page_title: Combat history of the T-26
section_title: The German-Soviet War
hierarchical_section_title: Combat history of the T-26 / Second World War / The German-Soviet War
context_page_description: Though nearly obsolete by the beginning of World War II, the T-26 was the most important tank of the Spanish Civil War and played a significant role during the Battle of Lake Khasan in 1938 as well as in the Winter War. The T-26 was the most numerous tank in the Red Army's armoured force during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The Soviet T-26 light tanks last saw combat in August 1945, in Manchuria.
  The T-26 was used extensively in the armies of Spain, China and Turkey. In addition, captured T-26 light tanks were used by the Finnish, German, Romanian and Hungarian armies.
context_section_description: The T-26 formed the backbone of the Red Army's armoured forces during the first months of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941. On 1 June, the Red Army had 10,268 T-26 tanks of all models, including armoured combat vehicles based on the T-26 chassis. The T-26 made up 39.5 percent of the tank strength, by number. T-26s composed a majority of fighting vehicles in Soviet mechanized corps of border military districts. For example, the Western Special Military District had 1,136 T-26 tanks on 22 June 1941 (52% of all tanks in the district). Mechanized corps of the Southwestern Front (formed from units of Odessa Special Military District and some units of Kiev Special Military District after the beginning of the war) were equipped with 1,316 T-26 tanks, making up 35% of all tanks on the front. All in all there were 4,875 T-26 tanks in western military districts on 1 June 1941. However, some T-26 tanks were not operationally ready because of shortages of parts like batteries, tracks, and road wheels. Such shortages left around 30% of available T-26 tanks disabled. Additionally, about 30% of the available T-26 tanks had been produced in 1931–1934 and had limited service life. Thus five Soviet western military districts had about 3,100–3,200 T-26s of all models in good order (approximately 40% of all tanks in the districts in question), which was only slightly less than the number of German tanks intended for invasion of the USSR.
  By the summer of 1941, most of the Red Army's vast numbers of tanks were suffering from serious wear and tear. Poor quality roads, the vulnerabilities of track design in the early 1930s, and inadequate maintenance, recovery and repair services all took their toll. In some of the front line armoured units, up to half of the T-26, T-28 and BT tanks had major drive train components (engine, transmission or suspension) which were broken down or completely worn out, and these disabled tanks were parked and cannibalised for spare parts to keep the rest running. Tanks damaged during the 1939 Winter War with Finland were also cannibalised for parts.
  The planned replacement for the T-26 was the T-50 light tank, adopted for the Red Army in February 1941. The sophisticated T-50 was developed keeping in mind the experience gained in the Winter War and Soviet tests of the German Panzer III tank. However, the new and complicated T-50 and its diesel engine encountered production problems and the new tank had not entered series production before the German-Soviet War. 
  The majority of the Red Army's T-26 tanks in European military districts were lost in the first months of the German-Soviet War, mainly to enemy artillery and air strikes.
  In addition, the limited availability of recovery vehicles and spare parts meant that broken down tanks and other non-combat losses often could not be repaired. Tanks with even insignificant technical failures had to be blown up or burned by their crews upon retreat. The 12th Mechanized Corps, deployed in Baltic Special Military District, had 449 T-26 tanks, 2 flame-throwing tanks and 4 T-26T artillery tractors on 22 June 1941. The corps lost 201 T-26 tanks and all flame-throwing tanks and artillery tractors by 7 July 1941. A further 186 T-26 tanks were lost to technical failures.
  However, many T-26 crews did their best to combat the enemy's advance. For example, a composite battalion of the 55th Tank Division (made up of 18 single-turreted T-26 tanks and 18 twin-turreted T-26 tanks) supported the retreating 117th Infantry Division near Zhlobin. Single-turreted T-26 tanks destroyed 17 German tanks. Nine tanks of the battalion crossed the Dnieper River but eleven remained in enemy territory after the bridge was destroyed, with the remainder having been lost in combat.
  The T-26 light tank was inferior to the German Panzer III and Panzer IV medium tanks in gun calibre, speed, manoeuvrability, armour but the T-26's armament was superior in comparison with the Panzer I, Panzer II, Panzer 35(t) and Panzer 38(t), which formed about 50% of the German panzer forces in June 1941. The 
caption: T-26 mod. 1938 and its crew before combat. Probably 1942.
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