Soviet technology of the second world war. War of engines: weapons of the Red Army before the start of the Great Patriotic War Military equipment of 1941 1945 USSR
A photo. Multipurpose four-wheel drive army vehicle
Willis-MV (USA, 1942)
Weight without load 895kg. (2150lbs)
Carburetor liquid-cooled engine 42hp / 2500 rpm 4-cycle. 2200cm²
Gearbox: 3 speeds + 1 reverse
Maximum speed on the highway: 104 km / h.
Fuel consumption 14l / 100kl.
Tank 57l.
A photo. Anti-tank gun. M-42. 45 mm. Caliber 45mm. Barrel length 3087mm. The maximum rate of fire is 15-30 rounds per minute.
A photo. Katyusha. Rocket mortar BM-13. Created in 1939. design bureau A. Kostyukov. Tactical and technical characteristics: Caliber: 132mm. Weight without shells: 7200kg. Number of guides: 16 Firing range: 7900m.
A photo. 122 mm. Howitzer. Sample 1938. Created in 1938. design group F. Petrov. Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: 2400kg in combat position. Firing range: 11800m. The maximum elevation angle is + 63.5 °. Rate of fire 5-6 rds / min
A photo. 76 mm. Divisional Cannon. Sample 1942. Created in 1938-1942. design bureau V. Grabin. Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: 1200kg in combat position. Firing range: 13290m. The maximum elevation angle is + 37 °. Rate of fire 25 rds / min.
A photo. 57 mm. Anti-tank Cannon. Sample 1943. Created in 1938-1942. design bureau V. Grabin. Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: in combat position 1250kg. Firing range: 8400m. The maximum elevation angle is + 37 °. Rate of fire 20-25 rds / min
A photo. 85 mm. Anti-aircraft Cannon. Sample 1939. Created in 1939. G. D. Dorokhin. Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: 4300kg in combat position. Firing range at height: 10500m. Horizon: 15500m. The maximum elevation angle is + 82 °. Rate of fire 20 shots / min.
A photo. Barrel 203 mm. Howitzers. Sample 1931. Designers F.F. Pender, Magdesnev, Gavrilov, Torbin. Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: 17700kg in combat position. Firing range: 18000m. The maximum elevation angle is + 60 °. Rate of fire 0.5 rds / min
A photo. 152 mm. Howitzer-gun M-10. Sample 1937 Created in 1937. design group F. Petrov Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: in combat position 7270 kg. Firing range: 17230m. The maximum elevation angle is + 65 °. Rate of fire 3-4 rds / min
A photo. 152 mm. Howitzer D-1. Sample 1943. Created in 1943. design group F. Petrov Tactical and technical characteristics: Weight: in combat position 3600 kg. Firing range: 12400m. The maximum elevation angle is + 63.30 °. Rate of fire 3-4 shots / min.
A photo. Field kitchen. KP-42 M.
A photo. Heavy Tank IS-2. Created in 1943. design group Zh. Ya. Kotin, NL Dukhova Tactical and technical characteristics: Combat weight: 46t. Reservations: hull forehead; 120mm; side of the hull; 90mm; tower 110mm. Speed: 37 km / h Cruising range on the highway: 240 km. Armament: 122mm cannon; 3 machine guns 7.62mm; anti-aircraft machine gun 12.7mm Ammunition: 28 rounds, 2331 rounds Crew: 4 people.
A photo. Heavy Self-Propelled Artillery Installation ISU-152 Created in 1944. Tactical and technical characteristics: Combat weight: 47t. Reservations: hull forehead; 100mm; side of the hull; 90mm; cabin 90mm. Speed: 37 km / h Cruising range on the highway: 220 km. Armament: 152mm howitzer cannon; anti-aircraft machine gun 12.7mm Ammunition: 20 rounds Crew: 5 people.
A photo. Heavy Tank IS-3 Developed under the guidance of designer M.F.Blazhi. Introduced into service in 1945. Tactical and technical characteristics: Combat weight: 45.8 tons. Speed: 40 km / h Cruising range on the highway: 190 km. Power: 520hp Armament: 122mm D-25T cannon, 1943 model. 7.62mm DT machine gun, 12.7mm DShK machine gun. Ammunition: 20 rounds Crew: 4 people.
Information from the Museum of the Battle of Stalingrad, in the city of Volgograd.
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ARMED FORCES OF THE MAIN PARTICIPANTS OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR COUNTRY Number of armed forces (million people) By the beginning of 1941 By the beginning of 1945 Germany 7.2 9.4 Japan 1.7 7.2 Italy 1.5 - USA 1.8 11, 9 Great Britain 3.2 4.5 USSR 5.2 9.4 China (Kuomintang) 2.5 4.0 China (communists) 0.4 0.9
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THE RATIO OF THE FORCES OF THE USSR AND GERMANY ON THE MOSCOW DIRECTION IN AUTUMN 1941 Combat forces and equipment Red Army German troops Personnel (thousand people) 120 1800 Number of tanks 990 1700 Number of guns and mortars (thousand) 7.6 14 Number of aircraft 667 1390
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Lend-Lease (from the English "lend" - to lend and "lease" - to lease) - a kind of program of lending to allies by the United States of America through the supply of machinery, food, equipment, raw materials and materials. According to the Lend-Lease Act, the United States could supply equipment, ammunition, equipment, and so on. countries whose defense was vital to the States themselves. All deliveries were free. All machinery, equipment and materials spent, consumed or destroyed during the war were not subject to payment. Property left over from the end of the war and suitable for civilian purposes had to be paid.
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The share of lend-lease supplies in the total amount of products manufactured and supplied to the USSR
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Aircrafts 22 150 Tanks 12 700 Light off-road vehicles and all-terrain vehicles 51 503 Trucks 375 883 Motorcycles 35 170 Tractors 8 071 Rifles 8 218 Automatic weapons 131 633 Pistols 12 997 Freight cars 11 155 Locomotives 1 981 Cargo ships 90 Anti-submarine ships, etc. 105
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Il-2 is the most massive combat aircraft in history, more than 36 thousand units were produced. In the Red Army, the aircraft received the nickname "humpback" (for the characteristic shape of the fuselage). The designers called the aircraft developed by them "flying tank". The plane had a bad reputation among the ground troops of the Wehrmacht and earned several honorable nicknames, such as "butcher", "iron Gustav" Il-2 took part in battles in all military operations of the Great Patriotic War, as well as in the Soviet-Japanese war. Serial production began in February 1941. The first serial IL-2s were manufactured in Voronezh at plant number 18 (in November 1941 the plant was evacuated to Kuibyshev). The Il-2 was serially produced at aircraft factories # 1 and # 18 in the city of Kuibyshev, at aircraft factory # 30 in Moscow.
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The development was started by the designers and engineers of the special design bureau of the NKVD, SKB-29, in mid-1938 Created on the basis of an experienced twin-engine high-altitude fighter "100", the Pe-2 made its first flight on December 22, 1939 and began mass production at the end of 1940. Pe-2 also served as a flying laboratory for testing rocket boosters. The first flight with an operating rocket launcher took place in October 1943. The speed increased by 92 km / h. Experiments with various versions of the Pe-2 with rocket launchers continued until 1945
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The first three serial Tu-2s, produced by plant No. 166, were sent to the Kalinin front in September 1942. The cars were part of the 3rd air army... Frontline pilots highly appreciated the Tu-2. They emphasized the high efficiency of the aircraft, capable of dropping large bombs on the target, powerful defensive weapons, ease of piloting and high flying qualities. For the creation and organization serial production bomber Tu-2 A.N. Tupolev was awarded the 1st degree Stalin Prize in 1943, the 1st degree Order of the Patriotic War and the 2nd degree Order of Suvorov, and was also promoted to major general of the engineering and technical service. In 1945 Tupolev became the Hero of Socialist Labor.
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Yak-7 Soviet single-engine fighter aircraft of the Great Patriotic War. It was developed at the plant number 301 shortly after the start of the war on the initiative of the Yak-7UTI brigade of the A.S. Yakovlev design bureau, which was at this plant to help in the development of the Yak-7UTI. The Yak-7 was produced since 1941; a total of 6,399 aircraft of 18 different modifications, including training and combat, were built. By the end of 1942, it began to rapidly be replaced by the more advanced Yak-9, which later became the most massive Soviet fighter of the Great Patriotic War.
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The La-5 fighter appeared under circumstances that were not quite ordinary, if not dramatic, for the design team headed by S.A. Lavochkin. Fighter LaGG-Z. for the release and improvement of which this design bureau was responsible, due to insufficient efficiency, they were removed from production. And the very existence of the design bureau was now in question. Of course, the designers perfectly understood the nature of the LaGG's shortcomings and had already carried out design work on its radical modification. Along with the need for a sharp improvement in flight data, the main thing in this matter was the efficiency and the requirement for the continuity of the LaGG-Z design and its new modification. Only when these conditions were fulfilled could the plant be transferred to the production of a new aircraft before the Yak fighter appeared on the assembly line (as planned). And the design bureau of S.A. Lavochkin coped with this task successfully.
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For the production of armored vehicles in the Urals, the military production complex "Tankograd" was created. Thousands of aircraft and tanks rolled off the assembly lines of defense enterprises. This made it possible to form air and tank armies, which played a decisive role in the offensive of the Soviet Armed Forces in 1943-1945.
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T-34 - was the main tank of the Red Army until the first half of 1944, when it was replaced by the T-34-85 modification tank. From 1942 to 1945, the main production of the T-34 was deployed at powerful machine-building plants in the Urals and Siberia, and continued in the post-war years. The leading plant for the modification of the T-34 was the Ural Tank Plant No. 183. The T-34 tank had a huge impact on the outcome of the war and on further development world tank building. Thanks to the totality of its combat qualities, the T-34 was recognized by many specialists and military experts as one of the best tanks of the Second World War. When creating it, Soviet designers managed to find the optimal balance between the main combat, tactical, ballistic, operational, running and technological characteristics. The T-34 tank is the most famous Soviet tank and one of the most recognizable symbols of the Second World War.
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Serial production of the T-44 began in 1944, but during the Great Patriotic War it was carried out on a limited scale in order to prevent a reduction in the production of T-34-85 during the period of large-scale offensive operations. T-44
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In general, the tank fully met the expectations of the command as a means of qualitatively reinforcing units and subunits intended to break through in advance and well-fortified enemy strips, as well as storming cities. Is -2
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OT-34 - was created on the basis of the T-34. Unlike the linear tank, it was armed with an ATO-41 automatic powder piston flamethrower located in the place of the course machine gun, which, for example, compared to the solution for the KV-8, made it possible to retain the 76-mm cannon. OT-34
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Katyusha is the unofficial name of the barrelless field rocket artillery systems that appeared during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 (primarily and initially - BM-13, and later also BM-8, BM-31 and others). Such installations were actively used by the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Second World War. The popularity of the nickname turned out to be so great that in colloquial speech, the post-war MLRS on automobile chassis, in particular BM-14 and BM-21 Grad, were often called “Katyusha”. "," Vanyusha ") was given by Soviet fighters and other installations (BM-31, etc.) of rocket artillery, but these nicknames were not so widespread and popular and, in general, are much less known.
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The balance of forces in the Stalingrad direction in November 1942. Forces and equipment Red Army Germany and its allies Personnel (thousand people) 1134.8 1011.5 Number of tanks 1560 675 Number of guns and mortars 14934 10290 Number of aircraft 1916 1219
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The balance of forces in the Oryol-Kursk direction at the beginning of July 1943 Forces and equipment Soviet troops German troops Personnel (thousand people) 1336 900 Number of tanks and self-propelled guns 3444 2733 Number of guns and mortars 19100 10000 Number of aircraft 2172 2050
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PRODUCTION OF COMBAT EQUIPMENT IN THE LARGEST COUNTRIES IN 1943-1944 COUNTRY PRODUCTION OF TANKS (thousand units) PRODUCTION OF AIRCRAFT (thousand units) 1943 1944 1943 1944 GERMANY 19.8 27.3 25.2 38.0 JAPAN 1.0 1.0 16.3 28.3 USSR 24.0 29 .0 35.0 40.3 UNITED KINGDOM 8.6 7.5 23.7 26.3 USA 29.5 17.6 85.9 96.4
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Of the divisional guns, the 76 mm ZIS-3 cannon was the most common. In the initial period of the war, the 76-mm F-22 cannon and the 76-mm USV cannon were also used. Corps artillery was represented by 122-mm A-19 cannons, 152-mm howitzer model 1909/30, and 152-mm howitzer-cannon ML-20. Anti-tank guns included 45-mm anti-tank guns 53-K, 45 mm M-42 and 57 mm ZIS-2. The anti-aircraft artillery used 37-mm 61-K anti-aircraft guns, as well as 76-mm 3-K and 85-mm 52-K guns.
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Before the war, increased attention was paid to the development of automatic weapons - the ABC self-loading rifle was followed by the SVT and AVT. However, the main small arms the Soviet army had a Mosin rifle. In addition, the PPSh submachine gun also received a certain distribution. Nagant revolvers and TT pistols were used as officers' weapons. The main light machine gun was the DP, and the Maxim machine gun, developed before the First World War, was used as a heavy machine gun. The DShK large-caliber machine gun, which is also used as an anti-aircraft gun, also received some distribution.
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The Mosin rifle. 7.62 mm (3-line) rifle of the 1891 model (Mosin rifle, three-line) is a magazine rifle adopted by the Russian Imperial Army in 1891. It was actively used in the period from 1891 to the end of the Great Patriotic War, during this period it was modernized many times. The name of the three-line comes from the caliber of the rifle barrel, which is equal to three Russian lines (the old measure of length equal to one tenth of an inch, or 2.54 mm - respectively, three lines are equal to 7.62 mm). On the basis of the 1891 model rifle and its modifications, a number of sports and hunting weapons, both rifled and smooth-bore, were created.
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Shpagin submachine gun. 7.62 mm submachine gun of the 1941 Shpagin system (PPSh) is a Soviet submachine gun developed in 1940 by designer G. Shpagin and adopted by the Red Army on December 21, 1940. PPSh was the main submachine gun of the Soviet armed forces in the Great Patriotic War. After the end of the war, in the early 1950s, the PPSh was decommissioned. Soviet army and was gradually replaced by a Kalashnikov assault rifle, it remained in service with rear and auxiliary units, units of internal troops and railway troops for a little longer. It was in service with the units of the paramilitary guard at least until the mid-1980s. Also, in the post-war period, PPSh in significant quantities was supplied to countries friendly to the USSR, for a long time it was in service with the armies of various states, was used by irregular formations and throughout the twentieth century was used in armed conflicts around the world.
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Pistol mod. 1933 (TT, Tulsky, Tokareva) - the first army self-loading pistol of the USSR, developed in 1930 by the Soviet designer Fyodor Vasilyevich Tokarev. The TT pistol was developed for the 1929 competition for a new army pistol, announced to replace the revolver revolver and several models of foreign-made revolvers and pistols that were in service with the Red Army by the mid-1920s. The German cartridge 7.63 × 25 mm Mauser was adopted as a regular cartridge, which was purchased in significant quantities for the Mauser S-96 pistols in service.
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On July 8, 1941, near the city of Senno, which is not far from the Dnieper, a tank battle began: light Soviet T-26s fought off German T-IIIs. In the midst of the battle, a Russian tank crawled out of thick rye, crushing potato tops into the ground, the silhouette of which was still unknown to the Germans. "Some german tanks opened fire on him, but the shells ricocheted off his massive tower. A German 37-mm anti-tank gun was on its way. The German gunners fired round after round into the advancing tank until it pushed their cannon into the ground. Then, leaving behind the set on fire T-III, the tank plunged into the German defense for 15 kilometers ", - this is how Western historians describe the first appearance of the legendary T-34 tank in the book" From - "Barbarossa" to "Terminal" ".
For a long time, German designers tried to create a tank that could compete with the 34. This is how the German tanks T-6 "Tiger" (1942) and T-5 "Panther" (1943) appeared. However, the German giants still lost to the "best tank in the world," as the German commander von Kleist dubbed, in maneuverability. The brainchild of Mikhail Koshkin, which came off the assembly line of the Kharkov steam locomotive plant, contributed to the development of the so-called "tank fear" among the German troops of the Eastern Front. However, for the designer himself, the invention became fatal: from Kharkov to Moscow, where the tank was supposed to be shown to the management, Koshkin, who had a cold, went on his 34-ke. Having proved that his tank could cover such distances without any problems, the designer suffered severe pneumonia and returned to Kharkov in a semi-conscious state. Having never recovered from the disease, Mikhail Koshkin died in the hospital. This self-sacrifice convinced senior officials to put the tanks into serial production. Before the start of the war, 1,225 T-34 tanks were produced.
Home woman at the front
The front-line soldiers nicknamed the M-30 howitzer "Mother", at first they called the missiles "Raisa Sergeevna" (from the abbreviation RS), but most of all they loved, of course, "Katyusha", the BM-13 field rocket artillery system. One of the first Katyusha salvoes hit the Market Square of the city of Rudnya. During the firing, BM-13 made a peculiar sound, in which the soldiers heard Matvey Blanter's song Katyusha, popular before the war. The apt nickname given to the gun by Sergeant Andrei Sapronov flew around the entire army in a couple of days, and then became the property of the Soviet people.
Monument to Katyusha. (wikipedia.org)
The order to start production of Katyushas was signed a few hours before the start of the German invasion. salvo fire applied german troops, trying to destroy the Brest Fortress at the very beginning of the offensive. However, the fortress survived and for a long time the Red Army men who found themselves in it fought against the invaders. The order to start production of Katyushas was signed a few hours before the start of the German invasion. Less than a month later, Soviet troops struck back: in the summer of 1941, the Germans had to get acquainted not only with the new T-34 tank, but also with the still unknown Katyusha. Head of German General Staff Halder wrote in his diary: “On July 14, near Orsha, the Russians used a weapon unknown until that time. A fiery barrage of shells burned down the Orsha railway station, all echelons with personnel and military equipment of the arriving military units. The metal was melting, the earth was burning. "
Monument to the first missile battery of Captain Flerov. (wikipedia.org)
Rocket launchers, at the beginning of the war, most often mounted on the chassis of ZIS cars, then began to be mounted on anything: from Fords, Dodges and Bedfords received under the Lend-Lease program to motorcycles, snowmobiles and boats. The operation in which the most extensively used multiple launch rocket systems was. Then the "Stalinist organs", as the Germans called them, fired more than 10 thousand shells and destroyed 120 buildings, where the resistance of the enemy troops was especially fierce.
IL-2, "Cement bomber"
The most massive combat aircraft in history, like the Il-2 attack aircraft for a long time, seems to have become the record holder for the number of nicknames. "Concrete plane" - this is how the German pilots called it: "Il-2" had poor maneuverability, but it was very difficult to shoot it down. The pilots even joked that the Il-2 could fly "half the wing, but on parole." The ground forces of the Wehrmacht, seeing in it a constant threat, called the plane "the butcher" or "Iron Gustav". The designers themselves called the "IL-2" simply - "flying tank". And in the Red Army, the plane is due unusual shape of the case received the nickname "humpbacked".
In this form, the IL-2 flew to the airfield. (wikipedia.org)
The first production aircraft "IL-2" was produced on March 10, 1941 at the Voronezh aircraft plant, since then 36,183 of the same attack aircraft have risen above the ground. However, at the time the war began, the Red Army had only 249 vehicles at its disposal. Initially, Ilyushin, the chief designer, created a two-seater "armored attack aircraft", but after the very first tests, it was decided to install an additional gas tank instead of the second place.
All the time, the Soviet command lacked specialized combat aircraft. This is largely why the Il-2, being the most widespread machine, was used for various tasks. For example, for all Il-2 aircraft, a mandatory bomb load was installed, which was jokingly called the “Stalinist outfit”. In addition to the bombing, the Il-2 was used, despite its impressive dimensions, as a reconnaissance aircraft. One of interesting features attack aircraft is that the pilots, if the car caught fire in battle, often put the plane on the "belly" without releasing the landing gear. The most difficult thing for the pilot was to get out of the fuselage in time and escape before the "" explodes.
Tank T-29
In the mid-1930s, during the heyday of the idea of \u200b\u200ba wheeled-tracked high-speed tank, its more protected and heavily armed modification of the T-29 appeared. This tank, almost not inferior in speed to its lightly armored counterparts, had armor up to 30 mm thick and was armed with a 76 mm cannon. In concept, the T-29 was similar to the T-28 medium tank, but differed from it in increased dimensions, which was caused by the location of the suspension elements inside the hull. This provided the best level of survivability of the undercarriage, but complicated its maintenance. In general, the car turned out to be not very reliable and difficult to manufacture, and only 2 production copies were produced.
Tank Grotte
The experimental medium tank TG (Tank Grotte) was developed in the USSR on the basis of a project by the German engineer Edward Grotte. In this vehicle, many technical innovations were used for the first time, which at that time had not yet been used on any production tank. These include a fully welded hull, multi-tiered armament, coil spring suspension.
Tests of the tank showed an equal number of both advantages and disadvantages. The TG guns were distinguished by good accuracy of fire, and the 76-mm gun was superior in power to all tank guns of that time. The control of the tank was extremely easy, and the move was smooth. At the same time, the TG had poor maneuverability on soft soils, the fighting compartment was too cramped, it was difficult to repair the engine and gearbox. True, the main obstacle to putting the tank into mass production was its huge cost (like 25 BT-2 tanks)!
Tank SMK
The heavy multi-turret tank SMK (Sergei Mironovich Kirov) was developed in 1939 on the basis of the T-35 as a heavy breakthrough tank. The design of the SMK differs markedly from the prototype tank. To reduce the weight of the vehicle and improve working conditions for the crew, the number of towers was reduced to two. A torsion bar suspension was used in the chassis of the SMK, which ensured a good ride for a tank weighing 55 tons. The armament consisted of two 45 and 76 mm cannons and five 7.62 mm caliber machine guns. After the outbreak of war with Finland, experienced images of the QMS and similar, shortly after the start of the attack, the QMS ran over a mine and lost a caterpillar. Experienced KV and T-100 participating in the attack covered the vehicle for several hours, but it was not possible to repair the damage. The QMS had to be left in enemy territory. After the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line, the non-tough SMK was towed to the location of our troops and sent by rail to the native plant for repairs. -100 were sent to the test in battle.
USSR, tanks of the second world war
Tank T-44
Specifications:
Tank type Medium
Crew 4 people
Combat weight 31.8 t
Length 7.65 m
Width 3.18 m
Height 2.41 m
Number of guns / caliber 1/85 mm
Frontal armor 90 mm
Side armor 75 mm
V-44 engine, diesel, 500 hp from.
Maximum speed 51 km / h
Cruising range 300 km
T-44, developed at the design bureau of the Ural Tank Plant under the leadership of chief designer A.A. Morozov and released at the very end of the war, embodied the enormous experience of building and combat use tanks T-34. This is the best Soviet medium tank of the wartime, which became a transitional one to the post-war generation of combat vehicles. Having a significant external resemblance to its predecessor, the T-34-85, the T-44 tank was radically different from it in terms of dimensions, layout and design. The transverse arrangement of the engine made it possible to reduce the length of the hull, save weight, and use this savings to enhance armor protection. The fighting compartment was increased and the working conditions of the crew were improved. The side walls of the hull became vertical, and the monolithic front plate was installed at an angle of 60 ° to the vertical. In connection with the new layout, it was possible to move the turret to the center of the hull, which acquired a more streamlined shape, which increased its projectile resistance. In the vacant space, the driver's hatch was placed, installed on the T-34 in the frontal sheet. All units and mechanisms of the tank were significantly improved. Before the end of the war, the Kharkov plant had produced 190 T-44s. Although they were not used in combat, the Guards Tank Brigades, equipped with T-44s, became the Red Army's "hot reserve". The release of the T-44 lasted up to a year and amounted to 1823 units. In 1961, the tanks underwent modernization in order to unify the transmission units and chassis with the main medium tank of the Soviet Army T-54. Under the designation T-44M, these vehicles received night vision devices for the driver and commander, as well as increased ammunition. On the basis of the T-44M, the T-44MK command tank was created. In it, due to a slight reduction in ammunition, a second radio station was installed. The tanks underwent the last modernization in the year when they were equipped with two-plane weapon stabilizers, which increase the accuracy of fire on the move. These vehicles received the designation T-44S. Some of the T-44M tanks in the year were converted into armored tractors BTS-4. The T-44s were removed from service at the end of the 70s and then "served" as targets at ranges. At the end of their careers, they still had a chance to take part in the Great Patriotic War ... as German tanks Pz VI "Tiger" in the movie "Liberation". After the corresponding alteration, the T-44 became practically indistinguishable on the screen from the fascist vehicles.
Tank T-34-76
The T-34 became the best medium tank of World War II and the most massive tank in the Red Army. In terms of the combination of the three most important characteristics - firepower, protection and mobility - in the year he had no equal. "The T-34 is the most remarkable example of an offensive weapon," said Hitler's General von Mellenthin. The project of the A-32 tracked tank was developed by a team led by the talented designer M.I.Koshkin, and the first prototype of the vehicle entered trials in the summer of the year. Having won the competition with the wheeled-tracked A-20, the tank was adopted by the Red Army in December of the same year and put into mass production under the designation T-34. He was distinguished by a number of characteristic features... The most important advantage of the machine was its economical diesel engine, which can withstand heavy workloads. The undercarriage with large rollers and wide tracks provided excellent cross-country ability of the tank. Powerful armor combined with the optimal tilt angles of the armor plates contributed to the high! the probability of the shells ricochet. For the largest part of the T-34, an armored hull, automatic welding was used for the first time in the world. The armament of the vehicle consisted of a 76 mm L-11 cannon and two 7.62 mm machine guns. Since the serial production of the L-11 had already been discontinued, in the spring of 1941 a new cannon, the F-34, of the same caliber began to be installed on the tank. By the beginning of World War II, there were 967 T-34s in the border districts - almost all of them were lost in the first two! weeks of fighting due to unsuccessful deployment, poorly trained crews and a lack of repair and evacuation facilities. Nevertheless, the first tank battles showed a significant advantage of Soviet vehicles. German tank guns did not pose a serious danger to the T-34, while the 76-mm shell of the thirty-four penetrated the armor of any enemy tank at a distance of up to 1000 m. Weakness and anti-tank artillery Wehrmacht. The Germans called the 37-mm Pak 37 cannon the "army firecracker". In one of the reports, it was reported that the calculation of such a gun achieved 23 hits in the T-34 tank, but only a shell hitting the base of the tower put the vehicle out of action. The design of the tank changed somewhat during the year. Instead of a welded or cast turret of a complex configuration, the T-34 received a hexagonal cast turret. The capacity of the fuel tanks has been increased, the engine is equipped with an improved air cleaning system, and the power plant is equipped with a five-speed gearbox. On the basis of the T-34, 70 repair and recovery vehicles and several dozen bridge-laying tanks with a 7.7 m bridge were produced. Some of the thirty-fours were converted into flamethrower and command tanks. Only by the year the Germans managed to change the ratio of the characteristics of tanks in their favor. The increased thickness of the armor of the Tigers and Panthers limited the effectiveness of the fire of the short-barreled T-34 guns, and 75- and 88-mm German guns could hit from Soviet vehicles from a distance of 900 and 1500 m, respectively. The victory at Kursk came at a high price - during the counteroffensive, the Red Army lost about six thousand tanks and self-propelled guns. Other disadvantages of the T-34 also affected: poor ventilation and visibility from the tank, an unreliable gearbox, as well as a cramped tower without a rotating pole (when turning the gun, the loader had to follow the breech, stepping over the spent cartridges), which housed only two crew members ... The gunner had to combine his duties with those of a tank commander. Although in the process of serial production of the T-34 was constantly improved, in the middle of the war there was a need for its radical modernization.
Specifications:
Tank type Medium
Crew 4 people
Combat weight 30.9 t
Length 6.62 m
Width 3 m
Height 2.52 m
Number of guns / caliber 1/76 mm
Number of machine guns / caliber 2 / 7.62 mm
Frontal armor 45 mm
Side armor 45 mm
Engine V-2-34, diesel, 450 hp from.
Maximum speed 51 km / h
Cruising range 300 km
USSR, between two wars
Tanks T-37 and T-38
Specifications:
Tank type Light amphibious
Crew 2 people
Combat weight 3.3 t
Length 3.78 m
Width 2.33 m
Height 1.63 m
Number of guns / caliber -
Number of machine guns / caliber 1 / 7.62 mm
Frontal armor 8 mm
Board armor 8 mm
GAZ-AA engine, carburet., 40 hp. from.
Maximum speed 40/6 km / h
Cruising range 230 km
A significant drawback of reconnaissance tankettes was the placement of weapons in the hull. Therefore, the first Soviet small amphibious tanks received a circular turret. On the prototypes of the T-33, T-41 and T-37, various options for the placement of the tower and the use of GAZ-AA automobile power units were tested in the year. The serial production was launched under the designation T-37A, which has a larger displacement of the hull and additional floats - fenders filled with cork. The tank had good stability and maneuverability afloat. A propeller with rotating blades made it possible to reverse on the water. Two factories (No. 37 in Moscow and "GAZ" in Gorky) have produced 2,627 T-37 tanks of all modifications from year to year. In addition to the linear T-37A (without a radio station), 643 T-37TU tanks were built with the common tank radio station of that time 71-TK-1. Outwardly, they were distinguished by a handrail antenna along the perimeter of the hull. Also, 75 vehicles OT-37 (BHM-4) were produced, armed with a DG machine gun and a flamethrower installation. In 1936, the T-37A in production was replaced by its improved version of the T-38. It differed from its predecessor in the refined shape of the riveted-welded hull and improved suspension, which increased the ride and speed on land. Instead of an automobile differential, the T-38 received side clutches, which increased the cross-country ability and controllability of the vehicle. In 1938, the tank was upgraded by installing an engine and gearbox from a GAZ M-1 car and received the designation T-38M2. Its speed increased to 46 km / h, and its combat weight increased to 3.8 tons. The T-38 was produced at the same factories as the T-37A. A total of 1217 T-38 and 165 T-38TU linear vehicles with radio stations were manufactured from 1936 to 1939. In the pre-war period, methods of airlifting T-37 and T-38 tanks with the help of bombers were being worked out. The strength of the tanks allowed them to be dropped onto water bodies from a height of 6 meters at an aircraft speed of 160 km / h. The crew was dropped by parachute. Soviet amphibious tanks were used during the armed conflict between the USSR and Japan "
Each of warring parties have invested staggering amounts of money to design and build powerful weapons, and we'll try to look at some of the most influential. To date, they are not considered the best or most destructive, but the military equipment below, to one degree or another, influenced the course of the Second World War.
The LCVP is a variation of the US Navy landing craft. Designed for the transport and disembarkation of personnel on an unequipped coastline occupied by the enemy.
The LCVP, or "Higgins boat", is named after its creator Andrew Higgins, who designed the boat for operations in shallow water and swampy terrain, and was used extensively by the US Navy during amphibious operations during World War II. For 15 years of production, 22,492 boats of this type were built.
Landing craft LCVP was built from pressed plywood and structurally resembled a small river barge with a crew of 4 people. At the same time, the boat could carry a full infantry platoon of 36 troops. At full load, Higgins' boat could reach speeds of up to 9 knots (17 km / h).
Katyusha (BM-13)
Katyusha is the unofficial name for barrelless field rocket artillery systems widely used by the Armed Forces of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. Initially, they were called Katyushas - BM-13, and later they began to call BM-8, BM-31, and others. BM-13 - the famous and most massive Soviet fighting machine (BM) of this class.
Avro lancaster
Avro Lancaster - British heavy bomber, used during the Second World War, and was in service with the Royal Air Force. Lancaster is considered the most effective night bomber of the Second World War and the most famous. It flew over 156,000 sorties and dropped over 600,000 tons of bombs.
The first combat flight took place in March 1942. During the war, more than 7,000 Lancasters were produced, but almost half were destroyed by the enemy. At the present time (2014), only two machines have survived that are capable of flying.
U-boat (submarine)
U-boat is a generalized abbreviation of the German submarines in service with the German naval forces.
Germany, not having a sufficiently strong fleet capable of withstanding the allied forces at sea, primarily relied on its submarines, the main purpose of which was to destroy trade convoys carrying goods from Canada, the British Empire and the United States to the Soviet Union and allied countries in the Mediterranean. German submarines have proven to be incredibly effective. Winston Churchill would later say that the only thing that scared him during World War II was the underwater threat.
Research has shown that the Allies spent $ 26.4 billion to fight against German submarines. Unlike the Allied countries, Germany spent $ 2.86 billion on its U-boats. From a purely economic point of view, the campaign is seen as a German success, making German submarines one of the most influential weapons of the war.
the plane Hawker Hurricane
The Hawker Hurricane is a World War II British single seat fighter designed and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft Ltd. In total, more than 14,500 of these aircraft were built. The Hawker Hurricane had various modifications and could be used as a fighter-bomber, interceptor and attack aircraft.
M4 "Sherman" - American medium tank of the Second World War. In the period from 1942 to 1945, 49,234 tanks were produced, it is considered the third most massive tank in the world after the T-34 and T-54. During the Second World War, on the basis of the M4 Sherman tank, a large number of various modifications were built (one of which the Sherman Crab is the strangest tank), self-propelled artillery mounts (ACS) and engineering equipment. It was used by the American army, and was also supplied in large quantities to the Allied forces (mainly to Great Britain and the USSR).
The 88 mm FlaK 18/36/37/41 is also known as the "eight-eight" - a German anti-aircraft, anti-tank artillery gun that was widely used by German troops during the Second World War. A weapon designed to destroy both aircraft and tanks was also often used as artillery. In the period from 1939 to 1945, a total of 17,125 such guns were built.
North American P-51 Mustang
Third on the list of the most influential military equipment during World War II is the P-51 Mustang, an American long-range single-seat fighter developed in the early 1940s. It is considered the best fighter aircraft of the USAF during the Second World War. It was used mainly as a reconnaissance aircraft and to escort bombers during raids on German territory.
Aircraft carriers
Aircraft carriers are a type of warship, the main striking force of which is carrier-based aircraft. In World War II, Japanese and American aircraft carriers already represented a leading role in the battles of the Pacific. For example, the famous attack on Pearl Harbor was carried out using dive bombers deployed on six Japanese aircraft carriers.
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank that was mass-produced from 1940 until the first half of 1944. It was the main tank of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), until it was replaced by the T-34-85 modification, which is still in service in some countries today. The legendary T-34 is the most massive medium tank and is recognized by many military experts and specialists as the best tank produced during the Second World War. It is also considered one of the most famous symbols of the above mentioned war.