The FReeper Foxhole's TreadHead Tuesday - Soviet BT Series Tanks - Oct. 19th, 2004

http://users.swing.be/tanks.tanks/complet/569.html#827 ^

[SAMWolf]

BT-2

The initials "BT" comes from Bystrochodnyj Tank which meant "fast tank". With the engine and transmission located in the rear, the BT:s turret was identical to that used on the original Christie tank and was mounted centrally on the forward part, with the driver seated centrally at the extreme front. As on the original Christie tank, the BT could run on wheels or tracks, a change which took approx. 30 minutes. When running on tracks, the chain sprocket on each side of the driving wheel was replaced by four rollers which drove the tracks via the driving lugs carried on alternate track plates. When using the wheels, the power was transmitted from the main driving wheels to the solid steering bogie wheels through a chain drive. When running on tracks, the vehicle was steered by the conventional clutch and brake method.

BT-2

In 1930 Soviet Union purchased military equipment from Germany, France, Great Britain and the USA. Among these were a tank prototype designed by J. Walther Christie. In early 1931 two Christie tanks arrived to the USSR, and they were thoroughly tested. After demonstration to the Soviet High Command and Government, a modified Christie tanks was accepted for production as BT-2. (Bystrochodnyj Tank, fast tank). The Kharkov Steamer Plant took care of the production, but a shortage of M5 engines was compensated with US Liberty aircraft engines. Poor quality of rubber seriously reduced running capabilities. The factory failed to produce stamped road wheels, and therefore the cast ones adopted made the BT-2 800kg heavier. The production of stamped road wheels didn't start until 1932. Only 434 BT-2 of the planned 600 were built, and only 396 were accepted by the Red Army, mainly without armament. There were numerous problems with the armament as the turret was too small for a coupled installation of the B-3 tank gun and the DT machine gun. Due to this, the first 60 BT-2's manufactured lacked the machine gun. The plan was to install the armaments separately, but deliveries of the B-3 gun failed. As a result 350 of 610 tanks built in 1932-33 were armed with DA-2 coupled machine gun installation. The BT-2 was modified several times during the production, and as a result the BT-5 appeared and was put into production in 1933.


BT-2's and T-26's on manoeuvres

BT-2 tanks took part in the Polish campaign of 1939, and in the Winter War with Finns in early 1940. Intended to have been withdrawn from front-line service in 1940, but the reorganization of the Red Army along with the forming of the armored corps and the German invasion of 1941, this never happened. Very few of the obsolete BT-2's survived the battles of 1941, but few still were in service in 1942-43 on the Leningrad front and in Karelia.

BT-5

BT-5 tanks of the 45th Mechanized Corps during manoeuvres. Kiev Military District, 1935

In 1932 the design team at Kharkov and KhPZ in Leningrad were instructed to adapt the new 45mm Model 1932 L/46 tank gun for their tanks. As a result of this the KhPZ developed the BT-5 Model 1933. The new BT-5 had a larger turret with a new gun, and simpler convex style wheels were used. The BT-5 Model 1933 was short-lived, because the OKMO team had developed a better turret for the 45mm gun. The first turret developed by KhPZ had only a single roof hatch and inadequate stowage. The new turret had twin hatches and this became the standard production turret until the introduction of the BT-7 in 1937.



Several variants of the BT-5 were built. The BT-5PKh was fitted with a snorkel and rubber sealing to enable it to drive across rivers under water. They were first employed in the Byelorussian MD manoeuvres near Slutsk by the 4th Mechanized Regiment of the 4th Don Cossack Division headed by then unknown Georgi Zhukov. 50 BT-5 were sent to Spain to fight in the Civil War. By the experience from the battlefield both in Spain and against Japan in the Khalkin Gol battles, a new BT-7 was built.

BT-7 & BT-8

BT-7

Further improvements of the BT-5 Model 1934 tank led to the BT-7 Model 1935. The new BT-7 used the same turret as the BT-5 but had a redesigned front hull. The muffler at the rear was now entirely closed. A new short pitched track was introduced, and a new M-17T engine was fitted, providing 450hp. Maximum armor was increased from 13mm to 22mm. The hew BT-7 hull were largely electro-welded instead of the former use of rivets. The redesigned hull resulted in a greater fuel capacity. The BT-7 and BT-7TU Model 1935 remained in production until 1937 when the BT-7 Model 1937 was introduced. It used a new sloped turret, otherwise it was nearly identical to the BT-7 of Model 1935. The BT-7TU Model 1937 command tank most often used a whip antennae instead of the old horseshoe-antenna seen on BT-5TU Model 1934 and BT-7 Model 1935. In 1938, the continuous strive to improve the model led to a modified version known as BT-7M. This featured a new V-2 diesel engine, and as on late production vehicles of the BT-7 Model 1937, the BT-7M had a ball-mounted machinegun in the turret rear, but later redesigned hatches on the roof permitted a P-40 AAMG to be fitted.


The BT-7A Light Tank

The BT-7A was the artillery version of the vehicle armed with a 76.2mm Model 1927/32 L/16 howitzer in an enlarged turret. It was produced in quantity, but no numbers have been found.

The OP-7 was a flamethrower variant of the BT-7 Model 1937 which mounted the fuel cell for the flamethrower externally in an armored pannier on the right hull side. It was never produced in quantity.

Production of the BT-8 began in 1939, and 706 were built during 1940. Only a small number were built in 1941 before production was terminated. A prototype of a BT-8A was planned, with a 76.2mm in a roomier turrett than that fitted on the BT-7A, but it never reached longer than to a scale model. The BT tank was known as "Betka" or "Betushka", and a total of 7.000 BT tanks were manufactured.

Thorleif Olsson

[SAMWolf]

Variants

BT-5AT: Close support version with 76.2 mm howitzer. It's 6.2 kg shell could be fired 7,125 meters.


BT-5 tank column. Finland. January 1940

BT-5TU(1934): Commander's version. Carried only 72 shells to make room for the radio sets. The antenna was placed around the turret.

T-5Pch: Had a snorkel device attached so that it could go through water obstacles 5 meters deep.

BT-IS: Five prototype vehicles that had improvements designed by N. F. Zygankovich. It had 3 pairs of road wheels to be driven on, and also had more angled hull armor.


The BT-IS Light Tank

BT-7-1: Cylindrical turret.

BT-7-2: Conical turret. Had 2 round hatches on the turret room and was nicknamed "Mickey Mouse" by the Germans.

BT-7-1(U): Command tank. Carried 132-146 shells. Had a 71-TK radio set installed. The cylindrical turrets had a wrap around antenna, whereas the conical turrets had a rod antenna.




OP-7: Flame thrower installed. Apparently didn't reach the front lines.

BT-7A: Had short barreled 76.2 mm gun installed. Carried 40 shells if it had a radio, and 50 if it didn't.

BT-7M, BT-8:Sometimes known as the BT-8. Was a major redesign in 1939. It had a sloping front glacis instead of the previous pointed noses. Had a diesel engine installed.

Additional Sources:

www.silentwall.com
www.wwiivehicles.com
www.axishistory.com
www.ipmsfinland.org
www.battlefield.ru
ww2photo.mimerswell.com
mailer.fsu.edu
home.sandiego.edu

[SAMWolf]

Impressed by the performances of the American tankT-3, built by J. Walter Christie, the Russians bought a couple of units and tested them in Russia. They were so satisfied with the result that they copied it and put it into use under the name BT ("fast tank").


BT-2 during trials

This was one of the best, and in any case the fastest, light tank build before the war. It proved its value among others, during the Civil War in Spain, against its German and Italian contemporaries. Its fame started to fade during the war in Finland. Its lack of armor appeared as a major weakness. It was still largely represented in the Red Army when the Germans invaded Russia. It took very high losses and was removed from the frontline in 1942

All of the BT series had large road-wheels with caoutchouc around them, a small sprocket at the rear and a small idler.

[SAMWolf]

Here are the recommended holiday mailing dates for military mail this year:

For military mail addressed TO APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Parcel Post - November 13
• Space Available - November 27
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - Mailing date is December 11 to all locations
  • EXCEPT for locations starting with ZIP 093. For all locations starting with ZIP 093 the mailing date is December 6.
• Express Mail - December 20 to locations where Express Mail service is available. Check with your local post office to determine which APO/FPO addresses can receive Express Mail. Note: This service is not available to ships.

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For military mail FROM APO and FPO addresses, the mailing dates are:

• Space Available - November 20
• Parcel Airlift - December 4
• Priority Mail, First Class cards and letters - December 11
• Express Mail - December 18 from APO/FPO addresses where Express Mail can be accepted. Check with your local military post office to determine if they can accept Express Mail. Note: This service is not available from ships.

Thanks for the information StayAtHomeMother

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Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

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Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

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UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004



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************Snippy, I bequeath to you the FR TH PL.

148 posted on 08/24/2004 11:39:45 AM PDT by Cannoneer No. 4 (I've lost turret power; I have my nods and my .50. Hooah. I will stay until relieved. White 2 out.)

Cannoneer, we miss you. :-)

[SAMWolf]

Good Night Snippy.

Got a lot done today. :-)

[snippy_about_it]

Yep. Good night Sam.

[radu]

Good morning everyone!

To all our military men and women, past and present, and to our allies who stand with us,
THANK YOU!

[snippy_about_it]

Good morning/Good night radu.

[radu]

Hi snippy!

How are things your way? Hopefully a LOT quieter than they are here. It's been a stormy Monday and doesn't look like Tuesday will be any different.

[Aeronaut]

Good morning Snippy.

[E.G.C.]

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Foxhole.

[alfa6]

Treadhead Tuesday Bump

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[The Mayor]

October 19, 2004

A Good Day To Die?

Read: 1 Kings 19:1-18

It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life! —1 Kings 19:4

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 56-58; 2 Thessalonians 2

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Hopelessness and anger combined to bring death to a young man in my neighborhood. Someone had beaten him up for something he said. To retaliate, he came back with a gun. The police were called. When they arrived he ran, shooting at them. To protect everyone, they shot him. He lost his life at age 21. Later it was reported that he had told a family member that morning: "Today would be a good day to die." I wonder what brought him to such despair.

There was a day when the prophet Elijah felt hopeless and wanted to die. He had just experienced a great victory over the prophets of Baal, but now his life was being threatened by the king's wife Jezebel. In fear, he ran into the wilderness (1 Kings 19:4). There he "prayed that he might die, and said, 'It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life!'"

We may think that Elijah was overreacting, but hopeless feelings are real. He wisely went to the right source for help—he cried out to God. The Lord knew Elijah needed restoration, so He provided for his needs (vv.5-7). He revealed Himself to him (vv.9-13) and renewed Elijah's sense of purpose by giving him work to do (vv.15-17). God brought him hope by reminding him that he was not alone (v.18).

Look to God. He is your source of hope. —Anne Cetas

Lord, give us grace to trust You when
Life's burdens seem too much to bear;
Dispel the darkness with new hope
And help us rise above despair. —Sper

No one is hopeless whose hope is in God.

[alfa6]

Hmmm, Soviet WW-II tanks must mean a Soviet WW-II aeroplane is needed. Here is a nice shot of a LaGG9 in company with a P-51. Hat tip to "www.warbirdsovernewzealand.com again

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Mornin' snippy.

Mornin' Treadheads

Anybody got a 1AD desert subdued shoulder patch they could send me to show the embroidery guys what size patch we want?

[Colonel_Flagg]

Good morning, Foxhole! Falling in for another Treadhead Tuesday!

Anyone notice how many of the BT-series tanks pictures in today's thread are burning? :)

[Soaring Feather]

Good morning everyone!
WOO HOO ThreadHead Tuesday!