Warszawa II (32 page)

A more modern armoured-car which was not over-armed like the BA-10, but only had a two man crew and a machine-gun: It was a notably excellent scouting car. A total of 3,600 examples were built during WWII.

The Soviets' most common heavy armoured car during WWII. It bore a 45 mm gun in the turret as well as a machinegun. Strong and swift but unfortunately built only with 6×4 steering capacity which made it difficult for cross country operations. 1,400 were manufactured during the war years.

The world's most famous and most manufactured tank. And apparently a number are still in use today in most of the trouble spots and conflicts around the world. The ground reason for its success was, and remains, the suspension utilized to mount the caterpillar tracks; the so called “Christie suspension” which, together with its powerful engine and broad caterpillar “feet,” turned all terrain, with the exception of deep heavy mud, into common roads. It was produced in two main versions, the /76 and /85. The /85, however, eventually became the standard version in 1944. The designation “85” refers to the gun calibre. At the start of the war, the standard tank designed and produced by the Soviets had a turret with space for a crew that fell one man short – that is to say, the German tanks of comparable size had three-man turrets and the T-34/76 turrets could only accommodate two men: The T-34/85 had a three-man turret. In addition, T-34s were rarely equipped with radios in the period prior to 1943, which naturally hindered coordination and effectiveness on the battlefield. This aside, it was well armed and well protected; the T-34's armour has also been a model for international tank design ever since 1941, and it was mechanically dependable despite the fact that overall Soviet engineering prowess generally left something to be desired. It was neither finely crafted nor finely painted but it was dependable – and popular with all who used it, including the Germans. Soviet industry managed to build approximately 35,000 T-34/76s and 31,000 T-34 /85s during WWII.

The Soviet Union's most common light tank by 1944; the T-70 had the classical Soviet design for light tanks; a one-man turret and one person in the tank. In other words, it had a two-man crew, operating a 45 mm gun and a machinegun. It had strong armour for being a light tank but with a one-man turret, limited effectiveness in battle. Approximately 8,400 were built during WWII.

The Soviet's most common self-propelled artillery gun during the war, it was mounted on the chassis of the light T-70. An extra wheel was added on each side and an open turret was added for the crew. This resulted in space being created for a variation of the gun mounted on the T-34's 7.62cm gun, namely, the ZiS-3. The ZiS 3 was a good combination of the 7.62cm field gun and the famous anti-tank gun of the same calibre, the ZiS-S-53. Overall, an extremely successful vehicle despite its weak armour, which was not a drawback of particular concern to the leadership of the Red Army. In total, 12,000 Su-76s were built during WWII.