Answer #3:

Re: T-26 Assault Gun Variants question
Posted by: "David L Ong" davlong64@yahoo.com davlong64

Sun Feb 15, 2009 1:43 pm (PST)

T-26 Model 1931 twin-turreted tankThe Soviets did not simply replicate the Vickers Six-Ton:[11] Like its British counterpart, the T-26 Model 1931 had a twin-turret configuration and was designed to carry two machine guns—one in each turret. The major differences between the Soviet T-26 and the British Six-Ton were the rectangular firing ports for Degtyarev machine guns, as opposed to the round ports used by the original design.[12] After problems experienced with precipitation and snow getting into the engine compartment, a special bonnet was installed after March 1932, and was later made integral with the design of the air intake unit. The tank was also fitted with a higher turret with an observation slit, while the driver was given a vision port.[12] Around 1,627 T-26 tanks with twin turrets were produced between 1931 and 1933, and 450 were armed with the 37 mm PS-1.[13] However, in 1933 the Soviets unveiled the T-26 Model 1933, with a single cylindrical turret which carried asingle 37 mm cannon and a single 7.62 mm machine gun.[14] Ultimately, this 37 mm primary cannon was replaced by the better known 45 mm, which was based on the German Pak 35/36 cannon acquired in 1930.[14] The 45 mm gun would be improved when the original 45 mm 19K anti-tank gun,[15] developed at Plant No. 8, was replaced in 1935 by the 45 mm model 1934. The semiautomatic mechanism of the 19K was exchanged by an inertial operating mechanism.[16] The T-26 could carry up to three secondary Degtyarev 7.62 mm machine guns, in coaxial, rear, and antiaircraft mounts. The majority of T-26 built were of the T-26 Model 1933 model. The original purpose of the upgraded firepower was to increase lethal range to defeat dedicated anti-tank teams, as the original machine gun ordnance was found insufficient.[17]

The T-26 Model 1933 carried 122 rounds of 45 mm ammunition, firing armour-piercing 45 mm rounds with a muzzle velocity of 820 m/s (2,700 ft/s), or lower-velocity high-explosive munitions.[3] The tank was powered by a GAZ 91 horsepower (68 kW) gasoline engine which gave it a top speed of almost 30 km/h (19 mph). The hull had a maximum steel thickness of 16 mm, which was sufficient to stop artillery HE fragments and light machine gun ammunition, including German 7.92 mm armour-piercing rounds but would later prove to be too light against newer German anti-tank weapons in 1941. There would be subsequent attempts to thicken the front plate, but ultimately T-26 production would end in favour of newer and superior tank designs, such as the T-34. In 1937 there was an effort to equip many tanks with anti-aircraft machine guns, as well as the addition of two searchlights, a new VKU-3 command system and a TPU-3 intercom. Ammunition stowage was alsoimproved, from 122 rounds to 147 for the main gun.[19] In 1938 the cylindrical turret was replaced with a conical shaped turret, with the same 45 mm model 1934 gun.[20]

When compared to the Vickers Six-Ton tank, the T-26 had superior maximum armour protection - 15 mm (0.59 in) as compared to 13 mm (0.51 in). Although the Vickers Six-Ton B would have its armour increased to a maximum of 17 mm (0.67 in), this was not much superior to the 16 mm (0.63 in) of the T-26 Model 1933. Furthermore, the T-26 would later see its armour improved. Concerning respective armaments, the Soviet 45 mm gun which equipped the majority of the T-26s produced was superior to the low velocity, short-barrelled, 47 mm gun which equipped the Vickers Six-Ton B. However, the Vickers Six-Ton was slightly lighter and slightly faster than the T-26.[21]The T-26 saw wide service during the Spanish Civil War. Even as WW2 began, the T-26 continued to be the backbone of the Red Army's tank corps. Plans were made to replace the T-26 and BT tanks with a new generation of tanks such as the T-34 and T-50, but these plans were just beginning to be executed on the eve of Operation Barbarossa. Production of the T-26 was halted; readiness and maintenance standards fell, which put the Red Army at a disadvantage during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.