Sherman Infantry

I previously presented an instruction manual regarding how many infantrymen got to ride on one tank. In it, the Soviets only fit 6 men on a Sherman. Seems like the Americans came to the same conclusions.

Improved Gearbox

"To comrade V.M. Molotov

On the timeline of producing improved T-34 components at the Kirov factory

In connection with the increased production of T-34 tanks and start of their production at the Kirov factory, it is necessary to make decisions regarding starting production with improved components (5-speed gearbox, improved idler, turret with a commander's cupola) before the deadline given by GOKO decree #1879ss (June 5th, 1942).

The most complicated of these components, the gearbox, went through 1700 km trials in June flawlessly in addition to 2000 km of trials last year.

100 mm Tank Gun, First Attempt

"To the director of the Kirov factory, Leningrad, in response to letter #838s sent on January 31st, 1941

CC: GAU UVNA Military Representative at the Kirov factory

NKTM Military Department Chief

March 13th, 1941

Having examined these projects developed at the Kirov factory under its own initiative:

• 412-1V, 100 mm tank gun, and
• 412-2V, 107 mm tank gun

the GAU UVNA has come to the conclusion that:

1. Both guns are equivalent and modern, both in their ballistics and armour penetration.
2. Out of the two presented variants, the 412-1V is not recommended for production, because:

Anti-Tiger Manual

I posted a brief manual on dealing with Tiger tanks in my post on anti-tank manuals, but here is an extended version.

"The most vulnerable and easily damaged places of a German T-VI tank and methods of combat against it."

The left side of this sheet of the pamphlet is from the back of the book, where the methods of knocking out the tank are illustrated. "Hit the wheels with an anti-tank grenade, and the tank will stop!"

E-50 and E-75: A Story of Failed Unification

Tanks that could have been built are often discussed within certain circles. Aside from the superheavy Maus and E-100, there are the light and medium E-10 and E-25 tank destroyers. Despite very incomplete data about these vehicles, the overall characteristics are known, including the armament.

Meanwhile, the core of "Panzerwaffe-46" was going to be composed of the medium E-50 tank and heavy E-75 tank, at least in the minds of fans of alternative history. The story with these tanks is a lot more complicated, since work stopped at an early stage, and a good half of the information available on these tanks is divination at best. Let's try to figure out what about the E-50 and E-75 is true and what is blatant misrepresentation.

Hummel: Bee with a Long Stinger

German engineers invented the "self propelled gun mount" class of artillery. The first work in this area was done during WWI, but it truly became a mass event 25 years after it ended. The recipe was simple: take a light or medium tank and use its parts to to build a chassis with bulletproof armour. A slightly modified version of a towed gun was installed on that chassis. Thanks to this phenomenon, the mobility of German artillery grew significantly. The Hummel became the post powerful of German "self propelled gun mounts". This SPG earned its position as one of the symbols of German self propelled artillery.

Zhukov and Minefields

There's a very common myth about Zhukov prevalent in popular culture, both Russian and Western, about his unparalleled cruelty and disregard for human life. Historian Aleksey Isayev read a radio lecture dispelling common myths about the commander. I'm not going to transcribe the whole thing, since it's over an hour and a half long, but I will tackle one particularly prevalent myth: the allegation that Zhukov marched his men to their death over minefields. Isayev discusses the myth at 1:33:05.

"There's a very famous story, allegedly coming from Eisenhower, about how if Soviet infantry encountered a minefield, it would advance as though there was no minefield there. This is a retelling over a broken telephone. In reality, Zhukov insisted that regular ordinary infantry should undergo sapper training, because simple mine disarmament, removal of simple minefields, can be performed by a person who has certain combat experience, and the implementation of this in ordinary rifle units, so they would not be stalled in front of minefields waiting for sappers and deal with minefields that they could handle by themselves, moving forward, and not remain in place, vulnerable to artillery attack."

Repair Bill

"Preliminary calculations of capital repairs of the A-34 vehicle

Proposed replacement of mechanisms:

• V-2 engine: 72,386
• Electric motors (set): 2610
• Radiators: 2013
• Tires: 10,000
• Ball bearings: 3325
• Gearbox: 12,000
• Main friction clutch: 5000
• Final drives: 4740
• Tracks: 6612
• Normalizing parts: 1128
• Tarp parts: 1275
• Felt parts: 664
• Rubber parts: 933
• Liner: 100
• Total cost: 122,786

Valentine Improvement

"To the Chief Engineer of TsAKB and TsAKB Chief, Lieutenant-General of the Technical Forces, comrade Grabin

April 18th, 1944

Valentine tanks armed with a 40 mm gun continue arriving from England in the USSR.

The penetration of this gun is low and, as experience shows, it cannot fight against modern German tanks in battle. In addition, the ammunition used with the 40 mm gun does not include a high explosive shell, making these tanks ineffective against infantry.

I ask you to determine the possibility of designing and producing an experimental Valentine tank with an 85 mm S-53 gun.

It is necessary to include a 7.62 mm machinegun with 360 degree range to combat enemy personnel.

GBTU USA Chief, Major-General of the Engineering Tank Service, Alymov."

CAMD RF 38-11369-284

Kirov Experiments, June 1941

"Report on completion of experimental works on armoured vehicles from May 20th, 1941, to June 20th, 1941

Object 220 (KV-3 base)

As of June 20th, the tank traveled 1979 km in total, 584 km after reassembly. The 850 hp V-2SN engine #2(1193-03) installed on May 30th worked for 27 h. 21 m. During trials, the following defects were discovered:

1. 3 sets of exhaust collectors burned up over the course of 284 km.
2. 4 final drive ferodo ribbons burned up. Cause: improper installation and adjustment.

As of June 12th, the existing defects are: