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Small Arm Rearm
CAMD RF 38-11355-806"To the deputy commander of the Red Army GAU, Major-General of Artillery, comrade HohlovExperience shows that the 7.62 mm DT tank machinegun does not provide sufficient volume of...
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World of Tanks History Section: Last Stand
A grenade and a bottle with incendiary fluid: this was the most widespread armament of a Red Army infantryman in late 1941. It was most effective where it was used with another powerful weapon:...
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Medium Paper Tank Destoyers
Of all German E-Series (Entwicklung, development) only the E-100 ever reached the stage where it was ready to be built in metal. This did not stop other vehicles in the series from becoming very...
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FCM36: Ahead of its Time
The FCM 36 was the least lucky French tank created in the interbellum period. Its design was progressive: it was the first tank with sloped armour to be put into production. While other French tanks...
View ArticleTanks at the Mannerheim Line
"Technical Meeting MinutesFactory #185May 9th, 1940Chairman: comrade BarykovReport by comrade Koloyev about the anti-tank defenses in the Summa region on the Karelian Isthmus.The Mannerheim Line was...
View ArticleBirth of the AT-45
"To member of the State Committee of Defense, comrade Beria L.P.Currently, Voroshilovets tractors produced at factory #183 in Kharkov (375 hp engine, 35 kph maximum speed) are being used to tow heavy...
View ArticleT-40 Roof Armour
"Minutes of a technical meeting at the Podolsk factory on January 19th, 1941, on the issue of thickening part 02-5 from 6 mm to 9 mmPresent:From factory #37:Bureau #1 chief, AstrovSenior designer:...
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Ergonomics of the SG-122
An image of a tank with measurements? You know the drill, let's compare this baby to the Soviet ergonomics guide!Right off the bat, the height of the fighting compartment isn't enough for the loader....
View ArticleWorld of Tanks History Section: Udalov, from Raseiniai to Silesia
The summer of 1944 was coming to an end, but the Sandomierz foothold was still hot. The sun was beaming from above and battled raged on the ground. A German attack at dawn of August 13th failed, but...
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AMX 38: A Tank Between Classes
The results of the French competition for a new light tank in the mid 1930s were unclear. On one hand, the army made a deal with Renault to produce 300 light Renault ZM tanks. The tank entered service...
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Tetrarch in the USSR
The British light Tetrarch tank is most often remembered in connection with the landing in Normandy. While it was the first tank used for this purpose, initially the Tetrarch was designed for something...
View ArticleSoviet Intel on British Tanks
"Notes:The tanks MkI (infantry), MkI (cruiser) and light MkVII are made in negligible amounts. The first two appear to have been removed from production entirely.The main types of tanks are the MkIV...
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The Real Matilda I, Continued
Somehow, in English language armoured history, the index "Matilda I" managed to latch onto the Infantry Tank MkI despite some evidence to the contrary. Interestingly enough, this never happened in...
View ArticleChTZ KV Startup
"List of questions connected with the new vehicleOrganizational questions:Keeping independent paperwork, caused by:Changes to blueprints caused by varying manufacturing processes.Need to issue...
View ArticleCheating at Statistics: Across the Front Lines
As my "Cheating at Statistics" series grows more and more popular, I read more and more complaints that surely it must have been those sneaky Russians lying in their own documents, for the noble...
View ArticleWorld of Tanks History Section: Taming the Panthers
On January 26th, 1944, the second day of the Korsun-Shevchenkovo Offensive, the contours of the pocket in which Army Group Center would be caught in were already being drawn on the map. The German...
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IS-7, Take One
Most literature refers to the IS-7 as one tank, but this is far from the truth. Like many tanks, the IS-7 underwent a long and complicated development path, which started out with something completely...
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Object 257: The First IS-7
The IS-7 heavy tank is well known to armour enthusiasts. A combination of impressive armour, a powerful gun, and an engine that could propel the 70 ton tank at 60 kph made it the pinnacle of its class....
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Establishment of Anti-Tank Artilery
"Order of the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR #0528July 1st, 1942MoscowIn order to improve the quality of fighting enemy tanks, creation and accumulation of tank destroyer artillerymen,...
View ArticleLooting
"9th Tank DivisionHQ, October 12th, 1941Divisional order #245(E)2. Knocked-out tanksOne occurrence gives a basis to state the following: on September 17th, 1941, a tank was knocked out at Gorodishe....
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