Antonov A-40, KT

Purpose: KT, Kryl’ya Tanka, flying tank, a means for delivering armoured vehicles to difficult locations by fitting them with wings. Design Bureau: Oleg Konstantinovich Antonov, at Kiev.

From 1932 the Soviet high command studied all aspects of the new subject of airborne war­fare, including parachute troops and every kind of aerial close support of armies. One novel concept was fitting wings (with or with­out propulsion) to an armoured vehicle. Sim­ple tests were carried out with small cars and trucks, converted into gliders and towed by such aircraft as the R-5 and (it is believed) a TB-1. There was even a project to fit wings to a T-34, weighing 32 tonnes, using a pair of ANT-20b/s as tug s!

The KT was the only purpose-designed winged tank actually to be tested. The chosen tank was the T-60, specially designed for air­borne forces. Antonov designed a large bi­plane glider and flight controls to fit over the tank. The work was delayed by the German invasion of 22nd June 1941, but the prototype was ready for test in early 1942. The selected pilot, S N Anokhin, did a quick course in tank driving and was then towed off by a TB-3. He managed to land without injuring himself or overturning the tank, which was drivable afterwards.

The glider was officially designated A-T, and A-40 by the Antonov OKB. It comprised rectangular biplane wings joined by vertical and diagonal struts with wire bracing. Both wings were fitted with ailerons, joined by ver­tical struts. The upper wing also had two spoiler airbrakes, while the lower wing had full-span flaps which the pilot (who was the tank driver) could pull down manually prior to the landing. At the rear was the twin-finned semi-biplane tail, attached by two braced booms. Construction was of wood, mainly spruce. The covering was fabric, with ply­wood over the booms and some other areas. The airframe was lifted by crane over the tank and secured by latches. The towrope from the tug was attached to the tank, and cast off by the tank driver when close to the target. The intention was that he should glide down steeply, lower the flaps and then, when about to touch the ground, pull a lever to jettison the glider portion. The tank would then be left ready for action. The tank’s tracks were dri­ven through an overdrive top gear to assist take-off and smooth the landing.

Though the single test flight was success­ful, Anokhin, an outstandingly skilled pilot, found his task extremely tricky. He doubted the ability of ordinary ‘tankers’ to fly the loaded tank and bring it down to a successful landing. In any case, the real need was to fly in T-34s, and there seemed to be no practical way of doing this.