Swords to Plowshares
"Report to Marshal of the Soviet Union N.A. Bulganin#00810675November 17th, 1947Armoured and Mechanized Forces are in possession of 1185 foreign tanks, broken down as follows:889 functional (including...
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Pz.Kpfw.IV Weak Spots
"Death to German occupants!Weak spots of the German Pz.Kpfw.IV tankBrief information:Armour:Front: 40-60 mmSide: 20-40 mmTurret: 20 mmEngine: gasolineLength: 5.9 meters, width: 2.9 meters, height: 2.6...
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The Tank's Hidden Foe
On paper, German anti-tank rocket launchers were a weapon of unimaginable terror for enemy tank crews. An infantryman with a light anti-tank weapon capable of penetrating up to 200 mm of armour could...
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45 mm gun vs Pz.Kpfw.IV Ausf.E
Photo #64: Penetration of the front hull, 50 mm thick, from a range of 50 meters (I).Photo #65: Damage to the front hull, 50 mm thick, from a range of 100 meters (1, 2, 3)Damage to the rear face of the...
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The First Firebreathing KV
The USSR was the first country to mass produce flamethrower tanks. Initially these were chemical tanks, whose primary purpose was to deploy chemical weapons. Nevertheless, the KhT-26 chemical tank...
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Big Gun for a Big KV
ZIS-6 and other 100-107 mm tank guns developed in 1941Vasiliy Gavrilovich Grabin is one of the best known Soviet gun designers. It just so happened that design bureaus under his direction created the...
View ArticlePz.Kpfw.IV vs StuG
"Top SecretInspector General of the Tank Forces#046/44 Top SecretJune 26th, 1944Copy 1 out of 5Notes on the report to the FuhrerReplacement of Pz.Kpfw.IV tanks with L/48 and L/70 assault guns.1)...
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Not Quite a Swallow
An attempt to "speed up" the Soviet KV-1 heavy tank in March of 1942Tanks getting heavier during production is a normal phenomenon. Several factors are at play here. One is that requirements for...
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Near-useless Frenchman in Polish Service
The Polish army had likely the worst armoured force out of any nation that built its own tanks. Most nations at the time followed the same route: purchases of something like the Renault FT, then...
View ArticleGerman Tank Intel 1944
"Top SecretInspector General of the Tank Forces#046/44 Top SecretJune 26th, 1944Copy 1 out of 5Notes on the report to the Fuhrer[...]Based on information received at 2:00 on June 25th from Tank Group...
View ArticleDeliveries
"Table of arrivals of tanks at the front lines in 1941, by typeTypeDomesticBritishAmericanTotalMonthKVT-34T-60T-70Mk.IIMk.IIIMk.IVM3 SM3 LTotal 1941...
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Heavy Guns vs KV-1
"XXXVIII Army Corps HWOperational DepartmentLempelevo, September 19th, 1941RE: Experimental firing by Pz.Jg.Abt.563 against a Russian 52 ton tank (not reinforced).1 diagram18th Army HQAttached is the...
View ArticleArtillery vs Fortifications
"To the Military Council of the 16th Army1. Experimental trials using an anti-tank rifle, 45 mm gun, and 76 mm gun were performed against an earth and timber bunker on July 31st, 1942.The size of the...
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DShK vs Pz.Kpfw.IV
"Results of firing the 12.7 mm DShK machine gun with the B-32 bullet against the German Pz.Kpfw.IV tankRangeHit locationArmour slope from verticalTotal angle (slope + shooting angle)Armour...
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The Main Soviet Pre-War Tank
There were many cases in tank building history where development programs were restarted almost from scratch. This happened with Soviet tank development at the end of the 1920s and start of the 1930s....
View ArticleVideo: 6-pounder and 57 mm M1 Gun in the USSR
Both British made 6-pounders and American made 57 mm M1 guns were shipped to the USSR in various forms, but one was received much better than the other. I talk about why in my latest video. Huge thanks...
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Polish Tank Destroyer
The growth of tactical-technical requirements is a normal phenomenon for any army in the world. The brass also often doesn't know when to stop, which results in a strange metamorphosis. This happened...
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Ever-Changing Tank Nomenclature
One of the topics that resurfaces in arguments about armoured vehicles is classification. It wouldn’t be so bad if people far from the science of armoured vehicles made mistakes, but quite notable...
View ArticleTanks at Khalkhin-Gol
"To the Chief of the RKKA ABTUAugust 19th, 1939Directorate of the People's Commissar, 1st Department#755895ssOn orders of the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense, Army Commander 1st Class comrade...
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Borgward Tankettes
"Main Intelligence Directorate of the Red ArmyOctober 20th, 1943#200558ssMoscowTo the Commander of the Armoured and Mechanized Forces of the Red Army, Colonel General of the Armed Forces, comrade...
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