Author, reenactor, film photographer, military historian specializing in 1930s and 1940s armoured warfare.
Tank Archives
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The Germans began to gather knocked out and abandoned French tanks #OTD in 1940. Captured French tanks made up a large portion of the German tank fleet. Many were deemed unsuitable for front line service but could be used in security and auxiliary roles. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
A Pz.Kpfw.III tank was examined at the Kubinka proving grounds #OTD in 1940. While the tank had some interesting technical novelties that were copied on the T-50 tank, the overall design was considered to be lacking in armour and firepower. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
The biggest surprise was the armour, the quality of which was so poor that a 30 mm plate taken from the tank shattered on the first hit from a 45 mm gun and could be penetrated even by Soviet heavy machine guns. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
A successor to the T-100Y SPG was ordered #OTD in 1940: a breakthrough tank called T-100Z with a 152 mm gun. A turret was built for this tank but never installed. Instead, it was used in a line of fortifications near Leningrad. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
Comparative trials between the T-34 and T-43 were scheduled to begin #OTD in 1943. Delays led to trials starting only in August, by which point the Battle of Kursk introduced changes to requirements for new tanks. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
Shocked at these results, Soviet testers cut an equivalent piece from domestically produced armour, which stood up much better to exactly the same attack. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
#OTD in 1945 the Red Army developed requirements for a new tank. Its aim was to combat tanks like the newly discovered Maus. Even though it never had a worthy adversary, the IS-7 was ready for production when all superheavy tanks were cancelled in 1949. #tanks #history #ColdWar
Mobility trials of the T-34-85M ended #OTD in 1944. The tank had more armour than a standard T-34, but reduction of weight in non-critical areas and lower gear ratios kept mobility on the same level. Nevertheless the tank was found to be unsatisfactory. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII
#OTD in 1959 a program to modernize the M48A1 Patton to the level of the M60 was ordered. The tank called M48A1E1 was not approved, although the US ended up carrying out a very similar modernization program in 1975, resulting in the M48A5. #tanks #History #ColdWar
Italy joined WW2 #OTD in 1940 hoping for a quick and easy victory. It quickly turned out that Italy was ill prepared for a prolonged war. Just over three years later, the Italian government ousted Mussolini and signed an armistice with the Allies. #history #WW2 #WWII
