Visibility

Here's a rather interesting analysis of the Tiger's commander's cupola by British tankers. It's no secret that the British weren't huge fans of German observation devices, but here is a pretty thorough list of its deficiencies, backed by a handy diagram.

Where Infantry Can't Pass

History enthusiasts are familiar with Winterketten and Ostketten track links for PzIII and PzIV tanks. The use of these track links was a necessary measure to increase mobility in the snow and on wet, soft soil. The history of these track links did not particularly attract historians, but at the very least their existence is widely known. There are photos of German tanks with these track links and they are fond in the ground on battlefields. However, nothing is known of equivalent development in the Red Army. Let us try to fill this gap.

SU-152: From Assault Gun to Tank Destroyer

Work on Soviet SPGs assigned at the plenum of the Artillery Committee held on April 14-15th reached their logical conclusion by the end of 1942. The light SPG concept turned into the SU-12, designed by factory #38's design bureau and S.A. Ginzburg (the future SU-76). The most promising medium SPG was the U-35, designed at UZTM. By the end of December, the first vehicles of the pilot batch were complete.

The heavy SPG was in a more difficult situation. The project that started as the "212" bunker buster radically changed several times. The ZIK-20 SPG was to go into production, but the process dragged on. Even a model of the casemate was not completed on time, to say nothing of the SPG itself. In the end, another vehicle was developed, the KV-14.

Podcast

Last year Tank Archives broke into a new medium, coming out in print. This year I've made another leap, this time into audio, taking part in Military History Visualized's podcast on kill claims vs actual losses. Long-time readers might find some of the content familiar, but there's plenty of fresh stuff to make it worth listening to. Keep an eye out on that channel, there will be plenty more of me to come!

HOA Nightmare

"HQ of the 12th Guards Order of the Red Banner Shepetov Tank Brigade
November 12th, 1945

Certificate 

Issued to mechanic-driver Guards Starshina Nikolai Fedorovich Agapov, to certify that he purchased with his own money the T-34-85 tank on which he fought German fascist invaders with the 12th Guards Order of the Red Banner, Order of Suvorov, Order of Kutuzov Shepetov Tank Brigade.

Chief of Staff of the 12th Guards Tank Brigade, Guards Lieutenant-Colonel Dudnev."

Minesweeper

"May 27th, 1944

To the Chief of the GBTU Tank Directorate, Major-General of the Tank Engineering Service, comrade Afonin

Report on the issue of firing from the T-34-85M tank equipped with a PT-3 mine roller

According to orders from Deputy Chief of the GBTU, Lieutenant-General of the Tank Engineering Service comrade Lebedev, the NIBT Proving Grounds installed a PT-3 mine roller on a T-34-85 tank and determined the ability of firing from the tank after the detonation of a German TM-35 mine under the roller on May 26th and 27th, 1944.

Manufacturing Difficulty

"Completion of quota at factory #200 in August of 1944

In August of 1944, the factory was instructed to produce:

• IS-2 hulls: 200
• IS-2 turrets: 200

As of September 1st, the factory delivered and QA accepted:

• IS-2 hulls: 120
• IS-2 turrets: 120

The quota for August was completed by 60%.

This significant shortfall of production is explained mainly by exceptionally poor output of the metallurgical plants that were supplying armour, as well as mass food poisoning of assembly and mechanical plant workers in the cafeteria.

Considering that the poisoning had some effect on the output of the factory, the People's Commissar of Tank Production permitted the extension of the due date for the August quota until September 5th and supply of workers from mother factories, delivered by airplane, without reducing the quota for September.

The total quota for August and five days of September is:

• IS-2 hulls: 175
• IS-2 turrets: 175

The timelines for completion of the August quota are outlined in table #1.

In September, the factory must produce:

• IS-2 hulls: 200
• IS-2 turrets: 200"

CAMD RF 38-11355-2253 p.5

Yuri Pasholok writes that the annual report accounts for 200 hulls and turrets produced in August, so presumably the shortfall was made up for in September completely.

Tiger Air Filters

"F.V.D.D. Cover Sheet to Test Bay Report No.4248

Performance Tests on Two-Stage Air Cleaner - German Tank Pz.Kw.6 (Tiger)

Origin:

The performance of a two-stage air cleaner removed from a captured German vehicle was ascertained in the course of a general investigation of enemy air cleaners.

T-70B: A Light Modernization of a Light Tank

GKO decree #1394 "On production of T-70 tanks at the Molotov Gorkiy Automotive Factory" was signed on March 6th, 1942. Work on improvement of the T-60's armament resulted in a completely new tank that used many of its predecessor's components, but was superior to it in every respect. Of course, it was not a perfect replacement for the T-50, which fell victim to production issues. Nevertheless, it was suitable for the role of a light tank. The T-70 became the second most produced light tank, after the American Light Tank M3 family. This article tells the story of the T-70B, the modernized version of the light tank.

The First Coming of the IS-2

The 122 mm U-11 gun designed in the fall-winter of 1941 was rather controversial. Its designers succeeded in their task of installing a gun with the ballistics of the M-30 in a minimally altered KV-1 turret. However, the howitzer had a low rate of fire, and its penetration characteristics were poor. As a result, the planed KV-9 batch remained on paper. Nevertheless, the GABTU did not give up on the idea of a howitzer tank. Despite opposition from the GAU, work on howitzer tanks continued in 1943.