Engineering:Object 478

Object 478
Object 478
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Production history
Designer	KMDB
Designed	1976–1981
Manufacturer	Malyshev Factory
Produced	1981
Specifications
Mass	41.6 tonnes (45.9 short tons; 40.9 long tons)
Length	7.007 m (22 ft 11.9 in); 9.648 m (31 ft 7.8 in) (gun forward)
Height	2.223 m (7 ft 3.5 in)
Crew	3
Armour	Glass-reinforced plastic sandwiched between layers of steel.
Main; armament	D-81-3 (a.k.a. 2A46M-1) 125 mm smoothbore gun
Secondary; armament	7.62 mm PKMT coax machine gun, 12.7 mm NSVT antiaircraft machine gun
Engine	6DT-1 6-cyl. multifuel diesel engine; 1000 hp
Suspension	Torsion bar
Ground clearance	0.514 m (1 ft 8.2 in)
Operational; range	677 km
Speed	70 km/h

Object 478 (Russian: Объект 478) was a Soviet main battle tank prototype. It was developed by the KMDB of the Malyshev Factory and never put into full production.

Development history

After the adoption of the T-80 tank, the Soviets started on improving its design. The work was done by two design bureaus; the KMDB of Malyshev Plant designed the "Object 478" prototype, and the design office of the LKZ designed the "Object 219" prototype. The Kharkov version of the modernized T-80 chassis involved equipping Object 219 with a 6TD-1 1000 horsepower diesel engine as well as installing a new combat compartment being developed for the modernization of the T-64A under the designation of Object 476. In 1976, this project was carried out on the machine, but further work on it was not continued as the main focus at the time was on the gas turbine engine. After the death of Defence Minister Dmitry Ustinov, the strength of the design bureau of the LKZ began to weaken and the Ministry of Defense started to think seriously about equipping the T-80 tanks with diesel engines. Work on equipping the T-80 tanks with diesel engines was carried out by several design offices. The Omsk Transport Engineering Design Bureau was tasked to equip the T-80 with the B-46-6 engine (this tank received the designation "Object 644"). KB-3 of the LKZ was also tasked to equip the T-80 with the 2B-16-2 engine, but both projects failed. At the same time, work was intensified on the creation of the Object 478 tank. In 1985, work began on the Object 478B. It was subsequently adopted into service under the name T-80UD.^[1]

Overview

The Object 478 has a new cast turret, invented when creating the Object 476 tank. The chassis was borrowed from the "Object 219A" tank, but the engine was replaced with the 6TD-1 diesel. The main armament of the tank was the 125 mm 2А46М-1 smooth-bore tank gun with 42 rounds of ammunition. The gun was equipped with the "Vector-4" stabilizer; a 7.62-mm PKT machine gun with 1,500 rounds of ammunition . To combat air targets and light armored vehicles, the commander was also equipped with a 12.7 mm caliber turret-mounted NSV anti-aircraft heavy machine gun with 450 rounds of ammunition. In addition, Object 478 was equipped with the 9K112 "Cobra" (NATO reporting name: AT-8 Songster) guided weapon.