1.
Light tank
–
Early light tanks were generally armed and armored similar to an armored car, but used tracks in order to provide better cross-country mobility. The fast light tank was a feature of the pre-World War II buildup. Numerous small tank designs and tankettes were developed during this period and known under a variety of names, modified IFVs are assuming these roles in many militaries due to their immediate availability, and as a cheaper alternative to developing and fielding a pure light tank. In World War I industrial initiative also led to swift advances and it would be Renaults small tank design the FT, incorporating a proper climbing face for the tracks, that was the first tank to incorporate a top-mounted turret with a full rotation. Previous models had been box tanks, with a crowded space combining the role of engine room, fighting compartment, ammunition stock. The FT would have the largest production run of any tank of the war - with over 3,700 built it was more numerous than all British, the Carden Loyd tankette and its derivatives were adopted by several nations as small tracked vehicles carrying a machine gun for armament. In 1928, the British firm of Vickers-Armstrong started promoting another design by John Carden and Vivien Loyd as the six-ton tank, although rejected by the British Army, it was bought by a large number of nations in small numbers. It formed the basis of the Soviet T-26 and the Polish 7TP tank, as the only tank fit for immediate manufacture, it was a key element in the expansion of the British Army in the period leading up to the outbreak of war. In general, French tanks of the 1930s were well-armored, innovative vehicles that owed little to foreign designs, the lack of radios with the light tanks was not seen as a major drawback, since French doctrine called for slow-paced, deliberate maneuvers in close conformance to plans. The role of small unit leaders was to execute plans, not to take the initiative in combat, in 1939, a belated effort was made to improve flexibility and increase the number of radios. Throughout the interwar period the US produced only a few hundred tanks, from the end of World War I to 1935, only 15 tanks were produced. Most were derivatives or foreign designs or very poor quality private designs, the Christie designs were among the few better examples, but the US Army acquired only three Christies and did not pursue the idea any further. Budget limitations and the low priority given to the army meant that there were few resources for building tanks, the US Army instead developed and tested tank components such as suspensions, tracks, and transmissions. This paid off when production had to be initiated on the outbreak of war, the Soviet BT tanks were the most advanced in the 1930s, extremely fast and mounting high velocity 45 mm cannons. Their only drawback were their petrol engines which caught fire often, the Japanese Type 95 Ha-Go light tank was equipped with a diesel engine, and although mounting a 37 mm cannon, it was a low velocity gun with a maximum effective range of about 700 meters. However, this conflict would be instrumental in developing the famous T-34 medium tank, germanys armored Panzer force was not especially impressive at the start of the war. In the invasions of Poland and France, the German forces were made up of the Panzer I. The Panzer I was little more than a vehicle armed only with machine guns
2.
World War II
–
World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
3.
Vehicle armour
–
Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include armoured fighting vehicles like tanks, aircraft and ships, civilian vehicles may also be armoured. These vehicles include cars used by reporters, officials and others in conflict zones or where violent crime is common, armoured cars are also routinely used by security firms to carry money or valuables to reduce the risk of highway robbery or the hijacking of the cargo. Armour may also be used in vehicles to protect from other than a deliberate attack. Some spacecraft are equipped with specialised armour to protect them against impacts from micrometeoroids or fragments of space junk, the design and purpose of the vehicle determines the amount of armour plating carried, as the plating is often very heavy and excessive amounts of armour restrict mobility. In order to decrease this problem, some new materials and material compositions are being researched which include buckypaper, rolled homogeneous armour is strong, hard, and tough. Steel with these characteristics is produced by processing cast steel billets of appropriate size, rolling and forging irons out the grain structure in the steel, removing imperfections which would reduce the strength of the steel. Aluminium is used when weight is a necessity. It is most commonly used on APCs and armoured cars, wrought iron was used on ironclad warships. Early European iron armour consisted of 10 to 13 cm of wrought iron backed by up to one meter of solid wood, titanium is roughly the weight of aluminium, but as strong as iron. So despite being rather expensive, it finds an application in areas where weight is a concern, such as personal armour, because of its high density, depleted uranium can also be used in tank armour, sandwiched between sheets of steel armour plate. Plastic metal was a type of vehicle armour originally developed for merchant ships by the British Admiralty in 1940, the original composition was described as 50% clean granite of half-inch size, 43% of limestone mineral, and 7% of bitumen. It was typically applied in a two inches thick and backed by half an inch of steel. Plastic armour could be applied by pouring it into a cavity formed by the backing plate. Bulletproof glass is a term for glass that is particularly resistant to being penetrated when struck by bullets. The industry generally refers to it as bullet-resistant glass or transparent armour, bullet-resistant glass is usually constructed using a strong but transparent material such as polycarbonate thermoplastic or by using layers of laminated glass. The desired result is a material with the appearance and light-transmitting behaviour of standard glass, the polycarbonate layer, usually consisting of products such as Armormax, Makroclear, Cyrolon, Lexan or Tuffak, is often sandwiched between layers of regular glass. The use of plastic in the laminate provides impact-resistance, such as physical assault with a hammer, the plastic provides little in the way of bullet-resistance
4.
2 cm KwK 30
–
The 2 cm KwK30 L/55 was a German 2 cm cannon used primarily as the main armament of the German SdKfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II light tank. It was used during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War and it was produced by Mauser and Rheinmetall-Borsig from 1935. Direct ground-attack was not considered a priority for the Luftwaffe, however, an improved version, the 2 cm KwK38 L/55, was used on the SdKfz.121 Panzerkampfwagen II. It was also used on the Sd. Kfz. 251/17 Schützenpanzerwagen anti-aircraft vehicle, late war, it was issued as a platoon commanders vehicle to replace the Sd. Kfz. 251/10 Schützenpanzerwagen. The 2 cm KwK30 used the 20 x 138B cartridge, average penetration performance established against rolled homogenous steel armor plate laid back at 30° from the vertical
5.
MG 34
–
The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG34, is a German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It accepts the 7. 92×57mm Mauser cartridge, and is considered the worlds first general-purpose machine gun. The versatile MG34 was arguably the most advanced machine gun in the world at the time of its deployment and its combination of exceptional mobility – being light enough to be carried by one man – and high rate of fire was unmatched. It entered service in numbers following Hitlers repudiation of the Versailles Treaty in 1936. Nonetheless, the design proved too complex for production, and was supplemented by the cheaper and simpler MG42. The MG34 was based on a 1930 Rheinmetall design, the MG30, the Swiss and Austrian militaries had both licensed and produced the MG30 from Rheinmetall shortly after patent. The MG30 design was adapted and modified by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser Industries, Vollmer modified the feed mechanism to accept either drum magazines or belt ammunition. He also increased the rate of fire, the MG 34s double crescent trigger dictated either semiautomatic or fully automatic firing modes. In the field, the weapon could operate in offensive or defensive applications, the offensive model, with a mobile soldier, used a drum magazine that could hold either 50 or 75 rounds of ammunition. In a stationary defensive role, the gun was mounted on a bipod or tripod, belts were carried in boxes of five. Belt lengths could be linked for sustained fire, during sustained fire, barrels would have to be changed at intervals due to the heat generated by the rapid rate of fire. If the barrels were not changed properly, the weapon would misfire, changing barrels was a rapid process for the trained operator and involved disengaging a latch and swinging the receiver to the right for the insertion of a new barrel. Accordingly, stationary defensive positions required more than one operator, the MG34 was the mainstay of German Army support weapons from the time of its first issue in 1935 until 1942, when it was supplanted by the next generation Maschinengewehr 42 or MG42. For its successor, the MG42, the Germans instead used mass production techniques similar to those that created the MP40 submachine gun, however, the Germans nevertheless continued widespread production of MG 34s until the end of the war. The MG34 was used as the primary machine gun during the 1930s. The MG34 was intended to replace the MG13 and other machine guns. It was designed primarily by Heinrich Vollmer from the Mauser Werke, changes to the operating mechanism improved the rate of fire to between 800 and 900 rpm. The new gun was accepted for service almost immediately and was liked by the troops
6.
Maybach
–
Maybach Motorenbau was a German car manufacturer. The company was founded in 1909 by Wilhelm Maybach and his son, in 1960 Maybach was acquired by Daimler-Benz and remains nowadays as an ultra-luxury car brand of Mercedes-Benz, which is owned by Daimler AG. Daimler currently produces an ultra-luxury edition of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class under the Mercedes-Maybach brand, Wilhelm Maybach was technical director of the Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft until he left in 1907. On 23 March 1909 he founded the new company, Luftfahrzeug-Motorenbau GmbH, in 1912 they renamed it to Maybach-Motorenbau GmbH. The company originally developed and manufactured diesel and petrol engines for Zeppelins and its Maybach Mb. IVa was used in aircraft and airships of World War I. The company first built a car in 1919, introduced as a production model two years later at the Berlin Motor Show. Between 1921 and 1940, the company produced a variety of opulent vehicles, the company also continued to build heavy-duty diesel engines for marine and rail purposes. During the Second World War, Maybach produced the engines for Nazi Germanys medium and heavy tanks, as well as the light tank, the engine plant was one of several industries targeted at Friedrichshafen. After WW II the factory performed some work, but automotive production was never restarted, and some 20 years later. Daimler-Benz purchased the company in 1960, post-1960 the company was mainly used to make special editions of Mercedes cars in the W108 and W116 model range, which were virtually hand built. These cars however carried the Mercedes badge and serial numbers, Rolls-Royce Power Systems AG based in Friedrichshafen used to manufacture the commercial Maybach diesel engines under the MTU brand through its subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. Daimler presented a concept car at the 1997 Tokyo Motorshow. A production model based on it was introduced in two sizes – the Maybach 57 and the Maybach 62, reflecting the lengths of the automobiles in decimetres. In 2005, the 57S was added, powered by a 6.0 L V12 bi-turbo engine producing 450 kW and 1,000 N·m of torque, and featuring various cosmetic touches. To promote the new Maybach line, Mercedes-Benz engaged figures such as Maybach heir Ulrich Schmid-Maybach and golfer Nick Faldo, initially, Daimler-Chrysler predicted annual sales of 2,000 worldwide with 50 per cent coming from the United States, however, these expectations never materialized. In 2007, Mercedes bought back 29 US dealers, reducing the total from 71 to 42, in 2010, only 157 Maybachs were sold worldwide, compared to 2,711 similarly priced Rolls-Royces. Just 3,000 have been sold worldwide since the brand was revived in 2002, Daimler announced in November 2011 that Maybach would cease to be a brand by 2013 and manufactured the last Maybach vehicle in December 2012. This was because of poor sales, according to Automotive News, only 44 Maybachs had been sold in the U. S. through October 2011
7.
Petrol
–
Gasoline or petrol, is a transparent, petroleum-derived liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the distillation of petroleum. On average, a 42-gallon barrel of oil yields about 19 US gallons of gasoline when processed in an oil refinery. The characteristic of a gasoline blend to resist igniting too early is measured by its octane rating. Gasoline is produced in several grades of octane rating, sometimes, gasoline also contains ethanol as an alternative fuel, for economic or environmental reasons. Gasoline, as used worldwide in the vast number of combustion engines used in transport and industry, has a significant impact on the environment. Gasoline may also enter the environment uncombusted, as liquid and as vapors, from leakage and handling during production, transport and delivery, from tanks, from spills. As an example of efforts to control leakage, many storage tanks are required to have extensive measures in place to detect. Gasoline contains benzene and other known carcinogens, Gasoline inhalation can produce an intense high, however the practice is thought to cause severe organ damage, including mental retardation. The first automotive combustion engines, so-called Otto engines, were developed in the last quarter of the 19th century in Germany, the fuel was a relatively volatile hydrocarbon obtained from coal gas. With a boiling point near 85 °C, it was suited for early carburetors. The development of a spray nozzle carburetor enabled the use of less volatile fuels, further improvements in engine efficiency were attempted at higher compression ratios, but early attempts were blocked by knocking. In the 1920s, antiknock compounds were introduced by Thomas Midgley Jr. and Boyd and this innovation started a cycle of improvements in fuel efficiency that coincided with the large-scale development of oil refining to provide more products in the boiling range of gasoline. In the 1950s oil refineries started to focus on high octane fuels, the 1970s witnessed greater attention to the environmental consequences of burning gasoline. These considerations led to the out of TEL and its replacement by other antiknock compounds. Subsequently, low-sulfur gasoline was introduced, in part to preserve the catalysts in modern exhaust systems, Gasoline is the term that is used in North America to refer to the most popular automobile fuel. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first use to 1863, when it was spelled gasolene and it was never a trademark, although it may have been derived from older trademarks such as Cazeline and Gazeline. Variant spellings of gasoline had been used to refer to raw petroleum since the 16th century, Petrol is the preferred term in most Commonwealth countries
8.
Leaf spring
–
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a laminated or carriage spring, and sometimes referred to as a spring or cart spring. A leaf spring takes the form of a slender arc-shaped length of spring steel of rectangular cross-section, in the most common configuration, the center of the arc provides location for the axle, while tie holes are provided at either end for attaching to the vehicle body. For very heavy vehicles, a spring can be made from several leaves stacked on top of each other in several layers. Leaf springs can serve locating and to some extent damping as well as springing functions, while the interleaf friction provides a damping action, it is not well controlled and results in stiction in the motion of the suspension. For this reason some manufacturers have used mono-leaf springs, a leaf spring can either be attached directly to the frame at both ends or attached directly at one end, usually the front, with the other end attached through a shackle, a short swinging arm. The shackle takes up the tendency of the spring to elongate when compressed. Some springs terminated in an end, called a spoon end. There were a variety of springs, usually employing the word elliptical. Elliptical or full elliptical leaf springs referred to two circular arcs linked at their tips and this was joined to the frame at the top center of the upper arc, the bottom center was joined to the live suspension components, such as a solid front axle. Additional suspension components, such as trailing arms, would usually be needed for this design and that employed the lower arc, hence its name. As an example of leaf springs, the Ford Model T had multiple leaf springs over its differential that were curved in the shape of a yoke. As a substitute for dampers, some manufacturers laid non-metallic sheets in between the leaves, such as wood. Today leaf springs are used in heavy commercial vehicles such as vans and trucks, SUVs. For heavy vehicles, they have the advantage of spreading the load more widely over the vehicles chassis, whereas coil springs transfer it to a single point. Unlike coil springs, leaf springs also locate the axle, eliminating the need for trailing arms. A further advantage of a leaf spring over a spring is that the end of the leaf spring may be guided along a definite path. A more modern implementation is the leaf spring
9.
Tanks of the interwar period
–
This article discusses tanks of the interwar period. World War I established the validity of the concept and between the two world wars, many nations needed to have tanks, but only a few had the industrial resources to design. During and after World War I, Britain and France were the leaders in tank design. This early lead would be gradually lost during the course of the 1930s to the Soviet Union and, to a lesser extent, the final tank designs of 1918 showed a number of trends. The joint US and British Mark VIII tank was supposed to be a heavy tank design for them. The design should have overcome the limitations of the earlier British heavy tanks, the 34-foot-long, 37-ton armored vehicle was powered by a 300-hp V-12 engine and capable of 7 mph cross-country. Worldwide, many sizes of tank were considered, and much of the development effort went into light tanks that were primarily against infantry or for colonial police-type work. The worldwide economic difficulties of the 1920s and 1930s led to an emphasis on light tanks as they were much cheaper to produce than medium or heavy tanks. However, the Spanish Civil War showed that tank-versus-tank engagements and tank-versus-towed antitank gun engagements would now be a consideration for the future of tank warfare. It became clear that tanks would need to be heavily armoured, Tank shape, previously guided purely by considerations of obstacle clearance, now became a trade-off between a low profile, desirable for stealth, and weight savings. In Britain, a deal of study on the future of tank warfare was carried out. In the U. S. J. Walter Christie developed a series of fast tanks and this was combined with very high power-to-weight ratios achieved by fitting large aircraft engines in his tanks. Christies prototypes were purchased by the Soviet Union, and were to be developed into the BT tanks and eventually, on the eve of World War II. Today it may be difficult to understand why the idea found such resistance from the leadership of several armies. Part of the explanation is that the automotive industry was in its infancy. Tanks were rightly considered unreliable, troublesome equipment as late as the early 1930s, weak engines, poor transmissions, and fragile, short-life tracks contributed to this reputation. The international success of the Vickers six-ton tank is due more to its high reliability than any brilliance in the design, however, as the decade passed, engines, transmissions and tracks all improved. By the beginning of World War II, reliable engines and transmissions, a final trend in the between-the-wars period was changes in manufacturing methods
10.
Tankette
–
A tankette is a tracked armoured fighting vehicle that resembles a small tank, roughly the size of a car. It is mainly intended for infantry support and scouting. Colloquially it may simply mean a small tank. Several countries built tankettes between the 1920s and 1940s, and some saw limited combat in the phases of World War II. The vulnerability of their armor, however, eventually led armies to abandon the concept. Tankettes were made both in two- and three-man models, some were so low that the occupant had to lie prone. Some models were not equipped with turrets, or just a simple one that was traversed by hand or leg. They were significantly smaller than light tanks and did not have a tank gun, the genesis of the tankette concept was the armoured warfare of World War I. The breakthrough tanks were isolated and destroyed and reinforcements plugged the hole in the trench line. The tankette was conceived in the early interwar period to solve this problem. The first designs were a sort of mobile, one-man machine gun nest protected against small arms fire and this idea was abandoned and the two man-model, mainly intended for reconnaissance, was produced instead. The moving up of infantry while protecting them was solved with the personnel carrier. In 1925 British tank pioneer Giffard Le Quesne Martel built a tank, the Morris-Martel, in his garage and showed it to the War Office. The publicity caused John Carden and Vivian Loyd to produce their own, both types were developed further, but the two-man Carden Loyd tankette was considered the classic and most successful design, with many other tankettes modeled after it. While the design was influential, few Carden Loyd tankettes saw combat, however, the design did lead to the universal carrier, which had an extensive operational history in the Second World War. The Italian Royal Army equipped three armoured divisions and three fast divisions with L3/33 and L3/35 tankettes, the L3s were used in large numbers during the Italian invasion of Ethiopia, the Spanish Civil War, and almost every place Italian soldiers fought during World War II. Some L3s went with the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia as late as Operation Barbarossa, the French armoured reconnaissance type of the 1930s was essentially a tankette in form, specifically intended for scouting ahead of the main force. In 1935, the Soviets experimented with transporting T-27s by air, the Imperial Japanese Army became one of the most prolific users of tankettes, producing a number of designs intended for jungle warfare
11.
L3/33
–
The Carro Veloce CV-33 or L3/33 was a tankette originally built in 1933 and used by the Italian Army before and during World War II. It was based on the imported British Carden Loyd tankette, many CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35 in 1935. In 1938, the CV-33 was renamed the L3/33 while the CV-35s became known as L3/35s, the original CV-33 carried a two-man crew protected by 12 mm of welded armour and was armed with a single 6.5 mm machine gun. The L3/33 saw action in China, Spain, France, the Balkans, North Africa, Italian East Africa, Italy, development of the L3 Lf flame tank, based on the L3 tankette, began in 1935. The flamethrower nozzle replaced one of the guns, and the flame fuel was carried in an armoured trailer towed by the vehicle. Later versions had the fuel carried in a tank mounted above the L3s engine compartment. The vehicle weighed 3.2 tons, and the trailer carried 500 litres of fuel. It had a range of 40 yards, though other sources report a 100 meters range and they were fielded in North Africa, although there is no record of them being involved in combat there. The L3 Lf saw action in the Second Italo–Abyssinian War, Spain, France, Russia, footage exists of an unarmed, open-topped, artillery tractor based on the L3. This could be used to tow a trailer, as could the L3, as well as light artillery pieces. This vehicle does not appear to have entered production, one example of the L3/33 is on display in the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, Australia. It is believed this example was captured by British and Commonwealth troops in North Africa in 1940 or 1941, there is also a flame thrower variant on display at The Tank Museum in Bovington
12.
L3/35
–
The L3/35 or Carro Veloce CV-35 was an Italian tankette that saw combat before and during World War II. Although designated a tank by the Italian Army, its turretless configuration, weight. The L3/35 was developed from the Carden Loyd Mark VI tankette, the first vehicle developed by the Italians from the Carden Lloyd tankette was designated CV-29, CV being an abbreviation of Carro Veloce and 29 as the year of adoption. In 1933, a new design was built jointly by the Fiat Company of Turin and this vehicle was introduced as the Fiat-Ansaldo CV-33. In 1935, an improved model of the CV-33 was introduced and designated CV-35. The primary differences were that the armour was bolted rather than riveted, many older CV-33s were retrofitted to meet the specifications of the CV-35. In 1938, the vehicles were redesignated L3/33 and the L3/35, in 1938, a further development of the L3 design was designated L3/38. The L3/38 had torsion bar suspension and two versions of a single mounted 13.2 mm machine gun, in 1937 Brazil bought 24 L3/38s which arrived in 1938. The L3/38s exported to Brazil were designated CV33/II, the Roman numeral II represents the second version of the original L3/33 version. The L3/35 version exported to Brazil would be CV33/I, the CV33/II Brazilian export was armed with a single 13.2 mm Madsen machine gun. Italy retrofitted at least 12 L3/35s to meet the specifications of the L3/38, the converted L3/35s with the L3/38s torsion bar suspension saw limited service in September 1943 until June 1944. These L3/38s versions of the L3/35s were armed with a single 13.2 mm Breda M31 machine gun, the L3/35 was a lightly armoured two-man vehicle typically armed with twin 8 mm machine guns, though variants were developed with other armament. Other than the number and type of guns, the differences between the L3/35 and the L3/33 were few. Both featured riveted and welded construction, the vehicles commander/gunner sat on the left and the driver sat on the right. The engine was mounted transversely in the rear, a circular radiator was mounted behind the engine. The transmission went to the front to the final drive, the Vickers-Carden-Lloyd type suspension had two three-wheel bogies on leaf spring and a single unsprung wheel on each side. There was a wood rail that the top run of the tracks went on. Between 2,000 and 2,500 L3 tankettes were built in different models and variants for the Royal Italian Army, twenty L3/33 tankettes were sold to China
13.
Carden Loyd tankette
–
The Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British pre-World War II tankettes, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers. It became a classic tankette design worldwide, was licence-built by several countries, the Carden Loyd tankette came about from an idea started, as a private project, by the British military engineer and tank strategist Major Giffard LeQuesne Martel. He built a tank in his garage from various parts. With the publication of the idea, other companies produced their own interpretations of the idea, one of these was Carden-Loyd Tractors Ltd, a firm founded by Sir John Carden and Vivian Loyd and later purchased by Vickers-Armstrongs. Besides one-man vehicles they also proposed two-man vehicles which turned out to be a more effective, Vickers-Armstrongs manufactured and marketed vehicles of the latter type worldwide. Considered a reconnaissance vehicle and a machine gun position, the Mark VI was the final stage of development of the Carden Loyd series of tankettes. The Carden Loyd tankette was the prototype for the Universal Carrier, production started in 1927 and lasted until 1935. From 1933 to 1935 production was by the Royal Ordnance Factories, some 450 were made in all. The British Army used at least 325 Mark VI tankettes in several variants, mostly as machine gun carriers, but also as light gun tractors, mortar carriers or smoke projector vehicles. In 1929, Poland bought 10 or 11 Mark VI tankettes with a licence and used them for development of their own TK tankette series, the Soviet Union bought 20 Mark VI tankettes, which they designated K-25, as well as a licence. However, the project was significantly modernised and the licence was dropped. Instead, the Bolshevik Factory in Leningrad started the production of the T-27 tankette, a total of 3,228 T-27 tankettes were built between 1931 and 1933. Bolivia purchased between two and five tankettes in 1931 and they saw action in the Chaco War, where they proved to be ill-suited for the bushy environment. Japan also bought six Mark VIb tankettes, and later developed its own Type 94 Te Ke design based on them, Carden Loyd Tankettes operated by the Imperial Japanese Navy Land Forces were designated the Type 6 Machine Gun Car. Italy bought a number of Carden Loyd Mark VIs, built a few licence copies designated CV-29, the Canadian Army acquired 12, in two batches of six, in 1930-31. Eventually, they were supplemented with the Vickers VI B light tank in 1938, until then, they had been the only armoured equipment in the Canadian Army, apart from some armoured cars. At no time were used in a combat role by Canada. In addition, the Carden Loyd Tankettes were also supplied in small numbers to France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, the five Dutch tankettes were involved in fighting German paratroopers during the May 1940 invasion of the Netherlands
14.
T-27
–
The T-27 was a tankette produced in the 1930s by the Soviet Union. It was based on the design of the Carden Loyd tankette, the Soviets were not fully satisfied with the Carden Loyd design and made a number of changes before putting it into mass production under the designation of T-27. Compared with the British original, the hull was larger, the gear was improved. A number of changes were made by Chief Engineer N. Kozyrev and Lead Engineer K. Sirken to improve the tankettes ability to cope with the Russian climate. It lacked any communication devices, as communication between vehicles was intended to be carried out using signal flags, the tankette was accepted into service on February 13,1931. It was manufactured in two factories simultaneously, the Bolshevik factory in Leningrad and what would become the GAZ factory in Nizhni Novgorod. The principal use of the T-27 during its life was as a reconnaissance vehicle. Initially,65 tankette battalions were formed by the Red Army and this figure was later reduced to 23 per battalion. The tankette was also intended to be air-mobile, in 1935, the Soviets experimented with transporting T-27s by air, by suspending them under the fuselages of Tupolev TB-3 bombers. The T-27 saw active service in the Soviet republics of Central Asia during the 1930s, however, they fairly quickly became obsolete due to the introduction of more advanced tanks. The Red Army found them reliable and simple to operate, but the T-27 coped poorly with swampy and it was also difficult to find crews, as the tankettes were so small that it was difficult to find crews of sufficiently diminutive stature. By the end of the 1930s the T-27 was relegated primarily to training use, Two T-27 tankettes were captured by Romanian forces as of 1 November 1942. Some experiments were made to equip T-27s with more advanced weapons, such as flamethrowers and recoilless guns. A few T-27s were pressurized and provided with equipment to enable them to cross rivers underwater. It was also the first Soviet tracked vehicle transported by plane,2,157 T-27s remained in service or on service by January 1941 and some took part in the initial stages of the Great Patriotic War later that year. The last recorded use of the T-27 was in the Battle of Moscow in December 1941. A small number of captured units also entered German service, Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two. The T-27 Armored Tankette T-27 at WWII vehicles
15.
TKS
–
The TK and TKS were Polish tankettes during the Second World War. The TK tankette was a Polish design produced from 1931 based on the chassis of the British Carden Loyd tankette, with a hull and more powerful engine. In 1939, up-arming of the tankettes with Nkm wz.38 FK20 mm machine guns began, on 6 November 1934 Estonia purchased 6 vehicles from Poland, with the contract deal worth over 180,000 krones. The deal also included one additional tracked-lorry, and a motorcycle was given free as a bonus, after the Soviet Union occupied Estonia, these vehicles were put into service with the Red Army. The 575 TK/TKS tankettes formed the bulk of the Polish armoured forces before the outbreak of war and they suffered heavy losses during the Invasion of Poland, often being the only armoured fighting vehicles available. After the conquest of Poland, captured tankettes were used by the German army in support roles, mostly for training. Many captured tankettes were used by the Luftwaffe for airfield security. Some were later sold to the military of the state of Croatia. C2P - unarmoured light artillery tractor, about 200 built, experimental models, TK-1, TK-2 - first prototypes TKD - light self propelled gun with 47 mm gun, four made. TKW - light reconnaissance tank with turret, one prototype made, TK-3 with 20 mm gun - only one prototype with a modified hull was completed. All of them were reconstructed from wrecks in the first decade of 21st century,1 x TKS - One of the TKS tankettes was donated to Poland by the Swedish Axvall Tank Museum and since 2008 it is on exhibition in the Museum of the Polish Army. The Swedish TKS survived the period in Norway, where it was operated by a local farmer as a tractor. 1 x TKS - Private collection,1 x TK-3 - Private collection. The other survivors are not in working order,1 x TKS - On exhibition in the Kubinka Tank Museum in Russia. 1 x TKS - On exhibition in the Military Museum in Belgrade,1 x TKS - Returned from the Norwegian Armed Forces museum to the Armoured Weapon Museum in Poznan, Poland 1 x TKF - In Serbia. 1 x C2P artillery tractor - Was found in Belgium and bought by the National Military History Center of Auburn, Indiana, adam Jońca, Rajmund Szubański, Jan Tarczyński Wrzesień1939 Pojazdy Wojska Polskiego wyd.3 and Nr.4. Adam Jońca, Rajmund Szubański, Jan Tarczyński, Wrzesień1939 - Pojazdy Wojska Polskiego - Barwa i broń, WKL, Jan Tarczyński, K. Barbarski, A. Jońca, Pojazdy w Wojsku Polskim - Polish Army Vehicles - 1918-1939, Ajaks, Pruszków 1995. Czołg rozpoznawczy TK-S, Militaria i Fakty nr.31 Janusz Magnuski, Czołg rozpoznawczy TKS, TBiU nr
16.
Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car
–
The Type 92 Heavy Armoured Car, also known as the Type 92 cavalry tank, was the Empire of Japans first indigenous tankette. Designed for use by the cavalry of the Imperial Japanese Army by Ishikawajima Motorcar Manufacturing Company, although actually a light tank, it was called sōkōsha in Japanese due to political sectionalism within the Japanese Army. Exactly the same device was used in America with the M1 Combat Car, after World War I, many European countries attempted to mechanize their cavalry. In parallel, Japanese cavalry also experimented with a variety of armored cars with limited success and these wheeled armored cars were not suitable for most operations in Manchuria, due to the poor road conditions and severe winter climate. Japans army tried various methods to integrate modern armor into their traditional horse cavalry formations, the development of the Type 92 began after the Japanese decided to develop a small vehicle in Japan for mobile operations. The experiment was not entirely successful, and the Japanese cavalry was not impressed with the performance, after this, the amphibious car concept was abandoned, and the design was changed to a tracked vehicle for land use only. Production was initiated by Ishikawajima Motorcar Manufacturing Company, production was plagued by technical problems and in total only 167 units were built between 1932 and 1939. After some initial problems with the gear, the Type 92 proved well suited for the rough terrain and poor roads of Manchuria and China. Some vehicles were equipped with two searchlights for night operations and Type 94 Mk 4 Otsu radios, the earlier series version had six road wheels and three return rollers. The later production version had a new suspension with four road wheels, the later production version has sometime been mistakenly referred to as a Type 93 light tank. The Type 92 was eventually replaced by the Type 94 Te Ke during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Type 92 used riveted and welded armor with a maximum thickness from 6 mm to 12 mm. The thin armor enabled the weight to be kept to three tons, however, it could be penetrated by machine gun fire. Although its armor was thinner and its much lighter than its European contemporaries. In terms of armament, the weapons were twin machine guns, one in the turret. Later, the weapon was a hull-mounted, manually aimed 13 mm Type 92 heavy machine gun. The weapon had limited traverse, but included a pivoting eyepiece on the gunsight optics, secondary armament was a 6.5 mm Type 91 machine gun, replaced later by the 7.7 mm Type 97 light machine gun mounted in the manually traversed turret. Initially, the models were armed with identical 6.5 mm machine guns on both the turret and the hull. After production ended, efforts were made to improve the armament to keep the vehicle relevant on the battlefield, attempts were also made in 1933 to mount a 37 mm tank gun in the hull of the vehicle to give it anti-tank capabilities
17.
Type 94 tankette
–
Although tankettes were often used as ammunition tractors, and general infantry support, they were designed for reconnaissance, and not for direct combat. As with nearly all built in the 1920s and 1930s. The initial attempt resulted in the Type 92 Jyu-Sokosha for use by the cavalry, a tankette fad occurred in Europe in the 1930s, which was led by United Kingdoms Carden-Loyd Mk VI tankette. The IJA ordered some samples from the UK, along with some French vehicles, the IJA determined that the British and French machines were too small to be practical, and started planning for a larger version, the Tokushu Keninsha. The Imperial Japanese Army also experimented with a variety of armored cars with limited success, the wheeled armored cars were not suitable for most operations in the puppet state of Manchukuo, due to the poor road conditions and severe winter climate. The development was given to Tokyo Gas and Electric Industry in 1933, and it was a small light tracked vehicle with a turret armed with one machine gun. For cargo transportation it pulled an ammunition trailer and it was reclassified as the Type 94 and was designed for reconnaissance, but could also be used for supporting infantry attacks and transporting supplies. After trials in both Manchukuo and Japan, the design was standardized as the Type 94 tankette, the Type 94 was later superseded by the Type 97 tankette, which was designed as a fast reconnaissance vehicle. The design of the Type 94 was based on the British Carden-Loyd Mark VIb tankettes, the hull of the Type 94 was of riveted and welded construction, with a front-mounted engine with the driver to the right. The engine was an air-cooled petrol motor that developed 35 hp at 2,500 rpm, like many armored vehicles intended to operate in hot conditions, the engine was given asbestos insulation to protect the occupants from its heat. The commander stood in a turret at the rear of the hull. A large door in the rear of the hull accessed the storage compartment, initially the armament was a Type 916. 5×50mm machine gun, although in later models carried a Type 927.7 mm machine gun. The suspension consisted of four bogies - two on each side and these were suspended by bell-cranks resisted by armored compression springs placed horizontally, one each side of the hull, externally. Each bogie had two small road wheels with the drive sprocket at the front and the idler at the rear. In combat service the Type 94 was found to be prone to throwing its tracks in high speed turns, a better suspension on a longer chassis appeared in later models of the Type 94. The design was also the basis for variants and these included the Type 94 Disinfecting Vehicle and Type 94 Gas Scattering Vehicle. Others produced were the Type 97 Pole Planter and Type 97 Cable Layer and these used the Type 94 chassis, with the former vehicle first planting a telegraph pole and then the latter vehicle laying the telegraph cable. The Type 94 was mainly deployed in Independent Tankette Companies, by 1936, each Japanese infantry division had its own Tankette Company with six Type 94s for use in the reconnaissance role
18.
Type 97 Te-Ke
–
The Type 97 Light armored car Te-Ke was a tankette used by the Imperial Japanese Army in the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in World War II. It was designed as a fast reconnaissance vehicle, and was a replacement for the earlier Type 94 TK, the origins of the Type 97 lay in a prototype diesel-engine version of the Type 94 Te-Ke developed by Hino Motors in 1936. Although the prototype had a powerful engine and larger gun, initial trials were not successful. Hino responded with a prototype in November 1937, in which the engine was moved towards the rear of the chassis. This design was accepted and full production began in 1938, a total of 616 units were produced from 1938 to 1944. Although the chassis was similar in appearance, the design of the Type 97 was different from the Type 94 in several significant areas. The engine was moved the rear and the gun moved to the middle of the tankette. This gave the two men a position to communicate with each other. As with the Type 94, the interior was lined with heat absorbing asbestos sheets, however, due to shortages in the production of this weapon, most vehicles were fitted with a 7.7 mm Type 97 machine gun instead. The Type 97 replaced the Type 94 on the line in 1939, it was primarily assigned to reconnaissance regiments. Because it was a vehicle, built for speed, and not direct combat, its hull. As with most tankettes it was deficient in armor protection. Several variants of the Type 97 were produced, the Type 98 So-Da APC was designed as an armored personnel and ammunition carrier. Another produced was the Type 100 Te-Re, which was designed as an observation vehicle. Typically, Type 97s were distributed to infantry divisions, where they were very often used as armored tractors, supply vehicles. Their light weight enabled them to be transported easily across the sea or rivers, the Type 97 tankettes first real test of combat came during the Battle of Nomonhan during the months of May through August in 1939 against the Red Army of the Soviet Union. There, although not designed for combat, the 97 tankette went up against Russian anti-tank guns and 45mm high velocity guns of the Soviet BT-5. Coox, Alvin D. Nomonhan, Japan Against Russia,1939, great Book of Tanks, The Worlds Most Important Tanks from World War I to the Present Day
19.
AH-IV
–
The AH-IV was a Czechoslovak-designed tankette used by Romania, Sweden and Iran during World War II. The Romanian vehicles saw action on the Eastern Front from Operation Barbarossa to the Vienna Offensive, twenty vehicles were sold to Ethiopia after the war who used them until the Eighties. It was assembled from a framework of steel angle iron beams, the driver sat on the right side using an observation port protected by bulletproof glass and an armored shutter. To his right was a vision slit. Also to his right, in all models except the Swedish Strv m/37, was a light Zbrojovka Brno ZB vz.26 or vz.30 machine gun that was locked in place. The gunner sat on the left and manned a turret fitted with a ZB vz.35 or ZB vz.37 heavy machine gun in a ball mount. Most of the guns barrel protruded from the mount and was protected by an armored trough. He had a vision port to the right of the machine gun mount in the turret. 3700 rounds were carried for the two machine guns, the 3.468 litres, water-cooled, six-cylinder Praga engine produced 55 horsepower at 2500 rpm. It sat in the rear of the compartment and drove the transmission via a drive shaft that ran forward between the driver and commander to the gearbox. Cooling air was designed to air in through the commanders and drivers hatches. This had the advantage of rapidly dispersing gun combustion gases when firing, the constant draft generated by the engine greatly affected the crew during cold weather, an engine fire would force the crew to evacuate and the engine noise and heat increased crew fatigue. It had a top speed on the road of 45 kilometres per hour, the semi-automatic Praga-Wilson transmission had five forward gears and one reverse gear to drive the forward-mounted drive sprocket. The suspension was a version of that used in the Panzerkampfwagen 38. It consisted of four road wheels per side, each pair mounted on a wheel carrier. There were two wheel carriers per side, the idler wheel was at the rear and one return roller was fitted. It had a pressure of only 0.5 kg/cm2. It could cross a ditch 1.5 metres wide, climb an obstacle.5 to.6 metres high, Iran was the first customer for the AH-IV and ordered fifty plus a prototype in 1935 for delivery the following year
20.
Hotchkiss H35
–
The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a French cavalry tank developed prior to World War II. From 1938 an improved version was produced with an engine, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié39. For the remainder of the war Germany and its allies used captured Hotchkiss tanks in several modifications, in 1926 it had been decided to provide armour support to the regular infantry divisions by creating autonomous tank battalions equipped with a light and cheap infantry tank, a char daccompagnement. For this role at first the Char D1 was developed which type however proved to be particularly light nor cheap. On 30 June 1933 this proposal was approved by the Conseil Consultatif de lArmement, on 2 August 1933 the specifications were made known, a weight of six tons and 30 mm armour protection all around. Three prototypes were ordered from Hotchkiss, but the entire French industry was also invited to provide proposals for a nouveau char léger. This allowed the Renault company to beat Hotchkiss in delivering the first prototype and it was tested until 4 March 1935, when it was replaced by the second identical prototype to be tested until 6 May. Both had to be rejected because new specifications had been made on 21 June 1934 that increased the desired armour thickness to 40 mm, on 27 June 1935 the commission approved the type on the provision that the necessary changes would be made. On 19 August the third prototype was delivered, equipped with a cast APX turret and featuring a redesigned hull, it was tested until 20 September, on 6 November 1935 a first order was made for 200 vehicles. Though it should have been completed between July 1936 and July 1937, the first production vehicle was in fact delivered on 12 September 1936, a first additional orders had already been made of 92 on 7 September 1936, to be completed in November 1937. A third one of 108 vehicles followed on 23 January 1937 and these vehicles had the series number 40000 to 40400. By 1 January 1937132 hulls had been produced, none of these had at that date yet been fitted with a turret. The first series vehicle was extensively and intensively tested until 4 December 1936. The testing soon showed that its qualities in terrain were unacceptably poor. It was simply impossible to steer the vehicle on a somewhat bumpy surface. The Infantry therefore initially rejected any further procurement, eventually, in 1937, it decided to accept only the last hundred tanks to equip just two battalions with the type, the 13e and 38e Bataillon de Chars de Combat. For political reasons however stopping production of the tank was unacceptable, and so the first 300 vehicles of the production run were offered to the Cavalry, which was forced to accept them because it would not have been granted a budget for other tanks anyway. As the cavalry units would be making use of the road network and of mounted infantry
21.
Renault R35
–
The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, at the outbreak of the war, the antitank-role was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. At that moment it had also exported to Poland, Romania, Turkey. For the remainder of the war Germany and its allies would use captured vehicles, the French army did not have the means to motorise more than a few select divisions. In 1930 this plan was replaced by a new one, giving precise specifications. The first tank to be developed to fulfil its requirements, the Char D1, in 1933, Hotchkiss offered an alternative solution, the later Hotchkiss H35. For political reasons this proposal was turned into the Plan 1933, fourteen companies responded and five submitted a prototype, Hotchkiss itself, the Compagnie Général de Construction des Locomotives, APX, FCM and of course Frances prime tank producer, Renault. On 20 December 1934 Renault was the first to deliver a prototype, with the name of Renault ZM. In the spring of 1935 this vehicle was refitted with heavier armour, the prototype was still being tested when international tensions increased due to German re-armament. This prompted an urgent demand for swifter modernisation of the French tank fleet, the ZM was to be put into production immediately. On 29 April 1935 an order of 300 was made, even before the model could be finished. The first series vehicle was delivered on 4 June 1936 and had to be extensively tested again as it was different from the prototype. To save time, Renault based the suspension and running gear on that of the AMR35 that was designed for the cavalry and it had five wheels at each side, fitted with horizontal leaf springs, like the AMC35. The hull, with a length of 4.02 m, total weight was 10.6 metric tonnes. The bottom module carried on each side an independently sprung front wheel, the final drive and differentials were housed at the right in the nose module. It was steered through a Cletrac differential with five gears and by engaging the brakes, the driver was seated somewhat to the left and had two hatches. The Renault V-485 hp engine was to the right in the rear with the self sealing 166 litre fuel tank at its left. It rendered a road speed of 20 km/h and a range of 130 km, cross-country speed did not exceed 14 km/h and the fuel consumption totaled 212 litre/100 km
22.
Fiat 3000
–
The Fiat 3000 was the first tank to be produced in series in Italy. It was to be the tank of the emerging Italian armored units after World War I. The 3000 was based on the French Renault FT, although 1,400 units were ordered, with deliveries to begin in May 1919, the end of the war caused the original order to be canceled and only 100 were delivered. The first Fiat 3000s entered service in 1921 and were designated as the carro dassalto Fiat 3000. Tests of the Model 21 revealed that the armament, consisting of two 6.5 mm machine guns, was inadequate, and adoption of a 37 mm gun as main armament was urged. The up-gunned version of the 3000, armed with a 37/40 gun, was tested in 1929 and was adopted in 1930 with the designation of carro dassalto Fiat 3000. Some Model 30s were also produced with two 6.5 mm machine guns as armament, as on the Model 21. A limited number of Model 21 vehicles were exported to Albania, Latvia, Hungary, the designations of these tanks were changed prior to the outbreak of World War II, in accordance with the identification system that was adopted throughout the war by the Italians. The Model 21 was redesignated L5/21, and the Model 30 was redesignated L5/30, the Fiat 3000 was first used in action in February 1926 in Libya, and subsequently also saw action against the Ethiopians in the Second Italo-Abyssinian War in 1935. The Italians did not employ any of these tanks in Spain during the Spanish Civil War, with Italys entry into World War II in June 1940, a limited number of Fiat 3000s still in service with the Italian Army were employed operationally on the Greek-Albanian front. They were also among the last Italian tanks to oppose the Allies, as in July 1943, Fiat 2000 Pacification of Libya Ethiopian coup détat of 1928 Fiat 3000 at wwiivehicles. com
23.
Leichttraktor
–
The Leichttraktor was a German experimental tank. Its engine was in the front, and the turret was rear-mounted, both Rheinmetall and Krupp produced prototypes, and in 1928, Rheinmetall was awarded the order of 289 tanks, however, the order was cancelled. Krupp models had coil spring suspensions, while Rheinmetall had leaf spring suspensions, the Germans tested the tank in the Soviet Union under the Treaty of Rapallo – agreed between the USSR and Germany in 1922 under high secrecy and security. The testing facility used from 1926 to 1933 was Panzertruppenschule Kama, the location was a joint testing ground and tank training ground for the Red Army and Reichswehr. It was codenamed Kama from the words Kazan and Malbrandt because the grounds were near Kazan. Leichter Traktor was a name for all three light tank designs produced there. In the early years of World War II it was used as a training tank, sterling, ed. Encyclopedia of German Tanks of World War Two. Tanks of the World, 1915-1945, Peter Chamberlain, Chris Ellis,1972 German Tanks and Armoured Vehicles 1914 -1945, B. T. White,1966
24.
Light tanks of the United Kingdom
–
The Light Tank Mark I to Mark V were a series of related designs of light tank produced by Vickers for the British Army during the interwar period. Between the First and Second World Wars, the British produced a series of light tanks. They saw use in training, and in limited engagements with British Empire units such as the South African Army during the East African Campaign of 1941, all were around 5 long tons in weight and capable of 30 mph on roads and around 20 mph cross-country. Suspension was Horstmann coil spring on bogies, the engine was a Meadows 6-cylinder petrol. Up until the Mk V, they were crewed by a driver/commander and gunner, the Mk V had a driver, a gunner and the commander helping on the gun. The various marks were produced in small numbers. The following designations in the sequence Light Tank Mk VII Tetrarch and Light Tank Mk VIII Harry Hopkins were produced by Vickers, the Carden-Loyd tankette became the infantry vehicle, at the same time Carden developed privately a number of light two-man tank designs. Cardens Mark VII design was accepted as a prototype for the Armys light tank, by that point Carden-Loyd was part of Vickers-Armstrong. Only a few of the first light tanks were built and although never issued per se gave useful information for subsequent development, the Mark VII was a small machine gun-armed vehicle with a 59 hp Meadows engine which gave it maximum speed of 35 mph. Suspension was two two-wheel leaf sprung bogies either side with a girder to give the suspension strength. Considered a reconnaissance vehicle and a machine gun position, the Mark VI was the final stage of development of the Carden Loyd series of tankettes. The Carden Loyd tankette was the prototype for the Universal Carrier, the Mark I differed in a few points from Cardens Mark VII tankette. The external suspension girder was dropped by strengthening the suspension at the hull supports, the bevelled turret was replaced by a cylindrical design but still carrying a single 0.303 Vickers machine gun. Giving it 14 mm basis of increased weight and dropped top speed to 30 mph. The Meadows engine drove the tracks though a gearbox to the front drive wheels. Steering was a combination of declutching the drive to one track, the track was tensioned by a rear idler—which being set at the same height as the drive sprocket was new in British tank designs—and returned over three rollers. The Mark IA had a superstructure and a larger turret to give room for operating the machine gun. Horstmann suspension with coil springs replaced the leaf springs of the Mark I
25.
Light Tank Mk VI
–
The Tank, Light, Mk VI was a British light tank, produced by Vickers-Armstrongs in the late 1930s, which saw service during the Second World War. The Tank, Light, Mk VI was the sixth in the line of light tanks built by Vickers-Armstrongs for the British Army during the interwar period. The company had achieved a degree of standardization with their previous five models, production of the Mk VI began in 1936 and ended in 1940 with 1,682 Mark VI tanks having been built. Many of those produced were actually designed to solve problems found with the original design. A small number of specialized variations were built based on the Mk VI chassis. The Tank, Light, AA Mk I was built in the aftermath of the Battle of France and was intended to act as a counter-measure against attacks by German aircraft. A variant on the Mk VIB was produced for service with the British Indian Army, of these tanks, only 196 light tanks and 50 Infantry Tanks were in use by operational units of the army. The 1st Armoured Division, elements of which landed in France in April, was equipped with 257 tanks, of which a number were Mk VIB. The 3rd Royal Tank Regiment, which formed part of the divisions 3rd Armoured Brigade, the British Army lost 331 Mark VI light tanks in the Battle of France of 1940. The Mk VIB was also used in the North African campaign against the Italians late in 1940 with the 7th Armoured Division, at this time, the British had 200 light tanks along with 75 cruiser tanks and 45 Matilda IIs. An attack by the 3rd Hussars at Buq Buq on 12 December 1940 resulted in its tanks getting bogged down in salt pans, in ten minutes,13 tanks were destroyed, ten officers and men killed - including the CO - and 13 wounded. During an engagement at Mechili on 24 January, six Mk VIs were destroyed by newly-arrived superior Italian Fiat M13/40s for no loss, the 2nd RTR continued to battle the Italians with light tanks as late as 6 February 1941. Being widely used by the British Army, the participated in several other important battles. The Mk VIB made up a significant amount of the tanks sent over to the Battle of Greece in 1941, ten Mk VIB tanks fought with the 3rd The Kings Own Hussars during the Battle of Crete. The same armoured unit had previously embarked three MK VIB tanks for the Norwegian Campaign, but they were lost in transit to a German aircraft attack, wW2 Vehicles website Photo gallery at svsm. org
26.
Light Tank Mk VII Tetrarch
–
The Light Tank Mk VII, also known as the Tetrarch, was a British light tank produced by Vickers-Armstrongs in the late 1930s and deployed during the Second World War. The Tetrarch was originally designed as the latest in the line of light tanks built by the company for the British Army and it improved upon its predecessor, the Mk VIB Light Tank, by introducing the extra firepower of a 2-pounder gun. The War Office ordered 70 tanks, an order that eventually increased to 220, production was delayed by several factors, and as a consequence, only 100 to 177 of the tanks were produced. The tanks design flaws, combined with the decision by the War Office not to use tanks in British armoured divisions. As a result, the majority of the tanks remained in Britain, in early 1941, the Royal Armoured Corps formed three squadrons for use in overseas amphibious operations, one of which was equipped with Tetrarchs. The Tetrarchs were transported and landed in specially designed General Aircraft Hamilcar gliders, the division used approximately 20 Tetrarchs during the British airborne landings in Normandy in June 1944. The tanks were landed by glider, but they did not perform well. Several were lost in accidents, and those that did see action proved to be inferior in firepower, a few days after the beginning of the operation, the tanks were removed from direct engagement with German armour and used only to provide fire support. By August 1944, most of the Tetrarchs in action were replaced with Cromwell cruiser tanks, Tetrarchs did not see any further combat and were deemed obsolete by 1946, the last was retired in 1950. There were several variations on the Tetrarch design, including the Alecto self-propelled gun and the Light Tank Mk VIII and it was to be the latest in a series of light tanks produced by the company. The tank was designed to overcome the shortcomings of insufficient armament in light tanks that were fitted only with machine guns. Vickers-Armstrong installed on the Mk VIIs a 2-pounder 40-millimetre main gun paired with a 7. 92-millimetre Besa machine gun, the tank possessed a maximum of 14 millimetres of armour. The prototype weighed approximately 16,800 pounds and was powered by a 165-horsepower Meadows engine, suspension was on eight road wheels, four per side, with no separate driver or idler wheels and it was capable of a 40 miles per hour top speed. The Mk VII design relied on an unusual steering method and a mechanical system incorporated into earlier Vickers models, the front wheels could be steered to allow for gentle turns by bending the tracks. The suspension system was also a new design that relied on struts with pockets of air for springing and cushions of oil for damping, and each of the wheels was independently sprung. The War Office then took the view that the tank was not acceptable as a light cruiser because the Nuffield A13 offered better speed and obstacle crossing performance. Despite this, it was decided that it was essential for some Tetrarchs to be produced, production was to begin in July 1940, but meanwhile the War Office temporarily returned to its original order of 70 before increasing the number to 100. Production of the tank was delayed by a number of factors, the pre-war role of the light tank, that of reconnaissance, meanwhile had been found to be better suited to scout cars that used smaller crews and had better cross-country abilities
27.
M1 Combat Car
–
The M1 Combat Car was a light tank used by the U. S. Cavalry in the late 1930s and developed at the same time as the infantrys very similar M2 light tank. After the Spanish Civil War, most armies, including the U. S. Army, realized that they needed tanks armed with cannons, not merely vehicles armed with machine guns, and so the M1 became obsolete. The National Defense Act of 1920 set tanks as the responsibility of the infantry, Light tanks were defined as weighing five tons or less – so they could be carried by trucks – and medium tanks no greater than 15 tons to meet bridge weight limits. With very tight restrictions on spending, tank development in the U. S. was limited to a couple of test vehicles a year. The mechanization of the army was promoted by General Douglas MacArthur who believed that the cavalry should have tanks for a role rather than acting in support of the infantry. To allow U. S. Army cavalry units to be equipped with armored fighting vehicles, in the mid-1930s, the Rock Island Arsenal built three experimental T2 light tanks inspired by the British Vickers 6-ton tank. At the same time, they built a light tank similar to the T2 for the cavalry – the T5 combat car, the only major difference between the two was that the T5 used vertical volute suspension while the T2 had leaf springs as on the Vickers. The T5 was developed further and the T5E2 was accepted for production as the M1 combat car, the M1 entered service in 1937. A change to the suspension so that the idler wheel rested on the ground increased the length of track in contact with the ground, together with a different engine and improved turret, this produced the M2 combat car. In 1940, the distinction between infantry and cavalry tank units disappeared with the establishment of the force to manage all tanks in the U. S. Army. The combat car name was superfluous, and the cavalry unit tanks redesignated the M1 combat car as the light tank M1A1 and the M2 combat car as the light tank M1A2. The M1 and M2 combat cars were not used in combat by the U. S. Army during World War II, though some were used for training purposes. M1E2 – The prototype for the M1A1 M1A1 – A new octagonal turret instead of a D-shaped one, m1A1E1 – Prototype of the M2 combat car. The engine was replaced by a Guiberson T-1020 diesel, M2 – New Guiberson diesel engine and trailing idler. British and American Tanks of World War II, hunnicutt, R. P. Stuart, A History of the American Light Tank. Weapons of the Tankers, American Armor in World War II, the Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles – The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day. San Diego, CA, Thunder Bay Press, WWII vehicles Mobile Machine-Gun Nest Carries Five Guns Popular Mechanics, September 1937 Tanks Encyclopedia article
28.
M2 light tank
–
The Light Tank M2 was an American pre-World War II light tank which saw limited use during World War II. The most common model, the M2A4, was equipped with one 37 mm M5 gun and it was originally developed from the prototype T2 tank built by Rock Island Arsenal, which had a Vickers-type leaf spring suspension. The suspension was replaced by the vertical volute system in the T2E1 series of 1935. This was put into production with minor modifications as the M2A1 in 1936, the main pre-war version was the M2A2, with 239 produced, becoming the main tank in the US Army infantry units in the pre-world-war-II period. The Spanish Civil War showed that tanks armed only with guns were ineffective. This led to the M2A4 with a 37 mm gun as the main armament, a total of 375 were delivered, the last ten as late as April 1942. Its only combat use in American units was with the US Marine Corps 1st Tank Battalion during the Pacific War in 1942. However, it is believed that M2A4s served in Burma and India with the British 7th Hussars, the M2A4 light tank led to the development of the M3 Stuart light tank and the M4 Tractor artillery prime mover. The M3 Stuart saw widespread use throughout the war, US Army infantry tank design started with the Light Tank, T1 during the 1920s, which developed into a series of experimental designs which didnt enter production. The T2 concept, starting five years later, incorporated several design lessons from the T1, the first prototype was delivered in 1933. The Defense Act of 1920 had defined tanks to be used in support of the infantry, through the 1920s a number of theorists outlined an independent role for the tank that required it to move at high speed into the rear areas, a modern version of the cavalry. The British referred to these designs as cruiser tanks, but similar high-speed designs were developed under a variety of names, as the Defense Act limited tank development to the infantry, the United States Cavalry began tank development under the name combat car. In keeping with the role, the new T5 Combat Car introduced the new vertical volute spring suspension system. This led to a prototype of the T2, the T2E1 in April 1934. The T2E1 was armed with one.30 cal and one.50 inch Browning machine gun mounted in a fixed turret, another.30 cal Browning was mounted on the hull front. The T2E1 was selected for production in 1935 as the M2, which mounted only the M2 Browning in a small turret. After only 10 units were delivered, the Infantry Branch decided to switch to a twin turret configuration in the M2E2 and these early twin-turret tanks were given the nickname Mae West by the troops, after the popular busty movie star. The twin-turret layout was inefficient, but was a feature of 1930s light tanks derived from the Vickers, such as the Soviet T-26
29.
Panzer I
–
The Panzer I was a light tank produced in Germany in the 1930s. The name is short for the German Panzerkampfwagen I, abbreviated PzKpfw I, the tanks official German ordnance inventory designation was SdKfz 101. Design of the Panzer I began in 1932 and mass production began in 1934, experiences with the Panzer I during the Spanish Civil War helped shape the German Panzerwaffes invasion of Poland in 1939 and France in 1940. By 1941, the Panzer I chassis design was used as the basis of tank destroyers, there were attempts to upgrade the Panzer I throughout its service history, including by foreign nations, to extend the designs lifespan. It continued to serve in the Spanish Armed Forces until 1954, the Panzer Is performance in combat was limited by its thin armour and light armament of two machine guns. As a design intended for training, the Panzer I was not as capable as other light tanks of the era, although weak in combat, it formed a large part of Germanys tank forces and was used in all major campaigns between September 1939 and December 1941. Later in that war the turrets of the then obsolete PzKpfw Is and PzKpfw IIs were repurposed as gun turrets on specially built defensive bunkers, the post-World War I Treaty of Versailles of 1919 prohibited the design, manufacture and deployment of tanks within the Reichswehr. There was also minor military cooperation with Sweden, including the extraction of data that proved invaluable to early German tank design. As early as 1926 the German companies Krupp, Rheinmetall and Daimler-Benz were contracted to develop prototype tanks armed with a large and these were designed under the cover name Großtraktor to veil the true purpose of the vehicle. By 1930 a light tank armed with rapid-fire machineguns was to be developed under the cover name Leichttraktor, the six produced Großtraktor were later put into service for a brief period with the 1 Panzer Division, the Leichttraktor remained in testing until 1935. A In the late 1920s and early 1930s, German tank theory was pioneered by two figures, General Oswald Lutz and his chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Heinz Guderian, Guderian became the more influential of the two and his ideas were widely publicized. Like his contemporary, Sir Percy Hobart, Guderian initially envisioned an armored corps composed of types of tanks. This included an infantry tank, armed with a small-caliber cannon. The infantry tank, according to Guderian, was to be armored to defend against enemy anti-tank guns. He also envisioned a fast breakthrough tank, similar to the British cruiser tank, lastly, Germany needed a heavy tank, armed with a 150-millimeter cannon to defeat enemy fortifications, and even stronger armor. Such a tank required a weight of 70 to 100 tonnes and was impractical given the manufacturing capabilities of the day. Soon after rising to power in Germany, Adolf Hitler approved the creation of Germanys first panzer divisions, simplifying his earlier proposal, Guderian suggested the design of a main combat vehicle, which would be developed into the Panzer III, and a breakthrough tank, the Panzer IV. No existing design appealed to Guderian, as a stopgap, the German Army ordered a preliminary vehicle to train German tank crews
30.
LT vz. 34
–
34, formally designated as Lehký Tank vzor 34 was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Slovakia during World War II. Its suspension was based on that of the Carden-Loyd tankette, of which the Czechs had purchased three, plus a manufacturing license, in 1930. 50 were built, the last of which was delivered during 1936, of which the Germans captured 23 when they occupied Bohemia-Moravia in March 1939, the Slovaks seized the remaining 27 when they declared independence from Czechoslovakia at the same time. In Slovak service it saw combat during the Slovak National Uprising. The LT vz.34 was assembled from a framework of steel angle iron beams, a 3 mm firewall separated the engine compartment from the crew. A door allowed access to the engine from the crew compartment and it also had ventilation openings that could be closed. The driver sat on the side using a 300 by 75 millimetres observation port protected by two flaps. The inner flap had an episcope with a 25° field of view and it was connected to the armored outer flap so that opening one closed the other. The outer flap had a 3 mm slit, to his right was a vision slit 120 by 3 millimetres protected by 50 millimetres of bulletproof glass. The inner flap was padded so that the driver could rest his head on it when driving, the radio operator sat on the left and had his own 120 by 50 millimetres vision port with 50 millimetres of bulletproof glass and an armored shutter. His radios were mounted on the wall of the hull. The hull machine gun was between the driver and radio operator in a mount with 30° of traverse. It could elevate 25° and depress 10°, most of the machine guns barrel protruded from the mount and was protected by an armored trough. The mount had a telescope or open sights could be used if the plug at the top of the ball mount was removed. If necessary the driver could lock the mount into position and fire it himself using a Bowden cable, the turret ring had a diameter of 1.265 metres. The turret sides were 15 mm thick and its roof had a thickness of 8 mm, the turret was manually traversed, but the gearing could be disengaged to allow the commander to shoulder the turret around as desired. The turret had a face in the center of which was mounted the 3.72 cm main armament. On the right side was another 7.92 mm machine gun in a ball mount
31.
Panzer 35(t)
–
The Panzerkampfwagen 35, commonly shortened to Panzer 35 or abbreviated as Pz. Kpfw. 35, was a Czechoslovak-designed light tank used mainly by Nazi Germany during World War II, in Czechoslovak service, it had the formal designation Lehký tank vzor 35, but was commonly referred to as the LT vz.35 or LT-35. Others were exported to Bulgaria and Romania and it was used for the remainder of the war by other countries and as a training tank in Bulgaria into the 1950s. The Panzerkampfwagen 35 was assembled from a framework of steel angle iron beams to which the plates were riveted. A4 mm firewall separated the engine compartment from the crew and it had several mesh-covered openings to allow access to the engine and improve ventilation by drawing air in through the commanders hatch. This had the advantage of rapidly dispersing gun combustion gases when firing, the driver sat on the right side of the tank using a 390 by 90 millimetres observation port protected by 50 millimetres of bulletproof glass and an armoured shutter 28 millimetres thick. To his right was a vision slit 120 by 3 millimetres with a thickness of bulletproof glass. The Germans replaced the three colored lights used by the Czechs to communicate with the driver with an intercom system. The radio operator sat on the left and had his own 150 by 75 millimetres observation port with the protection as the drivers. His radios were mounted on the wall of the hull. The hull machine gun was between the driver and radio operator in a ball mount capable of 30° of traverse, 25° of elevation, most of the machine guns barrel protruded from the mount and was protected by an armoured trough. The mount had a telescope, but open sights could be used if the plug at the top of the ball mount was removed. If necessary, the driver could lock the mount into position, the drivers hatch was exposed to direct fire and could be damaged from the front. The turret ring had a diameter of 1.267 metres, the turret had a flat face in the center of which was mounted the 3.72 centimetres main armament. On the right side was another 7.92 millimetres machine gun in a ball mount. The commander had four episcopes in his cupola and a mirror,1.3 x 30° periscope which he could extend, once he had removed its armoured cover in his hatch. As the sole occupant of the turret, the commander was responsible for loading, aiming and firing the main gun, the Germans added an extra crewman on the right side of the turret to load the main gun and to operate the turret machine gun. Some ammunition had to be removed to accommodate him, the 8. 62-litre Škoda T-11/0 four-cylinder, water-cooled engine produced 120 horsepower at 1,800 rpm
32.
Panzer 38(t)
–
The Panzerkampfwagen 38 was originally a Czechoslovak tank of pre-World War II design. After Czechoslovakia was taken over by Germany, it was adopted by the German Army, seeing service in the invasions of Poland, France, Production ended in 1942, when its main armament was deemed inadequate. The chassis of the Pz.38 continued to be produced for the Marder III with some of its components used in the later Jagdpanzer 38 tank destroyers, the stands for tschechisch, the German word for Czech, the Czechoslovak military designation was LT vz.38. Manufacturers designations included TNH series, TNHPS, LTP and LTH, the special vehicle designation for the tank in Germany was Sd. The Panzer 38 was a conventional inter-war tank design, with riveted armour, the armour varied in thickness from 10 mm to 25 mm in most versions. Later models increased this to 50 mm by bolting on an additional 25 mm armour plate to the front portion of the hull, the sides received an additional 15 mm increase of armour from Ausf. The two-man turret was located, and housed the tanks main armament. In addition, a 7.92 mm machine gun was in a mount to the right of the main gun. This machine gun could be trained on targets independently of the main gun, the driver was in the front right of the hull, with the radio operator seated to the drivers left. The radio operator manned the hull-mounted 7.92 mm machine gun in front in addition to operating the radio on his left, minor adjustments, such as adjustable seats for the driver and firmer footing for the commander/gunner and loader, were provided in German service. A total of 2,550 rounds were carried for the bow, the driver could also fire the hull machine gun with a trigger fitted on the left tiller bar. In German service, a position was added to the turret by reducing the ammunition capacity by 18 rounds. All future Panzer 38 tanks were rebuilt according to this specification, the commander had to aim and fire the main gun in addition to his role as commander. The engine was mounted in the rear of the hull and powered the tank through a transmission at the front of the hull with five forward gears, the track ran under four rubber-tired road wheels and back over a rear idler and two track return rollers. The wheels were mounted on a leaf-spring double-bogie mounted on two axles, in 1935, the Czechoslovak tank manufacturer ČKD was looking for a replacement for the LT-35 tank they were jointly producing with Škoda Works. The LT-35 was complex and had shortcomings, and ČKD felt there would be orders both from the expanding Czechoslovak army and for export, ČKD decided to use a leaf-spring suspension with four large wheels for their new tank with an export success under the name TNH. With small variations for each customer,50 were exported to Iran,24 each to Peru, the British Royal Armoured Corps had one trial model delivered on 23 March 1939 to Gunnery School at Lulworth. A report stated that the gunner could not sit comfortably as the wireless set was in the way of his left shoulder
33.
T1 Light Tank
–
The Light Tank, T1 was a United States Army light tank of the late 1920s and early 1930s that was only built in prototype form. The tank was an Army design built by James Cunningham, Son, introduced in 1927, it was developed up through 1932 as a series of modified versions. The tank was never mass-produced, nor was it used in combat. Most versions of the T1 series of light tanks shared the basic layout, with the engine mounted in the front. The exceptions were the T1E4 and T1E6, which moved the turret to the middle, the engine to the rear, and the transmission and final drive to the front, the single T1 prototype was built in 1927. Its main gun was a 37 mm M1918 short tank gun and this was a relatively low-velocity weapon, with a muzzle velocity of 1,200 ft/s. The tanks armor ranged from 0.25 in to 0.375 in in thickness, and it was powered by a 105 hp Cunningham water-cooled V8 gasoline engine which gave it a top speed of 20 mph. The transmission, made by Cotta, was a type with three forward gears and one reverse gear. After the prototype was evaluated, it was stripped down to its chassis, the T1 prototype was followed in 1928 by the very similar T1E1. Four of these were built, making the T1E1 the only T1 version which was not built as a single prototype, the T1E1 was briefly standardized for production as the Light Tank, M1, but this was revoked after only a couple of months. The T1E1 had a few changes from the T1, the hull no longer projected forward of the tracks. The top speed was reduced to 18 mph, the next version, the T1E2, was built in 1929, again as a single prototype. It had heavier armor, varying from 0.25 in to 0.625 in thick, and the tanks weight rose to 8.9 short tons. The 37 mm main gun was changed to a long-barreled Browning semi-automatic type, having a higher muzzle velocity of 2,000 ft/s. In 1930 the Ordnance Department modified one of the T1E1 tanks to create the T1E3, the T1E3 weighed 8.5 short tons. The most important feature of version, however, was its suspension. All previous T1 versions had a totally unsprung suspension which used multiple equalizing links between the bogies to spread out impacts from rough terrain and this still gave a very rough ride. The T1E3s suspension had coil springs and hydraulic shock absorbers, the T1E4, introduced in 1932, was another alteration of a T1E1 tank
34.
T7 Combat Car
–
T7 Combat Car was a prototype United States light tank design of the interwar period. It could run on rubber-tired wheels on roads or mount tracks for cross-country use, although adequate in some areas, it lacked armament compared to contemporary vehicles and the project was cancelled after only one was built. In November 1936, the US Armys cavalry branch decided to modernize and needed a fully armored vehicle, capable of keeping up with the cavalry and of fulfilling regular combat duties. Prohibited from developing tanks by the National Defense Act of 1920 which defined tanks as the responsibility of the infantry, the T5 Combat Car had been built on similar lines to the infantrys T2 Light Tank, leading to the M1 Combat Car. After the T4 Combat Car had been tested, the Ordnance Committee recommended working on a convertible tank design. The T6 Combat Car design was cancelled but in November 1936 the Chief of Cavalry ordered that work continue on designing a convertible tank. Theoretically, it was more versatile than a tank, having the ability to move with and without tracks on roads. The main gun of the project was traditional – one.50 cal M2 Browning heavy machine gun, however, this armament was useful only against infantry, and was inadequate for use against other tanks of the period. Since the vehicle was – like the cavalry – expected to drive as much or more on the roads as off, given the limitations of that era, it was expected the tires would have greater durability over roads than the tracks themselves. The US Army had already tested and dismissed Christie’s all-steel road-wheel design, in order to avoid that failure, the Combat Car was designed using three big road-wheels with rubber tires that also served as rollers. The vehicle was powered by a 7-cylinder radial engine Continental R-670, the four rear wheels were powered and were equipped with brakes. The two front wheels were steerable when driving without tracks, since the vehicle weighted only 11 tons, it could go as fast as 56 km/h on its tracks and 85 km/h on its wheels. Another advantage was that the suspension components saved a lot of space inside this small vehicle. The crew consisted of the commander, driver, and gunner. The rear wheels were attached to bogies and the construction was similar to commercial 3-axle trucks of the period. As a tank, it was not ideal, however, its simple and more promising design was much better received than Christie’s designs. The only prototype T7 Combat Car was shipped to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in August 1938 for testing, while it showed good speed and performance, cavalry branch representatives were not significantly impressed. Tests were delayed until 1939, but they were reasonably successful, the vehicle even participated in the First Army maneuvers at Plattsburg, New York in 1939, where the cavalrymen liked it
35.
T-18 tank
–
The T-18 light tank was the first Soviet-designed tank. Produced from 1928 to 1931, it was based on the Renault FT, a Tank Bureau was formed in May 1924 for the development of Soviet tanks. A specification was issued for a 3-tonne two-man light tank capable of 7.5 mph and it would be protected by 16 mm of armour and equipped with a 37 mm gun. By 1925 the allowable weight had increased to 5 tonnes, the tank was designed by Professor V. Zaslavsky at a new Tank Bureau set up under the Central Directorate of Military Industries. The 35-horsepower truck engine was supplied by the Moscow AMO Factory, the sprung suspension which would allow a tank to travel faster over rough ground was the biggest improvement over the Renault. A prototype called the T-16 was tested in June 1927, the T-16 was deemed a failure, as it had problems with its transmission failing too often and its inability to cross trenches more than 1.5 m wide. The T-16s maneuverability was only better than that of the Renault. Meanwhile, the КБ ОАТ drew up plans for a version of the T-16 which was accepted for production in July as the T-18. The T-18s chassis and suspension was improved from the T-16 by the addition of a support roller. The 300 mm track of the T-16 was transferred over to the T-18, the engine, a vertical, four-cylinder MS engine, was designed and improved upon by Alexander Mikulin. The engine was capable of a maximum of 35 horsepower, the MS engine was combined with the PSC transmission in one unit rather than being in two separate housings. The PSC transmission gave the four forward speeds and one reverse speed. The engine-transmission compartment in the back let air in via holes drilled in the rear plate and this improved protection, but also led to the engine overheating. Electrical equipment included a 6-volt battery, magneto and dynamo, which fed the lamp, horn, rear light, light distribution panel and two portable lamps. Armor for the T-18 consisted of six 8 mm curved plates for the turret,16 mm plates for the hull, an emergency exit was installed in the underside. A small circular or rectangle hatch was placed in the turret for ventilation, the T-18s armament stayed the same as that found on the FR-17 and T-16, the French 37 mm Model 28, mounted in a Hotchkiss-system mantle. This gave the gun a range movement of 35 degrees horizontal and this was coupled by a simple system of diopter sights. The 37 mm Model 28 was nearly obsolete by this time and that, coupled with a lack of optical sights, gave the T-18 little chance of taking out larger, better armoured opponents
36.
T-13 tank destroyer
–
The T-13 was a tank destroyer in use with the Belgian armed forces before World War II and during the Battle of Belgium. It was designed by Vickers, and produced by Vickers, Miesse and Familleheureux, nazi Germany used the vehicles after the occupation of Belgium, but to what extent remains unclear. In general - keeping a watch on German political and military developments - the need for armored tracked vehicles or tanks was widely accepted by the Belgian military establishment. Since the Belgian armed forces realized the need for mechanization of the army in the 1930s. In 1934, the Belgian Army signed a contract for 21 or 23 Vickers Carden Loyd 1934 artillery tractors with the British firm Vickers and these were meant as artillery tractors for the Chasseurs Ardennais mountain troops, to tow the recently acquired Bofors 75 mm Model 1934 mountain gun. Not much is known about the basic model Vickers 1934 artillery tractor, in its basic configuration, the Vickers 1934 artillery tractor was unarmored and could generally be described as an open, tracked light truck. It was outfitted with a 51 hp 5 cylinder Meadows gasoline engine with a volume of 3300 cc. However, given its use with the Chasseurs Ardennais mountain troops, the Belgian Armed Forces decided to order another 32 vehicles. Pleased with the performance of the Vickers 1934 artillery truck, the Belgian Army started to equip the newly ordered 32 vehicles with the FRC Herstal built 47 mm Model 1931 anti-tank gun, the general lay out of the vehicle mimicked that of the Vickers vehicle it was based on. The suspension was made out of Horstmann suspensions resting on bogies with two rubber-lined wheel sets per bogie and this design, exclusively used on lightweight vehicles, was also used on the Light Tank Mk VI of the Royal army and was invented by Sidney Horstmann. Apart from being easy to build, compact and lightweight, it had the advantage of having a long travel. The drive sprocket was in the front, but there were no idlers or return rollers, motor power came in the form of a Meadows 5 cylinder gasoline engine, producing 51 hp, coupled with a four speed preselector gearbox. Steering was a combination of declutching the drive to one track, the traverse of the turret was man powered by the three man crew. The T-13s were not equipped with a radio, armor protection was limited, but still better than that of the under armored T-15 light tank. Frontal armor was 12 mm of hardened steel, both on the bulkhead and on the turret. Also, the side armor shields had to be folded down to permit the full 360° traverse of the turret, if the armored side shields were left upwards, traverse of the turret was limited to 120° in the frontal aspect. Armament was fairly heavy for this vehicle, giving the T-13 tank destroyer. The maximum firing range of the gun was 2000 m, and, the machine gun could fire 500–650 rounds per minute
37.
Vickers T-15 light tank
–
The Vickers T-15 light tank, full designation Char Léger de Reconnaissance Vickers-Carden-Loyd Mod.1934 T.15, was a light 4-ton tank of the Belgian Army. They were built by Vickers-Armstrong in the UK to the design of the Light Tank Mark III and it entered service in 1935, and was used by the Belgian Army during the Battle of Belgium in May 1940. Its main armament was a 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, the tank was intended as a replacement for the venerable but obsolescent Renault FT-17. Since the First World War, the Belgian army had been using the French designed Renault FT tanks, armed with either a machinegun or a small Puteaux SA18 low velocity anti-infantry gun. It was still in use with the Belgian cavalry regiments but was growing clearly obsolescent by the early 1930s and this would turn out to be the T-15 light tank. Looking at tank designs from both France and the UK the Belgian army already had experience with Vickers - Carden Loyd vehicles and was interested in other designs from the firm. French tank production and development were considered, leading to the rather trying acquisition of the Renault AMC35 in 1935. One of the designs considered was the well-known Vickers 6-ton light tank and this version received the designation Mark F. Although the new layout of the tank was used by Vickers on other export vehicles, the neutrality doctrine has had some influence on the decision to buy a much lighter vehicle. Therefore, also, the tank or armored/mechanized unit were never to be used in official unit designations, with the words armored/tracked motorcar. Eventually, another product from the Vickers catalogue was chosen, the 4-ton Light Tank Mk III. The Belgian armed forces were generally in favor of the layout of the prototype Mk III, but asked Vickers for a different, conical one-man turret, with a cast and welded front and rivetted backside. The armament proposed by Vickers, the.303 inch or.50 inch Vickers machine guns, were rejected, the heavier French 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun being favored instead. F. R. C. had to integrate this weapon into the new turret, the extra air defence machine gun, however, was not part of the general design but was installed in an at least a few T-15s. The second batch of 24 units was ordered on 16 April 1935, the design of the T-15 obviously was similar to that of the Mark III light tank prototype. The suspension was made out of Horstmann coil spring resting on bogies with two rubber-lined wheel sets per bogie and this design, invented by Sidney Horstmann and exclusively used on lightweight vehicles, was also used up to the Light Tank Mk VI of the British Army. Apart from being easy to build, compact and lightweight, it had the advantage of having a long travel. The drive sprocket was in the front, the idler-wheels were placed in the rear, power came in the form of a Henry Meadows 6-cylinder gasoline engine, producing 88 hp, coupled with a four speed preselector gearbox
38.
T-19
–
The T-19 was a Soviet light tank design of the interwar years. Conceived as the mainstay of the new Soviet tank armies, it was a development of the T-18, when ready for production in 1931, it was already obsolete, the project was terminated in favour of the Vickers based T-26. Armor was to be 18–20 mm thick, production of the T-19 was assigned to Semyon Alexandrovich Ginzburg. The suspension of the T-19 became that of the French Renault NC, the T-19 was longer than the T-18, which improved its performance without “a tail”, it also decreased any longitudinal vibrations in the hull. Experts often state that sloped armored plate, was first used on the T-34, the fact is that the designers could not exceed the permissible mass of the T-19, therefore they used a maximum thickness of 16 mm of armor. The shape of the hull would be critical in terms of protection, successful construction of the T-19 depended on sloped armor, such as that proposed to M. I. Tarshinovym, by Ginzburg, which made it likely for bullets. The mounting of the armament in the turret was provided in two versions - an independent installation of gun and machine gun, and an installation as a unit. The turret was the same as the T-18, the cannon could not be mass-produced for a time, and by the time it could, it was used on the BT series of tanks. The T-19 required ball bearings, which at time were not produced domestically. Price varied with the installation of chemical equipment, floatation devices. The T-19 was provided with floatation equipment powered using pneumatic or skeleton floats, for the production were accepted the floating crafts of naval engineer B. S. Smirnovs system. There was initially the desire to equip tank with two screws for propulsion through the water, but the T -19 was instead equipped with a special “water tractor”. The T-19 did not have a “tail” and overcame entrenchments and narrow ditches to 2 meters due to the proper length, for battlefield surveillance, the tank no longer used simple slots, known as “broneglaz”. GKB OAT was tasked with its design that autumn, the end-of-development date was January 15,1930, but this proved to be optimistic. In one of the complaints, an unknown “patriot” complained about the desire to use. Helical gears in the transmission of the T-19 instead of spur-gear and these sorts of complaints came from the military, too, one of the commanders required that the basic tank would be equipped with. Elbow-shaped paws with the shafts through the walls to provide motion in snowy conditions, nevertheless, despite the delays, inspection of the finished product took place on March 1,1930
39.
T-26
–
The T-26 tank was a Soviet light infantry tank used during many conflicts of the 1930s and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful designs of the 1930s until its light armour became vulnerable to newer anti-tank guns. It was produced in numbers than any other tank of the period. Twenty-three of these were series-produced, others were experimental models, the T-26 and BT were the main tanks of the Red Armys armoured forces during the interwar period. The T-26 was the most important tank of the Spanish Civil War and played a significant role during the Battle of Lake Khasan in 1938, as well as in the Winter War in 1939–40. Though nearly obsolete by the beginning of World War II, the T-26 was the most numerous tank in the Red Armys armoured force during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. Soviet T-26 light tanks last saw use in August 1945, during the defeat of the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria, the T-26 was exported and used extensively by Spain, China and Turkey. Captured T-26s were used by the Finnish, German, Romanian and Hungarian armies, the tank was reliable and simple to maintain, and its design was continually modernised between 1931 and 1941. No new models of the T-26 were developed after 1940, the T-26 was a Soviet development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank, which was designed by the Vickers-Armstrongs company in 1928–29. The simple and easy-to-maintain Vickers 6-Ton was intended for export to less technically advanced countries, the Soviet Union, Poland, Brazil, Argentina, Japan, Thailand, China, and many others. Vickers advertised the tank in military publications, and both the Soviet Union and Poland expressed interest in the Vickers design. In early 1930, the Soviet buying committee, under the direction of Semyon Ginzburg, arrived in Great Britain to select tanks, tractors, the Vickers 6-Ton was among four models of tanks selected by Soviet representatives during their visit to Vickers-Armstrongs. Several Soviet engineers participated in assembly of the tanks at the Vickers Factory in 1930, the first four Vickers 6-Ton tanks arrived in the USSR at the end of 1930. The last tanks arrived in 1932, when production of the T-26 was already in progress. The British tanks were sent to Soviet factories for study in preparation for production and to military educational institutions. Later, some tanks were given to military depots and proving grounds. The Vickers-built 6-Ton tanks had the designator V-26 in the USSR, three British tanks were successfully tested for cross-country ability at the small proving ground near Moscow on Poklonnaya Hill in January 1931. Kliment Voroshilov ordered the creation of the Special Commission for the Red Army new tanks under the direction of S. Ginzburg to define the type suitable for the Red Army
40.
T-37A tank
–
The T-37A was a Soviet amphibious light tank. The tank was first created in 1932, based on the British Vickers tankette, the tank was mass-produced starting in 1933 up until 1936, when it was replaced with the more modern T-38, based on the T-37A. Overall, after four years of production,2552 T-37A’s were produced, in the Red Army, they were used to perform tasks in communication, reconnaissance, and as defense units on the march, as well as active infantry support on the battlefield. The T-37A were used in large numbers during the Soviet invasion of Poland, the T-37 A was also used by the Soviets in the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, but most of them were quickly lost. Surviving tanks of that type fought on the front lines until 1944, the Carden-Loyd tankettes by Carden-Loyd Tractors, Ltd. were promising enough that the company was purchased by Vickers-Armstrong. They developed light, floating tanks to General Staff requirements, in April 1931, Vickers-Armstrongs conducted several successful tests of these light vehicles in the presence of the press. Accordingly, the Selezen program was established in order to construct a similar amphibious tank with a based on that of the British prototype. The first Selezen prototype, which was designated the T-33, was built in March 1932, however, the T-33 did not perform satisfactorily in other tests and was too complicated for the existing military-industrial complex to produce. As a result, it was not mass produced or equipped in large numbers, even before the construction of the T-33, it was decided to increase the scale of work dedicated to creating an amphibious tank. The transmission was nearly identical to that of the T-27, and to the power take-off for the propeller and its construction for turning off the propeller demanded stopping the tank and turning off the engine. The chassis was, in part, borrowed from the T-33, Leningrad builders likewise continued the development of a more suitable amphibious tank, and they designated their latest model as the “T-37”. Meanwhile, an opportunity to analyze the British prototype itself appeared. The British Army declined to put the Vickers prototype into service, already interested since the April 1931 demonstration, the USSR, on February 5,1932, made an offer, through Arcos representative Y. Skvirskiy, for the purchase of eight vehicles, talks about filling the order did not drag on, and by June 1932, Vickers had already produced and shipped two of the first tanks for the Soviets. It is widely thought that the T-37A was a copy of the Vickers floating tank, however, closer examination of the turn of events leads to the discrediting of such a theory, but it is true that the Soviet T-37A prototypes were heavily influenced by the British models. Nikolai Astrov, a Soviet engineer, having worked hard on the T-37A prototypes, wrote in his memoirs that peace be unto the T-37A, even before the end of 1932, the high command of the Red Army was planning to order 30 T-37A’s. In order to facilitate production, Factory No.37 was handed over all OKMO production related to the T-37. In 1933, the No.37 plant was given an order of 1200 T-37A’s, however, the events that followed showed the excessive optimism shown by the leadership of the trust responsible for the factory
41.
T-38 tank
–
The T-38 amphibious scout tank was a Soviet amphibious light tank that saw service in World War II. Developed as a version of the earlier T-37A light tank, the T-38 proved to be only a moderate improvement over its predecessor. The redesign proved to be so extensive that the project was given the independent designation T-38, the T-38 retained many design features of the T-37A, including its repurposed GAZ-AA engine and hand-operated turret. The turret was moved from the right to the side of the tank. The T-38 also had a wider and lower profile than its predecessor. While the production-model T-38 was only armed with a 7. 62mm DT machine gun and this was removed after it was determined the additional cannon impaired the drivers ability to control the tank. Like other light tanks of its time, the T-38 was designed for reconnaissance, as a scout tank the T-38 had the advantages of a very low silhouette and good long-range mobility through its ability to swim. The T-38 was also intended to be air-portable, during the Kiev maneuvers in 1936, infantry battalions were each issued 38 T-38s, with 50 being designated for each airborne armored battalions. However, the armor and single machinegun armament made the tank of only limited use in combat. The T-38 also struggled with carrying any excess cargo across water, the tank was incapable of supporting the weight of two infantrymen while floating, and overloads of 120-150 kilos would cause the commanders hatch to flood, sinking the vehicle. A total of 1,228 T-38 tanks were built from 1936 to 1937, with an additional 112 made in 1939 after a two-year break in production. In the confined terrain of Finland, the tank was a deathtrap, it also did not do well in the stages of World War II. The T-38 was rarely seen in combat after 1941 and mostly relegated to other roles such as artillery tractor. During World War II, the main amphibious scout vehicle of the Red Army was the Ford GPA amphibious jeep, the German Army did not generally use captured T-38s as gun tanks. Romanian forces captured 3 T-38s as of 1 November 1942 and four more in March 1944, t-38RT, version equipped with radio and turret-mounted 20mm ShVAK cannon. T-38M1, prototype with superior planetary transmission, considered too complex for production, t-38M2, modification improving the gearbox and replacing the engine with GAZ M1. T-38TU, command version with radio antenna. SU-45, experimental 45 mm self-propelled gun, baryatinskiy, Mikhail Light Tanks, T-27, T-38, BT, T-26, T-40, T-50, T-60, T-70
42.
7TP
–
The 7TP was a Polish light tank of the Second World War. A development of the British Vickers 6-ton, it was better armed than its most common opponents. A standard tank of the Polish Army during the 1939 Invasion of Poland and its chassis was used as the base for C7P artillery tractor. The 7TP was the Polish development of the British Vickers 6-ton Mark E tank licence, about 132 tanks were produced between 1935 and the outbreak of the war, plus four iron prototypes. The designation 7TP meant 7 Tonne, Polish, although 7TP is often claimed to be the worlds first diesel-powered tank, this distinction actually goes to Japanese Type 89B I-Go Otsu, produced with a diesel engine from 1934 onwards. Barring that, the claim of a first purpose-designed diesel-powered tank is tied with Type 95 Ha-Go, whose series production also commenced in 1935. Like its British predecessor, the 7TP was initially produced in two variants, twin turret version armed with 2 Ckm wz.30 machine guns, and a single turret version, armed with 37 mm Bofors wz.37 gun. After initial tests, it clear that the twin-turret variant was obsolete and lacked firepower. Prior to the outbreak of World War II most of the twin turret tanks were converted to single turret versions and it is to be noted that twin and single turret variants had no specific designations. In some modern books they are unofficially designated 7TP dw. in 1938 Państwowe Zakłady Inżynierii also produced 13 prototype models of a better armored version of the 7TP – the 9TP. Although the 9TP never entered production, these prototypes were used in the defense of Warsaw in September 1939, romania sent a military commission in late autumn 1935 to evaluate the 7TP for a future acquisition. All 7TP tanks took part in combat in the defence of Poland during the German Invasion of Poland in 1939, most of them were attached to two light tank battalions. The remaining tanks, that is the used for training as well as tanks that were finished after the outbreak of the war, were used in an improvised tank unit fighting in the defence of Warsaw. Although technically superior to any of the German light tanks of the era, the 1st Light Tank Battalion fought in the ranks of the Prusy Army as part of the strategic reserve force of the Polish Army. It entered combat on September 4,1939 and fought with distinction in a variety of roles, mostly as a mobile reserve and it fought in a number of battles, most notably in the battles of Przedbórz, Sulejów, Inowłódz, Odrzywół and Drzewica. On September 8 it managed to stop the German advance on the centre of the Polish forces, but the following day it got separated from the main force and had to be withdrawn to the rear. As part of unit, the battalion took part in the Battle of Józefów and formed part of the spearhead of the Polish units trying to break through to Lwów. After the Battle of Tomaszów Lubelski, on September 21,1939, the tanks were destroyed by their crews
43.
Type 95 Ha-Go
–
It proved sufficient against infantry, but, like the American M3 Stuart, it was not designed to fight other tanks. Approximately 2,300 units were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armored fighting vehicle of the time, from early 1930s, the Japanese army began experimenting on a mechanized warfare unit combining infantry with tanks. However, the Type 89 Medium tank could not keep pace with the motorized infantry, in combat, motorized infantry could only hope to achieve 40 km advance per day. For transport, tanks could be loaded on train platforms like in any army of the times. To solve this problem, the Army Technical Bureau proposed a new light tank of 7 tonnes or less capable of 40 km/h speed and started development in 1933, the prototype of the new tank was begun in 1933 and completed in June 1934 at the Armys Sagami Arsenal. Initial tests were positive but it was too heavy at 7.5 tonnes and was reworked to bring the weight down to 6.5 t, due to doubts by the infantry as to its capability for infantry support it was tested in Manchuria in the winter of 1934/1935. The reports were favourable and a prototype built, which was started in June. In 1935, at a meeting in the Army Technical Bureau, the infantry had concerns that the armor was insufficient, however, the cavalry indicated that the improved speed and armament compensated for thin armor. In the end, the infantry agreed, as the Type 95 was still superior to the available alternative. Production was started in 1936 by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, the Type 95 was a 7. 4-tonne vehicle with a complement of 3 crewmen, a commander, a hull machine gunner, and a driver. Only the commander was seated in the turret, hence he was responsible for observation, loading, aiming, firing the main gun, the hand-operated turret was small and extremely cramped. The primary armament of the most produced version was a Type 9437 mm Tank Gun with the length of 46.1 calibers. It elevated between −15 to +20 degrees, the tank carried two types of 37 mm ammunition, the high-explosive and armor-piercing. For the latter, muzzle velocity was 580 m/s and the penetration was 36 mm at a distance of 275 m. The most characteristic feature of the Type 95 tank was its suspension system. Two bogie wheels were suspended on a bell crank with two bell cranks per side. The tracks were driven through the front sprockets, despite this, the tank continued to give its users a rough ride across any uneven ground. The Type 95 was fitted with a 120 hp Mitsubishi A6120VDe air-cooled 6-cylinder diesel engine and it was located in the rear compartment on the right side
44.
Vickers 6-Ton
–
The Vickers 6-Ton Tank or Vickers Mark E was a British light tank designed as a private project at Vickers. It was not purchased by the British Army, but was picked up by a number of foreign armed forces. It was licensed by the Soviets as the T-26 and it was also the direct predecessor of the Polish 7TP tank. The first Mark E was built in 1928 by a team that included the famed tank designers John Valentine Carden. The hull was made of riveted steel plates,1 inch thick at the front and over most of the turrets, the power was provided by an Armstrong Siddeley Puma engine of 80–95 horsepower, which gave it a top speed of 22 mph on roads. The suspension used two axles, each of which carried a two-wheel bogie to which a set of bogies was connected with a leaf spring. Upward movement of set of bogies would force the other down through the spring. This was considered to be a good system and offered better than normal cross-country performance although it could not compare with the contemporary Christie suspension. High strength steel tracks gave over 3000 miles of life which was better than most designs of the era. The tank was built in two versions, Type A with two turrets, each mounting a Vickers machine gun, Type B with a single two-man turret mounting a single machine gun and a short-barreled 47 mm cannon OQF 3-pdr Gun. The Type B proved to be an innovation, it was found that the two-man turret dramatically increased the rate of fire of either weapon. This design, which referred to as a duplex mounting. The British Army evaluated the Mark E, but rejected it, Vickers then started advertising the design to all buyers, and soon received a trickle of orders eventually including USSR, Greece, Poland, Bolivia, Siam, Finland, Portugal, China and Bulgaria. A Thai order was placed, but taken over by the British when the war started, Vickers built a total of 153 Mark Es. Experience with the Polish machines showed that the engine tended to overheat due to airflow over the air-cooled Puma engine. This was addressed by the addition of air vents on either side of the hull. For a new Belgian order the design was modified to use the Rolls-Royce Phantom II water-cooled engine instead. This engine would not fit in the rear, and had to be mounted along the side of the tank, requiring the turret to be moved to the right
45.
Medium tank
–
Many of the medium tanks lines became what are called main battle tank in most countries. The first tanks to carry the name Medium appeared in the First World War with the British Medium Mark A Whippet and it was smaller and lighter than the British heavy tanks and only carried machine guns. The medium tank doctrine came into use in the interwar period and its existence outlasted the super-heavy tank and heavy tank and gradually transitioned into the main battle tank. Medium tanks of the period included the British Vickers Medium Mark II. There were medium tanks that focused on capabilities, and medium tanks which were more focused on the anti-tank role. The French cavalry tanks focused on speed in addition to power and they were similar to what other countries called medium tanks. The result was the T-34 medium tank, whose superb capabilities shocked the German Wehrmacht when it invaded the Soviet Union. The lessons of Blitzkrieg, first employed by the Germans and eventually adopted by other nations, found their best expression in formations of mutually-supporting medium tanks, the traditional view of infantry and cavalry tank roles was rendered obsolete. During and after World War II, the roles of tanks were gradually taken over by less-expensive armoured cars. Heavy tanks, having shown their limitations in combat, experienced a limited post-war arms race of progressively more heavily armed and armoured designs, with the rise of more sophisticated anti-tank missile weapons, to which heavy tanks had demonstrated high vulnerability, these too were eventually phased out. Simpler and more economical self-propelled guns, and later anti-tank guided missiles, came to fulfil some fire-support and anti-tank roles, the role of medium tanks started with a prioritisation of speed. Medium tanks could travel faster, but needed help to cross trenches, in British use, this evolved into the Cruiser tank class, while other tank doctrines formed around the medium tank making the main advance. In this later use, medium tanks represent the intent of producing a successful balance of firepower, mobility. Medium tanks aim to be suitable to the widest variety of roles, with less reliance on other types of tank during normal operations Light tank Heavy tank Super-heavy tank Main battle tank
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
Nazi Germany
Kingdom of Bulgaria
Slovak Republic
Norway (Leftover stock)
