Object 279

Overview
The Object 279 was an experimental and extremely strange Soviet heavy tank that was developed from 1956 to 1959. In fact this tank is so strange in appearance that there is no real consensus as to what it looks like. Some have said that the tanks looks like a frog, some have said it looks like a clam, and still others state that it looks like a UFO. The tanks purpose was equally strange. The Object 279 was designed to traverse and fight on extremely rugged and hostile terrain, which would be inaccessible to almost any other vehicle. The tank's second and more well known purpose was to survive a nuclear shock wave and fight in contaminated conditions, even those at the epicenter of a nuclear blast.

Design
Development of the Object occurred in the Kirov Plant in Leningrad by L. Troyanov, an experienced and respected Soviet engineer. The tank was first envisioned in 1956, and work started in 1957. A pilot tank had been produced by 1959. This truly bizarre and highly unique vehicle had superior cross-country capability to anything that came before it. The tank ran on a four-track propulsion system, with two tracks to each side. Each pair of tracks was mounted to a rectangular beam that ran in a longitudinal direction. These beams were hollow, and doubled as fuel tanks. The tank used an advanced hydro pneumatic suspension system with a hydro pneumatic transformer coupled with a three-speed planetary gearbox. Due to the track layout, the vehicle had a huge amount of track in contact with the ground, which gave the vehicle reduced ground pressure and amazing crossing capability over boggy and torn ground. The track arrangement also allowed the Object to cross fallen trees and most anti-tank obstacles. An immensely powerful 1000hp 2DG-8M diesel engine was able to propel the 66 ton Object at an astonishing 55km/h. The tank was also extremely heavily armored. The turret boasted up to 330 mm of armor, while the hull made around 270 mm. The effective thickness as well as 'bounciness' would have been very high due to the extreme slopes and angles of the hull and turret. The hull was also covered by an elliptical shell of thin armor which would have given the tank protection against shaped charges. The hulls form was designed to keep the tank from flipping over in the event of a nuclear detention, and the cast armor was of variable thicknesses. Armor panels ran around the hull as well as the turret to protect the Object from HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) shells. The crew of four were shielded from a potentially contaminated environment by a CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear) protection system, which slightly increased the pressure inside the tank to keep out unwanted agents. The armament of the Object 279 was a 130 mm M-65 rifled cannon that was 60 calibers long. This weapon was stabilized on two axes by a 'Groza' stabilizer system, allowing the tank to shoot accurately on the move. Secondary armament was a co-axially mounted 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun with 800 round of ammunition. A semi-automatic loading system and an automated loading tray allowed the Object's rate of fire to reach 7 round per minute. Fire Control included a stereoscopic rangefinder and optical sights as well as an L2 night sight with an active searchlight.

Distribution
The Object 279 was intended to have been under the Supreme Command Reserve. It never entered serious production, though.

Action
The Object 279 was never used in combat, and only 3 examples were ever created. The project was costly, and was out of favor. This was mainly because the Soviet Union was moving more towards missile technology, and away from heavy tanks. The Object 279 was an amazing vehicle in its performance and capabilities, however it stayed as an experimental vehicle, never entering production. Eventually all Objects were scrapped except one, which survives in the Kubinka Tank Museum.