T-27
| T-27 | |
|---|---|
Tankette T-27 |
|
| General properties | |
| crew | 2 |
| length | 2.60 m |
| width | 1.85 m |
| height | 1.44 m |
| Dimensions | 2.7 t |
| Armor and armament | |
| Armor | 9 mm |
| Main armament | 1 × 7.62mm MG DT |
| agility | |
| drive | 4-cylinder gasoline engine GAZ -AA-4 40 HP (29 kW) |
| suspension | Roller carriage drive |
| Top speed | 40 km / h |
| Power / weight | 14.8 HP / t [10.7 kW / t] |
| Range | 110-120 km |
The T-27 was a tankette built under license in the Soviet Union from 1931 .
history
After the light tanks had proven themselves in their role as escort and support vehicles for the infantry during the First World War , the idea of creating small, super-light tanks for reconnaissance was born: the tankette . The first drafts and prototypes of this vehicle class were made in Great Britain . After single-seater models were rejected as unsuitable (one man was overloaded with the full range of tasks as driver, gunner and commander), a successful two-seater model was created in 1927, which, after several modifications and improvements, was in production as the Carden-Loyd Tankette Mk. IV at Vickers-Armstrong went and was exported to numerous countries (Poland, Italy, Czechoslovakia, France, Japan, Canada, Egypt, Belgium). Similar developments took place in France, Italy and Poland, but the resulting patterns are essentially all based on the British Carden-Loyd.
In the mid-1920s in the Soviet Union, as part of the revision of the tank doctrine, the demand for the creation of a light reconnaissance tank was raised to support the MS-1 ( T-18 ) in action. Various designs were created between 1927 and 1930, mostly based on the previous T-16 model. Since they all had to struggle with various problems, it was decided to replicate the British Carden-Loyd Tankette Mk.IV. In 1930, a series of 26 vehicles and a license for in-house production were therefore acquired. The British vehicles received the designation 25-V (variously also K-25) in the Red Army . The plans provided for a total of 290 vehicles to be produced in 1930 and then 400 vehicles annually.
The Soviet designer NN Kozyrew had to revise the pattern to adapt it to Soviet manufacturing and operational standards. The tank structure was enlarged, the gearbox changed and a Soviet MG was installed. As a result of these changes, the vehicle differed significantly from the British original and was put into service with reconnaissance units under the new designation T-27 from 1931 and production began in two plants.
Overall, the vehicle and its equipment were kept simple and robust. In particular, there was no radio and communication with other vehicles was to be carried out by means of optical flag signals. The vehicle was undemanding in operation and use, but because of its narrow tracks, it was poorly suited for soft ground. The interior of the vehicle was also very narrow, so that there was no space for too large people. The engine was licensed from the Ford AA.
3,328 of these vehicles were built, which also played an important role in the creation of mechanized units. In 1933 airborne troops also received T-27s, which were transported under the fuselage of Tupolev TB-3 bombers as an external load. At the end of the 1930s, the T-27s were retired from the combat units. After modifications, they were then used as driving school tanks or as traction means for light field guns. Various attempts were also made to expand the tactical tasks: in small series, versions were created as flamethrowers , as 37 mm assault guns or as submersible tanks; Attempts to create a 76 mm assault gun (including a recoilless cannon) ended as failures, as did the equipment with rocket launchers on the sides of the superstructure.
As of January 1, 1942, there were still 2,157 T-27s in stock, which were still in use to support battles until 1942, including the Battle of Moscow .
Individual captured T-27s were used by the Wehrmacht under the designation 734 (r) in security units in the occupied hinterland of the Soviet Union and as tractors.
Technical specifications
| Climbing ability | 30 ° |
| Ability to exceed | 1.20 m |
| Climbing ability | 0.50 m |
| Wading ability | 0.50 m |
| Driving range | 110 km |
| Armament | 1 MG 7.62 mm ( DT / 2,500 cartridges) |
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c A. W. Karpenko: Soviet-Russian tanks . 1905-2003. Ed .: Rudi Meier. Elbe-Dnjepr, Klitzschen 2004, ISBN 3-933395-44-5 , p. 161 (Russian: Обозрение отечественной бронетанковой техники (1905–1995 гг.) . Translated by Rudi Meier).
- ↑ Alexander Lüdeke : captured tanks of the Wehrmacht . Great Britain, Italy, Soviet Union and USA 1939–45. Motorbuch, Stuttgart 2011, ISBN 978-3-613-03359-7 , pp. 48 .
literature
- Robert Jackson: tanks. Models from around the world from 1915 to today . Parragon Books, Bath 2007, ISBN 978-1-4075-7742-5 , pp. 39 ff .
