"Secret
To Comrade Beria
January 27, 1944
Based on the recommendations given by the commander of the 3rd Ukrainian Front, Army General comrade Malinovskiy, we report that:
- Item 1 in comrade Malinovsky's letter proposed installation of spaced armour 30-50 mm thick on the SU-85 and SU-122 SPGs.We consider that it would be unacceptable to install 30-50 mm thick spaced armour on the SU-85 and SU-122 SPGs on the T-34 chassis due to excess weight and overloading of the front suspension, which would radically reduce the lifespan of the transmission and running gear.
- Item 2a proposes the installation of a telescopic or periscopic sight for the radio operator's hull machinegun on the T-34.The Kirov factory installed optical sights on machineguns in a batch of 50 T-34 tanks.After the GBTU comes to a conclusion on field tests of the sight a decision will be made regarding installing these sights in production T-34 tanks.
- The same item proposes the installation of a periscope in the radio operator's hull side.The issue of feasibility of installing a periscopic observation device in the radio operator's station will be reviewed at factory #183. Factory #183 has been instructed to work on this issue and come to a conclusion within 10 days.
- The same item proposes installing a large caliber machinegun in the T-34."