Pistol Power

Conservative elements within the tank corps favoured the Nagant M1895 revolver. It was relatively simple and could be fired out of a smaller pistol port than the TT. However, the Nagant took much longer to reload and could not use submachinegun ammunition in a pinch.

"For ISU-122 crews it is desirable to have a TT pistol, since the long loading time for Nagant revolvers puts the crew into a critical position. The limited amount of ammunition in a revolver causes frequent reloads. There is also much more ammunition for a pistol available inside the vehicle."

Via Andrei Ulanov.

Small Arms

"August 8th, 1942

To the artillery quartermasters of the 124th and 125th Tank Battalions

I report to you the supply of 7.62 mm rifle cartridges and F-1 grenades carried in KV, T-34, T-60, and T-40 tanks for precise inventory.

Tank	Total MG ammunition	Ammunition by type			F-1 grenades
		Light bullet	AP-I bullet	Tracer
KV	3000	2400	500	100	25
T-34	3000	2400	510	90	25
T-60	950	760	160	30	10
T-40	2000	1000	340	60	10

At the same time, I instruct you that AP-I ammunition should be loaded in magazines separately, not mixed with ammunition that has light bullets. Magazines with AP-I ammunition must be specially marked. Check how magazines were loaded in your units and load AP-I ammunition separately.

Report on execution of this order to the artillery supply department of the brigade by 16:00 on August 9th, 1942

Artillery quartermaster of the 112th Tank Brigade, Intendant 3rd Class, Tomilin"

Via Ivagkin.

On to Tallinn

"Award order

1. Name: Gorban, Vasiliy Moiseyevich
2. Rank: Major
3. Position and unit: commander of the 2nd tank battalion, 152nd Leningrad Independent Tank Brigade.
4. Year of birth: 1916
5. Nationality: Ukrainian
6. Party affiliation: VKP(b) member
7. Participation in the Civil War and subsequent action in defense of the USSR or in the Patriotic War: in the Patriotic War since June 22nd 1941, Leningrad Front
8. Wounds and contusions in the Patriotic War: wounded twice lightly in 1941, once heavily and once lightly in 1942
9. In the Red Army since: 1937
10. Recruited by: career officer
11. Prior awards: Order of the Red Banner, Order of Aleksandr Nevskiy, Order of the Red Star, Defense of Leningrad medal.

7.5 cm KwK 42 Penetration Table

I've posted a number of these diagrams before, for instance here is one for the Pak 40. The set of images for the more powerful KwK 42 is unfortunately incomplete and only available in low resolution, but I am including it for completeness sake.

The Valentine is not surprising at all. The armour piercing ammunition can penetrate any surface from up to 2000 meters. HE can knock off the tracks.

First Try at a Medium Tank

To a casual observer, German tank industry was like a jack in a box. 15 years after the end of WWI it suddenly sprang to life and began to crank out world class designs. However, there is no such thing as miracles. In addition to German specialists like Joseph Vollmer and Otto Merker who worked abroad, Germany had its domestic tank program. It was conducted in secret and birthed some very unconventional designs. One of them was the Grosstraktor, a medium tank that became the culmination of German tank building of the 1920s. It was the first step on the way to the PzIV, the most numerous German tank of WWII.

Small Arms Feedback

"HQ of the 27th Rifle Division

Dept 1

November 14th, 1945

#1/0793

To the commander of the 132nd Rifle Corps

I present my notes and conclusions on infantry weapons, ammunition, and preparation of infantry based on experience in the Patriotic War of 1941-45.

1. Notes on design.
1. TT model 1930 pistol: has design defects. The center of mass is bad (almost in the center of the pistol), it must be closer to the handle, like the Borchardt-Luger pistol. It is desirable to reduce the mass to 800-850 grams, change the shape of the pistol grip to make shooting more comfortable, and increase the angle between the barrel and handle.

Finnish Zimmerit

"Copy from a copy

For service use only

Translated from Finnish

Methods of combat against anti-tank magnetic charges

The British, Americans, and also the Russians use magnetic charges, especially against tanks and cars. They are supposed to stick to metal including painted metal or armour.

Report: this is likely a device of British origin, shaped like a half-cylinder 14 cm in length made of artificial materials and filled with explosives. The flat half has 4 magnetic poles. The curved half has an 8 cm deep slot for the fuse and detonator. The fuse is held in place with a cap that screws in.

The knife-shaped delayed fuse is 11 cm long and 1 cm in diameter. Two captured delayed fuses show that they cam go off in an hour or in 3 days. It is possible that other time settings exist.

Lessons Learned

"Secret

To Comrade Beria

January 27, 1944

Based on the recommendations given by the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Army General comrade Malinovskiy, we report that:

1. Item 1 in comrade Malinovsky's letter proposed installation of spaced armour 30-50 mm thick on the SU-85 and SU-122 SPGs.
   We consider that it would be unacceptable to install 30-50 mm thick spaced armour on the SU-85 and SU-122 SPGs on the T-34 chassis due to excess weight and overloading of the front suspension, which would radically reduce the lifespan of the transmission and running gear.
   An experimental SPG with a 100 mm gun is being built which will have 75 mm of front armour. Trials will show how feasible this undertaking is.

Quality Control

"American Embassy in Moscow, Military Mission 

January 13th, 1944

To the Tank Directorate

M4A2 Medium Tank

For your information, we attach the aforementioned list of difficulties encountered by our personnel with M4A2 tanks of the latest type. We also send you methods of resolving these issues.

1. Turrets of many tanks are poorly fitted, therefore turning them in order to fire on the move is difficult. This usually happens due to incorrect installation of the turret ring and due to incorrectly assembled liners of the traverse mechanism. There should be a liner between the mount of the case and the turret wall. The thickness is chosen such that the space between the gear teeth is minimal, 0.002"

Heavy Tank, Italian Style

In the mid-20th century heavy tanks were a sign of membership in an elite club of tank building nations. Many nations attempted to make these tanks, but failed. Even if a heavy tanks was made, it did not always make it to the war, like the American Heavy Tank M6. Only four nations mass produced heavy tanks that made it to the battlefield: USSR, Germany, Great Britain, and Italy. The British Churchill was officially an infantry tank, and the Italian Carro Armato P 40 was only heavy on paper. The Italians never even got to use their tanks in battle, as they fell to the Germans.