The Skoda LT vz 38 medium tank was Czechoslovakia’s successor to their LT vz 35. The LT vz 38, which was also developed by Skoda Works and CKD, was more durable and easier to maintain than the LT vz 35. After the Germans invaded Czechoslovakia in 1939, they took the LT vz 38 into service …
Author Archives: M Malory
Skoda LT vz 35/PzKpfw 35(t) Medium Tank
The Skoda LT vz 35 medium tank was Czechoslovakia’s main battle tank just before the Nazis invaded Czechoslovakia. Developed by Skoda Works and CKD in 1934, the LT vz 35 had a 1.46 inch (37mm) anti-tank gun that was based on an equal-caliber Skoda anti-tank gun which was famous for its accuracy. It also had …
T-34/85 Medium Tank
The T-34/85 medium tank was an improved version of the T-34 that was built in 1943. It had a larger turret and more powerful gun than the T-34/76. A commander’s cupola was added to the turret, which was large enough to hold three crewmembers, increasing the size of the entire crew from 4 to 5. …
T-34/76 Medium Tank
The T-34/76 medium tank was the main Soviet medium tank used during World War II. During Operation Barbarossa, the attempted Nazi invasion of Russia, it was used successfully against German PzKpfw IIIs and PzKpfw IVs. The Germans were so impressed with the T-34 that they decided to copy it. The German PzKpfw V Panther heavy …
T1 and T2 Medium Tanks
In the early 1920s, the United States built three prototype medium tanks. These were the Medium A, which was built in 1921, the Medium A2, which was built in 1922 and the T1, which was built in 1925. The T1 medium tank, which weighed almost 20 tons, had either a 2.24 inch (57mm) main gun …
SOMUA S-35 Cavalry Tank
The SOMUA S-35 cavalry tank was the first tank in which both the turret and the hull had an all cast construction. SOMUA stands for Société d’Outillage Mécanique et d’Usinage d’Artillerie, the French company that manufactured the tank. The turret on the SOMUA S-35 had a traverse that was powered electronically. The main armament consisted …
SMK Heavy Tank
The SMK heavy tank (named after Communist Party leader Sergei Mironovich Kirov) and the T-100 heavy tank were both designed by Zhozef Yakovlevich Kotin in 1938. Both of these Soviet tanks looked very similar. The SMK and the T-100 each had two turrets – an upper central turret with 360 degree traverse that mounted a …
7TP Light Tank
Poland purchased the Vickers-Armstrong 6 Ton Mark E from the British, copied it and used it as the basis for their 7TP light tank. The 7TP weighed 9.4 tons (9,550 kg) and had thicker armor than the Vickers-Armstrong 6-Ton tank. Earlier versions of the 7TP light tank had twin turrets, each with a 0.312 (7.92mm) …
Renault R35 Light Tank
The Renault R35 Light Tank was the most common French tank on the battlefield at the beginning of World War II. It used the same suspension and running gear as the AMR (Automitrailleuse de Reconnaissance) 35, which was built for use by the cavalry. The Renault R35 had a short-barreled 1.46 inch (37 millimeter) main …
Renault FT 17 Light Tank
France’s Renault FT 17 light tank formed the basis of a number of different tanks produced by other countries, including the United States, Russia and Italy. The design of America’s Ford 6 Ton Tank was based on that of the Renault FT 17. Russia’s first tank, the KS (Krasnoye Sormovo) was a copy of the …
PzKpfw VI Jagdtiger Heavy Tank Destroyer
The PzKpfw VI Jagdtiger heavy tank destroyer was the heaviest World War II armored fighting vehicle to experience combat. It weighed almost 70 tons, had armor that was almost 10 inches thick and mounted a 5.04 inch (12.8 cm) Pak 44 L/55 gun. This gun was capable of penetrating 6.18 inches (157mm) of armor from …
PzKpfw VI Tiger Heavy Tank
The PzKpfw VI Tiger 1 Heavy Tank is probably the most well known of all the German tanks that were active in World War II. In fact, the Germans built many more Panther tanks than Tiger tanks. They built about 6,000 Panther tanks, but only about 1,350 Tiger 1 tanks. Production of the Pzkpfw VI …