[citation needed] The tank was developed at the Kirov Plant in Leningrad by a group headed by engineer L. Troyanov.

The tank suspension was hydro-pneumatic with complex hydrotransformer (also known as torque converter) and three-speed planetary gearbox.

The tank hull, with a maximum armour thickness of 269 mm (10.6 in), was covered by a thin, elliptical shield protecting it against APDS and shaped charge ammunition.

Since then, the heaviest ones are kept at about 50 metric tons of weight, not counting extra equipment such as additional reactive armor or mine clearing devices.

[2] Adding to this decision was that Nikita Khrushchev himself was a supporter of an alternative – guided missile tanks, the most prominent of which was IT-1.

These deficiencies included low nimbleness, efficiency loss during swampy area crossings, complex and expensive production, maintenance and repair, and impossibility of reduction in the overall height of the tank.