Soviet T-70 light tank

Soviet light tanks of the Second World War in the Kubinka Museum Pavilion N 3 and Patriot Park. History of the T-70 and armored vehicles on its chassis.

• Soviet light tanks of Astrov designer history: T-40, T-40S, T-30, T-60

WW2 Soviet T-70 light tank

The tank was developed in 1942 as a continuation of the series T-30, T-60. It was produced serially from 1942 to 1943. He was in service with the Red Army. Used in the battles of the Great Patriotic War, mainly in a “turning point”. For the use as a tactic of the offensive “number” against better German tanks during the Kursk arc, the enemy wore the nickname “locust”. For the characteristic sounds when you hit it with German shells caliber 75 mm. and above had the second name “walnut”. By the end of the Second World War, most T-70 tanks had already been destroyed. Most of the T-70 tanks now in museums are found on the battlefields in the Pskov and Rostov regions by search units.

The tank is in running order. Repeatedly participated in the holidays, military parades on Red Square, the military historical reconstruction of the Battle of Stalingrad and the “Kursk Bulge”

For 2016 the exhibit in pavilion N3 is absent

Tactical and technical characteristics of the T-70 tank:

Weight – 9.2 tons, Number of crew – 2 people. Overall dimensions (length x width x height) – 4285 x 2420 x 2040 mm. Armament: gun – 1 piece, caliber – 45 mm., Ammunition – 90 shots
machine gun – 1 piece, caliber – 7.62 mm., ammunition – 945 rounds. Armored protection – 45 mm. Engine power – 140 (2 x 70) horsepower, The maximum speed is 45 km / h. Cruising range on the highway – 350 km. The depth of the water barriers to be surfaced is 0.9 meters
Design Features: Base – the tank is created on the basis of automobile units with use of separate elements of the chassis from T-60. General layout – the power plant is located in the middle part of the car.

Armament – trigger guns and machine guns – mechanical, controlled by pedals, the angle of the gun’s elevation is 20 degrees, the angle of decline is 6 degrees. Protection – housing made of rolled armor plates installed at different angles, thickness of sheets 10, 15, 25, 35 and 45 mm, welded hull.

Chassis – power unit consists of two carburetor, six-cylinder engines, paired in series; independent tank suspension, torsion bar; on the five suspension nodes, buffer springs are installed; The role of the limit stops of the first and third support rollers is carried out by the supporting rollers; the second and fourth track rollers do not have a moving stop.

The Battle of Stalingrad and Kursk showed the very low effectiveness of T-70 tanks with a 45 mm cannon against German T-IV’s and Tigers. On these famous battlefields of the Eastern Front, many damaged and burned T-70 tanks remained. An attempt to increase the armor and make the T-80 did not yield results. The Soviet command decided to use the surviving T-70 chassis to install 76 mm guns and 37 mm anti-aircraft guns.

WW2 Soviet T-80 light tank

T-80 Light tank designed in the summer of 1942. A small batch of 70 (5 prototypes) copies were issued before September 1943. It was armed with the Red Army since December 1942. Participated in the battles of World War II. An interesting fact is that the Soviet main tank of the Cold War period bears the same name T-80.

For 2016 in the HQ pavilion N3 tank T-80 is missing.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the WW2  T-80 light tank:

Weight – 11.6 tons, Crew – 3 people. Overall dimensions (length x width x height) – 4285 x 2500 x 2175 mm. Armament: cannon – 1 piece, caliber – 45 mm., Ammunition – 94 shots
machine gun – 1 piece, caliber – 7.62 mm., ammunition – 1008 rounds. Armor protection: a case forehead – 45 mm., a turret – 35 mm. Engine power -170 (2 x 85) horsepower
Maximum speed – 45 km / h, Cruising on the highway – 350 km. The depth of water obstacles surmounted ford – 0.9 meters

Design features: the base is T-70 soviet WW2 light tank. The overall layout – the power plant is located in the middle of the machine. Armament – new embrasure and mask design allowed to increase the elevation angle of the paired installation from 20 to 65 degrees. Protection – welded hull of rolled sheets differs from the base of the increased thickness of side sheets, 25 mm instead of 15 mm, and the roof and bottom 15-20 mm instead of 10 mm. Chassis – installed a powerful, paired in series, the power plant, consisting of two engines, each of which is 85 horsepower.

WW2 Soviet ZSU-37 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun on T-70 tank chassis

Soviet  serial ZSU-37 Self-propelled anti-aircraft armored vehicle was developed in 1943. It was produced serially from 1944 and served  for the Red Army. Used in the battles of the Great Patriotic War.
For 2016 ZSU-37 in the pavilion is absent.

ZSU-37 tactical and technical characteristics:

Weight – 12.2 tons, Number of crew – 6 people. Overall dimensions (length x width x height) – 5250 x 2745 x 2180 mm. Armament: anti-aircraft automatic gun – 1 piece, caliber – 37 mm., Ammunition – 320 shots. Armored protection: the forehead of the body is 35 mm, the turret is 15 mm. Engine power – 140 (2 x 70) horsepower, The maximum speed is 42 km / h, Cruising range on the highway – 328 km. The depth of water barriers to be surfaced is 0.8 meters

Design Features: Base – self-propelled installation SU-76, used elements of the tank T-70. General layout – the power plant is located in the middle of the hull near starboard.  Armament – automatic cannon, sight with a rangefinder; a large ammunition and free volumes of the combat compartment provide high maneuverability and a good pace of fire. Protection – the body of the machine from armor plates with a thickness of 10, 15 and 35 mm, welded.

Chassis – power plant includes two carbureted six-cylinder car engines with a capacity of 70 h/p; both engines are connected in series; The transmission consists of a double-disk main clutch of dry friction, a four-speed gearbox, a final drive, two multi-plate dry friction side friction clutches and two single-row side gears; control drives are mechanical.

WW2 Soviet serial light SU-76 assault gun on T-70 tank chassis

SU-76 was developed in 1943  and mass-produced since same year. It was in service with the Red Army. Participated in the battles of World War II. Because of the cuttings open in the back among the soldiers got the nickname “Naked ass Ferdinand” (German heavy self-propelled gun, in outline resembling the SU-76, but much larger in size).

SU-76 is in running condition and participated in military parades and holidays.

Location: moved from HQ pavilion N3  to pavilion of Patriot park (since 2016).

Tactical and technical characteristics of the SU-76:

Weight – 11.2 tons, Crew – 4 people. Overall dimensions (length x width x height) – 5250 x 2715 x 2200 mm. Armament: cannon – 1 piece, caliber – 76.2 mm., Ammunition load – 60 shots. Armor protection – 35 mm. Engine power – (2 x 70) horsepower, Maximum speed is 44 km / h, Cruising on the highway – 330 km. The depth of the water obstacles, overcome by the ford – 0.8 m.
Design features: Base – T-70 light tank. The overall layout – the power plant consists of two automotive-type engines located in the middle of the vehicle. Armament – the angle of elevation of the gun is 25 degrees, the declination is 2.5 degrees, the angle of horizontal guidance is 15 degrees. Protection – the car hull is made of armored rolled sheets with a thickness of 6, 7, 25 and 35 mm.

Chassis – automotive-type power unit, six-cylinder, carburetor, liquid cooling, connected in parallel with the power transmission; manual transmission is located in the front of the case; it consists of the main friction clutches of dry friction, two four-speed gearboxes, a connecting shaft, side clutches with belt brakes, and final drives.

These were the last models of light armored vehicles with automobile engines of the Second World War. The increase in the power of tanks caused the Astrov series to be forgotten for many years. During the Cold War, the sad experience of the Allied landings in Normandy on D-Day in 1944 was remembered. With the advent of armored vehicles of the USSR Airborne Forces, this series of light tanks and self-propelled guns was remembered and it received a second life. See the continuation of this series in the section “Armored vehicles of the USSR Airborne Forces”.