Light infantry tank T-18: tactical and technical characteristics, combat use

In the late twenties of the twentieth century, the first Soviet tanks appeared, including the light infantry T-18 tank (MS-1), which was first developed in the country, taking as a basis the French FT-17 and its Italian modification. The name (letter designation) is easy to decipher. The letter "T" denotes the actual word "tank". T-18 is the index, where eighteen is the serial number of the type being developed. The second name of it - MS-1 - in Soviet sources also occurs quite often and stands for "small escorts", the figure is the index denoting the first model of this class.

History

Civil war brought the Red Army many trophies, among which were whiteguard tanks of French production. They were thoroughly studied and even released for a while at the Sormovo plant, calling their own child "Reno-Russian." However, the country was in a state of devastation, it was experiencing economic difficulties, and therefore, until better times, the production of these tanks was canceled. Especially since even non-specialists understood that such a model is much outdated and it is necessary to prepare for war with new developments.

Since 1925, this is what the first Soviet designers started to do. The experience of the production of the Renault-Russian tank was, of course, taken into account. In addition, the Soviet-Polish war brought another trophy, which helped to create a tank T-18. It was an Italian armored car - FIAT-3000. And this tank was studied during the preparation of technical documentation for the tank T-18, its best qualities were borrowed. Nevertheless, the past tests at the prototype range revealed quite a large number of all kinds of shortcomings, especially for the undercarriage and the engine. So, the T-16 was rejected, the shortcomings were taken into account, and in 1927 a much more successful modification appeared-the T-18 tank.

The tests are passed

A small support tank was tested in June 1927. The tests were successful, and already in early July the light tank T-18 was adopted by the Red Army. They called it MS-1, that is, a small support tank. Since February 1928, his serial production began, which the Bolshevik plant was engaged in, and it continued until the end of 1931.

Production area was occupied by a new light tank - T-26, which was also intended to accompany the infantry. For all these years (from 1928 to 1932), not so few copies of the first Soviet-designed car were produced-almost a thousand, or more precisely, 959. The first tanks-the T-18 and the T-26-fulfilled their task of being the first. Nevertheless, they met even in the fields of World War II.

Installation and operation

The first tanks and their entire construction were, of course, borrowed from foreign manufacturers. The layout was classical for that time. The engine and transmission compartment was at the stern of the hull, and on the average, the front sections of the hull and in the tower housed the control of the tank and its armament.

The Soviet T-18 tank did not require a large crew, two men managed to fight it: the commander-he's the tower-gunner-and the driver-mechanic. The latter was in the center of the body, and the commander-shooter - in the body and the tower, behind the driver. Landing and disembarkation was made through a mushroom-shaped hatch-cap, towering above the tower, and the mechanic could use the double-hatch hatch that was on the hull ahead.

Armor

Armor was not strong, it was well protected from bullets (medium rifle caliber) and from small fragments, as the tank was developed on the principle of anti-bullet. Form armor support tanks at that time had about the same: sharp stepped, without any rounding. The armored case consisted of sheet steel of sixteen millimeters thick, all the sheets were riveted together, and with a frame.

At the stern of the armored carpenters were fastened to the frame simply by bolts, so they could easily be removed if necessary. The bottom of the tank and its roof were strengthened twice as weakly - they used sheet steel less than eight millimeters thick. The tower had the shape of an almost regular hexagon. Since 1930, there was a niche in the stern - for the radio station. Forming the tower armor sheets were sixteen millimeters, but the roof to the air strikes was not adapted - it was no more than four millimeters steel. The front part of the tower had embrasures to install weapons. The ball bearing allowed the tower to turn, but it could only be done manually, which was done by the tank commander.

Armament

Any pre-war tank, from a modern point of view, was poorly equipped. However, for that time, this tank outfitted many of its counterparts from other countries. First, the main weapon of the T-18 was a gun of the thirty-seventh caliber of the Gochkis model, then the Gunchkis-PS gun developed by P. Syachintov. It was installed in the right or left side of the tower. The ammunition consisted of ninety-six shells, subsequently increased to one hundred and four (the ammunition was stored at the stern - instead of the radio station).

In addition, there was auxiliary weapons, which served as a 6.6-millimeter Fyodorov machine gun. Two pairs of machine guns were usually mated and installed in the face of the tower, which was free from the cannon. To them relied box stores, which were 1800 rounds. Already after 1935, the T-18 machine guns were replaced by the DT-29 (caliber 7.62). At first also paired, then one at a time. In the ammunition now was 2016 cartridges in thirty-two disks.

Engine

The power plant of the light tank T-18 served as a four-stroke four-cycle carburetor engine designer Mikulin. The engine cooling was air. Its power did not exceed thirty-five horsepower.

After 1930, the forced engine could squeeze out power to forty, which accelerated its movement along the highway (the maximum speed of the tank was as much as twenty-two kilometers per hour!). The engine was installed transversely in the engine-transmission compartment, this made it possible to slightly shorten the length of the tank body. Fuel tanks in the number of two had a total volume of one hundred and ten liters. They were placed in the nadpusenichnyh niches.

Transmission

Nevertheless, both the engine and the transmission of the first Soviet tank met the most advanced demands of their time. Transmission light tank T-18 was a mechanical type and consisted of nodes and mechanisms:

1. The main single-disk friction, operating on dry friction.

2. Three-speed manual transmission.

3. Rotation mechanism (type of conical differential).

4. Two tape brakes, serving both for braking and for turning.

5. Two side single-row gears, built into the hubs of the driving wheels.

Chassis

The chassis of the tank to accompany the infantry included on both sides sloths, driving wheels, fourteen supporting double rubber wheels with small diameter and six also rubberized twin support rollers. After 1930, a fourth supporting skating rink appeared on each side of the structure. The rear rollers were blocked by two on the balancers, suspended on cylindrical vertical springs, protected by casings.

The front skating rink was fixed by a separate lever connected to the front suspension and absorbed by an inclined spring. The steel springs also had two or three front supporting skating rinks. Caterpillars were made of cast steel - large links with ridge engagement. Fifty-one tracts made up each caterpillar, the width of the track was three hundred millimeters.

In the first battle

Light tanks T-18 entered the Red Army as early as 1928, completing the rifle units of the armies of various military districts. The military baptism of the new car was a conflict on the CER. In November 1929, the Mishanfuss Offensive began, where our infantry were supported by ten T-18 tanks at once. The battle was preceded by an exhausting march, the tanks were not adequately provided with ammunition, and there were no maps of the terrain among the fighters.

Nevertheless, the positions of the Chinese were attacked, and no T-18 tank was lost, although the offensive movement as a whole did not bring the Red Army good luck. But for the tank these fights have become an excellent test, where not only the virtues, but also the shortcomings of this machine were revealed. The main defects of the light tank T-18 were named low speed of movement and very little firepower. But in general, tanks and tankmen have proved themselves well, and the conflict on the CER presented this evidence.

The Great Patriotic War

Extremely worn out and openly obsolete T-18 tanks met the Great Patriotic War. A small part of them went into service in the tank units, the rest were given to the fortified areas. The Panzerwaffe came harshly in frontier battles with the almost defenseless Soviet tanks. In the first months of the war, almost all T-18s were burnt.

The last mention of their use in combat dates back to December 1941, when they defended Moscow: One hundred and fiftieth tank brigade had nine T-18s. The old kind light tanks until the late fifties served as stationary firing points and as fortifications in the Far East. Sometimes only their towers were used.

Why T-18?

In the first years after the Civil War, Soviet Russia, as already mentioned, overcame the terrible devastation, it clearly was not up to the production of tanks. As we recall, the cause of the restoration and development of the national economy was controversial; therefore, by the mid-1920s, it was a question of modernizing the army's armaments. In 1926, as we already know, a tank building program was adopted, designed for three years.

The program envisaged as a minimum plan the organization of an educational company and a tank battalion with infantry tanks, as well as the creation of a company and battalion equipped with wedges. The calculations required from manufacturers one hundred and twelve tanks of each type. And after the meeting of the command of the Red Army, GUVP and OAT (Weapons and Arsenal Trust), mass production was approved not by heavy, slow-moving and rather weakly armed FT-17, besides too expensive. The light infantry support tank won.

About money

"Renault-Russian", for example, cost then thirty-six thousand rubles, and it was necessary to spend only eighteen thousand on one tank, as the total amount of spending should not exceed five million rubles. Here it should be explained that in those years the ruble was worth as much as under the tsar. This means that this amount today would be about one million dollars. That is, the three-year program of the twenties of the last century with such financial stress could not cope.

There is a difference in the cost of today's tanks relative to the machines of the beginning of the last century. Our T-90, for example, the army buys for each seventy million rubles each copy. The American "Abrams", depending on the modification, costs from 4.3 million dollars. However, the equipment of the T-18 can not be compared with the T-90. Its role in the development of the Red Army, the first Soviet tanks played, it can be said, excellent.