IS-2 in Combat
 "To the Commander of Artillery of the 5th Guards Tank ArmyIn carrying out your order, I present materials on experience of using IS-122 heavy tanks.During fording of water obstacles.Use of...
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African Pz.Kpfw.III
The heavy Panthers and Tigers are the best known of Germany's tanks. The lion's share of discussions of armoured vehicles in the Second World War is dedicated to them, even though lighter tanks carried...
View ArticleVideo: Did Lend Lease Tanks Save Moscow?
Foreign tanks began arriving in the USSR in October of 1941 and reached the front lines a few weeks after. Were these tanks pivotal to saving Moscow from the Germans? Find out in my latest video.
View ArticleBritish Tanks in 1943
 "Report on use of foreign MK-2 [Matilda] and MK-3 [Valentine] tanks in combat1. General characteristicsSince the brigade was created on March 25th, 1942, it was armed with MK-2 and MK-3 tanks. The...
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2023 in Review
As Tank Archives nears the conclusion its eleventh year, I've decided to bring up the traditional year-end summary from the blog's birthday on February 28th to New Year's Eve. Without further ado,...
View ArticleVideo: Comparing the D-25T and 8.8 cm KwK 43 L/71
The IS-2 and King Tiger were equipped with some of the most powerful tank guns used in the Second World War, but which one of them takes the top prize? I compare the penetration power of these two...
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Flame War
A search for methods to combat tanks began as soon as the tanks themselves reached the battlefield. The first anti-tank rifles and anti-tank cannons were already created during the First World War....
View ArticleVideo: Not-so-Soviet Inventions
We all know that Scotch was invented by a little old lady from Leningrad, but there were Soviet inventions that had foreign roots and not necessarily the ones you might think. Check out this video to...
View ArticleForeign Tanks in Winter
 "Report on the tactical use of English made MK-2 and MK-3 tanks as well as domestic T-60 tanks in combat1. The 23rd Tank Brigade was engaged in nonstop fighting from December 16th to December 31st,...
View ArticleVideo: How the T-34 got an 85 mm gun
The T-34 tank was upgraded with an 85 mm gun in a new enlarged turret in 1944. The true story of how the new gun and turret ended up on a 4 year old chassis is an interesting and complicated one. Find...
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There are Always Two
The tank was initially conceived as a mobile fortress; huge and slow. However, the army had to rein in their appetites from a 300 ton monster to just 28 tons. This didn’t mean that the idea of a mobile...
View ArticleVideo: Evolution of the T-34's Armour
The T-34 tank might look like it started and ended the Second World War with more or less the same level of armour protection, but things are more complicated than they first appear. In this video, I...
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Single Hatch for Tank Turrets
The interwar period was a time of new technical solutions, and tanks were no exception. Even though tank development was allocated a limited budget, experiments never stopped. The budgets began to...
View ArticleVideo: Why are we so obsessed with the Tiger tank?
Even though the Tiger tank was built in very limited numbers and not used very widely, it's seen as the quintessential German tank of the Second World War. I look at some reasons why that could be in...
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Quick-Fix Tank Destroyer
British tank building was in crisis in the spring-summer of 1941. The latest Pz.Kpfw.III and Pz.Kpfw.IV tanks encountered in North Africa could only be defeated with the 2-pounder gun at short range....
View ArticleVideo: Historically Accurate Panzer '46
Many German tank designs allegedly on the brink of going into production were actually borderline fiction, while one new tank that was actually good to go is very rarely talked about. Find out what...
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Experience in the Far East
Soviet tanks and SPGs during the Battle of Lake Hasan and its impact on Soviet tank developmentBattle is the main stimulus for development of tank armament and protection. No matter how much technology...
View ArticleVideo: IS-3 in 1945
The IS-3 entered production shortly before Germany surrendered, but how well would it have fought if VE Day was postponed by a few months? Check out my latest video to find out.
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German predecessor to the Soviet Gun Carrier
The Germans had the most diverse self propelled artillery branch of all belligerents in the Second World War. Even if it wasn't the most numerous, there were many different types from tank destroyers...
View ArticleVideo: Soviet Optics vs German Optics
Just how good were Soviet optics? Would a Soviet tank struggle to hit the broad side of a barn, or could Soviet glass go toe to toe with German-made lenses? I whip out my vintage camera collection to...
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