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Legkaya Broneploshadka PL-37

1939 WORLD WAR 2

Legkaya Broneploshadka PL-37 History

Unlike other world powers in the First World War (1914-1918), the Russian Empire attached great importance to armored trains as part of its ground forces. This was necessary for the Russians because the industrialized world lacked road infrastructure during this period, and the people, machinery and supplies mobilized in World War I would be transported by rail - a force in the interior of Russia. Various makeshift and standard concepts followed in battle, and most saw their bloody days in the Civil War, pulling the Russian Empire out of the war.

As a result, the Russian Empire fell and was reborn as the Soviet Union, whose engineers continued the design and development of armored trains into the 1930s.

The Legkaya Broneploshadka PL-37 is a standardized design of a "light artillery vehicle" - a single vehicle equipped with artillery armament and a machine gun, designed to serve on the battlefield alongside infantry vehicles and armored locomotives. It was used by Soviet platoon battalions at the beginning of World War II (1939-1945), and the production of this class - handled by Krasniy Profintern Platn in Bryansk - amounted to about 24 units from 1939-1941. Its base configuration is traditional and retains the same features as the station wagon that formed it.

The chassis consists of a 55-ton Diamond brand two-axle truck arrangement. In addition to this, there is a steel superstructure and two large turrets for field gun weapons. Even the wheels are protected by low skirt armor. The interior space of the central superstructure is mainly occupied by ammunition depots, resulting in cramped quarters for the crew - 30 of them manage the various stations on the vehicle.

The commander's armored turret has glass sights and PTK periscopes mounted amidships to aid in observation, artillery guidance and general situational awareness.

The vehicle weighs approximately 77 tons when fully loaded, and the barrel measures 48 feet 2 inches long, 9 feet 9 inches wide and 14 feet 5 inches high. Armor protection ranges from 0.78 inches along the sides of the superstructure to 0.59 inches along the roofline.

Key to the PL-37's design is its armament of 2 x 76.2 mm Mod. 1902/30 field guns, each of which and associated mounting hardware are housed in movable turrets in the front and rear of the carriage.

The 560x76.2mm projectile is carried in high-explosive (HE) and armor-piercing (AP) styles to meet mission requirements. The Soviets found their 76.2mm guns very effective against many forms of German armor, so Mod. 1902/30 did not disappoint.

In addition to the artillery armament, the PL-37 is armed with a set of 6 x 7.62mm Maxim liquid-cooled machine guns - two on each side of the fuselage, with the remaining two coaxially mounted in each turret. These weapons could suppress infantry trying to overtake a platoon, or support an Allied offensive if necessary.

The water cooling of the machine gun ensures proper barrel cooling as long as there is a water supply available.

During WWII, armored trains still had some value on the battlefield, especially in hard-to-reach areas of the Russian Empire. However, as the threat of attack aircraft continued to grow throughout the conflict, the value of armored trains was recognized and, in turn, diminished in their active use. Armored trains are relatively easy prey for incoming dive bombers, as their speed is limited and their paths are limited to the available tracks. Destroying the entire bridge could render the armored train useless or completely restricted.

The incoming bomber must be content with only defensive machine gun or artillery fire, while he himself descends with machine guns, artillery, bombs or rockets. While the interwar years marked the technological zenith of armored trains, World War II was its swan song, although the Soviets kept stockpiles of such parts throughout the Cold War years for security reasons.

Many Soviet armored trains fell in the opening salvo of the German invasion of the East.