"Parquet" heavy tank. Service and combat use of the T 35 modification
They were called "Stalin's land battleships." In the 1930s, they were the main symbols of Soviet tank power, the "calling card" of the Red Army, adornment of all military parades, patriotic posters and newspaper editorials. It is the five-turret T-35 that is depicted on the most honorable Soviet medal - For Courage.
And no one, except for military professionals, realized that by the beginning of World War II, not only the clumsy monsters T-35, but also the much more advanced T-28 were already hopelessly outdated and absolutely did not meet the requirements of modern warfare, being practically unsuitable for modernization. Almost all multi-tower tanks were lost in the first months of the Great Patriotic War, without having any noticeable effect on the course of hostilities. By the summer of 1944, several T-28s and only one T-35 had miraculously survived ...
This fundamental work is the best to date, the most complete, detailed and reliable study of the history of the creation and combat use of Soviet multi-turret tanks, formidable in appearance, but doomed to a quick "extinction" and did not justify the hopes that the Soviet command placed on them.
The T-35 tank is a five-turret combat vehicle with a two-tier weapon arrangement. The hull of the tank has four internal partitions and is functionally divided into five compartments: front towers with a control station for the driver, main tower, rear towers, engine and transmission.
The small and medium towers are installed on the roof of the front turret compartment. The first one houses the machine gunner, the second one - the gunner and the loader. In front of the small tower, inside the hull, there is a workstation for a driver-mechanic, for which a two-leaf hatch is provided in the roof for landing. On some tanks of the 1938 release and on the machines of the 1939 release, there are double-leaf folding to one side, as well as oval, similar in design to the turret hatches of the BT-7 tanks with a conical turret. The tank control mechanisms consist of two control levers for side clutches and brakes installed on the sides of the driver's seat, a transmission rocker mechanism located on the right side, and three pedals - the main clutch, an accelerator and a spare (for a mechanical starter, if it is installed instead of an electric starter) ... Control and measuring devices are located on removable shields - the main one and three small ones. In addition, the wheelhouse has: a spare ignition timing control lever (in case magneto is installed without automatic advance), a telephone set, a compass (since 1937) and an air-start control handle. For observation to the left of the driver, a slot is provided in the side plate, closed by a “triplex”, and in front, in the frontal inclined plate, there is a hatch with another viewing device.
Tank T-35A release in 1936 in the courtyard of the KhPZ, front view.
To the right of the control station under the middle tower, on the flooring, there are tool boxes, and on the bottom of the hull in the bow there are two compressed air cylinders of 150 atm each, designed to start the engine in case of a starter failure.
The main tower is mounted above its compartment on a hexagonal turret box. On tanks produced in 1939, the shape of the turret platform was changed. In the compartment of the main tower there are places for four crew members - the tank commander, gunner, radio operator and minder. Under the upper flooring of the hull and on its sides, there are stowages of 76-mm shells and machine-gun disks, tools, spare parts, smoke launchers, a spare machine gun, and on the bottom of the hull there are batteries.
Above the compartment of the rear towers, there are small and medium towers, similar to the front ones. Behind the small turret there is a 270-liter gas tank, and on the floor of the hull there are stowage of shells, cartridges and spare parts.
Tank T-35A release in 1936 in the courtyard of the KhPZ, left and rear view.
The muffler is located across the body; at the edge of the fenders, the outlet pipes of the smoke exhaust devices are visible.
Tank hull. The body is welded and partially riveted. Its bottom is made of six 10-mm and one (rear) 20-mm armor plates, welded together. Some seams have corners for stiffening.
Suspended floor of the main tower. Under the seats of the commander (right) and gunner (left), drum ammunition pads for six shells each are visible.
In the center there is a casing of a rotating electrical contact device and a rack for 8 shells. In the foreground there are two loader (radio operator) seats - on the left for the stowed position, on the right for the combat position.
Tank T-35 in the assembly shop of the KhPZ: you can see the mounting trestles on which the tank was assembled, the brackets of the undercarriage bogies, the fastening of the road wheels and knits - the armor plates at the joints of the hull sheets.
Side plates are welded on the sides of the bottom, and lower inclined plates (bow and stern) are welded in the front and rear parts. In the rear part of the underbody there are 13 hatches designed to access the units, drain gasoline and oil. In the engine compartment there is a frame for mounting the engine and gearbox. In the front and rear fighting compartments, frames are welded to the bottom, on which the flooring of four removable sheets is laid. In the section of the main tower, the floor consists of two decks - an upper and a lower one.
The sides of the hull are welded from seven armor plates. For rigidity, overlays are welded on the outside of the seams and knits are riveted. In addition, a frame is welded from the outside to the sides, on which the bulwark and brackets for attaching the suspension bogies are mounted. The side sheets have cutouts for storing spent cartridges.
The roof of the engine compartment is not removable; in the center there is a hatch for access to the engine. An armored air cleaner hood is installed in the hatch cover. To the right and to the left of the hatch are openings for air flow to the radiators, covered from above by armored shields.
A removable armored fan casing with louvers is attached to the aft hull, and in the aft armor plate there are two covers for access to the transmission, which were replaced by two hinged hatches on tanks produced at the end of 1938-1939.
Main tower. The main turret is identical in design to the main turret of the T-28 medium tank. In the rear wall of the aft niche, a vertical slot is cut, closed by a flap, for the installation of the aft machine gun. In the roof of the tower there are two hatches - round and rectangular (on machines of the first series - one common rectangular hatch) and three round holes: two for the periscopic devices covered by armored caps and one for leading the wire to the radio antenna. On the walls of the tower there are round holes with latches from the inside for firing personal weapons, and above them there are viewing slits with triplexes.
Tank T-35 in the assembly shop of the KhPZ: the carts of the road wheels are already put on the brackets.
T-35 tank suspension trolley - photo and drawing. The construction of the balancer is clearly visible.
The main turret originally had a two-stage manual swing mechanism, replaced in 1936 by a three-speed worm gear with electric and manual drives. A 360-degree turn occurs at 1st speed - in 16 s, at 2nd - in 9.3 s, at 3rd - 7.4 s. Under all the hatches of the small and medium towers, there are buttons for the locking device. When opening the hatch on a special gunner's console in the main tower, the light goes out, which signals the prohibition of its rotation (so as not to cripple the crew members climbing out of other towers).
T-35 tank suspension trolley - a mud flap mounted on top is visible.
The photo shows the first bogie of the undercarriage, to the right of it the front thrust roller, above it is the track tensioner.
The main tower is equipped with a suspended floor attached by four brackets to the shoulder strap. Under the commander's and gunner's seats are drum-type ammunition pads for six rounds each. Between the seats is a rack with 12 slots for projectiles and six machine-gun disks. The folding seats of the radio operator (for the stowed and combat position) and the minder are fixed on the rear brackets of the suspended floor. A radio station is located on the wall of the tower niche. The total mass of the cylindrical tower with equipment and weapons is 1870 kg.
The tanks of the 1939 release were equipped with conical towers with two hatches with a machine-gun mount in the turret niche or without it. On one of the machines, the tower was equipped with a handrail, and on the others with whip antennas.
Medium towers ... The middle turrets are the same in design as the turrets of the BT-5 light tank, with the exception of the missing aft niche and modified electrical equipment. There is a rectangular hatch in the roof of the tower, closed by two hinged covers, and a round hole for a periscopic sight. In the right wall of the tower there is a round hole for firing personal weapons, and above it there is a viewing slot with triplex. A rectangular embrasure has been cut into the frontal hull for the twin installation of a cannon and a machine gun.
The tower contains the suspension seats of two crew members - the gunner and the loader, and in addition - the ammo rack for cannon shots and machine-gun magazines, boxes for triplex spare glasses and a switchboard. The tower is equipped with a manual swing mechanism. The total mass of the cylindrical tower is 630 kg.
The tanks of the 1939 release were equipped with conical towers with one hatch.
Track track of the T-35 tank, view from the outside.
Diagram of the middle turret device (from the "maintenance manual for the T-35 tank" of 1936): 1 - 45-mm cannon 20K, 2 - PT-1 periscopic sight, 3 - TOP telescopic sight, 4 - gun guard, 5 - trigger pedal , 6 - 7.62-mm DT machine gun, 7 - turret swivel mechanism, 8 - Triplex viewing device, 9 - stacking 45-mm rounds, 10 - gunner's seat, 11 - loader's seat.
Diagram of a large turret device (from the "maintenance manual for the T-35 tank" of 1936): 1 - 76.2-mm KT-28 cannon, 2 - PT-1 periscope sight, 3 - TOP telescopic sight, 4 - gun guard, 5 - stacking machine-gun magazines, 6 - 76.2-mm shots, 7 - 7.62-mm DT machine gun, 8 - Triplex viewing devices, 9 - turret swivel mechanism, 10 - gunner's seat, 11 - commander's seat, 12 - a marching seat of a radio operator, 13 - a combat seat of a radio operator, 14 - a slot for a drag mount for a DT machine gun, 15 - a hanging floor bracket.
Small towers ... The small turrets are structurally identical to the small turrets of the T-28 medium tank. In the roof of the tower there is a hatch with a hinged cover, and in the side walls there are viewing slots and holes for firing a revolver.
A height-adjustable seat, racks for machine-gun magazines and a spare machine gun, stored in a special box, are installed under the small turret on the bottom of the tank. The turret was rotated using a manual rotary mechanism. The total mass of the tower is 366 kg.
Diagram of the machine gun turret device (from the 1936 T-35 tank maintenance manual): 1 - 7.62 mm DT machine gun, 2 - Triplex viewing device, 3 - swivel mechanism, 4 - turret stopper, 5 - spare glass "Triplex".
The bottom of the T-35 tank (from the 1936 T-35 maintenance manual).
The tanks of the 1939 release were equipped with conical towers with an oval hatch, similar in design to those of the BT-7.
Armament ... The armament of the T-35 was intended to solve the following tasks: supporting the infantry and destroying field fortifications (76-mm cannon and machine guns) and fighting armored objects (45-mm guns).
Initially, the T-35 head turret was fitted with a 76-mm KT (Kirovskaya tank) cannon, model 1927/32, which used the swinging part of a field regimental cannon of the 1927 model. The CT had a shortened recoil length from 1000 to 560 mm, which was achieved by increasing the pressure in the recoil plate and recoil brake. In 1935, the skids were reinforced by thickening their walls from 3.6 to 8 mm. This was due to the fact that the old skids were bent when tanks moved over rough terrain.
From the beginning of 1936, the 76 mm T-35 cannons were completely unified with the KT-28 cannons of the T-28 medium tanks. The amount of liquid in the knurling was increased from 3.6 to 4.8 liters, which reduced the rollback to 500 mm. Introduced a new lifting mechanism, foot trigger and new sights.
Tactical markings are clearly visible.
The gun is mounted in a mask and equipped with telescopic and periscopic sights TOP of the 1930 model and PT-1 of the 1932 model. The telescopic one is located to the left of the cannon, the periscope is located on the roof of the tower on the left side and is connected to the cannon by the so-called "periscope drive". In addition to these sights in the roof of the tower on the right side, symmetrically with the periscope sight, there is a command panorama of the PTK.
Tank T-35 from the Stalin VAMM training regiment. 1940 year.
The vehicle is equipped with headlights for night shooting and two ladders for climbing the tank.
The DT machine gun ("Degtyarev tank") of 7.62-mm caliber is installed in the ball apple to the right of the cannon. The angle of its horizontal shelling is +/– 30 degrees, the angle of elevation is + 30 degrees, the decline is -20 degrees. For shooting backwards, there is a drag mount for a spare DT machine gun in the turret niche.
Since 1937, a P-40 anti-aircraft turret with a DT machine gun equipped with a collimator sight for firing at air targets was located on the gunner's hatch.
The medium turrets contain 45-mm tank guns 20K of the 1934 model (on the machines of the first series - the 1932 model).
Rear view of the T-35 tank. Kubinka, 1947. The fasteners under the spare parts are clearly visible.
The SPTA itself is missing. Currently, this vehicle is on display at the Military Historical Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment.
Tank T-35 release in 1935.
The 45-mm cannon of the 1934 model, in contrast to the previous system, has a semiautomatic mechanism of a mechanical rather than an inertial type, a modified recoil device, a completely new lifting mechanism and a number of other smaller changes.
The gun is mounted in a mask and paired with a DT machine gun. The twin mount is equipped with two common sights: the periscopic PT-1 and the telescopic TOP. In addition, the machine gun has an ordinary open sight for self-shooting.
Small towers are armed with one DT machine gun in a ball mount. Starting from the end of 1938, a special armored ring was installed on the frontal sheet of the tower, protecting the apple of the ball machine gun from jamming during shelling.
The tank's ammunition consisted of 96 76 mm artillery rounds (48 grenades and 48 shrapnel), 226 - 45 mm (113 armor-piercing and 113 high-explosive fragmentation) and 10,080 7.62-mm rounds. If necessary, the ammunition load of the 76-mm cannon could include armor-piercing shells, which, however, had very low armor penetration.
Engine and transmission ... The T-35 tanks of all series are equipped with a four-stroke, 12-cylinder, V-shaped, carburetor aircraft engine M-17. Maximum engine power - 500 HP at 1450 rpm. (during the modernization in 1936-1937, the engine was boosted to 580 hp). The compression ratio is 5.3, the dry weight of the engine is 553 kg.
Tank T-35 passes through Red Square. May 1, 1937. The vehicle is equipped with headlights for night shooting, mounted above the 76 and 45 mm guns.
General view of the T-35 tank. Kubinka, 1947. The installation of headlights in armored casings is clearly visible. Currently, this vehicle is on display at the Military Historical Museum of Armored Weapons and Equipment.
Gasoline of grades B-70 and KB-70 was used as fuel. Fuel tanks - three: two with a capacity of 320 liters and one - 270 liters. Fuel supply - under pressure, petrol pump. A specially designed device, atmos, is intended for injecting fuel into the intake pipes when starting a cold engine.
The oil pump is a gear pump. There are two carburetors, type KD-1. Cooling of the engine - water, forced. There are two radiators installed on both sides of the engine. Right and left radiators are not interchangeable.
In the transmission compartment there is a gearbox that provides four speeds forward and one reverse, and a power take-off reducer for the fan, which draws in air to cool the radiators. The drive to the gearbox is from the engine crankshaft. At 1450 rpm of the crankshaft, the fan had 2850 rpm, and its capacity was 20 cc. m of air per second. A starter is installed on the gearbox housing to start the engine. In addition, the transmission compartment contains a multi-disc (27 discs) main dry friction clutch (steel on steel), multi-disc side clutches with floating band brakes and final drives with two pairs of cylindrical gears.
Chassis. The undercarriage of the T-35 in relation to one side consists of a guide wheel (sloth) with a screw tensioning mechanism for the caterpillar chain, a drive wheel (sprocket) with a removable gear rim, 8 support rubber rollers of small diameter, 6 upper and one front support rollers.
The idler wheel is installed in the front of the tank on four brackets screwed to the armor plates of the hull and the bulwark.
T-35 at the parade. November 7, 1935. The laying of the tarpaulin and the cable on the left side of the tank is clearly visible.
In the photo, two tanks of the 1939 release - with straight and inclined turret boxes and hatches of various shapes in the side screens and one tank of the 1936 release - with a modernized exhaust system (the silencer is removed inside the hull), an antenna on eight struts, but also with a common hatch in tower.
In the foreground is a machine with a tilted turret platform.
Suspension - blocked, two rollers in a bogie, suspension is carried out by two spiral springs.
The front carrier roller, installed between the idler wheel and the front suspension bogie, is designed to support the track when overcoming vertical obstacles.
The caterpillar consists of 135 tracks. Track width 526 mm, track step 160 mm. The length of the support surface of the caterpillar is 6300 (6480) mm.
The undercarriage of the T-35 is covered with a bulwark, consisting of six removable 10-mm armor plates. On several tanks produced at the end of 1938 and all vehicles produced in 1939, the length of the bulwark was shortened - it consisted of five sheets. In addition, hatches were cut in the shortened screens to facilitate maintenance of the undercarriage elements.
T-35 en route to Red Square on November 7, 1940. The driver's hatch, 70 mm thick, is clearly visible, as well as special mud flaps on the edges of the fenders. In addition to this parade, such mud flaps are no longer found in photographs. Note that a tank with a conical turret is equipped with a handrail antenna.
Electrical equipment. The circuit is single-wire, all consumers, with the exception of the radio station and the illumination of the sights, are 24 V. The sources of electricity are a generator and four rechargeable batteries.
Means of communication. The T-35 tanks are equipped with a 71-TK-1 radio station (since 1936 - 71-TK-Z) with a handrail antenna. On tanks produced in 1933-1934, the antenna was mounted on six pins, and since 1935 - on eight. 71-TK-Z - the most massive tank radio station of the pre-war years. It was a special receiving and transmitting, telephone and telegraph, simplex radio station with amplitude modulation, operating in the frequency range of 4-5.625 MHz, which provided a telephone communication range on the move up to 15 km and in a parking lot up to 30 km, and by telegraph in a parking lot - up to 50 km. The weight of the radio station without antenna is 80 kg.
For intercom, there is a special intercom SPU-7r for seven people.
Special equipment. The fire-fighting equipment consists of a stationary carbon tetrachloride cylinder installed in the engine compartment and started by the driver, and one portable cylinder.
The tank is equipped with TDP-3 smoke exhaust devices installed in armored boxes along the sides of the hull. Time of continuous operation of TDP-3 - 5 minutes.
Tool and spare parts packing. T-35 tanks were equipped with an external stowage of an entrenching tool (scrap, two shovels, an ax, a saw, a pick), two towing cables, two 20-ton jacks, five spare tracks, two ladders for climbing the tank, a key for adjusting the tension of the tracks and tarpaulin ... To ease the tension of the tracks, the T-35 was equipped with a special cable reel attached to the left or right fenders. The packing of the tool and spare parts was different on the tanks produced in 1933-1938 and 1938-1939.
T-35 is a heavy tank of the 1930s, produced in the USSR. It is the world's only five-turret tank of serial production (in the period from 1933 to 1939, 61 vehicles were produced). It was the most powerful tank of the Red Army in the 1930s. Until 1941, he did not participate in battles, but was used during military parades, being a visible embodiment of the military power of the Soviet Union. The T-35 participated in the battles of the initial stage of the Second World War, however, they were quickly lost, but, according to available reports, mainly due to malfunctions.
Development and production
Work on a heavy tank in the USSR began in the late 1920s, but the lack of the necessary experience in this area among domestic designers did not allow the development of a full-fledged combat vehicle. The way out of this situation was the invitation of German designers under the leadership of Edward Grotte, who arrived in the Soviet Union in 1930 and, together with young engineers, began to design a heavy tank. And although the TG tank created under Grotte's leadership did not go into series production, Soviet designers were able to gain invaluable experience, which was used in the design of domestic heavy combat vehicles.
After work was stopped on the TG KB, which included Soviet engineers working with Grotte under the leadership of N.V. Barykov, began to develop their own heavy tank. The assignment was issued by the Department of Mechanization and Motorization of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army and it said: "By 01.08.1932, develop and build a 35-ton breakthrough tank of the TG type." During the design of the T-35 tank, the designers used a year and a half experience of working on the TG tank, the test results of the German Grosstraktor near Kazan, as well as the materials of the commission for the purchase of armored vehicles in Great Britain.
The assembly of the first prototype, which received the designation T-35-1, was completed on August 20, 1932, and on September 1, the tank was shown to representatives of the UMM RKKA. The weight of the tank was 42 tons, the thickness of the armor was 30-40 millimeters, the armament included: one 76-millimeter and two 37-millimeter cannons (instead of the 76-mm gun, a dummy was installed on the T-35-1), and three machine guns. The tank's crew consisted of 10-11 people. Tank dimensions: length 9720 mm; width 3200 mm; height 3430 mm. Cruising range of 150 km (on the highway). The 500-horsepower M-17 engine allowed the tank to reach speeds of up to 28 kilometers per hour. The specific ground pressure was less than 0.7 kg / cm². The road wheels were grouped in pairs, three carts per side. The top of the main tower was rounded.
The T-35-1 during the tests that took place in the fall of 1932 showed good results and satisfied the military, however, several shortcomings in the tank's power plant were noted. In addition, the design of pneumatic control and transmission actuators was too complex and expensive for mass production. The designers were asked to finalize the project for the identified shortcomings, to strengthen the armament, and also to unify some parts (for example, the main bash) with the T-28 medium tank.
Tank production of the Bolshevik plant in February 1933 was allocated to a separate plant № 147 named after. KE Voroshilov, while the Barykov Design Bureau was reorganized into OKMO (Experimental Design Machine-Building Department), which proceeded to revise the T-35-1.
The second sample, designated T-35-2, was assembled in April 1933, and on May 1 it was attracted to participate in the parade on Uritsky Square (formerly Palace Square) in Leningrad. The tank differed from the T-35-1, not only in the main turret, but also in the installation of a different engine, the shape of the bulwark and some other small details.
At the same time, the design bureau was developing drawings for the T-35A serial tank. The T-35A tank had significant differences from the T-35-1 (2). The undercarriage was lengthened by one bogie, small machine gun turrets had a different design, medium turrets with an enlarged shape were equipped with 45 mm 20K cannons, the shape of the hull was changed, in addition, there were other less significant differences. All this became the reason for the difficulties in manufacturing, since the T-35A tank, in essence, was a completely new machine.
Serial production of the T-35 tank was entrusted to the Kharkov steam locomotive plant named after. Comintern. Work on improving the tank began in 1932. N.V. Tseits became the head of the work. 08/11/1933, the T-35 was adopted and from 1934 the tank began to enter the army.
In 1933, 2 serial samples were released, in 1934 they began to small-scale production. In different years, the following number of tanks was produced: 1933 - 2; 1934 - 10; 1935 - 7; 1936 - 15; 1937 - 10; 1938-11; 1939 - 6.
In total, from 1933 to 1939, 2 prototypes and 61 production vehicles were produced.
During production, design changes were made numerous times. For example, in 1937 the thickness of the side, lower and upper frontal plates was increased, the armor of the turrets and stern was made of 23-mm armor plates; engine power was increased to 580 hp. with.; the weight of the tank increased to 52, and then to 55 tons. The number of crew members is from 9 to 11 people. The last six vehicles, produced in 1938-1939, had conical turrets, improved hull seals and redesigned side skirts. Suspension elements have also been strengthened.
Tank design
The T-35 was a classic-style heavy tank, five-turret, with a two-tier arrangement of cannons and machine guns. The armor of the tank was adequate for the time of its creation (it should be noted that it was not inferior to most tanks of the initial period of World War II), but it was not enough to complete the breakthrough mission by the beginning of the war.
Frame
The tank had a box-shaped hull with a complex configuration. The hull was welded (partially riveted) from armor plates 10-50 millimeters thick. The thickness of the armor of the T-35 tank was mainly 20 millimeters (the bottom of the frontal part, sides and stern). The towers were made of armor with a thickness of 25-30 millimeters. On the left, in the bow of the hull, an inspection hatch of the driver was made with a viewing slot, covered with a glass block. During the march, the hatch could remain open (it was opened upwards, a screw mechanism was used to fix it). For entry / exit, the driver used a hatch in the roof of the hull, located above his workplace. Initially, the hatch was made as a two-leaf hatch, but later it was replaced by a single-leaf folding one. A late modification of the tank, which had conical towers, had an oval hatch, made by analogy with the design of the BT-7 turret hatch. The main tower had a six-sided pedestal - the so-called "hexagon". On its sides were boxes designed to accommodate devices for creating a smoke screen. Behind the aft towers, air intake shutters were made, which were covered with armored screens, as well as an access hatch to the engine. The muffler was located behind the hatch. A round hole was made in the top sheet of the stern for installing a fan. The hole was covered with a removable armored hood with shutters.
The main turret of the T-35 and the turret of the T-28 tank of the first issues were identical in design (until the introduction of the conical turrets, the main turret did not have a standard ball mount for the aft machine gun). It had a cylindrical shape and a developed feed niche. In the front part, a 76-mm gun was installed on the trunnions, and a machine gun was located to the right of it. For the convenience of the crew, the tower was equipped with a suspended floor.
The design of the middle turrets is identical to the turrets of the BT-5 tank, but without the aft niche. The shape of the towers is cylindrical, with two hatches for crew access. A 45 mm cannon and a machine gun paired with it were installed in its front.
The small machine-gun turrets had the same design as the machine-gun turrets of the T-28 tank, however, in contrast to them, they were equipped with annular eyelets used for dismantling. The cylindrical towers in the bow had a protrusion shifted to the right. Its frontal sheet housed a DT machine gun in a ball mount.
The latest production T-35 tanks had conical turrets, while the design of their main turret was identical to the T-28 turret.
Armament
The armament of the T-35 was housed in five towers located in two tiers. A 76.2 mm KT-28 cannon of the 27/32 model was installed in the central tower (it was planned that the PS-3 would be installed), which was a tank version of the regimental cannon arr. 1927 Barrel length 16.5 caliber. The muzzle velocity is 381 meters per second. A tank periscope mod. 1932 and telescopic sight mod. 1930 To the right of the cannon, a DT machine gun was mounted in an independent ball mount. A slot was made in the turret niche for the drag mount of the second DT machine gun. The slot was closed with a special armored shutter. On some tanks, a standard ball mount was used to mount the aft machine gun. Also, on the turret hatch, another diesel fuel was installed using a turret mount, used for firing at air targets.
A pair of 45 mm cannons 20K mod. 1932 was installed in small cannon towers, which were located diagonally (right-in front and left-back). The muzzle velocity of the armor-piercing projectile was 760 m / s. The cannons paired with DT machine guns were attached to the trunnions in movable armor. In the machine gun turrets located diagonally (left-front and right-back) they were used to mount DT machine guns.
Ammunition consisted of: 96 shots for a 76-mm cannon, 220 shots for a 45-mm cannon and 10 thousand rounds for machine guns.
Thus, the T-35 was armed with approximately one T-28 medium tank and two T-26 light tanks.
Engine and transmission
A V-shaped twelve-cylinder liquid-cooled M-17 carburetor engine was installed in the rear of the hull. Engine power at 1450 rpm was 500 hp. with. This allowed the tank to reach speeds of up to 30 km / h on the highway and about 12 km / h on rough terrain. Fuel tanks with a capacity of 910 liters provided a cruising range of up to 150 km on the highway. The engine and manual five-speed gearbox were connected through the main clutch. The steering mechanism was the side clutches with band brakes.
Chassis
Each side of the caterpillar propeller consisted of: eight rubberized road wheels of small diameter, six support rollers with rubber tires, idler wheels equipped with a screw tensioning mechanism, driving rear wheels with removable gear rims, fine-link track chains with an open hinge and skeletal tracks. The tracks were connected by fingers, which were locked with cotter pins. Tension rollers were installed between the front track rollers and the idler wheels, which prevent the front track branches from bending when overcoming vertical obstacles.
Suspension - blocked, two rollers in the cart; suspension with two coil springs. The undercarriage was covered with 10 mm armored screens. The tank was capable of climbing up to 36 °, a ford 1.2 m deep, vertical walls 1.2 m high, ditches 3.5 m wide. The specific ground pressure was 0.78 kg / cm². The maneuverability of the tank was adversely affected by the large value of the ratio of its length to width (> 3).
Electrical equipment
The tank was equipped with a 71-TK-1 radio station with a handrail antenna around the main tower, a telephone intercom for seven subscribers, and a smoke exhaust system. The electrical equipment was carried out according to a single-wire circuit with a mains voltage of 12V.
Crew accommodation
During production, the number of crew members of the T-35 tank ranged from 9 to 11 people, depending on the design features of a particular series. In most cases, the placement of the crew looked like this. In the upper - the main tower, which was unified with the T-28 tower, there were three crew members: the commander (also performing the functions of the gunner), the machine gunner, and the radio operator (also performing the functions of the loader). In two towers, in which 45-mm cannons were installed, there were two people - a machine gunner and a gunner, in the machine-gun towers - one shooter. The main tower was fenced off from the rest of the fighting compartment. The rear and front towers communicated with each other in pairs. Between the tracks in the front of the tank there was a control compartment, which housed the driver (had a limited view due to the fact that the branches of the tracks protruded strongly forward, often the car was driven almost blindly).
Technique developed on the basis of the T-35 tank
The T-35 tank was used as a base to create an experimental heavy SPG (self-propelled artillery unit) SU-14. Instead of towers, a spacious wheelhouse was installed on the tank, shifted to the stern. The wheelhouse housed a 203- or 152-mm gun. Both self-propelled guns were built in a single copy. They were not accepted into service. In the winter of 1941, during the battle for Moscow, these vehicles, together with the T-100-U, were consolidated into a separate heavy self-propelled guns company and sent to the front. No information about the combat use of the SU-14 has been found, but these vehicles have survived and are now exhibited in the Kubinka Museum of Armored Vehicles.
Combat use and service
The first T-35 tanks met the operational and technical requirements that were imposed on heavy tanks of the Red Army. In addition, the firepower of the T-35 surpassed the power of any tanks in the world. Five machine guns (located in five rotating turrets) and three cannons provided all-round massive fire in all directions simultaneously, which gave certain advantages when fighting enemy infantry in the depths of its defense. However, this became the reason for the complexity of the design and required an increase in the number of crew members. The traction and dynamic qualities of the tank were insufficient, which especially affected when turning. The combination of these shortcomings did not allow to fully fulfill the tasks that were assigned to the heavy tank. The large number of towers was the reason that the commander could not exercise effective fire control. Poor armor was the reason the tank was vulnerable to artillery, and its low mobility and sheer size made it an excellent target.
It was clear that a new concept for a heavy tank was needed. Experimental tanks SMK and T-100 were created within the framework of this new concept. The KV tank became the ancestor of the first successful Soviet series of heavy tanks.
Thus, the T-35 was morally obsolete by 1941, but it was not removed from service. As of 05/22/1941, the Red Army had 48 T-35 tanks, which were in service with the sixty-seventh and sixty-eighth tank regiments of the thirty-fourth tank division of the Kiev OVO. Others were at the disposal of test sites and military educational institutions. All T-35s, which were at the disposal of the 34th Panzer Division, were in the Rava-Russkaya area by the beginning of the war and were almost immediately lost. At the same time, only 7 cars were lost directly in battles, 6 were under repair at the time of the outbreak of hostilities, and the other 35 were out of order due to malfunctions, broke down during the march and were destroyed or abandoned by the crews. The last use of two T-35s was in the battle of Moscow. Interestingly, there is a large number of photographs of abandoned T-35 tanks, which were taken by the Germans - ordinary soldiers and tankers of the Panzerwaffe liked to be photographed near the "miracle of hostile technology."
In the first weeks of the Second World War, a completely serviceable and probably abandoned due to a lack of fuel, the T-35 tank was sent by the Germans to the training ground in Kummersdorf, where it was carefully studied by German engineers. At the same time, they noted that there are difficulties with transporting the vehicle - the tank did not fit into the railroad gauge, and switching the levers is incredibly difficult and exhausting. The further fate of this tank is unknown. The last case of combat use of the T-35 was the use by the Germans at the end of April 1945 of one captured T-35 during the defense of Berlin. This machine was transferred from the Zossen test site and included in the fourth company of the eleventh tank regiment. As part of the company, he participated in battles near the training ground, where he was soon shot down.
Tank T-35 as a symbol of the power of the Red Army
As already noted, until the beginning of the Second World War, the T-35 tank did not take part in hostilities. The T-35 was periodically used in military maneuvers, but the main "battlefield" was the squares of Kiev and Moscow. The T-35 became a truly visible embodiment of the strength of the Red Army. From 1933 until the Second World War, T-35 tanks took part in all parades. True, the number of tanks participating in the parade was small. For example, on November 7, 1940, only 20 cars were displayed for parades (10 in each city).
In addition, T-35s are featured on campaign posters. An interesting fact is that the image of the T-35 tank is present on the poster of 1943. At that time, not a single T-35 remained in the troops, but the "land battleship" bristling with guns continued to perform a propaganda function, personifying the might of the Red Army.
In addition, a simplified image of the T-35 tank was used in the design of the medal "For Courage".
T-35 - Soviet heavy tank of the interwar period. Developed in 1931-1932 by engineers of a specialized design bureau (KB) under the general direction of NV Barykov. It is the first heavy tank in the USSR, launched into mass production - in 1933-1939 at the Kharkov steam locomotive plant in the framework of several small batches, 59 serial machines were produced.
Five-tower tank T-35 - video
The T-35 was a five-turret heavy tank of a classic layout, with cannon and machine gun armament and bulletproof armor, and was intended to support the infantry and qualitatively reinforce rifle and tank formations when breaking through heavily fortified enemy positions. The T-35 is the only serially produced five-turret tank in the world and the most powerful tank of the Red Army in the 1930s.
Since 1933, T-35 tanks entered service with the Fifth Heavy Tank Brigade (5 ttbr) of the Red Army, since 1936, along with the rest of the ttbr, was assigned to the reserve of the High Command. Until 1941, the T-35 did not participate in any hostilities, however, they were limitedly used during maneuvers and exercises and were often used in military parades, being the visible embodiment of the military power of the USSR. T-35s took part in the hostilities of the initial stage of the Great Patriotic War as part of the 34th Panzer Division of the Kiev OVO, but they were very quickly lost, mainly due to technical malfunctions (only seven tanks were lost in battle). In the fall of 1941, four T-35 tanks took part in the battles for Kharkov as part of a separate anti-tank detachment. They were all lost in battle.
History of creation
By the end of the 1920s, the armored forces of the Red Army had at their disposal light infantry support tanks T-18 (MS-1), which were quite perfect for their time. However, heavier vehicles were mainly represented by tanks known in the USSR as "Ricardo" - British heavy tanks Mk. V, who fought in the First World War, thoroughly worn out and by the end of the 1920s, pretty outdated.
Work on the creation of its own medium and heavy tanks began in the USSR at the end of the 1920s, but the lack of the necessary experience in the field of tank building among Soviet designers did not allow the creation of full-fledged combat vehicles. In particular, the attempt by the design bureau of the Arms and Machine Gun Association to develop a heavy breakthrough tank ended in nothing. This 50-ton combat vehicle was supposed to carry armament from two 76-mm guns and five machine guns. Only a wooden model of the tank was built, after which, at the beginning of 1932, all work on this project was stopped, although the tank managed to get the T-30 index. In a similar way, the work of the "prison" design bureau of the Avtotankodiesel Department of the Economic Department of the OGPU, which was working on a 75-ton breakthrough tank, ended. Actually, already at the initial stage of designing these machines, their futility was evident - the projects had a whole heap of shortcomings that excluded the possibility of building these machines.
In March 1930, a mixed Soviet-German group led by Edward Grotte began to design a medium tank. And although the TG medium tank created under Grotte's leadership also turned out to be unsuitable for a number of reasons and did not go into production, Soviet employees gained some experience in the course of this work, which allowed them to start designing heavy combat vehicles. After the termination of work on the TG, a specialized design bureau was created from the composition of Soviet engineers who worked with Grotte, whose task was to develop its own heavy tank. The design bureau was headed by N.V. Barykov, who had previously worked as Grotte's deputy. The design bureau also included designers M.P. Siegel, B.A.Andrykhevych, Ya.M. Gakkel, Ya.V. Obukhov and others.
The assignment from the Directorate of Mechanization and Motorization (UMM) of the Red Army said: "By August 1, 1932, develop and build a new 35-ton breakthrough tank of the TG type." Due to the estimated weight, the promising tank received the designation T-35. When designing this vehicle, the designers relied on a year and a half of experience working on the TG, as well as the results of tests of German tanks "Grosstraktor" at the proving ground near Kazan and the materials of the commission of S. A. Ginzburg for the purchase of promising armored vehicles in Great Britain.
The work proceeded at a fast pace. Already on February 28, 1932, the deputy chief of the UMM of the Red Army G. G. Bokis reported to M. N. Tukhachevsky, at that time - the chief of armaments of the Red Army: “Work on the T-35 (former TG) is proceeding at an accelerated pace, and the deadline for the completion of the work is not planned ... "The assembly of the first prototype, designated T-35-1, was completed on August 20, 1932, and on September 1, the tank was shown to representatives of the UMM RKKA, led by Bokis, who made a strong impression.
T-35-1
The prototype had significant differences from the UMM task, first of all - in terms of mass, which was 42 tons versus 35 tons in the task. Numerous weapons were located in five independent towers, which visually resembled the British five-turret heavy tank A1E1 "Independent" built in 1929. Traditionally, the opinion is widespread that the T-35 was created under the influence of the Independent, but there is no evidence in archival documents that the Ginzburg commission was interested in this machine during its stay in England. It is possible that Soviet designers came to the five-tower scheme on their own, regardless of their British colleagues. Armament included one 76-mm PS-3 gun (instead of it there was a model on the T-35-1), two 37-mm guns, as well as three DT machine guns. Numerous weapons have resulted in solid metric dimensions (9720 × 3200 × 3430 mm). The armor of the tank was 30-40 mm thick. The crew consisted of 10-11 people. M-17 engine with a capacity of 500 hp. with. allowed the tank to reach a maximum speed of 28 km / h, and the cruising range on the highway was 150 km. Specific ground pressure did not exceed 0.7 kg / cm², which in theory promised quite acceptable permeability. The road wheels were grouped in pairs with three carts per side.
On tests in the fall of 1932, the T-35-1 showed good results and, in principle, satisfied the military, but a number of shortcomings in the machine's power plant were noted. In addition, the design of the transmission and pneumatic control actuators was too complex and expensive for mass production of the tank. The designers were asked to finalize the project in the indicated directions, to strengthen the armament and to unify a number of parts (in particular, the main turrets) with the T-28 medium tank.
In February 1933, the tank production of the Bolshevik plant was separated into a separate plant № 174 named after. KE Voroshilov, and Barykov's design bureau was reorganized into the Experimental and Design Machine-Building Department (OKMO), which took up the revision of the T-35-1.
T-35-2
The second sample, designated T-35-2, was assembled in April 1933, and on May 1, he already participated in the parade on Uritsky Square (formerly Palace Square) in Leningrad. The tank differed from the T-35-1, in addition to the main turret, by the installation of a different engine, a modified shape of the bulwark and a number of other minor differences.
T-35A
In parallel, the same design bureau was developing drawings of the T-35A tank, which was supposed for mass production. The T-35A was significantly different from both the T-35-2 and the T-35-1. It had a chassis extended by one bogie, small machine-gun turrets of a different design, enlarged medium turrets with 45-mm 20K cannons, a modified hull shape, etc. All this caused a number of difficulties in manufacturing, since the T-35A was essentially , a brand new car.
Mass production
Serial production of the T-35 was entrusted to the Kharkov steam locomotive plant named after the Comintern. Work on improving the tank began in 1932 under the leadership of N.V. Tseits, on August 11, 1933, the T-35 was put into service and in 1934 began to enter the army.
During the production process, changes were made to the design of the tank. In 1937, the thickness of the upper and lower frontal and side plates, stern and turret armor was increased from 20 to 23 mm; engine power increased to 580 liters. with., the mass of the tank increased to 52 tons, and then to 55 tons. The number of crew members ranged from 11 to 9 people. The last batch of ten cars, produced in 1938-1939, had conical towers, a modified design of the side screens, and improved hull seals. Suspension elements were also strengthened.
Tank design
The T-35 was a heavy tank of a classic layout, five-turret, with a two-tier arrangement of cannon and machine-gun armament and armor, which provided protection against bullets and shell fragments, as well as in a number of frontal projection details - and from small-caliber anti-tank artillery shells.
Frame
The hull of the tank is box-shaped, complex configuration, welded and partially riveted, made of armor plates 10-50 mm thick. Basically, the thickness of the T-35 armor was 20 mm (the bottom of the frontal part of the hull, side, stern). Armor protection of the towers - 25-30 mm. In the bow on the left there was a driver's inspection hatch with a viewing slot covered with a glass block. On the march, the hatch could open upwards, while being fixed with a screw mechanism. To enter and exit the tank, the driver had a hatch in the roof of the hull, above his seat. Initially, the hatch was two-leaf, then it was replaced by a folding one-leaf. A late modification of the tank with conical turrets had an oval driver's hatch, similar in design to the BT-7 turret hatch with a conical turret. Regardless of the modification, the hatch had one unpleasant feature - the driver could open it for exit only if the left front machine gun turret was deployed with the weapon "left to side". Thus, if the machine-gun turret was damaged, the driver could no longer independently leave the vehicle. The main tower had a pedestal in the shape of an irregular hexagon - the so-called "hexagon", on the sides of which there were boxes for smoke exhaust devices. Behind the aft towers there were air intake louvers, covered with armored screens, and an engine access hatch. A muffler was located behind the hatch. In the upper aft sheet of the tank there was a round hole for installing a fan, which was covered with a removable armored hood with louvers.
The main turret is identical in design to the main turret of the early T-28 tank (until the introduction of the conical turrets, the main turret did not have a standard ball mount for the aft machine gun). The tower is cylindrical in shape, with a developed aft niche. In front of the towers, on trunnions, there was a 76-mm gun, to the right of which a machine gun was located in an independent ball mount. For the convenience of the crew, the tower was equipped with a suspended floor.
The middle turrets are identical in design to the turrets of the light tank BT-5, but without the stern niche. The turrets are cylindrical, with two roof hatches for crew access. A 45 mm cannon and a coaxial machine gun were installed in the front of the turret.
Small machine-gun turrets are identical in design to the machine-gun turrets of the T-28 medium tank, but, unlike the latter, they are equipped with annular eyelets for dismantling. The towers are cylindrical in shape, with a protrusion in the bow, shifted to the right. A DT machine gun was located in the frontal leaf of the turret in a ball mount.
The T-35 tanks of the last series had conical turrets, while the main turret was identical to the conical turret of the T-28 tank.
Armament
Main artillery
The main artillery armament of the T-35 was a 76.2-mm tank gun of the 1927/32 model (KT-28) ("Kirovskaya tank") of the 1927/32 model. Specially developed in 1932 for the T-28 tank, the gun used a modified swinging part of the 76-mm regimental cannon of the 1927 model with the following changes:
The recoil length was shortened from 1000 to 500 mm;
- the amount of liquid in the recuperator has been increased from 3.6 to 4.8 liters;
- reinforced skids by thickening their walls from 5 to 8 mm;
- introduced a new lifting mechanism, a foot trigger and new sighting devices that meet the working conditions of a tank crew.
The KT-28 cannon had a barrel length of 16.5 calibers. The initial speed of a 7-kilogram high-explosive fragmentation projectile was 262 m / s, a 6.5-kilogram shrapnel - 381 m / s.
The gun was installed in the frontal part of the main tower in a mask on trunnions. The horizontal guidance angle of the gun was 360 °, horizontal guidance was carried out by turning the turret, while, in addition to the manual drive, there was also an electromechanical three-speed drive. The maximum elevation angle of the gun was + 25 °, declination - -5 ° (according to other sources - + 23 ° and -7 °, respectively). The lifting mechanism of the gun is of the sector type, manual.
The aiming of the gun at the target was carried out using a panoramic periscopic optical sight PT-1 mod. 1932 and telescopic TOP arr. 1930 PT-1 had a magnification of 2.5 × and a field of view of 26 °. The aiming reticle was designed for firing at a range of up to 3.6 km with armor-piercing shells, 2.7 km with fragmentation shells, and up to 1.6 km with a coaxial machine gun. For shooting at night and in low light conditions, the sight was supplied with illumination of scales and crosshairs of the sight. The TOP had an increase of 2.5 ×, a field of view of 15 °, and an aiming reticle designed for firing at a range of up to 6.4, 3 and 1 km, respectively.
Transportable ammunition - 96 shots, of which 48 high-explosive grenades and 48 shrapnel. If necessary, armor-piercing shells could also be included in the ammunition, which, however, had very low armor penetration characteristics.
The latter circumstance "jarred" the military for a long time. The KT-28 cannon was intended to combat enemy firing points and unarmored targets, and fully satisfied the tasks assigned to it. The power of her armor-piercing projectile, due to its low initial velocity, was very low. However, it must be said that the KT-28 cannon as the main armament was considered by the military and the tank designers as a temporary measure - later it was planned to equip the tanks with the 76.2-mm PS-3 universal tank gun. However, for a number of reasons, it was not possible to finalize it to an acceptable level and launch it into production.
Additional artillery weapons
Additional artillery armament consisted of two 45-mm rifled semi-automatic guns mod. 1932 (20K), subsequently replaced by its modified version of arr. 1932/34 The gun had a barrel with a free tube, fastened with a casing, 46 calibers long (2070 mm), a vertical wedge gate with a semiautomatic mechanical type on the gun mod. 1932 and inertial type on arr. 1932/34 The recoil devices consisted of a hydraulic recoil brake and a spring recoil mechanism, the normal recoil length was 275 mm for a gun mod. 1932 and 245 mm - for arr. 1932/34 Semi-automatic weapons mod. 1932/34 it worked only when firing armor-piercing shells, while when firing fragmentation shells, due to the shorter recoil length, it worked like ¼ automation, providing only automatic shutter closing when a cartridge was inserted into it, while opening the shutter and extracting the sleeve was carried out manually. The practical rate of fire of the gun was 7-12 rounds per minute. The guns provided an initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile of 760 m / s.
The guns were housed in a coaxial machine gun mount, on trunnions in the frontal parts of small gun turrets. Guidance in the horizontal plane was carried out by turning the turret using a screw rotary mechanism. The mechanism had two gears, the rotation speed of the turret on which for one revolution of the gunner's flywheel was 2 ° or 4 °. The horizontal guidance angle of the bow turret gun was 191 °, the aft one - 184 °. Guidance in the vertical plane, with maximum angles from −8 to + 23 °, was carried out using a sector mechanism. Guidance of paired installations was carried out using a panoramic periscopic optical sight PT-1 mod. 1932 and telescopic TOP arr. 1930 g.
The ammunition load was 226 rounds for 2 guns, of which 113 were armor-piercing and 113 were high-explosive fragmentation.
Secondary armament
The auxiliary armament of the T-35 consisted of six 7.62 mm DT machine guns. Two machine guns were located in the main tower: one - in the frontal part of the main tower in an autonomous ball mount, to the right of the cannon, the other could be installed in the aft niche on a drag mount and fire through a vertical embrasure covered by an armored cover. Two more were installed one at a time in small cannon towers in a twin with a 45-mm gun. One machine gun was installed in the frontal parts of the machine-gun turrets in ball mountings. On the tanks of the last series, the P-40 anti-aircraft turret with a DT machine gun equipped with a collimator sight for firing at air targets was also installed on the gunner's hatch (thus, the total number of tank machine guns was brought to seven). The ammunition load was 10,080 rounds in 160 drum magazines, 63 rounds each.
Engine and transmission
All T-35 tanks were equipped with a four-stroke 12-cylinder V-shaped carburetor aircraft engine M-17, licensed BMW VI developing a maximum power of 400 hp. with. at 1450 rpm During the modernization in 1936-1937, the engine was boosted to 580 liters. with. The compression ratio is variable, different for the right and left cylinder blocks. The difference is due to the articulated connecting rod mechanism (main and trailed connecting rods); dry weight of the engine - 553 kg. Gasoline of grades B-70 and KB-70 was used as fuel. Fuel supply - under pressure, using a petrol pump. For injecting fuel into the intake pipes during starting a cold engine, there was a specially designed device - atmos. The oil pump is gear-type. There are two carburetors, type KD-1. Cooling of the engine is forced water cooling, with the help of two radiators installed on both sides of the engine, while the right and left radiators are not interchangeable.
Fuel tanks with a total capacity of 910 liters (two with a capacity of 320 liters and one with 270 liters) provided the tank with a cruising range of up to 150 km on the highway.
The gearbox, located in the transmission compartment, provided four speeds forward and one reverse. A starter was installed on the gearbox housing to start the engine. In addition, the transmission compartment housed a multi-disc (27 discs) main dry friction clutch (steel on steel), multi-disc side clutches with floating band brakes and final drives with two pairs of cylindrical gears. There was also a power take-off gearbox for the fan, which sucks in air to cool the radiators. Gear drive - from the engine crankshaft; at 1450 rpm of the crankshaft, the fan speed was 2850 rpm, which gave a productivity of about 20 m³ of air per second.
Chassis
The caterpillar propeller consisted of eight (on each side) rubberized road rollers of small diameter, six carrier rollers with rubber tires, idler wheels with a screw tensioning mechanism for the tracks, driving rear wheels with removable gear rims and fine-link track chains with skeletal tracks and an open hinge. The tracks were connected by fingers, locking with cotter pins. Tension rollers were installed between the idler wheels and the front track rollers, which prevented the front track branches from bending when overcoming vertical obstacles.
Suspension - blocked, two rollers per cart; cushioning - two coil springs. The undercarriage is covered with 10 mm armor screens. The tank overcame rises with a steepness of up to 36 °, ditches up to 3.5 m wide, vertical walls 1.2 m high, ford 1.2 m deep. The specific pressure on the ground was 0.78 kg / cm². At the same time, the large value of the ratio of the length of the tank to its width (more than 3) adversely affected its maneuverability.
Electrical equipment
On the first machines, imported electrical equipment with a voltage of 12 V was installed, but then, since 1934, they switched to domestic equipment, with a voltage of 24 V. The power of the generator is 1000 W. To illuminate the road at night, the tank had two folding headlights equipped with armored casings (similar to those used on the T-26 and T-28). There was a vibrator-type “ZET” beep for sound signals.
Surveillance and communication equipment
Surveillance equipment on the T-35 consisted of simple viewing slots, closed on the inside by a replaceable triplex glass block, which provided protection from bullets, shell fragments and lead splashes when firing with armor-piercing bullets. One viewing slot was located along the sides of the main tower, along the outer sides of the small cannon and machine-gun turrets and in the driver's hatch cover. In addition, the tank commander and the commanders of the small cannon turrets had panoramic periscope observation devices for the PTC, protected by armored cannons.
For external communication, all T-35 tanks were equipped with radio stations mounted in the aft niche of the main tower on the left (along the vehicle). Early release tanks were equipped with a 71-TK radio station, which provided communication over a distance of 18-20 km. Since 1935, a 71-TK-2 radio station with a communication range increased to 40-60 km was installed on the tank, but due to unreliability (the radio station was constantly overheating), it was replaced by the more advanced 71-TK-3 since 1936, which has become the most widespread tank radio station of the pre-war years. 71-TK-3 is a transmit-receive, telephone and telegraph, simplex radio station with amplitude modulation, operating in the frequency range 4-5.625 MHz and providing a communication range in the telephone mode on the move up to 15 km and at a stop up to 30 km, and in the telegraph in the parking lot - up to 50 km. The weight of the radio station without antenna is 80 kg.
On machines manufactured before 1935 inclusive, there were problems with the shielding of electrical equipment, as a result of which there was strong radio interference. Later, thanks to the blocking of the electrical circuit with the help of capacitors, it was possible to get rid of most of the interference. Most of the T-35s were equipped with a handrail antenna, only on late-production tanks with conical towers were whip antennas installed. For intercom, the T-35 was equipped with a tank intercom (tankophone) TPU-6 for six crew members. The machines of the first series were equipped with a Safar-type device.
Soviet heavy tank T-35, stuck in a roadside ditch and abandoned on June 28-29, 1941 on the Ptichye - Verba highway, on the northeastern outskirts of the village of Verba, Dubnovsky district, Rivne region, during a battle with the German 16th Panzer Division. A vehicle with serial number 0200-0, produced in 1938 from the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. The Germans put the inscription on the side of the tank: "Bitte alles aussteigen"
Other equipment
The T-35 had installations for creating a smoke screen. Also, a night vision device could be installed on the tank.
Crew accommodation
During the production of the T-35 tank, the number of crew members ranged from 11 to 9 people, depending on the design of a particular series. Most often, the placement of the crew looked like this. In the main - upper - turret, unified with the turret of the T-28 tank, there were three crew members: the tank commander (also known as the gunner), the machine gunner, and behind - the radio operator (who is also the loader). Two turrets with 45-mm cannons accommodate two crew members - a gunner and a machine gunner, and machine-gun turrets - one shooter each. The main tower was fenced off from the rest of the fighting compartment by a partition. The front and rear towers communicated in pairs. In the front part of the hull, between the tracks, there was a control compartment - there was a driver-mechanic (due to the strongly protruding branches of the tracks, he had a very limited view, and often the car had to be driven almost blindly).
German officers wearing the armor of a Soviet T-35 tank, abandoned on Lvovskaya street in Grodek city (Lviv region, Lvovskaya street - a section of the Przemysl-Lvov road within the Grodek city limits). This vehicle is from the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. Tank of release in 1939 with conical turrets and a straight turret platform, 7 pieces were produced (numbers from 744-61 to 744-67 inclusive). This tank has the serial number 744-62. Only 3 cars were produced with a direct turret platform. The tank was left near the checkpoint of the military unit on the southern side of Lvovskaya Street (according to the testimony of local residents, after the war, a military unit was also located there). The car "was damaged, the cutting of the side strips was torn off and the side clutch was burned in the Grodek region. All shells were shot, the car was rendered unusable. The armament was removed."
Upgrades and modifications
In 1936-1937, a significant modernization of the power plant and transmission units of the T-35 tank was made. The engine was boosted to reach 580 hp. Changes also affected the gearbox, side clutches, engine support systems and electrical equipment. The muffler was removed inside the body, and only the exhaust pipes were brought out. The body seals have also been improved to prevent water from entering the vehicle when wading through water obstacles. In addition, in order to improve the cross-country ability of the tank, the design of the bulwark was slightly changed, and the thickness of the front inclined armor plate of the hull and the driver's hatch was increased to 50 mm. The modernization made it possible to somewhat increase the reliability of heavy tanks and bring the guaranteed mileage of the T-35A of the 1937 release to 2000 km (earlier vehicles had a guaranteed mileage of no more than 1500 km).
In 1938, ABTU discussed the possibility of replacing the KT-28 gun with the 76.2 mm L-10 cannon, which was installed on the new T-28. However, in the end, it was decided to abandon the replacement, since the KT-28 fully coped with the tasks assigned to it when accompanying the attacking infantry (destroying unarmored targets, infantry and enemy firing points), and to combat armored vehicles there were two 45-mm 20K cannons ...
During the production and operation of the tank, attempts were made more than once to somehow mitigate the specific drawback of the T-35, which negatively affects its combat capabilities - the complexity of commanding a tank in battle. The commander was practically unable to control the fire of the five towers located in two tiers. Insufficient visibility did not allow him to control the situation on the battlefield, as a result of which the tower commanders were forced to independently find and destroy targets. After a series of investigations, a very interesting solution was found for this problem - in the fall of 1935, the Main Artillery Directorate (GAU), commissioned by ABTU, began to study the possibilities of installing a centralized turret guidance system on the T-35 tank, approximately similar to that used in the fleet. As a result, the students of the artillery academy developed a tank artillery fire control device (TPUAO), which was experimentally installed on one of the tanks. In combination with TPUAO, a 9-foot marine rangefinder "Barr & Stroud" was also installed, a batch of which was purchased in Great Britain before the revolution. A special command and observation turret and an armored cover for a rangefinder appeared on the main turret of the tank.
During 1936, comprehensive tests of the machine were carried out, which gave generally positive results - fire control really became more convenient and effective. However, a specific problem was also revealed - a person with a special education was required to service TPUAO. In addition, the reliability of the device itself was not up to par. Finally, the bulky and inconvenient rangefinder greatly spoiled the impression of the car. As a result, work on installing a centralized guidance system on the T-35 was suspended. In 1938, they returned to the development for some time again, but soon they were closed completely - in a report submitted to ABTU in 1938, it was indicated that such a conversion of T-35 tanks was inexpedient due to their small number, the high cost of the device itself and of dubious combat value of both the device and the tank in the conditions of modern mobile warfare.
A German soldier is photographed near a Soviet T-35 tank that was knocked out and abandoned in the Grigorovka area. The tank remained standing on the current Telman street of the city of Kharkov between houses 14 and 16. In 1941 it was one of the outskirts of Kharkov - Grigorovka. It is known that in the summer of 1941 there were five T-35s at the factory # 183 in Kharkov, awaiting a major overhaul. Minor repairs were made on four vehicles, after which the tanks were sent to the anti-tank detachment of the Kharkiv garrison. The vehicle was knocked out during a battle with a unit of the 57th Infantry Division on October 22, 1941, but managed to leave the battlefield on its own. Captured on 10.24.41 by the 5th company of the 2nd battalion of the 179th infantry regiment of the 57th infantry division. Tank with cylindrical turrets, machine gun turrets without reinforcement, early silencer, one hatch in the main turret. Judging by these signs and the traces of the six antenna mounts (early version), the tank was built in 1934. The serial number of the tank is No. 148-30. The tank has already been partially disassembled, having removed the sections of the side screens and the middle turrets from it.
T-35A model 1939
The last 10 T-35 tanks, produced in 1938-1939, had significant differences from the machines of the previous series, the most characteristic of which was the conical shape of the towers. Work in the direction of increasing the tank's security began at the KhPZ at the end of 1937, based on the experience of the battles of the Spanish Civil War, in the light of which the security of the T-35 no longer corresponded to a heavy tank. In order to avoid an exorbitant increase in the mass of the tank while increasing its security, the engineers of the plant began to develop conical towers for the tank, giving the armor plates the maximum possible tilt angles.
By mid-1938, the designs had been developed. Although by this time the question of the expediency of the further production of five-turret heavy tanks had already been raised in the UMM of the Red Army, there was no official decision to stop their production, and preparations for the production of a series of vehicles began in 1938. In 1938, the first tank with conical turrets (No. 234-34) was produced, and the last vehicle (No. 744-67) of the series (which became at the same time the last T-35 produced) left the stocks in June 1939.
The main turret of the T-35 of the 1939 model was unified with the conical main turret of the latest T-28 medium tank. Some of the main turrets (on five tanks # 234-34, 234-35, 234-42, 744-61, 744-62) also received a standard ball mount of the machine gun in the stern niche. Medium and small towers were completely independent structures, although in general, except for the conical shape, they did not undergo significant changes.
In addition to the conical turrets, the new tanks received a shortened side screen with an open drive wheel (as on the T-35A tank No. 234-35 produced in 1938) and a modified form of access hatches to the supporting rollers, the number of which was reduced to 5. In addition, the thickness of the frontal the armor plate was increased to 70 mm, and the frontal parts of the turrets - to 30 mm. The last three tanks also received a turret box with beveled side armor plates and rectangular hatches on the side screens.
The first 3 vehicles of the series (No. 234-34, 234-35, 234-42) received a handrail antenna along the perimeter of the main tower, but on the next T-35 of the 1939 model, it was abandoned in favor of a pin antenna.
The number of tanks with conical turrets was 10.
Vehicles based on the T-35
SU-14 is an experimental heavy self-propelled artillery unit (ACS) based on the T-35. Developed in 1933 by the design bureau under the leadership of N.V. Barykov. Instead of towers, a spacious wheelhouse displaced to the stern was installed on the tank, which housed a 203-mm howitzer of the 1931 model (B-4), the engine compartment moved to the bow of the hull. The crew consisted of 7 people. In 1934, a prototype installation was built. In 1940, shielding of the ACS and a number of minor upgrades were carried out, after which the ACS received the designation SU-14-2.
SU-14-1 - experimental heavy self-propelled artillery unit (ACS), development of the SU-14 design. In 1936, a prototype installation was built. Technically close to SU-14. Based on the results of firing, the 203-mm howitzer was replaced with a 152.4-mm high-power cannon of the 1935 model (Br-2). In 1940, like the SU-14, it was shielded, after which it received the name SU-14-Br2.
The T-112 was an experimental medium tank, which was a T-28 with a suspension borrowed from the T-35 heavy tank. Developed by the KB of the Kirovsky plant under the leadership of J. Kotin in 1938. Didn't get out of the blueprint stage.
Service and combat use
Staff and organizational structure
In the initial period of production, the T-35 met the operational and technical requirements for heavy tanks of the Red Army. In addition, the T-35 was the most powerful tank in the world in terms of its firepower. Three cannons and five machine guns, located in five rotating turrets, provided massive all-round fire simultaneously in all directions, which gave (in theory) certain advantages to combat infantry in the depths of enemy defenses. However, this required an increase in the crew, and led to the complication of the design. Traction and dynamic qualities of the car were clearly insufficient, especially when cornering. All this did not allow to fully fulfill the tasks facing the heavy tank. The presence of a large number of towers led to the fact that the commander could not effectively control the fire. Poor armor made the tank vulnerable to artillery, and the huge size and low mobility made the tank an excellent target.
It was clear that a new heavy tank concept was required. As part of this new concept, experimental tanks SMK, T-100 and KV were created. The latter became the ancestor of the first successful series of heavy tanks in the USSR.
The Great Patriotic War
By 1941, the T-35s were morally obsolete by strict Soviet standards, but they were not removed from service. In 1940, there were 48 T-35 tanks in the Red Army, which were in service with the 67th and 68th tank regiments of the 34th tank division of the Kiev OVO. The rest were at the disposal of military educational institutions and in repair (2 tanks - VAMM, 4 - 2nd Saratov BTU, 5 - under repair at plant number 183). In addition, the T-35-2 was, as an exhibit, in the BT Museum in Kubinka, and the T-35-1 was decommissioned in 1936. All the T-35s at the disposal of the 34th Panzer Division were in the Rava-Russkaya area by the beginning of the war and were lost in the first days of the fighting. On June 21, 1941, an alarm was announced in the regiments of the 34th Panzer Division stationed in Grudek-Jagiellonsky, south-west of Lvov. The vehicles were refueled and taken to the training ground for loading ammunition. During the fighting, all T-35s of the 8th mechanized corps were lost, most of them for technical reasons: 8 were left awaiting mid-life and overhaul, 26 were blown up by crews due to accidents (4 - of the engine, 8 - of the main and side clutches, 10 - Checkpoint and 4 - final drive). In addition, two tanks got stuck in a swamp, and two fell into the river. 6 tanks were killed in the battle, one more disappeared along with the crew. The last use of T-35 tanks (2 vehicles) was noted during the Battle of Moscow. Interestingly, many photographs of abandoned T-35s, taken by the Germans, have survived - Panzerwaffe tankers and ordinary soldiers loved to be photographed against the background of the "miracle of hostile technology."
Soviet heavy tank T-35 and light tanks BT-7, knocked out near the Verba-Ptichye highway. In the foreground is a T-35 heavy tank. This tank has serial number 148-39, manufactured in 1934. Behind the T-35 tank there are two damaged BT-7 tanks. Vehicles from the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. A convoy of Sd.Kfz.8 heavy semi-tracked tractors with German 211-mm mortars of the 1918 model (21 cm Mrs 18) of the OKH reserve is moving along the highway.
Trophy cars
In the first weeks of the war, one T-35, completely serviceable and abandoned, apparently due to a lack of fuel, was sent by the German command to a tank training ground in Kummersdorf, where it was carefully studied by German engineers. At the same time, the Germans noted that problems arose with the transportation of the vehicle - the tank did not fit into the railway gauge, and switching the levers was incredibly difficult and exhausting. The further fate of this tank is not known for sure, although it is possible that the last case of the T-35's combat use, dating back to the end of April 1945, is associated with this instance. During the defense of Berlin, one captured T-35 from the Zossen test site was included in the 4th company of the 11th Wehrmacht tank regiment. As part of the company, the tank participated in battles in the area of the training ground, where it was soon knocked out.
T-35 as a symbol of the military power of the Red Army
As already mentioned, until the beginning of World War II, T-35s did not take part in hostilities. From time to time, T-35s were used in military maneuvers, but the main "battlefield" of these vehicles was the squares of Moscow and Kiev, along which these tanks passed as part of all parades from 1933 until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War. Tanks T-35 really had a very formidable and impressive appearance, as a result of which they became the visible embodiment of the power of the Red Army. True, the number of tanks that took part in the parade was rather small. For example, on November 7, 1940, only 20 cars were taken to parades (10 each in Moscow and Kiev).
In addition, T-35 tanks are depicted on a number of propaganda posters dedicated to the Red Army. It is interesting that the image of the T-35 is even present on one of the posters of 1943. At this time, not a single T-35 remained in the troops for a long time, but the "land battleship" bristling with guns continued to fulfill its propaganda function, still personifying the might of the Red Army. Finally, a simplified image of the T-35 was used in the decoration of the medal "For Courage".
German soldiers inspect the Soviet heavy tank T-35, the village of Verba, which was knocked out on the highway - the village of Ptichye (Ukraine). Two white stripes on the turret are a tactical sign of the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. The vehicle was produced in 1937, serial number 988-16. Extract from the write-off certificate: “No. 988-16 - hit and burned during the attack in the village. Bird on June 30 ".
Machine appraisal
From the moment of its creation until the Great Patriotic War, the T-35 tank surpassed all world tanks in terms of firepower. A combination of three guns and five to seven machine guns firing in all directions made it possible to create a real sea of fire around the vehicle. But at the same time, the multi-turret layout, the apogee of which was the T-35, made the tank unsuitable for real combat operations.
The commander was physically unable to control the fire of the five towers, and the tank acted ineffectively in battle. The bulky design of the fighting compartment entailed an increase in the tank's dimensions, making it an excellent target and at the same time depriving any reserve for enhancing the armor. But even with bulletproof armor, the "land battleship" weighed fifty tons, forcing the engine to work at the limit of its capabilities, and even at this limit, the M-17T could not accelerate the car to an acceptable speed: the speed of movement of a tank in battle usually did not exceed 8-10 km / h. Combined with its huge size and weak armor, this further increased the tank's vulnerability.
However, the Wehrmacht units practically did not have a chance to experience the firepower of the T-35 - instead of German tanks, the main enemy of the "thirty-fifths" were their own technical defects and general unreliability - the result of all the above shortcomings. The long march that the 34th Panzer Division had to make was fatal for the T-35.
The justification can be the fact that never in the entire time of their existence T-35 tanks have not been used for their intended purpose - to support the infantry in breaking through fortified enemy lines. Perhaps, in such an environment, the T-35 would have been more effective, but in the summer of 1941 the 34th division was too far from any assaults.
The graves of German soldiers in front of the Soviet heavy T-35 tank, knocked out on the highway from the village of Verba to the village of Ptichye (Ukraine). Two white stripes on the turret are a tactical sign of the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. The vehicle was produced in 1937, serial number 988-16. Extract from the write-off certificate: “No. 988-16 - hit and burned during the attack in the village. Bird on June 30 ".
Comparison with foreign counterparts
Although the concept of multi-turret heavy tanks as a whole was initially a dead end, the designers of many countries that had developed armored forces were fond of it for many years. However, the result was approximately the same for everyone: the design and small-scale production of steel "dinosaurs" and, in some cases, their unsuccessful use in battle.
The French heavy tank Char 2C can be considered the ancestor of the "land dreadnoughts". Its development began during the First World War, in 1917. Moreover, already in 1919, it was supposed to release 300 units, however, due to the end of hostilities, production was sharply curtailed. As a result, only 10 tanks of the 2C type were manufactured until 1923. The armament consisted of a 75-mm gun and several machine guns and was housed in two turrets (a gun turret in front and a machine gun turret in the back) and side embrasures. Being a fairly progressive vehicle by the standards of 1917, by the early thirties the tank was completely outdated both morally and technically. Here and the unfortunate location of the two towers in one tier, which excluded circular fire, and the huge size of the machine, and low cross-country ability and reliability. They did not have time to take part in the hostilities of World War II - France surrendered when the tanks were still moving to the front by rail, where they were destroyed by German aircraft a few hours later.
It is believed that the acquaintance of Soviet engineers with the British project of the A1E1 "Independent" heavy tank had a significant impact on the development of the T-35 tank. This machine was created in 1926 with an eye on the experience of the French 2C, but thanks to a more rational layout, it avoided a number of the latter's shortcomings. The armament was located in five towers. Placing all machine guns in four similar turrets, grouped around the main circular fire tower with a 47 mm cannon, significantly increased the flexibility of fire and made it possible to aim at least two machine guns and a cannon at one target. The use of a similar arrangement of weapons in the design of the T-35 reinforces the above version. But one way or another, the A1E1 "Independent" was not accepted into service and did not go into production, which retains the laurels of the world's only serial five-tower tank for the T-35.
German soldiers are photographed on the armor of a Soviet T-35 heavy tank, abandoned in the village of Bely Kamen, Zolochevsky District, Lviv Region. According to the act for the lost T-35s of the 34th Panzer Division, tank # 183-3 “Engine accident. The tank was left by the crew in Belo-Kamenka 30.6. Weapons and ammunition were removed from the vehicle and buried. " According to its characteristic features, the car was produced in 1936. A tank from the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front.
As for Germany, in the mid-1930s, Rheinmetall-Borzig and Krupp built a small batch of NbFz three-turret heavy tanks. Two twin guns of 75 and 37 mm caliber were installed in the central turret of circular rotation. The second tier of weapons was formed by two small, diagonally spaced towers with coaxial machine guns. The car turned out to be compact and rather light (only 35 tons), which significantly increased its mobility - the speed reached 35 km / h. However, the armor of the tank could not withstand not only the anti-tank artillery of that time, but even anti-tank rifles.
British and German designs influenced the Japanese Type 95 heavy tank, built in 1932. The vehicle had quite powerful armament: a 70-mm cannon in the main turret and a 37-mm cannon in a smaller turret mounted on the front left. A characteristic feature of the "Type 95" was a machine-gun turret aft behind the power compartment. However, the tank never left the prototype stage.
However, all these machines were not successful and once again proved the dead end of the multi-turret layout. The only relatively successful example of the use of such a layout scheme can be considered the Soviet three-turret medium tank T-28.
Soviet heavy tank T-35, issue of 1937, from the 67th tank regiment of the 34th tank division of the 8th mechanized corps of the South-Western Front, knocked out on June 30, 1941 on the route from the village of Verba to the village of Ptichye. The car is pushed to the side of the road so as not to interfere with the passage. The serial number of the tank is No. 988-16. Extract from the write-off certificate: “No. 988-16 - hit and burned during the attack in the village. Bird on June 30 ".
Extant copies
As of 2016, the existence of the only surviving copy of the T-35 tank is known:
Russia - Armored Museum in Kubinka. The exposition of the museum presents T-35 # 0197-7, which since 1938 was in the Kazan Tank School and did not take part in the hostilities of the Great Patriotic War. In July 2014, the tank took part in the military-historical festival "Battlefield-2014", held in Dubosekovo.
In addition, a museum replica of the tank was created:
Russia - Museum of military equipment "Military Glory of the Urals". Recreated according to original drawings and photographs at the site for the repair and restoration of military equipment and vintage cars of JSC "Uralelectromed" with the assistance of the capital's restorers and on January 19, 2016 was placed in the museum's exposition.
The performance characteristics of the T-35
Crew, pers .: 11
Developer: OKMO
Manufacturer: KhPZ
Years of production: 1932-1939
Years of operation: 1932-1941
Layout: five-tower, classic
The number of issued, pcs .: 2 prototypes; 59 serial
Weight T-35
Dimensions T-35
Body length, mm: 9720
- housing width, mm: 3200
- Height, mm: 3430
- Clearance, mm: 530
Armor T-35
Armor type: rolled steel homogeneous
- housing forehead, mm / city .: 30
- housing forehead (top), mm / city .: 50
- housing forehead (middle), mm / city .: 20
- housing forehead (bottom), mm / city .: 20
- body board, mm / city .: 20
- body board (top), mm / city .: 20
- hull board (bottom), mm / city .: 20 + 10 (bulwark)
- housing feed, mm / city .: 20
- Bottom, mm: 10-20
- body roof, mm: 10
- tower forehead, mm / city .: 15
- side of the tower, mm / city .: 20
- tower feed, mm / city .: 20
- tower roof, mm: 10-15
Armament T-35
Caliber and brand of the gun: 1 × 76.2 mm KT-28; 2 × 45 mm 20K
- Cannon type: rifled
- Barrel length, calibers: 16.5 for KT-28; 46 for 20K
- gun ammunition: 96 for KT-28; 226 for 20K
- Sights: PT-1 mod. 1932 TOP arr. 1930 g.
- Machine guns: 6-7 × 7.62 mm DT, 10,080 rounds
T-35 engine
Engine type: V-shaped 12-cylinder four-stroke liquid-cooled carburetor M-17L
- Engine power, l. from .: 500 at 1445 rpm.
T-35 speed
Speed on the highway, km / h: 28.9
- Speed over rough terrain, kmh: 14
Cruising on the highway, km: 100
- Cruising on rough terrain, km: 80-90
- Specific power, l. s./t .: 10
- Suspension type: interlocked in pairs, on horizontal springs
- Specific ground pressure, kg / cm²: 0.78
- Overcome rise, city .: 20
- Overcoming wall, m: 1.2
- Passable moat, m: 3.5
- Overcome ford, m: 1
Photo T-35
Soviet heavy tank T-35, abandoned on the Lvov-Busk highway, near the village of Zhidatici (now the village of Gamalievka) in the Pustomyty district of the Lviv region. A vehicle from the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front.
Soviet heavy tank T-35, abandoned on the Zolochev-Ternopil highway, passing the village of Pluhiv. Tank with serial number 744-63 from the 68th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. The tank has airborne identification marks (triangles). According to the Act on the losses of the 68th Tank Regiment: “T-35 tank # 744-63 - Stuck pistons in the engine. The tank was abandoned on the way from Zlochev to Tarnopol on 1 July. The firing mechanism and machine guns were removed from the vehicle and handed over to the transport vehicles of the division. " Tank with conical turrets. There is no machine gun in the aft niche of the main turret. The walls of the turret platform are vertical. A car with similar features was produced in a single copy. This tank is known from a photograph taken from a military parade on May 1, 1941 on Red Square (the same bend is clearly visible in the front of the right fenders).
German soldiers examine a Soviet T-35 heavy tank, abandoned and blown up by a crew on the eastern outskirts of the city of Kharkov near an experimental agricultural station, not far from the place where Stalin Avenue (now Moskovsky Prospekt) crossed into the Chuguevskoe highway. The tank moved east towards Chuguev. This is one of four T-35s that took part in the defense of the city in October 1941. The tank shows the applied tactical insignia of the German 100 Light Infantry Division (the letter "S" and the image of a Christmas tree). A tank with cylindrical turrets, on the main turret there are eight mounts for installing a handrail antenna and one hatch, machine-gun turrets without additional armor, an early-type silencer. According to its characteristic features, the car was produced in 1936. Tank number 220-28. It is known that in the summer of 1941 at the factory # 183 in Kharkov, waiting for a major overhaul, there were five T-35s. Minor repairs were made on four vehicles, after which the tanks were sent to the anti-tank detachment of the Kharkiv garrison.
Heavy tank T-35, abandoned due to a malfunction on the Sasov-Zolochev road, 1.5 km from the village of Elikhovichi in the direction of Sasov (Zolochevsky district of the Lviv region). This vehicle is from the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. According to the act for the lost T-35 of the 34th Panzer Division, tank No. 200-5: “On 3.7.41, the Avar suffered. cor. per. per. the brake band was burned, rendered unusable, weapons removed in the Zlochev region. " Tank with cylindrical turrets, antenna on 8 supports, machine-gun turrets with reinforced armor, two hatches in the main turret, late silencer, double-leaf driver hatch, early transmission access hatches. Probable years of release - 1936-1938.
Soviet heavy tank T-35, abandoned on Lvovskaya street in Grodek (Lvovskaya street - a section of the Przemysl-Lvov road within Grodek). The tank was thrown to the side of the road in front of a two-story brick building with a star - the house of the command staff. The car moved east. This vehicle is from the 67th Panzer Regiment of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Southwestern Front. A tank with cylindrical turrets, an antenna on eight supports, a late-type main turret (two hatches, two vertical slats), machine-gun turrets without reinforcement, a late-type silencer, a double-leaf driver's hatch. Probable years of release - 1937 or early 1938.
Modern battle tanks of Russia and the world photos, videos, pictures watch online. This article gives an idea of the modern tank fleet. It is based on the principle of classification used in the most authoritative reference book to date, but in a slightly modified and improved form. And if the latter in its original form can still be found in the armies of a number of countries, others have already become a museum exhibit. And only for 10 years! The authors considered it unfair to follow in the footsteps of the Jane’s reference book and not consider this combat vehicle (very interesting in design and fiercely discussed at the time), which formed the basis of the tank fleet in the last quarter of the 20th century.
Films about tanks where there is still no alternative to this type of weapons for the ground forces. The tank was and probably will remain a modern weapon for a long time due to the ability to combine such seemingly contradictory qualities as high mobility, powerful weapons and reliable crew protection. These unique qualities of tanks continue to be constantly improved, and the experience and technologies accumulated over the decades predetermine new frontiers of combat properties and achievements of the military-technical level. In the eternal confrontation "projectile - armor", as practice shows, protection from a projectile is more and more improved, acquiring new qualities: activity, multilayer, self-defense. At the same time, the projectile becomes more accurate and powerful.
Russian tanks are specific in that they can destroy the enemy from a safe distance for themselves, have the ability to make quick maneuvers on off-road, contaminated terrain, can "walk" through the territory occupied by the enemy, capture a decisive bridgehead, panic in the rear and suppress the enemy with fire and caterpillars ... The war of 1939-1945 became the most difficult test for all mankind, since almost all countries of the world were involved in it. It was the Battle of the Titans, the most unique period debated by theorists in the early 1930s, during which tanks were used in large numbers by almost all warring parties. At this time, there was a "test for lice" and a deep reform of the first theories of the use of tank troops. And it is the Soviet tank forces that are most affected by all of this.
Tanks in battle that became a symbol of the past war, the backbone of the Soviet armored forces? Who created them and under what conditions? How could the USSR, having lost most of its European territories and having difficulty gaining tanks for the defense of Moscow, could already in 1943 release powerful tank formations onto the battlefields? This book, which tells about the development of Soviet tanks "in the days of testing ", from 1937 to the beginning of 1943. When writing the book, materials from Russian archives and private collections of tank builders were used. There was a period in our history that was deposited in my memory with a kind of oppressive feeling. It began with the return of our first military advisers from Spain, and stopped only at the beginning of 1943, - said L. Gorlitsky, the former general designer of the ACS, - there was some kind of pre-storm condition.
Tanks of the Second World War, it was M. Koshkin, almost clandestinely (but, of course, with the support of "the wisest of the wise leader of all nations"), was able to create that tank that, a few years later, would shock German tank generals. And moreover, he did not just create it, the designer managed to prove to these foolish military men that it was his T-34 that they needed, and not another wheeled-caterpillar "motorway. The author is in slightly different positions that he formed after meeting the pre-war Therefore, working on this segment of the history of the Soviet tank, the author will inevitably contradict something "generally accepted." during a frantic race to equip new tank formations of the Red Army, transfer industry to wartime rails and evacuate.
Tanks Wikipedia the author wants to express his special gratitude for the help in the selection and processing of materials to M. Kolomiets, and also to thank A. Solyankin, I. Zheltov and M. Pavlov, - the authors of the reference publication "Domestic armored vehicles. XX century. 1905 - 1941" since this book helped to understand the fate of some projects, unclear before. I would also like to recall with gratitude those conversations with Lev Izraelevich Gorlitsky, the former Chief Designer of UZTM, which helped to take a fresh look at the entire history of the Soviet tank during the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. For some reason, it is customary in our country to talk about 1937-1938. only from the point of view of repression, but few people remember that it was during this period that those tanks were born that became legends of the wartime ... "From the memoirs of LI Gorlinky.
Soviet tanks a detailed assessment of them at that time sounded from many lips. Many old people recalled that it was precisely from the events in Spain that it became clear to everyone that the war was getting closer and closer to the threshold and it was with Hitler that they would have to fight. In 1937, massive purges and repressions began in the USSR, and against the background of these difficult events, the Soviet tank began to transform from a "mechanized cavalry" (in which one of its combat qualities was emphasized by reducing others) into a balanced combat vehicle with powerful weapons at the same time. sufficient to suppress most targets, good maneuverability and mobility with armor protection, capable of maintaining its combat effectiveness when fired by the most massive anti-tank weapons of a potential enemy.
Large tanks were recommended to be added to the composition in addition only special tanks - amphibious, chemical. The brigade now had 4 separate battalions of 54 tanks each and was reinforced by moving from three-tank platoons to five-tank platoons. In addition, D. Pavlov substantiated the refusal to form three more mechanized corps in 1938 to the four existing mechanized corps, believing that these formations are immobile and difficult to control, and most importantly, they require a different organization of rear services. The tactical and technical requirements for promising tanks, as expected, were adjusted. In particular, in a letter dated December 23 to the head of the design bureau of plant No. 185 named after CM. Kirov's new chief demanded to strengthen the booking of new tanks so that at a distance of 600-800 meters (effective range).
The latest tanks in the world when designing new tanks, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of increasing the level of armor protection during modernization by at least one step ... "This problem could be solved in two ways. resistance. ” It was this path (the use of especially hardened armor) that was chosen at that moment to create new types of tanks.
Tanks of the USSR at the dawn of tank production, armor was most widely used, the properties of which were identical in all directions. Such armor was called homogeneous (homogeneous), and from the very beginning of armoring, the craftsmen strove to create just such armor, because homogeneity ensured stability of characteristics and simplified processing. However, at the end of the 19th century, it was noticed that when the surface of the armor plate (to a depth of several tenths to several millimeters) was saturated with carbon and silicon, its surface strength increased sharply, while the rest of the plate remained viscous. So, heterogeneous (heterogeneous) armor came into use.
Military tanks, the use of heterogeneous armor was very important, since an increase in the hardness of the entire thickness of the armor plate led to a decrease in its elasticity and (as a consequence) to an increase in fragility. Thus, the most durable armor, all other things being equal, turned out to be very fragile and often pricked even from the explosions of high-explosive fragmentation shells. Therefore, at the dawn of armor production, in the manufacture of homogeneous sheets, the task of the metallurgist was to achieve the maximum possible hardness of the armor, but at the same time not to lose its elasticity. Surface-hardened by saturation with carbon and silicon, the armor was called cemented (cemented) and was considered at that time a panacea for many ills. But carburizing is a complex, harmful process (for example, treating a hot plate with a jet of lighting gas) and relatively expensive, and therefore its development in a series required high costs and an increase in production culture.
Tank of the war years, even in operation, these hulls were less successful than homogeneous ones, since for no apparent reason cracks formed in them (mainly in loaded seams), and it was very difficult to patch holes in cemented slabs during repairs. But it was still expected that the tank, protected by 15-20 mm cemented armor, would be equivalent in level of protection to the same, but covered with 22-30 mm sheets, without a significant increase in mass.
Also, by the mid-1930s, tank building had learned to harden the surface of relatively thin armor plates by uneven hardening, known since the end of the 19th century in shipbuilding as the "Krupp method". Surface hardening led to a significant increase in the hardness of the front side of the sheet, leaving the main thickness of the armor tough.
How tanks shoot video up to half the thickness of the slab, which was, of course, worse than carburizing, since despite the fact that the hardness of the surface layer was higher than during carburizing, the elasticity of the hull sheets was significantly reduced. So the "Krupp method" in tank building made it possible to increase the strength of armor even slightly more than cementation. But the hardening technology that was used for thick sea armor was no longer suitable for the relatively thin armor of tanks. Before the war, this method was almost never used in our serial tank building due to technological difficulties and a relatively high cost.
The most advanced use of tanks for tanks was the 45-mm tank gun model 1932/34. (20K), and before the event in Spain it was believed that its power was quite enough to perform most tank tasks. But the battles in Spain showed that the 45-mm gun can only satisfy the task of fighting enemy tanks, since even the shelling of manpower in the mountains and forests turned out to be ineffective, and it was only possible to disable a dug-out enemy firing point only in case of a direct hit ... Shooting at shelters and bunkers was ineffective due to the small high-explosive effect of a projectile weighing only about two kg.
Types of tanks photo so that even one hit of a projectile will reliably disable an anti-tank gun or machine gun; and thirdly, to increase the penetrating effect of a tank gun on the armor of a potential enemy, since on the example of French tanks (already having an armor thickness of about 40-42 mm) it became clear that the armor protection of foreign combat vehicles tends to be significantly enhanced. For this, there was the right way - increasing the caliber of tank guns and simultaneously increasing the length of their barrel, since a long gun of a larger caliber fires heavier projectiles with a higher initial velocity over a greater distance without correcting the aiming.
The best tanks in the world had a large-caliber cannon, also had a large breech, significantly more weight and an increased recoil response. And this required an increase in the mass of the entire tank as a whole. In addition, the placement of large rounds in a closed tank volume led to a decrease in the ammunition load.
The situation was aggravated by the fact that at the beginning of 1938 it suddenly turned out that there was simply no one to give an order for the design of a new, more powerful tank gun. P. Syachintov and his entire design group were repressed, as well as the core of the "Bolshevik" design bureau under the leadership of G. Magdesiev. Only the group of S. Makhanov remained free, who from the beginning of 1935 tried to bring his new 76.2-mm semi-automatic single gun L-10, and the collective of plant No. 8 slowly brought the "forty-five".
Photos of tanks with names The number of developments is large, but in mass production in the period 1933-1937. not a single one was adopted ... "In fact, none of the five air-cooled tank diesel engines, which were worked on in 1933-1937 in the engine department of plant No. 185, was brought to a series. the upper levels of the transition in tank building exclusively to diesel engines, this process was restrained by a number of factors. Of course, diesel had significant economy. It consumed less fuel per unit of power per hour. high.
New tanks video, even the most advanced of them, the MT-5 tank engine, required a reorganization of engine production for serial production, which was expressed in the construction of new workshops, the supply of advanced foreign equipment (there were no machines of the required accuracy yet), financial investments and staff strengthening. It was planned that in 1939 this diesel with a capacity of 180 hp. will go to production tanks and artillery tractors, but due to investigative work to find out the causes of tank engine accidents, which lasted from April to November 1938, these plans were not fulfilled. Also, the development of a slightly increased in height six-cylinder gasoline engine No. 745 with a capacity of 130-150 hp was started.
The brands of tanks are specific indicators that are quite satisfactory for tank builders. Tests of tanks were carried out according to a new method, specially developed at the insistence of the new head of ABTU D. Pavlov in relation to military service in wartime. The tests were based on a 3-4-day run (at least 10-12 hours of daily non-stop traffic) with a one-day break for technical inspection and restoration work. Moreover, repairs were allowed to be carried out only by the forces of field workshops without the involvement of factory specialists. This was followed by a "platform" with obstacles, "swimming" in the water with an additional load, simulating an infantry landing, after which the tank was sent for inspection.
Super tanks online, after work on improvement, seemed to remove all claims from the tanks. And the general course of the tests confirmed the fundamental correctness of the main design changes - an increase in displacement by 450-600 kg, the use of the GAZ-M1 engine, as well as the transmission and suspension of the Komsomolets. But during the tests in the tanks, numerous minor defects appeared again. Chief designer N. Astrov was suspended from work and was in custody and investigation for several months. In addition, the tank received a new turret with improved protection. The modified layout made it possible to place on the tank a larger ammunition load for a machine gun and two small fire extinguishers (before, there were no fire extinguishers on small tanks of the Red Army).
US tanks as part of modernization work, on one production tank in 1938-1939. The torsion bar suspension developed by V. Kulikov, designer of the design bureau of plant No. 185, has been tested. It was distinguished by the design of a composite short coaxial torsion bar (long mono-torsion bars could not be used coaxially). However, such a short torsion bar showed insufficiently good results in tests, and therefore the torsion bar suspension did not immediately make its way in the course of further work. Overcoming obstacles: ascents of at least 40 degrees, vertical wall 0.7 m, overlapped ditch 2-2.5 m. "
YouTube about tanks work on the manufacture of prototypes of the D-180 and D-200 engines for reconnaissance tanks is not being conducted, jeopardizing the production of prototypes. "Justifying his choice, N. Astrov said that the wheeled-tracked non-floating reconnaissance aircraft (factory designation 101 or 10-1), as well as the version of the amphibious tank (factory designation 102 or 10-2), are a compromise solution, since it is not possible to fully meet the requirements of ABTU.Variant 101 was a tank weighing 7.5 tons with a hull by hull type, but with vertical side plates of cemented armor with a thickness of 10-13 mm, since: "Inclined sides, causing a serious weighting of the suspension and hull, require significant (up to 300 mm) broadening of the hull, not to mention the complication of the tank.
Video reviews of tanks in which the power unit of the tank was planned to be based on the 250-horsepower MG-31F aircraft engine, which was mastered by the industry for agricultural aircraft and gyroplanes. First grade gasoline was placed in the tank under the floor of the fighting compartment and in additional onboard gas tanks. The armament fully corresponded to the task and consisted of coaxial machine guns DK of 12.7 mm caliber and DT (in the second version of the project even ShKAS is listed) of 7.62 mm caliber. The combat weight of the tank with a torsion bar suspension was 5.2 tons, with a spring suspension - 5.26 tons. The tests were carried out from July 9 to August 21 according to the method approved in 1938, with special attention paid to tanks.
The most famous Soviet tank, which in many ways ensured our country victory in the Great Patriotic War, was the legendary T-34. Nevertheless, the medal "For Courage" does not depict him at all, but practically not used in battles, but a formidable outwardly five-tower T-35 tank.
Fortress on wheels
Paradoxically, but the T-35, which Soviet artists liked to depict on campaign materials during the Great Patriotic War, by 1941 two years ago, it was discontinued. In total, 61 vehicles of this model of heavy tanks were produced in the USSR. Its main difference from other combat vehicles of the USSR was the presence of five combat towers at once. During military parades of the 1930s, indeed, the T-35 looked like an indestructible bulk. At the same time, it should be noted that if the Germans unsuccessfully tried to put their multi-turret tanks into mass production only at the end of the war, then in the USSR they were mass-produced starting in 1933. At the same time, no matter how surprising it sounds, the most powerful tank of the Soviet Union in the period from 1933 to 1939, when it was discontinued, did not participate in hostilities. He could only be seen on Red Square during parades or during exercises. Some samples of this combat vehicle were sent to the front only after the start of the Great Patriotic War. But on the battlefields, they have proven themselves extremely poorly. Heavy, clumsy, often breaking T-35s quickly got out of order or were destroyed by the enemy. At the same time, the fewer samples of this tank remained in the troops, the more the number of its images on propaganda posters, calling to fight to the last drop of blood, grew. On them, the T-35 was supposed to personify the power of the Soviet army, although in reality it never appeared.
The birth of a legend
However, the blame for the almost complete inability to combat in the conditions of the Great Patriotic War lies not with the crew of the tank or its designers, but with the rapid evolution of military equipment, during which the T-35 quickly became obsolete. The appearance of this combat vehicle was due to the work in the USSR in 1930 by the German tank designer Edward Grotte. A talented inventor with a group of assistants worked in the Soviet Union on the creation of the first domestic heavy tank. However, shortly before the completion of the work, the designer was politely sent home, and his work was continued by Soviet military engineers. As a result, by 1932, the T-35-1 was born, weighing 42 tons. The tank's armor reached 40 mm, and the crew consisted of 11 people. Five combat towers, two cannons and three machine guns were installed on the combat vehicle. On trials, the tank completely satisfied the military, but the designer decided to modify his brainchild a little more. First, by 1933, the T-35-2 tank appeared, and then the T-35A, which went into the series. The latest version of the tank had an improved undercarriage and significantly modified machine-gun turrets from the original version. In 1934, the heavy tank entered the army. At the time of its appearance, the five-turret tank T-35 was the most formidable tank in the world in terms of firepower. The five rotating turrets of the combat vehicle were armed with machine guns and could wage a circular battle. In turn, the three cannons also placed on the towers could create significant gaps in the enemy's manpower and equipment. The main disadvantages of the tank were thin armor and low movement speed due to the huge mass of the tank. Nevertheless, by 1941, over the past seven years since its creation, the tank was morally obsolete, although it still gave the impression of a serious combat vehicle.
Combat use
In the early days of the war, the Red Army had 48 T-35 tanks. Basically, they were on the balance sheet of the 67th and 68th tank regiments, as well as the 34th division of the Kiev military district. As soon as the war began, the command of the Red Army tried to use tanks that had never fought before. Unsuccessfully. Thirty-five of them broke down on their way to the front, and only seven died during the fighting. True, in fairness it should be noted that two T-35 tanks showed themselves well during the battle of Moscow. But most of the T-35s were abandoned by their crews due to technical malfunctions. At the same time, one interesting fact can be noted. When the Germans captured the first captured T-35, it was immediately sent to Berlin for study. The tank was in the capital of the Third Reich until May 1945, when the repaired tank was used by the Germans during the defense of the city, but was quickly knocked out by Soviet troops. This episode was the last combat use of the T-35 in history. Nevertheless, not taking place as a combat vehicle, this tank played a significant propaganda role during campaigning during the Great Patriotic War.
The first production T-35 vehicles entered the 5th Heavy Tank Regiment of the Reserve of the High Command (RGK) in Kharkov.
On December 12, 1935, this regiment was deployed into the 5th separate heavy tank brigade. Organizationally, it consisted of three line tank battalions, one training battalion, a combat support battalion and other units. By order of the People's Commissar of Defense of May 21
In 1936, the brigade was assigned to the Reserve of the High Command. It was intended to strengthen rifle and tank formations when breaking through especially strong and well-fortified enemy positions. In accordance with this appointment, tankers were trained according to a specially developed ABTU program. Crew training was carried out at special courses, which were led by engineers from the KhPZ. In addition, in 1936, a training tank battalion T-35 was created in Ryazan at the 3rd heavy tank brigade. "About the T-35 combat crew" as of 1936 and the duties of its members:
1) the commander (senior lieutenant) - in the tower number 1 (main), to the right of the gun, fires from the diesel fuel, loads the gun with the help of the radio operator, commands the tank;
2) the assistant commander (lieutenant) - in the tower number 2 (front cannon), fires from a 45-mm gun, is the deputy commander, is responsible for the condition of all tank armament, out of combat supervises the training of gunners and machine gunners;
3) junior tank technician (military technician of the 2nd rank) - in the control department, controls the movement of the tank, is responsible for its technical condition, out of combat supervises the training of driver and mechanic mechanics;
4) a driver-mechanic (foreman) - in tower No. 3 (front machine-gun tower) near a machine gun, fires, takes care of the engine, is a deputy tank driver, is responsible for the state of armament of tower No. 3;
5) the commander of artillery tower # 1 (junior platoon commander) - moves to the left of the gun, fires, is responsible for the state of the tower's armament;
6) the commander of the tower No. 2 (separate commander) - to the right of the gun, performs the functions of a loader, in case of the departure of the assistant tank commander, he fires from the 45-mm cannon, is responsible for the state of the armament of the tower No. 2;
7) the commander of tower No. 4, rear cannon, (separated commander) - at the 45-mm gun, fires from it, is the deputy commander of tower No. 1, is responsible for the state of armament of tower No. 4;
8) junior driver-mechanic (separated commander) - in tower No. 4, to the right of the gun, performs the functions of a loader, provides care for the chassis of the vehicle;
9) the commander of the machine-gun tower (separate commander) - in the tower No. 5 (rear machine-gun tower), fires from the machine gun, is responsible for the state of the armament of the tower No. 5;
10) senior radio telegraph operator (detached commander) - in tower number 1, maintains the radio station, helps to load the gun in battle;
11) senior driver-mechanic (junior platoon commander) - is outside the tank, takes care of the transmission and chassis, is the deputy foreman - driver;
12) minder (junior technician) - outside the tank provides constant maintenance of the engine, its cleaning and lubrication.
The operation of the machines of the first issues (1933-1936) in the troops showed their very weak traction characteristics. So, according to the report of the commanders of the T-35, "the tank overcame the rise only at 17 degrees. It could not get out of the big puddle." The military noted the low reliability of its units, caused difficulties and a large mass of combat vehicles. In this regard, the following document, addressed to the command staff of the heavy tank brigade of the RGK, can be considered very characteristic.
“I propose to accept the following rules of movement on bridges for T-35 tanks to the unswerving leadership:
1) on single-span bridges - only one tank at a time;
2) there can be several tanks on multi-span bridges, but not less than 50 m from each other.
The movement on the bridge in all cases must be carried out so that the axis of the tank strictly coincides with the axis of the bridge. Speed on the bridge - no more than 15 km / h. "
In addition to the 5th heavy tank brigade, T-35 tanks entered various military educational institutions. So, according to data on January 1, 1938, the Red Army had 41 T-35 tanks: 27 - in the already mentioned tank brigade; 1 - at the Kazan armored training courses for the improvement of technical personnel (KBTKUTS); 2 - at the NIBT training ground in Kubinka; 1 - in the 3rd heavy tank brigade in Ryazan; 1 - at the Military Academy of Motorization and Mechanization (VAMM) in Moscow; 1 - in the Oryol armored school; 1 - on LBTKUKS (T-35-1); 1 - at the Leningrad School of Tank Technicians; 1 - at Institute No. 20 (with a centralized guidance system) and 5 - at KhPZ.
Already by this time, the combat value of these machines had become dubious. The only place where they showed themselves to the full were military parades. From 1933 until the beginning of the Great Patriotic War
The T-35 wars took part in all parades in Moscow and Kiev. True, the number of "participants" was small: for example, on November 7, 1940, only 20 cars were taken to parades (10 each in Moscow and Kiev).
Until the start of World War II, T-35 tanks did not participate in any hostilities. Mentions in Western and some domestic publications about the use of these machines in the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940 do not correspond to reality.
On March 31, 1939, the 5th heavy tank brigade was transferred to the KVO and transferred to the city of Zhitomir. It soon changed its number and became the 14th Heavy Tank Brigade.
Less than six months later, the "service career" of the T-35 was almost over. On June 27, 1940, a meeting "On the system of armored vehicles of the Red Army" was held in Moscow, at which the issue of promising types of tanks and the removal of old models from service was considered. Opinions were divided regarding the T-35. Some believed that they needed to be converted into self-propelled artillery installations of high power (such as SU-14), others suggested that they be transferred to the VAMM tank regiment and used for parades. But in connection with the beginning of the reorganization of the tank forces of the Red Army and the formation of mechanized corps, the T-35 was decided "to remain in service until complete wear and tear, having studied the issue of their shielding up to 50-70 mm."
As a result, almost all the vehicles ended up in the tank regiments of the 34th Panzer Division of the 8th Mechanized Corps of the Kiev Special Military District (KOBO).
In general, according to updated data, as of June 1, 1941, the Red Army had 59 T-35 tanks in the following units and educational institutions: the 8th mechanized corps (KOBO) - 51 vehicles (of which 5 required medium and 4 major overhauls, of the last four tanks 3 were sent to factory # 183); Military Academy of Mechanization and Motorization (MVO) - 2 vehicles; 2nd Saratov Tank School and Kazan Armored Advanced Training Courses (PRVO) - 6, of which 2 required major overhaul and were sent to factory # 183. As you can see from the above data, in June 1941, 5 T-35s were being repaired in Kharkov.
The combat career of the T-35 was very short. On June 21, 1941, at 24.00, an alarm was announced in the tank regiments of the 34th Panzer Division, stationed south-west of Lvov. The vehicles were refueled and taken to the training ground, where the loading of the ammunition began.
In the course of subsequent battles, all T-35s of the 8th Mechanized Corps were lost.
So, in the "Journal of Military Operations of the 34th Panzer Division" there are the following entries about the T-35: "On June 22, 1941, the division set out with 7 KV, 38 T-35, 238 T-26 and 25 BT ...
On June 24, at the time of the division's performance from the Yavorov-Grudek-Jagiellonsky forest, 17 T-35s had fallen behind ...
And in the "Acts for the lost T-35 vehicles
34 Panzer Division ", you can trace the fate of each tank:
"67th Tank Regiment:
No. 0200-4, 196-94, 148-50 - abandoned during the mid-life repairs in Sadovaya Vishna. Armament and optics were removed by order of the deputy. regiment commander Major Shorin, blown up during the retreat on June 24;
№220-29, 213-35 - stuck in a swamp, left while retreating;
No. 0200-8 - a crankshaft is broken in the area of Sadovaya Cherry. Abandoned on June 26, weapons and optics removed;
№220-27, 537-80 - in the area of Grudek-Jagiellonian, a breakdown of the final drive and gearbox. On June 24, they abandoned, machine guns and ammunition were removed and buried;
No. 988-17, 183-16 - left in the Lviv region awaiting major overhaul. June 29, weaponry and optics removed;
No. 339-30, 744-61 - transmission and final drive failure, No. 0200-9 - hit by the enemy and burned down. Abandoned during the departure on June 30, weapons and optics removed from all three vehicles;
No. 183-3 - engine failure. Abandoned by the crew in the area of Belo-Kamenka on June 30. Armament and ammunition were removed and buried;
No. 288-74 - failure of the main and side clutches. Set on fire by the crew while retreating on 1 July in the Tarnopol region;
No. 482-2 - breakdown of the gearbox. Left in the forest before reaching the village of Sasovo on July 1, machine guns removed, optics buried;
No. 744-63 - sticking pistons in the engine. Left on the way from Zlochev to Tarnopol on July 1, machine guns removed;
No. 988-15 - breakdown of the gearbox. Left in Zlochev on July 1, weapons, optics and ammunition were handed over to the military unit's warehouse in the town of Zlochev;
No. 715-61 - breakdown of the gearbox. Left 15 km beyond Lviv, machine guns removed;
 |
| T-35, abandoned by the crew east of Lvov. |
No. 234-35 - overturned into the river upwards with caterpillars in the village. Ivankovtsy, vehicle commander Ogiev;
# 744-62 - the main clutch burned out. Left in Grudek. June 26, all shells have been shot, vehicle commander Taranenko;
No. 744-64, 196-95, 330-75 - remained in Grudek in a state of disrepair, as they were in average repair;
№196-7 - the main clutch is burnt, there are no batteries. Left in with. D. July 9, vehicle commander Lieutenant Taranenko;
# 197-1 - the main clutch burned out. Left 20 km east of Grudek. "
Vasily Vikentievich Sazonov, fought in the tank forces from June 22, 1941 to June 1942. He met the war on the T-35, and this is what he told about this tank:
“I met the war with the turret of the front artillery turret of the T-35 tank. This tank has no luck in our books. Everyone scolds him for what the light is on. Yes, of course, there is something to scold him for, but not the same way.
First, for some reason they talk about the stupidity of the multi-turret layout, about the fact that it is difficult for the commander, they say, to control all the numerous armaments of the tank in battle. Of course it's hard. Is it easy for a company commander to control each tank in a company? And without radio stations, this is generally impossible. And in addition to each turret of each tank something. Is it stupid? And what is this to demand from the commander of the T-35? But the T-35 is a tank company with only two tracks. Is it unusual for you to hear that? And before the war we were taught at the school that a medium tank is a light platoon, and a heavy one is even a company, but with one engine and one pair of tracks. Therefore, according to the ranks of the commander of the light "pomkomvzvod", the middle - "commander of the platoon", and the heavy - "commander". Here is the commander (and in our country he was generally in the rank of captain - with a "tie" in his buttonhole) and gave us, the commanders of the towers, tasks like those that the platoon commander gives to the commanders of tanks. And we ourselves, the turrets, decided on whom and how to shoot first. Or the TPU commander when he could prompt. And I, by the way, was a lieutenant then, although I was only in charge of the tower. He commanded, as if a BT or T-26 tank, and he himself often decided by whom and when to open fire in my firing sector.
For example, I had task number one. If an enemy tank suddenly appeared ahead in the direction or in the sector of shelling of my tower, I had to knock it out first. The same, if I saw an anti-tank gun - fire on it. As for the infantry or some kind of bunker, I should have first reported to the commander and received instructions from him. If the commander was unavailable (the TPU was broken), I had to aim at the enemy infantry of the machine-gunner-mechanic in tower number 3, or fire a machine gun myself, and open fire at the embrasure of the bunker from my cannon, but only with fragmentation. Only as a last resort I could act on the infantry with my "forty-five". This was not welcomed.
Their second delusion is that they write that the T-35 had weak armor. Also nonsense in vegetable oil. As far as I remember, none of our "Ryabyshevskaya" that on the T-35 reached the battle, did not talk about the pierced frontal armor. In general, only Sashok Mordvin talked about the pierced armor. And that was pierced somewhere under the tower with some kind of blank, and not "thirty-seven".
Anyway. The Lord is with them, the experts, that the tanks do not know. Listen to what I remember how the first days of the war developed in our country.
On the night of June 22, the tanks of our 34th division were alerted from Sadovaya Vishnya. That's for sure. But not all came out, several cars remained under repair. As far as I remember, we took away the cartridges carried by the spare parts and went to Przemysl. Before reaching about halfway, they turned us to the East, and on the 23rd they again threw us to the West, and there - Lvov. The first two days went slowly. They rushed from side to side and everyone was waiting for someone - either stragglers and lost, then broken and stood for repairs. But on the 25th, an order came out: "Do not wait for the stragglers," since we did not have time to concentrate anywhere on time. Well, they immediately went faster, and began to lose their tanks. Everyone joked that there would be nothing to fight. We'll reach the German, and the tanks are all under repair. And so it happened.
On the first day, as they said, about twenty tanks were abandoned on the roads. The repairmen had to fix them, but this was a good wish. They didn't really have anything, not even tractors. And how much will you start on a "lorry" with a box of wrenches and brazing with copper? I doubt. The next day, not a single repaired tank caught up with us, and we threw a dozen more. Well, by the end of the third day, there was nothing left of the “five-tower” buildings.
Our last fight was stupid. First, they fired from the main towers across the river at some farm beyond Sitno, and then attacked it with the remnants of the infantry. We took part in that attack with about fifty Wan Pekhotskys, three thirty-fifths and four BTs, or twenty-sixths, I don’t remember anymore. The infantry, of course, fell behind as soon as the German bullets began to sing. I am completely silent about my artillery. That one, without shells and tractors, was stuck with us the day before yesterday. True, we did not see German tanks there at all, only rumors about them were circulating - there were different types of "Reinmetals", about "Krupps", each more terrible than the other. But in battle, I have not yet seen German tanks, and there seemed to be not many of their infantry there.
We went to the attack on the farm, and on our left a German cannon opened fire. I turned the tower over there - I looked, I looked, I don't see anything!
Up the tower - boom! And you can't lean out of the tower. Bullets are sprinkled like peas, and it’s impossible in battle. Your main tower will rip the skin off your head for a jester, or maybe it will tear your head off. So I look at myself through the periscope - I see nothing, only German trenches. And for us again: “Boom! Boom!!" German shells hammer in 5 seconds each, and not only on the left side, but also come to my tower. I saw a flash. Well, he aimed there, opened fire - he sent ten shells. It seems to have hit, but maybe not. They are hammering at us again. We did not reach the farm about fifty meters - the caterpillar was cut off for us. What to do? Leave the tank? It seems to be useless. We shoot in all directions from everything that is! And again I see nothing. Shooting into the white light while the shells are there. Ours have already crawled away. And it became even worse for us - they are hammering from all sides. The engine has stalled, the cannon is jammed, the main tower does not turn. Then German soldiers appeared. They run to the tank with some boxes, and I can only shoot at them with a revolver.
Realized that it was time to skedaddle. Crawled out of the tower, jumped from a height onto the road. It's good that their machine gun fell silent. My loader leaped after me, twisted his leg. I pulled him into a roadside hole with me. The minder followed us. They began to crawl away, then our tank gasped. It was the Germans who just tore him up. And we crawled into a ditch to the river.
Then three more came to us - the crew of the T-26. With them we went back to Sitno, but only a dozen of our own were found there - the remnants of different crews. Four of the "thirty-fifths" and all from different cars. One was jerked, like us, one was blown up by a mine, one burned down by itself. With them, we left the encirclement five days later. This is how the tank battle near Dubno ended for me. And I have never seen "thirty-fifths" in battles anymore. I think that they could have fought normally in 1941. Tanks could. Tankers - not yet. "
And here is what the former sapper Anton Platonovich Gryaznov said about the T-35:
“On the third day from the beginning of the war, I saw how our tanks attacked the German - two of them, big ones like those on Courage! All in cannons and machine guns, five towers big and small! They overtook us somewhere near Dubno. As soon as they went ahead, a dozen German tanks piled on us from the side. They did not pay attention to the five-tower ones - immediately to us, but to the infantry. And our "cruisers" crawled away on their own path. They never saw the German tanks. Before we had time to look back, we crossed from our rear to the German rear. Then I remember one such "cruiser" trying to get back to its own. He could, probably, there were no Germans, but he got stuck at the exit of the river. We ran to help the tankers. Two more of our light tanks approached. They tried to pull a large one to the shore with two cables - the cable was cut off. Then they took everything that could be removed from the heavy one, drained the gasoline, broke the rest, sat down on the lungs and drove away the brothers-tankers. And they forgot about us. "
As for the T-35s, which were being repaired in Kharkov, apparently, they were never restored. So, on August 21, 1941, in his telegram to the district engineer of the GABTU of the Red Army at plant No. 183, the head of the GABTU Fedorenko reported: “4 T-35 tanks No. 148-30, 537-90, 220-28 and 0197- 2 to carry out minor repairs, allowing the tanks to move independently, install the required weapons and urgently dispatch from the factory according to the order of the GABTU KA. Report your readiness. "
As can be seen from the document, one T-35 was repaired in the summer of 1941 and sent to the duty station. Most likely it was a tank from the PrivO troops.
As for the four cars mentioned in the telegram, most likely, the repairs were never carried out. In any case, the surviving documents No. 183 says that in October 1941, "during the defense of Kharkov, these tanks were used as stationary firing points." There is a German photo in March 1943 (after the second capture of Kharkov by the Germans), which captures the T-35 (without part of the towers), which was used as a gate in barriers made of metal gouges and hedgehogs. Most likely, the car has been in use since the fall of 1941. According to the recollection of one of the veterans, "after the war, one T-35 stood for a long time on the former line of defense in one of Kharkov's parks."
In the summer of 1941, one captured T-35 was repaired by the Germans and sent to Germany. According to the memoirs of the German driver-mechanic, “the control of the tank was extremely difficult, and switching the levers and pedals was very difficult.
During the loading and transportation of the tank by rail, a number of difficulties arose due to the fact that the T-35 did not fit into the rail gauge (the rail gauge in Western Europe is less than in the USSR and Russia - 1420 mm versus 1535 mm). " Nevertheless, the tank was taken to the German tank range in Kummersdorf, where it was tested. The further fate of this T-35 is unknown.
In October 1941, a tank regiment was formed from the VAMM training park. Among other tanks, the regiment also included two T-35s, which belonged to the academy. However, judging by the latest archival data, this regiment was never sent to the front and did not take part in the battles near Moscow T-35.
There was another "combat" debut of the T-35. This time at the cinema. This is a documentary film "Battle of Moscow". Some episodes of the film were filmed near Kazan, and two T-35s with KBTKUTS took part in these filming.
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