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T-40, T-60 and T-70 light tanks |
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During the 1920s and 1930s the tankettewas a continuing attraction for themilitary mind and the tank designer,and the Soviet Union was no exceptionin this trend. By the late 1930s the RedArmy had progressed through thestages where the one-man tankettehad been tested and dropped and wasin the usual stage where the tankettehad developed into the two-man lighttank. By the time the Germans attackedin 1940 the Red Army had investedfairly heavily in the light tank, and themodels in service were the result ofmany years of development,One of the main types in 1940 wasthe T-40 amphibious light tank, armedwith a 12.7-mm (0.5-in) machine-gun. Itwas the latest in a long line of modelsthat could be traced back to the T-27 ofthe early 1930s. This had progressedthrough the T-33, the T-34 (not to beconfused with the T-34 medium tank),the T-36, the T-37 and finally the T-38.Most of these lacked the amphibiouscapabilities of the T-40 which wasplaced in production in about 1940, sothat by the time the invasion of 1941started only a few (about 230) wereever completed, Many of the lateproductionT-40 models (with streamlinednose and foldable trim vane)were converted into Katyusha rocketlaunchercarriers and were neverused as turreted tanks, whose normalarmament was one 12.7-mm (0.5-in)and one 7.62-mm (0,3-m) machine-gun.Armour ranged from 6 to 13 mm (0.24to 0.51 in) in thickness.While the amphibious T-40 wasbeing developed a non-amphibiousversion, known as the T-40S, was proposed.When the Germans invaded, thecall was for many more tanks deliveredas rapidly as possible, so thesimpler T-40S was rushed into productionand redesignated the T-60 lighttank, Unfortunately it was a bit of ahorror in service and carried over theprimary bad points of the T-40: it wastoo lightly armoured and, having only a20-mm cannon plus a co-axial 7.62-mm(0.3-in) machine-gun as armament,was useless against other tanks. Also itwas so underpowered that it could notkeep up with the heavier T-34 tanksacross country. T-60s were kept in productionsimply because they could bechurned out quickly from relativelysmall and simple factories. They werepowered by truck engines, many componentsbeing taken from the samesource, and the slightly improved T-60A appeared in 1942 with slightlythicker frontal armour (35 mm/1.38 ininstead of 25 mm/0.98 in) and solid insteadof spoked wheels. By late 1941 work was already underway on the T-60's successor. This wasthe T-70, whose first version used atwin-engine power train that couldnever have worked successfully in actionand which was soon replaced by arevised arrangement. The T-70 wasotherwise a considerable improvementover the T-40 and T-60. It hadheavier armour (proof against 37-mnV1.46-in anti-tank guns) and the turretmounted a 45-mm (1.77-m) gun and7.62-mm (0.3-in) machine-gun. Thiswas still only of limited use againstheavier tanks but was better than amere machine-gun, The crew remainedat two men, the commanderhaving to act as his own gunner andloader in a fashion hardly conducive toeffective operation of tank or units.Production of the T-70 and thickerarmourT-70A ceased in October 1943,by which time 8,226 had been produced.In service the type proved remarkablyunremarkable, and the vehiclesappear to have been confined tothe close support of infantry units andsome limited reconnaissance tasks. By1943 the light tank was an anachronism,but the Soviets nonetheless wentahead with a replacement known asthe T-80. Almost as soon as it went intoproduction its true lack of value wasfinally realized and the production linewas switched to manufacturing componentsfor the SU-76 self-propelledgun.SpecificationT-40Crew: 2Weight: 5.9 tonnesPowerplant: one GAZ-202 petrolengine delivering 52 kW (70 hp)Dimensions: length 4.11 m (13 ft 5.9 in);width 2.33 m (7 ft 7.7 in); height 1.95 m(6 ft 4.8 in)Performance: maximum road speed44 km/h (27.3 mph); road range 360 km(223.7 miles); fording amphibious;gradient 34°; vertical obstacle 0.70 m(2 ft 3.75 in); trench 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)SpecificationT-60Crew: 2Weight: 6.4 tonnesPowerplant: one GAZ-203 petrolengine delivering 63 kW (85 hp)Dimensions:Iength4.11 m(13 ft 5.9 in);width 2.3 m (7 ft 6.5 in); height 1.74 m(5 ft 8.5 in)Performance: maximum road speed45 km/h (28 mph); road range 450 km(280 miles); fording not known;gradient 29°; vertical obstacle 0.54 m(1 ft 9.3 in); trench 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)SpecificationT-70Crew: 2Weight: 9.2 tonnesPowerplant: two GAZ-202 petrolengines delivering a total of 104 k W(140hp)Dimensions: length 4.29 m (14 ft 0.9 in);width 2.32 m (7 ft 7.3 in); height 2.04 m(6 ft 8.3 in)Performance: maximum road speed45 km/h (28 mph); road range 360 km(223.7 miles); fording not known;gradient 34°; vertical obstacle 0.70 m (2 ft3,6 in); trenchS. 12 m(10 ft2.8 in)
The T-70 light tank was auseful reconnaissance vehicle, but ithad only a 45-mm (1.77-in) main gunand was thus of little use in combatagainst heavier German tanks. Inaction it proved tobe adequate but unexceptional. 
The 20-mm gun armed T-60Ugh t tank was nota gréa t success inaction, for it was too lightly armedand armoured and lacked powerandmobility. It was kept inproduction simply to get some sort ofvehicle to the Red Army following the disasters of the 1941 campaigns. 
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