iannima Posted February 28, 2010 Share Posted February 28, 2010 Very interesting photographs... But I seem to remember quite a few stories of what the Bundeswehr found lying around in abandoned Soviet barracks in 1994... :shocked: Somehow a Soviet-era abandoned base does not strike me as a good place to go treasure-hunting... I mean I know I would have tempted to follow them, but in the end I would probably have declined and my unease would not have been due purely to the obviously unlawful/unathorised entry.... :undecided: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 (edited) ArtistsRifles Looking at those last two photo's - the driver looks like he'd be in for a headache if the turret rotated 180 deg from forwards to aft and he had his head out of the hatch. Is that just an optical delusion from the angle of the photo? Sorry for the long wait to get back on this, I had to sort out some photos, I think the photos 5 and 6 show that the hatch is egreesable with the turret in the 6 o' clock position whether the same can be said when the turret is at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock i don't know (especially as the turret is not a regular elispe) but i would think it is possible to escape if necessary, so despite the weakness in the otherwise strong nose section it was a huge improvement over the IS2 and IS2m. Was not the majority of Soviet/Warsaw pact armour designed to move large distances under it's own power - hence the odd design of the BMP-1's rear doors as fuel tanks, it not being possible to follow standard procedure and have the cylindrical quick release tanks on the sides of the rear hull??. I was always under the impression that the BMP rear fuel cells were a deliberate design to make a form of stand off armour against RPG rounds. Most soviet tanks and APCs were capable of a minimum of 400km on internal fuel, but AFAIK no Soviet APC carried auxillary fuel tanks, -I have seen photos of BTR50, which have the lowest range of the soviet APCs, fitted with T54/5 style fuel cells but this was in Israeli service. The BMP 1 had a range of 500km but would have managed only 360km if these door cells had not been designed, as it is the BMP rear end -squad compartment is almost a fuel cell with space for men!! Steve Edited March 3, 2010 by steveo578 correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Stek No details but found this on www.englishrussia.com said to be in abandond tank base, lot of other interesting looking stuff there. seen this site before-I wondered who got my CK waterpump pliers:cheesy: other photos of the same site show various AFVs of historical value including a very early Model 1946 t54 and a T10m, however this is supposed to by part of the Kubinka Polygon so whilst apparently abandoned is very similar to areas owned by MOD in UK that seem abandoned but are in reality still within control of the Army and ending up in a russian jail is a lot worse than anything in the West. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 Sorry for the long wait to get back on this, I had to sort out some photos, I think the photos 5 and 6 show that the hatch is egreesable with the turret in the 6 o' clock position whether the same can be said when the turret is at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock i don't know (especially as the turret is not a regular elispe) but i would think it is possible to escape if necessary, so despite the weakness in the otherwise strong nose section it was a huge improvement over the IS2 and IS2m. I was always under the impression that the BMP rear fuel cells were a deliberate design to make a form of stand off armour against RPG rounds. Most soviet tanks and APCs were capable of a minimum of 400km on internal fuel, but AFAIK no Soviet APC carried auxillary fuel tanks, -I have seen photos of BTR50, which have the lowest range of the soviet APCs, fitted with T54/5 style fuel cells but this was in Israeli service. The BMP 1 had a range of 500km but would have managed only 360km if these door cells had not been designed, as it is the BMP rear end -squad compartment is almost a fuel cell with space for men!! Steve Thanks for the photo's Steve, they certainly clear the picture (pardon the pun) about how much access there is with the turret reversed. Certainy much mare than appears in the first ones. More i see of these old beast the more I think I would still love to have one - a dream Iguess with about as much chance of coming true as winning the lottery when I don't gamble!! :cheesy: Ref the BMP fuel tanks - info I have here (which admittedly is for the OT-90 derivative) is an internal tank of 450 litres + 180 litres in each door - rear doors to be drained before going into action. Range on the road is given as 600 Km or 500 Km off-road. I was told by a former crewman at W&P the other year that the original design, Ob'yekt 764 , had the hollow doors as bouyancy for it's amphibious abilities and the fuel storage was added almost as an after thought as it was realised the normal method of using external storage on tracked vehicles was not going to work - hence my original comment! Totally agree about the description of being a fuel cell with space for men though - at least the smaller turret of the OT confers a little bit more internal space! :cheesy: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 I may be off track here as I am working from paper references which is not the best method but it could be diferent in an OT90 I would imagine that later BMPs may have higher fuel capacity because of the Afghan war. I've got 60lts in left door and 70lts in right door (no gun port) hence my calculation for loss of range and a total internal fuel stowage of 460lts which I calcuated included doors (integral fuel stowage-rather than additional) from Janes Armour Artillery reference, which I think was a referenced to Finnish BMP1s, but could of course be wrong. however it is noted as max road range 500km fuel capacity 460lts. whereas the tanks with additional fuel cells are differentiated as for example T64 460km on integral tanks and 700km with long range tanks. Obviously further research into capacity is necessary. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 I may be off track here as I am working from paper references which is not the best method but it could be diferent in an OT90 I would imagine that later BMPs may have higher fuel capacity because of the Afghan war. I've got 60lts in left door and 70lts in right door (no gun port) hence my calculation for loss of range and a total internal fuel stowage of 460lts which I calcuated included doors (integral fuel stowage-rather than additional) from Janes Armour Artillery reference, which I think was a referenced to Finnish BMP1s, but could of course be wrong. however it is noted as max road range 500km fuel capacity 460lts. whereas the tanks with additional fuel cells are differentiated as for example T64 460km on integral tanks and 700km with long range tanks. Obviously further research into capacity is necessary. Steve Cheers Steve - bumpf I have looks like the figures are 180 for BOTH back doors - that said it's poor quality print as in a copy of a copy of a copy and if it was actually 130 then that would tally up with your figures of 60 and 70 respectively. Looking closely - it could well be!! Main tank is definitely 450 litres though and the door tanks are additional to this. Figure for the main was given to me by a former Czech driver of one of these at the last W&P show, as were the range figures. Wandered a bit from the subject of IS-3's haven't we?? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 ArtistRifles Wandered a bit from the subject of IS-3's haven't we?? :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: doesn't matter it's all good stuff and at least it's still relevant to the Warsaw pact sub forum,- thanks for the information re the BMP internal fuel tank capacity. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenw756 Posted March 4, 2020 Share Posted March 4, 2020 My friend had a trip to Kiev and he had a stunning opportunity to drive the IS-3 tank by himself. They also have T-34 and MTLB tank and BTR APC vehicles... I know it’s not the same to own one, but it’s also a chance to take a closer look. It’s much cheaper (even when you pay for flight and staying) than bringing it back to UK. He got a military tour from Stay in Kiev travel agency if you need the name of the company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdmcm Posted March 5, 2020 Share Posted March 5, 2020 According to David Fletcher it was the British representative not Patton that nearly soiled himself...Patton was quick to reassure him by saying "don't worry old boy, we are still on your side!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John F Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 There are lots of IS3 hulks on Shikotan Island, to the north west of Hokkaido Island, Japan: https://russiatrek.org/blog/army/abandoned-tanks-on-shikotan-island/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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