Window Dressing

A lot of people seem to be of the opinion that NKVD commissars were wandering up and down aisles of factories, shooting people that didn't report enough successes on the spot, and this is why everyone was hurriedly drilling holes in captured German tanks and writing down extra zeros to make their own stuff look good. For those people, this is the kind of misconduct that would obtain a reaction from internal affairs:

"The Special Department of the NKVD of the Stalingrad Military District reports that the Senior Military Representative of the Stalingrad Tractor Factory, Military Engineer 2nd Grade Levin and the factory management are giving overly large figures for production of T-34 tanks.

In January, the factory should have produced 308 tanks. Levin reported that 224 tanks passed inspection. In practice, only 182 tanks were fully assembled, and 62 were still in the process of being assembled, and were on the assembly lines without turrets, armament, sights, etc.

The chief engineer of the factory, Demyanovich, gave Levin a guarantee that the tanks will be ready by February 5th, but only 32 of the vehicles were ready by that time, and the rest were still undergoing assembly until February 17th.

On February 7th, Levin was summoned to the NKVD, where he confirmed that he gave incorrect data regarding production to the NKO and NKTP, and that he approved vehicles that have not been produced yet. His explanation for this was that he did not wish for the February production run to be affected by leftover tanks from January. He claimed that the chief of GABTU, comrade Fedorenko, permitted him to do this, but our requests did not confirm this.

This window dressing from factory management was repeated on February 15th, 1942. The factory reported that they produced 132 tanks in the first half of February, out of which 130 were approved. In reality, only 128 vehicles left the factory, and 110 were approved.

We consider it necessary to hold Levin and other specific guilty parties from the factory management responsible.

Chief of the 3rd Department of the Special Department of the NKVD, Major of State Security, Rogov."

CAMD RF 38-11355-918

SU-76I Improvements

"Minutes of a technical meeting at factory #37 on April 29th, 1943, regarding the changes and acceptance of SU-76I vehicles produced in April and acceptance of subsequent vehicles until the approval of working blueprints by GBTU.

Considering the fact that changes approved during technical meetings on March 27th, April 1st, and April 9th required experimental testing, preparation of production, and adjustment to external orders, as a result of which, it is impossible to meet established deadlines, pointless to perform some changes, and necessary to make other changes in greater numbers than anticipated. It was established that:

1. The introduction of a spring which fixes the gun on marches and an indicator that shows the position of the gun is cancelled.
2. It is acceptable to replace the leather belt on the hand trigger with a tarpaulin one.
3. The HEAT shell ballistics table should be moved to the central lamp, attached to the roof. Make these changes on all approved vehicles.
4. An experimental horizontal German-style ammunition rack is to be designed by May 15th, and implemented on all vehicles 15 days after approval.
5. A holder for helmets and the portable lamp will be installed on every vehicle starting with the 10th one. A holder for TPU wires will be installed on every vehicle starting with the 27th.
6. Instead of having a lampshade, the lamp will be moved to the left wall, behind the gunner's seat, on every vehicle starting with the 8th.
7. The commander will have a foot rest on every vehicle starting with the 27th.
8. The gunner's foot rest is cancelled.
9. Tarpaulin cases for the ammunition rack will be included with every vehicle starting with the 8th.
10. Rims for roof hatches will be included on every vehicle starting with the 11th.
11. An additional gun mantlet will be installed on all vehicles no later than May 3rd, starting with the 1st vehicle.
12. External gasoline tanks no less than 100 L in capacity will be added no later than May 3rd, starting with the 8th vehicle.
13. A panoramic backlight will be added to every vehicle.
14. A port for the PPSh will be included in the rear hatch in every vehicle starting with the 11th.
15. Protective glass for vision slits is cancelled, as trials have shown it to be unsatisfactory.

Consider all changes approved at the March 27th, April 1st, and April 9th meetings fulfilled.

Since the factory lacks a drinking water container for the SU-76I that is on blueprints, approve the use of another, flat drinking water container, change the mount, and move it to the engine compartment wall. The medical kit that is currently there should be moved near the horizontal ammunition rack. Make these changes on all vehicles, starting with the first.

Since most PzIII tanks received lack air filters, and since air-oil filters are not being produced, modify the SU-76I to accept dry mesh filters from the ZiS-5 truck produced by MKZ in the month of April."

CAMD RF 38-11369-86

Rejection

I've posted a number of ridiculous proposals submitted to authorities, including a death-ray resistant tank, huge rolling fortress, spherical tanks, and an impractically huge monstrosity. Naturally, none of these proposals would have been implemented, and their authors would have received a harsh denial like this one.

"People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union

General Staff of the Red Army

Operational Research Department

August 23rd, 1942

To Military Engineer 2nd Grade, comrade M.A. Manyuk

Suggestions from your letter sent on July 24th of this year will be considered. In the future, please consider the following when making such proposals:

1. Make suggestions based on the current situation.
2. Back up the feasibility of this proposal with a calculation of the manpower necessary for its execution.
3. Do not depart from reality when making these proposals.

Deputy Chief of the Operational Research Department of the Red Army General Staff, Colonel Avayev"

Via Andrei Ulanov.

AA T-70

"To the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR, Lieutenant-General of Tank Forces, comrade Fedorenko

The trials of the T-70 equipped with Shpitalniy's 37 mm automatic AA gun demonstrate its unsuitability for service. The main drawbacks are:

1. Unsatisfactory precision of the weapon.
2. The position of the gunner makes firing on the move impossible. Additionally, the gunner sits in an unnatural position when firing, since he must lean to the left and look through the sight with his left eye.
3. The reload time is long. It takes about 4 minutes to reload the gun. Even if one neglects the amount of time required to make 20 shots from the drum, the practical rate of fire of this gun does not surpass 5 RPM. This reload time is too long to keep the gun constantly ready for battle.
4. The smoke from firing obscures the sight. Even after firing 1-2 rounds, one must wait until the smoke clears before the gun can be aimed again.
5. The sight is not robustly attached, which means it must be periodically checked and recalibrated.
6. The gun elevation is insufficient. The greatest gun elevation is 72 degrees, meaning the vehicle has a large dead zone, which limits its usefulness against enemy ground attack aircraft.
7. The hydraulic recoil brake is exposed and can be destroyed by bullets or shrapnel.

Additionally, trials were performed in insufficiently harsh conditions, namely little practical firing and a lack of marches. There is no basis for conclusions on the reliability of the gun or its installation in the T-70.

Therefore, this vehicle does not meet the requirements of an AA SPG used to cover tank and mechanized forces during a march or in battle.

The hope of fixing Shpitalniy's gun and its mounting in the T-70 only delays the mass production  of the AA SPG designed by factory #37 on the basis of T-60 and T-70 components. This SPG has the following qualities:

1. Satisfactory precision.
2. Ability to fire on the move at airborne or ground targets.
3. Constant readiness to open fire.
4. The ability to fire continuously until the magazine is empty.
5. Can carry 320 rounds, or 1.5 ammunition loads.
6. The gun is easy to service.
7. The engine and chassis ensures that the SPG is reliable.

I deem that it is necessary for you to be aware of the above information.

GAU KA Chief, Colonel-General of Artillery, Yakovlev."

CAMD RF 38-11355-697

Upgunned KV-1

"To State Committee of Defense member, comrade Beria

There are 250 KV-1 and KV-1S tanks undergoing major repairs in GBTU KA and NKTP factories with 76 mm ZiS-5 guns.

The 76 mm ZiS-5 gun cannot combat Panther, Tiger, and Ferdinand tanks with its ballistics.

I deem it necessary to order the People's Commissariats of Tank Production and Armament to re-arm 250 KV-1 and KV-1S tanks with the 85 mm S-53 gun, increasing the combat potential of the KV tanks, with superior armour to the T-34.

I propose this project for GOKO's approval.

Colonel-General of Tank Forces, Fedorenko
Lieutenant-General of Tank Forces, Biryukov"

CAMD RF 38-11355-2722

What a reasonable proposal! Attempts to put an 85 mm gun on a KV-1 aren't exactly a revolutionary idea. Indeed, this proposal was approved, and a decree drafted to modernize 150 tanks and produce parts to modernize 250 more, including 250 additional guns above quota.

One exception though: the date was 1944, not 1942. The KV-1 was out of production, its successor was out of production, and IS-2 tanks were significantly superior to KV tanks in many, many ways. A KV-1S with an S-53 gun was built and tested (not a KV-85, which used a D-5 gun), but this grandiose plan was never brought to life.

T-34s Crossing Rivers

"Instructions on Crossing Water Hazards with T-34 Tanks (with little or no additional equipment)

A. General Considerations

1. Crossing water hazards can be done after careful investigation and preparation of the crossing. If the situation does not demand it, leave only the tank commander and driver inside the tank when crossing.
2. A regular T-34 tank can cross a water hazard 1.9 meters deep, with the deepest part being 20 up to meters wide.
3. Simple equipment can make the tank be able to cross 2.3 meter deep hazards, with the deepest part up to 40 meters wide.
4. After crossing, a T-34 with this equipment can be made combat ready in 10-15 minutes. Tanks with no special equipment are combat ready immediately.
5. If a hazard is deeper or wider than the above requirements, the engine will stall. Reasons for stalling include: water seeping into the air cooling system, significant loss of power due to the fan throwing out excess water.
6. Crossing the above hazards with a regular tank should be done in second gear, at 1600-1700 RPM. In this case, the engine cover will not flood and the engine will not stall.
   If the water enters the compression chambers of the engine, remove the air valve caps and press on all valves at the same time with a board. Spin the crankshaft, first by pushing the fan, then the starter.
   After crossing with either a regular or specially equipped T-34, replace lubricant in the engine, final drives, and gearbox when possible, and check the function of devices and the electrical system.

B. Engineering Support

1. After careful reconnaissance of the region where the tanks will cross, check the depth. Depth should be checked no less than every 2 meters.
2. The riverbed should not be viscous. The entrance and exit should not be steeper than 15-20 degrees. A steep shore should be prepared. The exit should be as flat as possible, since a tank with water in the engine loses power, and will be unable to pull itself up a steep shore.
3. All bumps, stumps, and large rocks in the river along the crossing should be removed. Rocks that get stuck between wheels and tracks will cause the tracks to seize and the engine will stall. Recall that in water, tracks lose their traction with wheels even on small slopes.
4. When crossing water hazards, prepare methods of towing tanks in advance (winches, tractors, pulleys, etc).

C. Preparing a regular tank

1. Tracks should be tightened. The track should not be wavy, and the middle part should lie on road wheels.
2. Cover the radio station with its case.
3. Close the driver's hatch and one driver's observation device. Leave the second open so that the driver can see when entering and exiting the water. Do not close the turret hatch.
4. Put covers on the gun and machinegun barrels.
5. Fix the tow cables on their hooks with wire. Put the tow cables on the rear or front hooks, depending on where the tractors are. The free ends of the cables should be affixed to the turret.
6. Tie the control levers to ropes, and loosely attach them to the top of the turret.

D. Preparing a tank with simple equipment

In addition to performing the actions in the previous section, do the following:

1. Cover gaps between hatches in lead putty or, at the very least, grease. If the gaps are big, plug them with hemp.
2. Plug the emergency exit hatch and drainage plug with hemp and grease.
3. Insert spent shells into the chamber of the gun and machineguns.
4. Plug the machinegun ball, antenna, track tightening mechanisms, and suspension spring wells with hemp and cover them with putty or grease.
5. Plug the turret ring with hemp tightly and cover it in grease or putty.
6. Plug the gap between gun mantlet and turret with hemp and cover it in grease or putty.
7. Plug the turret observation slits with hemp.
8. Fold the tarp in such a way that the ends reach the side handles and round hatch hinge.
9. Hammer in wedges between the turret and turret platform to hold the tarp.
10. Put wooden beams 10 cm by 5 cm on the edges of the tarp so a wedges can be hammered between the beams and handles.The rear beam should be held with a metallic wedge, use the grouser attachment key for this purpose. Hammer the key in between the beam and the round hatch hinge.
11. Preparation of one tank requires 2.5-3.0 kg of hemp, 2 kg of putty or grease, and three wooden beams with wedges.
12. The preparation takes 1-1.5 hours with the whole crew working energetically.
13. This work should be done close to shore. Without the cooling fans, the engine should not run for more than 15-20 monutes.

E. Movement along a route

1. Keep track of a landmark on the opposite shore, and align the tank towards it.
2. It is not recommended to turn around in water.
3. Wide rivers with water deeper than 2 meters should be crossed in first gear.
4. Narrow rivers with a depth of 2-3 meters can be crossed in second gear with the engine working at maximum RPM (1600-1700).
5. Do not change gears in the water.
6. When exiting the water at a steep angle, do not let the tank roll backwards. This can result in the engine stalling and tank drowning.
7. If the tank stalls in the water, disengage the main clutch and attempt to start the engine.
8. When the tank exist the river, put it on an incline, open the hatches on the bottom, and drain the water. Take off the hemp from the mantlet and turret ring, open the driver's hatch, open the engine grille, take off the tarp. Start the engine and let it run for 2-3 minutes. Eject the spent casings. Check the radio station.
9. When towing a tank with a jammed track, disengage the final drives by pulling on ropes tied to the levers."

Collection of Combat Documents from the Great Patriotic War, vol. 15, doc. 32.

Porsche Tiger

After the end of hostilities in Europe, Allied occupational forces in Germany combed over anything left over in their respective sectors that would enable them to boost their industry. Aside from blueprints and machines, people could also contribute important information. One of these people was Rudolph Mann, who wrote a lengthy report for the Soviets. A section of the report discusses an interesting vehicle, Porsche's Tiger project.

SVAG Archive

"...
As it was mentioned above, Porsche received an order directly from Hitler, due to good relations between Hitler and Porsche. Porsche's company had no experience in making tanks. This order ensured that fresh ideas would be applied to the creation of a tank and that Hitler's desire for a tank with a diesel engine would be fulfilled.

Professor Doctor Porsche directed the creation of an 800 hp air cooled diesel engine that reached 15 hp/ton. The diesel powered a generator, which supplied electricity for an electric motor, which in turn powered the tracks. The motor's speed was controlled by a foot pedal with the help of relays. Steeling was performed with a handle that would alter the rotation speed of motors.

These types of motors needed 2 tons of copper each, which was a difficult element for Germany to obtain in 1942.

The undersigned had a chance to establish mechanical deficiencies of the Porsche Tiger compared to the Henschel Tiger. The delay caused by relays working caused hesitation in the driver, as the vehicle did not react to a change in controls right away. It took some time before all relays activated, and only then did the speed change. The design work on an electric motor was done by Siemens-Schoenert in Berlin. The undersigned cannot recall the name of the chief engineer.

The air cooled engine did not regenerate spent energy, and even though this vehicle had a 200 hp advantage over the Henschel Tiger, it did not have the expected agility on road or off road.

The cooling system could also consume a lot of power, the cooling fan drawing 40 hp. It also generated unprecedented amounts of noise, which could be heard from kilometers away, and any enemy would notice its approach from a large distance. The undersigned does not know how much effort Professor Porsche dedicated to correction of these flaws, but work on a hydraulic transmission has already begun at the time the electric engine was being built. The Woight company at Heidenheim an der Brenz developed a hydraulic system using the Fottinger method. This system was composed of two transmission mechanisms, one of which had 6 settings mapped to engine rotation speeds, and the other was a direction mechanism, which could switch between two turning radii. There was no switching between the transmission mechanism and the turning mechanism, as due to the design of the hydraulics, the turning radius was controlled with a hydraulic pump. This mechanism was not completely finished when the undersigned left.

Professor Porsche used his old idea of a rod spring that he developed ten years ago at the Schtoeber company. The spring was parallel to the direction of motion, and was deformed by the road wheels. Due to its design, it could be very short, and could be affixed simply, with little materials. However, it had one deficiency. The mechanism that deformed the spring was made from expensive materials, since it had to meet requirements in a very compact size. Most problems during trials were caused by this component, as it needed chrome-nickel steel, which was no longer produced in Germany at the time."

D-25 One Piece Shell Blueprint

I wrote about this shell before, and finally, you can feast your eyes on its majesty.

CAMD RF 81-12038-681

That is the AP shell, which is 1211 mm in length. It's big, but not unprecedentedly big. For instance, the AP shell for the German KwK 43 was slightly shorter, at 1165 mm.

Kirov Factory Experiments, 1937

"Tanks

1. Development of a project and working blueprints for a tank destroyer on the T-28 chassis with 4 turrets, each with a DK 12.7 mm machinegun, and one turret with a 45 mm cannon and a 7.62 mm DT machinegun.
Work begins in the 1st quarter, will end in the 2nd quarter of 1937.
SKB-2 chief comrade Efimov is responsible for the project. Cost in 1937: 70,000 rubles.

2. Development of a project and working blueprints for a breakthrough tank with the following armament: one 76.2 mm turret with limited traverse, two turrets with 45 mm guns and DK machineguns, commander's cupola with all-round vision.
Work begins in the first quarter, will end in the 4th quarter of 1937.
SKB-2 chief comrade Efimov is responsible for the project. Required funds: 350,000 rubles.

Armour will be 60 mm thick, cemented. The hull and turret will have sloped armour. The mass of the tank will be 40 tons. The engine will be an 800 hp diesel, provided by ABTU. The speed will be 40 kph. Fuel range: 350-450 km.

Factory director (signature)."

V. Lehn Collection

The first vehicle is, of course, hilarious, but the second is much more reasonable. One 76 mm gun, two 45 mm guns, 60 mm of sloped armour: some of you may have recognized the SMK breakthrough tank. The tank lost one turret when Stalin inspected the design, and another in the process of making the "budget" KV that ended up winning the role of the Red Army's heavy tank after a trial by fire in Finland. Looks like the tank's history reaches as far back as 1936.

Soviet Medium Tank Family

Towards the end of WWII, Soviet medium tanks were due for a firepower upgrade. The new T-44, despite having a superior layout and armour to the T-34-85, still carried the same 85 mm gun. While it was possible (with some difficulty) to fit a 100 mm gun in a T-44 or even a T-34-85, the Red Army opted for a brand new tank to carry the gun. Enter the T-54, in its first iteration.

"Comparative tactical-technical characteristics of the T-54, T-44, and T-34-85"

Characteristic	T-54		T-44		T-34-85
Type	Tracked		Tracked		Tracked
Engine	V2-44		V2-44		V2-34
Combat Mass	35500		31800		33200
Hp/ton	14.6		16.8		15.52
Ground pressure without submerging	0.9		0.8		0.84
Dimensions
Length with gun forward	8970		7650		8100
Length with gun backward	8490		7440		7050
Hull length with MDSh	6555		-		-
Width	3185		3150		3000
Height	2275		2400		2700
Height of the hull (from road surface)	1375		1400		1560-1680
Clearance	400		425		400
Width between middle of tracks	2610		2610		2460
Length of the contact surface	3940		3885		3850
Turret ring diameter	1800		1600		1600
Fighting compartment width	1850		1850		1420
Fighting compatment length (from ammuniton rack to engine compartment)	1570		1550 (from driver's seat)		1450
Height of the fighting compartment, from the floor to turret roof	1570		1590		1585
Armour
	Thickness	Angle	Thickness	Angle	Thickness	Angle
UFP	120	60	90	60	45	60
LFP	120	45	90	45	45	60
Side	90	0	75	0	45	40
Upper rear	30	60	30	60	45	40
Middle rear	45	17	45	17	45	47
Lower rear	30	70	30	70	45	45
Engine compartment roof and floor	15	90	15	90	20	90
Fighting compartment roof	30	90	20	90	20	90
Turret front	180	-	120	-	90	-
Turret side	150 to 90 at rear	20	90	20	75	20
Turret rear	75	12	75	12	52	12
Turret roof	15	90	15	90	20	90
Armament
Gun	D-10T-K (experimental)		ZiS-S-53		ZiS-S-53
Caliber	100 mm		85 mm		85 mm
Horizontal traverse	360 degrees		360 degrees		360 degrees
Maximum elevation	17 degrees		20 degrees		22 degrees
Maximum depression	3 degrees		5 degrees		5 degrees
Ammunition capacity	34		58		56
Aimed ROF	5-6 RPM		7-8 RPM		7-8 RPM
Machinegun type	GVG		DT		DT
Amount	2		2		2
Caliber	7.62 mm		7.62 mm		7.62 mm
Hull machineguns	1 (fixed)		1 (fixed)		1 (ball mount)
Coaxial machineguns	1		1		1
Machinegun ammunition	3000 rounds		1890 rounds		1953 rounds
Hand grenades	12		20		20
Commander turret control	Electric motor points turret at target selected by commander		-		-
Smokescreen	MDSh		-		MDSh
Number of smoke charges	2		-		2
Location of charges	Middle rear		-		Upper rear
Speed
Maximum speed	43.5 kph		51.1 kph		56 kph
Average speed:
Highway	30-35 kph		30-35 kph		30-35 kph
Off-road	15-18 kph		15-20 kph		15-20 kph

CAMD RF 38-11355-2867