Kubinka Tank Museum Hall N2 Guide and Virtual Tour

Soviet medium tanks and assault guns in Kubinka tank museum Pavilion N 2. Official catalogue and exhibit list.

Soviet Medium Tanks and Assault Guns The WW2, “Cold War” and “Local Conflicts”.
The pavilion presents Soviet medium tanks and self-propelled guns from the legendary T-34 of World War II and ending with the main tank, standing in the Russian Army.

Actual status. During the opening in 1972, the pavilion showed the sequence of the development of Soviet medium tanks from the legendary T-34 to the modern T-72 and T-80, including experimental and prototypes. During the reorganization in 2014, part of the tanks, mainly of the Second World War, were moved to other pavilions in the Patriot Park to form expositions: Battle of Moscow, Battle of Stalingrad, Kursk Bulge and Battle of Berlin. After the reorganization in 2021, some of the exhibits were moved to other places, which made it possible to access tanks and self-propelled guns from all sides.

Some exhibits, especially from World War II, have been moved to the Battle of Kursk and Stalingrad halls in Patriot Park. The glass fence in front of the exhibits was temporarily removed and it was possible to see the back and sides of the tanks. There are no stands with samples of armor-piercing, cumulative and fragmentation shells for different periods of time. We show these samples below in our virtual gallery of the past pavilion.

Time Machine. Back to the past of the pavilion.

Kubinka tank museum Hall N 2 history, Virtual tour on 1972-2014

“Pavilion № 2 can be regarded as a school of domestic tank building, to witness the transition from the middle to the main tank, in reality to imagine the power and vitality of a modern tank in a huge saturation of the enemy a variety of anti-tank weapons and the use of weapons of mass destruction. It is striking that in the years War, this formidable military equipment was collected not yet strengthened by the hands of hungry teenagers, the smallest of whom had to turn the box under their feet so that he could reach the machine (Director plant respectfully called them by name and patronymic), gentle hands of women and calloused fingers elderly … And if you say that they produced the assembly line every 30 minutes -. tank !? However, today some say, think, boys, women and old men collecting tanks! Yes he povoyuet 15 minutes and break? … and imagine that today, May 9, 1945, and the last tank Victory T-34 weapons, with these boys, under its own power entered and stood on a pedestal near the plant in Nizhny Tagil tribute to those who fought at the front and those who Oval arms of Victory in the rear. He stood for 36 years, then was wound up, with his own motion came down from one pedestal and froze on the other. It became a tradition: before the Victory Day the tank is turned on, it goes for cosmetic repairs, tinting and opens the Victory Parade. After the parade, he returns to the pedestal. Beautiful with rapid contours native thirty-four. During the war they made about 60 thousand. In different years it was used by 42 states. It is fighting today in Africa, in Yugoslavia. Warriors and defiled tanks-monuments left in Europe, in the Baltic … T-34 has long been removed from production, but there is still no order to remove it from the armament! Here embodied in life the credo of the Chief Designer of the legendary thirty-four Mihail Ilyich Koshkin: “To work not after, but – to overtake! In the design, use is not an analogue, but a trend. Introduce a new tank that would be long-term promising and did not require significant changes … ”
The continuation of these glorious traditions is the 1st generation of the postwar T-54 and T-55 tanks. For 1999, all models of the tanks under license issuance (including Chinese T-59) in the world there are about 100 thousand cars (!), And they are (were) in service with 60 countries of the world.
The tank was developed on the basis of the accumulated experience of the Second World War of domestic and the best examples of foreign tank building. Continuation of the glorious traditions of the T-34 – on July 19, 1999, there are more than 100,000 T-54 and T-55 tanks and their licensing modifications in the world. The tank was in service in different years in more than 60 countries. American experts, testing the T-55 tanks captured at the Aberdeen range from the Arabs, named our machine for its simplicity in mastery, reliability in combat and during operation – “Tank soldier”. Well, how can you not feel a sense of legitimate pride for our people, who created such a technique, for our Motherland?! … You say that this is an outdated machine? Yes, it has such reserves for modernization, that with a clever head and skillful hands, it can be brought to the level of the tank of the 80s!
Missile fighters of tanks, forgotten and unclaimed projects, colossal experience of tank building .. A flying tank. Can you imagine how a 43-ton war machine in the experienced hands of a master with a springboard flies through the air 18 meters or into music whirls in a waltz? ..
Tanks in Afghanistan, in Chechnya .. our pain. ” (colonel B. Ozerov)

The pavilion features Soviet medium tanks and automatic control systems from the legendary T-34 during the Great Patriotic War and ending with the main tanks that are in service with the Russian Army.
Near the pavilion is the legendary “Victory Tank” – T-34-85, the best middle tank of the Great Patriotic War. Exposition inside the pavilion also begins with a T-34 tank (76mm), found on real battlefields.
“Work not after, but overtaking! In designing, use is not an analogue, but a trend. Introduce such a new tank that would be long-term promising and did not require significant changes .. “- these words belong to Mikhail Koshkin, the Soviet designer, the creator of the famous tank (Unfortunately, he did not live to see the victorious march of his offspring in the battlefields of the Great Patriotic War. participated in the test run of the tank, fell ill and died in September 1940 from pneumonia near Kharkov. It was buried in the city cemetery. When Hitler first saw the T-34 tank, he regretted that he attacked the USSR, an “unpleasant surprise.” The Fuhrer declared Koshkin his personal enemy after the death of the designer, and by his order in 1941 the cemetery was destroyed by Luftwaffe pilots – a purposeful bombardment whose main task was to eliminate the grave of the designer.

Kubinka tank museum Hall N 2 exhibits official catalog.
“Soviet medium tanks and self-propelled units” (Copyright Mikhail Blinov, please do the link if referred).
N – Brand — Object — Year of manufacture — Designation – type of production
1. Т-34                 1940, medium tank, serial, (open area at WW2 exhibition)
2. Т-34-85  (in hall)  1943, medium tank, serial
3. SU-100          1944, Assault Gun (covered) on T-34 base, serial
4. SU-122              1942, Assault Gun (covered) on T-34 base, serial
5. Т-44                 1944, medium tank, serial
6. SU-101              1944, Assault gun (covered) on T-34, single sample
7. Т-54 (М1946), 137,   1947, medium tank, serial  (?)
8. Т-54          137,   1949 ***
9. Т-54А         137,   1955  ***
10. SU-122              1949, Assault gun on T-54 chassis serial
11. ZSU-57-2            1950, anti aircraft   ***
12. Т-55         155,   1955, medium tank, serial
13. Т-55АМ              1982, medium tank, small series
14. Т-55 flamethrower 483, 1959, The flamethrower on the T-55, single sample
15. ТО-55  (ОТ-55) 482,    1957, The flamethrower, serial
16. Т-62         166,   1960, medium tank  ***
17. Object 167,  167,   1961, medium tank, single sample
18. Т-55АD        1983, medium tank, small series
19. IT-1      150,   1968, tank destroyer on T-62, serial
20.           432,   1960, medium tank, small series
21. Т-64     432,   1960 (?),  ***
22. Т-64     434,   1967, main battle tank, serial
23. Т-64А    446,   1969, main battle tank, serial
24.       Object 775,   1962, rocket tank on T-64, single sample
25.      Object 287,  1962, rocket tank on T-64, single sample
26.       Object  288,  1963, control post on T-64, single sample
27.       Object  172,  1970, main battle tank, small series
28.     Object 172-2М,  1974, same
29. Т-72      172М-1,  1975, main battle tank, serial
30. Т-80      219,  1976, same ***
31. Т-80BV   219АС, 1985,  ***
32. Т-54А     137, 1955, medium tank, serial (outdoor, monument) ?
33. Т-34-85        1944,  medium tank, serial (outdoor, monument near pavilion N3).

Addition exhibits:
Т-34  1943 (?)  found on WW2 battlefields in Pskov region
Т-34-85 from “Dmitry Donskoy” column, monument in outdoor WW2 exhibition.

In this Pavilion N2 there are also additionally (not included in this catalogue):

– T34 V-2 engine  as the separate exhibit
– Soviet (Russian) tank / BMP/ Assault Gun / BTR ammunition: shells, rounds
– T-34 tank wheels, modifications

Since 2015 some exhibits were moved (? temporary or forever) into the Patriot Park (15 km from Kubinka RR station). The empty spaces sometime are filled by other pavilion vehicles (temporary).

Rare photographs of the Kubinka tank museum during major renovations after opening in 1972. These photographs show the structure of Soviet standard tank hangars during the Cold War. Pay attention to concrete slabs, which accumulate cold, especially in winter. To prevent the feet of museum visitors from freezing, a special linoleum path was laid. Now this path has not been preserved; another one is visible instead. Look also at the Soviet entrance doors for tanks, which have now also been replaced.

Types of ammunition that are in service with the Soviet Army

In the pavilion for fans of military equipment, and, of course, cadets of military schools and cadets of Russian cadet corps, a magnificent exposition showing the internal arrangement and types of ammunition, including the period of the WW2 and Cold War.

Description of the types of shells and shots for Soviet tanks and self-propelled guns, from right to left:
– 152 mm ML-20 howitzer shells for the heavy KV-2 tank, SU (ISU)-152 self-propelled gun (separate loading)
– 100 mm ammunition for D-10S, D-10T2S guns for T-54 and T-55 tanks, SU-100 self-propelled guns
– 85 mm shot from D5-85 and ZIS-S-53 guns for T-34-85 and KV-85 tanks
– 57 mm rounds for ZSU-57-2 anti-aircraft self-propelled gun (photo 1, section 1)
– 115 mm shot from the U5-TS gun for the T-62 tank (photo 2, section 1)
– 125 mm rounds from D-81 and 2A46 guns for T-64, T-72 and T-80 tanks
–
– Shots for BMP-1 and BMD-1 Airborne Forces IFV
– Ammunition for -, BMD-2 and BMD-3 Airborne Forces
– Ammunition for BMP-3 Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
The exhibition presents different types of shells – high-explosive fragmentation, high explosive, armor-piercing (blank), sub-caliber, cumulative. Unfortunately, the collection does not contain a 76.2 mm armor-piercing shell for the legendary T-34 tank. Our museum team was present during the recovery and disarmament of the T-34 found at BB2 battle sites in the Pskov region. Lack of coordination between the army, police and the Ministry of Emergency Situations led to the destruction of rare 76.2 mm rare armor-piercing shells, which are missing from the Kubinka Tank Museum. We were able to make a photo gallery of these rare shells before destruction, which we post in a special section of our Guide.

Legendary T-34 (Thirty-four) tank and its components

In the pavilion, the V-shaped engine, the main types of rinks and links of the T-34 tracks and various machines on its base are presented for the joy of the fans of bench model and members of the research teams. Please note that rollers come with or without rubber rims, such as those produced at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant during the famous Battle of the Volga.

Based on the experience of using the T-34 and the round shape of the IS-3 turret, after the war, the medium tanks T-54 and its further modification T-55 began to be developed.

Well proven in local wars and conflicts, the tanks were massively purchased in the USSR. As of July 19, 1999, there were more than 100,000 T-54 and T-55 tanks and their modifications, licensed in other countries, in the world. Were and still are in service in more than 60 countries around the world. American specialists of the Aberdeen training range named this machine for its simplicity in development, reliability in combat and during operation – “Tank soldier”.

Under Khrushchev, all began to develop missiles and rocket tanks. IT-1 is the world’s only mass-produced rocket fighter of tanks with a semi-automatic guidance system TURS (tank guided missiles) on the radio. The car was ahead of itself by 20 years. The original engineering solutions simplified and reduced the training of operators of guided tank armament to a level unattainable for foreign specialists.
After the “fashion” for rockets in the USSR, the “series” of the T-54, T-55 tanks began to develop again. The main battle tanks T-64, T-72, T-80 were developed for conducting combat operations in the conditions of using modern powerful anti-tank weapons and weapons of mass destruction, but also reliably working both in a hot desert (Sahara in Africa and the Middle East) and in the Far North at an ambient temperature of +55 to -55 degrees Celsius.
It was the T-72 during the Desert Storm events (the Gulf War of January 17 – February 28, 1991), when it took 1000 km marches through the desert, passed and lost a single machine.

Modern technology of the Russian Army in the Kubinka museum’s exposition

T-80 – the main battle tank with a gas turbine power plant, a “flying tank.” This name was given at a demonstration at the World Arms Show in Abu Dhabi, when the crew dispersed the tank to a speed of about 80 km / h and a 42-ton machine from a 1.5-meter springboard flew through the air 18 meters, landed on the sand and rushed farther. In this flight, the crew managed to aim, shoot and hit the target. No crew in the world could not repeat this ..

Multimedia and modern museum technologies

Recently in the pavilion an audiovisual narrative system was installed for visitors about the history of tanks with modern multimedia methods (In 2016 during the holydays it was in the work condition, but for the summer of 2017 they were moved to Park Patriot). The installation of a multimedia monitor blocked visitors’ access to part of the exhibition on the types of ammunition of Soviet tanks, self-propelled guns, infantry fighting vehicles and airborne forces.

Ignoring prohibitions and signs, visitors always climb onto the tanks, since the pavilion caretaker cannot control all the exhibits. Following the museum’s fashion for creating interactive experiences, the museum’s management allowed visitors to climb onto two special tanks, the T-72 and T-80. The visitors behaved like monkeys – they swung on the gun barrel, jumped to the ground from the engine compartment and screamed loudly. Without experience and control of the action, you can easily slip and fall from the tank.For children, falling from a tank can have dire consequences, as well as for the management of the museum. It is very dangerous if a heavy tank hatch cover crushes your finger (a stopper is installed to prevent this, but…) Overly smart visitors, especially those who served in tank forces, began to turn the turret and raise the barrel. All the visitors trampled underfoot different parts of the tank, outside and inside, leaving a lot of dirt everywhere. This interactive action did not last long and the tanks were closed.

* this catalogue was made in the Soviet era (the museum exhibits since 1972 till 2014) and will be added and changed… Any notes are welcome