Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Though nearly obsolete by the beginning of World War II

Though nearly obsolete by the beginning of World War II, the T-26 was the most important tank of the Spanish Civil War and played a significant role during the Battle of Lake Khasan in 1938 as well as in the Winter War. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ37N/G Battery
The T-26 was the most numerous tank in the Red Army's armoured force during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941.[79] Combat experience with the T-26 showed the Soviet military that, even though the T-26's gun could defeat the armor of opposing tanks it met in battle, Sony VAIO VGN-TZ37N/P Battery
its armor was too thin and the gun caliber was too small as it often encountered entrenched anti-tank guns demanding a larger caliber that could fire a larger high explosive shell. The Soviet T-26 light tanks were last used in August 1945, in Manchuria.[80] Sony VAIO VGN-TZ37N/R Battery
The T-26 was reliable and simple to maintain, and its design was continually modernised between 1931 and 1941. However, no new models of the T-26 were developed after 1940.
The BT tanks were a series of cavalry tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ37N/X Battery
They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had the best mobility of all contemporary tanks of the world. They outclassed their Japanese opponents in the Soviet–Japanese border conflicts (1938-1939) but thousands were lost during the German invasion in 1941 and was rare after 1942. It was further developed to, and replaced by the T-34. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ38N/X Battery
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. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ398U/XC Battery
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. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ50B Battery
The failure of this multi-turreted tank guided the switch to the more successful, single-turret T-34 medium tank.
The T-34 was a medium tank produced from 1940 to 1958. Although its armour and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, Sony VAIO VGN-TZ90HS Battery
it has been often credited as the most effective, efficient and influential design of World War II.[81] First produced at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout World War II, Sony VAIO VGN-TZ90NS Battery
and widely exported afterward. It was the most-produced tank of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55 series.[82] In 1996, the T-34 was still in service in at least twenty-seven countries. Sony VAIO VGN-TZ90S Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPC CW2MFX/PU Battery
Most of the T-35 tanks still operational at the time of Operation Barbarossa were lost due to mechanical failure rather than enemy action.
Outwardly it was large but internally the spaces were cramped with the fighting compartments separated from each other. Sony VAIO VPC S11V9E/B Battery
Some of the turrets obscured the entrance hatches. The failure of the T-35 and other multi-turreted tanks in the Winter War (1939-1940) led to the development of the more successful Kliment Voroshilov heavy tank (single turret).
The T-37A was light amphibious tank. Sony VAIO VPCB119GJ/B Battery
The tank is often referred to as the T-37, although that designation was used by a different tank which never left the prototype stage.[citation needed] The T-37A was the first series of mass-produced fully amphibious tanks in the world.[citation needed]
The tank was first created in 1932, based on the British Vickers tankette and other operational amphibious tanks. Sony VAIO VPCB11AGJ Battery
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.[citation needed] Sony VAIO VPCB11AVJ Battery
In the Red Army, they were used to perform tasks in communication, reconnaissance, and as defense units on the march, as well as active infantry support on the battlefield. The T-37A were used in large numbers during the Soviet invasion of Poland and in the Winter War against Finland. Sony VAIO VPCB11V9E Battery
The T-37A was also used by the Soviets in the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, but most of them were quickly lost. Surviving tanks of that type fought on the front lines until 1944, and were used in training and auxiliary defense until the end of World War II. Sony VAIO VPCB11X9E Battery
he T-38 amphibious scout tank was a light amphibious tank that was used in World War II.The T-38 was a development of the earlier T-37, based in turn on the French AMR 33 light reconnaissance tank. The tank was powered by a standard GAZ (Ford) engine and was cheap to produce. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/P Battery
Buoyancy was achieved by the large-volume hull and large fenders. In water, the vehicle was propelled by a small three-bladed propeller mounted at the rear.
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, Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/R Battery
due to its ability to swim. The T-38 was also intended to be air-portable; during the Kievmaneuvers 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. Sony VAIO VPCCW18FJ/W Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCCW19FJ/W Battery
Around 1,500 T-38s were built, illustrating the importance of amphibious scout tanks to the Red Army. Some were up-gunned with a 20 mm ShVAK cannon, and designated the T-38RT.
The T-40 amphibious scout tank was a light amphibious tank used by the Soviet Union during World War II. Sony VAIO VPCCW1AFJ Battery
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, Sony VAIO VPCCW1AHJ Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E Battery
The T-50 light infantry tank was built by the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War II. Development of the T-50 started as the SP project (Soprovzhdeniya Pekhoty, ‘Infantry Support’) in 1939. The design bureau was gutted during the Great Purge, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/B Battery
and was unable to continue the project, so it was transferred to the K.E. Voroshilov Factory Number 174 in May 1940. Troyanov completed the T-50 design in January 1941 and production was authorized, but due to technical problems, it was unable to proceed. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/L Battery
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. Furthermore, even before it was ready for mass-production wartime experience invalidated the underlying concept of light tanks. Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/P Battery
The T-60 scout tank was a light tank produced by the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1942. In this time over 6,292 were built. The tank was designed to replace the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank.
Although at first intended to carry a 12.7 mm machine gun like the T-40, Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/R Battery
the armament was later upgraded to the 20 mm TNSh cannon, a tank version of the ShVAK, on the advisement of the People's Commissar for Tanks Industry, Vyacheslav Malyshev. This weapon could penetrate 15 mm of perpendicular armour Sony VAIO VPCCW1S1E/W Battery
at 500 m range which proved inadequate against the newer uparmored German tank designs thus attempts were made in 1942 to re-arm the T-60 with the 37 mm ZIS-19 cannon but were abandoned due to the Soviet Union's shortage of 37 mm ammunition. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/B Battery
The T-60 was also used in the design of the experimental T-90 antiaircraft tank. This project switched to the T-70 light tank, and was finally cancelled without any production.The T-70 light tank was used by the Red Army during World War II, replacing both the T-60 scout tank for reconnaissance and the T-50 light infantry tank for infantry support. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/L Battery
The T-80 light tank was a more advanced version of the T-70 with a two-man turret—it was only produced in very small numbers when light tank production was abandoned. The T-90 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was a prototype vehicle with twin machine guns, based on the T-70 chassis. Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/R Battery
The T-70 was armed with a 45 mm L/46 gun Model 38 with forty-five rounds carried, and a coaxial 7.62-mm DT machine gun. The tank was operated by a driver and a commander who loaded and fired the gun. Armour thickness on the turret front was 60 mm, hull front and sides: Sony VAIO VPCCW21FX/W Battery
45 mm, rear and turret sides: 35 mm, roof and bottom: 10 mm.
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. Sony VAIO VPCCW26EC Battery
Production ended in October 1943, with 8,226 vehicles completed.
The Kliment Voroshilov (KV) tanks were a series of heavy tanks that had extremely heavy armour protection during the early part of World War II, especially during the first year of the German invasion. Sony VAIO VPCCW26FX/B Battery
Although it was heavily armoured, larger guns and thicker armour introduced by the enemy made it less effective over time. The series was discontinued as it could not be upgraded with better guns or heavier armour but served as a basis for the later Iosif Stalin heavy tank. Sony VAIO VPCCW28EC Battery
The Iosif Stalin tank (or IS tank, named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin) was a heavy tank developed by the Soviet Union during World War II. The tanks in the series are also sometimes called JS or ИС tanks.
The heavy tank was designed with thick armour to counter the German 88 mm guns, Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/P Battery
and carried a main gun that was capable of defeating the German Tiger and Panther tanks. It was mainly a breakthrough tank, firing a heavy high-explosive shell that was useful against entrenchments and bunkers. The IS-2 was put into service in April 1944, Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/R Battery
and was used as a spearhead in theBattle of Berlin by the Red Army in the final stage of the war.
The T-10 (also known as Obyekt 730) was a Soviet heavy tank of the Cold War, the final development of the KV and IS tank series. Sony VAIO VPCCW28FJ/W Battery
It was accepted into production in 1952 as the IS-10 (Iosif Stalin, Russian form of Joseph Stalin), but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin's death in 1953, it was renamed T-10.
The biggest differences from its direct ancestor, the IS-3, were a longer hull, Sony VAIO VPCCW29FJ/W Battery
seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition. Sony VAIO VPCCW2AFJ Battery
T-10s (like the IS tanks they replaced) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies, and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions. These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized units, to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs. Sony VAIO VPCCW2AHJ Battery
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, Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E Battery
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-54/55 tanks were replaced by the T-62, T-72, T-64 and T-80 in the Soviet and Russian Armies, but many remain in use by up to 50 other armies worldwide, some having received sophisticated retrofitting. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/B Battery
Soviet tanks never directly faced their NATO Cold War adversaries in Europe. However, the T-54/55's first appearance in the west in 1960 spurred the United States to develop the M60. The T-54 did fight in Vietnam where it was outperformed by theM48A3 Patton and even the M41 Walker Bulldog. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/L Battery
It also fought in the Arab-Israeli wars where it was outperformed by theCenturion, M48 Patton, M60 Patton and even upgraded M4 Shermans.[83]
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. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/P Battery
The PT-76 is a Soviet light amphibious tank which was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exported to other friendly states, like India, Iraq, North Korea and North Vietnam. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/R Battery
Overall, some 25 countries used the PT-76.
The tank's full name is Floating Tank–76 (Russian: Плавающий Танк, Plavayushchiy Tank, or ПТ-76). 76 stands for the caliber of the main armament: the 76.2 mm D-56T series rifled tank gun. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S1E/W Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCCW2S5C CN1 Battery
The PT-76 is used in the reconnaissance and fire-support roles. Its chassis served as the basis for a number of other vehicle designs, many of them amphibious, including the BTR-50 armored personnel carrier, the ZSU-23-4 self-propelled antiaircraft gun, the ASU-85 airborne self-propelled gun and the 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile launch vehicle. Sony VAIO VPCF112FX/B Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCF115FG/B Battery
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) Sony VAIO VPCF116FGBI Battery
Like the T-54 and T-55, the T-62 has an unditching beam mounted at the rear of the hull. The tank can be fitted with a thin snorkel for operational usage and a large diameter snorkel for training. The thin snorkel can be disassembled and carried in the back of the turret when not used. Sony VAIO VPCF117FJ/W Battery
The commander's cupola is located on the left of the top of the turret. The loader has a single piece hatch located on the right side of the turret and further back than the commander's cupola. The loader's hatch has a periscope vision block that can be used to view ahead and behind the vehicle. Sony VAIO VPCF117HG/BI Battery
The commander's copula has four periscopes, two of which are located in the hatch cover while the other two are located in the forward part of the cupola. The driver has a single piece hatch located on the left front of the vehicle, directly in front of the left side of the turret.[84] Sony VAIO VPCF118FJ/W Battery
The tank uses the same sights and vision devices as the T-55 except for the gunner, who received a new TSh-2B-41 sight which has x4 or x7 magnification. It is mounted coaxially with an optic rangefinder.[85][86]
The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC Battery
It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be manufactured in the Soviet Union and elsewhere after T-62 production was halted. The T-54/55 and T-62 were later replaced in front-line service by the T-64 andT-72. Sony VAIO VPCF119FC/BI Battery
The T-62 fought in the Yom-Kippur war where it was outperformed by the Centurion, M48 Patton and M60 Patton. It even proved vulnerable to the M51 Super Sherman, an upgraded variant of the M4 Sherman of World War II.
The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the early 1960s. Sony VAIO VPCF119FJ/BI Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCF11AFJ Battery
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, Sony VAIO VPCF11AGJ Battery
"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.[87]
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. Sony VAIO VPCF11AHJ Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCF11JFX/B Battery
The T-72 is a Soviet-designed main battle tank that entered production in 1970. It is a further development of the T-62[88]with some features of the T-64A (to which it was a parallel design) and has been further developed as the T-90. Chronologically, Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E Battery
and in design terms, it belongs to the same generation of tanks as the US M60[89] series, German Leopard 1, and British Chieftain tank.
The T-72 was the most common tank used by the Soviet Army from the 1970s to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Sony VAIO VPCF11M1E/H Battery
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.
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. Sony VAIO VPCF11MFX/B Battery
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. Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E Battery
Several countries, including Russia and Ukraine, also offer modernization packages for older T-72s.
The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union. A development of the T-64, Sony VAIO VPCF11S1E/B Battery
it entered service in 1976 and was the first production tank to be equipped with a gas turbine engine for main propulsion (theStridsvagn 103 only used a supplementary gas turbine by 1971). 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. Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E Battery
The T-80 and its variants are in service inBelarus, Cyprus, Kazakhstan,[90] Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, and Ukraine. The chief designer of the T-80 was the Russian engineer Nikolay Popov.[91]
The main gun is fed by the Korzina automatic loader. Sony VAIO VPCF11Z1E/BI Battery
This holds up to 28 rounds of two-part ammunition in a carousel located under the turret floor.[92] Additional ammunition is stored within the turret. The ammunition comprises the projectile (APFSDS, HEAT or HE-Frag) plus the propellant charge, or the two part missile.[92] Sony VAIO VPCF11ZHJ Battery
The autoloader is an effective, reliable, combat tested system which has been in use since the mid-1960s. The propellant charge is held inside a semi-combustible cartridge case made of a highly flammable material - this is consumed in the breech during firing, except for a small metal baseplate.[92] Sony VAIO VPCF127HGBI Battery
The T-80s main gun has a range relatively longer than that of western tanks; it is capable of engaging targets at a range of 5,000 m.
A disadvantage highlighted during combat in Chechnya was the vulnerability of the T-80BV to catastrophic explosion.[92] Sony VAIO VPCF137HG/BI Battery
The reason given by US and Russian experts is the vulnerability of stored semi-combustible propellant charges and missiles when contacted by the molten metal jet from the penetration of a HEAT warhead, causing the entire ammunition load to explode.[92] Sony VAIO VPCS111FM/S Battery
This vulnerability may be addressed in later models. When Western tank designs changed from non-combustible propellant cartridges to semi-combustible, they tended to separate ammunition stowage from the crew compartment with armoured blast doors, and provided 'blow-out' panels to redirect the force and fire of exploding ammunition away from the crew compartment. Sony VAIO VPCS115EC Battery
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 theRussian 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, Sony VAIO VPCS115FG Battery
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[93] Sony VAIO VPCS117GG Battery
 and the Shtora infrared ATGM jamming system. It is designed and built by Uralvagonzavod, in Nizhny Tagil, Russia.
The T-90 with an 840 hp (630 kW) engine went into low-level production in 1993, based on a prototype designated T-88. Sony VAIO VPCS117GGB Battery
It features a new generation of Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor on its hull and turret. Of conventional layout, the T-90 represents a major upgrade to every system in the T-72, including the main gun.[94] The T-90S have been identified as export model. Sony VAIO VPCS118EC Battery
The references to a T-90E appear to be unsubstantiated.[94] The T-90 is fitted with a "three-tiered" protection system: the first tier is the composite armour in the turret, second tier is third generation Kontakt-5 ERA and third tier is a Shtora-1 countermeasures suite. Sony VAIO VPCS119FJ/B Battery,Sony VAIO VPCS119GC Battery,Sony VAIO VPCS11AFJ Battery

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