ZIS-25
"To the Deputy Chief of the GAU, Lieutenant General of Artillery V.I. HohlovCC: Chief of the GABTU BTU, Engineer-Colonel AfoninCC: Chairman of the NKV Technical Council, comrade Ye.A. SatelFebruary...
View ArticleIS Upgrades
"May 19th, 1944List of work for the modernization of the IS-2 tank and ISU-152 SPGEngine groupInstallation of an Object 701 type radiator.Installation of a horizontal fan.Installation of fuel tanks in...
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Semovente da 75/18: Apennine StuG
The first months of Italy's participation in WWII showed the weakness of its armour. The 47 mm gun on its M13/40 medium tank was insufficient against the thick armour of the British Matilda tank, and...
View ArticleExperiments
"To the Chief of the 11th Department of the ABTUSummary of experimental work performed at the T-2O plant in December of 1938January 3rd, 1937#12s1. Installation of remote control equipment on BT-7...
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Maskirovka
It's no secret that PzIV tanks with spaced armour were often mistaken for Tiger tanks. In fact, the similarity between the silhouettes led the Soviets to believe that this was a deliberate...
View ArticleStart of the War
"Combat journal of the 125th Tank RegimentJournal kept by: Commander of the 1st Detachment, Captain ChiginJune 18th, 1941At 20:00, on orders from the commander of the 202nd Motorized Division, the unit...
View ArticleMammoth Tank
"To the Commanders of Artillery of the 109th Guards Rifle Division and 86th Guards Rifle DivisionCopy #2To the Commander of the 92nd Guards Corps Artillery Regiment personallyNew super-powerful...
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"Dachshund" for Assault Artillery
The success of the Semovente M40 da 75/18 caused Italian command to order "the same one, but bigger". The result of that request was the Semovente da 105/25, which was nicknamed Basotto (Dachshund).In...
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Cheating at Statistics: Claims at Klepenino
A common excuse for German inflation of claims is that the battlefield is left to their enemy, so there is no possible way to count how many enemy tanks were lost. However, even on the defensive, the...
View ArticleBT Artillery Tanks
"Report on experimental works for January-April of 1937 at plant 191 (factory #183)...4. Trials of BT-7 vehicles with KT-26 turretsTrials of BT-7 tanks with 76 mm guns began. The vehicle's weight...
View ArticleEvac Rewards
"Order of the People's Commissar of Defense #0357On introducing monetary rewards for evacuation of tanks from the front line and establishing the conditions of rewards for repairing combat or auxiliary...
View ArticleWhat's in a Name?
"Translated from GermanGeneral Staff of the Land Army #8/90583/44February 27th, 1944Top SecretCopy #203Contents: pseudonyms for new types of armament:On the Fuhrer's directions, the following...
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Karabin wz. 35: Secret Weapon of Rzeczpospolita
One of the most popular themes in anti-tank defenses during the interbellum period was the development of anti-tank rifles. Designers had several approaches to this issue. One was the use of "cannon"...
View ArticleTankers' Day
"Order of the Minster of the Armed Forces of the USSR #27July 16th, 1946MoscowOrder of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on the establishment of the annual holiday "Tankers'...
View ArticleFlamethrower Tanks
"OrderTo the People's Commissariat of Medium MachinebuildingMoscowMarch 15th, 1941In carrying out the decree of the Council of Commissars and the Central Committee of the VKP(b) issued on March 13th...
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Far East Variety
As I've written before, the tank fleet of the Far East Front was rather heterogeneous. Large amounts of T-26 and BT tanks were preserved there, since there was little for them to do in Europe. When the...
View ArticleCoverup
"Translation from German9th Army HQIntelligence department, counterintelligence section#653/43 SecretJuly 18th, 1943RE: Operation CitadelAll documents that relate to Operation Citadel even now have a...
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Unlucky 45 mm
By the end of 1941, it was clear that the power of the main Soviet anti-tank gun, the 53-K 45 mm mod. 1937, is insufficient to combat new variants of German tanks, which had thicker armour and applique...
View ArticleFar East Modernizations
"To the Chief of the GBTU TURE: #1142232January 24th, 1944Repair factory #105 developed blueprints and processes to rearm the T-37 and T-38 tanks to use the ShVAK gun. The mass of the tank increases by...
View ArticleSpecialists
"Order of the People's Commissar of Defense #0953On using tankers according to their specialityDecember 13th, 1942Still we observe mass use of intermediate and junior commanders and privates of the...
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