×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Small Arms Warships & Submarines Military Ranks Military Pay Chart (2024) Special Forces
HOME
ARMOR INDEX
MODERN ARMIES
ARMOR BY COUNTRY
VEHICLE MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE VEHICLES
VEHICLES BY CONFLICT
VEHICLES BY TYPE
VEHICLES BY DECADE
WWI VEHICLES & ARTILLERY
X-TANKS
Land Systems / Battlefield

Tsar Tank (Lebedenko Tank / Netopyr)


Mobile Weapons Platform [ 1915 ]



The Tsar Tank took a whole new approach to the combat tank by using a tricycle wheeled arrangement.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 09/28/2018 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

VIEW SPECIFICATIONS [+]
The Tsar Tank was an extraordinary - though ultimately failed - feat of Russian combat engineering that attempted to create a capable mobile weapons platform able to cross any terrain before it. The system was born during the fighting of World War 1 (1914-1918) to which, in the East, pitted the Russian Empire against the forces of the German Empire and its allies. The Tsar Tank was not a combat tank in the traditional sense as it relied on a tricycle wheeled configuration that utilized two large main wheels set ahead of a smaller pivoting steering system. The frontal wheels - heavily spoked as if wheels on a bicycle - were joined by a single axle between them with extending arms connecting them to the main vehicle body. Along this main body was held the powerplant, fuel stores, and crew compartments as well as armament and ammunition. The design was attributed to Nikolai Lebedenko and Alexander Mikulin - the vehicle sometimes referred to as the "Lebedenko Tank" - and work spanned from 1914 to 1915.

The combat tank of World War 1 was primarily characterized by the lozenge-shaped designs of the British with armament held in side sponsons while it was the French that introduced a capable turreted-armament tank in their Renault FT-17 Light Tank series. Both initiatives held their value on the battlefields of World War 1 and proved instrumental from 1917 onwards in breaking the stalemate of trench warfare that had come to dominate Europe by the end of 1914. The Tsar Tank was a grand departure from both of these measures as its primary intent was to easily traverse uneven terrain using large-diameter (27 foot) wheels with the rear of the system brought along by a wheel set measuring just 5 feet high. The lead wheels were each powered by a Sunbeam-brand engine of 250 horsepower output. Armament-wise, the Tsar Tank concentrated its cannon across three turres. There was a main traversable turret emplacement at center along the roof with its firing arc largely obstructed by the forward wheels. A cannon was also added to each side sponson mounted outboard of the forward wheels and these also held limited firing arcs. It is assumed that machine guns were also meant to be carried for defense against infantry attacks though it is doubtful that the Tsar Tank would ever be fielded without support from armored cars or accompanying tanks.

The shortcomings of the Tsar Tank were quickly brought to light in testing during 1915. Though the large diameter front wheels proved capable of traversing many terrain types, it was the smaller rear section that did the vehicle in. The peculiar design of the vehicle placed an inordinate amount of weight at the rear unit which ended with the vehicle becoming bogged down in the terrain. The sheer mass of the vehicle, and the ensuing political instability emerging from the Russian revolution, was such that no additional effort was made to recover the vehicle until after the war in 1923. Even then, the Tsar Tank was far from reconstituted for additional testing and simply scrapped for its valuable metal - ending the reign of the Tsar Tank in full.

Due to its distinct shape when viewed from above - this resembling the profile of a bat handing upside down, the Tsar Tank was also known as the "Netopyr", translating to "pipistrellus", the genus name for bat.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

Specifications



State Arsenal - Russian Empire
Manufacturer(s)
Imperial Russia
Operators National flag of Russia
1915
Service Year
Russia
National Origin
18
Crew
1
Units


FIRE SUPPORT / ASSAULT / BREACHING
Support allied forces through direct / in-direct fire, assault forward positions, and / or breach fortified areas of the battlefield.
TANK-VS-TANK
Engage armored vehicles of similar form and function.
SPECIAL PURPOSE
Special purpose design developed to accomplish an equally-special battlefield role or roles.


27.0 ft
(8.22 meters)
Height


2 x Sunbeam engines developing 250 horsepower each.
Drive System


Unknown number of cannon as well as supporting machine guns.
AMMUNITION
Unknown.


Tsar Tank - Base Series Name
Lebedenko Tank - Alternate Name
Netopyr ("Pipistrellus") - Nickname


Military lapel ribbon for the American Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of the Bulge
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Kursk
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental military vehicles

Images



1 / 1
Image of the Tsar Tank (Lebedenko Tank / Netopyr)
Image from the Public Domain. Not size of personnel on the tank indicating the true size of the Tsar vehicle.

Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies

2024 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons. Special Interest: RailRoad Junction, the locomotive encyclopedia.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)