BT tank - Technical Legacy

BT-5 command tank, with horseshoe antenna around the turret top The Bystrokhodniy Tank (Fast Tank), was a series of Soviet 'cavalry tanks' which were produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, ...

Including:

• BT tank - Production History
• BT tank - Variants
• BT tank - Specifications
• BT tank - Combat History
• BT tank - Technical Legacy

Read more here: » BT tank: Encyclopedia - BT tank

The BT series was numerous, forming the 'cavalry tank' arm of the pre-war Red Army, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. For these reasons, there were many experiments and derivatives of the design, mostly conducted at the KhPZ factory in Kharkov, Soviet Ukraine. The most important legacy of the BT was the T-34 design, derived in part from the BT. The T-34 had many innovations well beyond the BT, but the lineage is obvious. Along the way, an important technical development was the BT-IS and BT-SW-2 series ...

See also:

BT tank, BT tank - Production History, BT tank - Variants, BT tank - Specifications, BT tank - Combat History, BT tank - Technical Legacy

Read more here: » BT tank: Encyclopedia II - BT tank - Technical Legacy

In 1931 two experimental M1930 Christie tanks without turrets, designated BT-1, were purchased from the U.S. and delivered to the Kharkov Komintern Locomotive Plant (KhPZ). Based on the Christie prototypes, three unarmed BT-2 prototypes were completed in October 1931 and mass production began in 1932. Most BT-2s were equipped with 37mm gun and one machine gun, but shortages of 37mm guns led to some early examples being fitted with three machine guns. The BT-3 a ...

See also:

BT tank, BT tank - Production History, BT tank - Variants, BT tank - Specifications, BT tank - Combat History, BT tank - Technical Legacy

Read more here: » BT tank: Encyclopedia II - BT tank - Production History

BT tanks were used in combat on several occasions prior to World War II. A battalion of BT-5s saw action on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, where their 45mm guns could easily destroy the opposing German and Italian light tanks. In the border skirmishes against Japan in 1939, both BT-5s and BT-7s were used. Again the BT generally outclassed the lightweight enemy tanks. Against Finland during the Winter War (mainly BT-2 and BT-5 models) the BT was less successful. The Finnish forces were well-led, highly motivated and defending very constricted terrain. The thinly-armored BTs were very v ...

See also:

BT tank, BT tank - Production History, BT tank - Variants, BT tank - Specifications, BT tank - Combat History, BT tank - Technical Legacy

Read more here: » BT tank: Encyclopedia II - BT tank - Combat History