How many T-44 tanks did the Soviet Union produce?
T-44
The T-44A officially entered service with the Red Army on 23 November 1944 but the production started in October. Production took place at the new Factory No. 75 (Zavod 75) in Kharkiv which used the buildings of the old KhPZ Factory No. 183 which were recaptured from Germans on 23 August 1943. To restore the factories to working order, engineers, workers, machines and tools were sent from Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183, located in Nizhny Tagil. The original plans were that the factory would produce 300 T-44As a month. However, only 25 were built by the end of 1944. In 1945, 940 were built, making a total of 965 (190 tanks built in 1944 and 1945 were completed by the end of the war). An additional 858 T-44As were made in 1946-1947. The T-34 continued to account for 85% of medium tank production through 1950, and development of a more advanced medium tank with a more powerful 100 mm gun proceeded. The relatively brief production run ended in 1947 with a total of 1,823 T-44A tanks built. The reasons for such a brief production run included mechanical teething problems, the end of the war which reduced the Red Army's need for a new tank, and the design's inability to successfully fit a 100 mm tank gun. It was replaced on the production lines by the T-54-1 main battle tank, which was more mechanically reliable and could mount a 100 mm gun. The superior T-54-2 would replace T-34 production at the Omsk Factory No. 183 in 1950, and the T-54/55 main battle tank series would remain in production until 1981.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-40 amphibious scout tank was a light amphibious tank used by the Soviet Union during World War II. Amphibious capability was important to the Red Army, as evidenced by the production of over 1,500 amphibious tanks in the 1930s. The T-40 was intended to replace the aging T-37 and T-38 tank light amphibians. It was a superior design, but due to the pressures of war the Soviets favored the production of simpler tank designs, and only a small number of T-40s were built. The last batch of T-40s built had BM-8-24 Katyusha rocket racks mounted instead of turrets. This version provided a mobile mount for a 24-rail multiple-launch rocket system, firing 82 mm unguided rockets.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-54 and T-55 tanks were a series of main battle tanks designed in the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in March 1945, just before the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank for armored units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and others. T-54s and T-55s were involved in many of the world's armed conflicts during the late 20th century.
T-64
With the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, T-64 tanks remained in the arsenals of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Uzbekistan. Mid 2014, slightly fewer than 2,000 of the former Soviet inventory of T-64 tanks are in service with the military of Ukraine and about 4,000 are out-of-service and awaiting destruction in Russia.
Romanian Land Forces
In terms of their combat equipment, the RLF operated a total of 2825 tanks: 1059 outdated (soviet WW-2 type) T-34-85 tanks, 785 soviet and czechoslovak T-55/-55A/-55AM tanks, 415 romanian built TR-77-580, 535 romanian built TR-85-800 and 31 soviet T-72 "Ural-1" tanks. The 9th and the 11th Mechanized Divisions operated romanian built TR-77-580 tanks, the 2nd Mechanized Division and the 57th Tank Division operated romanian built TR-85-800 tanks, the 10th and 81st Mechanized Divisions and the 6th Tank Division operated soviet and czechoslovak built T-55/-55A/-55AM tanks, while the remaining three mechanized divisions (1st, 18th and 67th) were equipped with mixed equipment, including a number of outdated soviet T-34-85 tanks, within their mechanized regiments. The 1st Mechanized Tudor Vladimirescu Division apparently operated four types of tanks, from the modern soviet T-72 "Ural-1", a number of romanian TR-77-580 and soviet T-55A tanks, to the outdated T-34-85 tanks.
T-46 (tank)
The Soviet T-46, began as an improvement to the T-26. The T46 served the same purpose as the T26, but it was quite different. It was a fast and lightly armored tank. It could reach speeds of up to 50 km/h with relative ease. The T-26 suspension consisted of eight small road wheels carried in pairs on small bogies. The bogies were supported in pairs by leaf springs. This was a much less effective system than the Christie suspension, which had a more advanced, yet more expensive system to maintain and produce. This is the reason why the OKMO team at Zavod No.185 was ordered by the Government of Soviet Union to produce an improved version of the fast light-tank, T-26. Yet the design of the T-46 has proved being too expensive, compared to the final performance of the vehicle to mass-produce. The thin armor, small main armament and the bulky, big design of tank, made the government of Soviet Union cancel the project, and rather create the T-26S and later T-46S, as the improved, mass-production capable tanks.
Tanks in the German Army
During the war, the mass of a panzer increased from the 5.4 tonnes of a pre-war Panzer I light tank, to the whopping 68.5 tonnes of the Tiger II. In the meantime, the Soviets continued to produce the T-34 by the tens of thousands, and U.S. industry nearly matched them in the number of M4 Sherman tanks built and deployed in Europe after D-Day.
T-72
The T-72 is a family of Soviet main battle tanks that first entered production in 1971. About 20,000 T-72 tanks were built, making it one of the most widely produced post-World War II tanks, second only to the T-54/55 family. The T-72A version introduced in 1979 is considered a second-generation main battle tank. It was widely exported and saw service in 40 countries and in numerous conflicts. The T-72B3 version introduced in 2010 is considered a third-generation main battle tank.
Battle of Kursk
According to a Soviet General Staff report, 29 of the 35 major Luftwaffe raids on Soviet airfields in the Kursk sector in June 1943 were against dummy airfields. According to historian Antony Beevor, in contrast, Soviet aviation apparently succeeded in destroying more than 500 Luftwaffe aircraft on the ground. The Soviet deception efforts were so successful that German estimates issued in mid-June placed the total Soviet armoured strength at 1,500 tanks. The result was not only a vast underestimation of Soviet strength, but a misperception of Soviet strategic intentions.
The main tank of the Soviet tank arm was the T-34 medium tank, on which the Red Army attempted to concentrate production. The tank arm also contained large numbers of the T-70 light tank. For example, the 5th Guards Tank Army roughly contained 270 T-70s and 500 T-34s. In the salient itself the Soviets assembled a large number of lend-lease tanks. These included U.S.-manufactured M3 Lees and British-built Churchills, Matildas and Valentines. However, the T-34 made up the bulk of the Soviet armour. Without including the deeper reserves organised under the Steppe Front, the Soviets massed about 1,300,000 men, 3,600 tanks, 20,000 artillery pieces and 2,792 aircraft to defend the salient. This amounted to 26 percent of the total manpower of the Red Army, 26 percent of its mortars and artillery, 35 percent of its aircraft and 46 percent of its tanks.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
At the outset of the war, T-34 tanks amounted to only about four percent of the Soviet tank arsenal, but by the war's end, they comprised at least 55% of the USSR's massive output of tanks (based on figures from; Zheltov 2001 lists even larger numbers). During the winter of 1941–42, the T-34 dominated German tanks through its ability to move over deep mud or snow without bogging down, where German tanks could not. The Panzer IV used an inferior leaf-spring suspension and narrow track, and tended to sink in deep mud or snow. However, by the time the T-34 had replaced older models and became available in greater numbers, newer German tanks, including the improved Panzer V "Panther", outperformed it. In early 1944, an upgraded tank, the T-34-85, gave the Red Army a tank with better armour and mobility than German Panzer IV and Sturmgeschütz III, but it could not match the Panther in gun or armour protection. To the Soviet advantage there were far fewer Panthers than T-34s, and the T-34-85 was good enough to allow skilled crew and tactical situations to tip the balance.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
On October 7, 2001 the United States military began operation Operation Enduring Freedom, which was launched by the United States and United Kingdom in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. The purpose for the entry into the Afghanistan conflict was stated to capture Osama bin Laden, destroy al-Qaeda, and remove the Taliban regime which had provided support and safe harbor to al-Qaeda. In the war, both the Taliban and forces allied with American troops had access to a wide array of Soviet tanks that fell into their hands, when the central government which had ordered them, collapsed after the Soviets left. 50 T-54s and 50 T-55s were ordered in 1961 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1962 and 1964 (T-54s were previously in Soviet service). 200 T-54s were ordered in 1978 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1978 and 1979 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 705 T-55s were ordered in 1978 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1978 and 1991 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 50 Pt-76 light tanks were ordered in 1958 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1959 and 1961. 1,000 T-54s, T-55s, T-62s and PT-76s were in service on 1 April 1992. Currently 600 T-55"s" are in service with the Military of Afghanistan but are to be replaced with M60 Pattons.
Tanks in the Cold War
The Russian T-55 started with a 100 mm gun, but has been upgraded with both 115 mm and 125 mm guns, much improved fire control systems, new engines, track, etc. The M47 series evolved through to the M60 series.The first Soviet main battle tank was the T-64 while the first American MBT was the M48 Patton.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62. Although the T-62 and the famed T-72 used more widely and generally developed more, it was the T-64 that formed the basis of more modern Soviet tank designs like the T-80.
T-64
A project named obyekt 430 gave birth to three prototypes which were tested in Kubinka in 1958. Those vehicles showed characteristics that were going to radically change the design of battle tanks on this side of the Iron Curtain. For the first time, an extremely compact opposed-piston engine was used: the 4TD, designed by the plant's engine design team. The transmission system comprised two lateral gears on each side of the engine. Those two innovations yielded a very short engine compartment with the opening located beneath the turret. The engine compartment volume was almost half that of the T-54. An improved cooling system and a new lightweight suspension was fitted, featuring hollow metallic wheels of a small diameter and caterpillar tracks with rubber joints.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-64 also pioneered other Soviet tank technology: the T-64A model of 1967 introduced the 125 mm smoothbore gun, and the T-64B of 1976 would be able to fire a guided antitank missile through its gun barrel.
Kliment Voroshilov tank
Prior to Operation Barbarossa, about 500 of the over 22,000 tanks then in Soviet service were of the KV-1 type. As the war progressed, it became evident that there was little sense in producing the expensive KV tanks, as the T-34 medium tank performed better (or at least equally well) in all practical respects. In fact the only advantage it had over the T-34/76 was its larger and roomier three-man turret. Later in the war, the KV series became a base for the development of the IS (Iosif Stalin) series of tanks and self-propelled guns.
Panzer IV
The Panzer IV was partially succeeded by the Panther medium tank, which was introduced to counter the Soviet T-34, although the Panzer IV continued as a significant component of German armoured formations to the end of the war. The Panzer IV was the most widely exported tank in German service, with around 300 sold to Finland, Romania, Spain and Bulgaria. After the war, Syria procured Panzer IVs from France and Czechoslovakia, which saw combat in the 1967 Six-Day War. 8,553 Panzer IVs of all versions were built during World War II, with only the StuG III assault-gun/tank destroyer's 10,086 vehicle production run exceeding the Panzer IV's total among Axis armored forces.
Tanks of the post–Cold War era
The Russian T-80 is a third-generation main battle tank (MBT) designed and manufactured in the Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion. The T-80U was last produced in a factory in Omsk, Russia, while the T-80UD and further-developed T-84 continue to be produced in Ukraine. The T-80 and its variants are in service in Belarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine.
The original T-80 design uses a 1,000 horsepower gas turbine instead of a 750-horsepower diesel engine, although some later variants of the T-80 revert to diesel engine usage. The gearbox is different, with five forward and one reverse gear, instead of seven forward and one reverse. Suspension reverts from pneumatic to torsion bar, with six forged steel-aluminium rubber-tyred road wheels on each side, with the tracks driven by rear sprockets. The glacis is of laminate armour and the turret is armoured steel. The turret houses the same 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore gun as the T-72, which can fire anti-tank guided missiles as well as regular ordnance. The tracks are slightly wider and longer than on the T-64 giving lower ground pressure.
T-64
In 2010, the Kharkiv Malyshev Factory upgraded 10 T-64B tanks to T-64BM "Bulat" standard, and a further 19 will be delivered in 2011. These T-64B [Т-64Б] tanks were originally produced at Kharkiv in 1980. These 29 tanks are being upgraded under a ₴200 million ($25.1 million) contract signed in April 2009. As of October 2011, Ukrainian Army has 76 T-64BM "Bulat" [Т-64БМ "Булат"] in service. According to Constantin Isyak (chief engineer of Malyshev Factory), the T-64BM "Bulat" is armoured to the level of modern tanks. They have 'Knife' [Нiж] reactive armour, and the 'Warta' [Варта] active defence system. The T-64BM "Bulat" weighs , and with its 5TDFM multi-fuel diesel engine can do , and has a range of . It retains the 125 mm smoothbore gun with an autoloader for 28 rounds, some of which can be guided missiles. It has a 12.7 mm AA machinegun, and a 7.62 mm coaxial machinegun.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
Even with its innovative technology and better armor protection, the T-44A still used an 85 mm ZiS-S-53 tank gun, the same as the one fitted on the T-34-85 medium tank. The army needed a new tank armed with a more powerful 100 mm gun. Two projects were started, both based on the T-44A and the development of the first one started in October 1944, and the designing stage was completed in December. The prototype was ready in February 1945 and the trials conducted between March and April gave positive results and the vehicle entered service with the Red Army as the T-54.
The tank had almost the same hull and drive train as the T-44A. Differences included thickened front armour (120 mm on the upper section and 90 mm on the lower section) and a different hatch and vision slot for the driver. The turret had increased diameter to 1800 mm. The armament included the 100 mm D-10TK tank gun as well as two 7.62 mm GWT machine guns. The tank was powered by a new V-54 12-cylinder 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 520 hp (388 kW) at 2,000 rpm. The fuel capacity was increased (530 litres in the internal fuel tank and 165 litres in the external fuel tank). The weight was increased to 35.5 tonnes, which reduced the maximal road speed to 43.5 km/h. Further development of the T-44 was cancelled and all the attention was directed towards the development of the new T-54 main battle tank.
AS-44
In 1943 the highly successful 7.62×39mm Soviet intermediate cartridge was developed and provided to Soviet small arms design bureaus to use in a new series of automatic rifles. A design competition was announced and at least ten different designs were submitted for testing from designers such as Fedorov, Tokarev, Simonov, and Shpagin. In May 1944 Alexey Sudayev who had already designed the successful PPS submachine gun delivered the first and fourth models of his AS-44 for tests. The AS-44 successfully met the competition's requirements and in the spring of 1945, an experimental batch of AS-44 assault rifles was manufactured at the Tula Arms Factory. During the summer of 1945, these were sent for testing in the Moscow, Leningrad, Central Asian, and Transcaucasian military districts. The tests determined the AS-44 was reliable, but not as accurate, or long ranged as the Mosin-Nagant rifle currently in service. When fired from its integrated bi-pod its range and accuracy were judged to be superior to that of sub-machine guns in Soviet service. However, the AS-44 was overweight at and its accuracy, when fired without its bi-pod was considered inferior. In spite of positive evaluations, the AS-44 was not approved for mass production at that time. The next set of modifications and trials would have started in early 1946 but Sudayev became ill and died on August 17, 1946, which prevented this from occurring.
Malyshev Factory
The Malyshev factory's million-square-metre facility produced 800 tanks in 1991, but underwent difficult times after the breakup of the Soviet Union, producing only 46 tanks until 1996, when a $650 M contract was signed to supply 320 T-80UD tanks to Pakistan. Fulfilling the contract was difficult — the distributed nature of Soviet military industry forced reliance on Russian factories for parts, and Russian political interference forced the development of local capabilities, resulting in the T-84 tank design.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
T-70s were put into production in March 1942 at Zavod No. 37, and along with T-60 production at GAZ and Zavod No. 38. They completely replaced T-60 production in September 1942, although that tank remained in use until the end of the war. Production ended in October 1943, with 8,226 vehicles completed.
Uralvagonzavod
After the German invasion of 1941, Stalin ordered hundreds of factories in Ukraine and western Russia to be evacuated east. The KhPZ Factory No. 183 in Kharkiv was moved to Nizhny Tagil by rail, and merged with the Dzerzhinsky Works, to form the Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183. During the second world war it became the largest producer of tanks in the world, including the T-34. After the war, tank production was scaled down, and part of the Vagonka's manufacturing and design assets were transferred back to Kharkiv's Diesel Factory No. 75 during 1945–51.
T-64
The tank would be armed with the D-54TS and frontal armour of 120 mm. As it did not present a clear superiority in terms of combat characteristics when compared to the T-55, which was entering active service, Morozov decided that production was not yet ready given the project's drawbacks. However, studies conducted on the obyekt 430U, featuring a 122 mm gun and 160 mm of armour, demonstrated that the tank had the potential to fit the firepower and armour of a heavy tank on to a medium tank chassis. A new project was consequently started, obyekt 432.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The second prototype Koshkin named A-32, after its of frontal armour. It also had a 76.2 mm (3 in) gun, and the same model V-2 diesel engine. Both were tested in field trials at Kubinka in 1939, and the heavier A-32 proved to be as mobile as the A-20. A still heavier version of the A-32 with of front armour and wider tracks was approved for production as the T-34. Resistance from the military command and concerns about high production cost were finally overridden by anxieties about the poor performance of Soviet tanks in Finland and the effectiveness of Germany's Blitzkrieg in France, and the first production tanks were completed in September 1940, completely replacing the production of the T-26, BT, and the multi-turreted T-28 medium tank at the KhPZ.
Russia
Famous Russian battle tanks include T34, the most heavily produced tank design of World War II, and further tanks of T-series, including the most produced tank in history, T54/55. The AK47 and AK74 by Mikhail Kalashnikov constitute the most widely used type of assault rifle throughout the world—so much so that more AK-type rifles have been manufactured than all other assault rifles combined.
Liberation (film series)
150 tanks 2,000 artillery pieces and 5,000 extras, mostly Soviet soldiers, were involved in the making of all the five parts of the series. The producers searched in vain for real Tiger I and Panther tanks: eventually, replicas of 10 Tigers and 8 Panthers (converted from T-44 and IS-2 tanks respectively) were manufactured in a Soviet tank factory in Lvov. Beside those, many T-55s, T-62s and IS-3s – models that were developed after the war – can be clearly seen in the film, painted as German or Soviet tanks.
Lend-Lease Sherman tanks
The first 76mm-armed M4A2 diesel-fuel Shermans started to arrive in Soviet Union in the late summer of 1944. By 1945, some Red Army armoured units were standardized to depend primarily on them and not on their ubiquitous T-34. Such units include the 1st Guards Mechanized Corps, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Corps and the 9th Guards Mechanized Corps, amongst others. The Sherman was largely held in good regard and viewed positively by many Soviet tank-crews which operated it before, with compliments mainly given to its reliability, ease of maintenance, generally good firepower (referring especially to the 76mm-gun version) and decent armour protection, as well as an auxiliary-power unit (APU) to keep the tank's batteries charged without having to run the main engine for the same purpose as the Soviets' own T-34 tank required.
Tanks in the Japanese Army
The M24, though it was popular amongst the Japanese crews, was inadequate when facing Soviet T-34/85s, as seen in Korea. Thus, as the tanks in the Japan ground self-defence force (JGSDF) service at the time were obsolete/inadequate, the JGSDF was provided with the option of either purchasing the new American built M46 Patton and, later, the M47 Patton or develop their own MBT in 1954. Due to the high cost of purchasing American made tanks, and because the M47 did not meet their requirements, the JGSDF decided on developing their own main battle tank, resulting in the development of the Type 61 tank.
The first prototype vehicles, STA-1 and STA-2 were built and tested by 1957. The results were used to develop the STA-3 and STA-4. More improvements were made in 1961 and the deployment of the Type 61 began. The initial production rate was low, with only ten tanks produced in 1962, increasing to twenty in 1964 and thirty in 1965 and 1966. A total of 250 had been produced by 1970, with production continuing at an increased pace until 1975 when it was terminated. A total of 560 were produced. The main gun of the Type 61 was unstabilized, so firing on the move was impractical, and the vehicle is not fitted with an NBC protection system or deep wading equipment. The JGSDF started studies on a new tank design with Mitsubishi in 1962, as it was realized that the Type 61 would not be able to defeat the latest Soviet designs like the T-62. The tanks were phased out of service in the 1990s with 400 in service in 1990, and 190 in service in 1995. All were decommissioned by 2000, 39 years after their original deployment. From 1980, Type 61's began to be supplemented by the more modern Type 74 MBT.
The first prototype of the Type 74 MBT, designated STB-1, was delivered in late 1968 and underwent a number of modifications until the final prototype designated STB-6 was delivered in 1973. Production finally started as the Type 74 in September 1975, with 225 being delivered by January 1980. Production ended in 1989, with total production running to 893 examples. The gunner's position included a digital fire control computer, fed range data from the commander's range finder. Rounds for the main gun were upgraded from HEP to APFSDS and HEAT-MP.
T-34
At the start of the German-Soviet war, T-34s comprised about four percent of the Soviet tank arsenal, but by the end it made up at least 55% of tank production (based on figures from; Zheltov 2001 lists even larger numbers).
T-26
The Factory No. 174 produced its last T-26 tanks in February 1941. After that, the factory began retooling to produce the new and much more complex T-50 light tank. This work was slowed by delays in the delivery of new equipment and series production of the T-50 did not begin on schedule (planned for 1 June 1941). As a result, factory management decided to resume the production of the T-26, using T-26 hulls, turrets, and other parts already in stock. About 47 T-26 tanks were assembled and 77 were repaired in July–August 1941 before the factory was relocated from Leningrad to Chelyabinsk in the end of August 1941, and then to Chkalov in September 1941. The Factory No. 174 produced engines and spare parts for the T-26, installed additional armour plates on some T-26s, replaced flame-throwers with 45 mm tank guns in turrets of 130 KhT-133 flame-throwing tanks, repaired tanks in army units (846 T-26s since the beginning of 1941) and mounted about 75 turrets from the T-26 and the T-50 as bunkers for the defence of Leningrad.
T-44
Like the T-44-122 prototype, one of the two first-generation T-44-85 prototypes went through competitive trials against a captured German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther medium tank. The second of the two first-generation T-44-85 prototypes was put in competitive trials against the T-44-122 prototype. The second prototype uncovered additional faults in the design. By May 1944 two second-generation prototypes were being built. These featured the driver's position moved rearwards so that his hatch was partially on the hull roof. The driver's vision flap was reduced to a plain square flap with rounded lower corners, in line with the glacis plate. These prototypes had prominent collars at the base of the gun tube, without the mounting bolts which were present in the first generation prototypes. The two prototypes also have differences between each other. One prototype had a splashboard on the glacis plate while the other had a smooth uncluttered glacis plate. One of these prototypes passed trials at the NIBT proving grounds near Kubinka in June and July 1944. This prototype weighed 31.3 tonnes and was armed with an 85 mm ZiS-S-53 gun. The turret front armour thickness was increased to 115 mm. Hulls side armour thickness was increased to 75 mm.
T-34
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank that had a profound and lasting effect on the field of tank design. At its introduction in 1940, the T-34 possessed an unprecedented combination of firepower, mobility, protection and ruggedness. Its 76.2 mm (3 in) high-velocity tank gun provided a substantial increase in firepower over any of its contemporaries; its well-sloped armour was difficult to penetrate by most contemporary anti-tank weapons. When it was first encountered in 1941, German general Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist called it "the finest tank in the world" and Heinz Guderian affirmed the T-34's "vast superiority" over existing German armour of the period. Although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war, it has often been credited as the most effective, efficient and influential tank design of the Second World War.
Alexander Alexandrovich Morozov
In the early days of World War II, the Soviet government has set task for designers-tank-builders to ensure a significant expansion of the T-34 tank production, their production was transferred to several factories of the Volga region, the Urals, in Siberia. Development of production of T-34 tanks by factories with different equipment composition, with low qualification of the majority of workers, many of whom were adolescents and women, made possible by good process flue design, that to a large extent, in addition to the work of engineers, determined in the daily hard work of designers on simplification of the tank, finding substitutes for scarce materials, adapting its design to mass production. However, the battle characteristics of tank T-34 are continuously improved and in the second half of 1943 the tank was radically modernized, it has been extended shoulder straps, installed a new tower with a powerful 85-mm cannon. This was the response by the appearance in the German-fascist army of new "Panther" tanks "Tiger" and "King Tiger" and ACS "Elefant" ("Ferdinand"). In efforts to improve the design of the T-34 and increase its armaments were directly involved under the leadership of Morozov and his deputy N.A. Kucherenko, designers Y.I. Baran, A.A. Moloshtanov, M.I. Tarshinov, B.A. Chernyak, A.I. Shpayhler and others. All of them for a fundamental improvement of the existing medium tank design and development of a new medium tank was awarded the State Prize of the USSR.
T-64
The T-64 would only be used by the Soviet Army and never exported, unlike the T-54/55. The tank equipped elite and regular formations in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the T-64A model being first deployed with East Germany's Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG) in 1976, and some time later in Hungary's Southern Group of Forces (SFG). By 1981, the improved T-64B began to be deployed in East Germany and later in Hungary. While it was believed that the T-64 was reserved for elite units, it was also used by much lower level "non-ready formations", for example, the Odessa Military District's 14th Army.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-54/55 series eventually became the most-produced tank in history. Estimated production numbers for the series range from 86,000 to 100,000.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-90 is a Russian main battle tank (MBT) derived from the T-72, and is currently the most modern tank in service with the Russian Ground Forces and Naval Infantry. The successor to the T-72BM, the T-90 uses the tank gun and 1G46 gunner sights from the T-80U, a new engine, and thermal sights. Protective measures include Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armour (ERA), laser warning receivers, Nakidka camouflage, the EMT-7 electromagnetic pulse (EMP) creator for the destruction of magnetic mines and the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system. It is designed and built by Uralvagonzavod, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use. Although the T-62 is very similar to the T-55 and makes use of many of the same parts, there are some differences. Those include the hull, which is a few centimeters longer and wider, the different road wheels, and differences in characteristic uneven gaps between roadwheels. Unlike the T-54 and T-55 main battle tanks, the gaps between the last three pairs of roadwheels are larger than the rest. (Perrett 1987:37-38)
T-62
The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced 1961. As a further development of the T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armor. In contrast with previous tanks, which were armed with rifled tank guns, the T-62 was the first tank armed with a smoothbore tank gun that could fire APFSDS rounds at higher velocities. While the T-62 became the standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, it did not fully replace the T-55 in export markets due to its higher manufacturing costs and maintenance requirements compared to its predecessor. Although the T-62 was replaced in Russia and the successor states of the Soviet Union, it is still used in some countries and its design features became standardized in subsequent Soviet and Russian mass-produced tanks.
T-84
In September 2011, the Malyshev Plant announced plans to produce the first batch of five Oplot-M tanks for the Thai Army by the end of the year. Under the contract, the Ukrainian company will make 49 tanks worth over USD 200 million. As of November 2017, 31 tanks have been delivered.
T-50 tank
The T-50 was a light infantry tank built by the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II. The design for this vehicle had some advanced features, but was complicated and expensive, and only a short production run of 69 tanks was completed. Even before it was ready for mass-production wartime experience invalidated the underlying concept of light infantry tanks.
T-62
The new U-5TS smoothbore tank gun was fitted into the Ob'yekt 140 turret at the end of 1960. The new tank received the designation "Ob'yekt 166". In 1960, both Ob'yekt 165 and Ob'yekt 166 prototypes passed their trials. The Uralvagonzavod was preparing to start serial production of the new tank, though the General Armoured Directorate (GBTU) was paying much more attention to Morozov's Ob'yekt 430, which was in development since early 1952. Morozov was supported by general Ustinov, who was in charge of Soviet military industry at the time. He didn't see it as necessary to produce the new tank from Uralvagonzavod but soon the situation changed dramatically with the appearance of a new American main battle tank, the M60. In 1961, Soviet military intelligence discovered that Britain was working on a new main battle tank armed with a 120 mm tank gun. Because of this, Marshal Vasily Chuikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army's Ground Forces, demanded an explanation of the "Kartsev's tanks" case. At a conference of GBTU and the Soviet ground forces committee, it became apparent that Morozov's Ob'yekt 430 tank was only 10% better than the serial T-55. Because of this, Morozov's project was deemed a complete failure. Though the representatives of Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau disclosed their work on the improved Ob'yekt 432 (which would ultimately become the T-64), Chuikov demanded that production of the Ob'yekt 166 main battle tank be started immediately.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-72 was the most common tank used by the Soviet Army from the 1970s to the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was also exported to other Warsaw Pact countries, as well as Finland, India, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yugoslavia, as well as being copied elsewhere, both with and without licenses.
Tanks in World War II
The Soviet Union ended the 1930s with a huge fleet of tanks almost completely derived from foreign designs, but before 1941 developed some of the most important trend-setting tanks of the war. The problem the Soviet tank force faced in 1941 was not primarily the technical quality of its vehicles, but the very poor state of maintenance, the appalling lack of readiness, and the poor command situation brought on by the purges of the officer class. The Red Army had adopted in 1940 an advanced doctrine that it was simply incapable of executing.
Several excellent designs were just entering production in 1940–41. On the eve of war, the Red Army had embarked on two closely related projects to reorganize its mechanized forces and re-equip them with modern designs incorporating the lessons of the Spanish Civil War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and the Winter War. Some of these designs leapfrogged other countries' tank designs. The most significant was the T-34, originally designed as the successor to the BT series, but with its heavier armour and heavy dual-purpose gun, it became the best medium tank in the first half of World War II. The T-34 eventually replaced almost all other Soviet tanks. The basic design was good enough to keep it battle-worthy beyond 1945, having been upgraded with heavier guns, new turrets and other modifications. The second significant design was the KV-1 tank. These were armed with the same excellent 76.2 mm gun as the T-34, and had the same Kharkiv model V-2 diesel engine. However, the KV had a torsion bar suspension and much heavier armour than the T-34. The KV was slow, intended as a breakthrough tank. The KV-2 close-support version was armed with a howitzer. The KV series was the main Soviet heavy tank until 1943, when production ended and most had been expended. Early in 1944 the KV's successor was the IS-2, armed with a gun, having thicker armour and better mobility. The new infantry-support tank of 1941, intended to be the replacement for the T-26, was the T-50, armed with a 45 mm gun, with torsion-bar suspension and excellent armour for its class. Production problems with its new engine led to the tank being cancelled after less than 70 had been made. Finally, the light reconnaissance role was to be filled by the amphibious T-40 and the cheaper, non-amphibious T-60.
Battalion
Prior to the late 1980s, Soviet tank battalions consisted of three tank companies of 13 T-64, T-72 or T-80 tanks each, along with a battalion headquarters mounted in a command tank and a headquarters and service platoon, for a total of 165 personnel and 40 tanks; battalions using the older T-54, T-55 or T-62s tanks had 31 or 40 additional enlisted personnel. However, forces in Eastern Europe began to standardize to a smaller formation with 135 personnel and 31 tanks total, with each tank company consisting of 10 tanks total.
T-44
The T-44 was a medium tank first developed and produced near the end of World War II by the Soviet Union. It was the successor to the T-34, offering improved ride and cross-country performance and much greater armor. Designed to be equipped with an 85 mm main gun, by the time it was fully tested the T-34 had also moved to this weapon. Both tanks offered similar performance, so introducing the T-44 was not considered as important as increasing T-34 production. Fewer than 2,000 T-44s were built, compared to about 58,000 T-34s. Although the T-44 was available by the end of the war, it was not used in combat.
Science and technology in Russia
Famous Russian battle tanks include T-34, the best middle tank design of World War II, and further tanks of T-series, including the most produced tank in history, T-54/55, the first fully gas turbine tank T-80 and the most modern Russian tanks T-90 and T-14 Armata. The AK-47 and AK-74 by Mikhail Kalashnikov constitute the most widely used type of assault rifle throughout the world—so much so that more AK-type rifles have been manufactured than all other assault rifles combined. With these and other weapons Russia for a long time has been among the world's top suppliers of arms, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.
T-54/T-55
Overall 35,000 T-54-1, T-54-2, T-54 (T-54-3), T-54A, T-54B, T-54AK1, T-54AK2, T-54BK1 and T-54BK2 tanks were produced between 1946 and 1958 and 27,500 T-55, T-55A, T-55K1, T-55K2, T-55K3, T-55AK1, T-55AK2 and T-55AK3 tanks were produced between 1955 and 1981.
T-50 tank
The T-50 was a light tank developed on the eve of World War II for the Red Army. The experience of the Spanish Civil War led to an effort to upgrade or replace the large Soviet tank fleet. Prior to 1939, most tanks in Red Army service were improved versions of foreign designs. For example, the most numerous tank, the T-26 light infantry tank, was a copy of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank with a Soviet-designed turret and 45 mm gun. However, just prior to and during the war, the USSR developed new light, medium and heavy tanks of wholly indigenous design. The T-50 light tank was intended to replace the T-26 infantry tank; in prewar planning, the T-50 was intended to become the most numerous Soviet tank, operating alongside the BT fast tank.
Uralmash-1
To address these deficiencies, UZTM designer N.V. Kurin had developed a number of preliminary designs of new self-propelled guns, using the chassis of different contemporary Soviet tanks, both with crew compartment in the front and in the back. In October 1944 the bureau offered five projects to the technical review board of the Commissariat of Heavy Industry for further examination:The technical review board recognized the SU-100-M-2 and the SU-122-44, both based off the new T-44 medium tank, as the most promising ones, and by order of directive № 625 to the tank industry, dated October 26, 1944 to the plant of UZTM, ordered the finalization of the design, distribution of the technical drawings and preparation of one prototype each.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The Soviets purchased some U.S. Christie M1930 tank prototypes, from which they developed the BT series of fast tanks. They also developed the heavier multi-turreted T-28 medium tank and the massive T-35 (also multi-turreted), which followed the design premise of the experimental Vickers A1E1 Independent produced by Vickers for the British but not adopted. The T-28 was also greatly influenced by the A1E1 Independent. The Kirov Factory in Leningrad began manufacturing the T-28 tank in 1932. The T-28 tank was officially approved on August 11, 1933. The T-28 had one large turret with a 76.2 mm gun and two smaller turrets with 7.62 mm machine guns. A total of 503 T-28 tanks were manufactured over a period of eight years from 1933 to 1941. The Soviets also built a variant of the Carden Loyd tankette, bought under license from the United Kingdom in 1930, as a reconnaissance vehicle.
T-54/T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945. Initial production ramp up settled for 1947 at Nizhny Tagil, and 1948 for Kharkiv were halted and curtailed as many problems were uncovered; the T-34-85 still accounted for 88 percent of production through the 1950s. The T-54 eventually became the main tank for armoured units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and many others. T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts since the later part of the 20th century.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-28 was a three-turreted medium tank first manufactured in 1932. A total of 502 T-28 tanks were made 1933–1941. Combat experience in the Winter War led to an upgrade with appliqué armor. The up-armored T-28e tanks were used to break through the Finnish Mannerheim Line, ending the Winter War in 1940. Most of the 400 remaining T-28 tanks were lost during the German invasion in 1941. The design was not particularly successful in combat, but the building and designing of it gave the Soviet heavy industry important experience in manufacturing medium tanks. The failure of this multi-turreted tank guided the switch to the more successful, single-turret T-34 medium tank.
German encounter of Soviet T-34 and KV tanks
By 22 June 1941, the Red Army deployed almost 1,000 T-34 and over 500 KV tanks, concentrated in five of their twenty-nine mechanized corps. By the end of December 1941, they had lost 2,300 T-34 and over 900 KV tanks, accounting for 15% of the 20,500 tanks lost that year.
At the beginning of Operation "Barbarossa", the Germans were expecting little from their opponent's tank forces, which were composed of the old T-26 and BTs. While most of the Soviet Union's armoured forces were composed of such tanks, the T-34 and the KV designs, which were previously unknown, took the Germans by surprise. Both types were encountered on the second day of the invasion – 23 June 1941.
T-64
Even as the first T-64s were rolling off the assembly lines, the design team was working on a new version, named object 434, which would allow it to maintain firepower superiority. The brand new and very powerful 125 mm D-81T gun, from the Perm weapons factory, was fitted to the tank. This gun was merely a scaled-up version of the 115 mm smoothbore cannon from the T-62. The larger size of the 125 mm ammunition meant that less could be carried inside the T-64, and with a fourth crewman loader taking up space as well, the tank would only have a 25-round capacity. This was unacceptably low for the Soviet designers, but strict dimensional parameters forbade them from enlarging the tank to increase interior space. The solution was to replace the human loader with a mechanical autoloader, cutting the crew to three and marking the first use of autoloaders in a Soviet MBT. The 6ETs10 autoloader has 28 rounds and can fire 8 shots per minute; the stabiliser, a 2E23, was coupled to the new TPD-2-1 (1G15-1) sight. Night driving was also adapted with the new TPN-1-43A periscope, which would benefit from the illumination of a powerful infrared L2G projector, fitted on the left side of the gun. The shielding was improved, with fibreglass replacing the aluminium alloy in the armour, and small spring-mounted plates fitted along the mudguards (known as the "Gill" skirt), to cover the top of the suspension and the side tanks. They were, however, extremely fragile and were often removed. Some small storage spaces were created along the turret, with a compartment on the right and three boxes on the front left. Snorkels were mounted on the rear of the turret. A NBC protection system was fitted and the hatches were widened.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The tanks were intended for use for reconnaissance and infantry support. As a scout tank the T-38 had the advantages of very low silhouette and good mobility, due to its ability to swim. The T-38 was also intended to be air-portable; during the Kiev maneuvers in 1936, the tanks were transported by Tupolev TB-3 bombers, mounted under the fuselage. Infantry battalions were each issued 38 T-38s, with 50 being designated for each airborne armored battalions. However, the thin armor and single machine gun armament made the tank of only limited use in combat while the lack of radios in most T-38s was a serious limitation in a recon vehicle. The T-38's limitations were recognized, and it would have been replaced by the T-40, but the outbreak of the Second World War meant that only a few T-40s were produced.
T-54/T-55
The Soviet T-34 medium tank of the 1940s is considered to have the best balance of firepower (F-34 tank gun 76.2 mm gun), protection and mobility for its cost of any tank of its time in the world. Its development never stopped throughout the Second World War and it continued to perform well; however, the designers could not incorporate the latest technologies or major developments as vital tank production could not be interrupted during wartime.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
After World War I, many nations needed to have tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design and build them. During and after World War I, Britain and France were the intellectual leaders in tank design, with other countries generally following and adopting their designs. This early lead would be gradually lost during the course of the 1930s to the Soviet Union who with Germany began to design and build their own tanks. The Treaty of Versailles had severely limited Germany's industrial output. Therefore, in order to circumvent Germany's treaty restrictions, these industrial firms formed a partnership with the Soviet Union to legally produce weapons and sell them, and along with other factors built up an infrastructure to produce tanks which later made the famous T-34 and other Soviet tanks.
T-34
In 1943, the Soviets formed Polish and Czechoslovak armies-in-exile, and these started to receive the T-34 Model 1943 with a hexagonal turret. Like the Soviet forces themselves, the Polish and Czechoslovak tank crews were sent into action quickly with little training, and suffered high casualties. The Czechoslovak crews of T-34 saw their first action in the Battle of Kiev in November 1943. The battalion forces consisting of ten T-34, ten T-70 and ten BA-64 quickly captured the city center and destroyed 4 enemy tanks, 2 tank destroyers and 7 other armoured vehicles with the own losses of only three T-34s light damaged. For his performance the commander of the tank unit, Josef Buršík, received the golden star Hero of the USSR.
T-44
The T-44 had a typical tank layout: the driving compartment at the front, the fighting compartment in the middle and the engine compartment in the rear. The original intention was to retain the high mobility and speed of a T-34 and to provide the T-44 with heavier armour protection against large-caliber tank guns. This was accomplished by adding thicker armour but reducing the internal volume of the hull. The T-44 had a lower profile than the T-34, and was potentially simpler to manufacture. Although the T-44 used many components of the T-34, it had a new hull, and a modified model V-2 diesel engine, suspension and transmission.
T-62
In July 1961, Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine and Omsk Factory No. 183 replaced part of their T-55 production with the T-62. The original plans were that the T-62 would be produced until Morozov's Ob'yekt 432 tank was developed. T-62 production was maintained at Uralvagonzavod until 1973 when it was replaced on the production lines by the T-72. Until the end of production 20,000 T-62 main battle tanks were produced by Uralvagonzavod. Production in the Soviet Union was stopped in 1975.
T-34
The T-34-85 gave the Red Army a tank with better armour and mobility than the German Panzer IV tank and StuG III assault gun. While it could not match the armour or weapons of the heavier Panther and Tiger tanks, its improved firepower made it much more effective than earlier models, and overall it was more cost-effective than the heaviest German tanks. In comparison with the T-34-85 program, the Germans instead chose an upgrade path based on the introduction of completely new, expensive, heavier, and more complex tanks, greatly slowing the growth of their tank production and aiding the Soviets in maintaining a substantial numerical superiority in tanks. By May 1944, T-34-85 production had reached 1,200 tanks per month. In the entire war, production figures for all Panther types reached no more than 6,557, and for all Tiger types (including the Tiger I and Tiger II) 2,027. Production figures for the T-34-85 alone reached 22,559.
Tiger II
On the Eastern Front, it was first used on 12 August 1944 by the 501st Heavy Panzer Battalion (s.H.Pz.Abt. 501) resisting the Lvov–Sandomierz Offensive. It attacked the Soviet bridgehead over the Vistula River near Baranów Sandomierski. On the road to Oględów, three Tiger IIs were destroyed in an ambush by a few T-34-85s. Because these German tanks suffered ammunition explosions, which caused many crew fatalities, main gun rounds were no longer allowed to be stowed within the turret, reducing capacity to 68. Up to fourteen Tiger IIs of the 501st were destroyed or captured in the area between 11 and 14 August to ambushes and flank attacks by both Soviet T-34-85 and IS-2 tanks, and ISU-122 assault guns in inconvenient sandy terrain. The capture of three operational Tiger IIs allowed the Soviets to conduct tests at Kubinka and to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses
On 15 October 1944, Tiger IIs of 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion played a crucial role during "Operation Panzerfaust", supporting Otto Skorzeny's troops in taking the Hungarian capital of Budapest, which ensured that the country remained with the Axis until the end of the war. The 503rd then took part in the Battle of Debrecen. The 503rd remained in the Hungarian theater of operations for 166 days, during which it accounted for at least 121 Soviet tanks, 244 anti-tank guns and artillery pieces, five aircraft and a train. This was set against the loss of 25 Tiger IIs; ten were knocked out by Soviet troops and burned out, two were sent back to Vienna for a factory overhaul, while thirteen were blown up by their crews for various reasons, usually to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. Kurt Knispel, the highest scoring tank ace of all time (162 enemy AFVs destroyed), also served with the 503rd, and was killed in action on 29 April 1945 in his Tiger II.
Yugoslav Ground Forces
The ground forces were infantry, armour, artillery, and air defence, as well as signal, engineering and chemical defence corps.Yugoslav tank brigades comprised two or three battalions each with 31 tanks in three ten tank companies. They operated 1114 Soviet T-54s and T-55s, 73 Soviet T-72s, 443 Yugoslav M-84s, and some United States-made M-47 tanks. The army's tanks were in many respects its most obsolete forces. The T-54/-55 was a frontline model during the 1960s. Domestic production of the M-84 (an improved version of the Soviet T-72 built under license in Yugoslavia) was providing the army with a late 1970s and 1980s model. The army also had a reserve of old T-34/85 and Sherman tanks from World War II.
T-80
The project to build the first Soviet turbine powered tank began in 1949. Its designer was A. Ch. Starostienko, who worked at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ). The tank was never built because available turbine engines were of very poor quality. In 1955, two prototype 1,000 hp (746 kW) turbine engines were built at the same plant under the guidance of G. A. Ogloblin. Two years later a team led by the famous heavy tank designer Josef Kotin constructed two prototypes of the Ob'yekt 278 tank. Both were hybrids of the IS-7 and the T-10 heavy tanks, powered by the GTD-1 turbine engine, weighing 53.5 tonnes and armed with the M65 130 mm tank gun. The turbine engine allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed of , however with only 1,950 liters of fuel on board, range was . The two tanks were considered experimental vehicles and work on them eventually ceased. In 1963, the Morozov Design Bureau designed the T-64 and T-64T tanks. They used GTD-3TL turbine engines which generated 700 hp (522 kW). The tank was tested until 1965. At the same time, at Uralvagonzavod, a design team under the guidance of L. N. Kartsev created the Ob'yekt 167T tank. It used the GTD-3T turbine engine which supplied 801 hp (597 kW).
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-35 was a Soviet multi-turreted heavy tank of the interwar period and early Second World War in limited production and service with the Red Army. It was the only five-turreted heavy tank in the world to reach production but proved to be slow and mechanically unreliable. Most of the T-35 tanks still operational at the time of Operation Barbarossa were lost due to mechanical failure rather than enemy action.
T-40
Amphibious capability was important to the Red Army, as evidenced by the production of over 1,500 amphibious tanks in the 1930s. The T-40 was intended to replace the aging T-37 and T-38 tank light amphibians. It was a superior design, but due to the pressures of war the Soviets favored the production of simpler tank designs, so only a small number of T-40s were built.
M3 Lee
With almost 1,500 of their own T-34 tanks being built every month, Soviet use of the M3 medium tank declined soon after mid-1943. Soviet troops still fielded their Lee/Grant tanks on secondary and quieter/less-action fronts, such as in the Arctic region during the Red Army's Petsamo–Kirkenes Offensive against German forces in Norway in October of 1944, where the then-obsolete US tanks faced mainly captured French tanks used by the Germans, such as the SOMUA S35, which to a limited extent was somewhat comparable to the Lee/Grant it fought against.
Renault FT
The Soviet Red Army captured 14 burnt-out Renaults from White Russian forces and rebuilt them at the Krasnoye Sormovo Factory in 1920. Nearly 15 exact copies, called "Russki Renoe", were produced in 1920–1922, but they were never used in battle because of many technical problems. In 1928–1931, the first completely Soviet-designed tank was the T-18, a derivative of the Renault with sprung suspension.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The tank was first created in 1932, based on the British Vickers tankette and other operational amphibious tanks. The tank was mass-produced starting in 1933 up until 1936, when it was replaced with the more modern T-38, based on the T-37A. Overall, after four years of production, 2552 T-37A's were produced, including the original prototypes.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
A tank design bureau was established at the Kharkov Locomotive Factory (KhPZ) in Kharkiv, Soviet Ukraine, in 1928. The first tank project of the factory was the T-12 (or T-1-12). This was a larger version of the T-18, with a more powerful engine. It seemed to have been done in parallel to the T-19 light tank which was also based on the FT. The project was re-designated T-24, work was completed fixing problems with the transmission and fuel system, and a larger turret was designed. Initial trials were conducted, during which performance was found satisfactory, although the prototype's engine caught fire, and the turret had to be transferred to a T-12 prototype for further testing. Only a total of twenty-four were built during 1931. The T-24s were originally armed only with machine guns, until the 45 mm guns were installed in the following year.
T-54/T-55
Poland produced 3,000 T-54, T-54A, T-54AD and T-54AM tanks between 1956 and 1964 and 7,000 T-55 (between 1964 and 1968), T-55L, T-55AD-1 and T-55AD-2 tanks (between 1968 and 1979).
T-34
While these factories were being rapidly moved, the industrial complex surrounding the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory in Stalingrad continued to work double shifts throughout the period of withdrawal (September 1941 to September 1942) to make up for production lost, and produced 40% of all T-34s during the period. As the factory became surrounded by heavy fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, the situation there grew desperate: manufacturing innovations were necessitated by material shortages, and stories persist of unpainted T-34 tanks driven out of the factory directly to the battlefields around it. Stalingrad kept up production until September 1942.
T-72
Because of the time-consuming construction of the 5TDF engines, which took about twice as long as the contemporary V-45, the Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv could not provide a sufficient number of 5TDF engines for all Soviet tank factories. This led to efforts at Uralvagonzavod to design a version of the T-64 with the cheaper and much more reliable V-45 engine of 780 hp. This model was only to be serially produced in the event of a war, a so-called "mobilization model".
T-64
T-64B/B1/BK/B1K
According to David Isby, the T-64 entered service in 1967 with the 41st Guards Tank Division in the Kiev Military District, the suggestion being that this was prudent due to the proximity of the division to the factory, and significant teething problems during induction into service that required constant presence of factory support personnel with the division during acceptance and initial crew and service personnel training on the new type. It appears that the tank remained secret to the West for some years between its entry into production in the first half of 1960s and the official acceptance in the Soviet Army in 1967.
T-34
The T-34 was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout the Second World War. Its design allowed it to be continuously refined to meet the constantly evolving needs of the Eastern Front: as the war went on it became more capable, but also quicker and cheaper to produce. Soviet industry would eventually produce over 80,000 T-34s of all variants, allowing steadily greater numbers to be fielded as the war progressed despite the loss of tens of thousands in combat against the German Wehrmacht. Replacing many light and medium tanks in Red Army service, it was the most-produced tank of the war, as well as the second most produced tank of all time (after its successor, the T-54/55 series). At 44,900 losses during the war, it also suffered the most tank losses of all time. Its development led directly to the T-54 and T-55 series of tanks, which in turn evolved into the later T-62, T-72, and T-90 that form the armoured core of many modern armies. T-34 variants were widely exported after World War II, and in 2010 the tank remained in limited front-line service with several developing countries.
Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112
During the Russian Civil War of 1918-1920, the Nizhny Novgorod Machine Factory built armored trains, armored carriages, and weapons for the vessels of the Volga Military Flotilla. In 1920, the factory remanufactured fourteen burnt-out French Renault FT tanks for the Red Army, the "Russkiy Renos", and assembled a single new copy, named 'Freedom Fighter Lenin'. In 1922, the factory changed its name by appending the adjective "Krasnoye" (Red) to it. During the German-Soviet War of 1941-1945, the Krasnoye Sormovo Factory produced T-34 medium tanks. The turret for the upgunned T-34-85 was designed here by V. Kerichev in 1943 (Zaloga 1984:166).
Panther tank
In May 1946, Romania received 13 Panther tanks from the USSR. They were initially used by the 1st Armoured Brigade, but in 1947 the equipment was ceded to the Soviet-organized "Tudor Vladimirescu Division", which was transformed from a volunteer infantry division into an armoured one. The Panther tank was officially known as T-V (T-5) in the army inventory. These tanks were in poor condition and remained in service until about 1950, by which time the Romanian Army had received T-34-85 tanks. All of the tanks were scrapped by 1954. The tanks were different models: Ausf A, Ausf D, and Ausf G. They were shown to the public in 1948, during the 1 May parade in Bucharest, painted with Romanian markings. Until 1950, the T-V (T-5) was the heaviest tank available to the Romanian Army.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union had also built some of the best amphibious tanks as amphibious capability was important to the Red Army, as evidenced by the production of over 1,500 amphibious tanks in the 1930s. It built the T-37 and T-38 tank light amphibians and then the T-40 which was intended to replace them. The T-40 was a superior design, armed with a 12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun, a much more potent weapon than the 7.62 mm DT machine gun mounted on the T-38. But due to the pressures of war, the Soviets favoured the production of simpler tank designs, and only a small number of T-40s were built.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-64 design was further developed as the gas turbine-powered T-80 main battle tank. The turret of the T-64B would be used in the improved T-80U and T-80UD, and an advanced version of its diesel engine would power T-80UD and T-84 tanks built in Ukraine.
SU-122-44
The SU-122-44 was a Soviet self-propelled gun (SPG) prototype. The classification "44" stands for the T-44 tank chassis, which this SPG utilized. It was designed in early 1944 with a D-25-44S gun, with its fighting compartment situated at the front of the hull. The front had a sloped armor plate, with an inclination of 27 degrees. The side armor plating was thick, and the rear was thick. The design was found to be too heavy and too large for its intended use. Its competitor, the SU-100-M-2, proved a superior design, and on 7 March 1945 all work on the SU-122-44 was terminated.
Tanks in World War II
At the beginning of German invasion of the USSR most of the Soviet Union's tank forces were composed of the T-26 tank series and BT. A few T-40s had appeared, along with about 1,363 mechanically unreliable early T-34 tanks, and 677 KV-1 and KV-2s. Many early T-34s were captured or destroyed. Much of this early failure was due to lack of coordination, ill-supplied and ill-trained tank crews, mechanical issues and the lack of readiness of the Red Army in general. Another difficulty for the T-34 was that it had only a four-man crew, with the tank commander doubling as the gunner. Although spared from loading duties, unlike French tank commanders, it still crippled the tank commander's ability to maintain awareness of the battlefield while firing the tank's main gun, giving a tactical advantage to German armour.
In 1941 great numbers of T-60s appeared, supplemented in 1942 with the similar T-70. Both light tanks had torsion-bar suspension, light armour, and small truck engines. Their simple construction kept them in production even though their combat value was limited. The T-60 had only a 20 mm gun while the T-70 had a 45 mm. However, both had one-man turrets, making them difficult to crew effectively. The T-70 formed the basis for the much more important self-propelled gun SU-76 later in the war.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The T-24 was found unreliable, and was used only for training and parades. Although the T-24 tank was a failure, it gave the KhPZ its initial tank design and production experience, which was applied much more successfully in adopting production of modified U.S. Christie tanks as the BT tank series, starting in 1931.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
On the eve of World War II, the Red Army had around 8,500 T-26s of all variants. The T-26 was a slow-moving infantry tank, originally designed to keep pace with soldiers on the ground. The BT tanks were cavalry tanks, fast-moving light tanks designed to fight other tanks but not infantry. Both were thinly armoured, proof against small arms but not anti-tank rifles and 37 mm anti-tank guns, and their gasoline-fuelled engines (commonly used in tank designs throughout the world in those days) were liable to burst into flames "at the slightest provocation." (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:111) Development of various tank designs to find a replacement was begun, such as the T-50 light tank which was intended to replace the T-26 infantry tank. In prewar planning, the T-50 was intended to become the most numerous Soviet tank, operating alongside the BT fast tank. The sophisticated T-50 was developed keeping in mind the experience gained in the Winter War and Soviet tests of the German Panzer III tank. But because of technical problems, only a total of 69 T-50 tanks were built (only 48 of them armed), and the much simpler T-60 light tanks replaced it. In the meantime, a replacement for the BT fast tanks was being designed which would develop into the very capable and economical T-34 medium tank.
T-64
In June 1992, 18 Russian-manned T-64BV tanks from the Odessa Military District's 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division were taken over by the Transnistrian Army, fighting in the Transnistria War. Two T-64s were disabled during by Moldovan Ground Forces troops near Bender during Russian counterattacks, one of which was knocked out by an MT-12 100mm anti-tank gun. These actions were the first combat use of the tank.
BT tank
The BT tanks (, lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") were a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had the best mobility of all contemporary tanks. The BT tanks were known by the nickname "Betka" from the acronym, or its diminutive "Betushka". The successor of the BT tanks would be the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which would replace all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks, and medium tanks in service.
T-54/T-55
In 1943, the Morozov Design Bureau resurrected the pre-war T-34M development project and created the T-44 tank. Thanks to a space-efficient torsion-bar suspension, a novel transverse engine mount, and the removal of the hull machine-gunner's crew position, the T-44 had cross country performance at least as good as the T-34, but with substantially superior armour and a much more powerful 85 mm gun.
T-72 operators and variants
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1971. It replaced the T-54/55 series as the workhorse of Soviet tank forces (while the T-64 and T-80 served as the Soviet high-technology tanks). In front-line Russian service, T-72s are being upgraded or augmented by the T-90 (itself, a modernized version of the T-72B). The T-72 has been exported and produced in many countries.The T-72 was designed and first built in the Soviet Union.By the late 1970s, Indian Army HQ had decided to acquire new-generation replacements for its UK-origin fleet of Royal Ordnance Factories-built Centurion and Vijayanta MBTs, which are based on the licensed production of the Vickers MBT, and consequently, paper evaluations concerning the firepower and mobility characteristics of the two principal contenders being offered for full in-country production—AMX-40 developed by GIAT Industries of France, and the Chieftain 800 (which later evolved into the Challenger 1 from Royal Ordnance Factories (then owned by British Aerospace PLC)—were conducted by the Indian Army. Between these two contenders, the Army had by early 1980 zeroed in on the 43-tonne AMX-40 MBT, which was still on the drawing boards and was meant to be powered by a 1,100 hp Poyaud V12X 12-cylinder diesel engine coupled with a LSG-3000 automatic power shift transmission built by RENK Aktiengesellschaft of Germany (offering a power-to-weight ratio of 25.6 hp/tonne, and armed with a 120 mm smoothbore cannon. However, AMX-40 has only marginal protection by the standards of 1980's. After coming back to power, the Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi requested additional evaluation, including MBTs from the USSR, following which the Soviet Union's Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations (which after 1991 morphed into Oboronexport, then Rosoboronservice and ultimately Rosoboronexport State Corp) made a formal offer to India's Ministry of Defence (MoD) for supplying the 37-tonne T-72M Ob'yekt 172M-E4 MBT off-the-shelf, and according an approval for licensed-production of the 41.5-tonne T-72M-1982 Ob'yekt 172M-E6 to the MoD-owned Heavy Vehicles Factory (HVF) in Avadi. By early 1981, two T-72Ms—powered by a 780 hp diesel engine, armed with 125 mm 2A46M smoothbore gun and offering a power-to-weight ratio of 20 hp/tonne, were subjected to an exhaustive series of in-country firepower and mobility trials by the Army. After review of trial results, T-72M and T-72-1982 (powered by a Model V-84MS four-stroke 12-cylinder multi-fuel engine developing 840 hp and offering a power-to-weight ratio of 18.8 hp/tone) were selected as Army's future MBTs, and a procurement contract for 2,418 T-72s was subsequently inked.
T-54/T-55
T-54-1 production was slow at first, as only 3 vehicles were built in 1946 and 22 in 1947. 285 T-54-1 tanks were built in 1948 by Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod); by then it had completely replaced T-44 production at Uralvagonzavod, and Kharkiv Diesel Factory No. 75 (KhPZ). Production was stopped because of a low level of production quality and frequent breakdowns. The T-54-2 entered production in 1949 at Uralvagonzavod, which produced 423 tanks by the end of 1950. It replaced the T-34 in production at the Omsk Factory No. 183 in 1950. In 1951, over 800 T-54-2 tanks were produced. The T-54-2 remained in production until 1952. The T-54A was produced between 1955 and 1957. The T-54B was produced between 1957 and April 1959. The T-55 was produced by Uralvagonzavod between 1958 and 1962. The T-55K command tank was produced from 1959. The TO-55 ("Ob'yekt" 482) flamethrower tank was produced until 1962.
T-54/T-55
The serial production version, designated T-54-1, differed from the second T-54 prototype. It had thicker hull armour (80 mm on the sides, 30 mm on the roof and 20 mm on the bottom). As production ramped up, quality problems emerged. Production was stopped and an improved T-54-2 ("Ob'yekt" 137R) version was designed. Several changes were made and a new turret was fitted. The new dome-shaped turret with flat sides was inspired by the turret from the IS-3 heavy tank; it is similar to the later T-54 turret but with a distinctive overhang at the rear. It also had a shorter bustle. The fender machine guns were removed in favour of a single bow-mounted machine gun. The transmission was modernized and the track was widened to 580 mm. The T-54-2 entered production in 1949, at Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod). In 1951, a second modernization was made, designated T-54-3 ("Ob'yekt" 137Sh), which had a new turret without side undercuts, as well as the new TSh-2-22 telescopic gunner's sight instead of the TSh-20. The tank featured the TDA smoke generating system. A command version was built, the T-54K ("komandirskiy"), with a second R-113 radio.
Uralmash-1
The Uralmash-1 (Уралмаш-1) was a Soviet prototype self-propelled gun developed during World War II. It was a turretless, tracked armoured fighting vehicle designed by the Yekaterinburg-based Uralmash design bureau (UZTM) between autumn 1944 and spring 1945. It used the chassis of the T-44 medium tank and was intended to replace the SU-100 which itself had only entered service with the Red Army in late 1944. Two prototypes of the Uralmash-1 with different armament were built in early 1945, one with the 100 mm D-10 tank gun, the other with the 122 mm D-25S tank gun. While mass production was initially recommended, the end of the war with Germany in May 1945 eventually caused the project to be cancelled due to lack of necessity. If the Uralmash-1 had entered service, the 100 mm variant would have been designated SU-101 (СУ-101) while the 122 mm variant would have been designated SU-102 (СУ-102), in accordance with Soviet military nomenclature, where the "SU"-label stood for Samokhodnaya Ustanovka, or self-propelled gun.
T-84
The T-84 is a Ukrainian main battle tank (MBT), a development of the Soviet T-80 main battle tank introduced in 1976. The T-84 was first built in 1994 and entered service in the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 1999. The T-84 is based on the diesel-engined T-80 version, the T-80UD. Its high-performance opposed-piston engine makes it one of the fastest MBTs in the world, with a power-to-weight ratio of about 26 horsepower per tonne (19 kW/t). The T-84 Oplot is an advanced version incorporating an armoured ammunition compartment in a new turret bustle; ten of these entered Ukrainian service in 2001. The T-84-120 Yatagan is a prototype model intended for export, mounting a 120 mm gun capable of firing standard NATO ammunition and guided missiles.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
The Yugoslavs upgraded the T-72 in the new and more advanced M-84, and sold hundreds of them around the world during the 1980s. The Iraqis called theirs the Lion of Babylon ("Asad Babil"), though the Iraqis assembled theirs from "spare parts" sold to them by the Russians as a means of evading the UN-imposed weapons embargo. More modern derivatives include the Polish PT-91 "Twardy" and Russian T-90. Several countries, including Russia and Ukraine, also offer modernization packages for older T-72s.
T-34
In 1937, the Red Army had assigned engineer Mikhail Koshkin to lead a new team to design a replacement for the BT tanks at the Kharkov Komintern Locomotive Plant (KhPZ). The prototype tank, designated A-20, was specified with of armour, a 45 mm (1.77 in) gun, and the new Model V-2-34 engine, using less-flammable diesel fuel in a V12 configuration designed by Konstantin Chelpan. It also had an 8×6-wheel convertible drive similar to the BT tank's 8×2, which allowed it to run on wheels without caterpillar tracks. This feature had greatly saved on maintenance and repair of the unreliable tank tracks of the early 1930s, and allowed tanks to exceed on roads, but gave no advantage in combat and its complexity made it difficult to maintain. By 1937–38, track design had improved and the designers considered it a waste of space, weight, and maintenance resources, despite the road speed advantage. The A-20 also incorporated previous research (BT-IS and BT-SW-2 projects) into sloped armour: its all-round sloped armour plates were more likely to deflect rounds than perpendicular armour.
Tanks in the Soviet Union
A revolutionary feature of the T-64 is the incorporation of an automatic loader for its 115 mm gun, allowing a crewmember's position to be omitted, and helping to keep the size and weight of the tank down. Tank troopers would joke that the designers had finally caught up with their unofficial hymn, "Three Tankers"—the song had been written to commemorate the crewmen fighting in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol, in 3-man BT-5 tanks in 1939.
T-34
Soviet designers were aware of design deficiencies in the tank, but most of the desired remedies would have slowed tank production and so were not implemented: the only changes allowed on the production lines through to 1944 were those to make production simpler and cheaper. New methods were developed for automated welding and hardening the armour plate, including innovations by Prof. Evgeny Paton. The design of the 76.2 mm F-34 gun Model 1941 was reduced from an initial 861 parts to 614. The initial narrow, cramped turrets, both the cast one and the one welded of rolled armour plates bent to shape, were since 1942 gradually replaced with the somewhat less cramped hexagonal one; as it was mostly cast with only a few, simple flat armour plates welded in (roof etc.), this turret was actually faster to produce. Limited rubber supplies led to the adoption of all-steel, internally sprung road wheels, and a new clutch was added to an improved five-speed transmission and engine, improving reliability.
Panther tank
After much development work, the first T-34-85 tanks entered combat in March 1944. The production version of the T-34's new 85 mm gun had to be aimed at the Panther's turret front and mantlet to penetrate, while the Panther's main gun could penetrate the T-34's glacis from at 30 degrees. Although the T-34-85 tank was not quite the equal of the Panther in the anti-tank role, it was much better than the 76.2 mm-armed versions and made up for it with proven reliability, more effective fragmentation shells, and production in greater quantities. New tank destroyers based on the T-34 hull, such as the SU-85 and SU-100, were also developed. A Wa Pruef 1 report dated 5 October 1944 estimated that when set at a 30-degree angle the T-34-85's upper glacis could be penetrated by the Panther's 7.5 cm KwK 42 from , the mantlet from and the turret front from while the T-34-85's 85 mm ZiS-S-53 could penetrate the Panther's frontal turret from . From the side, the two were equivalent as both tanks could penetrate the other from ranges over , further than any practical engagement distance.
The Battle of Kursk convinced the Soviets of the need for even greater firepower. A Soviet analysis of the battle in August 1943 showed that a Corps artillery piece, the A-19 122 mm gun, had done well against the German armoured fighting vehicles in that battle, and so development work on the 122 mm equipped IS-2 began in late 1943. First encounters with enemy tanks revealed that the 122 mm BR-471 shell could punch through the Panther's frontal armour at a range of . The early results of the IS-2's combat employment, which were confirmed by firing tests in Kubinka 1944, compelled the designers to seek innovative solutions. According to German tactical instructions, a Panther had to close to to guarantee penetration of the IS-2's frontal armour, while the IS-2 could penetrate the Panther at ranges of .
T-44
Even with its innovative technology and better armor protection, the T-44A still used an 85 mm ZiS-S-53 tank gun, the same as the one fitted on the T-34-85 medium tank. The army needed a new tank armed with a more powerful 100 mm gun. At the end of 1944 the designers had three types of 100 mm guns at their disposal which could considerably increase the firepower of the tank. These included the D-10 (which already proved itself in combat as it was used in SU-100 tank destroyer) as well as prototype ZiS-100 and LB-1 (LB stands for Lavrenty Beria). The T-44 tank armed with the 100 mm tank gun originally received the designation T-44B. Two projects were started, both based on the T-44A. The development of the first one started in October 1944 at the design bureau of the Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183, located in Nizhny Tagil. The designing stage was completed in December. The prototype was ready in February 1945. The trials conducted between March and April gave positive results and the vehicle entered service with the Red Army as T-54. The tank had almost the same hull and drive train as the T-44A. Differences included thickened front armour (120 mm on the upper section and 90 mm on the lower section) and a different hatch and vision slot for the driver. The turret had increased diameter to 1800 mm. There was thicker armour (180 mm on the front, between 90 mm and 150 mm on the sides and 30 mm on the roof). The armament included the 100 mm D-10TK tank gun as well as two 7.62 mm GWT machine guns. The tank was powered by a new V-54 12-cylinder 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel engine developing 520 hp (388 kW) at 2,000 rpm. The fuel capacity was increased (530 liters in the internal fuel tank and 165 liters in the external fuel tank). The external fuel tanks were connected to the fuel system. The rubber rollers on the roadwheels were widened. The weight was increased to 35.5 tonnes, which reduced the maximal road speed to 43.5 km/h. The maximal road operational range increased to 360 km. Because of positive results seen in trials, it was decided to modernize the tank before starting production (for more details about it see the T-54/55 article) as well as to put the new tank's turret onto two modified serial T-44A tanks. This was done in 1945 and the two prototype tanks received the designation T-44-100. One of the prototypes was armed with a D-10TK tank gun while the other one was armed with a LB-1 tank gun. Like the second generation T-44-85 prototypes, the two T-44-100 prototypes had differences between each other. One prototype had a splashboard on the glacis plate while the other did not. They both had the 12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun fitted to the loader's hatch, 6 mm thick anti-HEAT sideskirts protecting the sides and two cylindrical fuel tanks in the back which increased the fuel capacity to 1035 liters. These cylindrical fuel tanks were later used on Soviet main battle tanks as additional fuel tanks. Further development of the T-44 was canceled and all the attention was directed towards the development of a new T-54 main battle tank.
T-44
After the cloak of secrecy was lifted in the 1960s, when the tank was already becoming obsolete, it was used in the war movies: "Father of a Soldier", "Liberation", "Battle of Moscow", "Red Cherry", "The Star", and "Downfall". In the first, it was used to portray a T-34. In "Liberation", "Red Cherry", "The Star", and "Downfall" it was visually modified with additional plates to resemble the Tiger I heavy tank. Some T-44 and T-34 tanks were visually modified to represent German Panzerkampfwagen IVs. They were made for Soviet era film studios and were used in a number of movies about battles on the Eastern Front. They were also used during a 2004 re-enactment of the Battle of Moscow. Some T-44As were given to military museums including one in Brest in today's Belarus, and one in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, Poklonnaya Hill Victory Park. One of two T-44-100 prototypes is in the Kubinka Tank Museum near Moscow.
Timeline of Russian innovation
1945 "T-54/55 tank"