WesWorld

Russian tanks, strong like bear!

T-26 Light Tank
One of the first mass-produced Russian tanks, this vehicle first introduced the well-regarded 45mm main gun. Its low power-to-weight ratio and speed resulted in its early retirement. As of 1940, all out of service.

Specifications
Crew: 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 4.7m (hull)
-- Width: 2.44m
-- Height: 2.25m
Weight: 9.6 metric tons
Armament:
-- 45mm Model 32 tank gun, with 20 rounds in turret and 70 rounds in hull
-- 1x7.62mm machine gun on turret roof
Engine: 90 hp
Transmission: Manual
Suspension: Leaf elliptic
Protection:
-- Glacis: 15mm (upper), 15mm (lower)
-- Hull: 15mm (sides), 15mm (rear), 6-10mm (roof), 6-10mm (floor)
-- Turret: 15mm (mantlet), 15mm (face), 15mm (sides), 12.7mm (rear), 8mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 9.4 hp / tonne
Speed: 31kph (road), 15kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 290 L ( gal) for 240 km range
Variants:

T-29 Infantry Tank
One of the first tanks designed and mass-produced by Russian industry, the T-29 saw over five thousand examples built before production ended in 1936. The tank featured a short-barreled 76.2mm howitzer in a rotating turret, plus two machine guns in smaller turrets underneath the main gun.

Specifications
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 6.0m (hull)
-- Width: 3.2m
-- Height: 3.2m
Weight: 19.9 metric tons
Armament:
-- 76.2mm howitzer with 50 rounds (10 rds turret, 40 rds hull)
-- 2x12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds in independent turrets
Engine: 200 hp
Transmission: Manual
Suspension: Leaf elliptic
Protection:
-- Glacis: 68mm (upper), 56mm (lower)
-- Hull: 46mm (sides), 13mm (rear), 10mm (roof), 7mm (floor)
-- Turret: 85mm (mantlet), 85mm (face), 51mm (sides), 19mm (rear), 18mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 10.05 hp / tonne
Speed: 29kph (road), 20kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)
Variants:

(OOC: Not sure which crewmen are supposed to man the two MG turrets. Maybe the driver and the radioman? I'd presumed the radioman helped load the main gun, but if he's manning an MG turret instead, that seems unlikely. Perhaps it requires two more crewmen to work the MG turrets. The tank seems to be a lighter, better-armoured version of the historical T-28, which seems rather unlikely. In any case, this tank is being replaced like it's going out of style, which of course it is.)

T-30 Fast Tank
Based on Christie prototypes, this tank was designed for the cavalry, with speed and range designed to exploit breakthroughs or respond to incursions. Thousands were built between 1930 and 1934, when production ceased. License-manufactured by Renault in France. Several hundred remain in service with reserve forces, primarily as training vehicles. (OOC: basically, this is the BT-series tank.)

Specifications
Crew: 3 (commander, driver, gunner)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 5.6m (hull)
-- Width: 2.24m
-- Height: 2.25m
Weight: 12.5 metric tons
Armament:
-- 45mm Model 32 tank gun, with 20 rounds in turret and 50 rounds in hull
-- 1x7.62mm machine gun on turret roof
Engine: 300 hp
Transmission: Manual
Suspension: Christie, with four road wheels.
Protection:
-- Glacis: 25mm (upper), 15mm (lower)
-- Hull: 20mm (sides), 10mm (rear), 8mm (roof), 6mm (floor)
-- Turret: 25mm (mantlet), 15mm (face), 12.7mm (sides), 8mm (rear), 8mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 20.8 hp / tonne
Speed: 61kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 L (50 gal) for 200 km range
Variants:
--- T-30 Model 1929: Original prototype with less armour and American-designed Liberty engine.
--- T-30 Model 1930: First manufacturing run, with 37mm gun.
--- T-30 Model 1931: Primary model, equipped with 45mm gun and 300 hp petrol engine.
--- T-30 Model 1934: Experimental design with sloped armour and diesel engine. Two examples built.
--- Renault AMC-33: Licensed French-built variant with 37mm SA38 gun.
--- Renault AMC-35: Licensed French-built variant with 47 mm SA37 gun.

T-35 Fast Tank
Starting in 1935, the T-35 Fast Tank replaced both the T-29 and the T-30 tanks as the standard armoured vehicle design of the Russian Federation Army. The tank attempted to incorporate both thick, sloped armour, a high degree of mobility, and a powerful main gun. The high-velocity 57mm gun proved less than successful in the infantry support role, but its penetration allowed it to serve more successfully in the anti-tank role for almost a decade. In 1940, the T-35 was replaced by a more powerful successor, the T-40. A number of T-35s were instead armed with low-velocity 76.2mm gun for infantry support, but these variants were a minority.

Specifications
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 6.0m (hull)
-- Width: 3.07m
-- Height: 3.1m
Weight: 18.5 metric tons
Armament:
-- 57mm tank gun (some variants with 76.2mm/L29 gun)
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: V-12 diesel, 400 hp
Transmission: Automatic
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Hull: 70mm (glacis), 38mm (sides), 13mm (rear), 15mm (roof), 7mm (floor)
-- Turret: 84mm (front), 51mm (sides), 19mm (rear), 15mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 21.6 hp / tonne
Speed: 55kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)
Variants:
--- T-35M: Equipped with 76.2mm/L29 infantry support gun.

T-37 Heavy Tank
This heavy tank was designed in concert with France and Atlantis. (OOC: Basically an improved KV-1.)

Specifications
Dimensions:
-- Length: 7.0 m
-- Width: 3.3 m
-- Height: 3.0 m
Weight: 45 metric tons
Armament:
-- 1x 75mm/L45 gun
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: 600 hp diesel
Transmission: 2x4 forward, 1 reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar
Protection:
-- Turret face: 120 mm (sloped equivalent)
-- Turret sides: 90mm
-- Glacis: 100 mm (sloped equivalent)
-- Sides: 80 mm
Power Weight Ratio: 13.3 hp / tonne
Speed: 35 kph / 22mph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)

SU-100 / ShU-40Assault Gun
A casemated tank destroyer/assault gun based on the T-40 hull, and equipped with a 100mm main gun. Sometimes referred to as the SU-100, and sometimes as the ShU-40. (OOC: seems to be equivalent to the historical SU-100. The original Tanksharp design, though, weighed less and had more armour than the historical vehicle. I elected to keep the armour and raise the vehicle's weight by five tons. Still relatively rare in service, but used in a lot of military parades.)

Specifications
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 6.0m (hull), 9.0m (overall)
-- Width: 3.06m
-- Height: 2.2m
Weight: 34 tons (originally 28.1 metric tons)
Armament:
-- 100mm/L55 gun with 50 rounds (10 rds turret, 40 rds hull)
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: V-12 diesel, 500 hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Hull Front: 118mm
-- Hull Sides: 70mm
-- Hull Rear: 19mm
-- Hull Top: 20mm
-- Hull Floor: 10mm
-- Casemate Face: 134mm front, 71mm sides
Power Weight Ratio: 14.7 hp / tonne
Speed: 52kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal

SU-41 Self-Propelled Gun
An open-topped self-propelled artillery piece. (OOC: Essentially, an SU-76 with a 122mm howitzer rather than a 76.2mm high-velocity gun. The Russians historically proposed a vehicle like this, but it didn't see production. I thought the original was a little light in overall weight, so I raised it by three tons and improved the engine slightly.)

Specifications
Crew: 2 (commander, driver) + 4 (gunners in separate vehicles or en desant)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 5.5m (hull)
-- Width: 2.8m
-- Height: 2.4m
Weight: 15 metric tons
Armament:
-- 122mm howitzer with 34 rounds (6 rds turret, 28 rds hull)
-- 7.62mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
Engine: Kharkiv 19L V-6 diesel engine, 250 hp normal (300 hp max)
Transmission: Automatic
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Hull Front: 25mm
-- Hull Sides: 16mm
-- Hull Rear: 7mm
-- Hull Top: 8mm
-- Hull Floor: 6mm
-- Casemate Face: 24mm front, 15mm sides
Power Weight Ratio: 16.7 hp / tonne
Speed: 45kph (road), 20kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 227 L (60 gal)

T-40 and T-40M Medium Tanks
The T-40 Medium Tank served as the main tank of the Russian Federation Army between 1940 and 1944, when it was replaced by the T-44. Introduced in 1940, the T-40 is a more heavily-armed and mobile improvement on past Russian tank designs, particularly the T-35 series vehicles. Thousands were produced between 1940 and 1943.

In late 1942, an upgraded variant called the T-40M entered production as a follow-on to the T-40. This tank matched the standard T-40 hull with a modified Model 1943 turret.

Specifications (T-40)
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 6.0m (hull)
-- Width: 3.05m
-- Height: 2.8m
Weight: 26.9 metric tons
Armament:
-- 76.2mm/L45 tank gun with 50 rounds (10 rds turret, 40 rds hull)
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: V-12 diesel, 500 hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Glacis: 90mm (upper), 76mm (lower)
-- Hull: 56mm (sides), 19mm (rear), 20mm (roof), 10mm (floor)
-- Turret: 106mm (mantlet), 86mm (face), 70mm (sides), 20mm (rear), 20mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 18.6 hp / tonne
Speed: 53kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)



Specifications (T-40M)
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 6.0m (hull)
-- Width: 3.05m
-- Height: 2.8m
Weight: 30 metric tons
Armament:
-- 76.2mm/L55 F-36 tank gun with 50 rounds (10 rds turret, 40 rds hull)
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: V-12 diesel, 500 hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Glacis: 90mm (upper), 76mm (lower)
-- Hull: 56mm (sides), 19mm (rear), 20mm (roof), 10mm (floor)
-- Turret: 106mm (mantlet), 86mm (face), 70mm (sides), 20mm (rear), 20mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 16.6 hp / tonne
Speed: 50kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)

Major variants of the Russian T-44, based off juniorgeneral.com drawings by Marvin Schneck.


Russian T-45 Medium Tank of the Russian Naval Infantry 4th Armoured Marine Battalion, based off juniorgeneral.com drawings by Marvin Schneck.

T-44 Medium Tank
Developed in late 1943 as a follow-on to the T-40, this tank matched the standard T-40 turret with a modified hull, redesigned for better sloped armour forward and a lower hull profile. The T-44 used a transverse engine layout to increase the amount of space in the fighting compartment, as well as permitting the turret to be more centrally-located, lowering the overall profile by 345mm.

Through 1945 and 1946, a number of T-44 tanks were armed with the D5T 85mm gun, a modified version of the Russian Army's 85mm large anti-aircraft gun. Russian records did not reliably diffrentiate between the 76.2mm-armed and 85mm-armed vehicles, the latter of which were referred to as the T-44-85, the T-44M, or the T-44 Model 1945.

Specifications (T-44)
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length:6.25m (hull), 7.65m (o/a)
-- Width: 3.25m
-- Height: 2.455m
Weight: 32 metric tons
Armament:
-- 76.2mm/L55 F-36 tank gun with 75 rounds (15 rds turret, 60 rds hull)
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: Kharkov 38L V12 diesel, 600hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Glacis: 40mm-90mm (sloped), 80mm average
-- Sides: 30mm-75mm, 45mm average
-- Turret: 106mm (mantlet), 86mm (face), 70mm (sides), 20mm (rear), 20mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 18.75 hp / tonne
Speed: 53kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)
Manufacturers: Uralvagonzavod, Uraltransmash, Putilov Petrograd Factory, Omsk 172
Variants:
--- Ob'yekt 135: Initial prototype.
--- T-44-76: Produced through 1944, armed with 76.2mm F-36 tank gun

Specifications (T-44M)
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length:6.25m (hull), 7.65m (o/a)
-- Width: 3.25m
-- Height: 2.455m
Weight: 35 metric tons
Armament:
-- 85mm/L55 D5T tank gun with 58 rounds (10 rds turret, 48 rds hull)
-- 12.7mm machine gun coaxial with 2000 rds
-- 6.5mm MG pintle mount (top of turret) with 4000 rds
Engine: Kharkov 38L V12 diesel, 600hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Glacis: 40mm-90mm (sloped), 80mm average
-- Sides: 30mm-75mm, 45mm average
-- Turret: 110mm (mantlet), 90mm (face), 70mm (sides), 20mm (rear), 20mm (top)
Power Weight Ratio: 17.1 hp / tonne
Speed: 53kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 200 gal (757L)
Manufacturers: Uralvagonzavod, Uraltransmash, Putilov Petrograd Factory, Omsk 172
Variants:
--- Ob'yekt 135A: 85mm-armed prototype.
--- T-44-85 / T-44M: 1945 and 1946 production version, armed with 85mm/L55 D5T tank gun.

T-60 Smerch Light Tank, based off juniorgeneral.com drawings Marvin Schneck et al.

T-60 Smerch Light Tank
The T-60 light tank filled a subsidiary reconnaissance role within the Russian armoured forces. Designed on a scaled-down and lightened T-44 medium tank hull, the T-60 featured similar firepower in the form of the 76.2mm/L55 F-36 tank gun. Mobility was enhanced, with the T-60 able to easily achieve sixty kilometers per hour top speed on hard ground, and thirty-five kilometers an hour off-road. The T-60 also had excellent range (over 500km on dirt roads) due to a fuel-efficient V-12 diesel engine.

The T-60's small size and light weight resulted in a number of design considerations that served to weaken the tank in other ways. Internal space was minimal, and the Ground Forces instituted height and weight restrictions for T-60 crewmen. The cramped conditions also slowed down reloading times, limited the gun depression to six degrees, and restricted the quantity of onboard ammunition. The worst compromise came in the armour, which was well-sloped on the glacis and the turret, but was too thin to be effective against most dedicated anti-tank guns. The rear armour was even penetrable to some powerful anti-tank rifles.

Despite these drawbacks, the T-60 served the Russian Ground Forces for nearly two decades, primarily as a light reconnaissance tank. However, a number of independent tank regiments equipped with the T-60 were also created in order to bolster reserve rifle and motor rifle divisions, replacing obsolete T-29 and T-30 tanks. The self-propelled ZSU-37-2 anti-aircraft variant was also widely used.

Specifications
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader / radioman)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 5.6m (hull), 7.9m (o/a)
-- Width: 2.9m
-- Height: 2.4m
Weight: 21.5 metric tons
Armament:
-- 76.2mm/L55 F-36 tank gun with 50 rounds (15 rds turret, 35 rds hull)
-- 12.7x108mm DShKM ("Dushka") machine gun in pintle mount (top of turret) with 1200 rds, for commander
-- 6.5mm MG hull mount with 4000 rds
Engine: Kharkov V-12 diesel, 430hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with five road wheels
Protection:
-- Glacis: 25mm-35mm (sloped), 30mm average
-- Sides: 15mm-30mm, 20mm average
-- Turret: 55mm (combined mantlet and turret front), 20mm (rest of turret)
Power Weight Ratio: 20 hp / tonne
Speed: 60kph (road), 35kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 145 gal (550L) internal fuel
Manufacturers: Omsktransmash, Putilov Petrograd Factory
Variants:
--- Ob'yekt 605: Initial prototype.
--- Ob'yekt 609: 1948 prototype armed with 85mm gun; manufactured as the T-60A.
--- Ob'yekt 212: Prototype of the ZSU-37-2 antiaircraft tank.
--- T-60: Production light tank, built from September 1946 to March 1948.
--- T-60A: Production light tank, built from March 1948 onward with Zenit main gun stabilization, improved turret drives and Protsion radios. Most early T-60s were rebuilt to T-60A standards during the course of the 1950s.
--- ZSU-37-2: Anti-aircraft tank equipped with twin 37mm AA guns.
--- ZSU-57-1: Anti-aircraft tank equipped with a single magazine-fed 57mm/L76 AA gun.

Advantages:
- Good speed, both on and offroad
- Low ground pressure and good mobility in snow and muddy conditions
- High power-to-weight ratio
- Inexpensive and suitable for serial production

Disadvantages:
- Cramped crew conditions
- Slow rate of fire
- Poor gun depression
- Armour is weak against larger vehicle-mounted weapons and towed AT guns

Ob'yekt 136 Prototype, displayed at Saumer 1946.


T-47A Tsiklon of the 7th Guards Heavy Tank Brigade, circa 1948.

T-47 Tskilon Medium Tank
Even by the time Russian factories started producing the T-40 and T-44 medium tanks, the Main Directorate of Armoured Forces (GABTU) concluded that Russian tanks were falling behind those of other nations when comparing overall firepower. In 1944, while the Russian Ground Forces still depended on the 76.2mm/L55 tank gun, the German Army introduced the 88mm/L71 gun on the Standardpanzer Panther. While a number of late model T-44s were armed with a 85mm gun adapted from an anti-aircraft weapon, GABTU saw this as a temporary stopgap measure pending the introduction of more potent main armament and new vehicles to carry them. GABTU assigned the development of a new medium tank to Mikhail Koshkin, the Chief Designer at GKB T-40 (T-40 Main Design Bureau). Design requirements focused on the use of the D10T gun, which offered similar armour-piercing characteristics to the German 88mm KwK 42, albeit with lower muzzle velocities. However, GABTU required that mobility and armour remain at the same level as the T-44.

Design and Development
By late 1944, GKB T-40 began work on a replacement for the T-44. Work was split into two teams. One of the teams remained at Kharkov-Transall under Mikhail Koshkin himself, and focused on a heavily-improved variant of the T-44 armed with a 100mm gun. Three prototype vehicles, designated Ob'yekt 404, were built at Kharkov, followed by a short production run under the designation of T-45 (or, according to some sources, the T-44 Model 1946 or even T-44-100). This vehicle was similar in many respects to the original T-44, having excellent combinations of mobility, firepower, and armour while maintaining a low weight, but at the cost of crew comfort. Cramped conditions, particularly for the loader, resulted in the T-45's low rate of fire of three to four rounds per minute.

The second half of the GKB T-40 design team, under Alexander Morozov, relocated to the new tankograd complex at Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil and worked on developing an alternative design to an upgunned T-44. Morozov's design team mixed certain successful elements from the T-37 heavy tank, which GABTU deemed highly successful in its day, alongside more modern ideas such as the armor sloping and transverse engine mounts used by the T-44, Ob'yekt 404, and T-45. Ob'yekt 136 used six roadwheels, rather than the five roadwheels which traditionally distinguished Russian medium tanks. The Ob'yekt 136 also was distinguished by a trio of return rollers, added to dampen the tread slap that caused maintenance difficulties on the T-40 and T-44 series tanks.

Adoption
In May of 1945, the Ob'yekt 136 was demonstrated to GABTU officials at Nizhni Tagil, and accepted for production as the T-47 Tsiklon. The first prototype vehicle was also displayed in France's Carrousel de Saumur in late July, although this vehicle had a T-37 turret and 85mm gun mounted for purposes of disinformation. Production began at Uralvagonzavod in April of 1946, with Kharkov Locomotive Works building tanks starting in December of 1946, followed by the Putilov Petrograd Factory in June of 1947.
Variants
T-47 (Model 1946): The T-47 was the first production model, built in quantity. Equipped with the D10T gun, it was based on the initial Ob'yekt 136 prototype.
T-47A: Upgraded T-47 design that entered production in February 1947. The T-47A introduced the D-10TG gun (equipped with muzzle brake), STP-1 'Zenit' gun stabilization system, an improved gunner scope, episcopes for the commander and driver, a revolving turret floor, and Protsion radios.
T-47K (Kommandirski): A T-47 tank equipped with an extra Protsion radio and 'K' antenna for company commanders.

Specifications
Crew: 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader/radio)
Dimensions:
-- Length: 6.45m (hull), m (o/a)
-- Width: 3.5m
-- Height: 3.15m to MG
Weight: 40 metric tons
Armament:
-- 100mm/L55 D10T tank gun with 50 rounds (15 rds turret, 35 rds hull)
-- 12.7x108mm DShKM ("Dushka") machine gun in pintle mount (top of turret) with 1200 rds, for commander
-- 6.5mm machine gun in pintle mount (top of turret) with 400 rounds, for loader
Engine: V-2-IS series V-12 diesel (39L), 700hp
Transmission: Manual, 5 speeds forward and reverse
Suspension: Torsion bar with six road wheels and three return rollers
Protection:
-- Glacis: 50mm-90mm (sloped), 70mm average
-- Sides: 30mm-80mm, 55mm average
-- Rear: 45mm
-- Turret: 110mm (mantlet), 100mm (front), 65mm (sides), 50mm (rear), 20mm (roof and floor, avg)
Power Weight Ratio: 17.5 hp / tonne
Speed: 50kph (road), 25kph (offroad)
Fuel Capacity: 580 L internal, 320L external, 400 L jettisonable
Manufacturers: Uralvagonzavod, Kharkov-Transall (Kharkov Locomotive Works), Putilov Petrograd Factory

Advantages:
- Powerful 100mm gun is useful for both infantry support and anti-tank use
- Good mobility in road and offroad conditions
- Reliable diesel engine with economic range and winterization

Disadvantages:
- Lack of main gun stabilization in early models
- Somewhat heavy for many Russian conditions
- Poor gun depression of -7 degrees