T-35
Encyclopedia
The T-35 was a Soviet
multi-turreted
heavy tank
of the interwar period
and early Second World War that saw limited production and service with the Red Army
. It was the only five-turreted heavy tank in the world to reach production but proved to be slow and mechanically unreliable. Most of the T-35 tanks still operational at the time of Operation Barbarossa
were lost due to mechanical failure rather than enemy action.
Outwardly it was large but internally the spaces were cramped with the fighting compartments separated from each other. Some of the turrets obscured the entrance hatches.
The concept of large, multi-turreted breakthrough tanks was favoured by several European armies in the 1920s and 1930s. Designs existed in Britain, France, and Germany for such vehicles. The second OKMO team, headed by N. Tsiets, worked on a tank inspired by the British Vickers A1E1 Independent
.
By July 1932, a prototype of a 35 ton tank with a 76.2 mm tank gun was completed. The first prototype was further enhanced with four smaller turrets, two with 37 mm guns and two with machine gun
s. This first prototype had severe defects in its transmission and was considered too complex and expensive for mass production. Therefore work on it was stopped and a new simpler prototype was built.
This new prototype received a new engine, new gearbox and improved transmission. The decision was also made to standardise the turrets used on the T-35 with those used on the T-28
, a triple-turreted medium tank. The small machine-gun turrets were identical on the two tanks. The large main turret housing the 76.2 mm gun was nearly identical, but those used on the T-28 had an additional, rear-firing machine gun.
On August 11, 1933, the T-35 was accepted for production. Engineering was shifted to the Kharkov Locomotive Factory, and two batches of ten vehicles were completed.
The experiences gained with the two prototypes were used for the main production T-35 Model 1935, which was again improved from the second prototype, with a longer chassis, improved hull and 45-mm guns in place of the 37's. It started production in 1935, and about 35 were built by 1938. In general, throughout its production run small improvements were made to the individual tanks. Production tanks had turrets similar to the ones on the BT-5, but without the rear overhang. Some examples had flamethrowers instead of one of the 45 mm guns. The final batch was a run of six T-35 model 1938s, which had new turrets with sloped armour all around, as well as modified side skirts and new idler wheels.
Originally in the main turret was placed a 76.2mm gun of KT obr.1927/32 adapted from the regimental field-gun obr.1927. By 1936 on the tank began to placed the familiar cannon KT-28 (length of barrel 16.5 calibers), which was used on the medium tank Т-28. The limits of the vertical aiming of cannon was from -7° to +23°. As an auxiliary weapon in the main turret to the right of the cannon the 7.62mm DT machine gun was placed autonomously in a ball setting. The cannon and machine gun had a complete 360 degree sector of fire and independent fire control system. The spare DT machine gun DT was fastened in loop setting in the storage niche of the turret. The mechanism to turn the turret, except for hand drive, had an electromechanics three-speed drive. By 1937 on the foundation of the gunners hatch an anti-aircraft DT machine gun was set in a P-40 mount on the main turret. (Homeland Armored Machines)
In 1938 the L-10 tank cannon in the main turret was foreseen, but the representatives of the ABTU gave up it, considering the power of the KT-28 enough for the purpose of accompaniment of attacking infantry, and the defeat of the enemy armor was provided by two 45-mm by tank cannons.(Homeland Armored Machines)
In each of the two diagonal two-seater turret was placed one 45mm tank cannon obr.1932 with co-axial 7.62mm DT machine gun. Later this cannon was replaced with a 45mm gun of the 20k model 1934 with a semi-automatic breech-block. The limits of the vertical aiming of the coupled setting made from - 8° to +23°. The weapon of front turret had the horizontal corner of fire 19 degrees and back -184°. Another two small turret were single-seat and had one 7.62mm DT machine gun. Aiming of the weapon in a horizontal plane was carried out through the turning of a hand mechanism.(Homeland Armored Machines)
The main and two small machine gun turret of the Т-35 and Т-28 had a high level of standardization. As devices, firings and supervisions were used telescopic breech-sight TOP obr.1930 and periscope breech-sight of PT-1 обр.1932. The 76.2mm cannon had 96 rounds, the 45mm guns had 226 rounds, and the DT machine guns had 10,080 cartridges. Armoured defence of the body of the 50-ton tank was designed with the maximal thickness of the armoured plates 30mm and the turret at 20mm. Coupling of the armoured plates was made by welding and riveting. In 1936 the thickness of front sloping body plate and frontal plate of the mechanic-driver was increased to 50mm. Armored side skirts also added 10mm to the side armor covering the tracks. (Homeland Armored Machines)
In 1938 for strengthening of the armoured defence of tank a conical turret with the maximal thickness of 25mm of armor was developed, and also the thickness of the frontal armoured plates was increased to 70mm and the front of the main turret to 25mm. Battle mass of machine grew to 54 tons (mass of the first serial machines made 42.5 tons). In all from April 1939 to the end of production of the Т-35 6 machines with the increased armoured defence were produced. On two of the machines of the 1939 issue, in the storage portion of main conical turret back was set the 7,62-mm DT machine gun or rear-turret-MG for defense. (Homeland Armored Machines)
Western and Russian historians disagree about the inspiration for the T-35's design. The former argue it was inspired by the British Vickers A1E1 Independent tank, but this is rejected by many Russian specialists. It is impossible to know the truth, but there is strong evidence to support Western claims, not least failed Soviet attempts to purchase the A1E1. At the same time, the influence of German engineers developing similar designs in the late 1920s at their Kama base in the Soviet Union cannot be discounted. What is clear is that borrowing military technology and ideas from other nations was common to the majority of the armed forces in the inter-war years. The Red Army, with its purchase of the British Vickers Carden Loyd tankette
, Vickers E-Light
and Cruiser Mk II
Medium tanks, and the American Christie suspension
, was clearly one of the leading exponents of this practice.
Due to its high cost, the production run of the T-35 ended at just sixty-one tanks.
Special Military District.
During Operation Barbarossa
, ninety percent of the T-35s lost by the 67th and 68th Tank Regiments were lost not to enemy action but through either mechanical failure or because they were abandoned and destroyed by their crews. The most common causes of breakdown were transmission-related. The last recorded action of the T-35 took place during the early stages of the Battle of Moscow
. At least one captured T-35 was shipped to Germany for evaluation at the Kummersdorf
military proving ground.
The T-35 is sometimes cited as having participated in the Winter War
against Finland, but according to Soviet sources it did not. In fact, a prototype (multi-turreted) SMK tank
had been sent to the front for testing. This tank was disabled by a Finnish land mine
and all attempts to recover the 55-ton behemoth failed. Finnish photographs of the previously unknown tank were mistakenly designated T-35C by German intelligence.
Four machines were used in training facilities in the Soviet rear. One of these still exists and is accessible to visitors at the Kubinka Tank Museum
near Moscow
.
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
multi-turreted
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
heavy tank
Heavy tank
A heavy tank was a subset of tank that filled the heavy direct-fire role of many armies.Heavy tanks have usually been deployed to breakthrough enemy lines, though in practice have been more useful in the defensive role than in the attack...
of the interwar period
Interwar period
Interwar period can refer to any period between two wars. The Interbellum is understood to be the period between the end of the Great War or First World War and the beginning of the Second World War in Europe....
and early Second World War that saw limited production and service with the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
. It was the only five-turreted heavy tank in the world to reach production but proved to be slow and mechanically unreliable. Most of the T-35 tanks still operational at the time of Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
were lost due to mechanical failure rather than enemy action.
Outwardly it was large but internally the spaces were cramped with the fighting compartments separated from each other. Some of the turrets obscured the entrance hatches.
Production history
The T-35 was developed by the OKMO design bureau of the Bolshevik Factory, which began work on a heavy tank in 1930. Two teams developed separate designs. The team headed by German engineer Grotte worked on the 100-ton four-turreted TG-5 tank, armed with a 107 mm naval gun, using pneumatic servo-controls and pneumatic suspension. This project was later cancelled.The concept of large, multi-turreted breakthrough tanks was favoured by several European armies in the 1920s and 1930s. Designs existed in Britain, France, and Germany for such vehicles. The second OKMO team, headed by N. Tsiets, worked on a tank inspired by the British Vickers A1E1 Independent
Vickers A1E1 Independent
The Independent A1E1 is a multi-turreted tank that was designed by the British armaments manufacturer Vickers during the interwar period. Although it only ever reached the prototype stage it influenced many other tank designs....
.
By July 1932, a prototype of a 35 ton tank with a 76.2 mm tank gun was completed. The first prototype was further enhanced with four smaller turrets, two with 37 mm guns and two with machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
s. This first prototype had severe defects in its transmission and was considered too complex and expensive for mass production. Therefore work on it was stopped and a new simpler prototype was built.
This new prototype received a new engine, new gearbox and improved transmission. The decision was also made to standardise the turrets used on the T-35 with those used on the T-28
T-28
The Soviet T-28 was among the world's first medium tanks. The prototype was completed in 1931 and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry-support tank intended to break through fortified defences...
, a triple-turreted medium tank. The small machine-gun turrets were identical on the two tanks. The large main turret housing the 76.2 mm gun was nearly identical, but those used on the T-28 had an additional, rear-firing machine gun.
On August 11, 1933, the T-35 was accepted for production. Engineering was shifted to the Kharkov Locomotive Factory, and two batches of ten vehicles were completed.
The experiences gained with the two prototypes were used for the main production T-35 Model 1935, which was again improved from the second prototype, with a longer chassis, improved hull and 45-mm guns in place of the 37's. It started production in 1935, and about 35 were built by 1938. In general, throughout its production run small improvements were made to the individual tanks. Production tanks had turrets similar to the ones on the BT-5, but without the rear overhang. Some examples had flamethrowers instead of one of the 45 mm guns. The final batch was a run of six T-35 model 1938s, which had new turrets with sloped armour all around, as well as modified side skirts and new idler wheels.
Originally in the main turret was placed a 76.2mm gun of KT obr.1927/32 adapted from the regimental field-gun obr.1927. By 1936 on the tank began to placed the familiar cannon KT-28 (length of barrel 16.5 calibers), which was used on the medium tank Т-28. The limits of the vertical aiming of cannon was from -7° to +23°. As an auxiliary weapon in the main turret to the right of the cannon the 7.62mm DT machine gun was placed autonomously in a ball setting. The cannon and machine gun had a complete 360 degree sector of fire and independent fire control system. The spare DT machine gun DT was fastened in loop setting in the storage niche of the turret. The mechanism to turn the turret, except for hand drive, had an electromechanics three-speed drive. By 1937 on the foundation of the gunners hatch an anti-aircraft DT machine gun was set in a P-40 mount on the main turret. (Homeland Armored Machines)
In 1938 the L-10 tank cannon in the main turret was foreseen, but the representatives of the ABTU gave up it, considering the power of the KT-28 enough for the purpose of accompaniment of attacking infantry, and the defeat of the enemy armor was provided by two 45-mm by tank cannons.(Homeland Armored Machines)
In each of the two diagonal two-seater turret was placed one 45mm tank cannon obr.1932 with co-axial 7.62mm DT machine gun. Later this cannon was replaced with a 45mm gun of the 20k model 1934 with a semi-automatic breech-block. The limits of the vertical aiming of the coupled setting made from - 8° to +23°. The weapon of front turret had the horizontal corner of fire 19 degrees and back -184°. Another two small turret were single-seat and had one 7.62mm DT machine gun. Aiming of the weapon in a horizontal plane was carried out through the turning of a hand mechanism.(Homeland Armored Machines)
The main and two small machine gun turret of the Т-35 and Т-28 had a high level of standardization. As devices, firings and supervisions were used telescopic breech-sight TOP obr.1930 and periscope breech-sight of PT-1 обр.1932. The 76.2mm cannon had 96 rounds, the 45mm guns had 226 rounds, and the DT machine guns had 10,080 cartridges. Armoured defence of the body of the 50-ton tank was designed with the maximal thickness of the armoured plates 30mm and the turret at 20mm. Coupling of the armoured plates was made by welding and riveting. In 1936 the thickness of front sloping body plate and frontal plate of the mechanic-driver was increased to 50mm. Armored side skirts also added 10mm to the side armor covering the tracks. (Homeland Armored Machines)
In 1938 for strengthening of the armoured defence of tank a conical turret with the maximal thickness of 25mm of armor was developed, and also the thickness of the frontal armoured plates was increased to 70mm and the front of the main turret to 25mm. Battle mass of machine grew to 54 tons (mass of the first serial machines made 42.5 tons). In all from April 1939 to the end of production of the Т-35 6 machines with the increased armoured defence were produced. On two of the machines of the 1939 issue, in the storage portion of main conical turret back was set the 7,62-mm DT machine gun or rear-turret-MG for defense. (Homeland Armored Machines)
Western and Russian historians disagree about the inspiration for the T-35's design. The former argue it was inspired by the British Vickers A1E1 Independent tank, but this is rejected by many Russian specialists. It is impossible to know the truth, but there is strong evidence to support Western claims, not least failed Soviet attempts to purchase the A1E1. At the same time, the influence of German engineers developing similar designs in the late 1920s at their Kama base in the Soviet Union cannot be discounted. What is clear is that borrowing military technology and ideas from other nations was common to the majority of the armed forces in the inter-war years. The Red Army, with its purchase of the British Vickers Carden Loyd tankette
Carden Loyd tankette
The Carden Loyd tankettes were a series of British pre-World War II tankettes, the most successful of which was the Mark VI, the only version built in significant numbers...
, Vickers E-Light
Vickers 6-Ton
The Vickers 6-Ton Tank or Vickers Mark E was a British light tank designed as a private project at Vickers. It was not purchased by the British Army, but was picked up by a large number of foreign armed forces and was copied almost exactly by the Soviets as the T-26. It was also the direct...
and Cruiser Mk II
Cruiser Mk II
The Tank, Cruiser, Mk II , was developed alongside the A9, and was intended to be a heavier, infantry tank version of that type. In practice it was not deemed suitable for the infantry tank role and was classified as a "heavy cruiser"....
Medium tanks, and the American Christie suspension
Christie suspension
The Christie suspension is a suspension system developed by American engineer Walter Christie for his tank designs. It allowed considerably longer movement than conventional leaf spring systems then in common use, which allowed his tanks to have considerably greater cross-country speed and a lower...
, was clearly one of the leading exponents of this practice.
Due to its high cost, the production run of the T-35 ended at just sixty-one tanks.
Combat history
The T-35 served with the 5th Separate Heavy Tank Brigade in Moscow, primarily for parade duties, from 1935 until 1940. In June 1940, the question was raised whether to withdraw the T-35s from frontline service, with the option to either convert them to heavy self propelled artillery, or to assign them to the various military academies. The choice was made to use them up in combat instead and the surviving vehicles were collected together into the 67th and 68th Tank Regiments of the 34th Tank Division, which served with the 8th Mechanized Corps in the KievKiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
Special Military District.
During Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa
Operation Barbarossa was the code name for Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II that began on 22 June 1941. Over 4.5 million troops of the Axis powers invaded the USSR along a front., the largest invasion in the history of warfare...
, ninety percent of the T-35s lost by the 67th and 68th Tank Regiments were lost not to enemy action but through either mechanical failure or because they were abandoned and destroyed by their crews. The most common causes of breakdown were transmission-related. The last recorded action of the T-35 took place during the early stages of the Battle of Moscow
Battle of Moscow
The Battle of Moscow is the name given by Soviet historians to two periods of strategically significant fighting on a sector of the Eastern Front during World War II. It took place between October 1941 and January 1942. The Soviet defensive effort frustrated Hitler's attack on Moscow, capital of...
. At least one captured T-35 was shipped to Germany for evaluation at the Kummersdorf
Kummersdorf
Kummersdorf is the name of an estate near Luckenwalde at , around 25km south of Berlin, in the Brandenburg region of Germany. Until 1945 Kummersdorf hosted the weapon office of the German Army which ran a development centre for future weapons as well as an artillery range.In 1929 the Army Weapons...
military proving ground.
The T-35 is sometimes cited as having participated in the Winter War
Winter War
The Winter War was a military conflict between the Soviet Union and Finland. It began with a Soviet offensive on 30 November 1939 – three months after the start of World War II and the Soviet invasion of Poland – and ended on 13 March 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty...
against Finland, but according to Soviet sources it did not. In fact, a prototype (multi-turreted) SMK tank
SMK tank
SMK was an armored vehicle prototype developed by the Soviet Union prior to the Second World War...
had been sent to the front for testing. This tank was disabled by a Finnish land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
and all attempts to recover the 55-ton behemoth failed. Finnish photographs of the previously unknown tank were mistakenly designated T-35C by German intelligence.
Four machines were used in training facilities in the Soviet rear. One of these still exists and is accessible to visitors at the Kubinka Tank Museum
Kubinka Tank Museum
The Kubinka Tank Museum is a large museum of armoured fighting vehicles in Kubinka, just outside Moscow. It has many famous tanks from World War I, World War II and the Cold War. The museum also houses many unique vehicles, such as the Panzer VIII Maus, Troyanov super-heavy tank and a Karl-Gerät...
near Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
Variants
- T-35-1: Prototype
- T-35-2: Prototype
- T-35A: Production model.
- T-35B: New engine. Only the prototype was produced.
- SU-7: Prototypes with a 254 mm gun, 305 mm howitzerHowitzerA howitzer is a type of artillery piece characterized by a relatively short barrel and the use of comparatively small propellant charges to propel projectiles at relatively high trajectories, with a steep angle of descent...
, and 400 mm mortarMortar (weapon)A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
. Weighed over 106 tons.
See also
- Char 2CChar 2CThe Char 2C was a French super-heavy tank developed, although never deployed, during World War I. It was the largest operational tank ever.-Development:...
: tank with similar design - List of tanks
- List of Soviet tanks
- Vickers A1E1 IndependentVickers A1E1 IndependentThe Independent A1E1 is a multi-turreted tank that was designed by the British armaments manufacturer Vickers during the interwar period. Although it only ever reached the prototype stage it influenced many other tank designs....
: Almost completely identical.
External links
- The T-35 Heavy Tank at the Russian Battlefield (battlefield.ru).
- Very large Russian photo gallery (grayknight.narod.ru)
- U.S. WWII Newsmap, "Russian Armored Vehicles", hosted by the UNT Libraries Digital Collections
- T-35 tank T-35 tank in Kubinka tank museum.