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Eternal Proving Grounds in the Middle East
Throughout the various Arab-Israeli wars of 1948-1982 Israel, Egypt, and Syria received foreign military vehicles in large amounts. The Middle East was an excellent proving grounds to compare the...
View ArticleFuture of SPGs
"Prospective development of Red Army self propelled artilleryJuly 25th, 1945The Red Army's self propelled artillery branch was born during the Great Patriotic War and evolved considerably during this...
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Tiger Weak Spots
The Tiger is a pretty iconic tank and is mentioned pretty frequently in Soviet anti-tank manuals, but penetration diagrams for the big cat are hard to come by. The one in the collection I posted...
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Balls of Soviet Tanks
Tank protection is developed based on information about anti-tank weapons of the potential enemy, physics of interaction between those weapons and a tank's armour, and the conditions in which tanks are...
View ArticleSU-76M Experience
 "Report by the Commander of the Armoured and Mechanized Forces of the Leningrad Front#0174917July 31st, 1944The SU-76 shows itself well in battle, but the open top and rear as well as a lack of...
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Warspot Article: Panther's Ins and Outs
The Panther was arguably the most dangerous German tank of WW2, available in greater numbers than the Tiger and equipped with a higher penetrating gun and greater frontal armour. The British dedicated...
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The Fight for Sight
Optics often come up in discussions that compare Soviet and German tanks. The famous "Zeiss optics" are often invoked by those who are not very well versed in the subject matter. The issue was not in...
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SU-152 Practical Accuracy
The topic of accuracy and precision of Soviet guns comes up a lot. Stereotypically, these guns are depicted in media as being unable to hit the broad side of a barn. Records of trials show otherwise....
View ArticleNew Shermans
 "#540431January 30th, 1944To L.P. BeriaOn the topic of track slipping of modernized American M4A2 tanks in snow, I report that:Modernized M4A2 tanks began arriving in the USSR in the fall of 1943....
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Undercover Gun Runners
Czech anti-tank rifles fell into German hands after the annexation of Czechoslovakia, but the Germans got their hands on similar weapons designed in another European country in a different way. When it...
View ArticleSmoke and Mirrors
 "Tactical-technical characteristics for design and production of a removable smoke device for the BT-20 tankPurpose: the smoke device will be installed on a regular BT-20 tank to create smoke screens...
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Warspot Article: Firefly with a Stinger
The Sherman IC and VC (colloquially known as the Sherman Firefly) combined the American Sherman M4 and M4A4 chassis with the British 17-pounder gun. Putting such a large and heavy gun even in the...
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Halftrack vs Tanks
The Gun Motor Carriage M3 was one of the many specialized variants built on the M3 halftrack APC. It was armed with an obsolete gun and didn't satisfy American requirements for a tank destroyer, but...
View ArticleObject 701 Trials
 "February 8th, 1945The Object 701 tank was designed on the initiative of the Kirov factory with participation of the Bauman Institute transmission design group and TsAKB arms designers, and produced...
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The Necessary Pair
Why the Panther couldn't replace the Pz.Kpfw.IV and why the Germans spent the whole war with two medium tanks.The German tank building school was among the best in WW2. One could say it finished in...
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Beheaded King Tiger
This photograph of a King Tiger with a torn off turret and Soviet officers standing on the hull is known to many fans of WW2 history. It can often be seen in various publications describing the Battle...
View ArticlePlanetary Turning Mechanism Trials
 "January 7th, 1943#11In October and November of 1942 factory #100 designed and tested a planetary turning mechanism designed by Engineer Lieutenant Colonel A.I. Blagonravov.We attach the report on the...
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Training Time
 "Order of the People's Commissar of Defense #0436October 23rd, 1943MoscowContents: on moving training tank units to a 6 month study period.In order to raise the quality of crews trained in training...
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Winter Camo
 "Engineering Forces Staff33rd ArmyFebruary 28th, 1942#0391I send you samples of winter camouflage that gave the best result in forested areas during proving grounds trials for a tank, a cannon, and a...
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Third Tiger Out
The history of the Tiger heavy tank is often presented as a duel between two models: The Tiger H1 designed by Henschel with a mechanical transmission and Tiger (P) designed by Porsche with an electric...
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