Power Steering
"September 4th, 1938#288201To: Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Industry, comrade TevosyanThe ABTU is undertaking a series of experiments regarding installation of servo devices on tanks that make...
View ArticleVodka Thieves
"Decree of the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front #0119June 30th, 1944Active ArmyOn the punishment of the Chief Quartermaster of the 186th Rifle Division, Major of the Intendant Service, Lev...
View ArticleT-34 Radio
"Minutes of the Meeting of the Military Commission on March 3rd, 1940, on the trials of the A-34 tank...It was established that:The position of the radio in the turret does not allow for proper work...
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Three in Transition
The German Z.W.38 medium tank that entered production in early 1939 was having a hard time on the assembly line. The PzIII Ausf.E was better than its predecessors, but still had a large number of...
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Cheating at Statistics: SU Strike at Balaton
One of the easiest way to find an event ripe for a Cheating at Statistics segment is to look for a fairly frequently occurring scenario. German tanks (usually Tigers) achieve some kind of fantastic...
View ArticleProduction figures
"Information summary of presence of tanks in the Red Army from January 1st, 1941, to January 1st, 1944TankInventory as of Jan 1st 1941Produced in the first half of 1941Produced as of Jul 1st...
View ArticleT-34 Design Improvements
"Minutes of a meeting with the factory #183 director on August 29th, 1940 on the issue of design changes to the T-341. Issue: on the introduction of the F-32 and 45 mm gun on the T-34.Factory's...
View Article122 mm HEAT Effectiveness
"October 20th, 1944Report on the effectiveness of 122 mm howitzer HEAT shells122 mm HEAT rounds were fired at a range of 4000-4500 meters using the DT scale and the stock special charge.Firing showed...
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The Last of the Threes
The issues that the German PzIII medium tank encountered can be tracked by the rate of its production. Only 896 vehicles of this type, including command tanks, were built in 1940. This is a small...
View ArticleKRSTB Radio Trials
"On the execution of factory trials of the KRSTB radio according to order #319 given on December 14th, 1939Field trials were carried out in Mytishi-Zagorsk in Moscow oblast. Laboratory trials were...
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Bow Machine Guns
When tanks were used primarily for infantry support, there was no such thing as too many machineguns. Little machinegun cupolas or full on turrets were quite useful. However, as tanks evolved, the...
View ArticleFactory #183 Experiments
"August 1st, 1940#382sTo Chief of the 8th Department of the ABTUMilitary Engineer 1st Class, AfoninReport on experimental work for the month of July at factory #183Design bureauTwo variants of a T-34...
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Finders Keepers
"To the commander of the 22nd Tank CorpsCC: Commander of the 168th Tank Brigade, commander of the 36th Tank BrigadeJune 18th, 1942#0186In battle at Shevchenkovo, on June 11th, 1942, a T-34 tank with...
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The Soviet First
The birth of tank building during WWI did not go unnoticed by the Russian Empire. Pokrovshikov's Vezdekhod tank is often mentioned in this context, but this demonstration vehicle did not bring much...
View ArticleTank Building Progress
"To the People's Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union, comrade TimoshenkoI report to you regarding the progress of carrying out Central Committee of the VKP(b) decrees ## 976-368, 973-366,...
View ArticleSU-100 Review
"March 12th, 1945Comments on the use of the SU-100 SPG in combatDuring the fighting of the Corps from January 14th to March 10th, 1945, SU-100 SPGs were used as tanks, as the Corps fought in operative...
View ArticleIntercom
"Concluding Statement on Proving Grounds Trials of the TPU-3M tank intercom device produced by V.I. Lenin factory #197October 9th, 1940LeningradThe commission, consisting of [names and titles] came to...
View ArticleTurn up the HEAT
"To the Commander of the Corps Artillery, Commanders of Artillery Units and FormationsApril 12th, 1945Immediately issue a general order to your units to use 122 mm howitzer HEAT rounds. In addition to...
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Anti-Tank Hornet, a.k.a. Rhino
The Ferdinand was unusual among German WWII era SPGs. A number of things, such as the armament and armour, make it exceptional. However, only a small number of these SPGs was built. There were other...
View ArticleServo Controls
"Act #013, composed on May 15th, 1940The current act is composed by:Bureau "540" researcher comrade I.S. TomashpolskiySenior ABTU military representative at the Comintern factory, Captain P.F....
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