| T-26 |
| T-26 |
|---|
The T-26 was a Soviet light tank, it was the mainstay of the Soviet Red Army's Armored divisions from the Interwar period to the beginning of World War II. T-26 had 3 member crew consistet from commander, gunner and driver. It was the predecessor of the T-34 medium tank.
History[]
Development[]
In 1930 the Soviet Union bought fifteen twin-turreted Vickers 6-Ton Mk.E, the Vickers were sent for testing in January 1931 and officially entered service in on February 1931 under the designation T-26, until August 1931 the T-26/Vickers undergo several resistance tests with new Soviet-made turrets, however it was noted that the armor produced for the first T-26s was inferior to the British armor. Other projects like TMM-1 and TMM-2 based on the Vickers or the native T-19 project (planned successor of the T-18, based on the French FT tank) were in competition with the T-26, the first two were scrapped because they didn't show improvements compared to the T-26 and the T-19 was cancelled because the specifications were below expectations and the tank was too complex to produce compared to the T-26 quick and cheaper production.
The T-26 mod. 1931 was very similar to the Vickers 6-Ton, except that the T-26's turrets were higher and the front part of the hull was slightly modified, some mod. 1931 command tanks were equipped with a 37mm PS-2 M1930 in the right turret, however the lack of space in the turret prevented the gun to be used effectively. The T-26's armor was riveted and possessed a thin armor of 15mm, its engine was an air-cooled GAZ T-26 (a licenced Soviet version of the original Armstrong Siddeley engine) giving the tank at a maximun speed of 35 km/h. The T-26 was improved in 1933 with a new single cylindrical turret (taken from the BT-5) carrying one 45mm M1932/34 (20-K) gun (one of the most powerful of its time) and one DT machine gun however it drops its speed to 27 km/h. In 1938 a new version with a conical turret armed with a 45mm M1932/38 (20-K) gun, better TOP-1 optics and a increased volume of fuel tanks made its entry, quickly followed in 1939 by another version equipped with an underturret box with sloped armoured plates and better radiators designed to resist Molotov cocktails. One final version taking the technology developed for the T-26-1 with additional 20mm armor plates welded on the hull and on the side and rear turret, the turret front armor reached 50mm, however those additional armor plates weighten the tank reducing its top speed to 20 km/h.
Attempts to upgrade the tank's speed with Christie transmissions taken from BT series tanks were made, giving it a maximum speed of 56 km/h the project named T-46 despite being well received was scrapped considered too complex.
From the T-26 was derivated a great number of variants, from flamethrower tanks such as the OT-26, OT-130, OT-131, OT-132, OT-133 or OT-134, self-propelled guns with the three SU-5 variants, the SU-26 and the SU-6, to the unique teletanks (remotely controlled tanks) variants like the TT-26 or TU-26.
Operational History[]
The T-26's baptism of fire was during the Spanish Civil War, Soviet Union provided approximately 281 T-26 mod. 1933 to Republican Spain throughout the conflit. They didn't really any serious opposition from Nationalist tanks composed of mainly CV.33 & CV/35 tankettes, Panzer I's, FT tanks and others outdated tanks, Nationalists prized the T-26 offering a bounty of 500 pesetas for each tank captured intact. However if Nationalists tanks couldn't knock them down, AT guns, artillery and gasoline bombs could without problem due to its weak armor, and by March 1937 a full company of captured T-26 tanks was included into Panzergruppe Drohne, a tank unit of the German Condor Legion and a year later as part of the Spanish Foreign Legion. By the end of the war approximately 40% of the Republican T-26s provided by Soviet Union fell into Nationalist's hand after their defeat. Nationalists even used parts of the T-26 combined with Panzer I parts into their Verdeja tank prototype.
The T-26 then participated at skimishes against the Japanese Army, first during the Battle of Lake Khasan in July 1938 where they didn't shine due to ignorance of the terrain and the replacement of 99% of the 2nd Mechanized Brigade, meeting a well-organized antitank defense, seventy-six tanks were damaged and nine burnt. However it shone again during the 1939 Nomonhan Incident in Mongolia where it was proven to have great cross-country capabilities in desert conditions and despite being easily penetrated by Japanese 37mm AT guns, all tanks fielded by the Empire of Japan, including Type 95 Ha-Go, Type 97 Te-Ke, Type 89B or Type 97 Chi-Ha were outranged and outgunned by its 45mm gun.
After the beginning of World War 2 and the invasion of Poland where it suffered only fifteen losses during combat (although they lost 302 due to technical failures), the T-26 was deployed during the Winter War against Finland where it finally shown its obsolescence. Despite the Finnish having no serious armored opposition, the Soviets lost a significant number of T-26s first because of its mediocre cross-country capabilities in snow conditions, inexperienced crews, poor infantry reconnaissance of Finnish positions, ambushes, absence of engineer and tactical support, Finnish AT rifles capable of penetrating its armor and finally fighting against the T-26s captured by Finland. During the conflit they lost approximately 930 T-26s with almost 50% beyond repair or captured, it was finally withdrawn from production in 1940.
However the T-26 was still the backbone of the Red Army's armoured forces during the first months of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the problem was that the majority of Red Army's T-26 tanks in European military districts were lost in the first months of the War, mainly to enemy artillery and air strikes but also poor maintenance and inadequate terrain. While they were outdated and outmatched by Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, they still had their chances against Panzer Is, Panzer IIs, Panzer 35(t)s and Panzer 38(t)s. But being outmatched didn't prevent the T-26 to serve until the end of the War during the Battle of Moscow, Siege of Leningrad, the Battle of Stalingrad... Their last engagement for the Red Army was during the Invasion of Manchuria in as its performance against Japanese armoured vehicles and demonstrated better cross-country abilities in the far eastern theater (better than the T-34's or the M4 Sherman's) were already proven.
Real T-26 mod.1933, variant shown in the manga
Real T-26 mod.1938, variant shown in the anime
Finland captured numbers of T-26s during the Winter War (including mod.1931, mod.1933, mod.1938/1939 and several flamethrower tanks), they modernized some of their twin-turreted T-26s with T-26 or BT turrets and reconverted OT-130 and OT-133 by replacing the flame equipment by the gun or turret of tanks beyond repair.
A great number of T-26s were captured by Germans and used under the designation Panzerkampfwagen T-26 740(r) against partisans, ten of them were converted into tank destroyer fitted with a Pak 97/38(f) becoming the 7.5 cm Pak 97/38(f) auf Pz.740(r).
Romania also captured some of them, they planned to rearm some of them with a Czechoslovakian Škoda 37mm gun but the project called T-26/37 never came to fruition. They also came with the Vânătorul de care R35 tank destroyer project, the prototype was a French R35 chassis with a T-26 turret but in the end they got rid of the turret and only replaced the gun.
In Girls und Panzer[]
Phase Erika[]
Continuation High School fielded one T-26B, during a practice match against Kuromorimine Girls Academy. It didn't do anything of mark during the match except staying with the flag tank and opening fire of Kuromorimine's tank. Near the end of the match it was destroyed, likely by a Tiger I, after their opponent managed to get out of their trap.
Gekkan Senshado Magazine[]
Continuation High School fielded one T-26, during the tournament first round match against Blue Division High School who fielded two T-26B. The role of Continuation's T-26 is unknown, but it is likely that Blue Division's were destroyed during or after their opponent's pincer movement.
Continuation High School again fielded their T-26, during the tournament quarter-finals match against Kuromorimine Girls Academy. The T-26 was placed alongside the others tanks behind a dune providing covering fire to BT squad until it was destroyed along all other tanks.
Das Finale[]
It is unknown what tanks Continuation High School fielded during the Winter Continuous Track Cup first round match against Yogurt Academy but it is likely that they fielded some of their T-26C.
Continuation High School fielded eight T-26C during the Winter Continuous Track Cup quarter finals match against Saunders University High School. During the match, they were seen exchanging fire with Saunders tanks, after three T-26 were destroyed, one retreated alongside the BT-42 and two escaped through a hangar where one was gunned down by the Firefly. After Mika acted as a bait for Alisa and two other Shermans, two T-26s lying in ambush destroyed one Sherman, however the three ambushing T-26s were destroyed by Alisa, Naomi and Kay coming to rescue. It is unknown what happened to the eighth.
Continuation High School fielded at least eleven T-26C during the Winter Continuous Track Cup semi finals match against Oarai Girls' Academy. They started the match by harassing Oarai tanks making them retreat to a nearby village and setup a defense perimeter. After they lured Oarai tanks outside the village, leaving only Miho and Anteater Team inside, one T-26 escorting the flag-tank was destroyed. But six T-26s lying in ambush in the village hidden in snowmen launched an attack attempting to destroy the enemy flag tank, but three were shot down by the Panzer IV and the rest couldn't prevent the two tanks to escape. The three remaining T-26s persued the escaping tanks, one received a belly shot after jumping from a slope and the two get destroyed by a single shot from Anglerfish Team. <to be continued in Das Finale Part 4>
Trivia[]
- The T-26s used by Continuation in Das Finale Part 3 aren't T-26 mod.1938 in the strict sense of the term, they were Finnish reconversion of captured Soviets flame tanks OT-133, recognizable by the additionnal machine-gun port and the turret positionned on the right side of the hull instead of left.
- So far the model of T-26 used by Blue Division is an assumption based on T-26 models used by Spain during the Spanish Civil War.
Gallery[]
- Main article: T-26/Gallery
