T-26
| T-26C | |
|---|---|
Finnish T-26 model 1933 |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 3 |
| length | 4.60 m |
| width | 2.45 m |
| height | 2.65 m |
| Dimensions | 9.6 tons |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | approx. 7-16 mm |
| Main armament | 1 × 45mm Model 32 cannon |
| Secondary armament | up to 3 × 7.62mm DT machine guns |
| agility | |
| drive |
GAZ gasoline engine T-26 67 kW (91 PS) |
| suspension | Leaf spring |
| Top speed | 27.3 km / h |
| Power / weight | 9.5 hp / t |
| Range | 345 km (road) |
The T-26 was a Soviet tank that served in the Red Army from 1931 to 1945.
history
In 1931 the Soviet Union signed a license agreement with the British armaments company Vickers to manufacture the Vickers 6-ton . This replica was named T-26 . Until 1933 the T-26, like the Polish 7TPdw and the Italian M11 / 39 , were largely replicas of the Vickers Mk. E and had two machine-gun turrets sitting next to each other. In the case of a small number of vehicles, a 37 mm cannon was also used in the right turret (T-26 TU).
The later models were now built with only one turret, which received a 45 mm cannon . The construction of the tower was largely identical to that of the BT-5 . In addition, the tanks were armed with two 7.62 mm machine guns. As with the BT, numerous prototypes with various armaments were designed. In the last production variant, the T-26s, the armor was improved by a beveled shape.
The last of the total of 12,000 T-26s were produced in early 1941.
commitment
The T-26 was used in the Spanish Civil War , the Japanese-Soviet border conflict , the winter war between the Soviet Union and Finland, and the Second World War . In the conflicts of the 1930s, the T-26 proved to be contemporary and in some cases was superior to the vehicles of the enemy.
In the Spanish Civil War, in which German tank units intervened from autumn 1936 under the command of Colonel Ritter von Thoma and the Italian Corpo Truppe Volontarie , the T-26 encountered the German Panzer I and the Italian L3 / 33 and L3 / 35 . The T-26 proved itself here, because the Panzer I and the Italian tankettes were not up to it due to insufficient armament and weak armor.
The enemy in the conflict with Japan was the Type 95 Ha-Go light tank . The T-26 had the more powerful cannon and was slightly better armored, but had a weaker engine.
In the Second World War, however, it proved to be inferior to the German tanks that had been introduced in the meantime. Its cannon could endanger the German Panzer III and Panzer IV , which made up a third of the Wehrmacht's tank population in June 1941, but its armor was weaker and its mobility too low. Compared to the Panzer I and Panzer II , the T-26 was superior thanks to its 45 mm cannon and on a par with the Czech models Panzer 35 (t) and Panzer 38 (t) .
In addition, the Red Army lacked experience in using larger tank formations, as most of the seasoned commanders who participated in the conflicts of the 1930s were imprisoned or executed during the Stalinist purges. In addition, due to the surprise effect, the Red Army had to hastily launch improvised and poorly prepared counter-attacks. Therefore, this vehicle was not used effectively.
The tank was therefore mainly used for reconnaissance and vanguard tasks as well as for infantry support and not as a battle tank , which it was originally intended to be.
Use in other armies
Outside of the Red Army, the T-26 was also used by other armed forces.
The Finnish Army also used the T-26 in World War II, in the summer of 1944 a total of 122 units of different series. After 1945, 94 of them remained in service; they served as a training device until 1959, before they were replaced by newer British and Soviet models.
Franco-era Spain kept T-26Bs captured in the civil war; after the end of the civil war, the country also received more specimens from France, which had previously been brought across the border by fleeing Republicans. The T-26 tanks formed the backbone of a new armored division. In 1942 the Spanish Army had 139 T-26Bs in service. His service ended in 1953 when Spain signed a contract with the USA for the delivery of newer models.
The German Wehrmacht also used captured T-26s of different designs, although they no longer corresponded to the state of the art (see below).
In the 1930s, the Soviet Union delivered at least 60 tanks to Turkey and around 82 to China. The 200th Chinese Division established in 1938, the first Chinese armored division, was equipped with it. An unknown number was delivered to Afghanistan.
- Afghanistan: number unknown
- China: 82 T-26
- Finland: 126 T-26
- Spain: 116 T-26B
- Turkey: 60 T-26
Use by the Wehrmacht
The Red Army lost thousands of T-26s after the Wehrmacht attack in June 1941. These included many broken down vehicles with defective clutches and steering gears. The repair units of the Wehrmacht were not able to recover and repair large quantities of T-26s. 16 operational T-26s were handed over to security units of the Wehrmacht and units of the Ordnungspolizei in the occupied hinterland in 1941 because of their weak combat . The tanks were used in the hinterland to fight partisans . The use in the hinterland can be proven until 1944.
An unknown number of captured and operational T-26s were returned to the front on the German side immediately after the capture. These T-26s were mostly used in infantry units, which these tanks had also captured. Many of the captured T-26s were used as tractors, often after the tower was dismantled. Dismantled towers, from T-26s used as tractors, were used for armored trains. Allied Romania received an unknown number of captured T-26s .
Captured T-26 tanks of the various versions were given the designation “PzKpfw. 737 (r) "," PzKpfw. 738 (r) "and" PzKpfw. 740 (r) ". The flame tank version was given the designation “PzKpfw. 739 (r) ". The T-26s used by the Wehrmacht and the Ordnungspolizei were marked with oversized crosses on both sides of the tower and on the rear of the tower in order to prevent accidental fire from their own units. Because of the poor quality of the T-26, especially because of the failure-prone clutch and controls, there were repeated complaints from the German units. German units converted some T-26s into tank destroyers with the anti-tank gun 7.5 cm PaK 97/38 . The towers were dismantled and the 7.5 cm 97/38 anti-tank guns were put on.
Technical specifications
| T 26C armored car | |
| 0 General characteristics | |
| crew | three men |
| Combat weight | 9.6 t |
| spec. Ground pressure | 0.66 kg / cm² |
| length | 4.60 m |
| width | 2.45 m |
| height | 2.65 m |
| Ground clearance | 37 cm |
| Chain width | 26 cm |
| 0 armament | |
| Main armament | 45mm L / 46 cannon |
| Secondary armament | 2 MG |
| Combat load HW | 169 floors |
| Combat load MG | 2405 rounds |
| 0 mileage | |
| engine | Four-cylinder gasoline engine GAZ T-26 |
| cooling | air |
| Displacement | 6.6 l |
| Bore / stroke | 120/146 mm |
| maximum speed | 2100 rpm. |
| power | 67 kW (91 hp) |
| spec. power | 13.8 hp / liter |
| Weight related performance | 9.5 hp / t |
| transmission | five forward and one reverse gear |
| Speed limit road | 27.3 km / h |
| Fuel supply | 285 l |
| Range road | 345 km |
| Range terrain | 175 km |
| steering | Steering brakes |
| Rollers | 8th |
| suspension | Leaf spring |
| Fording depth | 76 cm |
| 0 armor | |
| Tub bow | 16 mm |
| Tub side | 16 mm |
| Tub rear | 16 mm |
| Tub roof | 7-11 mm |
| Tub bottom | 10 mm |
| Tower front | 16 mm |
| Tower side | 16 mm |
| Turret stern | 16 mm |
| Tower roof | 10 mm |
See also
literature
- Alexander Lüdeke: captured tanks of the Wehrmacht - Great Britain, Italy, Soviet Union and USA 1939–45. Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03359-7 .
Web links
Remarks
- ↑ Steven Zaloga , 1984, p. 55
- ↑ This section is based on a translation of the corresponding section in article T-26 of the English Wikipedia in the version of January 18, 2007 .
- ^ José Maria García, Lucas Molina Franco: La Brunete. Valladolid Quiron Ediciones 2005, ISBN 84-96016-28-5 (Spanish): 328.
- ↑ Manrique, Franco: La Brunete: Primera Parte. P. 31
- ↑ Mikhail Baryatinskiy: Light Tanks: T-27, T-38, BT, T-26, T-40, T-50, T-60, T-70. Hersham, Surrey Ian Allen 2006, ISBN 0-7110-3163-0 , p. 35.
- ↑ Lüdeke: captured armor of the Wehrmacht. 2011, pp. 54-57.
- ^ Thomas L. Jentz : The German Panzer Troop 1933–1942. Podzun-Pallas Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-7909-0623-9 , p. 282.