BMP-1 with turbine track blades
One of the effective ways to improve the amphibious capabilities of a tracked propulsion system is to equip it with so‑called turbine blades. The leading edges of the blades face inward toward the track loop, and the trailing edges face the ground, which means they must not protrude beyond the supporting surface of the track. When the track rotates in water, the profiled surface of the blades generates hydrodynamic lift and horizontal thrust, the projection of which provides additional traction force. Such a propulsion system was used in the early 1950s on the American LVTP‑5 vehicle, which demonstrated very high water speed (11.2 km/h) with an 18.9 kW/t (25.7 hp/t) power-to-weight ratio. This speed was achieved thanks to the large width of the turbine blades located in the middle part of the track links. The principle of turbine blades can also be implemented, as done on the tracks of the Swedish IKV‑91 light tank , where small turbine blades were placed on both sides of the track, pr...