© 2006 All Rights Reserved. Do not distribute or repurpose this work without written permission from the copyright holder(s).
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Sergei Anokin must have been one of the bravest men in the Soviet army of World War 2. He is the only pilot to ever fly, or drive, the Antonov KT-40 Flying Tank.
The KT-40 was a Soviet T-60 light tank fitted with cheap wood and fabric wings. It was designed to glide into fields behind enemy lines. The KT kryl’ya tanka, (Tank Wings) was designed by the Antonov Bureau in 1940 and amazingly one working prototype was completed.
The twin boomed biplane wings were attached to the tank turning it into an armored glider. Heavy bombers would tow the tank to its destination and then release it as a nasty surprise for German troops. Supposedly elevating the gun for elevator control and rotating the turret for roll control maneuvered the KT-40. It had a crew of two, a tank commander and a driver/pilot.
In its only flight, the weight and drag of the tank caused its TB-3 tow plane’s engines to overheat very badly and the glider had to be released earlier than planned. Anokin flew the tank over a small, rough field and started the engine. He then engaged the drive mechanism and sped up the tracks before making a smooth landing. He detached the flying surfaces and drove back to base where he gave the KT-40 an enthusiastic review.
But despite the technical success of the test, the flying tank was not to go into production. The Soviets lacked a plane up to the task of towing the heavy KT-40. Also the T-60 tank wasn’t much of a tank. In order to lighten the tank sufficiently and get it off the ground, it was allowed very little armour, and had to be stripped of most of its armament and fuel. Such a poorly equipped tank wouldn’t have survived long against most German tanks.
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Now THIS is why I read DI! This is really cool. The pictures look ridculous! It’s too bad these machines were unsuccessful; I’d love to see a picture of dozens of flying tanks gliding down out of the sky.
I wonder if someone could make a Flight Simulator model of this aircraft.
I’ve read about this before, but I never knew they actually flew one. Here’s a link with a bunch of similar inventions.
http://www.somethingawful.com/booklist/index.htm
There is still a flying tank today, it’s called the AC-130 Gunship.
It looks like something from a steam punk novel. Lovely.
Crazy Soviets and their get-victory-quick schemes. I love the green camo on the wings. Y’know, so nobody will notice the WINGED TANK coming at you.
It’s actually amazing it took humankind less than 4 decades from the first heavier-than-air controlled flight, to put a tank in the air, and just a few more to land on the moon.
Just registered. Long time reader. Damn Interesting is at the top of my favorites list for articles just like this one. Thanks for the great material.
When I was younger, back in the Jurassic Period, I read a book on the Nazi Antipodal Bomber. It scared the crap out of me.
This scares me slightly less. :)
Marius said: “There is still a flying tank today, it’s called the AC-130 Gunship.”
I believe the A-10 Thunderbolt II (aka Warthog) fits the flying tank moniker a bit better. But the AC-130 is right up there. So to speak.
RichVR said: “I believe the A-10 Thunderbolt II (aka Warthog) fits the flying tank moniker a bit better. But the AC-130 is right up there. So to speak.”
I actually debated that with myself, but while the Warthog is a big, flying gun, the AC-130 is a lot of big, flying guns so it won the argument. ;-)
Hilarious.
Very cool! The Military Channel (or was it Discovery?) had a program on that featured some of the more out there technology used in WW2. They had the flying tanks, the sumbersible planes, and the skipping bombs. One of the coolest things they showed was a huge conventional bomb developed by Brittian (and the same guy who made the skipping bombs) that was used to take out hardened bunkers. This thing was so large that it couldn’t fit in the belly of a Landcaster bomber, so the planes had to have their bay doors removed and the bomb just hung under the plane. If I remember right, that bomb held the record for the largest conventional explosive device until the MOAB was developed.
Wow..this is cool and very applicable today. We have the ability to “drop” tanks but have to “ready” them for battle but this is like a real time thing….meaning, it glides in and starts fighting right away. I wonder if they could fire the gun while in flight? That would surely crash it. Interesting…well, Damn Interesting I mean.
While looking up the AC-130 Gunship I came accross one aesthetically challenged flying machine, the beluga. Here’s a link to a photo :
http://www.airventure.de/ila2000pics/ila2000beluga_1.JPG
Haven’t figured out how to make links yet. You can call me dumb@$$ if you feel the need.
Referring to my previous comment about making links —> I really am one dumb @$$ ! hahaha
Marius said: “I actually debated that with myself, but while the Warthog is a big, flying gun, the AC-130 is a lot of big, flying guns so it won the argument. ;-)”
Agreed – something about a plane with a 105mm Howitzer sticking out of its side earns it the title of “flying tank”.
Cool!!
Them would really help fight them paki’s!!
…LOOK…up in the sky…it’s a bird, it’s a plane…no…it’s a flying tank!
Obviously someone’s borscht must have been spiked with they thought of this. Imagine trying to do this with an M1 Abrams tank? Even dropping one out of the back end of a C5 transport, it would likely drop like a rock.
An armored glider…made of cheap wood and fabric wings? Probably wouldn’t be able to withstand a direct hit from a popcorn fart.
“
An armored glider…made of cheap wood and fabric wings? Probably wouldn’t be able to withstand a direct hit from a popcorn fart.”
Very good comrade, now grab the vodka and let us hit the redesign tables so we can come up with an armored gliding popcorn fart machine… maybe with the right marketing we can get it to the stores by next year this time… Merry Christmas ,DI ,DI readers and subjects all :)
I saw a demonstration at an airshow (I think it was at Abbotsford, B.C., maybe in the early 70s) where a large transport plane made a low pass – about 20 feet above the airstrip as a tank was pulled out the back of the plane by a deployed parachute. The tank dropped to the surface in a cloud of dust and came to a fairly quick stop, restained by the parachute. I don’t think the tank was manned, the crew was intended to come in on parachutes of their own.
plane + tank = plank
I don’t know what a popcorn fart is but I laughed pretty good anyway.
People interested in this should also check out MY TANK IS FIGHT – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Tank_is_Fight!
another viewpoint said: “… An armored glider…made of cheap wood and fabric wings? Probably wouldn’t be able to withstand a direct hit from a popcorn fart. “
I think that the strength and durability of wood and fiber are well proven:, e.g.:
https://www.damninteresting.com/?p=711
JPF said: “I saw a demonstration at an airshow (I think it was at Abbotsford, B.C., maybe in the early 70s) where a large transport plane made a low pass – about 20 feet above the airstrip as a tank was pulled out the back of the plane by a deployed parachute. The tank dropped to the surface in a cloud of dust and came to a fairly quick stop, restained by the parachute. I don’t think the tank was manned, the crew was intended to come in on parachutes of their own.”
It was called LAPES – Low Altitude Parachute Extraction System. Developed by the Americans in Viet Nam and used by the CAF for many years, until it was abandoned after several lethal crashes. If it would fit in a Herc, you could drop it within feet of wherever you wanted it, and the plane didn’t have to land. It was designed for delivering loads precisely during combat operations. It’s impressive to watch from the ground, but it was even more impressive inside the Herc to watch a dozer disappear in a second or two. Just a whoosh and it was gone.
whoa dude that is aawsome.I wonder if it ways as much as a BUFF(Big Ugly Fat Fellow or B-52 bomber)
Its all wierd lookin.but all cool lookin.n stuff.Those crazy soviets jeese!o wait im russian.Niet!
O.o tanks shouldnt fly but this tankplane could have won the cold war
Dr. Evil said:”plane + tank = plank
i want a plank imagine flying 2 school then ur teacher gives u a f. met my plank>:)
Those sneaky Reds! sometimes I wish the US and Russia had ganged up against the rest of the world instead of each other. Could you imagine what might have been? Go on, spend five minutes thinking about it.
Actually, BUFF stands for Big Ugly Fat Fucker. Get it right. Also, the spellings are ‘awesome’ and ‘weighs’.