Cate's Research-Investigation Bureau

Soviet MBTs utilize a parallelogram hinge mechanism which is used to link the vertical angular motion of the tank's main gun to the head mirror of the main sight. This is done by having 2 hinged parallelograms, one hinge as a common axis of rotation, which is brought into motion from an axis lever attached to a second hinge mounted through an eccentric bushing on the cannon's trunnions. The hinge for the common axis of rotation transfers vertical motion from the gun to the main sight while also duplicating the motion to the auxiliary sight.  Basic parallelogram mechanism viewed from the right side Basic parallelogram mechanism viewed from the top Front view of parallelogram mechanism On the left is the lever arm that connects to the auxiliary sight, and behind the gunner's sight is the connector bridge, which connects the cannon's trunnion through the main parallelogram drive on the right. The main drive has 2 lever arms, which connect to the right side of the sight.  T...

As covered in a previous article,  New Omsktransmash T-80BVM modernization batch , a new Sosna-U sight housing has been installed, featuring several mechanical adjustments. The old design featured a bolted cover, which had to be manually removed by the crew.  The new version features 2 mechanical cylinders: the 1st cylinder operates the shutter hinge while the 2nd cylinder acts as a locking mechanism.  Comparing the housing to other designs present on tanks such as the BMPT or T-90M, the Omsk approach uses a more complex solution. Pull c ables are attached to the handles to pull the pins in the cylinders, compressing the springs inside.  The lower pin releases the cover lock. Additionally, the lock can be disabled by sliding it up the groove.  The cylinder on the side opens the housing shutter.  Releasing the handles by turning them, the springs will close the lid and fix it in place to then be locked by the lower cylinder.  It is possible that Omsk en...

 Omsktransmash has released footage showcasing the production of T-80BVM tanks.  A T-80BVM was shown in its full combat loadout. Several interesting integrations can be identified. This T-80BVM is equipped with up-armoured mudguards, which are present on T-90M tanks and new T-72B3M batches. Previously, T-72B3 tanks have received additional ERA containers mounted on the side of the hull, this feature has been carried over onto T-80BVM tanks. This T-80BVM also mounts the same protective netting which is present on T-90M MBTs.  In the same video, a very interesting observation can be made. Standard T-80BV turrets are retaining the old 1G42 housing while featuring a Sosna-U cover. This is very odd, considering that during the production of T-80BVMs the old housing is removed and welded shut and replaced with an auxiliary TV-based sight located next to Sosna-U. The old DVE-BS cross-wind sensor mast has been replaced with a new welded housing.  The original placement ...

Over the last few years, CRIB-Blog has made large leaps in content quantity and quality. Several large pages have been written containing a large variety of publicly available information.   On August 2nd 2021, a valued member of this community, MandeFTW, created his work of passion and allowed CRIB-Blog to host it. A Leopard Family page that contains every Leopard tank and its variants ever made.  More than a year has passed, and MandeFTW is ready to share his new and improved page, which he has been working on for the last couple of months. The page has been reworked entirely! A new ToC allows Blog users to quickly navigate through a seemingly endless page of information, new vehicle additions, expanded bibliography and an embedded frame for easier page navigation without having to scroll a lot!  It is advised that mobile users who are interested in browsing this page use the "Desktop site" feature! Due to the magnitude of this page, mobile browsers compress the em...