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From January 1, 1966 the Tank Design Bureau (Department No.60) and the experimental shop of tank
production (Shop No. 190) were united in an self-contained enterprise Kharkiv
Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB) by the Order of the Minister of Defence Industry No. 62 of May 6, 1965. A.A.
Morozov was appointed the Head and Chief Designer of the KMDB.
Due to the State Decision to manufacture tanks of the T-64A type at
three plants - Kharkiv Malyshev Plant, Leningrad Kirov Plant
and Uralvagonzavod Plant, there emerged an urgent problem as to the tank power pack.
As the Malyshev Plant had not
sufficient production facilities to manufacture engines for the three
plants, and the 5TDF engine had many claims at that time as to its
service life, the Decisions of the CPSU Central Committee and the
Council of Ministers of the USSR No.645-205 of August 15, 1966 and
No. 802-266 of August 15, 1967 ordered to carry out in 1968-1969
research and design work for designing a reserve version of the
Obiekt 434 with the V-45 engine.
Design work on the reserve version
of the power pack compartment for the '432' tank commenced at the
Design Bureau as early as 1961. Two versions were designed with
V-shaped four-stroke engines: that of the Chelyabinsk Plant and
that of the Barnaul Plant. The power pack compartment layout with
the Chelyabinsk engine of the V-45 type (modernised variant of the
V-2 engine) was preferred. In 1965 three '432' tanks were
manufactured with engines of the type. They were called Obiekt
436. Between 1966 and 1967 these tanks were subjected to a
demanding series of trials near Omsk and Leningrad.
Taking into account the results of
the '436' tank testing, the Design Bureau designed a reserve
version of the T-64A tank with the V-45 engine which was called the
Obiekt 438, and then was renamed to become the Obiekt 439.
In 1968, according to the Order of
the Ministry of Defence Industry No.594 of September 12, 1967, the
design documentation was prepared for manufacturing a prototype of
the tank.
In 1969, according to the Order of
the Ministry of Defence Industry No.623 of September 28, 1967,
four specimens of the '439' tank were manufactured and tested.
The successful trials demonstrated that the version of the T-64A tank
with reserve engine of the V-45 type completely corresponded as to the mobility characteristics to the main version
of the tank.
Later the power pack compartment of
the T-72 tank was designed on the basis of the layout of the
'439' tank power pack compartment.
In the early 1970s the KMDB carried on its own initiative research work within the scope of draft designs
for comprehensive modernisation of the T-64A tank.
This work was headed by Nikolay A.
Shomin, First Deputy Chief Designer.
The draft design made in 1973 (development designation T-64A-2M) presented thoroughly developed questions
of further improvement of the T-64A tank as to firepower, protection, and mobility.
The technical solutions on the changing of the turret shape, location of the allowance of ammunition, installing a
more powerful engine and other were used in the designs of later specimens (in the Obiekt 447 and the Obiekt
476 in particular).
On the basis of this work and
according to the Order of the Ministry of Defence Industry of the
USSR No. 339 of August 12, 1973, a technical design of the T-64A
tank fitted with gun/missile launcher (Obiekt 447) was prepared.
The new tank was characterised by considerable enhancements in the
fire-control system, including a laser range-finder (instead of
the optical one), ballistic computer, input information sensors
for taking into account deviations of the firing conditions from
the normal ones. High coefficient of unification (95 %) enabled
the plant to start series production of the Obiekt 447 and the
Obiekt 437 (the latter being a version of the Obiekt 447 without
guided missile system) with minimum requirement to divert the
technological procedures for manufacture and assembly.
By the Decision of the CPSU Central Committee and the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 733-244 of
September 3, 1976 the '447' and '437' tanks were accepted for service with the Soviet Army and received designations
T-64B and T-64B1 correspondingly. The efficiency of the T-64B
tank increased by a factor of 1.6 in comparison with that of the T-64 tank.
On July 4, 1976 due to poor health
A.A. Morozov retired from the position of the Head of KMDB.
Nikolay A.
Shomin, former First Deputy Chief Designer, was appointed the Head
and Chief Designer of the KMDB by an order of the Minister of
Defence Industry.
Attaching great importance to further improvement of COMBAT CHARACTERISTICS of the T-64A
and T-64B tanks, the Kharkiv
Machine Building Design Bureau together with the Kharkiv Engine Building Design Bureau carried out experimental and
design work between the years 1974 and 1979 to create a power pack with six-cylinder 1,000
hp engine (6TD). In 1978-1979 tanks of the T-64A type with 6TD
engine (Obiekt 476) successfully completed a series of trials and confirmed a considerable
increase of the tank mobility capabilities. In October 1979 it was recommended that engines of the 6TD type should
be adopted and put into series production. Similarity of the 6TD engine and the 5TDF engine as to their design made
it possible to use well-developed technology and existing equipment, and to put the 6TD engine into series production
within a short period of time.
According to the decision of the
Board of Ministry of Defence of the USSR of September 9, 1977 and
Resolutions of the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Defence
Industry of January 5, 1978, July 26, 1978 and January 25, 1979,
the KMDB developed the drawings and technical documentation for
installing an 1,000 hp 6TD engine and enhanced transmission on the T-64A
and T-64B tanks manufactured earlier in order to increase their
power-to-weight ratio during overhaul.
The T-64A, T-64AK (command version), T-64B
and T-64B1 tanks with 6TD engine entered service with the Soviet Army according to the Order of the Minister of Defence
of the USSR No.0262 of December 21, 1983 and were designated the T-64AM, T-64AKM, T-64BM and T-64B1M respectively.
When creating and improving tanks,
a large contribution, together with the KMDB, was made by branch
institutes and design bureaux of the Ministry of Defence Industry
of the USSR, such as VNIITM, VNIIStali, NIID, NIMI, KBTM, TsNII 'Burevestnik'
and others, Institute of Electric Welding named after E.A. Paton
of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, as well as GBTU and NIIBT
of the Ministry of Defence of the USSR, Academy of Armoured Troops
named after R.Ya. Malinovskiy.
After the death of Aleksandr A. Morozov, the former Chief Designer of the KMDB, taking into account
his great merits in the field of the national tank manufacturing and in order to commemorate his memory, in 1979 the
Kharkiv Machine Building Design Bureau was named after Aleksandr
A. Morozov. In this design bureau Aleksandr A. Morozov had worked for more than 50 years, 36 of which he was the Chief
Designer.
In 1981-1983 the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building
Design Bureau, continuing the work on improving the T-64B tank, in order to increase
the protection and according to the Decision of the MIC No. 181 of June 5, 1981, developed and issued the drawings
and technical documentation for installing an explosive reactive armour package in modular version on the tank. First
specimens of such tanks were manufactured in 1984. The T-64B tank fitted with explosive
reactive armour package entered service with the Soviet Army according to the Order of the Ministry of Defence No.
07 of January 14, 1985 and was designated the T-64BV. |
