page_title: Tanks in World War II
section_title: Soviet Union
hierarchical_section_title: Tanks in World War II / Tanks of the major combatants / Soviet Union
caption_attribution_description: Русский: Уточнение боевой задачи советскими танкистами 4-го гвардейского механизированного корпуса (Венгрия, октябрь 1944 года). Deutsch: Sowjetische Panzer-Soldaten vom 4. Mechanisierten Gardekorps beim Studium der Gefechtsaufgabe (Ungarn Oktober 1944). English: Soviet tank troops (Battle of Budapest, October 1944) Italiano: Equipaggi di carri sovietici discutono dettagli tattici durante l'offensiva di Budapest
context_page_description: Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. Even though tanks in the inter-war years were the subject of widespread research, production was limited to relatively small numbers in a few countries. However, during World War II, most armies employed tanks, and production levels reached thousands each month. Tank usage, doctrine and production varied widely among the combatant nations. By war's end, a consensus was emerging regarding tank doctrine and design.
context_section_description: The Soviet Union started and ended the war with more tanks than the rest of the world combined (18,000–22,000). At the start of World War II the most common tank in Soviet service was the T-26 (derived from the Vickers 6-ton), lightly armoured and armed with a 45 mm gun capable of penetrating most German tanks at normal combat ranges. Few had radios. The design was mechanically sound although incapable of further development. The BT tank series, based on the Christie suspension system, were usually armed with the same 45 mm gun and were the most mobile tanks in the world at the time. Close-support versions of both tanks existed, armed with 76.2 mm howitzers. However, the BT was at the end of its design life. The Red Army also fielded thousands of light reconnaissance tanks such as the amphibious T-37 and T-38 tanks. These had limited combat value; although highly mobile, they were armed only with 7.62 mm machine guns and had very thin armour. The Red Army also had about 400 T-28 medium, multi-turreted tanks, which were in most respects equal to the German Panzer IV. Again, though, this design dated from 1931 and was obsolete.
  The Soviet Union ended the 1930s with a huge fleet of tanks almost completely derived from foreign designs, but before 1941 developed some of the most important trend-setting tanks of the war. The problem the Soviet tank force faced in 1941 was not primarily the technical quality of its vehicles, but the very poor state of maintenance, the appalling lack of readiness, and the poor command situation brought on by the purges of the officer class. By 1940, the Red Army had adopted an advanced combat doctrine that its command structure and tank force simply could not execute.
  Several excellent designs began production in 1940–41. Just prior to the war, the Red Army embarked on two closely related projects to reorganize its mechanized forces and re-equip them with modern designs that took lessons learned from the Spanish Civil War, the Battle of Khalkhin Gol and the Winter War into account. Some of these designs were copies of other countries' designs. The most significant was the T-34, which was originally designed as the successor to the BT series. Its heavier armour and dual-purpose gun, made it one of the best medium tanks of the first half of World War II. The T-34 eventually took on the roles of many other Soviet tanks. The T-34's chassis made it usable after the war, as it could be continuously upgraded with heavier guns, new turrets and other modifications. The other significant design was the KV-1 tank. These were armed with the same 76.2 mm gun as the T-34, and had the same Kharkiv model V-2 diesel engine. The KV tanks were equipped with a torsion bar suspension and much heavier armour than the T-34. The KV was slow, intended as a breakthrough tank. The KV-2 close-support version was armed with a 152 mm (6.0-inch) howitzer. The KV series was the main Soviet heavy tank until 1943, with the end of production  and the destruction of most surviving vehicles. Early in 1944, the KV's successor, the IS-2 was introduced. It was armed with a 122 mm (4.8 in) gun, with thicker armour and better mobility. A new infantry-support tank was introduced in 1941: the T-50. It was intended to be the replacement for the T-26, and was equipped with a 45 mm gun, torsion-bar suspension and thicker armor than most other tanks in its class. However, production problems with its new engine led to the tank being cancelled after fewer than 70 had been made. The light reconnaissance role was be filled by the amphibious T-40 and the cheaper, non-amphibious T-60.
  At the beginning of German invasion of the USSR, most of the Soviet Union's tank force was composed of the T-26 and BT tanks series. A few T-40s had also appeared, along with about 1,363 mechanically unreliable early-model T-34 tanks and 677 KV series tanks. The early-model T-34s' heavy losses were caused by lack of coordination, lack of supplies, bad training, mechanical issues and the Red Army's general lack of preparation for war. Another difficulty for the T-34 w
caption: Soviet tank troops (Battle of Budapest, October 1944)
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