Warspot Article: Anglo-Canadian Cruiser

Canada is not a well known tank building nation, but they managed to produce a very competitive design during WW2. Based on the Medium Tank M3 chassis, it combined European and North American technologies to make a tank comparable with the Sherman. Read about the history of its design and production in my latest article on Warspot.net.

Bulldog's Ancestor

The Americans finished WW2 in a very strange position. On one hand they achieved great things, on the other hand they had fallen behind in a few areas. One of the aspects in which the Americans were in the lead was light tanks. Unlike other nations, which abandoned development of these vehicles by the middle of the war, the Americans rightfully kept going. The result was not just the best light tank of its time, but a whole family of SPGs. Production began to wind down in the summer of 1945, but a foundation for further work was already established. As a result, the first truly original tank built to post-war specifications was a light one. This was the Light Tank T37, an experimental vehicle that became the predecessor for the Light Tank M41.

King Tiger Intel

 "Memo on the new "King Tiger" (Koenigstiger) heavy tank and methods of combat against it

Elements of the 1st Ukrainian Front captured 4 King Tiger tanks near Szydłów on August 12th, 1944, one of which was functional. 2 non-functional King Tiger tanks were captured near Korozvenka on August 15th, 1944. 

Preliminary characteristics of the King Tiger tank are as follows:

SU-76 Misuse

 "#850469
June 19th, 1945

The GBTU Tank Usage Directorate received reports of incorrect use of SU-76 SPGs issued to rifle corps.

For instance, the 37th and 39th Rifle Corps of the 9th Guards Army used the SU-76 SPGs from the 1513th and 1524th Light SPG Regiments as tractors to tow captured vehicles over the course of 4-6 days, expending 25-30 engine hours and 250-450 km of travel for each SPG.

I order that:

1. The use of tanks and SPGs to tow vehicles is forbidden. Tractors and prime movers are to be used for this purpose.
2. Commanders of Armoured and Mechanized Forces of Fronts are to check the correctness of usage of all tank and SPG regiments attached to rifle corps.
3. The commander of Armoured and Mechanized Forces of the 2nd Ukrainian Front must investigate the instance of incorrect usage of SU-76 SPGs of the 1513th and 1524th Light SPG Regiments attached to the 37th and 39th Rifle Corps and hold the guilty parties responsible.

Deliver this directive to commanders of armoured and mechanized units and formations of the Red Army and rifle corps commanders that have tank or SPG regiments attached.

Report on the execution of this order by July 10th of this year.

Deputy Chief of Armoured and Mechanized Forces, Colonel General of the Tank Forces, Korobkov".

CAMD RF F.38 Op.11362 D.16 L.23

Printed in Glavnoye Bronetankovoye Upravleniye Lyudi, Sobytiya, Fakty v dokumentakh, 1944-1945 p.549

T-34's Heart on Trial

The engine is the most complicated and most important component of any tracked fighting vehicle. It might even take more time to develop the engine than the rest of the tank put together. Even today, not all tank building nations have the ability to produce their own engines, and a successful design can define the development of tanks for years to come. The V-2 diesel engine put into production in 1939 was one such design. This article will tell the story of the trials that paved its way to life.

American Experience

 "Report by the 92nd Tank Brigade on use of American M3 medium and M3 light tanks in August of 1942

Positive qualities from a tactical point of view:

1. Good density of fire.
2. Good visibility from the medium tank (has a commander's cupola).
3. The light tank is very mobile.
4. The engine noise is insignificant in motion.
5. The 75 and 37 mm guns of the M3 S and M3 L are precise and have good ballistics.
6. The crew positions of the M3 S and M3 L are comfortable.

T-34 Improvements

 "Order of the People's Commissar of Tank Production of the USSR #230-M
Moscow
June 12th, 1942

With the intention of further improvement of the quality of T-34 tanks and realization of decisions made at the technical meeting of factories #183, #112, and STZ, I order that:

1. RE: air cleaners: factory #183 director comrade Maksarev must perform bench trials of a simplified Cyclone filter developed by the factory by July 15th and test it in a vehicle in road conditions by July 25th. Send a report to the NKTP by August 1st.

Limping Jagdtiger

The German Jagdtiger tank destroyer was built in two variants: one with a Porsche suspension and one with a Henschel one. The former was deemed poor and removed from production. This fact is stated in every publication dedicated to the Jagdtiger, but is not discussed in detail. In this article we won't stop at brief descriptions, questionable overviews, and conclusions, but instead will discuss how German late war tank suspensions were developed, cover the Porsche suspension, then present the history of the Jagdtiger's suspension in the appropriate context. Our tale will be based on an analysis of the design rather than compilations of opinions of other authors.

Panther Weak Spots

Soviet diagrams showing areas where to shoot enemy tanks are pretty common. There were both elaborate ones showing various weapons printed at the Publisher of the People's Commissariat of Defense and simpler ones, produced in the field, showing whatever weapons were relevant for the unit that printed them. Here are two such flyers for the Panther.

The first one is relatively well known. Each drawing of a shell shows the range and caliber with which you can destroy a Panther tank. The small bullets are 14.5 mm bullets fired from the PTRD or PTRS. The large tube symbol under that is HE, a projectile partially filled with red is an AP shell, a fully red projectile is solid AP shot. The red arrowhead projectile is 45 mm APCR. 

Comparing Shells

 "Report of the GBTU Self Propelled Artillery Directorate on results of comparative penetration trials of American, German, and domestic AP shells
May 13th, 1945

Firing according to the attached velocities was done at the Main Artillery Proving Grounds of the GAU at NKB proving grounds at Sofrino

Results of firing the shells at armour plates at prescribed velocities (see table)

#1: 76 mm AP shells against 50 and 75 mm thick plates.

The experimental shell from 60Kh30 steel shows undoubtedly superior results compared to the stock shell or the American shell.