Light Tanks, 1944, Part 1
"To the Chief of the GBTU Tank Directorate, Major-General comrade AfoninJanuary 5th, 1944The preliminary tactical-technical requirements for a light tank that you sent were examined by a small circle...
View ArticleLight Tanks, 1944, Part 2
"To the Chief Engineer of factory #174, comrade DemyanovichJanuary 26th, 1944Regarding your inquiry relating to tactical-technical requirements for a light tank, here are the possible changes to...
View ArticleSU-76-57
"Mounting of a 57 mm mod. 1943 gun on a SU-76M SPGThis project is being designed according to an order from the Artillery Committee and consists of the installation of a 57 mm mod. 1943 ZIS-2 anti-tank...
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SU-122-2 in Combat
The CIA has a tendency of detecting all sorts of armoured vehicles that are as interesting as they are fictional, but this time they might have hit the mark.CIA-RDP82-00457R005700310005-7Two guns, like...
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First Soviet Tanks
The first tank built in the young Soviet Republic was the "Russian Renault", a poor copy of the most numerous and probably best tank of WWI. It is also known as "Freedom Fighter Comrade Lenin", after...
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LPP-25: Light, Simple, and Unwanted
The light LPP-25 anti-tank gun was built as an answer to the German s.Pz.B.41 anti-tank rifle. As a result of information that reached Soviet designers from the front lines, a weapon was born that did...
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Cheating at Statistics 17: Leaving Leningrad
In early 1944, the German forces around Leningrad weren't doing so well. The blockade around Leningrad had ruptured, Sinyavino heights were lost, and Army Group North was beginning to slink back...
View ArticleOSA-76
"Lightened 76 mm SPG OSA-76Factory #38 designed a draft project of a lightened 76 mm SPG (factory designation OSA-76) with a ZIS-3 gun on their own initiative.The draft project was presented to the...
View ArticleTractor Tanks and SPGs
"Minutes from a technical meeting at Comintern factory #183 regarding producing SPGs at factory #183August 27th, 1941Participants:Factory director, Y.E.MaksarevChief engineer, P.M. KrivichChief...
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Soviet Mega Tanks
The Americans seem to know something I don't, digging up some pretty sketchy looking tank data following perfectly legitimate information about the KV-85.These beasties sound pretty similar to what the...
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Provornov's Light Tank: T-34 in Miniature
Hundreds of tank-themed proposals were sent to the Main Automobile and Armour Directorate of the Red Army during the Great Patriotic War. There was a wide spectrum of ideas and inventors. There were...
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Halftrack Experiments
Ever since their appearance in the mid-1910s, halftracks have been considered as a chassis for armoured vehicles, especially SPGs. Better off-road performance than wheeled vehicles and stability made...
View ArticleT-34 Tank Destroyer
"Approved by Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union, G. KulikMay 27th, 1941Tactical-Technical Requirements for an 85 mm SPG1. Purpose of the SPGThe 85 mm SPG is designed to...
View ArticleZIS-30 in Combat
"To the Deputy Chief of GABTU, Major-General of the Technical Forces, LebedevCC: Lieutenant-General of the Tank Forces TamruchiApril 5th, 1942The 57 mm anti-tank gun mounted on the Komsomolets chassis...
View ArticleReplacement Steel
"State Committee of DefenseDecree #3038March 16th, 1943Moscow, KremlinIn order to test the quality of armoured plate made from KM-1 steel (FD 5732) as a replacement for M3-2 (8S) steel on tank...
View ArticleTank RMA
"To the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal G.I. KulikThe chief designer of factory #92, comrade Grabin, reports to me that the 85 mm F-30 gun installed in the T-220 tank turret made by the...
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Medium Tank M2: Last Place in the Arms Race
The late 1930s were a time when armoured vehicles were developing rapidly. The start of WWII in September of 1939 gave an even bigger push to the flywheel of progress. Designs that were considered...
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Light Tanks T1E4 and T2E1: Experiments on an Ideal Platform
The idea of a light tank with a front engine that the American Ordnance Department insisted on was at a dead end by 1932. Trials of the Light Tank T1 family and later the Medium Tank T2 showed that the...
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Cheating at Statistics 18: Volosovo Vanishing
Following some very generous evaluations of their performance, the s.Pz.Abt. 502 continued backing up before the advance of the Red Army. Just a few days later, on January 28th, 1944, an epic battle...
View ArticleArchive Awareness is now Tank Archives
Over four years ago, I started writing this blog. Originally, it was called Ensign Expendable's Archive Awareness, stemming from my World of Tanks forums username and the fact that very few posters...
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