The previous article looked at German tanks in the interwar period. The Soviet Union did not have its own school of tank building, during the First World War in Russia there were only exotic experiments by Lebedenko and Porokhovshchikov to create a tank, which did not lead to anything. Russia also did not have its own school of automotive and engine building, as in the USA, France and Germany. Therefore, the development of tanks had to start from scratch and, first of all, by studying the experience of other countries.
A case helped in this matter. During the Civil War near Odessa, the Red Army captured a batch of the best light tanks of the First World War, French Renault FT17 tanks, which were used by the Red Army for some time and took part in battles. The study and experience of operating FT17 tanks pushed the Soviet government to organize the production of their tanks. In August 1919, the Council of People's Commissars issued a decision to organize the production of tanks in Nizhny Novgorod at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant. One FT17 tank in disassembled form was sent to the factory, however, it lacked an engine and gearbox. In a short time, the documentation for the tank was developed and other factories were connected: the Izhora plant - for the supply of armor plates, the Moscow AMO plant supplied the Fiat automobile engine produced at this plant, and the Putilov plant supplied weapons.
In 1920-1921, 15 Russian Renault tanks were manufactured. They entered service with the Red Army, but did not take part in hostilities.
Light tank "Russian Renault"
The Russian Renault tank was almost completely copied from its FT17 prototype and repeated its design. In terms of layout, it was a single-turret tank with light armor weighing 7 tons and a crew of two people - the commander and the driver. The control compartment was located in the front of the tank, there was a place for the driver. Behind the control compartment there was a fighting compartment with a rotating turret, where the commander-gunner was located, standing or sitting on a canvas loop. The engine compartment was in the rear of the tank.
The design of the tank hull was riveted and was assembled from rolled armor plates on the frame with rivets, the tower was also riveted, while the frontal plates of the hull and turret had large angles of inclination. On the roof of the tower there was an armored dome for observing the terrain. The tank provided a fairly good view through the viewing slots in the hull and turret. The tank had bulletproof protection, the armor thickness of the turret was 22mm, the front and sides of the hull were 16mm, the bottom and roof were (6, 5-8) mm.
The engine "AMO" with a capacity of 33.5 hp, developed on the basis of the automobile engine "Fiat", providing a speed of 8.5 km / h and a power reserve of 60 km, was used as a power plant.
The armament of the tank was in two versions, cannon or machine-gun. The turret was equipped with a short-barreled 37 mm Hotchkiss L / 21 cannon (Puteau SA-18) or an 8mm Hotchkiss machine gun. The gun was guided vertically with the help of a shoulder rest; horizontally, the turret was rotated with the help of the commander's muscular strength. On some later models, a twin cannon and machine gun were installed in the turret.
The tank's undercarriage was "semi-rigid" and did not fundamentally differ from the FT17 undercarriage and on each side contained 9 twin small-diameter road wheels with internal flanges, 6 double support rollers, a front idler wheel and a rear drive wheel. The road wheels were interlocked in four bogies, the bogies were connected in pairs by means of a hinge to the balancers, which, in turn, were pivotally suspended from semi-elliptical steel springs. The ends of the springs were suspended from a longitudinal beam attached to the side of the tank hull. This entire structure was covered with armor plates.
In general, the Russian Renault tank, being a copy of the French FT17, was a completely modern machine at that time and was not inferior to the prototype in its characteristics, and even surpassed it in maximum speed. This tank was in service until 1930.
Light tank T-18 or MS-1
In 1924, the military command decided to develop a new Soviet tank, the Russian Renault tank was considered sedentary and weakly armed. In 1925-1927, the development of the first serial Soviet light tank MS-1 ("Small escort") or T-18 was carried out for escorting and fire support of the infantry. The tank was based on the ideas of the French FT17, the production of the tank was entrusted to the Leningrad plant "Bolshevik".
In 1927, a prototype of the tank was made, which received the T-16 index. Outwardly, it looked like the same FT17, but it was a different tank. The engine was located across the hull, the length of the tank was reduced, there was a fundamentally different suspension, and the "tail" remained at the stern to overcome obstacles. According to the test results, the tank was modified and a second sample with the T-18 index was made, which confirmed the specified characteristics. In 1928, the serial production of the T-18 tank began.
According to the layout, the T-18 had a classic scheme with the location of the control compartment in the frontal part of the hull, behind it a fighting compartment with a rotating turret and in the stern the engine compartment. The armament was located in the tower, on the roof of the tower there was a commander's cupola for observation and a hatch for the crew to land. The weight of the tank was 5, 3 tons, the crew was two people.
The hull of the tank was riveted and assembled on a frame of rolled armor plates. The armor protection of the tank was from small arms, the thickness of the armor of the turret, the forehead and sides of the hull was 16 mm, the roof and bottom were 8 mm.
The armament of the tank consisted of a short-barreled 37-mm Hotchkiss L / 20 cannon and a double-barreled 6, 5-mm Fedorov machine gun in a ball mount, since 1929 another 7, 62-mm Degtyarev machine gun was installed. To aim the weapon in a vertical plane, as on the French FT17, a shoulder rest was used, the turret was rotated horizontally due to the muscular strength of the commander.
The air-cooled Mikulin 35 hp engine was used as a power plant, providing a speed of 16 km / h on the highway and 6.5 km / h on rough terrain and a cruising range of 100 km. The engine was later upgraded to 40 hp. and provided a highway speed of 22 km / h.
The undercarriage of the T-18 on each side consisted of a front idler, a rear drive wheel, seven rubberized double track rollers of small diameter and three rubberized double carrier rollers with leaf springs. Six rear road wheels were interlocked by two on balancers suspended on vertical coil springs covered with protective covers. The front road roller was mounted on a separate arm connected to the front suspension bogie and was cushioned by a separate inclined spring.
The T-18 tank for its time turned out to be quite mobile and capable of supporting the infantry and cavalry in the offensive, but it was capable of overcoming the prepared anti-tank defense of the enemy.
During production in 1928 -1931, 957 vehicles entered the troops. In 1938-1939 it was modernized, a 45mm cannon was installed and the weight of the tank increased to 7.25 tons. Until the second half of the thirties, the T-18 formed the basis of the armored forces of the Soviet Union, after which it was supplanted by the BT and T-26 tanks.
Light tank T-19
In 1929, it was decided to develop a new, more powerful T-19 tank to replace the T-18. In a short time, the tank was developed and prototypes were made in 1931.
The tank was of a classic layout with a crew of three and weighing 8.05 tons. In terms of its main characteristics, it did not fundamentally differ from the T-18. The design of the tank was riveted, the armor protection was the same as that of the T-18, the turret, the front and sides of the hull were 16 mm thick, the roof and bottom were 8 mm. The armament consisted of a 37-mm Hotchkiss L / 20 cannon and two 7.62-mm Degtyarev DT-29 machine guns, one of which was installed in the tank hull in a ball joint.
An attempt was made to install a 100 hp Mikulin engine providing a speed of 27 km / h, but it was not developed in time.
The undercarriage of the T-19 was borrowed from the French tank Renault NC-27 and consisted of 12 small-diameter road wheels with vertical spring suspension, interlocked in three bogies, 4 support rollers, a front drive and a rear idler wheel.
The T-19 tank had a lot of new design solutions that overly complicated its design. The "tail" was removed from the tank, instead it could overcome wide ditches by "coupling" two tanks using truss structures. There was an attempt to make the tank floating with the help of propellers or attached floating craft (inflatable or frame floats), but this was not fully realized.
The tank tests carried out in 1931-1932 showed its low reliability and excessive technical complexity, while the tank turned out to be very expensive. The project of the T-19 tank was inferior to the British six-ton Vickers two-turret tanks purchased in 1930, on the basis of which the Soviet T-26 light tank was developed and put into mass production in 1931. The main focus was on the development and implementation of the T-26 light tank.
Wedge T-27
The T-27 tankette was developed on the basis of the British Carden-Loyd Mk. IV tankette under a license acquired in 1930. The wedge was a lightly armored vehicle with machine-gun armament, which was entrusted with the tasks of reconnaissance and escorting infantry on the battlefield.
The T-27 was a classic reckless tankette. In the front part of the hull there was a transmission, in the middle part of the engine and in the stern a crew consisting of 2 people (a driver-mechanic and a machine-gunner commander). The driver was located in the hull on the left, and the commander was on the right. On the roof of the hull there were two hatches for boarding the crew.
The design was riveted, bulletproof armor, the thickness of the armor of the forehead and sides of the hull was 10 mm, the roof was 6 mm, and the bottom was 4 mm. The weight of the wedge was 2, 7 tons.
The armament consisted of a 7.62 mm DT machine gun located in the front flap of the hull.
A Ford-AA (GAZ-AA) 40 hp engine was used as a power plant. with. and a transmission borrowed from a Ford-AA / GAZ-AA truck. The speed of the tankette on the highway is 40 km / h, the cruising range is 120 km.
The undercarriage had a semi-rigid interlocked suspension, consisting of six double road wheels interlocked in pairs in bogies with shock absorption from leaf springs.
By the beginning of World War II, the army had 2,343 T-27 tankettes, dispersed across various military districts and military units.
Light amphibious tank T-37A
The T-37A light amphibious tank was developed in 1932 on the basis of the layout diagram of the British Vickers-Carden-Lloyd light amphibious tank, the batch of which was acquired by the Soviet Union in England in 1932, and the developments of Soviet designers on the experienced T-37 amphibious tanks and T-41. The tank was entrusted with the tasks of communication, reconnaissance and combat protection of units on the march, as well as direct support of the infantry on the battlefield.
The tank was mass-produced in 1933-1936 and was replaced by the more advanced T-38, developed on the basis of the T-37A. A total of 2,566 T-37A tanks were manufactured.
The tank had a layout similar to the British prototype, the control compartment, combined with the combat and engine, was in the middle of the tank, the transmission in the bow. The stern housed cooling systems, a fuel tank and a propeller drive. The tank's crew consisted of two people: the driver, who was on the left side of the control compartment, and the commander, who was in the turret shifted to the starboard side. The weight of the tank was 3.2 tons.
The T-37A's armor was bulletproof. The hull of the tank was box-shaped and assembled on a frame of armor plates using rivets and welding. A cylindrical turret similar in design to the hull was located on the right half of the control compartment. The turret was rotated manually using handles welded inside. For the landing of the crew, there were hatches in the roof of the tower and wheelhouse, the driver also had an inspection hatch in the frontal part of the wheelhouse.
The armament of the tank consisted of a 7.62 mm DT machine gun mounted in a ball mount in the frontal plate of the turret.
The GAZ-AA engine with a capacity of 40 liters was used as a power plant. with. For movement on water, there was a two-blade reversible propeller. Turning the tank on the water was carried out using the rudder feather. The speed of the tank is 40 km / h on the highway, 6 km / h afloat.
The undercarriage of the T-37A on each side consisted of four single rubberized road wheels, three rubberized carrier rollers, a front drive wheel and a rubberized sloth. The suspension of the road wheels was interlocked in pairs according to the "scissors" scheme: each road wheel was installed at one end of the triangular balancer, the other end of which was hinged to the tank body, and the third was connected in pairs by a spring to the second balancer of the bogie.
The T-37A tank in the early and mid-1930s was practically the only serial amphibious tank, abroad work in this direction was limited only to the creation of prototypes. Further development of the amphibious tank concept led to the creation of the T-40 tank.
Light amphibious tank T-38
The T-38 amphibious tank was developed in 1936 and was essentially a modification of the T-37A tank. The tank was mass-produced from 1936 to 1939; a total of 1,340 tanks were produced.
The layout of the T-38 remained the same, but the tower was located on the left half of the hull, and the driver's workplace was on the right. The tank had a similar hull shape to the T-37A, but became much wider and lower. The turret was borrowed from the T-37A without significant changes. The transmission and suspension bogies have also been revised. The weight of the tank increased to 3.3 tons.
Among the lineup of Soviet tanks of the late 1930s, the T-38 was one of the least efficient vehicles. The vehicle had weak armament and armor, even by the standards of that time, unsatisfactory seaworthiness, which cast doubt on the possibility of its use in amphibious and amphibious operations. Due to the lack of radio stations, most T-38s did not cope well with the role of a reconnaissance tank, given their poor off-road passability.
Light amphibious tank T-40
The T-40 light amphibious tank was developed in 1939 and entered service in the same year. Serially produced until December 1941. A total of 960 tanks were produced.
The tank was developed taking into account the elimination of the shortcomings of the T-38 amphibious tank. The ways of improving the tank were the creation of a comfortable hull shape adapted for movement afloat, increasing the firepower and protection of the tank, improving the working conditions of the crew.
The layout of the tank changed somewhat, the transmission compartment was in the forward part of the hull, the control was distant in the center in the front of the hull, in the middle of the tank on the right was the engine compartment on the right and the fighting compartment with a conical round turret on the left; Unlike the T-38, the driver and commander were housed together in one manned compartment.
For the landing of the driver, a hinged hatch was located on the roof of the turret armor plate, and for the commander, there was a semicircular hinged hatch in the turret roof. For the convenience of the mechanic - the driver, when driving afloat, a folding flap was installed in the frontal part of the hull.
The body of the tank was welded from rolled armor plates, some of which were bolted. The armor protection of the tank was bulletproof, the thickness of the armor of the turret and the forehead of the hull (15-20) mm, the sides of the hull (13-15) mm, the roof and bottom of 5mm. The weight of the tank was 5.5 tons.
The armament of the tank was located in the turret and consisted of a 12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun and a 7.62 mm DT machine gun paired with it. A small batch of T-40 tanks were equipped with a 20mm ShVAK-T cannon.
As a power plant, the GAZ-11 engine with a capacity of 85 hp was used, providing a speed of 44 km / h on the highway and 6 km / h afloat. The water propulsion unit included a propeller in a hydrodynamic niche and navigable rudders.
In the chassis of the T-40, an individual torsion bar suspension was used. On each side, it consisted of 4 single-sided road rollers of small diameter with rubber tires, 3 supporting single-sided rollers with external shock absorption, a drive wheel in front and a sloth in the back.
The light tank T-40 completed the generation of Soviet amphibious tanks of the pre-war period, in terms of their characteristics they were at the level of foreign models. In total, 7209 samples of T-27 tankettes and T-37A, T-38 and T-40 amphibious tanks were produced before the war. They could not prove themselves for their intended purpose, since in the initial period of the war they were often used to support the attacking infantry and most of the tanks were simply abandoned or destroyed.
The T-40 amphibious tank became the prototype of the T-60 light tank, which was mass-produced already during the war.
