Russian and Soviet Tanks 1914-1941 English edition August 2013. ISBN: 978-1-291-74954-0 After the appearance of the tank in the First World War, the use of this new weapon was spread on a global scale. But in subsequent decades much interest in it, as the theories as to its use tactics, declined in most armies. Only a handful of visionaries raised their voices proclaiming the importance and possibilities that the use of these machines, integrated together in large formations, would have in the future. Very few nations would pay attention to those ideas and even less willing to invest their resources to implement them. Therefore, in the first half of the thirties come into regular service the first armored units equipped with medium and heavy tanks since the end of World War I, these events did not take place in one of the western industrialized countries, but in the Soviet Union. This is a chronicle of the formation of these units and the development of the first material that would nurture them, as well as later models that would mark a milestone in the history and would directly influence the course of this. As the explanatory note contained in this book, it must be recognized that in the virtual absence of specific names for the various versions of the vehicles described here, since this was a constant in this time period in the Soviet Union, many of the references to these versions have been taken considering their entry into service or manufacture year. Maximino Argüelles Martínez. Asturias, Spain in August 2013. Acknowledgments: To my muses: Dori and Nidia. And to all the inhabitants of "Little Russia" in the Hueria de Carrocera Valley. CONTENTS Genesis p. 2 The First Generation p. 16 The First Units p. 32 Dissolution and Reconstruction p. 38 Battle Horses p. 54 Factories and Testing Polygons p. 74 Situation at June 21, 1941 p. 78 Bibliography p. 97 The Baltic Russian firm was founded in the city of Riga in 1908. Becoming the industrial and technological forefront of the Russian Empire. And one of the leading European car manufacturers of the time. Compared with other European manufacturers by 1914 the firm had produced 300 cars, Alfa Romeo 200, Audi 210, Bugatti 150 and Mercedes around 100. The models of the C24 Torpedo Type C series took a clean sweep the first positions in sporting automobile competitions pioneers in Europe. In 1912 the journalist André Nagel at the controls of a Torpedo Type C gets the victory in the Rally St. Petersburg Monaco and that year is among the top positions in the Saint Petersburg Saint Sebastian race. In this illustration appears an Austin first series armored vehicle, in service with an armored detachment of the 4th Russian Army operating in Romania during 1916. Genesis Technical studies on armored vehicles capable of independent movement of railways in Russia was initiated in the first decade of the twentieth century. After the defeat of 1905 in the war against Japan, is launching a program to modernize its armed forces. The result of these plans is responsible construction in France of which would be the first Russian armored vehicles. It would be eight armored cars designed by the Georgian engineer N. K. Nakashidze, model Nakashidze-Charron, known in the West as CGV Charron. Delivered in 1908, weighing 3 tons and 3 crew on a future disposition announcing the conventional composition of these vehicles: protected structure on a four-wheeled chassis and armed with a 8mm machine gun in a rotating turret on top on the structure. In dealing with the beginnings of the automobile in these latitudes is necessary to highlight the Baltic Russian firm (Russo Balt), founded in 1908 in the city of Riga, the main industrial center of the Russian Empire. As early as 1910 it began testing in the Russian army all-terrain vehicles manufactured by this firm. In the same bill is the 1913 draft one of the world's first half-tracks, with the assistance of the French firm Kegresse, it is the Russo-Balt D24/40 Kegresse high mobility vehicle used primarily as an ambulance. Different products of this factory supplied Russian army trucks as 1912 Type D and 1913 Type M and T. FIRST PROJECTS Russo-Balt armored vehicle This is the first armored vehicle manufactured in Russia shortly before the start of the first world war in 1914 over the chassis of a Type C car of this firm, installing on a protected structure with angular shapes, without rotating turrets, the various machine guns which is armed stand at the sides, front and rear in some cases, run by its five crew members. 2 Gardford-Putilov armored vehicle The design work Gardford-Putilov Putilov workshops began in St. Petersburg in 1914, production reached 48 copies in two versions, one for the Army and one for the Navy. About the Gardford truck chassis 4 tons imported was mounted armored structure capable of accommodating a crew of 8-9 men and an armament of several machine guns and field artillery piece of 76.2 mm at the rear located on a tower with rotation capacity. naval version, designed for the defense of the main naval bases in the Baltic Sea, was equipped with more armor which raised the weight to 11 tons compared to 9 of the terrestrial version. Powered by an engine of only 30 horse power did not exceed 18 to 16 Km / h and its mobility off-road or was practically nil. Despite these limitations, the armament became a vehicle with more firepower of their time and an efficient anti tank mobile weapon. FIRST TANK PROJECTS Mendeleev armored train Recognized as one of the first chariot projects created between 1911 and 1915 by Vasiliy Mendeleev Russian engineer, was never built. 3 The huge vehicle designed, with about 12 m long and weighing 100 tons, would have a suspension system consisting of gas cylinders that would allow him to lay his helmet on the ground to protect the tracks and undercarriage. It would be powered by a 250 hp naval and same origin would be their armor plates and weapons. The concept itself, it would be more of a self-propelled artillery piece or mobile fortress, which a tank itself. There are some sources mention another armored vehicle project developed in Rybinsk tractor factory, known as Rybinsk Factory Tank, presented to the technical department of the Russian Army in 1916, weighing 20 tons shaped structure rectangular box mounted on a tracked chassis and armed with a 107mm piece at one end and a high-mounted machine guns at the other end, very similar in concept and size to French St Chammon medium tank. Vezdekhod Literally translated from Russian "Whoever can go anywhere." Developed by a young aeronautical engineer Aleksandr Porokhovschikov, it was to produce a prototype in the spring of 1915 and after being subjected to numerous tests during the rest of the year, finally in December 1915 did not continue with the project despite considering the technical department Russian Army could be a practical idea and of some use. It was a small car under four meters long, equipped with a very wide single track in the middle and two small wheels to facilitate movement by road. The prototype had no weapons, but was expected equipped with a turret armed with a machine gun operated by the sole occupant. The hull design diamond shape resembled that of the first British designs, with a forward lean and very low center of gravity which facilitated overcoming the various obstacles on the ground. Currently there is still controversy as to whether this is the first battle tank built in the world, what is clear is that it is the first built in Russia. 4 Tzar Tank In August 1915 a field test on the outskirts of Moscow maneuvered one of the strangest military vehicles and curious how many have been produced to date. It was the Tzar battle tank, also known by the name of its principal designer Nikolai Lebedenko or Netopýr even bat (this name came from the resemblance to a bat sleeping hanging when carrying the scale model of the vehicle seized by rear wheel). A 40-ton mill powered by two large wheels of 9 m in diameter at the front each driven by a 250 hp engine in the rear a roller with three wheels 1.5 meters in diameter served him support, a provision very unusual tricycle in armored vehicle design. The armament consisted of numerous machine guns and cannons on a tower at the top of the helmet to 8 meters high, in side barbettes and also provided other armed tower in the bottom of the hull. After several unsuccessful attempts on the ground the project was canceled mainly due to poor off-road mobility, being vulnerable to artillery fire because of its height and its huge cost, 250,000 rubles of the time. The prototype was abandoned in the field of tests and was finally dismantled in 1923. No doubt that this, together with the draft Mendeleev, is one of the most outstanding examples of the speculation on the land battleships theory that spread through much of Europe in the first half of this decade. This was in addition to project on land war scenario concepts and mobilities own naval resources, protection and great firepower. But these proved totally outdated concepts for the technical possibilities of the time. 5 ARMORED VEHICLES IN ACTION After the start of the First World War and the first deliveries of armored vehicles is created in the fall of 1914 the first organic company of Russian Automobile Corps composed of 15 Russian-Balt armored cars armed with machine guns and 3 Gardford-Putilov armored trucks equipped 76.2 mm cannon.