The Best Renault FT Clone

Italian tank building is usually treated with a large dose of derision. However, Italy managed to create a number of vehicles that were quite good for their time. This mostly applies to armoured cars, but there were some good tanks under their belt as well. The FIAT 3000 light infantry tank was one of them. The tank was based on the Renault FT, but it surpassed its predecessor significantly.

Lend Lease Wishlist

"Do not purchase armament in the following categories if possible, as their value is substantially less than analogous domestic production: submachineguns, anti-tank guns, anti-tank rifles and rocket propelled grenade launchers.

It is desirable to continue ordering the following from the United States:

1. AA guns of all calibers and ammunition for them.
2. Pistols or revolvers and ammunition for them.
3. Explosives and gunpowder.
4. 81 mm mortar rounds.
5. 76.2 mm AA rounds.
6. Mobile repair workshops.

Acting Chief of the GAU, Lieutenant-General of Artillery, Volkotrubenko

March 11th, 1943"

Via Andrei Ulanov.

Infantry and Mortars

To the Chief of Staff of Artillery of the 115th Rifle Corps

RE: #0574 May 29th 1945

On the use of mortars

The Great Patriotic War showed that the rifle division cannot complete objectives independently  in due time without sufficient organic artillery. Attached independent Supreme Command Reserve regiments are usually too late with their preparations and fire at squares on the map instead of individual targets, expending too much ammunition usually in vain. These operations do not result in desired results.

Night Vision Driving

"Information

The range of vision with two lights using 100 watt electric bulbs each results is the following:

1. A person or other vertical object on the road or on terrain can be seen from 35 meters.
2. Terrain features and the road can be seen 12-15 meters in front of the tank.
3. Buildings and structures (huts, churches, telegraph poles) can be seen from a range of up to 50 meters.

All objects are visible in green. Observation can be done through the device on a dark night with the same clarity as without the device on a moonlit night.

Assistant Chief of the 3rd Department of the GABTU BTU, Lieutenant-Colonel Dorofeev

August 8th, 1942"

Turn up the HEAT

"Report on the actions of 122 mm howitzer model 1938 armour burning ammunition

Batteries of the 77th Howitzer Artillery Brigade used armour burning ammunition against enemy tanks near Gorodisk on August 30th, 1944 (305th Howitzer Artillery Regiment) and near height 107.5 o the Narva beachhead on October 4th, 1944 (229th Howitzer Artillery Regiment).

The best range of firing HEAT rounds is 400-600 meters. At 500 meters the armour of a German Tiger tank can be penetrated. At a range of over 600 meters the round ricochets and cannot penetrate the front hull or turret armour. If the turret is hit it becomes jammed and the tank is disabled.

The Avenger that Came Too Late

The situation with British tank destroyers during WWII can be described by the Russian saying "the English take a long time to saddle their horses and ride slowly". The best example of this is the story of the Challenger I: the first prototype was ready in the summer of 1942, but mass production only began in March of 1944. Fewer than 200 vehicles of this type were produced before the end of the war. The story of its successor was even sadder. Officially titled the SP 17-pr A.30 or Avenger I, this tank destroyer did not make it in time for the war. Unlike the Challenger I, this was a purpose built tank destroyer. Mistakes made during the design of its predecessor were taken into account, but it was too late. The development took too long.

Marishkin's KV-4

The KV-4 family of tanks were built to rather loose requirements, and therefore had a very large variety of designs submitted. F.A. Marishkin's 85 ton design was one of the more reasonable ones, but it wasn't without an unusual feature. The tank had a second turret carrying a 45 mm gun on top of the main turret with a 107 mm gun.

Recovery

"Experience in recovery of sunken vehicles

1. Divers examined the position of the tank. The tank was standing flat on its tracks. The bottom of the river was composed of clay.
2. The descent to the river was steep with a 1.5 meter drop. A 15 meter long ramp with a grade of 30 degrees was dug to make recovery easier. The ramp was constructed 10 meters downstream from the existing pier. A part of the 1.5 meter tall shore was dug, a part of it was demolished with explosives.
3. Three anchors were dug into the ground about 30 meters away from the water in a triangle shape. Two hoists of 6 pulleys with 12 2 cm thick cables were attached to the tow hooks of the sunken tank. The sunken T-34 was recovered with another T-34 and the help of the two hoists, each rated for 20 tons.

Amphibian

On January 3rd, 1943, a ship by the name of Ballot carrying Lend Lease cargo ran aground and was abandoned. Measures to recover the cargo from the ship were taken immediately, but due to the difficulty involved the process dragged on for several months. 

"Third appendix to act #409

We the undersigned, representative of the Engineering Directorate of the NKVT Engineer-Major Maslyukov from one side and Engineer-Lieutenant-Colonel Davydov, Senior Assistant of the Chief of Military Acceptance of the GABTU from the other side, compose the current act to indicate that the former delivered and the latter accepted the following equipment.

Item # 1

#LL-112

American tanks M3 M-3 medium ##3034, 4079, 4018, 4055

Listed in documents: 25

Delivered in practice: 4

Mass: 104 tons

Report on King Tigers

"HQ of the Commander of Artillery of the Red Army

1st Department

September 27th, 1944

#671654

Moscow

For the Commander of Artillery of the 2nd Ukrainian Front only

During battles of the 1st Ukrainian Front, it was determined that the enemy is using the new Tiger B "King Tiger" tank in infantry-tank counterattacks. Interrogations of prisoners and study of captured  Tiger B vehicles shows that this type of tank has the following characteristics:

• Mass: 68 tons
• Length:
• With gun: 10.4 meters
• Without gun: 7.5 meters
• Width: 3.75 meters
• Height with turret: 3.07 meters
• Primary track width: 800 mm
• Secondary track width: 660 mm
• Clearance (front): 490 mm
• Clearance (rear): 510 mm
• Rear and side armour: 80 mm
• Front armour: 180 mm
• Roof armour: 40 mm
• Armament: one 88 mm gun, two machineguns, one spare machinegun
• Ammunition carried: 48 rounds