Tank ОF-40
Tank ОF-40
In the second half of the 70s, Italy launched active work on the creation of models of armored weapons for its own needs and exports. In particular, the OTO Melara and Fiat companies, based on the West German Leopard-1A4 tank, developed and since 1980 produced in small quantities for export to Africa, the Near and Middle East, the OF-40 tank (O is the initial letter company name "OTO Melara", 40 tons approximate weight of the tank). The units of the Leopard tank are widely used in the design. Currently, the Italian ground forces are armed with more than 1700 tanks, of which 920 are West German Leopard-1, 300 are American M60A1 and about 500 are obsolete American M47 tanks (including 200 units in reserve). The latter were subsequently replaced by the new V-1 Centaur wheeled armored vehicle, and instead of the M60A1 tanks, in the early 90s, the Italian army received S-1 Ariete tanks of its own design and production.
The OF-40 tank with a 105-mm rifled gun developed by OTO Melara. The main manufacturer of armored vehicles in Italy is OTO Melara. Separate orders related to wheeled armored vehicles are carried out by Fiat. The security of the tank roughly corresponds to the "Leopard-1A3", is provided by a large slope of the front plates of the hull and turret, as well as steel side screens 15 mm thick, rubber-metal screens are installed on some of the vehicles. The OF-40 is equipped with a 10-cylinder multi-fuel diesel engine from MTU with a capacity of 830 hp. With. at 2000 rpm. The hydromechanical transmission is also developed in Germany. The planetary gearbox provides 4 gears forward and 2 reverse. The engine and transmission are assembled into a single unit and can be replaced in the field with a crane in 45 minutes. Main battle tank S-1 "Ariete"The first six prototypes were built in 1988 and handed over to the army for testing. The tank received the designation C-1 "Ariete" and is planned to replace the M47. The control compartment is shifted to the starboard side. The driver's seat is hydraulically adjustable. There are 3 prism observation devices in front of the hatch, the middle of which can be replaced by a passive NVD ME5 UO / 011100. There is an emergency hatch behind the driver's seat. The welded turret houses a 120 mm OTO Melara smoothbore gun with a vertical breech. The barrel is hardened by autofrettage - its length is 44 calibers, it has a heat-shielding casing and ejection purge. For firing, standard American and German armor-piercing feathered sub-caliber (APP505) and cumulative-high-explosive multi-purpose (NEAT-MR) ammunition can be used. Similar ammunition is produced in Italy. Gun ammunition 42 rounds, 27 of which are located in the hull to the left of the driver, 15 - in the aft niche of the tower, behind the armored partition. Ejection panels are mounted above this ammunition rack in the roof of the tower, and in the left wall of the tower there is a hatch for replenishing ammunition and ejecting spent cartridges.
Main battle tank C-1 "Ariete" The gun is stabilized in two planes, its pointing angles in the vertical plane are from -9° to +20°, the drives for turning the turret and pointing the gun, which are used by the gunner and commander, are electro-hydraulic with manual override. A 7,62 mm machine gun is paired with a cannon. The same machine gun is installed above the commander's hatch in a spring-balanced cradle, which allows quick transfer in the horizontal plane and guidance in the range of angles from -9 ° to + 65 ° vertically. The fire control system TUIM 5 (tank universal reconfigurable modular system) is a modified version of a single fire control system developed by Officine Galileo for use on three different combat vehicles - the B1 Centaur wheeled tank destroyer, the S-1 Ariete main tank ” and USS-80 infantry fighting vehicle. The tank's control system includes stabilized sights for the commander (day panoramic) and gunner (day / night periscope with a laser rangefinder), an electronic ballistic computer with a sensor system, a reconciliation device, control panels for the commander, gunner and loader. There are 8 periscopes installed at the commander's workplace for all-round visibility. Its main sight has a variable magnification from 2,5x to 10x; during operations at night, the thermal image from the gunner's sight is transmitted to a special monitor of the commander. Together with the French company 5P1M, a sight installed in the roof of the tank was developed. The performance characteristics of the main battle tank C-1 "Ariete"
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After the Second World War, Italy did not have the right to produce heavy weapons. Being an active member of NATO from the first days of its creation, Italy received tanks from the United States. Since 1954, the American M47 Patton tanks have been in service with the Italian army. In the 1960s, M60A1 tanks were purchased, and 200 of these tanks were produced in Italy by OTO Melara under license and put into service with the Ariete (Taran) armored division. In addition to tanks, American armored personnel carriers M113 were also produced under license for the Italian ground forces and for export. In 1970, an agreement was signed for the purchase in the FRG of 920 Leopard-1 tanks, 200 of which were delivered directly from the FRG, and the rest were manufactured under license by a group of industrial firms in Italy. The production of this batch of tanks was completed in 1978. In addition, the OTO Melara company received and completed an order from the Italian army for the production of armored combat vehicles based on the Leopard-1 tank (bridge layers, ARVs, engineering vehicles).
