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The Soviet T-28 medium tank was anindigenous design that entered productionin Leningrad during 1933. Itwas greatly influenced by currenttrends shown in German and British(Vickers) experimental designs, andso featured the fashionable multi-turretlayout, The T-28 had three, the maingun turret being partially flanked bytwo smaller ones armed with machineguns,the driver's position being betweenthe two auxiliary turrets.The prototype T-28 had a 45-mm(1.77-m) main gun, but on T-28 and T-28A production models (the latter withthicker front armour) this was changedto a short 76.2-mm (3-in) gun, T28B productionmodels after 1938 having anewer and longer 76.2-mm (3-in) gunwith improved performance. Thesecondary armament was three 7.62-mm (0,3-in) machine-guns. Overall theT-28 was a large and slab-sided brutebut the Soviet tank design teams werestill in the process of learning theirtrade, and experience with the T-28was later of great importance.Construction of the original productionmodel, the T-28 Model 1934, lasteduntil 1938 when the improved T-28Bappeared with the new gun (seeabove), rudimentary gun stabilizationand some engine modifications. Thiswas the T-28 Model 1938, and manufactureof this version lasted until 1940,when production ceased in favour oflater models. The armour of the differentversions ranged from a minimumof 20mm (0.79 in) to a maximum of80 mm (3.15 in) in thickness.There were several experimentalversions of the T-28 including someself-propelled guns and specials suchas bridging and assault engineeringtanks. None of these expérimentais gotpast the prototype stage, but experiencewith them was of great importancewhen later variations on productiontanks were contemplated. In factthe T-28 was of more value as an educationaltank than as a combat tank. Itsservice life was short, spanning onlythe years from 1939 to 1941, In 1939 itwas used in action against the Finnsduring the 'Winter War'. In that shortconflict the T-28s fared badly as theircrews found out the hard way that thevehicle's armour was too thin for safetyand those tanks that survived underwenta hasty course of modifications toadd extra armour (up to 80 mm/3.15m). The modified T-28s wereknown as the T-28E (ekanirovki, orscreened, i.e. uparmoured), but thecrash programme proved to havebeen of doubtful effectiveness whenthe Germans invaded the Soviet Unionin 1941. The T-28E was also known asthe T-28M or T-28 Model 1940.In 1941 the surviving T-28s demonstratedthemselves to be of only limitedcombat value, Their large slab sidesand stately performance made themeasy prey for German anti-tankweapons. They also proved vulnerableto mines, and during the 'WinterWar' of 1939-1940 some T-28s weremodified to carry anti-mine rollers infront of the vehicle. These rollers werenot a success, but again the experiencegained with them proved to be ofgreat value later. Thus the T-28 passedThe T-28 medium tank was one of theleast success fui pre-war Soviet tankdesigns for in action in 1940 and 1941it proved tobe cumbersome,inadequately armoured and undergunned.The main gun was a short76.2-mm (3-in) weapon that wasreplaced in some cases by a longerbarrelledgun of the same calibre.from the scene, proving itself to belongto an earlier era of tank design.SpecificationT-28Crew: 6Weight: 28 tonnesPowerplant: one M-17 V-12 petrolengine developing 373 kW(500 hp)Dimensions: length 7,44 m (24 ft 4.8 in)-width 2.81 m (9 ft 2.75 in); height 2.82 m(9 ft 3 in)Performance: maximum road speedThe Soviet T-28 heavy tank weighed28 tons but was termed a mediumtank. 11 had a crew of six and had ashort 76.2-mm (3-in) gun as its mainarmament, plus machine-guns in thetwo extra turrets mounted in front ofthemain turret. They were clumsyvehicles with armour that proved tobe too thin once in action.37 km/h (23 mph); maximum roadrange 220 km ( 136,7 miles); fording notknown; gradient 43°; vertical obstacle 1.04 m (3 ft 5 in); trench 2.90 m (9 ft 6 in)
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