Soviet T-10 Heavy Tank and Variants

Soviet T-10 Heavy Tank and Variants
Author: James Kinnear
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 326
Release: 2017-06-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472820533

A highly illustrated study of the T-10 Heavy Tank that served from the 1950s through to the end of the Soviet Union. When it was introduced into service in 1953, the T-10 represented a return to the “classic” Soviet heavy tank. Although considered a major threat to NATO tank forces, it also represented the end of an era. All gun heavy tanks like the T-10 would eventually be made effectively redundant by later models like the T-62 which had powerful next generation armament and new ammunition types. The tank was gradually withdrawn from service in the 1970s, though the last tanks would only leave Russian service, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, in 1997. As such the T-10 outlived the Soviet state that had created it. Never exported outside of the Soviet Union and rarely used in combat, the T-10 has remained a mysterious tank, with many of its variants unknown in the West until very recently. This study, written from original Russian and Ukrainian primary source documents that have only recently been made available, uncovers the history of this enigmatic tank using 130 stunning contemporary and modern photographs of the T-10 as well as full colour side-view artwork.

Soviet T-62 Main Battle Tank

Soviet T-62 Main Battle Tank
Author: James Kinnear
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2021-05-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472848195

The T-62 is one of the most widespread tanks used by the Soviets during the Cold War. Developed from the T-55, the T-62 enjoyed a long career in the Red Army and even into the early days of the reformed Russian Army. It was the principal tank used by Soviet forces in the Soviet-Afghan War, and went on to see service with Russian forces in Chechnya and South Ossetia. It has also been employed in almost every conflict in the Middle East and Africa from its introduction into service. It remains in service with many countries throughout the world and has seen a great deal of use in the Syrian Civil War. Containing more than 400 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-62.

T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944–94

T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944–94
Author: Steven J. Zaloga
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 120
Release: 2013-08-20
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472805380

The T-34-85 tank is one of those rare weapons that have remained in service for more than half a century. First introduced in 1944, it has seen combat in nearly every corner of the globe. Steven Zaloga and Jim Kinnear look at this long-serving tank at length. Although long obsolete in Europe, it has proven a reliable and potent weapon in many Third World conflicts, and is still in service with more than a dozen armies around the world.

Designing the T-34

Designing the T-34
Author: Peter Samsonov
Publisher: Gallantry
Total Pages: 92
Release: 2019-12-27
Genre: History
ISBN: 1911658832

When the German army launched Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the Soviet Union – on June 22, 1941, it was expecting to face and easily defeat outdated and obsolete tanks and for the most part it did, but it also received a nasty shock when it came up against the T-34. With its powerful gun and sloped armour, the T-34 was more than a match for the best German tanks at that time and the Germans regarded it with awe. German Field Marshal von Kleist, who commanded the latter stages of Barbarossa, called it ‘the finest tank in the world’. Using original wartime documents author and historian Peter Samsonov, creator of the Tank Archives blog, explains how the Soviets came to develop what was arguably the war’s most revolutionary tank design.

Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank

Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank
Author: James Kinnear
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2019-09-19
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472838564

The T-55 is one of the most iconic weapons created by the Soviets during the Cold War and also one of the most widely deployed weapons in history. Like its younger brother, the T-54, the T-55 enjoyed a long career in the Red Army and even into the early days of the reformed Russian Army. Under their control it saw very little combat use or deployments, but it was widely sold to other nations and participated in many of the wars and combat operations from the mid-1960s to the present. The T-55 has been employed in almost every conflict in the Middle East and Africa from its introduction into service. Even today the tank is still employed by both sides in the Syrian Civil War, and they are also in service with Kurdish forces in the struggle against ISIS in the northern part of Iraq. Containing more than 400 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-55, one of the most widely produced tanks of all time.

T-34 Shock: The Soviet Legend in Pictures

T-34 Shock: The Soviet Legend in Pictures
Author: Francis Pulham
Publisher: Fonthill Media
Total Pages: 743
Release: 2021-07-11
Genre: History
ISBN:

The Soviet T\-34 medium tank needs no introduction, being the most famous tank ever built especially as has seen service across the globe throughout the twentieth century’s most brutal wars. However, despite this fame, little has been written about its design changes. While most tank enthusiasts can differentiate between the ‘T\-34\/76’ and the ‘T\-34\-85’, identifying different factory production batches has proven more elusive. Until now. With nearly six hundred photographs, mostly taken by soldiers who both operated and fought against the T\-34, this book seeks to catalogue and contextualise even the subtlest details to create a true ‘T\-34 continuum’. The book begins with the antecedents of the T\-34, the ill\-fated BT ‘fast tank’ series and the influence of the traumatic Spanish Civil War before moving to an in\-depth look at the T\-34’s prototypes. After this, every factory production change is catalogued and contextualised, with never\-before\-seen photographs and stunning technical drawings. Furthermore, four battle stories are also integrated to explain the changing battle context when major production changes take place. The production story is completed with sections on the T\-34’s post\-war production (and modification) by Czechoslovakia, Poland, and the People’s Republic of China, as well as T\-34 variants.

Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank

Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank
Author: James Kinnear
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2018-11-29
Genre: History
ISBN: 1472833325

A highly illustrated study of the T-54 Main Battle Tank and its variants that formed the backbone of the Soviet Army during the years of the Cold War. The menacing silhouette of the T-54 tank prowling down streets of Eastern European capitals or roaring across fields in massive exercises remains one of the most enduring images of Soviet power in the early years of the Cold War. Its sleek and unmistakable shape was a warning to any nation that wanted to stand against the USSR. Yet all of this masked a flawed, outdated design, and when T-54s began to clash with the Western armoured vehicles in proxy wars in Southeast Asia and the Middle East, they were found to be on the losing side of many of the battles. Containing over 500 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written by two experts on Soviet armour, this authoritative book tells the complete story of the T-54, one of the most widely produced tanks of all time, including many previously unheard of variants.

Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks

Commanding the Red Army's Sherman Tanks
Author: Dmitri? Fedorovich Loza
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 208
Release: 1996-01-01
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780803229204

Hero of the Soviet Union Dmitriy Loza has carefully crafted his World War II experiences with U.S.-provided Sherman tanks into a highly readable memoir. Between the fall of 1943 and August 1945, Loza fought in the Ukraine, Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. He commanded a tank battalion during much of this period and had three Shermans shot out from under him. Loza's unit participated in such well-known combat actions as the Korsun-Shevchenkovskiy Operation, the Jassy-Kishenev Operation, and the battles for Budapest, Vienna, and Prague. Following the German surrender, Loza's unit was sent to Mongolia, where it participated in the arduous trek across the Gobi Desert to attack the Japanese Kwantung Army in Manchuria. This is the first available detailed examination of the Red Army's exploitation of U.S. war matiriel during World War II and one of the first genuine memoirs available from the Russian front. Loza also provides firsthand testimony on tactical command decisions, group objectives and how they were accomplished, and Soviet use of combat equipment and intelligence. Only after the collapse of the USSR and concomitant relaxing of prohibitions against publication of materials related to the Lend-Lease Program there could this account be made available Dmitriy Loza served as an instructor at the Frunze Academy after the war, retiring in 1967 with the rank of colonel. He resides in Moscow. James F. Gebhardt, now a defense contractor at Fort Leavenworth, is a Vietnam veteran. He is the author of Blood on the Shores: Soviet Naval Commandos in World War II.

Tank Gun Systems

Tank Gun Systems
Author: William Andrews
Publisher: Pen and Sword Military
Total Pages: 937
Release: 2023-06-30
Genre: History
ISBN: 1399042378

Much has been written about the use of tanks in battle. Little, however, has appeared about the gunnery systems that are at their core. This book describes and examines the main gun systems of medium and heavy tanks from first use in 1916 in World War I to those fielded in numbers to the end of World War II in 1945, including tanks of the interwar period. Specifically considered are guns of a caliber greater than 35 mm, which have been deployed in numbers greater than 100. The emphasis is on guns mounted in turrets on heavier tracked armored fighting vehicles (greater than 15 tonnes) which were considered tanks. There are, though, exceptions, in that the naval 6 pounder guns in First World War British tanks, as well as the 75 mm guns in French medium tanks of the same period (all turretless) are included. The treatment of gun systems includes sighting and fire control equipment, gun laying equipment, mounts and the array of munitions fired, as well as the actual gun, including its, barrel, cradle, breech, firing mechanism, sights and recoil system. Related to this are issues of gun handling (loading and unloading), ammunition design and rates of fire. Also examined are the maximum impulse and energy generated by firing some of the munitions available that must be absorbed by the gun recoil system.