Wonder Weapons
Colonel Kurt Stressner was captured by the Red Army on January 12th, 1945. His interrogation deals with many interesting topics, but one section is probably the most interesting:"Presence of new...
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Pz.Kpfw.I Ausf. F: Pocket Tiger
Coming up with tank ratings is a hobby of many tank experts, as well as people who consider themselves as such. As a rule, the creators try to determine the best tank. While some kind of systematic...
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Small, But Fierce
One of the distinguishing characteristics of German tank building in WWII was an aim to use up obsolete vehicles, including those which used to be the backbone of the German tank force. If a German...
View ArticleExperimental Guns, 1941
"Experimental worksat the Order of Lenin Molotov factory #172, 1941According to contract #3-84 signed on March 18th, 1941, the factory is working on the following systems and parts:1. 152 mm gun, 203...
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T-34 with U-11
"To the director of Kalinin factory #8, comrade Fratkin, SverdlovskCC: NKTP Technical Department Chief, Engineer-Colonel Ginzburg, Sadovo-Sukharevskaya 9.11.CC: NPTK Technical Council Chair, comrade...
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Cromwell Armour
Photo #3. Armour diagram of the British Cromwell IV tank.Photo #4. Components of the front of the British Cromwell IV tankPhoto #8. Attachment of the front turret plate.
View ArticleBr-19 152 mm Gun
"To the Chief of the 3rd Department of the USSR NKV 85 Gorkiy StIn response to #5488s and 5255s-41CC: Factory #221 director, StalingradIn response to #2890s-41CC: Chief of the 2nd Department of the GAU...
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Superheavy Trophy
The German superheavy Maus tank left a mark in the history of tank building. This was the heaviest tank in the world, developed as an assault tank, practically invincible to enemy fire. In many ways,...
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SG-122: Assault Gun on a Foreign Chassis
Work on SPGs, especially heavy ones, stopped in the USSR after the start of the Great Patriotic War. This was largely caused by the fact that the factories were busy with other orders. In addition,...
View ArticleNew Heavy Tanks, 1943
"To the Chief of the GBTU TU 6th Department, Regional Engineer at the Kirov FactoryJuly 5th, 1943I report on the experimental work performed at factory #100 during June of 1943.The most attention was...
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Tanker Rations
"ReportOn the supplies of Guards tank units, attached to the 64th Army by order of the Member of the State Committee of Defense of the USSR, comrade Malenkov,As of March 6th, 1943, in days:Name47th...
View ArticleLend Lease Truck Requirements
"People's Commissariat of External Trade, Technical and Industrial ImportsTo comrade PritvorovWhen ordering trucks, keep in mind the following technical requirements that GABTU has for foreign...
View ArticleDinger Tank
"USSR NKOBTU HQ of the Voronezh FrontReconnaissance Dept.May 3rd, 1943To the divisional HQ chiefOperational department onlyThrough POW interrogation, it was established that:The German army is...
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M24 Chaffee: Test Drive at the End of Lend Lease
Starting in the second half of 1943, the approach to sending British and American Lend Lease armoured vehicles to the USSR changed. Instead of immediate large scale shipments, the Western Allies sent a...
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M4A2(76)W Shipment
"ACTOctober 5th, 1944BakuWe, the undersigned, Senior Assistant to the Chief of the GBTU TU Military Acceptance Department, Engineer-Captain comrade A.M. Davydov, and Technical Deputy to the Commander...
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M4A2(76)W: Emcha With a Long Hand
The Americans considered improving the firepower of the Medium Tank M4 back in September of 1941. A year later, experiments with installing the 76 mm T1 gun into the stock turret commenced. Even though...
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KV-1 Transmission Upgrade
"Transmission for the KV tank with a preselector gearboxVariant 1The main clutch, gearbox, both final drives, brakes, and the lines to these components are removed. Instead, two identical Wilson type...
View ArticleStuart Hero
"Award Order Name: Pavkin, Aleksandr YakovlevichRank: LieutenantPosition, unit: company commander in the 75th Independent Tank Battalionis nominated for the Order of Lenin.Year of birth:...
View ArticleBulletproof Vests
"GOKO decree #6949November 16th, 1944Permit the NKTP to produce parts for 2000 bulletproof vests at factory #50 using 2.6 mm thick 30-35 HGSA steel.The People's Commissariat of Light Manufacturing must...
View ArticleTrials and Tribulations
"...execution of complete trials was impossible for the following reasons:NIPSVO does not have a T-38, for which comrade Polyubin's mount was built (feed system, ammunition racks, toolkit, etc).The...
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