Its 45mm gun and thin armour were inadequate against even older German tanks. In common with the KV-1, by Kursk the T-70 light tank was also recognised as being no longer suited to the frontline. The T-70 The T-70 light tank made up 1/3 of Soviet tank strength at Kursk. All three were just entering service in mid-1943, and only around 150 in total were at Kursk (25 SU-152, 56 SU-122 and 67 SU-76). The SU-122 used the T-34 chassis and was armed with a 122mm howitzer. This was open topped and armed with a 76.2mm field gun. The lightest was the SU-76, based on the T-70 tank chassis. Two other assault guns were used in small numbers at Kursk. The KV-1 chassis was also used for the SU-152 assault gun, a turretless vehicle armed with a 152mm artillery piece. The 205 used at Kursk were amongst the last to see combat. By 1943 new German anti-tank guns could defeat its armour, and it was clear that its day had passed. This weighed around 48 tons and was very heavily armoured, but it had the same engine and gun as the 31 ton T-34.Īs a result it was slower and far less mobile, but offered no advantages in firepower. The least common Soviet tank at Kursk was the KV-1 heavy tank. Swansong of the KV-1 T-34 commanders are briefed by their Company Commander. The need to both replace the huge manpower and equipment losses of the early months of the war and expand the Red Army at the same time led to an emphasis on reducing the number of different vehicles in production and ensuring manufacture of those that remained was made as quick and cheap as possible. Entire factories and their workforces had been moved hundreds of miles east to escape capture.
The German invasion of June 1941 caused massive disruption to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union’s War T-34 Model 1943s carrying infantry. This article will take a look at some of the Soviet tanks used in the battle. There are examples of most of the tanks that fought at Kursk on display at The Tank Museum.
The Soviet defenders in the Kursk salient had over 1.3 million men, 3500 tanks and 28,000 pieces of artillery and anti-tank guns plus more in reserve.
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