Possible upgrades of the tank t 70. The most massive of the light

Already in October 1941, it became clear that the new light tank The T-60, which began serial production a month earlier, is almost useless on the battlefield. Its armor was easily penetrated by all Wehrmacht anti-tank weapons, and its 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 already worked in an overstressed mode. 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 the ZIS-16 engine with a power of 86 hp did not save the situation. With its development, not everything went smoothly either, and time did not wait.

In parallel with the plant number 37, work on the creation of a new light tank deployed at the Gorky Automobile Plant. There was nothing unusual in such a 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 an assignment to organize the mass production of the T-60 light tank, for which at GAZ, a separate structural unit of tank production and the corresponding design bureau was created. In early September, the chief designer of plant No. 37 N.A. Astrov overtook on his own from Moscow to Gorky a prototype of the T-60 tank, which was to be used at GAZ as a standard. N.A. Astrov himself 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 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 twins, 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, the resource of the twin power unit was brought 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 area of ​​the drawing and increase its accuracy, a plan was superimposed on the main view - a longitudinal section, 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 assembly. prototype and even the entire first series of cars.

1 - drive wheel, 2 - 45-mm cannon, 3 - DT machine gun, 4 - MK-4 observation device, 5 - plug of a hole for firing from personal weapons. 6 - carrier roller, 7 - guide wheel, 8 - road wheel, 9 - transmission access hatch, 10 - air intake hatch armor, 11 - hatch cover over the filler neck of the cooling system, 12 - air outlet shutters, 13 - spare support kayuk, 14 - manhole covers over the filler necks of fuel tanks, 15 - commander's hatch cover, 16 - mufflers, 17 - hatch cover for installing a portable blowtorch to start the engine in winter time, 18 - headlight, 19 - driver's hatch cover, 20 - hatch for manual engine start, 21 - emergency exit hatch cover, 22 - towing device

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. under the index T-70 Two days later, the GKO decree on the production of a 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. For example, new tank required twice as many engines as the T-60 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. new car did not fundamentally differ from that of the T-60 tank The driver was located in the forward part of the hull near the port side The tank commander was located in the rotating turret, also shifted to the port side In the middle part of the hull along the starboard side, two engines were installed in series on a common frame, constituting 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 turret, 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 turret walls were reinforced with armor corners. An entrance hatch for the tank commander was made in the roof of the tower. A periscope mirror observation device was installed in the armored cover of the hatch, which provided the commander with a circular view. In addition, there was a hatch for flag signaling in the cover.

On the T-70 tank, a 45-mm tank gun mod 1938 was installed 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 °. Telescopic sights TMFP were used for firing (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 at a distance of no more than 1000 m was possible. The rate of fire of the gun was 12 rounds per minute. on 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 disks). 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 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. flywheel housing front engine to prevent transverse vibrations of the power unit, they were connected by a rod to the starboard side. 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 main clutch of dry friction (ferrodo steel), four-speed box automotive-type gears (4+1), main gear 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 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 the track roller were unified. The width of the cast track track was 260 mm. Suspension - individual torsion. The commander's tanks were equipped with a 9R or 12RT radio station located in the turret and an internal TPU-2F intercom. Line tanks were equipped with a light signaling device 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 road wheels, 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 pieces. 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 shots.

From the end of December 1942, Plant No. 38 stopped producing tanks and switched to the production of self-propelled units SU-76 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 production was accompanied by great difficulties. From June 5 to June 14, the plant was subjected to German air raids. 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 slightly decreased - only in August was it possible to block the May production volume. But the age of the light tank had already been 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 self-propelled guns SU-76M. In total, in 1942-1943, 8226 tanks of the T-70 and T-70M modifications were produced.

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 the composition of tank and mechanized corps or be separate The tank regiment was armed with 23 T-34s and 16 T-70s At the same time, the regiments could be part of mechanized brigades or be separate By the spring of 1944, light T-70 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. Patriotic War.

Baptism of fire T-70 tanks received during the battles in the South-Western direction in June-July 1942 and suffered serious losses Already the first battles revealed the low combat qualities of new light tanks, whose armament did not allow them to fight German medium tanks Wehrmacht was rapidly declining), and armor protection was insufficient when used as close infantry support tanks. 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 by the Battle of Kursk - the ability to survive, not to mention emerge 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 positive advantages "seventies" According to some tank commanders, the T-70 was the best suited for pursuing the 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 Panther1. 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 point-blank, but when he saw that the hatch in the turret of a German tank was 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.

M. BARYATINSKY

Noticed an error? Select it and click Ctrl+Enter to let us know.

adopted, everyone understood that he was only a temporary measure - his armor was too thin to withstand enemy tanks. At first there were attempts to modify the T-60 by installing a new turret on it, but this experimental tank The T-45 was not put into production due to insufficient engine power.

The new tank, which was named GAZ-70, was completed at the end of 1941. Its assembly was very slow, and the first prototype was completed in February 1942. At first, the tank did not cause much enthusiasm - in terms of armor protection, the new tank was not much superior to the T-60, and its combat power was minimized due to the fact that one person had to combine the functions of loader, gunner and commander. Soon the shortcomings were eliminated, and the T-70 was compared with the T-34-76 in terms of frontal armor, which was a serious achievement. As a result, it was decided to put the tank into mass production.

TTX T-70

general information

• Combat weight - 9.2 tons or 9.8 tons (T-70M);
• Crew - 2 people;
• The number of issued - 8231 pieces.

Dimensions

• Case length - 4285 mm;
• Hull width - 2348 mm (2420 mm for the T-70M);
• Height - 2035 mm;
• Clearance - 300 mm.

Booking

• Type of armor - homogeneous rolled high hardness;
• The forehead of the hull (top) - 35/61 ° mm / hail;
• Forehead of the hull (bottom) - 45 / -30 ° mm / hail and 15 / -81 ° mm / hail for the T-70M;
• Hull board - 15/0 ° mm / hail;
• Hull feed (top) - 15/76 ° mm / hail;
• Hull feed (bottom) - 25 / −44 ° mm / hail;
• Bottom - 10 mm and 6 mm for the T-70M;
• Hull roof - 10 mm;
• Gun mantlet — 50 + 15 mm/deg;
• The side of the tower - 35/23 mm / hail;
• Tower roof - 10 mm and 15 mm for the T-70M.

Armament

• The caliber and brand of the gun is 45 mm 20-K;
• Barrel length - 46 calibers;
• Gun ammunition - 90 (70 for T-70M)
• Angles HV: −6…+20°;
• GN angles - 360°;
• Sights - TMFP or TOP, mechanical;
• Machine gun - 7.62 mm DT.

Mobility

• Engine type - twin in-line 4-stroke 6-cylinder carburetor;
• Engine power - 2 × 70 hp;
• Highway speed - 42 km / h;
• Cross-country speed - 20-25 km / h;
• Power reserve on the highway - 410-450;
• Power reserve over rough terrain - 360 km (250 km for the T-70M);
• Specific power - 15.2 hp / t (14.2 hp / t for the T-70M);
• Suspension type - individual torsion bar;
• Specific ground pressure - 0.7 kg / cm²;
• Climbability - 34 °;
• Overcoming wall - 0.7 m;
• Crossable moat - 1.7 m;
• Crossable ford - 1.0 m.

Photos of T-70

Modifications

The T-70 was produced in two versions, which differed in the design of the chassis:

• T-70, a tank weighing 9.2 tons and with 90 rounds of ammunition, the original version of an infantry support tank;
• T-70M with widened tracks and road wheels and reinforced suspension torsion bars. It has a mass of 9.8 tons and a reduced ammunition load of 70 rounds.

Refinement of the T-70 to the T-70M was impossible due to incompatible structural components.

Experienced tanks

The T-70 became the basis for many development works, which investigated the strengthening of the tank's armament and the improvement of ergonomics.

• T-70 with gun Sh-37. It had unsatisfactory ergonomics of the fighting compartment, despite the extended turret and the absence of a machine gun;
• T-70 with a more powerful 45 mm VT-42 gun. The tank successfully passed the tests, but by that time the T-70 was discontinued and the BT-42 cannon was decided to be installed on the new T-80;
• T-70 with extra space in the turret for the loader. Work on this experimental model eventually led to the creation of the T-80 tank, and the T-70 was never equipped with a two-man turret;
• T-70-3, anti-aircraft tank. Had a converted turret with two heavy machine guns DShK. Together with the anti-aircraft T-90, he participated in tests that he did not pass due to an unbalanced weapon installation;
• T-90 - anti-aircraft tank based on the T-70M with DShK machine guns. Passed comparative tests with the T-70-3, but had a number of shortcomings. They needed to be eliminated, but they did not have time to do this - the requirements for the performance characteristics of such machines changed, and work on the T-90 was closed.

Application

The T-70 was actively used in many divisions and units of the Red Army along with other tanks, most often with the T-34. These tanks received their baptism of fire in the summer of 1942, in the battles in the South-West direction, and it was then that their vulnerability was revealed.

However, the T-70 also had advantages - for example, they were ideal for pursuing retreating enemies, and in 1943 this task became very relevant. In addition, the T-70 had a reliable undercarriage and power plant, which made it possible to march over longer distances than the T-34 could. The relative quietness of the machine was also a plus.

Best of all, the T-70 showed itself in the Battle of Kursk. Despite the fact that the "seventies" were struck quite easily, they had a much lower percentage irretrievable losses compared to better armored T-34s.

The effectiveness of the T-70 is very big influence the crew's knowledge of the features of the tank provided - in really capable hands, it became a formidable force. For example, in July 1943, during the battles for the village of Pokrovka, one T-70 was able to knock out one Panther and three medium German tanks. And in August 1943 there was another unique case. The T-70 managed to catch up with the retreating enemy tank and get into the dead zone, while the crew commander jumped on the armor enemy tank and threw a grenade into the open hatch. So Soviet troops received almost a whole German tank, which was then used in battles.

In 1944, one T-70 was able to knock out two Panthers, which was a real achievement.

The operation of the T-70 actually ended immediately after the war, although in January 1946, 1502 T-70s were still in service with the Red Army.

tank memory

The T-70 in both modifications is presented in many museums around the world - in Russia, in the countries former USSR and even in the tank museum in Parola in Finland. Also, the T-70 in the form of monuments is installed in many cities of Russia, as well as in Ukraine and Belarus.

lovers military history sign designed by Nikolai Alexandrovich Astrov Soviet tank T-70.

The characteristics of this combat vehicle immediately speak for themselves: this Combat vehicles the battlefield is of the light type.

A depressing fact prompted the military to create a new tank: combat tests of light and medium tanks of the Red Army (models from T-38 to T-60) during the first year of the Second World War revealed their non-competitiveness.

In January 1942, the 70th tank was demonstrated to Stalin as an enhanced version of the previous representative of the T-60 light tank line, and its serial production began in March.

Brief TTX light tank T-70

Consider the main characteristics of the brainchild of Astrov:

Frontal armor thickness: bottom - 45 mm; top - 35 mm;

Side armor thickness - 15 mm;

Main armament: 20-K cannon, 45 mm caliber, (previously used in the T-50 tank);

Ammunition - 90 shells;

Machine gun 7.62 mm, 15 discs with 945 rounds;

Two four-stroke six-cylinder petrol engines with a capacity of 70 hp each. With.;

Cross-country speed - up to 25 km / h, on the highway - 42 km / h;

Power reserve over rough terrain - 360 km, on the highway - 450 km;

On the command vehicle - walkie-talkie 12T or 9R.

The project of the T-70 tank was initially critical

T-70 is a tank of the Great Patriotic War, reviews of which are rather contradictory. And this is despite the fact that the number of such manufactured tanks (almost 8.5 thousand units) was second only to the famous T-34! objective view reveals its merits and demerits main reason this historical and technical incident. It is banal: often a failed project is initiated and promoted not by end users (in this case, the military), but by the top party leadership.

The original pre-war thesis for the development of armored forces is “The army needs a good light tank!” - turned out to be wrong. The strategists did not take into account the prospect of arming the Wehrmacht (and this happened in 1942) with artillery of 50 and 75 mm caliber. Reinforced enemy guns effectively hit the T-70 from any angle. The tank was inferior to the German "tigers" and "panthers" with 75-caliber guns both in terms of firepower and armor protection. Fifth Commander tank army Katukov M.E. wrote unflatteringly about them to G.K. Zhukov, pointing out the impossibility of using the T-70 in an oncoming tank battle due to pre-guaranteed losses.

Wrong direction of design?

Indeed, Russian WWII tanks were initially created in a banal way by improving the previous model, without predicting, based on intelligence, the weapons of the battlefield created by the enemies. Based on the foregoing, unflattering reviews about the imperfection of the T-70 seem natural. Just improving the T-60 tank was not enough. Now, after more than 70 years since the implementation of the project of this weapon, we can already justify the dead end of such motivation.

Light tanks (photos of them are proof of this) would be ideal on the fronts of the First World War. It was for the guns of that time that the armor of the tank designed by Astrov was practically impenetrable. The second important trump card was the speed and maneuverability of the T-70.

In other words, the need to produce light tanks for the army in the middle of the 20th century was a fantasy of the Soviet strategists of that time, who had not grown either tactically or strategically since civil war. Customers of weapons should think adequately to their contemporary military thought!

Are the identified design flaws of the T-70 an indicator of its failure?

Such shortcomings were characteristic of almost all light tanks of that time, therefore, looking ahead, we state the fact: none of them became really effective on the battlefield.

All light Russian tanks of the Second World War were designed to order by the lead designer Astrov Nikolai Alexandrovich, like the T-70. Tests of new weapons, carried out in 1941, revealed areas for improving the tank:

Strengthening armor;

Replacement of a single cast turret with a double hexagonal turret;

Reinforcement of transmission, tracks, tires of road wheels;

Replacing the main gun with a more modern one (the latter was never implemented).

What can be said here? Were there too many flaws in the base model? Is it really just such a basic model that was in demand by the Red Army?

The inappropriateness of light tanks on the battlefield was proved by the further evolution of tank building: armies different countries gradually, in principle, they abandoned such weapons of the battlefield. Instead, other light armored vehicles have been developed, mainly performing the role of support, which no longer act as the main fire armored force of the battlefield. However, on the other hand, the very process of creating and modifying the T-70 turned out to be very creative.

Serial types

The industrial production of light tanks T-70 was carried out in a version corresponding to the original design of the designer Astrov, as well as in a modified version of the T-70M.

The first variety had unreinforced armor, lighter weight - 9.2 tons and more ammunition - 90 shells; the second - greater weight (9.8 tons), achieved through additional armor, strengthening of nodes and parts. The ammo capacity of the upgraded tank was reduced to 70 rounds.

In fact, they were structurally different combat vehicles having different, non-interchangeable parts.

- fiasco for the T-70 light tank

In reality, the army needed medium and heavy tanks capable of effectively hitting enemy armored vehicles.

Party bosses did not hear the dishonestly repressed and shot in the basement of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Soviet Court Marshal Soviet Union Mikhail Nikolaevich Tukhachevsky: " Future war will be a war of tank formations!”

And, accordingly, the defense industry of the USSR since 1942 mass-produced the T-70 - a tank whose combat potential in 1943 did not stand the severe test - an uncompromising oncoming tank battle near the village of Kursk Bulge).

The armor did not save: the 75th and 50th caliber of enemy artillery easily penetrated even its frontal part. Moreover, the tank turned out to be vulnerable even to outdated German regimental artillery of 37 mm caliber. Exam counter tank battle was a failure and, accordingly, after the Kursk Bulge, the mass production of the T-70 was stopped.

However, oddly enough, it was at the second stage of the Great Patriotic War, when the Red Army was advancing uncontrollably, that a number of qualified combat commanders expressed regret at the premature farewell to the T-70. The tank still, despite the obvious shortcomings, was useful!

On the positive combat qualities of the T-70

It was not given to reveal its positive to new tankers. At the same time, aces tank battle in rough and wooded terrain they even preferred this light car more armored medium T-34. What motivated them to make this choice? First, the German heavy guns and heavy tanks hit the T-34 and T-70 almost equally. Moreover, due to the smaller lung size tank, aimed fire at it is possible from a distance of half a kilometer, while at the T-34 - from a kilometer distance.

Also, with the help of the T-70, it was possible to use the surprise factor when attacking the enemy. At the same time, both the heavy tank IS and the medium T-34 were deprived of such an opportunity due to noisier diesel engines.

Almost close, unnoticed, a light tank T-70 drove up over rough terrain to the enemy camp. After all, the noise of the twin gasoline car engine with a capacity of 140 liters. With. in terms of sound level it resembled only passenger car. Lieutenant General Bogdanov reported to the main armored directorate that the T-70, due to its low noise, ideally performed the function of pursuing a retreating enemy.

The location of the fuel tanks in the rear of the hull contributed to the extremely rare detonation of fuel when it hit the tank.

In 1944, when about one and a half thousand T-70 tanks remained in the tank units of the Red Army, the OGK of the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry stated its effectiveness in urban battles. The "Seventy" was difficult to hit with "faustpatrons" and grenades due to its small size and high maneuverability.

Manufacturability

It should be recognized that the Soviet T-70 tank in its design turned out to be one of the most technologically efficient. For its manufacture, a thoroughly balanced production base of the GAZ plant was used. Cooperation with factories-suppliers of components and parts was effectively established.

The repair of weapons on the basis of the T-70, damaged on the fronts, was effectively organized.

Initially, the designer Astrov set up its production at the Gorky Automobile Plant.

In 1942, the factory workers produced 3495 units of this weapon, and in 1943 - 3348. Then the production of the T-70 in 1942 was also debugged at plant No. 38 (Kirov). 1378 of these tanks were manufactured here.

It was also planned to involve the Sverdlovsk Plant No. 37 in the production of the tank. However, it was not prepared here, and the technological costs turned out to be critically high. Twice as many engines were required as for the T-60, making more powerful rolled armor more labor intensive. As a result - a modest result: 10 tanks and the cessation of production.

An objective look at the design flaws of the tank

The fact is obvious: the idea of ​​an effective light tank on the fronts of World War II turned out to be a complete utopia. Therefore, the work on the project to create the T-70 (despite the mass of original engineering findings, which we will write about later) obviously looked like, i.e., was doomed to failure.

Let's begin with soviet tanks The Second World War (and the subject of our description as well) had a layout design that was not devoid of obvious shortcomings, involving 5 compartments:

managerial;

Motor (right - in the middle of the body);

Combat (tower and left - in the middle of the hull);

Aft (where the gasoline tanks and the radiator were located).

A tank with similar compartments was front-wheel drive, so chassis part of it was characterized by increased vulnerability.

T-70 - an exhibit of the armored museum in Kubinka (Moscow region)

It's no secret that light tanks (a photo of the Japanese "Ha-Go" and the German PzKpfw-II, modern with the T-70, is presented below) should be designed taking into account mutually exclusive technical and combat criteria:

Efficient distribution of duties between crew members (functional overload of the tank commander in a crew of two, which also included the driver);

The firepower of the gun was insufficient ( lung design tank assumed as the main armament a 45-mm rifled automatic gun 20-K model 1932).

Those wishing to see the typical armament of the T-70 - the main gun and the coaxial machine gun DT-29 with a caliber of 7.62 mm - are recommended to visit the specialized military armored museum (Kubinka). Museum guests can see both the equipment and the equipment of the crew members' seats.

The tank commander was in the turret compartment, which is shifted to the left relative to the longitudinal axis, and also captures the left middle part of the hull. According to his duties, he directed the actions of the driver through intercom, monitored the situation, loaded and fired from the weapon and the machine gun coaxial with it.

The driver was in front of the hull, in the middle.

Since the exhibits of the museum have been carefully restored and, as they say, are on the move, tourists can see the operating components and assemblies of the T-70, making a visual impression for themselves. What do we mean when we mention the functional overload of the tank commander? Too many mechanical, routine processes in it were not automated. This shortcoming can be noticed by those who visited the museum (Kubinka). One has only to carefully examine the mechanisms of the restored combat vehicle. Judge for yourself:

Manual drive of the turret rotation device;

Manual lift for the gun;

When firing shells of a fragmentation type, the semi-automatic did not work, and the commander was forced to manually open the shutter and pull out a red-hot spent cartridge case.

Due to these factors, which objectively interfere with combat, the design rate of fire - up to 12 rounds per minute - turned out to be unattainable. In reality, the T-70 fired up to 5 shots per minute.

By the way, in the same museum, namely in pavilion No. 6, visitors will be able to see the tanks of fascist Germany: “tigers” and “panthers”, which opposed the Soviet tank we are considering.

Rapidly evolving, but still far from perfect, Soviet tanks from the Second World War invariably attract the attention of visitors.

Demanded undercarriage T-70

Especially for the T-70, a twin GAZ-203 engine was developed. Ahead is the GAZ-70-6004 engine, and behind is the GAZ-70-6005. Six-cylinder four-stroke engines - both have been derated for increased reliability and service life.

The T-70 transmission, inherited from the previous model, received generally positive reviews. It consisted of:

Double disc clutch;

Gearboxes 4-speed;

Cardan shaft of stepped type;

bevel final drive;

Onboard clutches multi-disc;

Single row final drives.

The T-70 caterpillar consisted of 91 tracks 26 cm wide.

Instead of a conclusion: military equipment based on the T-70

However, the T-70 tank was not a dead end model. was developed by the Design Bureau of Plant No. 38 (Kirov) on the basis of its extended undercarriage. The main armament of this self-propelled gun was the 76 mm ZIS-3 gun. The T-70 itself turned out to be technologically advanced and promising.

The design of the new weapons was dramatic. The first designer, Semyon Alexandrovich Ginzburg, was accused of non-existent "sins" after the depressing consequences of Kuskoy Duga, deprived of the right to design, sent to the front, where he died. The commissar of tank construction I. M. Zaltsman, who was in conflict with him, had a hand in this. However, this ambitious official was soon motivatedly dismissed from his post.

Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Malyshev, appointed to his position, appointed a competition for the modification of the SU-76, where representatives of GAZ and plant No. 38 were involved.

As a result, the ACS was reconfigured and put into mass production. The 75-mm gun made it possible to successfully destroy enemy self-propelled guns, light and medium tanks. It was also relatively effective against the heavy Panther, penetrating the gun mantlet and side armor. In the fight against the newer and more armored “tiger”, the SU-76 turned out to be ineffective before the introduction of cumulative and

In the second half of 1944, the Red Army entered service created on the basis of the chassis of the T-70 tank.

Today, amateur collectors have the opportunity to purchase any model of the T-70 tank. The price of the base model (full size) is 5 million rubles. Let's make a reservation that it is equipped with the original chassis, but, of course, it is not intended for combat. At the same time, the latest improvements are offered: from a leather interior to an echo sounder.

Description

In October 1941, it became clear that new lightweight the T-60 tank, which was launched in September, is practically useless on the battlefield. The fact is that he had too weak weapons and armor, which was easily pierced by enemy tanks. It was impossible to correct these shortcomings without a fundamental change in the design, since its engine and gearbox were already working in an overstressed mode. The increase in the mass of the tank, which is inevitable with the strengthening of armor and weapons, would put these units out of action.

At the end of October 1941, specialists from the design bureau of the Gorky Automobile Plant began to develop a new tank, who received the index GAZ-70 or military designation T-70.

The work went very quickly, using the prima adopted in the automotive industry, which is unusual for tank designers. General views of the combat vehicle were made in full size on special aluminum plates measuring 7 × 3 meters, which were painted with white enamel and divided into squares measuring 200 × 200 mm. To reduce the area of ​​the drawing and increase its accuracy, a plan was superimposed on the main view - a longitudinal section, as well as full and partial transverse sections. The drawings, which included all the details and assemblies of the external and internal equipment of the tank, were made as detailed as possible and later they served as the basis for control during the assembly of the prototype.

Construction and description

The T-70 light tank had a classic design, with a front-mounted transmission. 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 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.

A 45-mm tank gun of the 1938 model of the year and a coaxial DT machine gun were installed as weapons on the T-70 tank. 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.

Gun characteristics:

• fire line height - 1540 mm;
• tilt angle of the twin unit vertically - from -6 to +20 degrees;
• effective firing range - 3600 m;
• maximum firing range - 4800 m;
• rate of fire - 12 rds / min.

The GAZ-203 engine was chosen as the power plant, which consisted of two four-stroke six-cylinder GAZ-202 carburetor engines 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 of the T-70 tank consisted of a two-disk semi-centrifugal main clutch of dry friction, 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 note: “Commander tanks were equipped with a 9R or 12RT radio station, which was placed in the tower, and an internal intercom TPU-2F. A light-signal device was installed on the line tanks for internal communication between the commander and the driver-mechanic and an internal intercom TPU-2.

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.

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.

Tactical and technical characteristics and dimensions tank T-70:

• length - 4285 mm;
• width - 2420 mm;
• height - 2035 mm;
• clearance - 300 mm;
• armament - cannon 20K model 1934 caliber 45 mm, machine gun DT model 1929 caliber 7.62 mm;
• means of communication - intercom TPU-2 and on command tanks radio station 12RT or 9P;
• overcome obstacles - the angle of elevation is 28 degrees, the width of the ditch is 1.0 meters, the height of the wall is 0.6 meters, the depth of the ford is 0.9 meters;
• maximum speed - 45 km / h;
• cruising range - 250 km.

Assembly and testing

At the end of December 1942, a hull was made for the first tank and a turret designed by V. Dedkov was cast. Simultaneously with the cast, a welded version of the tower was also developed. In January 1942, assembly began, which, for a number of reasons, was completed only on February 14. Then the tank was sent to Moscow and shown there to representatives of the Main Armored Directorate. The military reacted rather coolly to the new tank, since in terms of armor protection it only slightly exceeded the T-60 and had an increased mass due to the installation of a 45-mm cannon, and the power of weapons was leveled by only one place for a person in the tower, who should perform the duties of a commander, gunner and loader. However main constructor ON THE. Astrov promised to short term eliminate all shortcomings.

Then, tests were carried out on a prototype of the T-70 tank and trial firing from the main weapon. The new tank, in comparison with its predecessor, had a higher specific power (15.2 hp / t versus 11 hp / t), more powerful weapon(45 mm gun instead of 20 mm) and enhanced armor protection (45 mm armor instead of 20-35 mm).

Based on the test results, the new tank was adopted by the Red Army by a decree of the State Defense Committee (GKO) dated March 6, 1942. Two days later, the next GKO decree was issued on the production of a tank from April at factories No. 37 and No. 38, as well as the Gorky Automobile Plant. However, the new tank required twice as many parts as the previous tank, while the production of the turret failed, and the Gorky Automobile Plant had to hastily provide documentation for the welded turret to other plants.

The T-70 tank was produced from spring to November 1942, and then it was replaced by a modernized one.

The use of T-70 tanks during the Great Patriotic War

The tank and mechanized corps could include tank brigades consisting of 32 tanks T-34 and 21 T-70 tanks. However, by the spring of 1944, this tank model was excluded from the states of the tank units of the Red Army, but in some brigades they continued to operate for quite a long time.

The first to receive new tanks were the 157th and 162nd separate tank brigades, which were formed in the city of Murom in the first half of 1942. each of these brigades had 65 such vehicles. Even before the start of hostilities, both brigades were reorganized into a more traditional staff of a mixed organization. Baptism of fire new tanks received during the fighting on southwest direction in June-July 1942, where they suffered significant losses. Already the first battles showed their low combat qualities, insufficient armor protection when using tanks as infantry support and weak weapons, which did not allow them to fight against German medium tanks.

However, in capable hands, the T-70 tank was a formidable weapon. So, on July 6, 1943, in the battles for the village of Pokovka in the Oboyan direction, the tank crew under the command of Lieutenant V.V. Pavlovich from the 49th Guards Tank Brigade was able to knock out three medium German tanks and one Panther.

On August 21, 1943, the tank commander, Lieutenant A.L. Dmitrienko of the 178th Tank Brigade discovered a retreating German tank and began to pursue it. Having caught up with the enemy, Dmitrienko noticed that the hatch in the turret of the enemy tank was open, he got out of his tank, jumped onto the armor of the 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.

Fact: “A large number of T-70 tanks participated in the Battle of Kursk. So, tank forces On the eve of the battle, the Central Front had 1652 tanks, of which 369 units or 22% were tanks of this model.

Often these tanks were used for ramming. For example, in the combat log of the 150th Tank Brigade, which operated as part of the 40th Army of the Voronezh Front in January 1943, the following entry was preserved:

“Senior lieutenant Zakharchenko and driver-mechanic senior sergeant Krivko, repelling tank counterattacks and having used up shells, went with their company to ram German tanks. Zakharchenko personally rammed two tanks and captured the commander and chief of staff of the 100th Special Purpose Tank Battalion.”

Fact: “During the Second World War, in addition to the Red Army, the T-70 tank was in service with the Polish Army in the amount of 53 copies and the Czechoslovak Corps in the amount of 10 copies.”