The Atomic Tanks of the 1950s - Object 279 and Chrysler TV-8

As the Atomic Age dawned in the late 1940s, both sides of the iron curtain look towards nuclear power to revolutionise their military hardware and even their way of life. Two very different designs emerged with very different purposes, but both of these 1950s vehicles were shaped unmistakably by the atom.

Sources:
Firepower - A History Of The American Heavy Tank, R.P.Hunnicutt
Abrams - A History Of The American Main Battle Tank, Volume 2, R.P.Hunnicut
QuestionMark III. Ordnance Tank Automotive Command, Detroit Arsenal, 1954.

All content is presented in historical context for educational purposes. All footage is owned by it's copyright holder and is used in this channel under "fair use".

Music by Epidemic Sound

[innadesertDOTjpg]

Obj. 279: “Where do you work out?”

TV-8: “The library”

[OlegMilitaryHistory]

The factoid that the Object 279 was shaped that way to "prevent rollover" from a nuclear blast is almost certainly an internet myth. I have a few older Russian books about tank design and engineering, several of which dedicate at least 1 page to Object 279, and one of which has a 7 page section about Object 279, covering its design and engineering - the purpose of the curvature was to get the maximum possible level of protection with plain steel armor while maintaining the smallest volume (and thus - reducing weight). The design of the 279 showed the limit of protection that steel armor could offer and was one of the motivations for Soviet engineers to start designing composite armor with ceramics. None of the older published books say anything about the shape being designed to "prevent rollover" - that was only a "fact" that I have seen quoted in online forums, which eventually made its way to the English language Wikipedia. So I'm pretty sure that part is a myth that someone pulled out of their hat in the early 2000's, and everyone has been repeating since. The Object 279 did have internal overpressure NBC protection, but so did every Russian tank designed after the T-54 (NBC protection was the defining difference between the T-54 and the T-55, for instance).

[nextjr]

This man is a powerhouse. Glad hearing about some of the Astron series! Although I’d still love a deep dive! But this is a great video! Keep it up!

[ДенисСобянин-ия]

Obj. 279 had awesome look! Very glad its in good condition now, splendid work!

[longtsun]

The Object 279 is one of the coolest designs ever seen. Add a second 130mm gun, and it'll be perfect for 'Command & Conquer', 'Warhammer 40, 000', or any other wargame we know of.

[siaratan]

"Let's put a nuclear reactor on the frontlines, I mean what can ever go wrong?"

[craigfitzpatrick]

There aren't many tank videos which have made me laugh out loud several times but this one did. Love the approach.

[paintnamer]

Metal Gear Solid 3 had some Object 279's parked in a military base.

[AreUmygrandson]

Pros: if your enemy blows you up they might get radiation sickness
Cons: literally everything else

[LightFykki]

I remember first seeing the Object 279 in the Metal Gear Solid 3 and thinking how strange, but captivating design it had. At that time I was not sure if it was a real tank or just a product of the game

[dj_koen]

The video is straight and to the point
Without bloat or artificial lengthening

It has interesting information at a natural pace and density

And relevant video footage to back it up

My faith in youtube increases ever so slightly thanks to your videos 👍🏻

[shadovanish]

I can't imagine the nuclear power concept for the Chrysler TV-8 would have been given much serious consideration by the designers even before the design process began, but they were given a task to design a nuclear powered tank, so they did.

[DOSFS]

Ah yes, 1950s when US and USSR tried to either put nukes on everything or make it nuke-proof so they can still fight each others.

[bingbongbingbongbingbongbing]

Great stuff as always, I still can’t believe you only have 12000 subscribers, with the quality of your content and a bit of luck I’m sure your channel will boom. May the algorithm bless you.

[justsomemustachewithoutaguy-]

Criminally underrated man, glad you've had some vids that popped off, but man ya deserve more success lol

Doin a great job tho fam

[dukesalt]

God the 279 is such a cool looking design.

[thailanmartins]

Its incredible how the soviets knew how to built the perfect tank for all the environments

[ZORGIN]

Great video. Probably my favorite channel to watch about tanks

[DanShowandTell]

i feel like bringing a nuclear powered tank to a battlefield is saying "if we lose, you lose"

[andreibaciu]

being a military vehicle designer in the cold war must've been a hell of a expencience. you had to design vehicle that were supposed to literally outlast the end of the world. no wonder they came up with all these crazy stuff back then.