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Prospective SPGs
"April 14th 1944Confirmed: Chief of the GBTU USA, Major General of the Tank Engineering Service, AlymovPlan of the 3rd Department of the GBTU USA for April-May 1944WorkExecutorDue dateControlling the...
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Light SPGs with Big Guns
The SU-76M SPG, armed with the ZIS-3 76 mm gun, was the second most numerous vehicle in the Red Army. This gun was one of Grabin's best, and had very respectable characteristics. Nevertheless, the idea...
View ArticleProduction Trials
To establish the qualities of the mass produced T-34, three tanks were picked out at the end of 1940 to be run through large scale trials, including 3000 km of driving, gunnery, and communication...
View Article"Tommy Gons"
"From Washington#11115, 1111600:45 August 14th, 1941#3Immediate priorityTo: Stalin, Molotov, ShaposhnikovThe American government officially asks if we need submachineguns currently used by the American...
View ArticleExpert Opinion
"Report on the development of the new A-20 tank at factory #183The A-20 is began development at factory #183 in December of 1937 by designer Koshkin.Information obtained by the UNKVD of Kharkov oblast...
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None More Frightening than the Cat
German industry created three armoured vehicles during WWII that had a significant effect on tank building worldwide. The appearance of the Tiger made Allied tanks obsolete. The few Ferdinand SPGs that...
View ArticleThe Myth of the Disposable T-34
This is a claim that I'm sure many of my readers have seen. It's usually worded something like "the lifespan of a T-34 tank on the battlefield was X hours, so the Soviets saw no reason to produce a...
View ArticleCompatibility
"Order of the People's Commissariat of Tank ProductionMoscowFebruary 16th, 1942#206-msLately there have been cases of individual factories making design and technological changes to components and...
View ArticleMP-44 in Combat
"Translated from German (excerpts)563rd Grenadier DivisionQuartermaster departmentContents: on the use of the "MP-44" submachinegunPreliminary instructions from the Supreme Command of the Land Forces...
View ArticleBunker Turret
I posted about German bunkers with tank turrets before, but only the drawings. Here are some instructions to go along with them."Translated from German8th Jager DivisionJanuary 5th, 194421 armoured...
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In Search of the Perfect Sphere
The idea of building spherical tanks was born long ago. Spherical tanks were treated as a viable weapon during WWI, but interest in this topic peaked in the 1930s and 40s. Most of the time, work...
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T-34-85 Review
"Report on the use of the T-34 in combat during the Patriotic War in the 37th Guards Tank RegimentThe S-53 gun installed on the T-34 tank has a number of design drawbacks, such as:When firing, the...
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Lynx or Puma
"Leningrad Front,Intelligence DepartmentOctober 21st, 1944#2201ssTo the Chief of Intelligence of the 8th ArmyI report on the presence in the German army of a new armoured reconnaissance car armed with...
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Autocannon Penetration
Due to a shortage of DShK machineguns, the T-30 and T-60 tanks were equipped with the 20 mm ShVAK autocannon. Despite the larger caliber, penetration was not much more impressive than the DShK was...
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Great Minds Think Alike
The British were questioning the value of a hull machinegun by 1943. The gun was hard to operate and seemed to offer little actual benefit in combat. It did, however, significantly weaken the tank's...
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Second Hand
The SOMUA S 35 tank was well regarded not only in the French army, but in the army of its greatest enemy. Unlike the Pz38(t), the tank did not serve in first echelon divisions, but the Pz.Kpfw.35 S (f)...
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T-34s vs Tiger
"ReportOn military trials of T-34 and T-34-85 tanks against the T-6 "Tiger" tank2nd Tank Battalion, 63rd Guards Tank BrigadeJune 16th, 19441. The 2nd Tank Battalion fired the guns. The battalion...
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News from Finland
"On April 8th, 1944, a prisoner was captured near Ashtakhma lake with a photograph of the German "Amphibian" car on him. The prisoner indicated that 66 "Amphibian" cars arrived from German to Finland...
View Article1942 Lineup
"Wundsdorf Tank SchoolMarch 1st, 1942Which Russian tanks will you encounter in 1942?A significant amount of obsolete tanks:Ford armoured reconnaissance carT-37 amphibious tankT-26 light tankBT...
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