The Russian Wave: Soviet Medium and Heavy Tanks, 1941-1945
This is a companion to my piece on German tanks, just so I don't seem like a Nazi sympathizer.
Let us start by analyzing why tanks were such a deciding factor on the Eastern Front. Compared to the wooded and heavily populated West, the Eastern Campaign was fought mainly over the plains of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Poland, sparsely populated regions with very long lines of fire. And unlike in the West, where American and British air superiority, by sheer numbers, forced the Luftwaffe from the sky and kept German tanks pinned under cover during the day, in the East the air forces were relatively well-balanced. While the Russians were much more numerous, the German pilots were more experienced and their aircraft were of better quality. Therefore, neither side was able to get uncontested time to strafe the enemy tank columns. It was left to the ground units to fight for themselves. And because the terrain was so open, infantry anti-tank (AT) weapons, such as the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck (a carbon copy of the American Bazooka), were of much less use since they could not be fired from cover. AT guns were still of use, but because of the open terrain, tanks could often knock them out of combat before they fell within the gun's range. Therefore, tank-tank combat became the centerpiece of the battle.
T-34
The T-34 was the main Russian tank. A good picture of the original model can be found here. It was better armored than the German tanks of the time (Mark IIIs and IVs, see my earlier piece for more information), well enough in fact that the German tanks would be unable to penetrate its armor without getting behind it and firing into the engine grille. Sporting a 7.62 cm L/31 main gun, it could knock out most mid-war German tanks with one shot. However, the small turret caused trouble, such as the commander being required to load the main gun since there was no room for a loader, and the T-34 '43, brought out in 1943 (surprise!) sported a larger turret. A later refinement, the T-34-85, was a T-34 '43 with an 8.5 cm L/42 cannon. It was capable of knocking out all but the heaviest German tanks. The T-34 was the tank on which the Red Army rode to victory, quite literally.
K-V I + II
The K-V line was an intermediary tank between the T-34 medium tank the the Josef Stalin (IS) tanks of the late war. They were slow, cumbersome behemoths, but nothing the Germans had at the time could beat it in a straight fight. They had very short guns for tanks of their size, a 7.62 cm L/31 gun (similar to that on the T-34), but still packed a decent punch.
IS-2
The Josef Stalin II (IS-2) was the most powerful tank to see combat in World War II. And yes, Stalin was enough of an asshole to name not one, but two tanks after himself. With 150mm of frontal armor and a 122mm L/43 gun, it was unopposed by all but the heaviest German tanks, notably the Königstiger, and the JagdPanther and JagdTiger assualt guns. It mounted a total of four machine guns (two front, one rear, one anti-aircraft (AA)), allowing it to prevent ambush from any angle. This was the heaviest tank of the war.
IS-3
The Josef Stalin III was bigger, faster, better armed, and better armored than the IS-2, but most historians believe it never saw action in World War II. The first time it was confirmed by Western observers was during the Russian May Day military parade in 1945. Equipped with 230mm of frontal armor, it was almost inpenetrable, even to the JagdTiger's 12.8 cm gun. The IS-3 sported a 122mm L/43 gun, like the IS-2, but was much faster and more manuveurable. It was truly a pinnacle of tank design, and a far cry from the early tanks of the war.
Let us start by analyzing why tanks were such a deciding factor on the Eastern Front. Compared to the wooded and heavily populated West, the Eastern Campaign was fought mainly over the plains of Ukraine, Belarus, Russia, and Poland, sparsely populated regions with very long lines of fire. And unlike in the West, where American and British air superiority, by sheer numbers, forced the Luftwaffe from the sky and kept German tanks pinned under cover during the day, in the East the air forces were relatively well-balanced. While the Russians were much more numerous, the German pilots were more experienced and their aircraft were of better quality. Therefore, neither side was able to get uncontested time to strafe the enemy tank columns. It was left to the ground units to fight for themselves. And because the terrain was so open, infantry anti-tank (AT) weapons, such as the Panzerfaust and Panzerschreck (a carbon copy of the American Bazooka), were of much less use since they could not be fired from cover. AT guns were still of use, but because of the open terrain, tanks could often knock them out of combat before they fell within the gun's range. Therefore, tank-tank combat became the centerpiece of the battle.
T-34
The T-34 was the main Russian tank. A good picture of the original model can be found here. It was better armored than the German tanks of the time (Mark IIIs and IVs, see my earlier piece for more information), well enough in fact that the German tanks would be unable to penetrate its armor without getting behind it and firing into the engine grille. Sporting a 7.62 cm L/31 main gun, it could knock out most mid-war German tanks with one shot. However, the small turret caused trouble, such as the commander being required to load the main gun since there was no room for a loader, and the T-34 '43, brought out in 1943 (surprise!) sported a larger turret. A later refinement, the T-34-85, was a T-34 '43 with an 8.5 cm L/42 cannon. It was capable of knocking out all but the heaviest German tanks. The T-34 was the tank on which the Red Army rode to victory, quite literally.
K-V I + II
The K-V line was an intermediary tank between the T-34 medium tank the the Josef Stalin (IS) tanks of the late war. They were slow, cumbersome behemoths, but nothing the Germans had at the time could beat it in a straight fight. They had very short guns for tanks of their size, a 7.62 cm L/31 gun (similar to that on the T-34), but still packed a decent punch.
IS-2
The Josef Stalin II (IS-2) was the most powerful tank to see combat in World War II. And yes, Stalin was enough of an asshole to name not one, but two tanks after himself. With 150mm of frontal armor and a 122mm L/43 gun, it was unopposed by all but the heaviest German tanks, notably the Königstiger, and the JagdPanther and JagdTiger assualt guns. It mounted a total of four machine guns (two front, one rear, one anti-aircraft (AA)), allowing it to prevent ambush from any angle. This was the heaviest tank of the war.
IS-3
The Josef Stalin III was bigger, faster, better armed, and better armored than the IS-2, but most historians believe it never saw action in World War II. The first time it was confirmed by Western observers was during the Russian May Day military parade in 1945. Equipped with 230mm of frontal armor, it was almost inpenetrable, even to the JagdTiger's 12.8 cm gun. The IS-3 sported a 122mm L/43 gun, like the IS-2, but was much faster and more manuveurable. It was truly a pinnacle of tank design, and a far cry from the early tanks of the war.
posted by Jimmy at 12:37 AM
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