If the "thirty-four" is considered the best medium tank of the USSR in the Second World War, then this tank rightfully takes first place among light combat vehicles. Starting their combat path in the summer of 1942, these tanks went through the entire war and were used in many sectors of the Soviet-German front. "T-70" became the most bulk tank USSR after "T-34". During the war years, Soviet industry produced 8231 T-70 tanks, giving the front an excellent auxiliary vehicle.

Description

The T-70 began to be designed in October 1941, and by January 1942 it had been tested and preparations for mass production began. As a result, so quick jobs From April to October 1942, Soviet military factories managed to produce already 5,000 T-70 light tanks. The Red Army received a fast, maneuverable and convenient light tank with a good power reserve, but a rather weak gun - the famous 45mm 20-K cannon, which at the end of 1942 already poorly coped with the reinforced armor of German vehicles. She could only hit light German tanks and armored vehicles in the forehead, but by that time the Germans were already in large quantities acquired more advanced technology, and the armor of old cars was increased. Thus, the "T-70" could still show itself in battles, say, with the "Pz.II" or "Pz.35 (t)" and older tanks, but those by 1942 in German army there are almost none left, but there were problems with tanks of later models. By that time, the German troops were already armed with powerful 75mm Pak40 anti-tank guns, which hit the T-70 in any projection with the very first shot. True, getting into the T-70 was extremely difficult - the small size of the tank and low silhouette made it difficult to conduct aimed fire at it, and good mobility made it possible to quickly retreat or leave the line of fire, changing position. True, it is worth noting that the T-70 was not a combat vehicle designed for combat on cutting edge With enemy tanks. It was intended for various auxiliary tasks, with which it coped perfectly. the best options applications for the "T-70" was reconnaissance, escort of columns, as well as fire support for infantry units in the absence of strong enemy anti-tank fire. And in the wooded and marshy area, the T-70 acted even more successfully than the thirty-four: a small mass of a combat vehicle, good driving performance and a low silhouette ensured the best survivability of the tank, because it was very difficult to accurately hit it in such conditions. The speed of the "T-70" allowed him, in case of urgent need, to fight with well-armored enemy vehicles, go into the flank of heavy German tanks and self-propelled guns, imposing close combat on them, and the sides of German combat vehicles often did not save them from the fire of the 45-mm gun "T -70" when firing at close range. And yet, this is only a theory, in reality, the fight against heavy enemy equipment was not part of the function of this tank. In the famous battle of Kursk Bulge, more than 20% of the Soviet tank fleet were precisely these combat vehicles. Although the tank did not have such impressive firepower as the "thirty-fours" or heavy tanks"IS-2", the Red Army needed it as an auxiliary fighting machine. Undoubtedly, this one made his feasible contribution to the defeat of fascism. It is the versatility of the "T-70", the possibility of use in different situations And a large number of these tanks at the front, made him the best Soviet light tank Second World War.

In the fall of 1942, specialists from the Gorky Automobile Plant developed a deeply modernized version light tank, which received a new designation T-70M, and began preparations for its production.

Fact: "Initially, when designing, the tank received the designation T-70B."

The modernized tank was distinguished by a thoroughly modified chassis, increased width (from 260 to 300 mm) and step of the tracks, the width of the road wheels, an increased diameter of the suspension torsion bars and gear rims of the drive wheels, as well as a modified final drive. In addition, the support rollers, stop rollers and final drives were reinforced, the number of tracks in the caterpillar was reduced from 91 to 80, and the gun ammunition load was reduced to 70 rounds.

The place of the driver-mechanic was located in the bow of the hull at the left side, and the place of the tank commander was in a rotating turret shifted to the left side. In the middle part of the hull along the starboard side on a common frame, two engines coupled in series were installed, which made up a single power unit. The transmission and drive wheels were in front.

The body of the T-70M tank was welded from rolled armor plates, which had a thickness of 6, 10, 15, 25, 35 and 45 mm. In especially critical places, the welds were reinforced with riveting. The frontal and stern sheets of the armored hull had rational angles of inclination. A welded faceted turret made of armor plates 35 mm thick was mounted on a ball bearing in the middle part of the hull. The welded joints of the tower were reinforced with armor squares. The frontal part of the tower had a cast swinging mask with loopholes for the installation of a gun, a machine gun and a telescopic sight. An entrance hatch for the tank commander was made in the roof of the turret. A periscope mirror observation device was installed in the armored hatch cover, which provided the commander with an all-round view. Also in the lid there was a hatch for a flag alarm.

As armament, a 45-mm tank gun of the 1938 model was installed and to the left of it a coaxial DT machine gun. The gun was shifted to the right of the longitudinal axis of the turret, which provided greater convenience for the commander. The gear turret traverse mechanism was mounted to the left of the commander, and the twin-mount screw hoist to the right. The gun had a trigger foot mechanism, which was carried out by pressing the right pedal, and the machine gun - on the left. The ammunition load consisted of 90 shots with armor-piercing and fragmentation shells for the cannon and 945 rounds for the DT machine gun.

As power plant tank T-70M, the GAZ-203 engine was chosen, which consisted of two four-stroke six-cylinder carburetor engines GAZ-202 with a total power of 140 hp. The crankshafts of the engines were connected by means of a coupling with elastic bushings. The flywheel crankcase of the front engine was connected by a link to the starboard side, which made it possible to prevent lateral vibrations. For each engine, the battery ignition system, lubrication system and fuel system were independent. The tank was equipped with two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 440 liters, which were located on the left side of the aft compartment of the hull in a compartment isolated by armored partitions.

The transmission consisted of a two-disc semi-centrifugal dry-friction main clutch, a four-speed automotive-type gearbox, a bevel gear final drive, two side clutches with band brakes, and two simple single-row final drives. The main clutch and gearbox were assembled from parts borrowed from the ZIS-5 truck.

The propeller on each side included: drive wheels with a removable lantern gear ring, five single-sided rubber-coated road wheels and three all-metal support rollers, a guide wheel with a crank track tensioning mechanism and a small-link caterpillar of 91 tracks with a pitch of 98 mm. The design of the guide wheel and track roller were unified. The width of the cast track track was 260 mm. Suspension - individual torsion bar.

From 1942 to 1943, 8231 T-70M tanks were manufactured, of which 6847 were assembled by the Gorky Automobile Plant.

Soviet light tank T-70

During the fighting, it became clear that “the armament and armor of light tanks remains insufficient. And in the design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant, headed by N.A. Astrov (he became deputy chief designer of GAZ) at the beginning of 1942. a new machine is being developed, which received the T-70 index. In fact, it was a further modernization of light tanks. The designers of the armored hull YUN. Sorochkin, A.N. Kirillov and L.I. Belkin designed the front of the tank with 45 mm armor. The main weapon - a 45-mm gun was placed in a cast tower designed by V.A. Dedkov. first used on light tanks. Most of the problems arose with the choice and installation of the engine. Six-cylinder engine GAZ-! I 70 hp was not powerful enough for this tank. ON THE. Astroa suggested installing two of these motors, placing them in series in a line. But during testing, the crankshaft of the second engine began to break almost immediately.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

It took enormous efforts of the designers of the plant A.A. Lipgart, A.N. Krieger. G.N. Mozokhina, G.V. Ewart in order for the power unit to work reliably. I must say that all the work was carried out on an initiative basis, without any technical requirements. It was necessary to revise the design of entire units without conducting proper tests. The task was one - not to disrupt the release of tanks. Armored hulls of tanks were supplied by the Murom Locomotive Plant to Gorky and part of the hulls to factories in Kirov and Sverdlovsk, where Gorky supplied power plants. Instead of a cast tower, they began to install a welded one.

T-70 pumped to design in October 1941, and in January 1942. Supreme Commander a finished sample was presented, which had already passed preliminary tests. Thus, from the beginning of the project to finished sample in three months the tank was approved and put into service. From April 1942 to October 1943, the Red Army received about 5,000 T-70 tanks. In September 1942, the production of the T-70 began with a reinforced undercarriage and transmission.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

DESIGN T-70

The hull is welded from rolled armor plates of various thicknesses, set at angles of inclination from 30 to 60. The driver's hatch was located in the upper front plate, a viewing prism device B was installed in the hatch cover. On the right side of the front plate there was a hatch for access to power transmission units bolted lid. On the aft inclined sheet on the right there was a hatch for air intake of the cooling system of the power plant. covered with a mesh lid. A spare track roller was attached to the left.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

Tower welded multifaceted, with inclined sheets, shifted to the left relative to the longitudinal axis of the hull. To increase the strength, the joints of the sheets of the tower were covered with armor squares. A rotating cylindrical turret with viewing slots was installed on the hatch cover and a periscope device was attached. In front of the gun mask was an exhaust fan hatch, closed with a lid. On the side sheets there were holes with plugs used when firing from personal weapons. The turret has a 45-mm cannon and a coaxial machine gun. For targeting there were telescopic and optical sights.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

The functions of the vehicle commander became more complicated with the installation of a 45-mm gun, which led to a decrease in firing accuracy and rate of fire. The suspension of the tank has not changed structurally compared to the T-60, but the number of road wheels to improve the specific pressure on the ground has been increased to five on each side. The number of support rollers remained the same - three on each side. Suspension - torsion bar, all rollers are rubberized. Driving wheels - front location, caterpillar fine-linked, lantern gearing)
The power plant consisted of two GAZ-203 carburetor engines. paired in series, and was located in the middle part of the hull, along the starboard side. The total maximum power of the installation is 140 hp.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

In the aft part of the hull, isolated from the fighting compartment by a sealed armored partition, there were two fuel tanks with a total capacity of 440 liters. Ma command vehicles had a radio station and a tank intercom. On other tanks intercom crew members used light signaling.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

In September 1942, changes are made to the design - it is strengthened chassis, in particular, the track width increases from 260 to 300 mm. The diameter of the gear rim changes and a number of other minor changes. These machines received the designation T-70M. On experimental vehicles, they tried to install a 37-mm automatic cannon, and the use of 45-mm three-round cassettes was tested. An attempt was also made to install a 45-mm semi-automatic naval gun, but due to the small size and tightness of the turret, the attempt failed.

Video: Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

APPLICATION T-70

The T-70 was the best suited for reconnaissance in combat, operations in wooded and swampy and rugged terrain. A little noise from the operation of the engines, high speed and the low silhouette of the tonka made this car invisible to the enemy. Due to their high maneuverability, the T-70 crews hit enemy tanks with armor-piercing shells in the side and stern. In one of the battles T-70. having successfully maneuvered, he ended up right behind the stern of the heavy Ferdinand "" set fire to him. "Seventies @ were part of brigades and regiments armed mainly with T-34 tanks. They were used not only for reconnaissance, but also under certain circumstances - as tanks for direct support of rifle units during hostilities.

Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

In the battle near Kursk, the commander of the T-70 Onufriev skillfully maneuvered and, going into the flank of a German heavy tank, with two high
fired it with a trill, and the crew destroyed it with a machine gun. During the liberation of Kyiv, the commander of the T-70 company from the 1st Czechoslovak Tank Brigade, Lieutenant R.Ya. Tesarzhik made a covert march behind enemy lines and destroyed 9 bunkers, thereby opening the way for the advancing rifle battalion. T-70s were also in service in the tank units of the divisions of the Polish Army.
In 1943, the production of light tanks was stopped.

Video: Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

Combat use of T-70 tanks

"Baby", as the light tanks were called, did their job. They defended the borders of the capital in the tragic 4th. fought at Stalingrad, repelled the attacks of the enemy armadas near Kursk.
Despite the shortcomings. T-70 remained the best easy tank of World War II and the second largest after the T-34. A total of 8315 vehicles were built.
In the autumn of 1943, the factories switched to mass production of more than necessary self-propelled vehicles at that time. artillery mounts SU-76 M. created on the basis of the T-70 M. The surviving tanks were used in self-propelled artillery battalions, regiments and brigades as command vehicles, taking part in combat operations until the end of the war.

Video: Soviet light tank T-70. Soviet light tanks of the Great Patriotic War.

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Data source: quote from the book by M.A. Arkhipova: "The Complete Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Vehicles of the USSR"

Second in mass after the T-34 Soviet tank during the Great Patriotic War was a light tank T-70.

Already in October 1941 it became clear that new lightweight the T-60 tank, whose serial production began a month earlier, is almost useless on the battlefield. His armor was easily penetrated by all Wehrmacht anti-tank weapons, and his own weapons were too weak to deal with enemy tanks. Strengthen both without fundamental change construction was not possible. The engine and gearbox were already overworked. The increase in the mass of the combat vehicle, inevitable with increased armor and armament, would simply lead to the failure of these units. A different solution was required.

CREATION

The design of the new tank at the GAZ Design Bureau began at the end of October 1941. At the end of December 1941, for the tank, which received the factory designation GAZ-70, an armored hull was welded and a turret designed by V. Dedkov was cast. Along with the cast, a version of the welded tower was also developed. The assembly of the tank began in January 1942 and, for a number of reasons, proceeded rather slowly. It was only completed on February 14, after which the tank was sent to Moscow, where it was shown to representatives of the GABTU. The military did not arouse much enthusiasm for the new car. In terms of armor protection, the tank was only slightly superior to the T-60, and the nominally increased, thanks to the installation of a 45-mm cannon, the power of weapons was leveled by the location in the tower of one person - a jack of all trades, both pointing and loading, - the commander. The chief designer N. A. Astrov promised to eliminate the shortcomings as soon as possible. Quite quickly, it was possible to increase the armor, bringing the thickness of the lower frontal hull plate to 45 mm, and the upper to 35 mm. As a result, by a GKO decree of March 6, 1942, the new combat vehicle was adopted by the Red Army under the symbol T-70. Two days later, the GKO decree on the production of the tank saw the light, according to which plants No. 37 and No. 38 were involved in its production since April. However, reality did not allow these plans to be fully realized. For example, new tank required twice as many engines as the T-60. It was not possible to establish the production of a cast tower and GAZ had to hastily provide other plants with documentation for a welded tower. As a result, the April plan for the production of the T-70 was fulfilled only by GAZ, which assembled 50 vehicles. Plant No. 38 in Kirov managed to produce only seven tanks, while Plant No. 37 failed to assemble them either by April or later.

PRODUCTION

At the beginning of October 1942, GAZ, and since November, Plant No. 38 switched to the production of T-70M tanks with an improved chassis. The width (from 260 to 300 mm) and the pitch of the tracks, the width of the track rollers, as well as the diameter of the torsion bars (from 33.5 to 36 mm) of the suspension and gear rims of the drive wheels were also increased. The number of tracks in the caterpillar was reduced from 91 to 80 units. In addition, the support rollers, stopping brakes and final drives have been reinforced. The mass of the tank increased to 10 tons, and the cruising range on the highway decreased to 250 km. Gun ammunition was reduced to 70 shots.

From the end of December 1942, Plant No. 38 stopped producing tanks and switched to the production of SU-76 self-propelled guns. As a result, starting from 1943, light tanks for the Red Army were produced only at GAZ. At the same time, in the second half of 1943, the release was accompanied by great difficulties. From June 5 to June 14, the plant was subjected to concentrated German air strikes. 2170 bombs were dropped on the Avtozavodsky district of Gorky, of which 1540 were dropped directly on the territory of the plant. More than 50 buildings and structures were completely destroyed or seriously damaged. In particular, the chassis workshops, wheel, assembly and thermal No. 2, the main conveyor, the locomotive depot burned down, and many other workshops of the plant were seriously damaged. As a result, the production of BA-64 armored vehicles and cars had to be stopped. However, the production of tanks did not stop, although it slightly decreased - only in August was it possible to block the May production volume. But the age of the light tank was already measured out - on August 28, 1943, a GKO decree was issued, according to which, from October 1 of the same year, GAZ switched to the production of SU-76M self-propelled guns. In total, in 1942-1943, 8226 tanks of the T-70 and T-70M modifications were produced.

Design Description

The layout of the T-70 light tank repeated the layout schemes of almost all the predecessor tanks of the light class and did not fundamentally differ from that of the T-60 tank.

The driver was located in the bow of the hull at the left side. The rotating turret, also shifted to the port side, housed the tank commander. In the middle part of the hull along the starboard side on a common frame, two engines coupled in series were installed, which made up a single power unit. The transmission and drive wheels were located in front.

HULL TOWER, RESERVATION

The hull of the tank was welded from rolled armor plates 6, 10, 15, 25, 35 and 45 mm thick. Welded seams were reinforced with riveting. The frontal and stern hull sheets had rational angles of inclination. In the upper frontal sheet of the hull there was a driver's hatch, in the lid of which the tanks of the first releases had a viewing slot with a triplex, and then a rotary periscope observation device was installed.

The welded faceted tower, made of armor plates 35 mm thick, was mounted on a ball bearing in the middle part of the hull and had the shape of a truncated pyramid. The welded joints of the tower walls were reinforced with armor squares. The frontal part had a cast swinging mask with loopholes for the installation of a gun, machine gun and sight. An entrance hatch for the tank commander was made in the roof of the turret. A periscopic mirror observation device was installed in the armored hatch cover, which provided the commander with a circular view. In addition, the lid had a hatch for flag signaling.

WEAPONS

On the T-70 tank, a 45-mm tank gun mod. 1938 and to the left of her coaxial machine gun DT. For the convenience of the tank commander, the gun was shifted to the right of the longitudinal axis of the turret. The length of the gun barrel was 46 calibers, the height of the line of fire was 1540 mm. The aiming angles of the twin installation along the vertical ranged from -6° to +20°. Sights were used for firing: telescopic TMFP (a TOP sight was installed on some of the tanks) and a mechanical one as a backup. Sighting range firing was 3600 m, maximum - 4800 m.

When using a mechanical sight, only direct fire was possible at a distance of no more than 1000 m. The rate of fire of the gun was 12 rds / min. The gear mechanism for turning the turret was mounted to the left of the commander, and the screw lifting mechanism of the twin installation was mounted to the right. The trigger mechanism of the gun was foot, the gun was lowered by pressing the right pedal, and the machine gun - on the left. The ammunition included 90 shots with armor-piercing and fragmentation shells for the cannon (of which 20 shots were in the store) and 945 rounds for the DT machine gun (15 discs). starting speed armor-piercing projectile weighing 1.42 kg was 760 m / s, fragmentation weighing 2.13 kg - 335 m / s. After firing an armor-piercing projectile, the spent cartridge case was ejected automatically. When firing a fragmentation projectile, due to the shorter recoil length of the gun, the shutter was opened and the cartridge case was removed manually.

ENGINE, TRANSMISSION, UNDERCARRIAGE

The power plant GAZ-203 (70-6000) consisted of two four-stroke 6-cylinder carburetor engines GAZ-202 (GAZ 70-6004 - front and GAZ 70-6005 - rear) with a total capacity of 140 hp. With. The crankshafts of the engines were connected by a coupling with elastic bushings. The crankcase of the flywheel of the front engine was connected by a rod to the starboard side to prevent transverse vibrations of the power unit. The battery ignition system, lubrication system and fuel (except tanks) system for each engine were independent. Two gas tanks with a total capacity of 440 liters were located on the left side of the aft compartment of the hull in a compartment isolated by armored partitions.

The transmission consisted of a two-disk semi-centrifugal main clutch of dry friction (steel over ferrodo); four-speed automotive-type gearbox (4 + 1), final drive with bevel gear; two side clutches with belt brakes and two simple single-row final drives. The main clutch and gearbox were assembled from parts borrowed from truck ZIS-5.

The tank propulsion unit for one side included: a drive wheel with a removable lantern gear, five single-sided rubber-coated track rollers and three all-metal support rollers, a steering wheel with a crank track tensioning mechanism and a small-link caterpillar of 91 tracks. The design of the guide wheel and track roller were unified. The width of the cast track track was 260 mm. Suspension - individual torsion bar.

PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE T-70 TANK

Combat weight, t: 9.2
Crew, people: 2
Overall dimensions, mm:
length: 4285
width: 2420
height: 2035
ground clearance: 300
Armament: 1 x 45 mm 20K cannon and 1 x 7.62 mm DT machine gun
Booking, mm:
hull forehead (top): 35 mm
hull forehead (bottom): 45 mm
hull side: 15 mm
hull feed: 25 mm
tower: 35 mm
roof: 10 mm
bottom: 10 mm
Engine: 2 x GAZ-202, gasoline, 6-cylinder, liquid-cooled, with a total capacity of 140 liters. With.
Max speed, km/h: 45
Power reserve, km: 250

Design and production

As early as October 1941, it became clear that the new T-60 light tank, whose serial production had begun a month earlier, was almost useless on the battlefield. His armor was easily penetrated by all Wehrmacht anti-tank weapons, and his own weapons were too weak to deal with enemy tanks. It was not possible to strengthen both without a fundamental change in the design. The engine and gearbox were already overworked. The increase in the mass of the combat vehicle, inevitable with increased armor and armament, would simply lead to the failure of these units. A different solution was required.

In September 1941, the Design Bureau of Plant No. 37, at that time the leader in the production of the T-60, proposed a variant of its modernization, which received the T-45 index. In fact, it was still the same T-60, but with a new turret, in which a 45-mm gun was installed. This vehicle was supposed to use a new 100 hp ZIS-60 engine, which would make it possible to increase the thickness of the tank's frontal armor to 35–45 mm. However, the ZIS plant could not master the production of the engine due to the evacuation from Moscow to the Urals, to the city of Miass. The attempt to install a ZIS-16 engine with a power of 86 hp did not save the situation. With its development, not everything went smoothly, and time did not wait.

In parallel with plant No. 37, work on the creation of a new light tank was launched at the Gorky Automobile Plant. There was nothing unusual in this development of events - this enterprise already had experience in the production armored vehicles, engaged in the serial production of T-27 tankettes and T-37A small amphibious tanks in the 1930s. A number of prototypes of armored vehicles were also designed and manufactured here. In September 1941, the plant received a task to organize the mass production of the T-60 light tank, for which a separate structural division of tank production and the corresponding design bureau were created at GAZ. In early September, the chief designer of plant No. 37 N.A. Astrov drove under his own power from Moscow to Gorky a prototype of the T-60 tank, which was to be used at GAZ as a standard. Sam N.A. Astrov was also left at GAZ to help organize the production of tanks.

It was Astrov who presented to the GABTU of the Red Army a draft of a new light tank with reinforced armor and weapons, created on the basis of the T-60. As a power plant on this machine, it was supposed to use a pair of GAZ-202 automobile engines. Prototypes of twin power units, which received the GAZ-203 index, were manufactured by the end of November. However, at the very first tests of the sparks, after 6–10 hours of operation, the crankshafts of the second engines began to break, and only thanks to the efforts of the designers under the guidance of A.A. Lipgart managed to bring the resource of the twin power unit to the required 100 hours. The design of the new tank at the GAZ Design Bureau began at the end of October 1941. It was carried out very quickly, using the technique adopted in the automotive industry, unusual for tank designers. General views combat vehicles were drawn in full size on special aluminum plates measuring 7 × 3 m, painted with white enamel and divided into squares measuring 200 × 200 mm. To reduce the drawing area and improve its accuracy by main view– longitudinal section – a plan was superimposed, as well as full and partial transverse sections. The drawings were made as detailed as possible and included all the components and parts of the internal and external equipment of the machine. These drawings later served as the basis for control during the assembly of a prototype and even the entire first series of machines.

At the end of December 1941, for the tank, which received the factory designation GAZ-70, an armored hull was welded and a turret designed by V. Dedkov was cast. Along with the cast, a version of the welded tower was also developed. The assembly of the tank began in January 1942 and, for a number of reasons, proceeded rather slowly. It was only completed on February 14, after which the tank was sent to Moscow, where it was shown to representatives of the GABTU. The military did not arouse much enthusiasm for the new car. In terms of armor protection, the tank was only slightly superior to the T-60, and the nominally increased, thanks to the installation of a 45-mm gun, the power of weapons was leveled by the placement of one person in the tower, a master of all trades - commander, gunner and loader. However, N.A. Astrov promised to eliminate the shortcomings as soon as possible.

Quite quickly, it was possible to increase the armor, bringing the thickness of the lower frontal hull plate to 45 mm, and the upper one to 35 mm. As a result, by a GKO decree of March 6, 1942, the new combat vehicle was adopted by the Red Army under the symbol T-70. Two days later, the GKO decree on the production of the tank saw the light, according to which plants No. 37 and No. 38 were involved in its production from April. However, reality did not allow these plans to be fully realized. So, for example, the new tank required twice as many engines as the T-60. It was not possible to establish the production of a cast tower, and GAZ had to hastily provide other plants with documentation for a welded tower. As a result, the April plan for the production of the T-70 was fulfilled only by GAZ, which assembled 50 vehicles. Plant No. 38 in Kirov managed to produce only seven tanks, and plant No. 37 failed to assemble them either by April or later.

Layout and device

The layout of the new machine did not fundamentally differ from that of the T-60 tank. The driver was located in the bow of the hull at the left side. The rotating turret, also shifted to the port side, housed the tank commander. In the middle part of the hull along the starboard side on a common frame, two engines were installed in series, which made up a single power unit. The transmission and drive wheels were located in front.

The hull of the tank was welded from rolled armor plates 6, 10, 15, 25, 35 and 45 mm thick. Welded seams were reinforced with riveting. The frontal and stern hull sheets had rational angles of inclination. In the upper frontal sheet there was a driver's hatch, in the lid of which the tanks of the first releases had a viewing slot with a triplex, and then a rotary periscope observation device was installed.

The welded faceted tower, made of armor plates 35 mm thick, was mounted on a ball bearing in the middle part of the hull and had the shape of a truncated pyramid. The welded joints of the tower walls were reinforced with armored corners. The frontal part had a cast mask with loopholes for the installation of a gun, machine gun and sight. An entrance hatch for the tank commander was made in the roof of the tower. A periscopic mirror observation device was installed in the armored hatch cover, which provided the commander with a circular view. In addition, the lid had a hatch for flag signaling.

On the T-70 tank, a 45-mm tank gun mod. 1938 and to the left of it - a coaxial DT machine gun. For the convenience of the tank commander, the gun was shifted to the right of the longitudinal axis of the turret. The length of the gun barrel was 46 calibers, the height of the line of fire was 1540 mm. The aiming angles of the twin installation along the vertical ranged from -6° to +20°. Sights were used for shooting: telescopic TMFP (a TOP sight was installed on some of the tanks) and a mechanical one as a backup. The aiming range was 3600 m, the maximum - 4800 m. When using a mechanical sight, only direct fire at a distance of no more than 1000 m was possible. The rate of fire of the gun was 12 rounds per minute. The gear mechanism for turning the turret was mounted to the left of the commander, and the screw lifting mechanism of the twin installation was mounted to the right. The trigger mechanism of the gun was foot, the gun was lowered by pressing the right pedal, and the machine gun - by pressing the left one. The ammunition included 90 shots with armor-piercing and fragmentation shells for the cannon (of which 20 shots were in the store) and 945 rounds for the DT machine gun (15 discs). The initial speed of an armor-piercing projectile weighing 1.42 kg was 760 m/s, a fragmentation projectile weighing 2.13 kg was 335 m/s. After firing an armor-piercing projectile, the cartridge case was ejected automatically. When firing a fragmentation projectile, due to the shorter recoil length of the gun, the shutter was opened and the cartridge case was removed manually.

The power plant GAZ-203 (70-6000) consisted of two four-stroke 6-cylinder carburetor engines GAZ-202 (GAZ 70-6004 - front and GAZ 70-6005 - rear) with a total power of 140 hp. The crankshafts of the engines were connected by a coupling with elastic bushings. The crankcase of the flywheel of the front engine was connected by a rod to the starboard side to prevent lateral vibrations of the power unit. The battery ignition system, lubrication system and fuel (except tanks) system for each engine were independent. Two gas tanks with a total capacity of 440 liters were located on the left side of the aft compartment of the hull in a compartment isolated by armored partitions.

The transmission consisted of a two-disc semi-centrifugal dry friction main clutch (ferrodo steel), a four-speed automotive-type gearbox (4 + 1), a main gear with a bevel gear, two side clutches with band brakes and two simple single-row final drives. The main clutch and gearbox were assembled from parts borrowed from the ZIS-5 truck.

The composition of the tank propulsion unit for one side included a drive wheel with a removable lantern gear ring, five single-sided rubber-coated track rollers and three all-metal support rollers, a steering wheel with a crank track tensioning mechanism and a small-link caterpillar of 91 tracks. The design of the guide wheel and track roller were unified. The width of the cast track track was 260 mm. Suspension - individual torsion bar.

The commander's tanks were equipped with a 9R or 12RT radio station located in the turret and an internal TPU-2F intercom. On linear tanks a light signaling device was installed for internal communication between the commander and the driver and an internal intercom TPU-2.

During production, the mass of the tank increased from 9.2 to 9.8 tons, and the cruising range on the highway decreased from 360 to 320 km.

At the beginning of October 1942, GAZ, and since November, Plant No. 38 switched to the production of T-70M tanks with an improved chassis. The width (from 260 to 300 mm) and the pitch of the tracks, the width of the track rollers, as well as the diameter of the torsion bars (from 33.5 to 36 mm) of the suspension and gear rims of the drive wheels were increased. The number of tracks in the caterpillar was reduced from 91 to 80 pcs. In addition, the support rollers, stopping brakes and final drives have been reinforced. The mass of the tank increased to 10 tons, and the cruising range along the highway decreased to 250 m. The gun ammunition was reduced to 70 rounds.

From the end of December 1942, Plant No. 38 stopped producing tanks and switched to the production of SU-76 self-propelled guns. As a result, starting from 1943, light tanks for the Red Army were produced only at GAZ. At the same time, in the second half of 1943, the release was accompanied by great difficulties. From 5 to 14 June, the plant was attacked by German aircraft. 2170 bombs were dropped on the Avtozavodsky district of Gorky, of which 1540 were dropped directly on the territory of the plant. More than 50 buildings and structures were completely destroyed or badly damaged. In particular, the chassis workshops, wheel, assembly and thermal No. 2, the main conveyor, the locomotive depot burned down, and many other workshops of the plant were seriously damaged. As a result, the production of BA-64 armored vehicles and cars had to be stopped. However, the production of tanks did not stop, although it somewhat decreased - only in August it was possible to block the May production volume. But the age of the light tank was already measured out - on August 28, 1943, a GKO decree was issued, according to which, from October 1 of the same year, GAZ switched to the production of SU-76M self-propelled guns. In total, in 1942-1943, 8226 tanks of the T-70 and T-70M modifications were produced.

Light tank T-70 in battles

The light tank T-70 and its improved version T-70M were in service with tank brigades and regiments of the so-called mixed organization, together with the medium tank T-34. The brigade had 32 T-34 tanks and 21 T-70 tanks. Such brigades could be part of tank and mechanized corps or be separate. A tank regiment was armed with 23 T-34s and 16 T-70s. At the same time, regiments could be part of mechanized brigades or be separate. By the spring of 1944, the T-70 light tanks were expelled from the states. tank units Red Army. Nevertheless, in some brigades they continued to be used for quite a long time. In addition, some tanks of this type were used in self-propelled artillery battalions, regiments and brigades of the SU-76 as command vehicles. Often they were equipped with tank units in motorcycle units. Tanks T-70 and T-70M took part in the fighting until the end of the Great Patriotic War

The T-70 tanks received their baptism of fire during the fighting in the South-Western direction in June-July 1942 and suffered serious losses. Already the first battles revealed low fighting qualities new light tanks, whose armament did not allow them to fight German medium tanks (the share of light combat vehicles in the Wehrmacht was rapidly declining), and armor protection was insufficient when used as tanks for direct infantry support. In addition, the presence of only two tankers in the crew, one of which was extremely overloaded with numerous duties, as well as the lack of communications equipment on combat vehicles, made it extremely difficult to use them as part of units and led to increased losses.

The final point in the combat career of these tanks was put Battle of Kursk- the ability to survive, not to mention come out victorious, in an open battle with new German heavy tanks, the T-70 was close to zero. At the same time, the troops also noted the positive merits of the "seventies". According to some tank commanders, the T-70 was the best suited for pursuing a retreating enemy, which became relevant in 1943. The reliability of the power plant and chassis of the T-70 was higher than that of the T-34, which made it possible to make long marches. The "Seventy" was quiet, which again differed sharply from the roaring engine and the "thirty-four" rattling with caterpillars, which at night, for example, could be heard for 1.5 km.

In clashes with enemy tanks, the crews of the T-70 had to show miracles of ingenuity. Much also depended on the crew's knowledge of the features of their car, its advantages and disadvantages. In the hands of skilled tankers, the T-70 was a formidable weapon. For example, on July 6, 1943, in the battles for the village of Pokrovka in the Oboyan direction, the crew of the T-70 tank from the 49th Guards Tank Brigade, commanded by Lieutenant B.V. Pavlovich managed to knock out three medium German tanks and one Panther!

A completely exceptional case occurred on August 21, 1943 in the 178th tank brigade. When repulsing an enemy counterattack, the commander of the T-70 tank, Lieutenant A.L. Dmitrienko noticed a retreating German tank. Having caught up with the enemy, the lieutenant ordered his driver to move next to him (apparently, in the "dead zone"). It was possible to shoot at point-blank range, but when he saw that the hatch in the tower German tank open ( German tankers almost always went into battle with open turret hatches), Dmitrienko got out of the T-70, jumped onto the armor of an enemy vehicle and threw a grenade into the hatch. The crew of the German tank was destroyed, and the tank itself was towed to our location and, after minor repairs, was used in battles.

Tanks T-70 in the battles of the Great Patriotic War
Tank T-70M in the military museum of Verkhnyaya Pyshma