Weapons 19/02/20 Which German tank was the worst in the Second world war Soviet T-26
In many publications now you can find the instructions on the immense superiority of the Soviet troops over the German in the beginning of the great Patriotic war and the colossal total number of tanks in the red army by the summer of 1941 – more than 23 thousand. However, it is often not specified what kind of tanks was the basis of this Armada.
Main battle tank of the red army was a light tank T-26. In 1931-1933 he was produced in the version with two turrets and only machine-gun armament, representing a slightly improved copy of the British light tank “Vickers-Armstrong”. In all there were more than 1,600 units of this weapon. Since 1933 T-26 was produced with a single tower and cannon and machine gun armament. It was produced until 1941, when the war showed his complete unsuitability. It was released 11218 his units. Thus, more than half of the tanks of the red army in the summer of 1941 made these machines.
Odnomestniy T-26 was produced in different versions, most with a faint 45-mm cannon and one or two 7.62 mm machine guns. The tank was designed for fire support of infantry and not good for breakouts, composed of large tank formations. It was slow (max speed 30 km/h) and had a small reserve (130 km). However, practice has shown that to support the infantry, he also was not suitable because he had armor thickness only 25 mm in front of the tower and 16 mm front of the enclosure and on the sides and less. He easily penetrated even from weak 7.92-mm anti-tank guns of the Germans. All T-26 tanks were lost by the red army until the end of 1941.
the German T-I
we should Not think that only the red army had a lot of obsolete weapons for the war. The Wehrmacht had plenty of it too. So, on September 1, 1939, the basis of its tank fleet still withcomponent of light tanks T-I, produced from 1935 to 1938 – 1445 units from 3466. This tank was armed only with two 7.92 mm machine guns. With a little weight he was, however, not very high speed (a maximum of 37 km/h). Armor maximum thickness of 13 mm front hull and turret easily sewn burst from a heavy machine gun. Disadvantages of T-I was already present during the war in Spain, and production ceased. The existing armed with T-I has started to transform into combat vehicles for various purposes, in self-propelled artillery, etc. However, the beginning of operations in France in the Wehrmacht were 1276 these tanks, including in the army – 523. Even the war with the Soviet Union Germany began, armed with 877 T-I, of them in the invasion of the Soviet Union were involved in 281 machine.
French FCM 2C
However, not only ultra-light tanks were unsuitable for fighting the Second world war. The same was useless and heavyweight tanks.
at the end of the First world war the French fired several 70-ton tanks FCM 2C. Until 1945 it was the heaviest tanks in the world. They were intended to break through fortified defences of the enemy, but in the First world war they did not have time to participate.
Despite the impressive weight and a huge crew (12), this tank had a rather modest artillery weapons – just one 75-mm cannon. Even he had four 8 mm machine guns – one on each side. This tank Brontosaurus could reach a maximum speed of only 12 km/h, there was an excellent target for artillery. While its reservation, as shown by the subsequent experience of the Second world war, was insufficient to lead a defensive battle, even with medium tanks of the opponent: 45 mm front and 20 mm on the sides.
the Tanks the FCM 2C was not able to participate in the battle. In may 1940, the French command sent six surviving these tanks on railway platforms to strengthen their defense. All were bombed on the way by German aircraft. If they even reached the battlefield, they would expect no less sad fate.
Soviet T-35
It was yet another useless “land dreadnought”. He was armed with three guns (1 – and 2 three-inch – 45 mm) and five 7.62-mm machine guns. 50-ton machine was operated by a crew of 11 people. General of the army S. M. Shtemenko wrote that before the war, the T-35 was considered the pride of Soviet armored forces. From 1933 to 1939, the Kharkov plant produced 61 such a machine. They are all in 1941 was in service of the Kiev special military district.
When ticketnet (maximum speed 30 km/h) and thin armor (30 mm forehead tower mm 20 – the forehead of the body) the T-35 was highly vulnerable on the battlefield. However, only very few of these tanks killed in battle. Most never made it there and broke even on the March. In the first weeks of the war all of the T-35 was the Soviet troops irretrievably lost.
the American M3 (the”Grant/Li”)
With up to the Second world war very little experience with fighting, the Americans believed that the more they medium tank crammed with all sorts of weapons, the better. So, in the spring of 1941, before the United States entered the war, came to light tank M3, which the Americans called it, depending on personal preference, in honor of the greatest General of the North or the South during the civil war – “Grant” or “Lee.” In normal characteristics of a medium tank of the initial period of the Second world (weight 27,2 ton, booking of 50 mm front and 38 mm flanges, maximum speed 40 km/h, power reserve 230 km) “Grant/Lee” had a powerful armament: one 75 mm and one 37-mm gun, four 7.62-mm machine gun. To service this economy required a crew of seven people.
However, the designers of the tank as if specially did everything to minimize the effectiveness of the use of these weapons. So, the most powerful gunand was not placed in the tower, and just in forehead of the case and could fire at only what was directly in front of the tank. Clumsy-looking tank was longer in height than in width than brought considerable pleasure to the artillery of the enemy: it was very convenient to draw on him.
“Grant/Lee” delivered in large quantities to the US allies in the anti-fascist coalition. Including in the USSR in 1941-1942 was delivered 1400 of these machines. Soviet tankers nicknamed “Grant/Li” “a mass grave for seven”.
Yaroslav Butakov
Source:
© Russian Seven
Featured articles Share: Comments (1) Comments on the article “What German tank was the worst in the Second world war” 19.02.2020 at 19:38 Vladimir Shevchenko writes:
And the Cossacks, not Russian. The Urals to the Atlantic, there is not Russian! And in America, too. All blednolitsye former Russian.
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