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T-26

1931 COLD WAR SPANISH CIVIL WAR WORLD WAR 2

History

As was common in all industrialized nations of the world after the First World War, Soviet war planners set about upgrading their armed forces to meet the demands of the changing battlefield. Improvements in tank units, increasingly surpassed by contemporaries, are particularly needed. Attempts have been made to develop indigenous designs, but most have been unsuccessful.

As a result, the limited number of Vickers 6-ton E-type series in the UK stemmed from a 1930 purchase from the UK and was selected for further development.

The British E-tank was accepted by the Soviet Union as the T-26 and introduced as a light infantry tank. The first production version featured two turrets in a unique World War I style layout, each housing a 7.62mm infantry machine gun.

Known as the T-26A1, this version is basically a replica of the British production model. From there, early Vickers designs evolved into several variants, starting with the basic T-26A, all focused on improving crew protection and installing increasingly powerful weapons.

Power comes from a single 8-cylinder GAZ T-26 gasoline engine with an output of approximately 91 horsepower. The system will be equipped with 3 people. The T-26A2 followed, becoming the first all-Russian production model to be equipped with a Soviet machine gun.

One T-26 variant appeared armed with 1 x 7.62mm and 1 x 12.7mm (0.50 caliber) machine guns, while another had an additional 27mm cannon in place of the aforementioned mounted heavy machine gun. The T-26A-5 is armed with a 37mm main gun. The T-26B model series became the final T-26 tank as the dual turret design was abandoned in favor of a more traditional single turret layout.

This single turret was originally armed with the T-26A-5's 37mm main gun, but was later upgraded to a more powerful 45mm variant.

The top design of the T-26 accompanies the launch of the T-26S series. This particular collection witnesses a change from riveted construction techniques to welded constructions. This not only improves the overall protection of the tank's turret, but it also eliminates the lethal effect of the rivets being blown out when hitting the enemy directly from the inside.

The T-26 was introduced into other battlefield roles, notably with the addition of bypass tanks (in the ST-26 model), command vehicles (in the T-26A-4V and T-26B-2V models), and flamethrower derivatives ( All tanks, starting with "OT". Tried to mount a 76.2mm main gun on the turret, which became AT-1.

The T-26 entered service in 1931 and remained in service until 1942, by which time they were completely obsolete. Captured German T-26s were converted into artillery transporters (light 75mm PaK 97/38 tank destroyers), while Russia stopped using their own systems after factories were overrun. Regardless, the T-26 is reported to be a stable system without fanfare. It fits the role, but isn't quite an impressive machine.

Used in the combat conditions of the Spanish Civil War and against German, Japanese and Finnish armies, it gave the Russians some much-needed experience in tank design and, more importantly - mass production of military systems.