page_title: T-38 tank
section_title: Service history
hierarchical_section_title: T-38 tank / Service history
context_page_description: The T-38 amphibious scout tank was a Soviet amphibious light tank that saw service in World War II. Developed as a modernized version of the earlier T-37A light tank, the T-38 proved to be only a moderate improvement over its predecessor, and was eventually replaced in 1940 by the T-40.
context_section_description: The tank served with the Red Army in the Winter War with Finland in 1940, but was unsuccessful due to its light armament and thin armour, which was easily penetrated by rifle and light machine gun fire. In the confined terrain of Finland, the tank was a deathtrap; it also did not do well in the early stages of World War II, and large numbers were captured by the Germans during Operation Barbarossa. The T-38 was rarely seen in direct combat after 1941 and mostly relegated to other roles such as artillery tractor, although it was reported to have been used in the Dnieper River crossing of 1943. During World War II, the main amphibious scout vehicle of the Red Army was the Ford GPA amphibious jeep, an open unarmored vehicle provided through Lend-Lease.
  The German Army did not generally use captured T-38s as gun tanks (unlike captured T-26s, T-34s, or other more valuable vehicles).
  Romanian forces had captured three T-38s as of 1 November 1942 and four more in March 1944.
caption: T-38RT armed with 20 mm cannon on display at the Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow.
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