Technique of the USSR Times of the Second World War. Soviet technique of times of the Second World War. Cutting submarine "Peopling"

Modern war will be war engines. Motors on Earth, Motors in the air, Motors on water and under water. Under these conditions, the one who will have more motors and a greater supply of capacity
Joseph Stalin
At the meeting of the Main Military Council, January 13, 1941

During the years of prewar five years, Soviet designers have created new samples of rifle, artillery, mortars and aircraft. All the more advanced destroyed destroyers, cruisers, guard ships have been admitted, also paid special attention to the development of the underwater fleet.

As a result, before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the USSR possessed enough modern system Weapons I. military equipment, and some tactical and technical characteristics Even superior armory German counterparts. Therefore, the main reasons for the defeats of Soviet troops at the initial period of the war should not be written off for miscalculations in the technical equipment of the troops.

Tanks
As of June 22, 1941, the Red Army had 25,621 tanks.
The most masses were light T-26, which were almost 10 thousand cars, and representatives of the BT family - there were about 7.5 thousand. A significant proportion was the wedges and small floating tanks - in service with the Soviet troops were in total Almost 6 thousand modifications T-27, T-37, T-38 and T-40.
The most modern at that time tanks of the KV and T-34 there were about 1.85 thousand units.

Tanks kV-1

Heavy tank kV-1

KV-1 was admitted in 1939, serially produced from March 1940 to August 1942. The mass of the tank accounted for up to 47.5 tons, which made it much harder than the existing German tanks. He was armed with a gun of 76 millimeters.
Some experts consider the KV-1 stage for the global tank building machine that has had a significant impact on the development of heavy tanks in other countries.

The Soviet tank had the so-called classic layout - the separation of armorpus from the nose to the feed is consistently at the control department, combat and motor-transmission compartments. He also received an independent torsion suspension, anti-frekest circular protection, diesel engine and one relatively powerful gun. Previously, these elements met on other tanks separately, but in the KV-1 they were first gathered together.
The first combat use of the KV-1 belongs to the Soviet-Finnish War: an experienced tank sample was involved on December 17, 1939 in the breakthrough of Mannerheim.
In 1940-1942, 2769 tanks were issued. Until 1943, when a German "Tiger" appeared, HV was the most powerful tank of war. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he received the nickname "Ghost" nickname. Standard shells of the 37-mm anti-tank gun of the Wehrmacht did not punch his armor.

Tank T-34

Middle Tank T-34
In May 1938, the automotive control of the Red Army suggested a plant №183 (now Kharkiv plant of transport engineering. V. A. Malysheva) Create a new caterpillar tank. Under the leadership of Mikhail Koshkin, a model A-32 was created. The works were in parallel with the creation of BT-20 - improved modification already produced mass-produced BT-7 tank.

Experienced A-32 and BT-20 samples were ready in May 1939, following their tests in December 1939, A-32 received a new name - T-34 - and was adopted for armared with the condition to finalize the tank: bring the main booking to 45 Millimeters, improve the review, set the 76 mm cannon and additional machine guns.
Total to the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was manufactured 1066 T-34. After June 22, 1941, the production of this type was deployed at the Red Sormovo plant in Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod), Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant, Uralmash in Sverdlovsk (now Ekaterinburg), Plant No. 174 in Omsk and Uralvagonzavoda (Nizhny Tagil ).

In 1944, the serial issue of Modifications of T-34-85 began with a new tower, reinforced armor and an 85-millimeter instrument. Also tank has proven itself for simplicity in production and maintenance.
In total, more than 84 thousand T-34 tanks were manufactured. This model participated not only in the Great Patriotic War, she visited many armed conflicts in Europe, Asia and Africa in 1950-1980. The last documented case combat application T-34 in Europe was their use during the war in Yugoslavia.

By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Soviet aviation was in service with many types of combat aircraft. In 1940 and the first half of 1941, almost 2.8 thousand modern cars were received in the troops: Yak-1, MiG-3, Lagg-3, PE-2, IL-2.
Also there were fighters and 15 bis, I-16 and I-153, TB-3 bombers, dB-3, SB (ANT-40), multipurpose P-5 and U-2 (PO-2).
New aircraft Air force The RKKKA for combat capabilities did not inferior to the Luftwaffe aircraft, for a number of indicators even exceeded them.

Stormware IL-2

Stormware IL-2
Armored attack aircraft IL-2 - the most massive combat aircraft in. A total of more than 36 thousand cars were released. He was called "flying tank", leadership of the Wehrmacht - "Black Death" and "Iron Gustav". German pilots called IL-2 "concrete aircraft" for his high combat vitality.

The first combat units that were armed with these machines were created before the war. The units of the attack aircraft were successfully applied against the motor-mechanized and armored parts of the enemy. At the beginning of the war Il-2 was almost the only aircraft, which in the context of the superiority of German aviation fought with the enemy in the air. He played a big role in holding the enemy in 1941.
During the war years, several modifications of aircraft were created. IL-2 and his further development - IL-10 attack aircraft - was actively used in all major battles of the Great Patriotic War and in the Soviet-Japanese war.
The maximum horizontal aircraft speed in the Earth was 388 km / h, and at an altitude of 2000 m - 407 km / h. Lifting time to a height of 1000 m - 2.4 minutes, and the time of the bridge at this height is 48-49 seconds. At the same time, for one military reversal, the attacker gained a height of 400 meters.

MiG-3 fighter

Night Fighter MiG-3
The design group, headed by A. I. Mikoyan and M. I. Gurevich, in 1939 worked hard on the fighter to conduct combat at large altitudes. In the spring of 1940, an experienced copy was built, which received MG-1 brand (Mikoyan and Gurevich, first). Subsequently, its upgraded version received the name MiG-3.

Despite the significant take-off weight (3350 kg), the speed of the serial MiG-3 in the Earth exceeded 500 km / h, and at an altitude of 7 thousand meters reached 640 km / h. It was the highest speed obtained on serial aircraft. Due to the high ceiling and high speed at a height of over 5 thousand meters, MiG-3 was effectively used as an intelligence aircraft, as well as an air defense fighter. However, bad horizontal maneuverability and relatively weak weakens did not allow him to become a full-fledged front fighter.
According to the estimates of the famous Asa Alexander Pokshkinina, yielding to the horizontal, MiG-3 significantly exceeded the German ME109 in the vertical maneuver, which could serve as a key to victory in a collision with fascist fighters. However, it was successfully piloting MiG-3 on vertical devias and only extras pilots could only be overloaded.

FLEET
By the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet fleet had a total of 3 lincar and 7 cruisers, 54 leaders and destroyers, 212 submarines, 287 torpedo boats and many other ships.

The pre-war shipbuilding program provided for the creation of a "large fleet", the basis of which would be major surface ships - battleships and cruisers. In accordance with it, in 1939-1940, Linkors type "Soviet Union" and the heavy cruiser "Kronstadt" and "Sevastopol" were laid, in Germany, the unfinished cruiser Petropavlovsk acquired, but the plans about the radical update of the fleet were not destined to be implemented.
In the pre-war years, Soviet sailors received new light cruisers like "Kirov", the leaders of the projects of projects 1 and 38, project destroyers 7 and other ships. The construction of submarines and torpedo boats rapidly.
Many ships have been completed during the war, some of them did not take part in the battles. These include, for example, a project cruiser 68 "Chapaev" and the destroyer of the project 30 "fire".
The main types of surface vehicles of the pre-war period:
light cruiser like "Kirov",
leaders of the types of "Leningrad" and "Minsk",
esminets like "angry" and "consight",
fugas travelers,
torpedo boats "G-5",
sea hunters "Mo-4".
The main types of submarines of the prewate period:
small submarines like "M" ("Baby"),
middle submarines of the types "Shch" ("Pike") and "C" ("middle"),
underwater mines type "l" ("Leninet"),
large submarines of types "K" ("cruising") and "d" ("Decembrist").

Kirov type cruiser

Kirov type cruiser
Light cruisers like "Kirov" became the first Soviet surface ships of this class, not counting the three laid on Nikolai II cruisers "Svetlana". The project 26, according to which Kirov was built, was finally approved in the fall of 1934 and developed the ideas of the Italian lung cruisers of the Kongotier family.

The first pair of cruisers, "Kirov" and "Voroshilov" was laid in 1935. They were commissioned in 1938 and 1940. The second pair, "Maxim Gorky" and "Molotov", was already built on a changed project and replenished the composition of the Soviet fleet in 1940-1941. Two more cruisers were laid in the Far East, until the end of the Great Patriotic War managed to put into operation only one of them - "Kalinin". Far Eastern cruisers also differed from predecessors.
Complete displacement of cruisers like "Kirov" ranged from about 9450-9550 tons for the first pair to almost 10,000 tons for the latter. These ships could develop the speed of 35 knots and more. Their main weapons were nine 180-millimeter implements B-1-P placed in three-Russian towers. In the first four cruisers, anti-aircraft weapons were represented by six B-34 settings of 100 millimeters, 45-millimeter 21-K and 12.7-millimeter machine guns. In addition, "Kirov" carried torpedoes, mines and deep bombs, hydrosapolines.
"Kirov" and "Maxim Gorky" almost the entire war held supporting the guns of the defenders of Leningrad. "Voroshilov" and "Molotov", built in Nikolaev, participated in the fleet operations on the Black Sea. They all survived the Great Patriotic War - they were destined to the long service. The last composition of the fleet in 1974 left Kirov.

Submarine "Pike"

Submarines like "Pike"
"Pikes" became the most massive Soviet submarines of the Great Patriotic War, not counting the "Baby".

The construction of the first series of four submarines began on the Baltic in 1930, in 1933-1934 in 1933-1934.
These were the submarines of the middle class, the underwater displacement of which was about 700 tons, and the weapon consisted of six torpedo devices of a 533 millimeter caliber and a 45-millimeter gun 21-k.
The project was successful, and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in the ranks were more than 70 "Shchuk" (in total in six episodes 86 submarines were built).
Supplies type "Sh" were actively used on all marine theaters of war. Of the 44 fought "Shchuk" died 31. The enemy lost almost 30 ships from their actions.

Despite a number of shortcomings, "Pikes" was distinguished by a comparative cheap, maneuverability and vitality. From the series to the series, six episodes of these submarines were created - they improved their nautical qualities and other parameters. In 1940, two submarines of the type "u" first on the Soviet fleet received equipment that allowed torpedo shooting No air leakage (which often demasked the attacking submarine).
Although after the war, only two "pike" of the last X-BIS series entered, these submarines remained for a long time as part of the fleet and were written off in the late 1950s.

ARTILLERY
According to Soviet data, on the eve of the Great Patriotic War, the army had almost 67.5 thousand guns and mortars.

It is believed that on combat qualities, the Soviet field artillery even exceeded German. However, it was weakly secured by a mechanized burden: agricultural tractors were used as a tractor, until half the guns were transported with horses.
The army was in service with many types of artillery guns and mortars. Anti-aircraft artillery was represented by 20, 37, 76 and 85 millimeters cannon; Gaubic - modifications of caliber 122, 152, 203 and 305 millimeters. The main anti-tank gun was the 45-millimeter of the 1937 sample, the regimental - 76-millimeter model of 1927, and the divisional - 76-millimeter 1939.

Anti-tank gun leads fire on the enemy in battles for Vitebsk

45 mm anti-tank sample gun 1937
This instrument has become one of the most famous representatives. soviet artillery Great Patriotic War. It was developed under the leadership of Mikhail Loginov on the basis of the 45mm gun 1932.

The main combat qualities of 45-millimeters were maneuverability, rapidity (15 shots per minute) and armor-proof.
By the beginning of the war in the army there were more than 16.6 thousand instruments of the 1937 sample. In total, more than 37.3 thousand such guns were issued, and production was minimized only by 1944, despite the presence of more modern ZIS-2 models and similar to Calibra M-42.

Slop "Katyush"

Fighting machine jet artillery "Katyusha"
The day before the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Red Army was adopted fighting machine BM-13 reactive artillery, subsequently called "Katyusha". She became one of the first in the world of salvo fire.

The first combat use took place on July 14, 1941 near the railway station of Orsha (Belarus). The battery under the command of Captain Ivan Flerova was destroyed by the cluster of German military equipment on the Oryashsky railway station.
Due to the high efficiency of application and simplicity in production, by the fall of 1941, the BM-13 cities were widely used at the front, having a significant impact on the course of hostilities.
The system allowed a volley to all charge (16 missiles) for 7-10 seconds. There were also modifications with an increased number of guides and other versions of missiles.
During the war, about 4 thousand BM-13 were lost. In total, about 7 thousand settings of this type were made, and Katyusha was removed from production only after the war - in October 1946.

WEAPON
Despite the widespread introduction of tanks and aircraft, the strengthening of artillery, the mass of infantry weapons remained the most massive. According to some estimates, if in the first world war of losses from small arms They did not exceed 30% of the general, then in the Second World War they rose to 30-50%.
Before the Great Patriotic War, entering the troops of rifles, carbines and machine guns, but the Red Army was significantly inferior to the Wehrmacht on saturation by automatic weapons, such as machine guns.

Snipers Rosa Shanin, Alexander Ekimova and Lydia Vdovina (from left to right). 3rd Belorussian Front

Mosin rifle
Announced in 1891 Rifle Mosina caliber 7.62 millimeters remained the main weapon of the infantry of the Red Army. A total of about 37 million such rifles were released.

Modifications of the sample 1891/1930 had to take the battle in the most difficult months of the beginning of the Great Patriotic. Thanks to the cheapness and reliability, the weapon went around their young self-charged rivals.
The last version of the "three-year one" became the 1944 sample carbine, which was distinguished by the presence of a fixed needle bayonet. The rifle was even shorter, the technology was simplified, and the maneuverability of the battle rose - a shorter carbine is easier to keep the near battle in thickets, trenches, fortifications.
In addition, it was the design of Mosina to form the basis of a sniper rifle adopted in 1931 and became the first Soviet rifle specifically created for the "tagging and destruction in the first place of the enemy's command composition."

Soviet and American soldiers. Meeting on Elbe, 1945

PPS
7.62 millimeter caliber shepagin machine gun was adopted in 1941.

This legendary weapon has become part of the image of the winner's soldier - it can be seen in the most famous monuments. PPSh-41 fell like fighters, having received a gentle and respectful nickname "dad". He shot almost in all weather conditions and at the same time it was relatively cheap.
By the end of the war, the PPS armed about 55% of fighters. In total, about 6 million pieces were released.

Technique of the USSR

Tank of the USSR: T-34 (or "ThirtyTherka")

The tank was adopted on December 19, 1939. This is the only tank in the world, which has preserved the combat capacity and in serial production up to the end of the Great Patriotic War. T-34 tank was deserved by the love of fighters and officers of the Red Army, was the best car of the global tank fleet. He played a decisive role in battles near Moscow, Stalingrad, on a Kursk arc, near Berlin and other combat operations.

Soviet Technology of World War II

Tank of the USSR: IS - 2 "Joseph Stalin"

IS-2 - Soviet heavy tank of the period of the Great Patriotic War. The abbreviation of IP means "Joseph Stalin" - the official name of serial Soviet heavy tanks of release 1943-1953. Index 2 corresponds to the second serial model of the tank of this family. During the Great Patriotic War, with the designation of the IS-2, the name of the IS-122 was used on the equal, in this case the index 122 means the caliber of the main weapon of the machine.

Weapons of the USSR: 76 mm Division Gun Sample 1942
ZIS-3 became the most massive Soviet artillery instrument, produced during the Great Patriotic War. Thanks to its outstanding combat, operational and technological qualities, this instrument is recognized by specialists as one of the best weapons of World War II. In the post-war time, ZIS-3 has long been in service with the Soviet Army, and also actively exported to a number of countries, in some of which it is in service and now.

Combat Technology of the USSR: Katyusha
Katyusha is an unofficial collective name of BM-8 reactive artillery combat vehicles (82 mm), BM-13 (132 mm) and BM-31 (310 mm). Such installations were actively used by the USSR during World War II.

At the exhibition of weapons, military equipment and fortification facilities of the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, a fairly complete collection of Soviet armored vehicles of the period of war, English and American armored vehicles, delivered to the Soviet Union in 1941-1945 on Land Lesu, as well as armored vehicles of our major opponents in Years of war - Germany and Japan.

During the Second World War, armored troops, as the experience of their combat use showed, played a decisive role in battles, performing a wide range of tasks in all types of battle both independently and with other types of troops. They grew up both quantitatively and qualitatively, rightfully becoming the main shock force of the armies of various states. For six years of World War II, about 350,000 armored combat vehicles took part in the battles on both sides: tanks, self-propelled artillery installations (SAU), armored vehicles (BA) and armored personnel carriers (BTR).

Soviet military thought in the pre-war years allotted tanks an important role. They were envisaged to use in all types of hostilities. In the composition of the rifle compounds, they were intended for a breakthrough of the tactical defense zone as a means of direct infantry support (NPP), operating in close cooperation with other types of troops. The larger part of the tanks were in service with tank and mechanized compounds that had the task of developing success in the operational depth after the defense breakthrough.

During the first five years in the Soviet Union, a necessary production base was created for mass release of tanks. Already in 1931, the plants gave the Red Army of 740 cars. For comparison: in 1930, the troops received only 170 tanks, and in 1932 - 3121 cars, including 1032 light tanks T-26, 396 light high-speed BT-2 and 1693 tank tanks. No other country has built such a number of tanks at that time. And this pace was practically maintained until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War.

In 1931 - 1941, 42 samples of various types of tanks were created in the USSR, of which 20 samples were adopted and launched into mass production: T-27 wedges; Light T-26 infant accompanies tanks; Light wheel-tracked high-speed tanks of mechanized BT-5 / BT-7 compounds; Easy reconnaissance floating tanks T-37 / T-38 / T-40; Medium tanks direct support for infantry T-28; Heavy tanks of additional high-quality strengthening in the breakthrough of fortified bands T-35. At the same time, attempts to create self-propelled artillery installations were made in the Soviet Union. However, it was not possible to fully work out and run into serial production of SAU.

In total, 29,62 tank of all types were manufactured in the Soviet Union for these ten years. In the 1930s, in our country, in the development of light tanks, preference was given to wheel-tracked machines, which attended the basis of the Red Army Tank Park.

The fighting during the Civil War in Spain. 1936 - 1939 showed that tanks with anti-film armor are already outdated. Soviet tankers and technical specialists who visited Spain came to the conclusion about the need to bring the thickness of the frontal armor of the body and tower up to 60 mm. Then the tank will not be terrible anti-tank guns, which began to be equipped with land forces different countries. For such a relatively heavy machine, as the tests showed, the most optimal was a purely tracked propulsion. This conclusion was based on the creation of a new Middle T-34 Tank, rightfully won during the Great Patriotic War, the fame of the best tank in the world.

At the turn of the 1930s - 1940s, domestic tank beaders have developed a clear idea of \u200b\u200bthe prospects for the development of armored vehicles. In the Soviet Union, various measures were taken to strengthen the armed forces. As a result, the Red Army received new average (T-34) and heavy (KV-1 and KV-2) tanks that have anticipable armor, powerful weapons and high mobility. In combat qualities, they surpassed foreign samples and fully responded to modern requirements.

The development of tanks, engines, weapons in the USSR was carried out by design teams under the direction of N.N. Kozyreva (T-27), N.N. Barykova (T-26 and T-28), A.O. Firsov (BT), N.A. Astrov (T-37), O.M. Ivanova (T-35), M.I. Koshkina and A.A. Morozova (T-34), J.Ya. Coton (KV and IS-2), M.F. Balley (IS-3), I.Ya. Trashta and K. Chelpana (diesel engine B-2), V.G. Grabe (tank guns, V.A. Degtyarev (tank machine guns), E.I. Marona and V.A. Agntsva (tank sights).

By 1941, serial production of tanks was organized in the USSR, which meets all the requirements of that time. To the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, and then during the war, the tanks produced about two dozen plants of the country: Leningrad Kirov Plant, Moscow factory. S. Ordzhonikidze, Kharkiv Steam-Building Plant, Stalingrad Tractor Plant, Gorky Plant "Red Sormovo", Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (Tankograd), Ural Tank Plant in Nizhny Tagil, etc.

Mass supplies of armored vehicles made it possible to proceed in the mid-1930s to the organization in the Red Army of mechanized buildings, which for 5-6 years ahead of the appearance of such compounds in the Armed Forces of Germany and other countries. Already in 1934, a new born of troops was created in the Red Army - auto-drift troops (from December 1942 - armored and mechanized troops), which to this day are the main shock force of the land forces. At the same time, the 5th, 7th, 11th and 57th special mechanized corps were deployed, transformed in August 1938 into tank corps. However, car troops were in the reorganization stage. In 1939, these compounds were disbanded due to improper assessment of combat experience of using tanks in Spain. In May 1940, the auto-thin troops of the Red Army consisted of: one T-35 tank brigade; three brigades T-28; 16 Tank Brigades BT; 22 T-26 tank brigades; three motorcycle brigades; two separate tank regiments; One training tank shelf and one training battalion of motorcycle parts. Their total number was 111,228 people. Land forces also included six motorized divisions. Each of them was one tank regiment. A total motorized division had light tanks on staff 258.

The study of combat experience in the use of armored and mechanized troops during the World War II has allowed the Soviet military specialists to develop a scientifically based theory of combat use of tank and mechanized compounds and parts, both in general-military battle and during independent actions. This theory has been further developed during the Great Patriotic War.

The fighting, which was led by r. The Khalkhin-goal of the part and the compounds of the Red Army clearly proved that much can be achieved by the active application of mobile tank connections. Powerful tank connections were widely used by Germany during the first period of World War II. All this proved that it is necessary to urgently return to the creation of large armored connections. Therefore, in 1940, the restoration of 9 mechanized buildings, 18 tank and 8 mechanized divisions begins in the Red Army, and in February - March 1941 - the formation of another 21 mechanized corps began. For complete staffing, new mechanical supporters required 16,600 tanks of only new types, and only about 32,000 tanks.

June 13, 1941 Deputy Head of the General Staff General Lieutenant N.F. Vatutin in the "Help on the deployment of the USSR Armed Forces in the event of war in the West" was noted: "In total, there are 303 divisions in the USSR: rifle divisions - 198, tank divisions - 61, motorized divisions - 31 ... "Thus, instead of 42 former tank brigades and six motorized divisions in the Red Army, a week before the start of the war, there were 92-tank and motorized divisions. However, due to such a rapid reorganization of troops, the necessary weapons and combat technique Less than half of the formed enclosures. In the tank units, the lack of tank commanders and technical specialists was acute, since the commanders who came from rifle and cavalry connections did not have practical experience on combat use of tank troop and operation of armored vehicles.

As of June 1, 1941, the Tank Park of the Soviet land forces has numbered 23,106 tanks, including 18,690 combat. In five Western border districts - the Leningrad, the Baltic special, Western special, Kiev, and Odessa - on June 22, 1941 there were 12,989 tanks, of which 10,746 combat and 2243 demanding repairs. Of the total number of cars, about 87% accounted for light T-26 and BT tanks. Relatively new samples there were light T-40 with machine-gun weapons, mean T-34 (1105 units), heavy kV-1 and kV-2 (549 units).

In the battles of the first period of the Great Patriotic War with shock groups of the Wehrmacht, the part of the Red Army lost a large number of their military equipment. Only in 1941, during the Baltic defensive operation (June 22 - July 9), 2523 tank were lost; In Belorussian (June 22 - July 9) - 4799 cars; In Western Ukraine (June 22 - July 6) - 4381 tank. Flowing losses has become one of the main tasks of Soviet tank builders.

During the war, the relative amount of light tanks in the current army was continuously reduced, although in 1941-1942 their issue in quantitatively increased. This was due to the need for a short time to supply troops perhaps a large number of combat vehicles, and the production of light tanks was relatively simple.

At the same time, their modernization was carried out, and first of all, the strengthening of armor.

In the fall of 1941, a light tank T-60 is created, and in 1942 - T-70. Their introduction into serial release contributed to the cheapness of production, thanks to the use of automotive units, as well as simplicity of the design. But the war showed that light tanks are not sufficiently effective on the battlefield due to weakness of weapons and armor. Therefore, from the end of 1942, their release has declined noticeably, and in the late autumn of 1943 it was discontinued.

Released production facilities were used to issue light self-propelled SU-76 installations created on the basis of T-70. Middle T-34 tanks from the first days took part in hostilities. They had undoubted superiority over German tanks PZ. CRFW. III and PZ. CRFW. IV. German specialists had to urgently work out the modernization of their cars.

In the spring of 1942, a Tank PZ appeared on the Eastern Front. CRFW. IV modification F2 with a new 75 mm cannon and enhanced armor. In the Duel duel he won at T-34, but he inferior to him in maneuverability and passability. In response, the Soviet designers reinforced the T-34 gun and the thickness of the head of the tower. By the summer of 1943, the Germans equipped the tank parts with new tanks and self-propelled artillery settings (PZ. CRFW. V "Panther"; PZ. CRFW.VI "Tiger"; SAU "Ferdinand", etc.) with more powerful armor, fire from their 75 - And 88-mm long-baulous guns hit our armored vehicles from a distance of 1000 or more than meters.

The new Soviet tanks T-34-85 and IS-2, armed with 85-mm and 122-mm guns (respectively), by the beginning of 1944 were able to restore the advantage of Soviet armored vehicles on bronception and firepower. All this combined, allowed the Soviet Union to obtain a unconditional advantage over Germany, both in terms of the quality of armored vehicles and in the number of samples issued.

In addition, since 1943, the Red Army began to receive a large number of self-propelled artillery installations. The need for them revealed back in the first months of hostilities, and in the summer of 1941 on the Moscow automobile plant. I.V. Stalin rushing on the semicircular artillery tractors T-20 "Komsomolets" was mounted 57-mm anti-tank gun of the ZIS-2 sample of 1941. These self-propelled installations received the ZIS-30 designation.

On October 23, 1942, GKO decided to start working on the creation of a SAU of two types: Lungs - for direct fire support for infantry and medium, armored as the average T-34 tank - to support and maintain tanks in battle. TankAdrokers for easy SAU, equipped with a 76-mm CIS-3 gun, used the T-70 tank database. This car was well worked out and relatively simple in production. It was also taken into account that the delivery of light tanks on the front gradually declined. Then appeared: the average SAU SU-122 - a caliber of 122 mm on the basis of T-34 tank and a heavy SU-152 - 152-mm Gaubitiza gun based on a buck-1c tank. In 1943, VGC decides on the transfer of self-propelled artillery installations from the GAU to the management of the commander of armored and mechanized troops. This contributed to a sharp increase in the quality of SAU and the growth of their production. In the same, 1943 began the formation of self-propelled artillery regiments for tank, mechanized and cavalry buildings. In the offensive, the light SAU was accompanied by infantry, medium and heavy SAU were struggled with tanks, assault guns, anti-tank enemy artillery, destroyed defensive structures.

The role of SAU increased in the conditions of wide use of the opponent of the tanks "Panther" and "Tiger". To combat them, Soviet troops received SU-85 and Su-100 cars.

The 100-mm gun installed on SUA SU-100 exceeded 88-mm guns of German tanks and a saau for the power of armor-piercing and fragant-burglar shells, not inferior to them in rapidity. During the war, self-propelled artillery installations showed themselves as highly efficient terrible weapons And at the suggestion of tankers, designers have developed SAU on the basis of heavy tanks IP-2, and in the ammunition of heavy self-propelled installations ISU-122 and ISU-152, armor-piercing projectiles entered, allowed final stage Wars, to hit almost all types of German tanks and sau. Light SAU were developed in the KB under the direction of S.A. Ginzburg (Su-76); L.L. Terentieva and M.N. Schukina (Su-76 m); Average - in the KB under the direction of N.V. Kurina, L.I. Gorlitsky, A.N. Balashova, V.N. Sidorenko (SU-122, SU-85, SU-100); Heavy - in KB under the leadership of J.Ya. Kottina, S.N. Makhonina, L.S. Trojanova, S.P. Gurenko, F.F. Petrova (Su-152, ISU-152, ISU-122).

In January 1943, the formation of a homogeneous composition of a homogeneous composition began in the Red Army - the 1st and 2nd tank armies appeared, and by the summer of the same year, there were already five tank armies in the Red Army, which consisted of two tank and one mechanized buildings. Now the armored and mechanized troops included: tank armies, tank and mechanized cases, tank and mechanized brigades and shelves.

Soviet armored equipment during the war was not inferior to the Wehrmacht technique, and often exceeded it both qualitatively and quantitatively. Already in 1942, 24,504 tanks and SAU were released in the USSR, i.e. Four times more than in the same year, the German industry (5953 tank and SAU). Given the failures of the first period of war, it was a real feat of the Soviet tank builders.

Colonel-General Engineering and Technical Service J.Ya. The Catent noted that the invaluable feature of the Soviet school of tank construction was played in this a huge role - the maximum possible simplicity of the design, the desire to be difficult only if it is impossible to achieve the same effect by simple means.

The number of Soviet tanks participating in operations was constantly increasing: 780 tanks participated in Moscow Battle (1941 - 1942), Stalingrad battle (1942 - 1943) - 979, in the Belarusian strategic offensive operation (1944) - 5200, in the Berlin operation (1945) - 6250 tanks and sau. According to the chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, General Army A.I. Antonova, "... The second half of the war passed under the sign of the prevalence of our tanks and self-propelled artillery on the battlefields. This allowed us to carry out operational maneuvers of a huge scope, surround the major groups of the enemy, haunt him until complete destruction. "

In total in 1941-1945, the Soviet tank industry gave the front 103 170 tanks and SAU (the last - 22,500, of which the average - more than 2000, and heavy - more than 4,200), from this number of lung tanks accounted for 18.8%, Average - 70.4% (T-34 with 76-mm gun 36 331, and with a gun 85-mm - another 17,898 tanks) and heavy - 10.8%.

During the batt, about 430,000 combat vehicles were returned to a system after repairing in field or factory conditions, that is, each manufactured tank was repaired and restored on average more than four times.

Along with the mass production of armored vehicles during the Great Patriotic War in the Red Army, there were tanks and ACS received from the UK, Canada and the United States on Land Lisa. Transportation of armored vehicles was carried out mainly in three routes: Northern - across the Atlantic and the Barents Sea, South - through the Indian Ocean, the Persian Bay and Iran, East - through the Pacific Ocean. The first transport with tanks arrived in the USSR from Great Britain in September 1941. And by early 1942, the Red Army received 750 English and 180 American tanks. Many of them were used in the battle near Moscow in the winter of 1941-1942. Total years of the Great Patriotic War for the Soviet Union, on Western sources, 3805 tanks were shipped in the UK, including 2394 Valentine, 1084 Matilda, 301 "Churchill", 20 Tetrarch, 6 Crwell. These should add 25 valentine's bridge tanks. Canada provided the USSR 1388 Valentine tanks. In the US, 7172 tanks were submersible on the ships, including 1676 light msa1, 7 light M5 and M24, 1386 medium MZZ, 4102 of the average M4A2, one m26, as well as 707 anti-tank SAUs (mainly M10 and M18), 1100 anti-aircraft SAU (M15, M16 and M 17), and 6666 armored personnel carriers. However, not all of these machines took part in hostilities. So, under the blows of the German fleet and aviation together with the courts of Arctic convoys on the seabed, 860 American and 615 English tanks were sent. With a sufficiently high propriety, it can be said that in the USSR in four years of war, 18,566 armored vehicles were delivered, of which: 10,395 tanks, 6242 BTR, 1802 SAU and 127 BRAM, which were used in parts, compounds and educational units of the Red Army.

Soviet tankers during the Great Patriotic War showed examples effective use armored weapons, although the enemy was strong and had a very powerful combat technique. The Motherland noted the feat of Soviet Tankists: in their ranks - 1150 Heroes of the Soviet Union (including 16 - twice heroes), and more than 250,000 were awarded orders and medals. On July 1, 1946, the President of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR was established by the professional holiday "Day of Tanker" - to commemorate the big merit of armored and mechanized troops in the defeat of the enemy during the Great Patriotic War, as well as for the merits of tank builders in equipping the country's armed forces by armored vehicles. It is deeply symbolic that the legendary T-34 tank was often established on the pedestals of monuments in honor of the liberation of Soviet cities from Nazi captivity, and many of the Soviet tanks of that time were often established in many domestic museums.

In modern form, armored troops represent the main shock force of the land forces, being a powerful means of armed struggle, intended to solve the most important tasks in different types fighting. The value of tank troops as one of the main genera of the land forces will continue in the nearest foreseeable future. At the same time, the tank will retain the role of the leading universal combat forces of the land forces. In the post-war years, numerous modern samples of tanks, self-propelled artillery installations, armored personnel carriers, infantry combat martial vessels, in which the latest achievements of domestic science and technology were embodied in the post-war years.

The German Army is our main opponent in the years of the Great Patriotic War, had very powerful armored troops (Banzerwaff). The Versaille Peace Treaty of 1919 was forbidden to have tank troops and produce armored cars. However, in violation of his conditions, in the late 1920s, the Germans began to secretly lead work in the field of tank construction, and with the arrival of Hitler's authority in January 1933, all restrictions on the Versailles were discarded, and the creation of a mass army began in Germany. A special place in it was intended tanks.

The initiator of the construction of armored forces and theoretics of their use in the war was the General Guderian. According to his views, the tanks were to be used massively as part of large shock mechanized compounds in cooperation with other types of troops, primarily with aviation. By breaking through the enemy defense, and without waiting for the infantry, the tanks should go to the operational space, loud the rear, disturbing the connection and paralyzing the work of the headquarters of the enemy. He listed the advantages of tanks in the following order: mobility, weapons, armor and communications.

The German Banzerwaff steel in the years of World War II is the basis of Blitzkrig, making the main shock force of the Third Reich's Ground Forces. The Wehrmacht refused to divide the tanks for the purpose - to infantry and cruising. Tanks reduced to major compounds were to perform any functions if necessary: \u200b\u200band infantry maintenance tanks, and success tanks. Although the complete rejection of relatively small tank parts intended for close interaction with infantry connections and parts can also be recognized as successful. The Wehrmacht moved (similar to the RKKKA) to the division of tanks on the lungs, medium and heavy. But if in the USSR, only the mass of the tank was such a criterion, then in Germany, the tanks were divided into classes for a long time in classes, both by weight and by armament. For example, originally tank PZ. CRFW. Iv was considered as a heavy combat vehicle, based on its weapons - 75-mm guns - and was considered as such until the summer of 1943.

All tanks entering the Wehrmacht wechite received an alphabet abbreviation of the PZ. CRFW. (Abbreviated from RNZEGKAMPFWAGEN - armored combat vehicle) and sequence number. Modifications were denoted by the letters of the Latin alphabet and AUSF abbreviation. - (Sokr. Ausfuhrung - model, option). Commander tanks were designated PZ.BF.WG. (Panzerbefehlswagen). Simultaneously with this type of designation, an end-to-end system for all the moving means of the Wehrmacht was used. According to a through system, most of the armored vehochet armored technique (for some exceptions) received SD designations. Kfz. (SODRKRAFTFAHRZEUG - Special purpose machine) and sequence number.

Self-propelled artillery settings, considered as a means of amplifying infantry and tanks on the battlefield, were designated differently, because in arming the Wehrmacht and the SS troops there were a large number of their classes and types. A assault guns had its own designation, their own self-propelled musitics, zrasu and anti-tank installations. At the same time, in the official designation, almost any SAU, as a rule, included information about the tank chassis, on the basis of which it was created. Like tanks, most self-propelled artillery installations also have end-to-end indexes with sequence numbers in the SD system. Kfz. The classification of self-propelled artillery installations of the Wehrmacht differed in several main classes: assault guns (SturgSchutz; Stug); Sturmhaubitze; Stuh); Self-propelled boilers and chassis (SELBSTFAHRLAFETTEN; SF.); Sturminfanteriengeschutz; Stuig); Storm tanks (Sturmpanzer; Stupz.); Tank fighters / self-propelled anti-tank guns (Panzerjager, pz.jg; jagdpanzer jgd.pz); Gaubic SAU (PanzerHaubitze; pz.n); Anti-aircraft self-propelled installations (Flakpanzer, fl.pz). Unforgettable the classification and notation was aggravated by the fact that the machines of one of the types, after modernization and making changes to their design, were acquired by completely different properties, the so-called. 75 mm storm string tool. III, which, after installation in it, a 75-mm long-life gun, actually turned into a fighter of tanks, but continued to be listed as an assault tool. Self-propelled anti-tank settings "MARDER" also underwent changes in the designation, instead of the initial "RAK SLF" (self-propelled anti-tank gun), they began to be called "RanzerJager" (fighter tanks).

The first serial German tank was light PZ. CRFW. I arrived in the troops in 1934. Next year, a second light tank PZ appeared. CRFW. II. These machines received a combat inspection during the Civil War in Spain 1936-1939.

The creation of medium tanks in Germany was delayed due to the unspecified tactical and technical requirements for them, although some firms began to develop an experimental sample with a 75-mm cannon. Guderian considered it necessary to have two types of medium tanks: the main (Pz. CRFW. III) with a 37-mm gun and a support tank with a 75-mm short-power gun (PZ. CRFW. IV). Production of rz tanks. CRFW. III and PZ. CRFW. IV began in only 1938.

After capturing the Czech Republic, in March 1939, Wehrmacht received more than 400 modern Czech Tanks LT-35 (PZ. CRFW. 35 (T)). In addition, German tank troops increased significantly intensified in the occupied Moravia, but already in German orders, LT-38 tanks (Pz.Krfw. 38 (t)), which had higher combat characteristics than the RZ tanks. CRFW. I and PZ. CRFW. II.

As of September 1, 1939, the Wehrmacht Tank Park in combat, curriculum and at the bases consisted of 3195 cars. There were about 2800 in the existing army.

The losses of the Germans in armored technique during the Polish campaign were small (198 destroyed and 361 damaged) and were quickly replenished by industry. According to the results of September (1939), Guderian fights demanded to strengthen armor and firepower tanks and increase the release of PZ. CRFW. W and PZ. CRFW. IV. By the beginning of the campaign in France (May 10, 1940), 5 German tank buildings had 2580 tanks. British and French tanks exceeded the samples of the enemy on booking and armediation, but German tank troops had higher training and combat experience, as well as better managed. They were used massive, while the allies led the tank fights with small groups, without having a close interaction between them, nor with infantry. Victory went to German shock groups.

To attack the Soviet Union, a German command consisting of 17 tank divisions focused 3582 tanks and sau. They included 1698 lung tanks: 180 PZ. CRFW. I; 746 PZ. CRFW. II; 149 PZ. 35 (T); 623 PZ. 38 (t) and 1404 medium tank: 965 PZ. CRFW. III; 439 PZ. CRFW. IV, as well as 250 assault implements. The troops numbered another 230 commander tanks that did not have cannon weapons. Fights on the Soviet-German front revealed a number of technical disadvantages of German tanks. Low were their permeability and mobility on the ground. According to armament and booking, they significantly inferior to Soviet T-34 and square meters. Wehrmacht's command became clear that the troops need stronger cars. While the development of new middle and heavy tanks was the development, re-equipment of PZ began. CRFW. IV (a long-term 75-mm gun was installed while enhancing his armor). This temporarily equalized it with the Soviet Tanks for Army and Booking. But according to the rest of these T-34, has retained its superiority.

Even at the height of World War II, the Germans did not immediately begin forcing the production of military equipment, but only when the ghost of defeat was issued before them. At the same time, during the hostilities, the material part of the German tank troops was continuously improved qualitatively and grew quantitatively. Since 1943, on the battlefields, the Germans became massive to use the average tank PZ. CRFW. V "Panther" and heavy PZ. CRFW. VI "Tiger". In these new tanks of the Wehrmacht, weapons were best worked out, and their disadvantage was, above all, a large mass. Fat armor did not save the Wehrmacht Machines from the shells of Soviet guns installed on T-34-85 and IS-2 tanks and SU-100 self-propelled installations and ISU-122. To get superiority over soviet tank IS-2, in 1944 a new heavy tank RZ.KRFW is created. VI in "Royal Tiger". It was the most severe serial tank of World War II. In the course of the war, the German industry, everything in more quantities began to produce self-propelled artillery settings for various purposes. As the Wehrmacht transitions, the proportion of self-propelled artillery has increased compared with tanks. In 1943, the release of self-propelled plants exceeded the release of tanks, and in recent months the war was superior in the past. On the Soviet-German front in different time It was approximately from 65 to 80% of the armored vehochetics technique.

If Germany's armored technique, created in the period 1934-1940, was mainly distinguished by high reliability, simplicity and ease of maintenance and operation, simplicity of control, then the technique created during the war years could no longer boast of indicators. Hurry and hurry when developing and launching tank production RZ.Krfw.v "Panther", Rz.Krfw.vi ausf.e "Tiger" and pz.krfw.vi ausf. B ("Royal Tiger") had a negative impact on their reliability and performance characteristics, especially Panther tanks and the Royal Tiger. In addition, the Wehrmacht used the trophy armored technique, but in rather limited quantity. Trophy tanks, as a rule, were outdated and did not imagine great value for the front (except for Czechoslovak sample LT-38). Wehrmacht used them at the secondary theaters of hostilities, for occupying troops and fighting partisans, as well as to teach tankers.

The trophy technique was used for alteration under artillery self-propelled installations, armored personnel carriers for delivering ammunition, etc. All plants occupied by the Germans worked for the German Wehrmacht european states. Two large plants of the Czech Republic "Skoda" (Plzen) and SKD (Prague), renamed VMM, produced tanks and on their own SAU of their own development until the end of the war. Total Czech plants released more than 6,000 tanks and sau. France's tank-building plants were attracted mainly to alterars of trophy French tanks, their repair or making some spare parts for them, but there was no one new tank or SAU there. In Austria, attached during the 1938 Anshlus to the Third Reich, during World War II, the NiebelungWerke Tank Assembly Plant (Steyr-Daimler-Puch) was created in Saint Valentine. Its products included in the total amount of production of Germany plants. After the surrender of Italy in 1943, its territory was partly occupied by German troops. Some tank-building factories in the north of Italy, for example, Fiat-Ansaldo (Turin), continued to release tanks and sau for German compounds operating in Italy. In 1943 - 1945, they released more than 400 cars. In total, since September 1939 to March 1945, the German industry produced about 46,000 tanks and SAU, and more than 22,100 pieces account for the latter. In addition to these machines, in Germany during World War II, caterpillar, wheel and hemgeneous armored personnel carriers, armored vehicles, armored vehicles, tractor carriers were also made.

In Japan, the first English tanks of the MK V were enrolled in 1918, and in 1921 - MK A and French Renault Tanks FT 17. In 1925, two tank companies were formed from these machines. To his own tank building, the Japanese started only in 1927, when several prototypes of multiple tanks weighing about 20 tons were created. At the same years, British Vickers-6-Tonn tanks and Carden-Load Tank MKVi, French Renault Tanks, NC1, were purchased, the French tanks "Renault" NC1 (the latter consisted until 1940 in service under the designation "OCU"). On their base, Japanese firms began to develop fuels and light tanks.

In 1931-1936, the small series was made by the average tank type 89. This designation of military equipment was taken in the armed forces on the basis of Japanese chores, according to which Japanese 2589 corresponded to 1929 by the Gregorian calendar. In 1933, Japan's leadership and military command decided to mechanize the Japanese army and issued relevant industrial orders. First, the Japanese designers prefer the wedges. The first of these is Type 92 (1932), then the ultra-low tank type 94 (1934) and a small tank type 97 "Te-Ke" (1937) followed. In just 1937, more than 1,000 fasteners were built. However, the further production of this class of machines due to their low combat qualities ceased, although it was in Japan that the design of the fuzzy reached the greatest development.

The Japanese tank-building industry from the mid-1930s completely switched to the development of light and medium-sized machines. In 1935, the most massive light tank "Ha-th" is created, and in 1937 - the average "Chihi". The latter, until the end of the Second World War, was a major model of Japanese armored troops. In 1937, the rate of production of tanks in connection with the supply for Kwantunski army in Manchuria increased. At the same time, the modernization of the "Ha-go" and "Chi-ha" was carried out. In the mid-1930s, the command of the Japanese army first showed interest in the release of tank amphibians, which were necessary for the implementation of marine landing operations in the future war. At this time, samples of floating tanks are being developed.

The Japanese tank construction of the 1920s - 1930s is characterized by a thorough study of foreign experience; hobby fasteners; By focusing efforts on the creation of light and medium tanks for the armament of the Kwantung Army in China, as well as, starting from 1933, using diesel engines in tanks. Japanese tanks were checking the fight during the fighting in the 1930s - early 1940s in the Far East against the Chinese and Mongolian troops, as well as parts of the Red Army. The experience gained combat use Tanks made Japanese constructors, first of all, look for ways to increase their firepower and enhancing armor protection. In total in 1931-1939, the Japanese industry released 2020 tanks. 16 samples were developed, including 7 serial.

With the beginning of the war in Europe, the production of tanks in Japan is gaining a tempo: in 1940, 1023 cars were manufactured, in 1941 - 1024. With regard to the country's island position, the Japanese military leadership did not seek to build up their tank and troops. In published in 1935, the instrumentation in the preparation of the troops was noted: "The main purpose of tanks is a fight in close cooperation with infantry." From a tactical point of view, tanks were considered only as a means of support for infantry and boiled down into small units. Their main tasks were considered: the fight against firepoints and field artillery and spending passes by infantry in barriers. Tanks could be sent to the "closest raids" for the front edge of the enemy defense to the depth of no more than 600 m. At the same time, violating his defense system, they had to return to their infantry and support her attack. The most maneuverable type of hostilities were the "deep raids" along with cavalry, motorized infantry on cars, sacks and field artillery. In defense, the tanks were used to carry out frequent counterattacks (mostly at night) or to keep fire from the ambush. The fight against the tanks of the enemy was allowed only at extreme need. In November 1941, on the operational plan, the rates for the capture of Filipino Islands, Malaya, Burma and other territories were attracted by the main forces of fleet and aviation, and 11 infantry divisions were distinguished from the land forces and only 9 tank regiments.

By December 1941, the Tank Park of the Japanese Army consisted of about 2,000 cars: mostly light tanks "ha-go" and fasteners, medium tanks "Chi-ha" was a few hundred. Since 1940, the main tanks "Ha-go" and "Chi-ha" was modernized. As a result, in noticeable quantities during the war, a light tank "Ke-Well" and the average "Chi-hee" was built. In 1942, designers created a floating tank "Ka-Mi", which specialists consider the best sample in the history of Japanese tank buildings. But his release was extremely limited. In the same year, self-propelled artillery installations went to combat allies and support their troops to the Japanese army.

Japanese tanks had weak weapons and armor, satisfactory mobility, and were also not reliable enough and did not have good observation and communication. These armament machines, protection and other characteristics lagged behind the samples of other warring countries. Therefore, by the end of the war, the Japanese instructions have already considered tanks as one of the most effective anti-tank agents and often tanks in the defense burned to the ground. The main feature of the Japanese tank construction was a wide use of diesel engines. During the war, the Japanese tank building experienced a constant lack of raw materials (steel) and qualified labor. The maximum level of production of tanks in Japan has reached in 1942 and then falling. In total, the Japanese industry released in 1942 - 1945 2377 tanks and 147 SAU.

The Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War persistently behaves to identify and the meeting of material evidence of the heroic and tragic past. With each followed after the war, it becomes more and more difficult to work on the recruitment of its collections with new samples of armored vehicles. Currently, the museum has tanks and other corporal transfers of the domestic production of the pre-war, military and post-war production periods. This makes it possible to reveal the main stages of the domestic tank building, to show the work of workers, engineers, designers, technologists, organizers of production, all workers of the rear in the achievement of victory to show the main stages in the incredibly difficult conditions.

The collection of armored vehicles of the USSR, Great Britain, the USA, Germany and Japan was created by the Museum staff since 1990. Great assistance in this work provided the main auto-finnote department of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, management Border troops FSB of Russia, military-patriotic public associations, search groups, veteran organizations Tankists. The museum recreates the missing samples of armored vehicles by building their layouts from the preserved fragments found by search associations. In this way, the mock of a heavy tank of the KV-1 was recreated, the tanks of Japan tanks. A number of exhibits before their placement at the exhibition of weapons were restored by specialists of the 38 Research Test Institute of Armored Technology of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.

Tank T-29

In the mid-1930s, during the heyday, the idea of \u200b\u200ba wheel-tracked high-speed tank, its more protected and heavy modification of T-29 appeared. This tank, almost no less inferior in the speed of light-fertilized brethren, had an armor with a thickness of up to 30 mm and was armed with a 76-mm gun. According to the concept of T-29, it was similar to the average tank T-28, but was different from it increased dimensions, which was caused by the arrangement of the suspension elements inside the case. It provided the best level of survivability of the running apparatus, but complicated its service. In general, the car was not very reliable and complicated in production, and only 2 serial instances were released.

Tank Grotte

An experienced Middle TAN TAN (Tank Grotte) was developed in the USSR based on the project of the German engineer Edward Grotte. In this car, many technical innovations were applied for the first time, at that time not used yet on any serial tank. These include a fully welded body, multi-tiered armament, suspension on spiral springs.

Testing tank showed an equal number of both advantages and disadvantages. TG guns were distinguished by good adultery of shooting, and 76-mm gun exceeded all the tank tools of that time. The management of the tank was extremely easy, and the move - smooth. At the same time, TG had bad permeability on soft soils, too close combat compartment, it was difficult to carry out engine repair and gearbox. True, the main obstacle to the formulation of the tank on mass production was its huge value (like 25 BT-2 tanks)!

Tank SMK.

The heavy multi-tanned Tank of the SMC (Sergey Mironovich Kirov) was developed in 1939 on the basis of T-35 as a heavy breakthrough tank. The design of the SMC is noticeably different from the tank-protathip. To reduce the mass of the machine and improve the conditions of the crew, the number of towers reduced to two. In the undercarriage of the SMK, a torsion suspension was applied, which ensured a good course of a tank weighing 55 tons. Armament consisted of two guns of caliber45 and76 mm and five cabbage machine guns 7.62 mm. After the start of the war with Finland, experienced images of the SMK and similar soon after the start of the attack of the SMP hit the mine and lost the caterpillar. Studying in the attack experienced kV and T-100 covered the car for several hours, but it was not possible to eliminate the breakdown. The QMS had to leave on the enemy territory. After the breakthrough, Mannerheim's line, the wrong QMS was towed to the location of our troops and sent by rail to the native factory for repair. But it did not produce it, and the SMC stood on the backyards of the enterprise until it was repulsed. -100 were sent to the battle test.

USSR, Tanks of World War II

Tank T-44

Specifications:

Type Tank Middle

Crew 4 people

Combat Mass 31.8 T

Length 7.65 M.

Width 3.18 M.

Height 2.41 M.

Number of guns / caliber 1/85 mm

Lob's armor 90 mm

Armor side 75 mm

Engine B-44, diesel, with a capacity of 500 liters. from.

Maximum speed 51 km / h

Power reserve 300 km

The T-44, developed in the KB of the Ural Tank Plant under the leadership of the chief designer A. A. Morozov and released at the very end of the war, embodied the huge experience of building and combat use of T-34 tanks. This is the best Soviet average tank of wartime, which has become transitional to the post-war generation of combat vehicles. Having significant external similarity with the predecessor, the T-34-85, the T-44 tank was radically different from it with dimensions, layout and device. The transverse location of the engine made it possible to reduce the body length, save weight, and use this savings to be used to enhance the armor. A combat department was increased and the conditions of the crew were improved. The side walls of the body became vertical, and the monolithic frontal sheet was installed at an angle of 60 ° to vertical. In connection with the new layout, it was possible to shift to the center of the housing tower, which acquired a more streamlined form, which increased its shellostility. On the released place was placed the hatch of the driver, installed on the T-34 in the windshield sheet. All aggregates and tank mechanisms were significantly improved. Until the end of the war, the plant in Kharkov managed to release 190 T-44 cars. Although in hostilities they did not apply, the Guards Tank Brigades, equipped with T-44, became the "hot reserve" of the Red Army. The T-44 issue lasted until the year and amounted to 1823 units. In 1961, the tanks were modernization with the aim of unifying the aggregates of the transmission and chassis with the main average tank of the Soviet Army T-54. Under the designation of the T-44M, these machines received the night instruments of the driver and the commander, as well as increased ampacycles. On the basis of T-44M, the T-44MK commander tank was created. In it, due to a slight decrease in the ammunition, the second radio station was installed. The last modernization of the tanks were subjected to a year, when they were equipped with two-plane armament stabilizers that increase the accuracy of shooting from the go. These machines received the designation T-44C. Part of T-44M tanks per year were redesigned in the armored tractors BTS-4. With weapons, the T-44 was removed in the late 70s and further "served" as targets on landfills. At sunset career, they still had the opportunity to take part in the Great Patriotic War ... as the German tanks PZ VI "Tiger" in the film "Liberation". After the corresponding alteration, the T-44 became almost indistinguishable on the screen from fascist machines.

Tank T-34-76

T-34 became the best average tank of World War II and the most massive tank in the Red Army. By a combination of three essential characteristics - firepower, security and mobility - he did not have equal. "T-34 is the most wonderful sample of offensive weapons," said Hitler General von Mellentine. The project of the caterpillar tank A-32 was developed by the team under the guidance of a talented designer M. I. Koshkin, and the first experienced copy of the car entered the summer tests. Having won the competition with the wheel-tracked A-20, the tank in December of the same year was adopted by the Red Army and launched into mass production under the designation T-34. His featured a number of characteristic features. The most important advantage of the car was its economical diesel engine, withstanding heavy loads in operation. The running part with large rollers and wide tracks provided excellent passability of the born area. Powerful booking in combination with optimal angles of an inclination of armored persons contributed high! The probabilities of the ricochet of shells. For the manufacture of the largest Detail of T-34, Brononorpus, automatic welding was used for the first time in the world. The armament of the machine consisted of 76 mm G-11 guns and two 7.62 mm machine guns. Since the serial release of L-11 was already discontinued, in the spring of 1941, a new gun was installed on the tank, F-34, the same caliber. At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War in the border districts there were 967 T-34 - all of them were lost in the first two! Fight weeks due to unsuccessful dislocation, poorly trained crews and lack of repair and evacuation funds. Nevertheless, the first tank battles showed a significant advantage of Soviet cars. German tank guns did not imagine serious danger for T-34, while the 76-mm projectile "Thirty-harden" pierced the armor of any enemy tank at a distance of up to 1000 m. Weakness also affected anti-tank artillery Wehrmacht. 37-mm Pak 37 guns Nicknamed "army clapper". In one of the reports, it was given that the calculation of such an instrument was achieved by 23 hits in the T-34 tank, but only a projectile, which was in the foundation of the tower, brought the car in order. A year somewhat changed the design of the tank. Instead of a welded or cast tower of a complex configuration, the T-34 received a hex lit-up tower. The fuel tank capacity was enlarged, the engine is equipped with an improved aircraft system, and the power plant is a five-speed gearbox. On the basis of T-34, there were 70 repair and evacuation machines and several dozens of tanks, the ducts with a bridge of 7.7 m long. Some "thirty parts" were converted into flamethous and commander 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 "Tigers" and "Panther" restricted the effectiveness of the fire of short-barrier guns T-34, and 75- and 88-mm German cannons could affect the Soviet cars from the distance, respectively, 900 and 1500 m. Victory near Kursk was given by an expensive price - During the counteroffensive, the Red Army lost about six thousand tanks and self-propelled lines. Other deficiencies of T-34 affected: bad ventilation and overview from the tank, an unreliable gearbox, as well as a close tower without a rotating polyca (when turning the guns, the charging should have followed the treasury, crossing through the shooting sleeves), in which only two crew members were located . The flood had to combine their responsibilities with the duties of the tank commander. Although the T-34 serial release process was constantly improved, in the middle of the war, there was a need for its indigenous modernization.

Specifications:

Type Tank Middle

Crew 4 people

Battle weight 30.9 t

Length 6.62 M.

3 meters width

Height 2.52 M.

Number of guns / caliber 1/76 mm

Number of machine guns / caliber 2 / 7.62 mm

Front armor 45 mm

Armor side 45 mm

Engine B-2-34, diesel, 450 liters. from.

Maximum speed 51 km / h

Power reserve 300 km

USSR, between two wars

Tanks T-37 and T-38

Specifications:

Type Tank Light Floating

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

Lob's front armor 8 mm

Armor side 8 mm

Gas-aa engine, carburat., With a capacity of 40 liters. from.

Maximum speed 40/6 km / h

Stroke 230 km

An essential disadvantage of intelligence tank was the placement of weapons in the corps. Therefore, the first Soviet small floating tanks received a circular rotation tower. On prototypes of T-33, T-41 and T-37, various options for the placement of the tower and the use of automotive power units of gas-aa were worked out. The mass production was launched under the designation of T-37A, having more body displacement and additional floats - the tumor shelves filled with a plug. The tank was afloat good stability and maneuverability. Rowing screw with rotating blades allowed reverse water. Two factory (№37 in Moscow and Gas in Gorky) from a year released 2627 T-37 tanks of all modifications. In addition to the linear T-37A (without a radio station), 643 T-37 tanks were built with a common tank radio station of that time 71-TK-1. Externally, they were distinguished by the handproof antenna around the perimeter of the case. 75 cars from-37 (BCM-4), armed with a machine gun of DG and a flame retardant installation, was also released. In 1936, the T-37A in production replaced its improved version T-38. It was distinguished from the predecessor of the rooted shape of the riveted-welded body and an improved suspension, which increased the smoothness of the stroke and speed on land. Instead of automotive differential T-38, spoiled friction friction was obtained, thereby improved the passability and handling of the machine. In 1938, the tank was upgraded by installing the engine and the gearbox from the car M-1 and received the designation T-38M2. Its speed increased to 46 km / h, the combat mass - up to 3.8 tons. T-38 was produced in the same factories as the T-37a. A total of 1217 T-38 and 165 T-38TU with radio stations was made from 1936 to 1939. In the pre-war period, the methods of transit of T-37 and T-38 tanks were worked out through air with bomber. The strength of the tanks allowed them to reset the reservoirs from a height of 6 meters at the aircraft speed of 160 km / h. The crew was dropped on parachutes. Soviet amphibian tanks were used during the USSR armed conflict with Japan "

On July 8, 1941, near the city of Seno, not far from Dnipro, tank fight began: the light Soviet T-26 was dismissed from the German T-III. In the midst of the battle of thick rye, in the ground in the ground potato tops, the Russian tank is executed, the silhouette of whom the Germans have not yet been familiar. "Several German tanks opened fire on it, but the shells ricochet flew away from its massive tower. A German 37-mm anti-tank gun was standing on his road. German artillerymen produced shell for a projectile in the coming tank while he did not give them a gun to the ground. Then, leaving behind himself by the T-III, the tank delved into German defense by 15 kilometers, "so describe the first appearance of the legendary tank T-34 Western historians in the book" From - Barbarossa to "Terminal".

For a long time, German designers tried to create a tank that could compete with the 34th. So appeared german tanks T-6 "Tiger" (1942) and T-5 "Panther" (1943). However, the German giants still lost the "best tank of the world", as the German military leader was chopped, in maneuverability. The brainchild Mikhail Koshkina, who came down from the conveyor of the Kharkiv steam-site building, contributed to the development of German troops Eastern Front The so-called "tankoboyazni". However, for the designer itself, the invention has become fatal: from Kharkov to Moscow, where the tank should have shown to the manual, the talked Koshkin went on its 34 ke. Proving that his tank can overcome such distances without problems, the designer received the hardest inflammation of the lungs and returned to Kharkov in a half-conscious state. So without recovering from the disease, Mikhail Koshkin died in the hospital. This self-sacrifice convinced the highest officials to launch tanks into mass production. Before the start of the war, 1225 T-34 tanks were released.

Home Woman At Front

The M-30 Gaubitsa Frontoviki called "Mother", the reactive shells initially called "Raisa Sergeyevna" (from the Reduction of PC), but most of all loved, of course, "Katyusha", the system of field reactive artillery BM-13. Some of the first volleys "Katyush" fell into the market square of the city of Rudnya. BM-13 during the shots issued a kind of sound in which the soldiers heard the popular song of Matthew Blanter Katyusha. The tagged nickname, this to the gun by Sergeant Andrei Sapronov, in a couple of days she had placed the whole army, and then became the property of the Soviet people.

Monument Katyusha. (Wikipedia.org)

The order for the launch of Katyusch production was signed a few hours before the start of the German invasion of the first salvo fire systems applied German troops, trying to destroy the Brest Fortress at the very beginning of the onset. However, the fortress was resigned and for a long time the Red Army, who turned out to be in her, fought with invaders. The order for the launch of Katyusch production was signed a few hours before the start of the German invasion. In less than a month, the Soviet troops caused a return kick: in the summer of 41, the Germans had to get acquainted not only with the new Talk T-34, but also with an unknown so far Katyusha. Head of the German General Staff Galder recorded in his diary: "On July 14, the Russians applied the Russians unknown before this time. The fiery flumeing of shells burned the railway station Orsha, all the echelons with a personnel and military equipment of the arrived military units. Metal melted, Earth burned. "

Monument of the first rocket battery of Captain Flerov. (Wikipedia.org)

Rocket settings, at the beginning of the war, most often drunk on the chassis of the ZIS machines, then they began to mount on anything: ranging from "Fords", "Dodge" and Bedfords obtained under the Land Liza program, ending with motorcycles, aerials and boats. Operation in which the system of volley fire was extensive, -. Then the "Stalinist bodies", as they nicknamed the Germans, released more than 10 thousand shells and destroyed 120 buildings, where the resistance of the enemy's troops was particularly fierce.

IL-2, "Cement Bomber"

The most massive combat aircraft in history, how long there was an IL-2 attack aircraft, it seems, became a record holder in the number of nickname. "Concrete aircraft" - so nicknamed His German pilots: "IL-2" had bad maneuverability, but it was very difficult to knock him down. The pilots even joked that "IL-2" can fly "at half the wing, yes on an honest word." The terrestrial troops of the Wehrmacht, seeing a constant threat in it, called the plane "Butcher" or "Iron Gustav." The designers themselves called "IL-2" simply - "Flying Tank". And in the Red Army, the aircraft due to unusual shape The corps got the nickname "humpbat".

In this form, IL-2 flew to the airfield. (Wikipedia.org)

The first serial aircraft "IL-2" was released on March 10, 1941 on the Voronezh aircraft factory, since then the land has risen 36,83 of the same attack aircraft. However, at the time when the war began, there were only 249 cars at the disposal of the Red Army. Initially, Ilyushin, the chief designer, created a double "armored attack aircraft", but after the first tests it was decided to establish additional benzobac.

All the time the Soviet command lacked specialized combat aircraft. In many ways, therefore, IL-2, being the most common machine, was used for different tasks. For example, for all IL-2 aircraft, a mandatory bomb load was established, which "Stalin's outfit" was called a joke. In addition to bombardment, IL-2 used, despite its impressive dimensions, as an intelligence aircraft. One of interesting features The attack aircraft is that pilots, if the car lights up in battle, often put the plane on the "belly", without releasing the chassis. The most difficult for the pilot was in time to get out of the fuselage and escape before "" will explode.