The Golden Standard

The fate of the Soviet T-29 medium tank was a complex one. The development of a 20-ton amphibious PT-1 tank began in April of 1933. First the tank was developed in two variants, later this number grew to four. The T-29-4 and T-29-5 had the highest priority. The T-29-2 was skipped. There are plenty of strange aspects such as this in the T-29's history.

Initially the T-29 was being developed in Moscow by the technical department of the Economics Directorate of the United State Political Directorate (EKU OGPU) under the direction of N.A. Astrov. N.V. Tseits also too part in the development. Like Astrov, he spent a portion of his career working from prison. Later, development moved to Leningrad, and Tseits moved after it, eventually becoming the chief designer on the T-29 project. Such a debut promised a complicated fate for the T-29.

T-44 Under Fire

The T-44 proved a tough nut to crack. Neither the Soviet 85 mm gun nor the German 8.8 cm Pak 43 could penetrate the upper front plate even from 100 meters. The lower front plate could not be penetrated by the 85 mm gun either, but the 88 mm gun managed to break it off after several hits. Despite the welding giving out, the protection was much better than that of the T-34-85, comparable to the Panther.

"Firing trials against the armoured hull resulted the complete destruction of the following welding seams: 

• Upper front plate and left side
• Lower front plate and left side
• Idler carrier and sides
• Hull roof and left side

The welding seam between the hull roof and right side was destroyed by 80%.

The overall view of the hull from the front after trials is show in figure 21.

Photo 21. Overall view of the hull from the front after trials.

CAMD RF 38-11355-2909 p.31

Gotta Go Fast

"To the Chief of the Rear and Supply Directorate of the General Staff, Major General comrade Yermolin

According to your order, I present to you the conclusions on the draft project of a tank glider developed by TsAGI engineers including comrade Yermonskiy.

The project proposes a 6 ton tank that can be towed behind an airplane as a glider. The tank accelerates on its tracks with the tank's engine power to at least 100 kph.

Stielgranate 41

"Supercaliber ammunition allowed the enemy to fire at our fortifications and strongholds at close range. Firing the subcaliber projectile is almost silent, but the sound of the explosion is equal to our 122 or 152 mm rounds. This confused our artillery reconnaissance, who expected the enemy to fire heavy artillery from long range."

T-34 and KV-1 First Intel

The T-34 and KV-1 may have been a surprise for the Germans at the start of Operation Barbarossa, but fairly good information was obtained very quickly. As early as June 23rd, 1941, the Germans inspected knocked out tanks and came up with information that may not have been extremely accurate, but was close enough for preliminary work.

Backwards Tank Destroyer

British industry was one of the first to create the concept of an SPG, but did not have much success with these vehicles in WWII. Aside from Challenger and Avenger tank destroyers and Crusader AA SPAAGs the British did not have much to offer when it came to SPGs. There were only two others that saw battle: the Bishop and Archer. The latter actually turned out quite well, despite its unusual configuration.

Reparations

"Record of payment for citizens Zimmerman, Finkler, and Gonfeldman of the city of Odessa

For restoration of health after being bruised by tanks, the corps commander issues: 600 rubles

Total: 600 (six hundred) rubles

Approved: Chief Quartermaster and Paymaster, Dukhanin"

RGVA 25880-4-80

V-2 Improvements

I've written a lot about what the reliability of the T-34 tank was, but not as much about where the army wanted it to be. I don't have as much data on the expected lifetime of engines in 1942 as I do for other years, but from documents it seems that it did not drop as some people state. The USSR did not opt to discard quality for quantity, far from it. The order issued by People's Commissar of Tank Production Malyshev on April 21st, 1942, demonstrates that the quality target was higher than ever:

Ferdinand Intel

"Captured enemy vehicles

Ferdinand SPG

Characteristics: 88 mm gun with an elongated barrel on the Tiger tank chassis, immobile armoured turret. Mass: 67-70 tons. Chassis: width 3.5 meters, length (with gun) 10 meters. Top speed: 20 kph, average speed: 10-15 kph.

Factory #183 Experiments, January-February 1941

"Report on the execution of experimental work on armoured vehicles from January 1st to February 20th, 1941

Tractor "42" on the T-34 chassis

Due date: September 1940

2x prototypes were built in November of 1940. Factory trials were supposed to complete in December 1940. A number of gearbox, tracks, winch, etc. defects were discovered during trials. Presently, the defects are being corrected, after which trials will resume.

T-34 tank modernization

The design bureau is developing a modernized T-34 with a new hull, turret, gearbox, main clutch, and suspension. A draft project is being worked on. Individual components are being built. A model is being built.