of a junior lieutenant of state security in the Kharkov region, a certain Yankilovich. There is also a piece of paper fifteen centimeters in size stating that, on the basis of the order of the deputy. Head of the Kharkov Department of the NKVD, Major Reichman, the sentence was carried out on March 11, 1938 by the commandant Zeleny, the military prosecutor Zavyalov and the head of the prison Kulishov.
The designers, employees of Chelpan's department courageously refused the testimony given under torture, but this did not save G. I. Aptekman, M. B. Levitan, Z. B. Gurtovoy, or their colleagues from execution.
http://www.greekgazeta.ru/archives/nomer03/articles/28.shtml
In the same 1937, KhPZ, among many enterprises and organizations, was swept by a wave of struggle against "enemies of the people." The extermination of highly qualified cadres of managers, specialists, craftsmen, and workers began. The letter of the military representative P. Sokolov to the People's Commissar K.E. served as a prologue to this. Voroshilov "about the overwhelming majority" former people"in the leadership of the tank department of the plant." The campaign was immediately supported by the party leadership of the plant, headed by A. Epishev. "Pests" were charged with a full set of charges: K.F. Chelpan was accused of "disrupting the government task for the production of diesel engines" and "intentional organization of defects in diesel engines", G.I. Aptekman was arrested, recalling the breakdowns that occurred during the tests, which served as confirmation of his "wrecking" activities. They were arrested along with everyone. Chief Engineer KhPZ F.I. Lyashch, "bringing the machines into disrepair", chief metallurgist A.M. Metantsev and many others, "recruited" by the director of KhPZ I.P. Bondarenko, the list of accusations to which included almost all imaginable and unimaginable atrocities - from "dulling vigilance" to "organizing an explosion at the plant" ... In the same 1937, KhPZ, among many enterprises and organizations, was swept by a wave of struggle against "enemies people". The extermination of highly qualified cadres of managers, specialists, craftsmen, and workers began. The letter of the military representative P. Sokolov to the People's Commissar K.E. served as a prologue to this. Voroshilov "about the vast majority of" former people "in the leadership of the tank department of the plant." The campaign was immediately supported by the party leadership of the plant, headed by A. Epishev. "Pests" were charged with a full set of charges: K.F. Chelpan was accused of "disrupting the government task for the production of diesel engines" and "intentional organization of defects in diesel engines", G.I. Aptekman was arrested, recalling the breakdowns that occurred during the tests, which served as confirmation of his "wrecking" activities. Together with everyone, the chief engineer of the KhPZ F.I. Lyashch, "bringing the machines into disrepair", chief metallurgist A.M. Metantsev and many others, "recruited" by the director of KhPZ I.P. Bondarenko, the list of accusations to which included almost all conceivable and unthinkable atrocities - from "dulling vigilance" to "organizing an explosion at a factory" ...
The term "weapon of Victory" usually refers to aircraft, tanks, artillery mounts, and sometimes small arms that reached Berlin. Less significant developments are mentioned less often, but they also went through the whole war and made their important contribution. For example, the V-2 diesel engine, without which the T-34 tank would have been impossible. For military and strategic products, as you know, the requirements are more severe than for "civilian" equipment. Since the real term of their service often exceeds thirty years - not only in Russia, but also in the armies of most countries. If we are talking about tank engines, they, of course, must be reliable, undemanding to fuel quality, convenient for maintenance and some types of repairs in extreme conditions, with a sufficient resource by military standards. And at the same time regularly issue basic characteristics. The approach to designing such engines is special. And the result is usually decent. But what happened to the V-2 diesel is a phenomenal case.
The history of the creation of B-2
His life began at the Kharkov Locomotive Plant named after. Comintern, the design department of which in 1931 received a state order for a high-speed diesel engine for tanks. And it was immediately renamed the diesel department. The task stipulated a power of 300 hp. at 1600 rpm, despite the fact that for typical diesel engines of that time, the operating speed of the crankshaft did not exceed 250 rpm. Since the plant had not done anything like this before, they began development from afar, with a discussion of the scheme - in-line, V-shaped or star-shaped. We settled on the V12 configuration with water cooling, electric start and Bosch fuel equipment - with a further transition to a completely domestic one, which also had to be created from scratch. First, a single-cylinder engine was built, then a two-cylinder section - and it was debugged for a long time, having achieved 70 hp. at 1700 rpm and a specific gravity of 2 kg/hp. A record low specific gravity was also stipulated in the task. In 1933, a workable, but unfinished V12 passed bench tests, where it constantly broke down, smoked terribly and vibrated strongly.The V-2 engine in its original form was carried out on a mass military service over 20 years. Individual copies are still on the move. A few more found peace in various museums.
The test tank BT-5, equipped with such an engine, could not reach the test site for a long time. Either the crankcase cracked, or the crankshaft bearings collapsed, or something else, and to solve many problems, it was necessary to create new technologies and new materials - first of all, grades of steel and aluminum alloys. And buy new equipment abroad. Nevertheless, in 1935, tanks with such diesel engines were presented to the government commission, additional workshops were erected at the KhPZ for the production of engines - the “diesel department” was transformed into a pilot plant. In the process of fine-tuning the motor, its secondary purpose was taken into account - the possibility of using it on aircraft. Already in 1936, the R-5 aircraft with a BD-2A diesel engine (the second aviation high-speed diesel engine) took to the air, but this engine was never in demand in aviation - in particular, due to the appearance of more suitable units created by specialized institutes in the same years. In the main, tank direction, things progressed slowly and heavily. Diesel still ate too much oil and fuel. Some parts regularly broke down, and too smoky exhaust unmasked the car, which was not particularly liked by the customers. The development team was reinforced by military engineers. In 1937, the engine was named V-2, under which it entered the world history. And the team was strengthened once again by the leading engineers of the Central Institute of Aviation Motors. Some of the technical problems were entrusted to the Ukrainian Institute of Aircraft Engine Building (later it was attached to the plant), which came to the conclusion that it was necessary to improve the accuracy of manufacturing and processing parts. Own 12-plunger fuel pump also required fine-tuning.
The 580-horsepower V-55V engine was used on T-62 tanks produced from 1961 to 1975. In total, about 20,000 vehicles were produced - the tanks themselves and various equipment created on their basis.
In state tests in 1938, all three second-generation V-2 engines failed. The first had a jammed piston, the second had cracked cylinders, the third had a crankcase. Based on the test results, almost all technological operations were changed, the fuel and oil pumps were changed. This was followed by new tests and new changes. All this went in parallel with the identification of "enemies of the people" and the transformation of the department into a huge State Plant No. 75 for the production of 10,000 motors per year, for which hundreds of machine tools were imported and assembled. In 1939, the engines finally passed state tests, receiving a “good” rating and approval for mass production. Which was also debugged painfully and for a long time, which, however, was interrupted by the hasty evacuation of the plant to Chelyabinsk - the war began. True, even before that, the V-2 diesel engine was baptized in real military operations, being installed on heavy KV tanks.
B-2 in the final version
The result was a motor, about which they would later write that, in terms of design, it was far ahead of its time. And for a number of characteristics, for another thirty years, it surpassed analogues of real and potential opponents. Although it was far from perfect and had many areas for modernization and improvement. Some army technology experts believe that the fundamentally new Soviet military diesel engines, created in 1960-1970, were inferior to the B-2 family diesel engines and were put into service only for the reason that it was already indecent not to replace the "obsolete" with something modern. The cylinder block and crankcase are made of an alloy of aluminum with silicon, the pistons are made of duralumin. Four valves per cylinder, overhead camshafts, direct fuel injection. Duplicated starting system - electric starter or compressed air from cylinders. Almost all technical description- a list of advanced and innovative solutions of the time.
The V-46 engine has been used in the T-72 medium tanks, which have been in service since 1973. Thanks to the pressurization system, 780 hp were removed. There are, frankly, few fundamental differences from B-2.
It turned out to be ultra-light, with an outstanding specific gravity, economical and powerful, and the power was easily varied by local changes in the operating speed of the crankshaft and compression ratio. Even before the start of the war, there were three versions in constant production - 375-, 500- and 600-strong, for equipment of different weight categories. Having fitted the supercharging system from the AM-38 aircraft engine to the B-2, they received 850 hp. and immediately tested on an experimental heavy tank KV-3. As they say, any more or less suitable mixture of hydrocarbons could be poured into the tank of a car with a motor of the V-2 family, starting from household kerosene. It was a strong argument in the conditions of a difficult protracted war - dilapidated communications and the difficulty of providing everyone with everything necessary.
For the development of the V-2 engine T.P. Chupakhin was awarded the Stalin Prize, and in the fall of 1941 Plant No. 75 was awarded the Order of Lenin. At that time, this plant was evacuated to Chelyabinsk and merged with the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (ChKZ). I.Ya. was appointed chief designer of ChKZ for diesel engines. Trashutin.
At the same time, the motor did not become reliable, despite the requirements of the People's Commissar of the Tank Industry V.A. Malyshev. It often broke down - both at the front and during various tests during the war years, although from the beginning of 1941 engines of the “fourth series” were already being produced. Summed up and design miscalculations, and violations of manufacturing technology - largely forced, because there was not enough the right materials, did not have time to renew worn-out equipment, and production was debugged in a wild rush. It was noted, in particular, that dirt “from the street” gets into the combustion chambers through various filters and the warranty period of 150 hours in most cases is not maintained. Whereas the required diesel resource for the T-34 tank was 350 hours. In the autumn of 1942, the T-34 and KB-1 tanks were sent to the USA for study. Their tests across the ocean began on November 29 and lasted exactly one year. As a result, the engine of the T-34 failed after 72.5 hours, and that of the KB-1 after 66.4 hours. The T-34 traveled only 665 km. The engine worked under load for 58.45 hours, without load - 14.05 hours. There were 14 breakdowns in total. In conclusion, based on the test results, it was noted that the air cleaner is completely unsuitable for this engine, practically does not retain dust, but, on the contrary, accelerates wear and reduces reliability.
The T-34 is considered the world's first tank designed for a diesel engine. Its success was predetermined, as they say, by the use of the latest highly economical diesel aircraft type B-2. Therefore, modernization and "tightening the screws" went on continuously. And if in 1943 the normal service life of the motor was 300-400 km, then by the end of the war it exceeded 1200 km. BUT total number breakdowns were reduced from 26 to 9 per 1000 km.
Plant No. 75 could not cope with the needs of the front, and factories No. 76 in Sverdlovsk and No. 77 in Barnaul were built, which produced the same B-2 and its various versions. The vast majority of tanks and part of the self-propelled guns that participated in the Great Patriotic War were equipped with the products of these three plants. The Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant produced diesel engines for the medium tank T-34, heavy tanks of the KV series, light tanks T-50 and BT-7M, and the Voroshilovets artillery tractor. On the basis of the V-2, the V-12 was developed, later used in the IS-4 tanks (he managed to fight for about a month) and the T-10.
The use of the V-2 engine in civilian life
The full potential of the V-2 design could not be revealed either before or during the war - there was no time to engage in unlocking the potential. But a set of various minor imperfections turned out to be an excellent basis for development, and the concept itself was optimal. After the war, the family was gradually replenished with tank engines V-45, V-46, V-54, V-55, V-58, V-59, V-84, V-85, V-88, V-90, V-92 , V-93 and so on. Moreover, the development has not yet been completed, and individual motors of the family are still mass-produced.
The modern T-90 tank is today equipped with a V-84MS engine (840 hp) or its upgraded version V-92S2 (1000 hp). Both of them are direct descendants and further development of the V-2 concept.
The T-72 tank - the main battle tank of the USSR, produced in a circulation of about 30 thousand copies, received a 780-horsepower B-46 engine. The modern main battle tank of Russia T-90 was originally equipped with a 1000-horsepower supercharged V-92 engine. Many of the theses of the descriptions of the B-2 and B-92 are completely the same: four-stroke, V-shaped, 12-cylinder, multi-fuel, liquid cooling, direct fuel injection, aluminum alloys in the cylinder block, crankcase, pistons. For infantry fighting vehicles and other less heavy equipment, they created an in-line half-motor from the B-2, and the first developments of such a scheme were carried out and tested in 1939. Also among the direct descendants of the V-2 is a new generation of X-shaped tank diesel engines produced by ChTZ (used on the BMD-3, BTR-90), which use halves in another dimension - the V6. He was also useful civil service. In the Barnaultransmash association (former plant No. 77), an in-line D6 was created from V-2, and later a full-size D12. They were put on a lot of river boats and tugboats, on motor ships of the Moscow and Moskvich series.
The shunting diesel locomotive TGK2, produced with a total circulation of ten thousand copies, received a modification of 1D6, and 1D12 was installed on MAZ mining dump trucks. Heavy tractors, locomotives, tractors, various special machines - wherever a powerful reliable diesel engine was required, you will find the closest relatives of the great B-2 engine.
A "144th Armored repair plant”, which took place as part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front from Stalingrad to Vienna, to this day offers services for the repair and restoration of V-2 type diesel engines. Although it has long been joint stock company and settled in Sverdlovsk-19. And to be honest, I can’t believe that the high overall power, reliability and reliability in operation, good maintainability, convenience and ease of maintenance of modern engines of this family are just an advertising barker. Most likely, the way it really is. For which thanks to everyone who created and improved this long-lived motor.
Characteristics of the V-2 engine
V-2 belonged to high-speed 4-stroke compressorless, with direct fuel injection, 12-cylinder liquid-cooled heat engines with a V-shaped arrangement of cylinders with a camber angle of 60 °. Carter consisted of the upper and lower halves, cast from silumin, with a parting plane along the axis of the crankshaft. In the lower half of the crankcase there were two recesses (front and rear oil intakes) and a transmission to the oil and water pumps and the fuel pump, mounted outside the crankcase. The left and right cylinder blocks, together with their heads, were attached to the upper half of the crankcase on anchor studs. In the shirt housing of each cylinder block, made of silumin, six steel nitrided wet liners were installed. In each cylinder head there were two camshafts and two intake and exhaust valves (that is, four!) For each cylinder. The camshaft cams acted on the plates of the pushers mounted directly on the valves. The shafts themselves were hollow, oil was supplied through internal drillings to their bearings and to the valve plates. The exhaust valves had no special cooling. To drive the camshafts, vertical shafts were used, each of which worked with two pairs of bevel gears. Crankshaft It was made of chromium-nickel-tungsten steel and had eight main and six connecting rod hollow necks, located in pairs in three planes at an angle of 120 °. The crankshaft had a central lubrication supply, in which oil was supplied to the cavity of the first main journal and passed through two holes in the cheeks to all journals. The copper tubes flared in the outlet holes of the connecting rod journals, which went out to the center of the neck, ensured the flow of centrifuged oil to the rubbing surfaces. The main journals worked in thick-walled steel liners, filled with a thin layer of lead bronze. The crankshaft was kept from axial movements by a thrust ball bearing installed between the seventh and eighth journals. Pistons- stamped from duralumin. Each has five cast-iron piston rings: two upper compression rings and three lower oil-dump rings. Piston pins - steel, hollow, floating type, kept from axial movement by duralumin plugs. Connecting rod mechanism consisted of main and trailer connecting rods. Due to the kinematic features of this mechanism, the piston stroke of the trailer connecting rod was 6.7 mm longer than that of the main one, which created a small (about 7%) difference in the degree of compression in the left and right rows of cylinders. The connecting rods had an I-section. The lower head of the main connecting rod was attached to its upper part with six studs. The connecting rod bearings were thin-walled steel, filled with lead bronze.
An analysis of the parameters of V-2 engines shows that they differed from carburetor ones in much better fuel efficiency, large overall length and relatively small weight. This was due to a more advanced thermodynamic cycle and "close relationship" with aircraft engines, which included a long crankshaft nose and the manufacture of a large number of parts from aluminum alloys.
| Engine | IN 2 | V-2K |
|---|---|---|
| Year of issue | 1939 | |
| Type of | Tank, high-speed, compressorless, with direct fuel injection | |
| Number of cylinders | 12 | |
| Cylinder diameter, mm | 150 | |
Piston stroke, mm:
|
180 186,7 |
|
| Working volume, l | 38,88 | |
| Compression ratio | 14 and 15 | 15 and 15.6 |
| Power, kW (hp), at min -1 | 368 (500) at 1800 | 442 (600) at 2000 |
| Maximum torque Nm (kgf m) at 1200 min-1 | 1 960 (200) | 1 960 (200) |
| Minimum specific fuel consumption, g/kW h, (g/hp h) | 218 (160) | 231 (170) |
| Dimensions, mm | 1 558х856х1 072 | |
| Weight (dry), kg | 750 | |