The T-28 was a Soviet multi-turreted medium tank. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932.
History[]
Development[]
Prerequisites set up in 1929 called for infantry support and breakthrough tank that are able to exploit breakthroughs and handle infantry fortifications. The development of this tank under Chief engineer S.Ginsburg may have been inspired by the British Vickers A1E1 Independent tank as the final design took some elements of it. The end result was a multi-turreted medium tank with a 76.2 mm L-10 main gun and two 7.62 mm machine gun turrets in front. The design was satisfactory that General Scretary of the Comunist party of USSR Stalin himself ordered a heavier variant of the tank that can suit the breakthrough role, which would be the T-35. The first multi-turreted was designated the T-28 and was considered revolutionary for the time as it was the first medium tank of its kind and would establish the concept of such tanks. The first prototype of the T-28 was created sometime in 1931, its design was considered revolutionary for the time as it was one of the first medium tanks in the world. Production of this tank began in the Kirov Factory in Leningrad sometime in 1932, and it was accepted into service on August 11, 1933. Though in service for eight years from 1933 to 1941, only 503 units were produced.
Operational History[]
The standard organization of the T-28 tanks in 1939 was 136 T-28s and 47 BT-7 in one heavy armoured brigade. The T-28s were first deployed on the eastern borders during the border clashes with Japan in 1939. The first large scale action was in September 1939 when the Soviet Union invades Poland with its front line fleet of T-28s. Though the Polish tanks and anti-tank guns were able to take out a few T-28s, it is not known how many were lost. The next conflict the T-28 served in was the Winter War against Finland. These tanks were used against Finnish fortifications, but the conflict also showed the inadequate armour on the T-28, where Finnish anti-tank guns were able to reliably penetrate the tanks. Though over 200 T-28s were knocked out in the conflict, only 20 were totally lost due to the system of armour recovery and repairs the Soviet had and the conflict's close proximity to the Kirov Factory, some tanks were repaired more than five times and sent back to the front. The Finnish were able to capture seven of these (2 in the Winter War, 5 in Continuation War)and used them against their users. The heavy weight of the tank caused the Finnish to be unable to tow some of the knocked out T-28s for capture, so those unable to be recovered were stripped of their equipment.
During the German invasion in Operation Barbarossa in mid-1941, the Soviets had about 411 T-28s in their inventory. Many were lost not due to battle, but actually from mechanical breakdowns due to lack of spare parts and low maintenance, causing them to be abandoned by the crew. The Germans were able to capture at least two of these tanks and may have used these against the Soviets as the T-28 746(r). The T-28s that were not lost during the first few months of Operation Barbarossa took part in winter defence of Leningrad and Moscow. Though still in inventory, by 1942 they were rare in Soviet service and declared obsolete as better tanks like the T-34 was taking over its role and is more heavily gunned, more armoured, and faster. The tanks still in one piece were dismantled for spare parts or sent to training facilities.
In Girls und Panzer[]
Phase Erika[]
Continuation High School fielded one T-28 commanded by the vice-commander Lili during a practice match against Kuromorimine Girls' Academy. When the Tiger, Tiger II and Panther were lured by the BT tank squadron towards the T-28, at a certain point, the tank began to wheelie and run on its rear wheels, causing it to collide and crush Erika Itsumi's Tiger II. Eventually, the T-28 would probably be destroyed by Maho's Tiger.
Trivia[]
- The T-28 is one of only four tanks shown in the series to have multiple turrets. The others are the 7TPdw, the Crusader and the Neubaufahrzeug.
- The T-28 is considered one of the first medium tanks produced in history.
- The T-28 is the fourth oldest tank shown in the series, behind only the Type 89B, the FT-17 and the Mark IV.
- Saori mistook the T28 Super-Heavy Tank for the T-28 due to the similar-sounding names.
- The Finnish came about to nicknaming them Postivaunu ("mail coach") after an incident where a T-28 commander was captured carrying the salary and mail for the 91st Tank Battalion and Kivitalo ("stone building") for its large size.
