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T-23

1929 X-TANK

History

The Soviets went through a variety of light and medium tanks in the evolution of their legendary WWII-era T-34 medium tank and later the classic Cold War T-72 main battle tank (MBT), with heavy designs emerging from the 1920s Begins in the middle of the decade. Many early Soviet tanks were purchased directly from foreign suppliers or arranged to replicate these foreign designs directly locally.

By the mid-1920s, the Russian Civil War (1917-1923) was over, and local industry could focus on developing entirely new indigenous tank designs.

The T-23 was a product of that era, it was a "tank" that tried to make a very light two-man tracked fighting vehicle with basic machine gun armament. The tank proved to be a popular economic solution for many European parties at the time, and this Soviet approach followed the first real Soviet tank designed, developed and produced locally, the "T-18" (MS-1) light tank ( See elsewhere) on this website). ).

The origin of this tank was in 1924, in response to the requirements of the local Red Army, the birth of the "T-16" prototype in March 1927, largely inspired by the revolutionary French light tank Renault FT- 17 Inspiration. The Great War (1914-1918) - modified, of course, to meet the needs of the Red Army.

The vehicle is powered by a replica of the original Renault engine and features three undercarriage paired road wheels with upper chain stays. The primary weapon is still the French SA18 series 37mm cannon, and the secondary weapon is the 6.5mm Fedorov machine gun.

While the T-16 played an important role in the creation of the T-18, it was also the basis for other tank branches that emerged around the same time - work began in 1926, initially focusing on reconnaissance of the one-man Schnell tank in the "T-18" -17" in. A prototype was provided for testing in 1929, but the one-man crew approach was too onerous for such a complex machine, especially in the expected rigors of combat.

The two-person version subsequently came in the form of the "T-20" and "T-21", and from this pair the T-22 and T-23 prototype tanks were developed.

The T-22 is different in that its two crew members sit side by side, while the two T-23 crew members sit side by side. Each is also powered by slightly different engine units, but the armament is concentrated on a single 7.62mm DT-type machine gun.

In action, these vehicles are designed to be quick additions to the main force, so they need to be light, maneuverable and basically armed.

The Soviet authorities supported the more promising T-23, resulting in a contract for five pre-production vehicles based on the pilot (prototype) form. Of course, the Army department has a list of changes that need to be made to the T-23, which means that the vehicles that go into production are different from the ones actually released.

The fuselage was lengthened by approximately 11.8 inches and an upgraded engine was installed (the original engine was supposed to carry the T-18's 1 x 4-cylinder horsepower unit). The bottom of another tank prototype, the T-19, was also used to create the production-quality T-23.

The vehicle was built at the Bolshevik factory in Leningrad, with a combat weight of nearly 3,180 kg, a total length of 3.3 meters, a width of 1.6 meters and a height of 1.85 meters. Power comes from a single Otto 4-cylinder petrol engine delivering 60 hp to the sprocket assembly. The landing gear focuses on a multi-arch structure with thin tracks.

Road speeds can reach 40 km/h and the range is 190 km. The crew consists of two people, and the weapon is a 1 x 7.62mm FT machine gun, buried in the fixed hull superstructure (the tank has no movable turret turret). Armor protection (riveted iron) on key fairings ranges up to 10mm.

A trench-traversing "tail" was added to the rear end of the vehicle for rough terrain.

Despite the promising characteristics of the T-23, the unit cost of the T-23 was found to be as high as the T-18 light tank in required quantities. Additionally, the T-23 lacked the T-18's movable turret and could not carry similar weapons. As such, the T-23 did not continue beyond the stated prototype/development work and ended up falling into the chapters of Soviet tank warfare history.

Notably, the T-23 was the last tank-type vehicle developed by the Soviet Union, as future attention was focused on the light tank shape to compete with British, French, and other designs.

To meet the needs of the T-23, the British Carden Loyd tank was procured, which became an improved T-27 tank (2,540 built) in service with the Soviet Army in 1931.