Panzerkampfwagen III (PzKpfw III)
The combat vehicle, also known as the T-III, was a tank with a 37 mm caliber gun. It had 30mm armor on each side. The main function is speed (on the highway it gave 40 kilometers per hour). Other advantages of the tank are excellent optics, optimally located seats for the crew, and a radio station. Having all this, the Panzerkampfwagens fought successful battles with heavier vehicles.
However, when the opponents acquired new, more advanced vehicles, the “troika” began to be noticeably inferior to them. As a result, German designers increased the caliber of the tank gun, making it 50 mm. In addition, the tank was covered with hinged screens. In the end, this yielded results; the PzKpfw III fought for many more years. But in 1943, the production of combat vehicles was stopped because experts considered that the tank could no longer be modernized. Over the course of history, 5 thousand T-IIIs were produced in Germany.
Tank "Panther" (PzKpfw V Panther)
The Panther was developed in 1943 by MAN and was first used in the Battle of Kursk. German engineers sought to create a mass-produced tank that would be simple and cheap. The tank became a competitor to the Soviet T-34 and the “American” Sherman.
The new German development became the most powerful of the Wehrmacht tanks during the Second World War; it had very thick armor up to 80 millimeters thick. Enemy shells bounced off the tank's hull. True, the armor on the sides was thinner, so Soviet tank crews tried to hit precisely this “Achilles’ heel.”
The vehicle had a 75 mm gun, its power was not inferior to the Tiger's 88 mm cannon. Armor-piercing shells managed to fly a kilometer in the first second. Therefore, the combat vehicle was capable of hitting almost every enemy tank at a distance of over two kilometers. In terms of speed, the samples outperformed the T-34 - on the highway they could accelerate to almost 60 kilometers per hour.
Another thing is that the Panthers were expensive for German industry. In addition, their maintenance turned out to be difficult. The German economy was unable to properly organize their production. However, during the war years, about 6 thousand Panthers were produced.
Even in March 1945, during the fighting in Hungary, several hundred Panthers equipped with night vision devices attacked Red Army units near Lake Balaton. True, the technical innovation in the battle did not save them.
Tiger and Panther
Both of these heavyweights were created with one single purpose - to repel the Soviet T-34. The Panther was about 13 tons less than the Tiger, which provided greater maneuverability and greater maneuverability - especially across rivers, where bridges simply could not support massive tanks. The smaller size also played a role in fuel economy - without additional refueling, the Panther could travel 250 kilometers (versus 190 km for the Tiger).
The Panther's shells were characterized by greater penetration and firing accuracy, and the new inclined armor created the possibility of an enemy shell ricocheting - the Tiger was inferior to it in these characteristics. Among the German tanks captured by the Allies, it was the Panthers that were popular - the massive and overly difficult to control Tigers more often acted as a trophy than as a military weapon.
Despite such obvious advantages of the Panther, we should not forget that the Tiger was a more than worthy tank for its time, created in the best traditions of German engineering - durable and powerful, but, alas, because of this it was also clumsy and massive. In this sense, Panther became something of a breath of fresh air, a rethinking of outdated technologies.
Tank IS-2 (“Joseph Stalin”)
The Joseph Stalin-2 combat vehicle became a worthy response to the Tiger from the Soviet military industry. It was published in 1943. It became the most powerful and most armored of the USSR wartime combat vehicles and one of the best in the world at that time. Engineers from the Soviet Union achieved an economical design.
The mass of the combat vehicle was comparable to the weight of the Panther, while the tank was much better protected by armor. The thickness of the armor reached millimeters. The gun was incredibly powerful in terms of firepower, its caliber reached 122 millimeters. Its shells shot right through Wehrmacht vehicles, pierced brickwork and demolished entire houses. The armament was supplemented by a 12.7 mm DShK machine gun located on the turret. Machine gun bullets did not allow the enemy to rest even behind the thick walls of buildings.
Therefore, IS-2s played an important role in the battles of 1944-1945, and were especially distinguished during assault operations, for example, in large cities. The tactical actions were as follows. In the city, assault groups of 1-2 vehicles operated along with companies consisting of machine gunners, a sniper, and sometimes a flamethrower. The tanks simply swept away the fascist resistance and, together with the soldiers sitting on them, broke through the streets into squares, squares, and parks. Here there was an opportunity to arrange a perimeter defense.
The disadvantages of the IS-2 included the too dense placement of fuel tanks in the control room. If an enemy shell penetrated the armor, the team most often died. The greatest risk fell on the driver - he did not have his own hatch, so he did not have time to get out of the car.
In addition, many unreliable samples that were not properly tested were sent to the active troops in a hurry. The problem was solved only with the modernization of the model, which was completed by 1945. The tank that liberated the peoples of Europe from fascism became a symbol of Victory. The Soviet army used it for almost 50 years.
Tanks of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War
The history of Soviet tank building in the pre-war and war years had both serious achievements and impressive failures.
At the first stage of the war, with the advent of the T-34, the Germans had to catch up with us and create models of tanks and anti-tank artillery capable of withstanding the threats posed by the T-34. They quickly solved this problem and by the end of 1942 the Wehrmacht had more advanced tanks and weapons fight against the Soviet tank threat. At the second stage of the war, Soviet tank builders had to catch up with the Germans, but they failed to achieve full parity with them in the main tactical and technical characteristics of tanks until the end of the war. The stages of the formation of Soviet light tanks in the pre-war period, including the BT family and the T-50 light tank are outlined in the material, and the formation of medium ones is T-28, T-34 and heavy T-35, KV-1, KV-2 in the material . This article examines Soviet tanks that were developed and produced during the Great Patriotic War.
Light tanks T-60, T-70, T-80
The history of the creation of Soviet light tanks of the first stage of the Great Patriotic War is very instructive and tragic.
Based on the results of the Soviet-Finnish War and testing of the PzKpfw III Ausf F medium tank purchased in Germany in 1939-1940, the development of the T-50 light infantry support tank began at Leningrad plant No. 174. At the beginning of 1941, prototypes of the tank were successfully tested, it was put into service, but they did not have time to launch mass production before the start of the Great Patriotic War. A few days after the start of the war, Moscow plant No. 37 received an order to discontinue production of the T-40 amphibious tank and re-equip the plant to produce the T-50 light tank.
Light tank T-50
To organize the production of this rather complex tank, a complete reconstruction of the plant was required, adapted only for the production of the simple T-40; in connection with this, the plant management was not very keen to prepare production for the production of a new tank. Under the leadership of the chief designer of the line of Soviet amphibious tanks, Astrov, already in July, a sample of a light tank is being developed and manufactured on the basis of the amphibious T-40, which is well mastered in production, and it is proposed to organize the production of this tank. Stalin approved this proposal and so, instead of the successful T-50 light tank, the T-60 went into production, which was much worse in its characteristics. This decision was based on the need, in the extreme conditions of wartime and the colossal losses of tanks in the first months of the war, to quickly master the mass production of a structurally and technologically simple tank based on truck units. The T-60 tank was mass-produced from September 1941 to February 1943, with a total of 5,839 tanks produced.
Light tank T-40
Of course, the T-60 could not replace the T-50, which at that time was one of the best light tanks in the world, weighing 13.8 tons, crewed by four people, armed with a 45-mm semi-automatic cannon, having anti-ballistic armor, and with a powerful power plant based on the V-3 diesel engine with a power of 300 hp. Externally, it looked like a smaller copy of the T-34 and had excellent tactical and technical characteristics for its class of vehicles.
Light tank T-60
The T-60 tank, as they say, “did not stand next to it,” its characteristics did not even come close to the T-50. The T-60 was a “land” version of the T-40 amphibious tank with all its shortcomings. The T-60 adopted the concept and layout of the T-40 with maximum use of the latter's components and assemblies. So, instead of a decent light tank, the simple and surrogate T-60 was put into production, about which many Soviet tankers later spoke unkindly.
The transmission compartment of the tank was located in front, behind it was the control compartment with an armored driver's cabin, in the center of the hull was the fighting compartment with a turret shifted to the left and the engine to the right, in the rear of the tank were fuel tanks and engine radiators. The tank had a crew of two people - a commander and a driver.
The hull and turret structure was welded from rolled armor plates. With a tank weight of 6.4 tons, it had bulletproof armor, the thickness of the front of the hull was: top - 35mm, bottom - 30mm, deckhouse - 15mm, sides - 15mm; forehead and sides of the tower - 25mm, roof - 13mm, bottom - 10mm. The armor of the front of the hull had rational angles of inclination. The turret was octagonal with an inclined arrangement of armor plates and shifted to the left of the longitudinal axis of the tank, since the engine was located on the right.
The tank's armament consisted of a 20mm TNSh-1 L/82.4 automatic cannon and a coaxial 7.62mm DT machine gun.
The power plant used was the GAZ-202 engine with a power of 70 hp, which is a modification of the derated GAZ-11 engine from the T-40 amphibious tank with a power of 85 hp. in order to increase its reliability. The engine was started using a mechanical crank. The use of the starter was allowed only when the engine was warm. To warm up the engine, a boiler was used, which was heated with a blowtorch. The tank reached a highway speed of 42 km/h and had a range of 450 km.
The chassis was inherited from the T-40 tank and on each side contained four single-pitch rubberized small-diameter rollers and three support rollers. The suspension was individual torsion bar without shock absorbers.
In terms of its characteristics, the T-60 was seriously inferior to the T-50 light tank. It had higher armor protection - the armor thickness of the upper frontal plate was 37mm, the lower one - 45mm, the sides - 37mm, the turret - 37mm, the roof - 15mm, the bottom - 12-15mm, and the weapon used was a much more powerful 45mm semi-automatic 20-mm cannon. To L/46, and a 300 hp diesel engine was used as the power plant.
That is, the T-50 tank was significantly superior to the T-60 tank in terms of firepower, protection and mobility, but the T-60 “suicide bomber” went into production, since it was easy to organize its mass production.
A further development of the T-60 was the T-70 tank, developed in November 1941 and put into service in January 1942. From February 1942 to the autumn of 1943, 8226 tanks were produced. The development of the T-70 was aimed at increasing firepower by installing a semi-automatic 45-mm 20-K L/46 cannon, increasing mobility by installing a GAZ-203 power unit containing a pair of GAZ-202 engines with a power of 70 hp each. and strengthening the armor of the forehead of the lower hull up to 45mm and the forehead and sides of the turret up to 35mm.
Light tank T-70
Installing twin engines required lengthening the tank hull and introducing another road wheel in the chassis. The weight of the tank increased to 9.8 tons, the crew remained two people.
The increase in the weight of the tank led to a sharp decrease in the reliability of the chassis; therefore, the chassis was modernized and a modification of the T-70M tank was put into production.
The most important drawback of the T-60 and T-70 tanks was the presence of a crew of two people. The commander was overloaded with the functions of commander, gunner and loader assigned to him and could not cope with them. Even now, with a completely different level of technology development, a tank with a crew of two people is not yet feasible due to the fundamental incompatibility of the functions of the commander and gunner.
To eliminate the main drawback of the T-70 tank, the following modification was developed - the T-80 with a double turret and a crew of three people.
Light tank T-80
For the double turret, the ring diameter was increased from 966mm to 1112mm; due to the increase in the internal volume of the turret, its dimensions and weight increased, while the weight of the tank reached 11.6 tons and a more powerful power plant was required. It was decided to boost the GAZ-203 power plant to 170 hp, which led to a sharp decrease in its reliability during tank operation.
The T-80 tank did not last long; serial production began in April 1943 and was discontinued in August; a total of 70 T-80 tanks were produced. There were several reasons for this.
Due to its low characteristics, the tank in 1943 did not in any way satisfy the increased requirements for the tank, and based on the results of the battles on the Kursk Bulge, it became clear to everyone that not only the T-70 (T-80), but also the T-34-76 could not withstand the new German tanks, and the development of a new, more powerful tank is required. By this time, mass production of the T-34 had been streamlined and optimized, its cost was reduced and satisfactory quality was ensured, and the army required a large number of SU-76M self-propelled guns, created on the basis of the T-70 tank, and the factory capacity was reoriented to the production of SU-76M self-propelled guns .
The T-60, T-70 and T-80 tanks had low combat effectiveness both against enemy armored vehicles and with infantry support. They could not fight the most common German tanks of the time, the Pz.Kpfw.III and Pz.Kpfw.IV and the StuG III assault self-propelled guns, and as a direct infantry support tank they had insufficient armor protection. German 75-mm Pak 40 anti-tank guns hit him with the first shot from any distance and angle.
Compared to the already outdated light German Pz.Kpfw.II, the T-70 had slightly better armor protection, but due to the presence of a crew of two people, it was significantly inferior to it in controllability on the battlefield.
The armor protection of the tank was low and it was easily hit by almost all tanks and anti-tank weapons in service at that time in the German army. The tank's armament was insufficient to defeat enemy tanks; in 1943, the German army already had well-protected Pz.Kpfw.III, Pz.Kpfw.IV and Pz.Kpfw.V tanks; the 45-mm T-70 gun could not hit them . The power of the 45-mm cannon was clearly insufficient to combat both enemy anti-tank guns and German armored vehicles; the frontal armor of even the medium modernized PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV could only be penetrated from extremely short distances.
This was also explained by the fact that with the appearance on the battlefield of T-34s in large quantities, the Wehrmacht qualitatively strengthened its tank and anti-tank artillery. During 1942, the Wehrmacht began to receive tanks, self-propelled guns and anti-tank guns armed with long-barreled 75-mm cannons, hitting the T-70 from any angle and combat distance. The sides of the tank were especially vulnerable even to artillery of smaller calibers, up to the outdated 37-mm Pak 35/36 cannon. In such a confrontation, the T-70 had no chance; with a well-prepared anti-tank defense, the T-70 units were doomed to high losses. Due to its low efficiency and high losses, the T-70 enjoyed an unflattering reputation in the army and there was a mostly negative attitude towards it.
The apogee of the T-70's combat use was the Battle of Kursk. In the Battle of Prokhorovka, the two corps of the first echelon of 368 tanks contained 38.8% T-70 tanks. As a result of the battle, our tankers suffered terrible losses, the 29th Tank Corps lost 77% of the tanks participating in the attack, and the 18th Tank Corps lost 56% of the tanks. This was largely explained by the presence of T-70 light tanks in the line of attacking tanks, practically unprotected from powerful German anti-tank weapons. After the Battle of Kursk, the T-70 was discontinued.
Medium tank T-34-85
At the first stage of the war, the T-34-76 medium tank was quite competitive with the medium and German tanks PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV. With the installation of a long-barreled 75-mm KwK 40 L/48 cannon on the PzKpfw IV tank and especially with the advent of the Pz.Kpfw.V “Panther” with a powerful long-barreled 75-mm KwK 42 L/70 cannon and Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger with a long-barreled 88 -mm KwK 36 L/56 cannon, the T-34-76 tank was hit by these tanks from a distance of 1000-1500 m, and it could hit them from a distance of no more than 500 m. In this regard, the question of installing a more powerful one on the tank seriously arose guns.
Medium tank T-34-85
Two options were considered for installing an 85-mm cannon, already used on the KV-85 and IS-1 heavy tanks, the D-5T cannon and the 85-mm S-53 cannon. To install the new gun, it was necessary to increase the turret length from 1420mm to 1600mm and develop a more spacious turret.
The turret of the experimental T-43 medium tank was taken as the basis. The turret was designed for two gun options. The D-5T cannon was more bulky and made it difficult for the loader to work in the limited volume of the turret. As a result, the tank was put into service with the S-53 cannon, but the first batches of tanks were also produced with the D-5T cannon.
Simultaneously with the development of the new three-man turret, another significant drawback of the T-34-76 was eliminated, related to the overload of the commander due to the gunner functions assigned to him. The more spacious turret housed a fifth crew member, the gunner. The tank improved the commander's visibility due to the installation of a commander's cupola with a rotating hatch and more advanced observation devices. The turret's armor was also strengthened. The thickness of the armor of the turret forehead was increased to 90mm and the turret walls to 75mm.
The increase in the tank's firepower and protection did not help put it on par with the German Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" and Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger. The frontal armor of the Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger was 100mm thick, and that of the Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" was 60-80mm, and their guns could hit the T-34-85 from a distance of 1000-1500m, and the latter penetrated their armor only at distances of 800-1000 meters and only at a distance of about 500 meters are the thickest places on the forehead of the tower.
The lack of firepower and protection of the T-34-85 had to be compensated for through their massive and competent use, improved control of tank forces and the establishment of interaction with other branches of the military. The leading role in the fight against enemy tanks has largely passed to heavy tanks of the IS family and self-propelled guns.
Heavy tanks KV-85 and IS-1
With the advent of the German heavy tanks Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" and Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger in 1942, the Soviet heavy tank KV-1 with insufficient frontal protection and armed with a 76.2 mm ZIS-5 L/ 41.6 gun could not resist them on equal terms.
The Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger hit the KV-1 at almost all distances in real combat, and the 76.2 mm KV-1 cannon could only penetrate the side and rear armor of this tank from distances not exceeding 200 m. The question arose of developing a new heavy tank , armed with an 85-mm cannon and in February 1942 it was decided to develop a new heavy tank IS-1, for it an 85-mm D-5T cannon was developed and, for its installation in the tank, a new turret with the diameter of the turret ring increased to 1800mm .
The KV-85 tank was a transitional model between the KV-1 and IS-1; the chassis and many hull armor elements were borrowed from the first, and the enlarged turret was borrowed from the second.
After a shortened test cycle, the KV-85 tank was put into service in August 1943. The tank was produced from August to November 1943 and was discontinued due to the launch of the more advanced IS-1 tank. A total of 148 tanks were produced.
Heavy tank KV-85
The KV-85 tank had a classic layout with a crew of 4 people. The gunner-radio operator had to be excluded from the crew, since the installation of a larger turret did not allow him to be placed in the hull. The front plate turned out to be broken, since a turret box had to be installed for the new turret. The turret was welded, the armor plates were located at rational angles of inclination. There was a commander's cupola on the roof of the tower. Due to the exclusion of the radio operator from the crew, the frontal machine gun was mounted motionless in the tank body and controlled by the driver.
With a tank weight of 46 tons, the tank hull had the same protection as the KV-1: the armor thickness of the hull forehead was 75mm, the sides were 60mm, the forehead and sides of the turret were 100mm, the roof and bottom were 30mm, only the thickness of the turret armor was increased to 100mm . The tank's protection was insufficient to withstand the new German Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" and Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger.
The tank's armament consisted of a long-barreled 85 mm D-5T L/52 cannon and three 7.62 mm DT machine guns.
The power plant was a V-2K diesel engine with a power of 600 hp, providing a highway speed of 42 km/h and a range of 330 km.
The chassis was borrowed from the KV-1 tank with all its shortcomings and contained six twin small-diameter road wheels with torsion bar suspension and three support rollers on one side. The use of the KV-1 chassis led to its overload and frequent breakdowns.
The KV-85 tank was inferior in firepower and protection to the German Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" and Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger and was used mainly to break through the enemy's pre-prepared defenses, while suffering heavy losses.
The tank's protection could only withstand fire from German guns with a caliber of less than 75 mm; the most common German anti-tank gun at that time, the 75 mm Pak 40, successfully hit it. Any German 88-mm gun easily penetrated the armor of the KV-85 hull from any distance. The gun of the KV-85 tank could fight the new German heavy tanks only at distances of up to 1000m. However, as a temporary solution that arose in 1943, the KV-85 was a successful design as a transition model to the more powerful heavy tanks of the IS family.
With the testing of a new turret with an 85-mm cannon on the KV-85, the development and testing of the IS-1 tank continued. The turret of the KV-85 tank was installed on this tank and a new hull with reinforced armor was developed. The IS-1 tank was put into service in September 1943, its serial production continued from October 1943 to January 1944, a total of 107 tanks were produced.
Heavy tank IS-1
The layout of the tank was similar to the KV-85 with a crew of 4 people. Due to the denser layout of the tank, its weight was reduced to 44.2 tons, which made the chassis easier to operate and increased its reliability.
The tank had more powerful hull armor, the thickness of the front hull armor was 120mm, the bottom was 100mm, the turret front plate was 60mm, the hull sides were 60-90mm, the bottom and roof were 30mm. The tank's armor was equal to and even superior to that of the German Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger, and here they performed on equal terms.
The V-2IS engine with a power of 520 hp was used as a power plant, providing a highway speed of 37 km/h and a cruising range of 150 km. The chassis was used from the KV-85 tank.
The IS-1 tank became a transitional model to the IS-2 with more powerful weapons
Heavy tanks IS-2 and IS-3
The IS-2 tank was essentially a modernization of the IS-1, aimed at further increasing its firepower.
In terms of layout, it was not fundamentally different from the IS-1 and KV-85. Due to the denser layout, the driver's hatch had to be abandoned, which often led to his death if the tank was damaged. With the tank weighing 46 tons, its armor protection was very high, the thickness of the armor on the front of the top hull was 120 mm, on the bottom - 100 mm, on the sides - 90 mm, on the front and sides of the turret - 100 mm, on the roof - 30 mm, on the bottom - 20 mm. The armor resistance of the hull's forehead was also increased by eliminating the broken upper frontal plate.
Heavy tank IS-2
The 122-mm D-25T cannon was specially developed for the IS-2 tank; the IS-1 turret had a reserve for modernization and made it possible to install a more powerful gun without major alterations.
The V-2-IS diesel engine with a power of 520 hp was used as a power plant. providing a highway speed of 37 km/h and a range of 240 km.
The IS-2 tank was much more protected than the Pz.Kpfw.V "Panther" and Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger and was slightly inferior only to the Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger II. However, the 88-mm KwK 36 L/56 cannon pierced the lower frontal plate from a distance of 450 m, and the 88-mm Pak 43 L/71 anti-tank gun pierced the turret at medium and long distances from a distance of about 1000 m. At the same time, 122- mm IS-2 cannon penetrated the upper frontal part of the Pz.Kpfw.VI Tiger II only from a distance of up to 600 m.
Since the main purpose of Soviet heavy tanks was to break through heavily fortified enemy defense lines, saturated with long-term and field fortifications, serious attention was paid to the high-explosive fragmentation effect of 85-mm cannon shells.
The IS-2 tank was the most powerful Soviet tank that took part in the war, and one of the strongest vehicles in the class of heavy tanks. It was the only Soviet heavy tank that, based on its combined characteristics, could withstand German tanks in the second half of the war and ensured offensive operations overcoming powerful and deeply layered defenses.
The IS-3 tank was the last model in this series of heavy tanks. It was developed at the end of the war and did not take part in hostilities; it was only paraded in Berlin in September 1945 in honor of the victory of the Allied forces in World War II.
Heavy tank IS-3
In terms of layout and armament, it was an IS-2 tank. The main task was to significantly increase its armor protection. When developing the tank, conclusions and recommendations from the results of the use of tanks during the war were taken into account, special attention was paid to the massive destruction of the frontal parts of the hull and turret protection. Based on the IS-2, a new streamlined hull and turret were developed.
A new frontal unit of the tank hull was developed, giving it a three-slope “pike nose” type shape, and the driver’s hatch, which was absent on the IS-2, was also returned. The tower was cast and given a teardrop-shaped, streamlined shape. The tank had good armor protection, the thickness of the front armor of the hull was 110mm, the sides were 90mm, and the roof and bottom were 20mm. The thickness of the armor of the turret's forehead reached 255mm, and the thickness of the walls in the lower part was 225mm and in the upper part 110mm.
The power plant, weapons and chassis were borrowed from the IS-2 tank. Due to many design flaws of the tank, which could not be eliminated, the IS-3 was withdrawn from service in 1946.
Panzerkampfwagen IV (PzKpfw IV)
Panzer IV entered the active German army in 1939. It became the most popular of the German tanks of the war period, with 8,700 combat units built.
It combined all the advantages of the light T-III, moreover, it had a more powerful weapon and was better protected. The frontal armor was up to 80 millimeters thick, and 75-millimeter shells easily penetrated the armor of enemy combat vehicles.
However, the combat unit had weak points - the sides and rear with very thin armor (at first the thickness was only 30 millimeters). In addition, the creators did not equip inclined armor plates for manufacturability and comfort for the crew.
He took part in many battles of World War II in areas with various combat conditions. It became the most popular combat vehicle of the Wehrmacht. It was as popular with the Nazis as the Sherman was with the American army or the T-34 with the Soviet troops. It had a well-developed and generally reliable design. In the first period of the war, it had an advantage over the tanks of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition.
True, in fights with the T-34 and Sherman, the PzKpfw IV gun was powerless. Only in 1941 did the Germans improve the model, equipping it with a new rapid-fire cannon and stronger armor. This helped improve his combat performance. Despite this, over 7 thousand Panzerkampfwagen IVs were shot down in the battles of World War II. However, the Quartets were used by French and Czechoslovakian forces until the early 1950s and took part in the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.
German heavy tank "Tiger" - a dangerous heavyweight
Before the start of World War II, German tank doctrine did not provide for the use of heavy breakthrough vehicles, therefore, although the development of heavy tanks was carried out, it did not receive much support from the state. After the attack on the USSR, German troops met in battle with the T-34 and KV-1, and it suddenly became clear that these machines, with the proper skill of the crews, could create hell for the entire German army. Therefore, the German heavy tank “Tiger” was urgently created as a counterbalance to these vehicles.
It was equipped with excellent ballistic armor and one of the best tank guns - a converted 88 mm anti-aircraft gun. As a result, the prototype was provided to the command on Hitler’s birthday, and the first tanks went into battle a few months later, in August 1942.
True, the tank turned out to be damp, and only one of the four made it to the first battle; the rest broke down along the way. However, when the problems were eliminated, the Tiger became a serious headache for Soviet tankers, since it could shoot at any of our tanks from a great distance, while remaining invulnerable to almost any attack.
It was the appearance of the Tigers that stimulated work on the creation of the famous Soviet IS-2 tank. Until the end of the war, the German “fortress on tracks,” with skillful management, remained a formidable fighting machine, which was confirmed by the battle at Villers-Bocage, where the famous tank ace Michael Wittmann, with the help of five “Tigers,” stopped the British offensive, destroying 11 enemy tanks and 2 anti-tank guns and 13 armored personnel carriers.
But the tank also had its drawbacks. Firstly, it was the most expensive to produce not only in Germany, but also in the world, but the main problem was its dimensions and tracks, which made it difficult to transport equipment by rail and constantly broke down, and it was almost impossible to repair them in the field. Many broken down Tigers were simply abandoned by the crews during the retreat. Several captured “Tigers” with stars on the towers fought in the Soviet army, however, due to the small number of spare parts, they did not fight much.
M4 Sherman tank
The main tank of the American army during the Second World War proved itself to be excellent on the battlefield. He also fought on the Soviet-German front; vehicles were supplied to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease since 1942. In total, the Allies supplied the Red Army with 3,600 tanks.
By the way, the officers of the Soviet troops really liked the Shermans. Even elite Soviet units, for example, the 10th Guards Mechanized Corps, moved to them. However, popularity came to the combat unit only after its massive use in 1944, during the opening of the “second front” in Normandy.
For that time, the Sherman had good firepower, reliable armor, and high mobility. At the same time, he was reliable. The American combat vehicle was the first of the tanks to have a hydraulic turret drive, which improved the gun's pointing accuracy. In addition, a stabilizer for positioning the gun in a vertical plane appeared.
The Sherman was the first tank with a hydraulic turret drive (this ensured special pointing accuracy) and a gun stabilizer in the vertical plane. According to tank crews, in duels of combat vehicles their shot would be the first. The Sherman's advantages also included reduced engine noise, making the tank able to be used in covert operations, for example, in reconnaissance raids.
It is interesting that by the beginning of the war the United States had only 50 tanks in service, but already during World War II they were able to create an optimal combat unit. By 1945, 49 thousand Shermans of various modifications were produced. These included:
- "Firefly", used to hunt enemy tanks, its armament consisted of a 17-pound cannon;
- "Jumbo" - a vehicle with heavy armor, assault version;
- "Duplex Drive", an amphibious tank that could overcome water obstacles.
Of course, the tank had its drawbacks. Initially, their guns were quite weak and could not penetrate the armor of the German Tigers and Panthers. The shortcoming was eliminated by the release of a new modification, the M4A3E8 Sherman Easy 8. The combat unit received a strong engine, making it possible to move quickly. The tank acquired new, improved tracks, the suspension was modified, and a new 76-mm cannon appeared, which penetrated enemy armor.
However, the Sherman was still rather clumsy - it was noticeably inferior in speed to the T-34, having similar weapons. After the Second World War they continued to be used on the battlefield.
It was used in the Middle East conflict, here it operated until the 70s of the 20th century. The Chilean army was armed with separate models at the end of the twentieth century.
The role of tanks in World War II.
Tanks played a leading role in World War II.
Tank forces became the leading offensive force of the nations that took part in World War II. The dominant role of the battlefield passed to tanks and tank troops, which, together with artillery and aviation, began to determine the winner in any battle fought by the armies of the USSR, Germany, the USA and England. A decisive breakthrough of the enemy’s battle formations, with the further implementation of the tasks of the strategic plan, became possible only with the use of armored vehicles and tanks, in particular. Tank troops of World War II became a highly maneuverable part of the army. But only by concentrating a large number of tanks could victory be achieved.
Germany was the first to understand this truth. Gifted German military leaders like Generals Manstein and Guderian, controlling large groups of tanks, solved the most complex problems with limited means. In 2 weeks they were able to defeat the Polish army, and in four weeks they defeated France and pressed the Allied army to Dunkirk, defeating their opponents.
Tank armies were the means that made it possible to carry out swift attacks by troops on a selected area of defense, without providing the opportunity to regroup, and to carry out daring actions to isolate its units. Mighty strikes by tank forces turned out to be an indispensable attribute of all absolutely large-scale offensive campaigns, as well as active defense of the Second World War.
Panzerkampfwagen VI Ausf. B Tiger II, "Tiger II"
After the appearance of the IS-2 heavy tank in the Red Army, the Wehrmacht set out to create a competitor to the Soviet “monster”. The Tiger II, also known as the “Royal Tiger,” became such a combat vehicle. He received his baptism of fire during the Allied landing in Normandy; the battalion of new Tigers knocked out 12 Shermans in the first clash.
In fact, the tank became a new modification of the first Tiger. It was equipped with special inclined armor and a large cannon of a larger caliber than before was added. In addition, an improved engine was installed on the tank. Thus, the combat unit was improved on different levels at once.
According to some estimates, it was the improved modification of the Tiger that became the most powerful vehicle of the Second World War; the tank was capable of radically tipping the scales in the other direction. True, it was designed quite late, towards the end of the war. The seriousness of the tank is indicated by the following: Wehrmacht tanker Kurt Knispel won 168 battles on it! Today, a copy of the combat unit can be seen in the Patriot Park museum in the Moscow region.
SU-152 - hunter of the German menagerie
By the middle of the war, it became clear that the troops lacked a howitzer that could move under its own power, thus being more mobile and supporting tanks and infantry in the attack. Therefore, on the basis of the KV-1s tank, Soviet engineers created the SU-152 self-propelled gun, with a huge 152 mm cannon that could fire both canopy and direct fire.
Along the way, it turned out that this monstrous vehicle copes very well with the heavy Tiger tanks and medium Panther tanks that the Germans recently acquired, and under favorable circumstances it can even compete with the German self-propelled gun Ferdinand (aka Elefant), well the weaker SU-152 tanks were simply turned into a pile of scrap metal.
At the same time, its rather low silhouette allowed it to effectively organize tank ambushes. For its special successes in battles with the German tank menagerie, the SU-152 was nicknamed “St. John’s Wort” by Soviet soldiers. At the same time, the self-propelled gun was often used in the assault on fortified areas or cities, since the shots of its monstrous cannon successfully folded buildings like houses of cards.
And there were countless victories over enemy tanks. Many tank aces of the Soviet troops distinguished themselves while fighting in this vehicle. For example, the crew of Major Sankovsky disabled 10 enemy tanks in one day, receiving two Orders of the Red Banner for this feat.
There were also funny episodes in the combat journey of this vehicle. According to tanker Nikolai Konstantinovich Shishkin, in one of the battles he spotted four German tanks and knocked out three, forcing the last one to retreat. Having approached closer, he discovered to his horror that he had shot at Soviet T-34 tanks, and was already preparing to appear before the tribunal for the destruction of his own. However, then he saw that crosses were painted on the tanks, which meant they were captured thirty-fours captured by the Germans.
The SU-152 performed well in battles, although quite soon its production was stopped, replaced by an even more advanced self-propelled gun based on the IS-2 heavy tank, the ISU-152, which inherited the glorious nickname “St. John’s Wort” from its predecessor.
Tank T-34-85
The combat vehicle was created under wartime conditions in the USSR. It became an improved modification of the T-34 tank. A new tank was designed with a lack of resources and parts, using old technologies, in factories evacuated to the eastern part of the country. Often these enterprises were not originally intended to create military armored vehicles.
Despite all the obstacles, the tank acquired legendary status when it entered service in 1944. The basic T-34 model lacked fire support, so attacks were carried out in waves. The modified version was equipped with an 85 mm gun. The updated armor could withstand hits from a 37 mm cannon. In addition, an equipped room for the tank crew appeared, and an intercom was installed. Therefore, combat vehicles remained in service with the Soviet army even after the end of hostilities. Over 25 thousand combat vehicles of this modification have been created.
The modified T-34 model was a serious opponent for the heavily armed but slow fascist Tigers. Wehrmacht vehicles were significantly behind Soviet competitors in speed and maneuverability. Also, the T-34-85s were easy to maintain and repair. Red Army tankers quickly mastered the new vehicle and began to take full advantage of its speed and firepower. The new tank fully lived up to the hopes placed on it.
Based on the totality of its combat characteristics, the T-34-85 is considered one of the most effective tanks of the war.
Tank KV-1 ("Klim Voroshilov")
The combat vehicle, created before the Great Patriotic War, also participated in the Soviet-Finnish War. After the German attack on the USSR, the tank was a thunderstorm for the Nazis. Not a single army in the world in 1941 had a weapon capable of equal resistance to the KV-1.
The tank was twice as heavy as the largest German combat vehicle. He destroyed elite units of German forces with the same ease as if he had participated in the Battle of Borodino in 1812. Until the end of 1941, it was an invincible, invulnerable and very powerful combat unit. Only at the end of the first year of the war did the Wehrmacht create competitive military equipment.
Weighed 45 tons, the protection of the combat unit consisted of 75 mm steel armor plates. The armor was well placed on the hull at an angle - German 37 caliber shells could not penetrate the tank’s defense even from a short distance. The Soviet “monster” had a long-barreled 76-caliber gun; it could reach the enemy at a distance of one and a half kilometers.
Tank teams were formed only from officers; only driver mechanics could bear the rank of sergeant major. The training of the crews was head and shoulders above the level of teams of other types of tanks.
The disadvantages of the tank include a rather undeveloped design; the vehicle was hastily put into mass production without taking into account the shortcomings. The transmission especially suffered. Due to the large mass of the tank and the serious loads associated with it, the chassis often failed. And in the initial period of the war, with frequent retreats, the vehicles had to be abandoned or blown up. It was impossible to repair them under military conditions.
The specimens captured by German troops never served the enemy. Due to breakdowns and lack of necessary parts, attempts by the Germans to use them were unsuccessful.
Tank T-34 (“thirty-four”)
Developed by the design bureau of the Kharkov Locomotive Plant before the war. Mikhail Koshkin supervised the creation of the future masterpiece of the domestic tank industry. The combat vehicle was fast and was perfectly protected by sloped armor. In addition, the tank was equipped with a powerful 500-horsepower diesel engine and a 76-caliber gun. The transmission featured wide tracks.
In general, the design of the combat vehicle was simple and technologically advanced. Therefore, the military industry managed to establish its mass production very quickly. By mid-1942, 15 thousand vehicles had been produced, and in total during wartime the USSR produced over 84 thousand tanks of various modifications.
The Nazis were able to appreciate the Soviet creation already in the first battles; they experienced a strong shock. Fascist tanks could not compare with the “thirty-four” in cross-country ability. In addition, the Nazis nicknamed their 37 caliber cannon “knock-knock” because the shells hit the defense of the Soviet vehicle and bounced off. They were superior to German tanks in almost everything: armor thickness, maneuverability, speed and striking power. A meeting with our T-34s for German tankers meant one thing - a very likely defeat.
Even the military instructions for German tank crews stated that when meeting with the T-34, it is recommended not to engage in battle if possible. That is, experts advised their own subordinates to get far away from the Russian tank!
The disadvantages of the vehicle include difficulties in using optics, a small area of the conning tower and the lack of radio communications. Due to the small area of the fighting compartment, the tank commander had to serve as a gunner.
The weak link was also the transmission. She was in a special compartment in the stern. Therefore, the driveshaft turned out to be superfluous. The main role was played by control rods, 5 meters long. Therefore, it was difficult for the driver to control the car. To avoid transmission failure, tanks often went into battle in a single gear that had been set in advance.
These shortcomings forced the designers to modify the combat vehicle, resulting in the T-34-85.
Tank Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I Ausf E, "Tiger"
The first "Tiger" became a heavy German tank, it was designed at the factories of the Henschel und Sohn company. The baptism of fire took place in 1942, during the siege of Leningrad.
The weight of the vehicle was 56 tons, the armament consisted of an 88-mm gun and two machine guns. The tank was protected by steel sheets 100 millimeters thick. The crew consisted of five people. The combat vehicle could dive 3.5 meters into the water.
It was created as a combat unit to break through enemy positions. He had to eliminate any enemy and put the enemy to flight. Hitler personally ordered the necessary technical equipment for the combat vehicle. Apparently, the Fuhrer's personal control led to the fact that the tank could fire 8 shells per minute, this was a record for large tank guns. The tank is usually described as slow, but on the highway the Maybach engine accelerated it to 45 kilometers per hour.
The German Tiger was one of the most dangerous combat vehicles of the initial stage of World War II. Its design was ahead of its time; it became a model for subsequent combat vehicles of a similar class. In 1942, Allied troops did not even hope to defeat it in direct combat, fearing the 88 mm gun. Enemy units tried to take the Tiger by surprise by unexpectedly approaching from behind.
The disadvantages of the combat vehicle include the complexity of the design, the high cost of production (the creation cost the same as the price of two Panther vehicles). In addition, the Tiger consumed a lot of fuel, and its chassis did not work well in severe frosts.
Each Tiger contained a technical manual with the inscription: “The tank costs 800 thousand Reichsmarks. Keep him safe!". As Goebbels believed, the soldiers should have rejoiced knowing that their combat vehicle was worth seven T-IV units. In fact, the military feared that something might happen inopportunely to the Tiger.
