How did tanks get into service with the armies of different countries of the world in the past? In some countries, they were invented and created independently from beginning to end. Some countries bought other people's developments, but put, for example, their own cannon. And for some countries it was enough to "peep" what a foreign tank looks like in order to build their own. And there is nothing shameful or shameful in this! Intelligence exists in order to deliver the necessary information to the country on time, and thereby save its efforts and resources!
The first version of the Vickers 16 t tank.
For example, in the USSR, this is how the three-turret T-28 tanks appeared. Circumstances arose by chance, because it could well have been completely different. And the fact is that, while in England with the commander of the army Khalepsky, the head of the engineering and design bureau for tanks S. Ginzburg once saw such a three-turret tank on the English training ground and, quite naturally, became interested and began to ask about it Englishmen. But those, referring to the fact that it should be adopted by the British army, categorically refused to discuss the tank itself, and the possibility of selling it in the USSR, besides, its price turned out to be very high. So the Vickers 16-ton tank (the most modern British tank at that time!) Did not get to the Khalepsky commission that time. However, during his second business trip to England, since we nevertheless bought a fairly large number of cars from Vickers, Ginzburg tried to "talk" everyone he could and as a result obtained a lot of valuable information, which is evident from the following his letters.
The first version of the Vickers 16 t tank. Back view.
TO THE CHAIRMAN OF STC UMM (Scientific and Technical Committee of the Department of Motorization and Mechanization - approx. V. Sh.)
As a result of my conversations with English instructors, the latter gave me the following information about a 16-ton Vickers tank:
1. The tank has already been tested and recognized as the best example of British tanks.
2. The overall dimensions of the tank are approximately equal to the dimensions of a 12-ton Vickers Mark II tank.
3. The maximum speed of movement is 35 km (as in the text - author's note.) Per hour.
4. Reservation: tower and vertical sheets of the fighting compartment 17-18 mm.
5. Armament: in the central tower - one "large" in the side front turrets - 1 machine gun. In total, one cannon and 2 machine guns.
6. Team: 2 officers / or one /, 2 gunners, 2 machine gunners, 1 driver.
7. The 180 HP air-cooled motor has an inertial starter and an electric starter (the latter is a spare). The launch is made from inside the tank. Accessibility to the motor is good.
8. Suspension on each side has 7 candles with springs. Each candle rests on one of its own rollers. The rollers are approximately six-tonne (meaning "Vickers 6-ton" - the future Soviet T-26 - author's note.)
9. Rear driving wheels.
10. Small-link caterpillar with removable screw-on spurs. Track guidance and direction is similar to a six-ton tank.
11. The central tower has an optical sight and optical observation.
12. The driver's seat in the front center provides good visibility for driving.
13. Transmission - gearbox and side clutches. The gearbox is of two types: original / patented / and normal type.
14. The radius of action is the same as that of a six-ton tank.
15. NOTE: The information was received only after the translator stated that we have already purchased this tank and are expecting to receive it.
Information was given by: an engineer mechanic-mechanic, a senior foreman and a driver who tested this machine. Information about the car is still classified.
16. APPENDIX: diagram of the plan and side view of the tank.
CONCLUSION: Joining the conclusion of the above instructors that this vehicle is the best example of British tanks, I believe that this vehicle is of maximum interest to the Red Army as the best modern type of maneuverable medium tank.
As a result, the purchase of this machine is of invaluable interest. This machine will be released to the army units in the present or in the near future and, therefore, the secrecy from it (as in the text - author's note) will be removed.
Head-to Test. groups: / GINZBURG /"
The first version of the Vickers 16 t tank. Front view.
So those are right who say: "a chatterbox is a godsend for a spy," and that another proverb is also true: "the forbidden fruit is sweet"! Indeed, by the way, the 16-ton Vickers never entered service with the British army, but the Red Army received the T-28 medium tank developed on the basis of its concept!
Top view of the tank. The hemispherical hatch covers on the machine-gun turrets and the commander's cupola "bishop's mitra" are clearly visible.
Well, the Vickers 16 t itself did not come out right away, not all of a sudden, and its fate was very indicative, just like that of Christie's tank. The Vickers company began working on it in 1926. It was understood that it would replace the Mk I and Mk II tanks, which were put into service in 1924-1925, in the troops. and showed themselves not from the best side. The task was given to the company so that its creative potential could be manifested to the maximum. The main requirements of the War Department were reduced to the following requirements: in comparison with their predecessors, to strengthen the armament on the tank, but at the same time its mass should not be more than 15.5 tons. This would make it possible to throw it across the rivers with a standard army pontoon with a carrying capacity of 16 tons.
Serial version of "Vickers 16 t" in the command tank version.
And the firm turned around: two machine-gun turrets in front, one in the back, and a cannon turret in the center were supposed to keep the entire space around the tank under heavy fire. But designated as A6, the tank was eventually rejected by the military: it did not fit into the weight limit. During the redesign of the blueprints, the number of towers was reduced to three, and in 1927, Vickers built two prototypes of the new machine, designated A6E1 and A6E2. Outwardly, they were very similar and differed only in the type of transmission. The A6E1 had an Armstrong-Siddley four-speed gearbox, and the A6E2 had a Swiss Winterthur / SLM. The engine on both tanks was the same: a 180-horsepower Armstrong-Siddley V8 carburetor engine with air cooling. The armament in the three turrets was very powerful: the large turret had a 47 mm cannon and a 7, 71 mm machine gun, and two small turrets, two 7, 71 mm machine guns in each. Sparks of machine guns doubled their rate of fire, and water radiators were armored. The tank's crew consisted of six people. The booking was, as before, clearly insufficient. Only 9 - 14 mm. The mass was 16 tons, which is why these tanks later became widely known as the 16-ton Vickers. Tests of cars at the end of 1927 at the Farnborough training ground demonstrated the good capabilities of the car, in particular, that they can reach speeds of up to 40 km / h, although their suspension, largely copied from the Mk I and Mk II tanks, remained not too bad. In 1928, the third instance of the tank, the A6EZ, was made. The number of machine guns on this machine was reduced to three (one in each turret) and a new six-speed Wilson planetary gearbox was installed. In total, six of these tanks were built, of which three were prototypes. Apparently, it was the cars of the latest issues that Ginzburg just saw, because he does not write about coaxial machine guns anywhere, but how impressive is that ?! The cannon on the tank was again the old one - a 47-mm rapid-firing QF 3 pounder, with an ammunition load of 180 rounds. For machine guns, the tank had 8,400 rounds of ammunition in belts. The armor on three production vehicles in front (the front of the hull and turret) was increased to a thickness of one inch - 25.4 mm, but still, at the beginning of the 30s, this was no longer enough. The tank was not adopted by the British army, since it turned out to be unnecessary due to its redundancy. In the colonies he had nothing to do, and the British were not going to fight on the continent at that time.
Experienced Soviet T-28, 1932.
Well, and in the USSR on the experienced T-28, at first there was also a 45-mm cannon, but then he received a 76, 2-mm gun and in this capacity he showed himself from the best side and fought with the Germans until 1942, and near Leningrad until 44th. Well, British tanks were scrapped after 1939. That is, like the Christie's tank, this "Vickers" turned out to be more useful in another country than in his own, and Ginzburg is just a fine fellow that he was able to "spy out" him in a timely manner!
