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Posted on 08/16/2004 10:35:04 PM PDT by SAMWolf
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
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 The predecessors of the JS-1 and JS-2 tanks were the KV-1 Heavy Tank and Heavily Armoured KV-13 Medium Tank . The KV-13 (and its subsequent version - Object #233) became the first major independent project of the Experimental Tank Factory, created in March 1942 in Chelyabinsk from Design Bureau #2. N.V.Tseits, who had been recently released from a Gulag, was appointed head designer of the project. Other members of the design team were K.I.Kuzmin (hull), N.M.Sinev (turret), S.V.Mitskevich (chassis) and G.N.Moskvin (general assembly). The KV-13 was designed as a universal tank - medium tank weight and heavy tank protection. This project was distinguished by its extensive use of cast armour. Casting was used not only for the turret, but also for the main elements of its hull - the glacis, turret ring and rear.  KV-13 Medium Tank This reduced the usable internal space, but increased the effective armour protection whilst reducing the amount of armour needed for its manufacture. The last point was especially important in light of the State Defense Committee's decree of 1942 to minimise the consumption of armour materials. The first test unit was designed and produced in an extremely short period of time and in May of 1942 it was delivered to the factory testing facilities. The tank weighed 31.7 tonnes and was armed with a 76.2 mm ZiS-5 gun and a coaxial DT TMG.  JS tanks: "Vehicle #2" (left) and "Vehicle #1" after trials in April 1943. The maximum front armour thickness of its hull was 120 mm, that of its turret - 85 mm. Its V-2K 600 h.p. engine allowed it to reach speeds of up to 55 km/h. Elements of the T-34's chassis, including tracks, were used, whilst the road wheels were taken from the KV. The KV-13 had an improved (U-shaped) radiator similar to the one previously used on the Kirov Factory variant of the T-50 tank. This allowed for a more efficient engine block configuration and also increased the efficiency of its air intake.  JS-2 tank "Vehicle #2" (Object 234) inside the ChKZ Factory, Spring 1943. Several flaws surfaced during the testing of the first experimental unit of the KV-13: poor acceleration due to transmission problems, tracks and rollers easily damaged, tracks being thrown while making turns, etc. In July 1942, in the middle of its testing, the head designer N.V.Tseits died and N.F.Shamshurin was appointed in his place. On his initiative the KV-13 received the transmission developed by F.A.Marishkin for the KV-1S, as well as some other parts of its chassis. However, even after these improvements, the tank did not pass its tests and the military quickly lost interest in it. Despite these early failures, in December of 1942 the assembly of two new variants of the KV-13 began at the Experimental Tank Factory. The new vehicles shared only the hull, torsion bar suspension, and chassis from the first version. The turrets and many other elements were completely new designs. The transmission used was significant in its use of a planetary 2-step travesing gear designed by A.I.Blagonravov. The cooling system was improved, while the track links were lightened by making every other link flat (the so-called "Chelyabinsk tracks").  The experimental JS tank "Vehicle #3" (Object 237) armed with the S-18 Main Gun, after trials in Summer 1943. The appearance of the German heavy Tigers on the Eastern Front played a direct and decisive role in increasing the speed of development of these new models. According to decree #2943ss of the GOKO (February 24, 1943) the Kirov factory in Chelyabinsk and factory #100 (the new name of the Experimental Tank Factory) of NKTP were to manufacture two experimental tanks of the "Josef Stalin" (JS) class (based on the two latest models of the KV-13) and prepare them for testing. The model armed with a 76.2 mm gun was designated JS-1 (also retaining its factory designation: "Object #233"). The second model, armed with a 122 mm U-11 tank howitzer (designed for the experimental heavy tank KV-9) was designated JS-2 (Object #234).  The experimental JS tank with the 85 mm Main Gun S-31 during Government trials. Both models were tested between March 22 and April 19, 1943 and in general performed quite well. The state commission noted that both JS tanks weighed less than the KV-1S, could achieve higher speeds, had better armour protection and had equal (JS-1) or better (JS-2) armament. During testing, serious defects were discovered, particularly with the chassis and engine/transmission. It was also noted that when moving over soft ground the tanks experienced high rolling resistance due to their treads flexing into the space between the road wheels. The commission recommended increasing the number of road wheels on future test units of JS tanks.  Government trials of the JS-85 during the Autumn of 1943. At the same time preparations for production of the new vehicles began at the Chelyabinsk Kirov Factory (ChKZ), Factory #100 and their main partner factories- the Ural Factory of Heavy Machinery (UZTM) and Factory #200. However, further developments forced major changes in these preparations. In early April, the first reliable data on the armour protection of the Tigers was obtained. On April 15, 1943, the GKO issued the decree #3187ss instructing the People's Commissariat for Armaments to develop more powerful anti-tank guns capable of destroying the new enemy AFV's. At the end of April, a captured Tiger was brought to the Kubinka testing grounds to be subjected to firing tests. It turned out that the most effective weapon against it was the 85mm AA-gun 52-K model 1939, which penetrated the Tiger's 100 mm frontal armour from 1000 metres.  Government trials of the JS-85 during the Autumn of 1943 The GKO's decree #3289ss of May 5, 1943, instructed the Design Bureaus to aim for the performance characteristics of that gun. Following this decree the Central Artillery Design Bureau (TsAKB, under V. G. Grabin, and the Design Bureau of Factory #9, under F. F. Petrov, were entrusted with developing and installing new 85-mm guns on two KV-1S and two experimental JS tanks.
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On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on August 17:
1601 Pierre de Fermat mathematician who needed wider margins
1786 Davy Crockett US, frontiersman/adventurer/politician
1819 James Henry Van Alen, Brig General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1840 Wilfrid Scawen Blunt England, writer (Irish Land League)
1870 Frederick Russell developed 1st successful typhoid fever vaccine
1876 Eric Drummond 1st Secretary-General of League of Nations (1919-33)
1887 Marcus Garvey began back-to-Africa movement among US blacks
1892 Mae West Bkln, actress (Go up & see her sometime)
1905 John Hay Whitney publisher (NY Herald Trib 1961-67)
1914 Franklin D Roosevelt Jr son of FDR/(Rep-D-NY, 1949-55)
1921 Maureen O'Hara Dublin Ireland, actress (Miracle on 34th St)
1926 Haakon Barfod Norway, yachting (Olympic-gold-1948, 52)
1929 Francis Gary Powers US spy (USSR captures him in 1959 U-2 incident)
1932 V.S. Naipaul Trinidad, novelist (Middle Passage)
1941 Boog Powell baseball player (AL MVP 1970)
1943 Robert De Niro NYC, actor (Taxi Driver, Goodfellas)
1951 Alan Minter England, light-middleweight boxer (Olympic-bronze-1972)
1952 Kathryn C Thornton Montgomery Alabama, PhD/astronaut (STS 33, sk: 49)
1958 Belinda Carlisle Hollywood Ca, (GoGos lead singer, Heaven on Earth)
1960 Sean Penn actor (Fast Times at Ridgemont High)
1991 Mikhail Moseyevich Botvinnik, world Chess Champion
Oh, to have been a fly on the wall when LtCol Ronald Spears served as Governor of Spandau Prison in the 50's. I imagine there were some very interesting conversations between the former Easy Company Commander and his charges.
Hey Rudolph, want a cigarette?
These tanks appear to have an awfully high profile. Was that a problem with these?
Oh my goodness. Look for freepmail.
Good morning Aeronaut.
Good morning EGC.
Good morning Mayor.
Good morning tanker feather.
Neat picture. Thanks PE.
Mornin' CJ.
Spears was the ultimate anti-smoking zealot, I guess.
Found out yesterday I'm getting orders to a ship in Norfolk, NAB
This gonna be a permanent assignment? Don't envy you having to pack up a family and move halfway around the world.
Morning aeronaut.
Morning E.G.C.
Guilty as charged. :-(
With LtCol Ronald Spiers smoking can definitely be hazardous to your health.
Morning Darksheare.
We just pile all the dirt from the foxholes into a berm and put the tank hulldown behind it. ;-)
Good Morning Feather.
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