Tank Archives

An order for 400 Schneider CA.1 tanks was placed #OTD in 1916. This tank consisted of an armoured casemate on a chassis of an American Holt Baby tractor. With a 75 mm cannon and bulletproof spaced armour in a 13.5 ton package, this was a very competitive tank for its time. #tanks #history #WW1 #WWI

Factory trials of the first iteration of the T-43 tank ended #OTD in 1943. This tank was an improvement over the T-34, but compromises made in favour of getting it into production faster undermined the design. In the end, it had to be redone completely. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

#OTD in 1937 the Red Army accepted T-26 teletanks into service. These tanks could be controlled wirelessly to assault fortifications or clear minefields without endangering the operator. However they were expensive to make and only 75 pairs were ever built. #tanks #history

#OTD in 1935 Rheinmetall signed a contract to build a chassis for a new lighter medium tank to replace the failed Nb.Fz. Krupp was only supposed to build the turret for this tank, but ended up stealing the contract for the chassis from Rheinmetall as well. #tanks #history

#OTD in 1945 Heavy Tanks T26E3 went into battle for the first time with the 3rd Armored Division. This division only had 10 of these tanks and the crews had only a few days to train, nevertheless the T26E3 proved itself in combat. #tanks #History #WW2 #WWII

#OTD in 1943 Italy ordered a batch of the new Semovente da 105/25 su scafo M43 SPGs. These vehicles never fought for Italy and fell into German hands after the occupation. #tanks #History #WW2 #WWII

#OTD in 1942 the Red Army introduced a bonus structure. Repair crews could earn as much as 800 rubles for a medium repair of a KV tank, a decent chunk of change considering that a two loaves of bread or a liter of milk cost 2 rubles. #tanks #History #WW2 #WWII

Even though the Americans and Germans most commonly employed this style of vehicle, the USSR also dabbled in halftracks and even tank destroyers and SPGs on this chassis. Orders to test the ZIS-41 on the ZIS-22M chassis were given #OTD in 1942. #tanks #History #WW2 #WWII

#OTD in 1930 a commission led by the Red Army's chief of mechanization Innokenty Khalepsky was instructed to purchase a production license for a tankette from Vickers. The vehicle was produced under the index T-27. 3297 were built between 1931 and 1934. #tanks #history

#OTD in 1943 Stalin signed an order to prepare for mass production of IS-1 and IS-2 tanks. Before this could happen, the requirements for the next generation of heavy tanks were significantly revised, and a very different tank was produced instead. #tanks #History #WW2 #WWII

The Germans were not entirely satisfied with the Pz.Kpfw.I and work began on an improved tank. #OTD in 1934 it was codenamed La.S.100 (Landwirtschaftliche Schlepper 100, Agricultural Tractor, 100 hp engine). This tank evolved into the Pz.Kpfw.II. #tanks #History

The age of the SU-76I and SG-122 was brief. Few of the captured German tanks could be put back into service and the recovery of Soviet tank production meant that these programs were unnecessary. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

A huge number of German AFVs were captured at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-43. This led to a decree passed #OTD in 1943 to establish a refurbishment process for these tanks. Pz.Kpfw.III and StuG chassis from here were used to build Soviet SPGs. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

Elefant tank destroyers from the 653rd Heavy Tank Destroyer Battalion arrived in Rome #OTD in 1944. Only one company was sent, which seemed prudent as the heavy and fragile vehicle was unsuitable for the heat and mountains of this theatre of war. #tanks #History #WW2 #WWII

Development of the Mortar Motor Carriage T94 was approved #OTD in 1945. It combined the chassis of the GMC M40 and T5E2 254 mm breech-loaded mortar. Only a model was built before the US Army lost interest and the project was cancelled. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

#OTD in 1944 the Red Army published instructions for new T-34-85 tanks. Commanders were instructed to make full use of their powerful new 85 mm guns, firing from a range of 1500-2000 meters to keep the tank at a safe distance from German tank guns. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

In early 1942 the T-34 gained applique armour to improve frontal protection, but #OTD in 1942 Stalin cancelled the order. The applique armour was too time consuming to install and didn't really protect against that many more weapons than the base armour. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

All Pershing tanks that arrived in Europe at the start of 1945 were issued #OTD in 1945. These tanks fought with the 3rd and 9th Armored Divisions and proved that the American heavy tanks were more than capable of wrangling with German ones. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

KV tanks gained a considerable amount of weight due to improvements and wartime simplifications. #OTD in 1942 Stalin signed three decrees aimed at getting the tank's mass back under 45 tons. This work eventually led to the creation of the KV-1S. #tanks #history #WW2

The Sd.Kfz.6 halftrack was made into a tank destroyer by adding a primitive casemate and a captured Soviet F-22 gun. Only nine were built, with the last joining the 605th Tank Destroyer Battalion in North Africa #OTD in 1942. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

The decision to build a pilot series of Centurion tanks was made #OTD in 1944. 20 tanks would be built with various different armament layouts, some with a secondary 20 mm Polsten gun, some with a more traditional BESA. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

#OTD in 1922 Russian Renault tanks were first shown to the world at a parade on Red Square. These were copies of French Renault FT tanks adapted for manufacture in the RSFSR. The tanks came too late to fight in the Russian Civil War and were only used for training #tanks #History

Czechoslovakia was a major player on the arms export market. One of its greatest successes was ČKD's AH-IV tankette. 35 AH-IV-R tankettes were built for Romania and #OTD in 1939 a deal was made to build licensed copies at a factory in Reșița. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

The T-100Y was intended to assault the Mannerheim Line, but due to factory #185 constantly flipflopping on the design, the hull of the T-100Y was only finished #OTD in 1940. The vehicle itself was finished on March 14th, a day after the Winter War ended #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

Amid rising tensions in Europe, Czechoslovakia pressed some LT vz.35 tanks built for Romania into service. Thanks to the Munich Agreement, there was no longer a point in keeping the tanks, and so the last of Romania's order was delivered #OTD in 1939. #tanks #History #WW2

The KV-2 first saw battle #OTD in 1940. It was developed specifically to combat the fortifications of the Mannerheim Line, but it was already breached by the time the tank arrived on the front lines. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

IS-3 (Kirovets-1) pilots #1 and #3 were admitted to factory trials #OTD in 1945. The two tanks cleared 1000 km trials and #3 drove for almost 2000 km before #2 finished proving grounds trials at Kubinka. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

A light tank armed with only two machine guns that appeared anachronistic by WW2, the Pz.Kpfw.I nevertheless made up nearly half of all German tanks in service during the Polish campaign and more than a quarter after the French campaign. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

The Nazi army expanded at a rate that German industry couldn't match. #OTD in 1940 the TO&E of tank companies was altered to allow for a greater proportion of outdated Pz.Kpfw.I tanks to make up for a shortage of the Pz.Kpfw.II. #tanks #history #WW2 #WWII

37 mm anti-tank gun at Iwo Jima photographed #OTD in 1945. The gun shield was made to have an irregular shape to better blend in with terrain. #history #WW2 #WWII