The history has disposed so that one of the greatest victories of the red Army in the great Patriotic war — the battle of Kursk was won at a time when Soviet armored and mechanized troops are qualitatively inferior to the German. By the summer of 1943, when the most painful design flaws of the T-34 was eliminated, the Germans had new tanks “Tiger” and “Panther”, significantly surpassing our power of weapons and thick armor. Therefore, during the battle of Kursk Soviet tank units, as before, had to rely on their numerical superiority over the enemy. Only in some cases, when the “thirty” were able to approach German tanks almost side by side, the fire of our guns became effective. On the agenda there was a question about a radical modernization of the T-34 and especially of his arms.
TANK GREAT VICTORY
The first domestic anti-tank missile system (ATGM) was “bumblebee”, developed in Kolomna SKB engineering under the guidance of S. P. Invincible. However, quite a large mass and a decent size anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) ЗМ6 from the beginning forced the designers to focus on the self-propelled version. And since 1957, at the same time developed two sample latest: 2K15 on the basis of army all-terrain vehicle GAZ-69 (army 2П26) 2K16 and on the basis of BRDM (combat vehicle 2П27). The calculation of both launchers consisted of two people, the rate of fire of two shots per minute, control system — manual, wires. The complex “bumblebee” was adopted in August 1960 and immediately launched into serial production.
In the period from 1937 to 1945 in service with the British army consisted of only four types of infantry tanks. Changing models of military vehicles cruising type resembled a kaleidoscope. So, haven’t had time to finish military career cruising tank Krusader (“modelist-Konstruktor” No. 11 for 1999), in June 1941 began to develop a more powerful heavy cruiser tank. It was called Cromwell and the index of the A27. However, in the absence intended for his engines Rolls-Royce Meteor (they all went to the aircraft), it was decided to install the old Liberty engine as in previous models of cruiser tanks. The novelty was adopted under the name Cruiser Tank Mk VII Cavalier (A24).
After the Second world war, the US army would be without promising medium tank. “Sherman” has exhausted almost all possibilities of modernization, and M26 “Pershing” was created as a heavy tank, although it was later redesignated as the medium, so, in fact, was not mainly due to low specific power.
The resolution of the State defense Committee 4043сс dated 4 September 1943, ordered the pilot plant No. 100 in Chelyabinsk in cooperation with the technical office of the Chief armored Directorate of the red Army until November 1, 1943 to design, manufacture and test ordamaged EC-152 on the basis of the is tank. Its immediate predecessor — the self-propelled gun SU-152 (KV-14), the basis for which was the KV-1s.
Classification of self-propelled artillery of the Wehrmacht were quite complex and confusing. There were several main classes of ACS: Sturmgeschütze — assault guns, Selbstfahrlafetten — self-propelled carriages, . und Jagdpanzer self — propelled anti-tank guns, anti-tank, Flakpanzer — anti-aircraft self-propelled guns. The confusion in classification is exacerbated by the fact that the machines belong to one type when upgrading actually acquired the characteristic features of the other. For example, the assault gun StuG III after the re-75-mm long-barreled gun turned into a classic tank destroyer — Jagdpanzer, and in this capacity was used, although up to the end of the war was still called an assault weapon.
The real work of creating a new heavy tank in the program Panzerkampfwagen VI began in late January 1937, when the company Henschel was commissioned and started to design the combat vehicle under the symbol index DW1(Durchbruchwagen — car break). From September 1938, the firm began to develop a variant of the DW2, which had differences from its predecessor in design of the gear box, brake, caterpillars, airborne transmission, wheels and suspension. The tank was supposed to install the turret from the Pz.IV with 75mm gun and coaxial machine gun MG 34. The second gun should have been installed in the hull on the right. But in both cases it was limited only to the construction and testing of the chassis.
At the end of 1942 armored division of the US army on the state was a third armed light tanks M3/M5 “Stuart”. The weakness of their reservation and weapons quickly revealed in November, when American armored units in North Africa for the first time joined the battle with units of the Panzerwaffe: the fighting machine was completely powerless against medium German tanks.
Military paratroopers wearing the blue beret. If combat vehicles and airborne troops also “gave” blue berets, they first would have to own a BMD (airborne combat vehicle). The revision in the mid-1960s, the concepts of military doctrine identified the need for a reorganization of the airborne troops of Russia (VDV). To combat landing needed new equipment, a significant increase in its firepower. Division needed armored vehicles that could carry out not only the transportation of troops, conducting the fight “under armor”, but the fight against enemy armored vehicles, with its manpower in the distance.
August 11, 1933, adopted the worker-Peasant red Army adopted a new medium tank T-28. Production began at the Leningrad plant “Red Putilovets”, one of the oldest and most experienced companies in the production of artillery, tractors, locomotives.