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Voroshilov Abroad
Soviet tank building was a mystery for foreigners, but the start of the Great Patriotic War lifted the dense veil of secrecy. Depictions of new Soviet tanks first appeared in German intelligence...
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A German Cat in King George's Court
Study of the enemy’s new weapons or vehicles is always one of the army’s highest priority objectives. The appearance of the Panther tank on the battlefields of WWII could not have gone unnoticed...
View ArticleAnti-Tank Dogs at Stalingrad
"10th NKVD Internal Troops Rifle DivisionOctober 1st, 1942#1/81To the commander of the 62nd Army, Lieutenant General comrade ChuikovThe 28th Independent Dog Tank Destroyer Group was composed of 202...
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T-34 on Tour
A tank’s history does not end with the nation that created it. If possible, it is desirable to familiarize oneself with opinions from other nations, both allies and enemies. Much has been written about...
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Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright
The British first encountered the Tiger tank on the battlefield towards the end of 1942 in Tunisia. Employment of Tigers in early 1943 resulted in a number of losses. The Germans were fairly diligent...
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Tank Review
"To the Chief of Staff of the 31st Vistula Order of the Red Banner Order of Suvorov Order of Kutuzov Tank CorpsI present to you the report on application of tank armament in the Patriotic War. The...
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Anglo-Canadian Cruiser
When the Canadians decided to produce their own armoured vehicles in 1940, they had a whole world of tanks to choose from. British, American, and even French vehicles were considered. A suitable...
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Modernization in the British Style
Great Britain, the nation that was first to invent the tank, lost its first place in tank building by the end of WWII. Nevertheless, the British designed the 17-pounder, a first class tank gun, and put...
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10 Years of Tank Archives
Ten years ago, I signed up for a blog.Back then, I had no lofty goal in mind, I just needed somewhere to host translations of documents from Soviet archives and it seemed as good a place as any. I...
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Book Review: Surviving D-Day Tanks in Normandy
The scale of the D-Day landings was truly epic, with Allied forces landing on a front some 70 kilometers wide. This introduced a considerable problem for the Germans 79 years ago, but also for visitors...
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A Firefly with a Stinger
Several variants of mechanizing the powerful 76 mm 17-pounder gun were developed by the end of 1943. One of them involved installing the gun on various types of Sherman tanks. The new Sherman Ic and...
View ArticleVideo: IS-2 vs Panther, Math and Reality
I've frequently seen the claim that the front of the Panther tank was nearly invulnerable to the IS-2's 122 mm D-25T gun if correctly angled. Indeed, penetration equations suggest that would be the...
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How to Kill a T-34
Tank design is an endless battle not just against existing enemy tanks, but also prospective ones. No tank can stay at the top of the food chain forever. Even a vehicle with the most powerful gun and...
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Anti-Aircraft Lizard
The British began to build SPAAGs after the start of the Second World War. As soon as it became clear that the Light Tank Mk.VI was obsolete as a tank, it was converted to take a new turret with four...
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Tanks Worth Their Weight in Gold
Ways in which Germany could have been victorious in WW2 are still a popular topic of discussion in some circles. One can often hear the claim that the war on the Eastern Front would have ended in 1941...
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Prime Minister on the Front Lines
In 1941 it became clear to British tankers that the Churchill I armed with a 40 mm 2-pounder and 3” howitzer won’t remain competitive for long. Due to difficulties with developing a new weapon, the...
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Porsche and Militarism
It's no secret that the same people often build tanks and peaceful vehicles. For instance, the Kirovets K-700 tractor was designed by the same people who designed heavy tanks at the Kirov factory...
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Panther's Ins and Outs
The Tiger tank no doubt holds the title of the most famous German tank of WW2. The tank is often mentioned as an example of the idea of “quality over quantity”, Tiger aces widely known, and the tanks...
View ArticlePz.Kpfw.II Weaknesses
"To Chemistry Chiefs of the 29th and 65th Rifle Corps, 21st Mechanized Corps, 46 [cut off]July 28th, 1941The most vulnerable locations on the German light tank are:1. The open vision port on the right...
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American Generals in King George's Court
The British found themselves in an undesirable situation in North Africa by 1941. Matilda and Valentine infantry tanks were quite modern and often vulnerable only to 88 mm AA guns, but cruiser tanks...
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