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A World of Tanks | |
Soviet Union
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Light T-60 |
| The T-60 Light Tank was created by removing the
floating equipment from the amphibious T-40. It was a little but reliable tank,
specifically designated for reconnaissance tasks in the "terrific" weather
condition typical of the Russian front. More than 6,000 units were produced between 1941
and 1942 when, having been its armour and firepower considered inadequate, it was
substituted by the Light Tank T-70. Some were modified as Katyuscha rocket launcher rails, anti-tank guns tractors, supply carriers, etc. |
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Light T-70 |
| Although the T-70 Light Tank was the direct heir of
the T-60, as it used the same chassis, it was actually a major redesign (two
engines instead of the T-60's single one, stronger suspensions and springing, a bigger
gun). Production started in 1942 and, between March 1942 and October 1943, more than 8,200
were manufactured. The major T-70's operational limit was that of every other "two-man-crew" tank (i.e.: the commander couldn't command when busy in operating as a gunner). After 1943 the T-70's chassis were adapted for manufacturing ths new self-propelled assault guns (SU76 : Samokhodnaya Ustanovka 76). |
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T-26B |
T-26C |
| The T-26 Light Infantry Tank design was a
"shameless" copy of the Vickers 6-ton tank. The T-26 became a
platform for a number of variants, from the OT-26, a flame-thrower, up to...a glider (!),
with wings and tails strapped directly onto the hull. The T-26 started its soldiering during the Spanish Civil War, under the Republican colors, and was deployed in the Russian-Finnish war in 1940. |
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T-28 |
| The T-28, like some of its predecessors,
"derived" from an existing British tank (in this case the Vickers
"Independent"). It saw action during the first years of war but, having been always ouclassed by the German PzKfpw III and PzKfpw IV, it was replaced, from 1940, by a new medium tank ... The T-34!!. |
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BT-5 |
| The BT fast tank series (Bystrochodnij Tank) were based on the
American Christie's tank ( a design characterized by an innovative torsion
bar suspension system and by the ability to run on tracks or large road wheels). The BT-5, a major improvement of the prior gun-armed BT models (BT-2, BT-3,and BT-4) appeared in 1935. It was fast, had a good power-to-weight ratio and was well armed. Powered by an aircraft-derived engine, the BT-5 could cross rough terrain at speed. The thousands of BT-5 tanks produced in the new Kharkov factory formed a significant part of the Soviet tank arm in 1941. |
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BT-7 |
| The BT-7 fast tank was a development of the BT-5 with a better armour and design (welded hull and turret with sloping sides to enhance protection). The BT-7 first soldiered in the Khalkin battles against the Japanese (Mongolian-Manchurian border) and in the advances into Poland (both in 1939) and in Finland (1940). Its combat career ended in 1941, following the German invasion of Russia. |
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T-34/76 right bottom : |
| The T-34 gave the Germans a nasty shock ! Although
it can be considered a development of the BT series, the T-34/76 is actually
a major redesign : more armour protection, wide tracks, a powerful engine, and a great
gun. With these features, it outclassed all the German tanks in service in 1941. In response to the German invasion (Operation Barbarossa), a mass of T-34 streamed from the newly built Tankograd production plant : from 1940 to 1945 more than 40,000 T-34s (of all models) were delivered. Hurriedly built and poorly finished by western standards, the T-34/76 was nevertheless a superb fighting machine. Throughout its life, the T34 design was subject to various changes. From the early two-man, hexagonal-shaped all welded turret with a short barrelled gun, it passed to a larger cast steel turret (with a cupola for the commander) and a longer-barrelled gun. In 1943, as the existing panzers couldn't adequately oppose against the T-34/76, the Germans were forced to develop a new tank : the Panther. |
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T-34/85 |
| The T-34/85 tank was first produced during the
winter of 1943-44. It was actually developed by mounting a cast steel turret, originally
developed for the KV-85 heavy tank, on a virtually unchanged T-34/76 hull. The wide tracks enabled the T-34/85 to cross every type of terrain, including soft mud and snow, giving to the tank the capacity to operate where Germans couldn't even travel. The T-34/85 combat career lasted, in various countries, more than 40 years, as it was still in line during the 1980s in Africa, former Yugoslavia and Albania. |
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T-35 |
| The T-35, developed in the 1930s, was the first Red
Army's heavy tank. It followed the "multi-turret" concept, typical of the Soviet
production of the period (examples are the T-28 and the "56-ton monster" T-100).
Besides the main one, housing a 76.2 mm howitzer, there were two 37 mm gun turrets and two
MG turrets. Despite its "terrifying-looking" mass and armament, the T-35 had several combat drawbacks : the great lemgth of the hull made it very difficult to steer, the armour was thin, and the guns could only be fired accurtely if the tank was stationary. Only about 60 T-35s were ever made (nothing, considering the Soviet production standards...). One can say that the main task of the T-35 was to feature in military parades, just to make Stalin happy ! |
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KV-1 (Klimenti Voroschilov) |
| The KV-1, after a brief appearance of the heavy T-100,
became the standard Red Army's heavy tank until 1943. The early models had the thickest armour that could be produced at that time. As it was, however, considered insufficient, KV-1 were continually up-armoured to make them virtually invunerable to German anti-tank guns. Yet the more and more increasing weight of this armour was never compensated by an equivalent additional power from the engine. In order to provide a higher mobility, a limited number of lighter but faster KV tanks, denominated KV-1s (where "s" stays for skorostnoy, or "fast"), was produced between August 1942 and June 1943. When the production ceased, in 1943, some 13,500 KV-1 had been built. They were replaced, for a few months, by a new model (the KV-85) equipped by a bigger 85 mm gun. |
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KV-2 (Klimenti Voroschilov) |
| The KV-2 was developed almost as soon as the KV-1
was conceived and maintained the same hull and chassis. It had an enlarged turret mounting
a 122 mm (later replaced by a 152 mm) howitzer. The KV-2 performed well enough during the early years of war but the story changed when the Germans implemented the "Operation Barbarossa". The huge turret was so bulky that it was difficult to traverse quickly, its great weight made it painfully slow and instable, its high profile drew enemy fire. The production ceased at the end of 1941. |
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IS-1 (Iosef Stalin) |
IS-2 (Iosef Stalin) |
| The IS-1 was never to be produced in quantity (some
100 were built until 1944) but it marked an important step in Soviet tank development. It
was a new design, developed from the previous KV series, with a modified hull and
improved suspension, transmission and power systems. It was heavily armoured and had a new
turret, mounting the same 85 mm gun as the T-34/85. The need for heavier guns led to develop a new model, the IS-2, which hosted, in its enlarged turret, the most powerful weapon ever mounted on a combat tank during WWII. In battle the IS-2 was able to tackle German Panthers and Tigers on equal terms. |
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IS-3 (Iosef Stalin) |
| The IS-3 was essentially the IS-2
redesigned to lower the silhouette and create shot deflection surfaces around the
"frying pan" outline turret and the pointed glacis plate. Although the IS-3 had no influence at all on the WWII developments, as they were actually deployed only during the VE-Day parade in Berlin, it can be assumed as the referring point of Western tank designers for years after the war. |
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Acknowledgment
All the color images (by G.Canestrari) and information have been selected from the "I
Corazzati" book by B.Benvenuti, edited by A.Mondadori, and from "TANKS of World
War Two" by J.Restayn, edited by Histoire & Collections . Further information was
extracted from "Tanks of World War II", a handbook edited by COLLINS/Jane's.
All material is property of the respective authors
Page established on : July 31, 1997
Last update : January 20, 1998
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