Antonov A-40

The Antonov A-40 Krylyaty Tank ("winged tank") was a Soviet attempt to build a tank that could glide into a battlefield after being towed aloft by an airplane. A prototype was built and tested in 1942, but was found to be unworkable. This vehicle is sometimes called the A-40T or KT.

Related Topics:
Soviet - Tank

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Instead of loading light tanks onto gliders, as other nations had done, Soviet airborne forces had strapped T-27 tankettes underneath heavy bombers and landed them on airfields. In the 1930s there were experimental efforts to parachute tanks or simply drop them into water. During the 1940 occupation of Bessarabia, light tanks may have been dropped from a few metres by TB-3 bombers, to roll to a stop with the clutch in neutral.

Related Topics:
Light tank - Glider - Airborne forces - T-27 - Tankette - Parachute - Bessarabia - TB-3

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These experiments culminated when the Soviet Air Force ordered Oleg Antonov to design a glider for landing tanks. Antonov was more ambitious, and instead added a detachable cradle to a T-60 light tank, bearing large wood and fabric biplane wings and twin tail. Such a tank could glide into the battlefield, drop its wings, and be ready to fight within minutes, while minimizing exposure to the valuable towing aircraft. Some sources report that a single test flight was completed. The tank was found to be too difficult to tow at the required 160 km/h, and the project was abandoned.

Related Topics:
Soviet Air Force - Oleg Antonov - Glider - T-60 - Biplane - Twin tail

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The Soviet Union continued to develop methods to efficiently deploy airborne vehicles. By the mid-1970s they were able to para-drop BMD-1 fighting vehicles with crew members aboard.

Related Topics:
Airborne - BMD-1 fighting vehicles with crew members aboard

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