KV-1 Transmission Upgrade

"Transmission for the KV tank with a preselector gearbox

Variant 1

The main clutch, gearbox, both final drives, brakes, and the lines to these components are removed. Instead, two identical Wilson type gearboxes with preselectors are installed symmetrically in the transmission compartment on each side (photo #2).

Photo #2. Transmission diagram, variant 1.

M4A2(76)W: Emcha With a Long Hand

The Americans considered improving the firepower of the Medium Tank M4 back in September of 1941. A year later, experiments with installing the 76 mm T1 gun into the stock turret commenced. Even though the gun fit, the military was unsatisfied with this rearmament. A decision was made to equip the M4 with the turret from the Medium Tank T23, which did not enter production. This was not hard, since the turret ring diameter was the same.

Shortly before that, the M4 (known in the USSR under the nickname "Emcha") was equipped with wet ammunition racks. These modernized tanks, whose name received the suffix (76)W, went into production in January of 1944. Among them was the M4A2(76)W, the production of which began in May of 1944. The USSR received these tanks under the Lend Lease program.

M4A2(76)W Shipment

"ACT

October 5th, 1944

Baku

We, the undersigned, Senior Assistant to the Chief of the GBTU TU Military Acceptance Department, Engineer-Captain comrade A.M. Davydov, and Technical Deputy to the Commander of the 27th Independent Training Tank Regiment, Engineer-Captain comrade Dudin, compose this act to state that the former had delivered and that the second had accepted tanks that arrived on the "Darma" on October 4th, 1944, and the "Neftedag" on October 2nd, 1944.

M24 Chaffee: Test Drive at the End of Lend Lease

Starting in the second half of 1943, the approach to sending British and American Lend Lease armoured vehicles to the USSR changed. Instead of immediate large scale shipments, the Western Allies sent a few samples of new vehicles. If the tank or SPG was satisfactory for the Soviet side, full scale shipments followed.

The first vehicle to arrive on this trial basis was the Light Tank M5A1. By that point, production of light tanks in the USSR was wrapping up, so the American novelty never made it into service. Nevertheless, the USSR received another foreign light tank. This was the Light Tank M24, the best American light tank of WWII.

Dinger Tank

"USSR NKO

BTU HQ of the Voronezh Front

Reconnaissance Dept.

May 3rd, 1943

To the divisional HQ chief

Operational department only

Through POW interrogation, it was established that:

The German army is receiving a new "Dinger" tank. The mass is 65 tons, armament is one 100 mm cannon and two M-42 machineguns. The armour thickness (front and engine compartment) is 90 mm. The crew consists of 6 men.

This type of tank is being built in Austria, at a tank factory in Proll. Mass production began in the fall of 1942.

In addition, infantry units received a new type of anti-tank grenade. The grenade carries three magnets on the front of a round plate. The grenade is used as follows: a tank hunter attaches the grenade to the tank and pulls out the cord (the grenade is held on the tank with magnets), after which the grenade explodes.

Inform your subordinate forces of this kind of tank and anti-tank grenade, make it a priority to clarify data on the type of tank and anti-tank grenade.

Chief of the Armoured and Motorized Department of the Voronezh Front, Lieutenant-Colonel Sch[illegible]enko."

Via Andrei Ulanov

Lend Lease Truck Requirements

"People's Commissariat of External Trade, Technical and Industrial Imports
To comrade Pritvorov

When ordering trucks, keep in mind the following technical requirements that GABTU has for foreign vehicles:

1. From the total, 70% must be two axle 4x4, 20% two axle 2x4, and 10% three axle 4x6. The cargo capacity must be 2.5-3 tons. One or two brands.
2. All vehicles must be equipped with tools and spare parts, and have special Ground Grip type tires.

Tanker Rations

"Report

On the supplies of Guards tank units, attached to the 64th Army by order of the Member of the State Committee of Defense of the USSR, comrade Malenkov,

As of March 6th, 1943, in days:

New Heavy Tanks, 1943

"To the Chief of the GBTU TU 6th Department, Regional Engineer at the Kirov Factory

July 5th, 1943

I report on the experimental work performed at factory #100 during June of 1943.

The most attention was paid to Objects 237 (experimental IS tank) and 239 (KV-1S tank with an IS tank turret and 85 mm gun).

SG-122: Assault Gun on a Foreign Chassis

Work on SPGs, especially heavy ones, stopped in the USSR after the start of the Great Patriotic War. This was largely caused by the fact that the factories were busy with other orders. In addition, many factories were evacuated eastward. Only light SPGs were put into production at the start of the war, and these were largely improvised.

Meanwhile, due to the number of factories that switched from making artillery tractors to tanks, the artillery branch was forced to revisit SPGs towards the end of 1941. Experience gained in battle and a number of other factors meant that the new generation of SPGs that was built in 1942 was radically different from pre-war designs. This is especially true for medium SPGs, which became assault guns instead of tank destroyers. The SG-122 was one such SPG, built on the chassis of a captured German SPG.

Superheavy Trophy

The German superheavy Maus tank left a mark in the history of tank building. This was the heaviest tank in the world, developed as an assault tank, practically invincible to enemy fire. In many ways, its fate was the same as the fate of another giant, the French FCM 2C, which holds the title of the world's largest tank to this day. Like the French heavyweight, the German tank never saw combat. In both cases, the tanks were blown up by their own crews. Another similarity was that the tanks became the subject of a careful study.