The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945 (2 Viewers)

[tank]

Heavy Tank IS-122 (the early modification of IS-2)

In February 1944, the breakthrough regiments of the Red Army, equipped with KV tanks, were equipped with a new IS tanks. At the same time the regiments were assigned with the name “guards”.

The new regiments totaled 375 personnel:
The four IS tank companies (21 tanks in total), a company of machine gunners, a company of technical support and an anti-aircraft battery.

The crew of the heavy IS tank had two officers in it - the tank commander and the senior driver-mechanic and two sergeants - gunner and the loader who was also the junior driver-mechanic.
The guards regiments were armed with the early modification of IS-2 (IS-122).


The IS-2 heavy tanks entered the war for the first time at the Western Ukraine.
Of the two regiments (11th and 72nd) equipped with these tanks, the 72nd OGvTTP was more successfully operated.
From April 20 to May 10, 1944 the regiment destroyed 41 Tiger tanks and self-propelled guns Ferdinand, 3 armored personnel carriers with ammunition and 10 anti-tank guns in the area of Obertin.

Durring these fights the 72nd OGvTTP irretrievably lost only 8 IS-2 tanks.

The reasons for the loss of the IS-2 tanks were as follows:

- Tank No. 40247 came under artillery fire from the self-propelled guns Ferdinand from a distance of 1,500-1,200 m on April 20 in the Gerasimuv area . The crew was able to respond with one shot only as the cannon’s trigger failed. The IS-2 received 5 hits in the frontal part of the hull that did not harm it while the tank was trying to leave the area. During this time another self-propelled gun "Ferdinand" quietly approached from the flank to a distance of 600-700 m and pierced the right side of the tank in the engine area with an armor-piercing projectile. The crew left a stopped the tank, which soon caught fire;

- tank number 40255 received a direct hit of the 88-mm shell from the Tiger tank in the lower front inclined armor plate from a distance of 1000-1100m. As a result of which the left fuel tank was pierced, the driver was wounded by armor fragments, and the rest of the crew got light burns. The tank burned down

- tank No. 4032, after having withstood three hits from the Tiger tank into the hull from a distance of 1,500-1,000 m it was destroyed by the fire of another Tiger from a distance of 500-400 m. An 88-mm armor-piercing projectile pierced the lower right frontal leaf, ignited of the gunpowder of the shell, and the tank burned down. The tankers, left the IS-2, the wounded senior driver-mechanic was taken by crew to hospital.

- tank No. 4033, after receiving a shell from a Tiger from a distance of 400 m in the lower armored plate of the hull, was towed to the assembly point of damaged vehicles (SPMP) for major repairs;

- tank No. 40260 burned down after it was hitting by the 88-mm shell from a Tiger tank from the left side from a distance of 500 m. The shell destroyed the engine and the tank caught fire.
The tank commander and gunner were injured;

- Tank No. 40244 received a direct hit by an armor-piercing shell from a Tiger tank from a distance of 800-1000 m to the starboard side of the hull. The senior driver-mechanic was killed, and the diesel fuel was spilling from the destroyed right fuel tank and ignited inside the tank. The tank was evacuated and then blown up by sappers;

- tank number 40263 burned down when two shells hit at the IS-2 side;

-tank number 40273 operated in isolation from the regiment. On April 30, near the village of Igzhiska the IS-2 participated in repelling of the attack of 50 T-III, T-IV, and T-VI tanks. The IS-2 received two direct hits: the first - in the turret and immediately after that the second shell - in the area of the engine compartment. The crew in the turret was killed and the senior driver-mechanic was wounded. The tank was left on enemy territory;

- tank number 40254 was hit by the armor-piercing projectile of the self-propelled gun “Ferdinand”.
The self-propelled gun “Ferdinand” was in ambush. The first shell did not penetrate the turret but the second shell pierced the side of the tank hull and disabled the engine. The crew was evacuated, and the IS-2 burned down;

- tank number 40261 received a direct hit in the barrel of the gun. After the battle, the barrel was replaced with a new one later the tank was put into overhaul.

The remaining five heavy tanks IS-2 disabled during the fighting, were restored by the company of technical support of the regiment.

In August 1944, the 71st OGvTPP, equipped with IS-122 tanks of the first release together with the tankers of the 6th Guards Tank Corps, participated in the defeat of the Royal Tigers battalion at the Sandomierz bridgehead.



The “Report on the fighting of the regiment from 07/14/44 to 08/31/44":

“In the morning of August 13, 2004, the 71st OGvTTP regiment, in cooperation with the 289th infantry regiment of the 97th infantry division, launched an offensive in the direction of Oglenduv.
The “Royal Tiger” tanks on the outskirts of Oglenduv blocked the path of the advancing infantry with their fire. The platoon of the IS-122 tanks of the guard senior lieutenant Klimenkov moved forward and opened fire on the “Royal Tigers” . As a result of a short battle the IS-122 Klimenkov burned one “Royal Tiger” and knocked out the second (these were the first destroyed the “Royal Tiger” Tanks).

The infantry not meeting a strong resistance burst into Oglenduv. At the same time 7 “Royal Tigers” attacked our positions from the height 272.1.
The tank of the guard senior lieutenant Udalov was in ambush on the east of Mokre. He let the enemy’s tanks come to 700-800 m and than his IS-122 opened fire on the “Royal Tigers” . With several well-aimed shots the tanks of the guard senior lieutenant Udalov burned one “Royal Tiger” and knocked out the second. When the enemy’s tanks passed the ambush position the IS-122 of the guard senior lieutenant Udalov left his ambush position and moved through a forest towards the enemy. The IS-122 opened fire again from the edge of the forest.
Leaving behind an another burning “Royal Tiger” the Germans retreated.

Soon the attack of the “Royal Tigers” was repeated but this time they went in the direction to Ponik, where the IS-122 of the guard of lieutenant Belyakov was standing in ambush.
The guard of lieutenant Belyakov opened fire from a distance of 1000 m. He knocked down the leading with the third shell and forced the others ‘Royal Tigers” to turn back.

During the day the tankers of the 71st OGvTTP regiment together with an artillery, repulsed 7 enemy tank attacks. They inflicted to Nazis a heavy losses in equipment and manpower.

Experience has shown:


The marching capabilities of the IS-122 tanks - up to 70-100 km per day at an average speed. The speed on the highway 20-25 km / h and the off-road speed - 10-15 km / h. Cruising range - 125-150 km. On average the IS-122 tanks traveled 1,100 km.


Tanks engines worked 270 motor / hours instead of the instruction guarantee 150 m / h. Practical speed on the battlefield in rough terrain reaches 8-12 km / h. The practical rate of fire from the gun is 2-3 rds / min.

The shooting and observation conditions from the tank are generally satisfactory...






IS-2 (Object 240)

 

[tank]

Dogs the tank destroyers in the Battle of Stalingrad.


In the Battle of Stalingrad, the Germans had a huge advantage in tanks.. The defenders of the city could only fight tanks with grenades and Molotov cocktails. In the fierce battles of the summer of 1941, the Red Army lost more than 70% of its anti-tank artillery. To fight the panzers the command decided to use on the battlefield the anti-tank dogs . As a matter of urgency the anti-tank detachments of the dogs tank destroyers were deployed to Stalingrad.

Mostly mongrels were taken to the fighter squads, and the training course for the "tailed fighter" lasted six months, but after the outbreak of war it was reduced to three months. The selection criteria for the dogs was simple - the animal had to be strong enough to carry two anti-tank mines. For tank fighter dogs, a special explosive device was developed - a canvas pack, on the sides of which two TNT blocks weighing 6 kg were placed. In addition, a wooden contact detonator was attached to the back of the animal.

Dog with anti-tank mines
In July 1941, the combat tests of the new weapons began. Dogs were released on the battlefield hungry - the counselor directed the animals directly at the tank or at a slight angle to the direction of its movement. The tests were unsuccessful - out of the twenty dogs released towards the enemy armored vehicles, not a single dog finished its mission. Some of the animals were destroyed by German infantry and tanks, while the rest dogs simply fled.

Despite the first failure, the work in this direction did not stop. During the war years in the USSR the thirteen dogs tank destroyer detachments were formed, each of detachments numbered around 120-126 dogs.


The most striking episode of the use of "anti-tank" dogs was the fighting on the Stalingrad direction.

Fierce battles took place in the defense zone of the 62nd Army, which were included the special detachments of the “four-armed soldiers” - the 28th unit was under the command of Major Anatoly Kunin and the 138th under the command of Senior Lieutenant Vasily Shantsev.
On June 10, 1942 by village Gavrilovka Farm some 50 panzers broke through the defense of the rifle platoon of Lieutenant Stolyarov. The 138th "anti-tank” dogs detachment became the only obstacle in the way of the Germans. The soldiers let the panzers at close range, and then brought their dogs into battle. The first tank was destroyed by the pet of Sergeant Eugene Builin, and then the dogs of counselors Kolesnikov, Romanov, Shamsiev and others successfully completed their tasks.

In the fierce battles of June 1942, the 138th dog tank killer detachment destroyed 14 German tanks in total.
From Senior Lieutenant Shantsev awards sheet, “On 10.06.1942, in the Khudoyarovo and Gavrilovka villages area the dog tank destroyer detachments under the command of the senior lieutenant Shantsev destroyed 11 enemy tanks.
The senior Lieutenant Shantsev was awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

On June 23, 1942, on the Novo-Nikolaevka – Kupyansk road, 3 enemy tanks were destroyed by the dogs of the detachment under the command of Lieutenant Shantsev. ” In these clashes, nine squad members died along with their pets, but the enemy’s offensive was stopped.
The “anti-tank” dogs also acted actively later in the urban battles in Stalingrad. In street clashes the dogs were hiding behind the rubble and walls of houses and than suddenly appearing in front of the enemy...

September 15, 1942 the dogs of the 28th detachment managed to destroy 6 tanks. The soldier of this detachment Nikolay Maslov recalled:
“We blew up tanks one by one with the dogs and the Germans turned back. When twe received the order to defend the approaches to the tractor factory we were immediately moved to the positions at evening . At that night the Germans tried to take the factory but they met the strong resistance from our “anti-tank” dogs units.
During this battle a panzer was coming towards me and I threw the Molotov cocktail into the panzer but unfortunately the bottle didn’t reach the target. The crew of the German tank seeing me, gave a shot from the tank gun and a fragment of the shell torn off the thumb from my left hand. My dog also was wounded. But I managed to give the dog a command, and the dog blew the tank up. "

The Maslov’s anti-tank dogs detachment was able to destroy 42 German tanks during the battles for Stalingrad, and together with the Shantsev’s detachment this figure was 63 panzers.
The losses of fighter squads were also very large, amounting to three quarters of their original strength (about 200 dogs died).
According to some reports, during the war, Soviet fighter dogs destroyed about 300 German tanks, although this figure has not been documented.

The “anti-tank” dogs remained nameless war heroes but nevertheless were honored with the perpetuation.
In 2010, in Volgograd ( Stalingrad) on Chekist Square a life-size bronze dog was erected - the world’s only monument to the tank fighter dogs.

https://youtu.be/0Zlx_FUFEPI






German 10.5cm Sturmhaubitze 42 Ausf.G

 

[tank]

The Wehrmacht soldiers and the war prisoners # 1

18 October of 1941 near the Kalinin (Tver).​

A T-34 was immobilized after the T-34 did ram a German self-propelled gun.

The Germans open the hatch. One with a crowbar and the other with an ax.​

Germans are pulling out the tank commander.

The Russian tanker looks aloof, maybe a bit scared or possibly contused.

The tanker wasn't captured alone. On the photo left in a ditch - a couple wounded Soviet tankers.


Russian researchers establish that the number 4 tank was from the 21-th tank brigade. The tank brigade participated in a raid on Kalinin (Tver) in those days.
Presumably on the pictures - the 20 years old Lieutenant Dmitry Grigorievich Lutsenko. He was born in Cherkassy district, Kiev region in 1921.
According to the “Memorial" database, Lutsenko went missing without a trace during the raid on Kalinin.

This means only one thing - he died soon after he was captured and because of that Lutsenko did not manage to get into the German registers for the registration of prisoners, which were compiled later.

The mortality in the German front-line camps in the summer and autumn of 1941 was a monstrous. Only in Vyazemsky front-line camp more that a 100 thousand people died in 1941. No one registered the dead — Germans just dumped them and that was the end of it.

General view of the accident.

How did it happen that the ramming occurred. Why didn’t the crew of the tank shoot a cannon?

The tank had a pierced barrel so the gun became useless and the only option for the Russian tankers left to ram the enemy.

What actually happened to the tank and where Dmitry Lutsenko met his death we will never know ...







The Wehrmacht soldiers and the war prisoners # 2

German soldiers interrogate Soviet prisoners at a hight of 122 in the foothills of the Musta-Tunturi ridge. Kola Peninsula.

German soldiers are preparing for the shooting of Soviet prisoners.

Here is a story behind these pictures was told by a Norwegian author who compilers this line of photos in his book.



- We got these photos from a German mountain ranger, who himself witnessed them and he told us the following:

“We sent our scouts forward. They were ambushed by Russian troops. Those of the scouts who were not killed had been captured by the Russians.
I saw it all with my own eyes from our main position, but we were in such a position that we couldn’t to help our comrades. The Russians knew this, and they brought our comrades to an open place and scoffed at them for a long time before our eyes before they finally killing our comrades. Our comrades were martyred.. I cannot calmly remember this. We could not do anything, and only looked at it.

The commander gave each of us his binoculars and said: “Remember the faces of these Russians!” He had in mind two Russians who were particularly sophisticatedly mocked the prisoners. He told us: “When the Russians calm down, you will go to them and bring back the bodies of those tortured by Russians. But most importantly - bring those two Russians alive! ". We obeyed the order of our commander. These two Russians were taken by us alive and brought to our location. Our commander told them:” There are no military justice agencies so we will judge you ourrself! ".

He ordered one of us to record everything, and the other to take pictures of every moment. After interrogation, our commander sentenced both Russians to execution and ordered them to dig their own graves. After they dug up a grave for themselves, we shot them. The Russians understood very well why they would be shot. After all this, our commander sent all the notes and film to the headquarters. That’s all I can tell you. It was a war. “


What is especially noteworthy in this story:

The Russians are close enough to look at their faces with binoculars but the Russians are not close enough to get them of the machine gun?

I remind you that in this series of shots there is one more photo of a machine gun with an optical sight.

Does it means that the humane German mountain rangers were way to shy to kill the Russians while they were tortured them comrades on “an open place”?

The Russian prisoners and the shooting itself were photographed in detail, but at the same time there is not a single photo of the Germans soldiers “tortured” by Russians...

Please note: there are no shovels, not even a hint of “they dug up a grave for themselves”...


https://vihrbudushego.livejournal.com/348961.html

 

[tank]

The heavy Tank IS-2 mod 1944.


By the end of the summer of 1944, the production of the upgraded IS-2 began in Chelyabinsk. It was IS-2M or IS-2 mod. 1944. However, both names were not used during the war.

The reason for this was not the most successful debut of its predecessor - the IS-85.

Please note that the tank body and the turret of the IS-85 and IS-122 were the same.

Knocked out IS-85 ( IS-1) in Slovakia, autumn 1944.


It turned out that the frontal armor of these tanks penetrates by the shells of the Panther’s 75 mm KwK 42 L / 70 guns.

Major-Engineer Shamin in his a report “The IS-85 operation” based on past battles experience pointed out:


1. The IS-85 heavy tank at the present stage of the war does not have sufficient advantages in the fight against the enemy heavy tanks.


a) the IS-85 gun D5-T-85 is not insufficient armament for the heavy tank;

b) the armor protection of the front of the hull and the turret of the tank is not insufficient;


2. In order to improve the combat qualities of the IS-85 heavy tank, it is necessary:


a) install on the tank a more powerful artillery system;

b) to strengthen the armor protection of the front of the hull and the turret through the use of a larger angle of inclination of the armor and an armor of high quality;



In fact a deep modernization of the IS-2 was required.

These works were carried out both by SKB-2 of the Chelyabinsk Kirov Plant (ChKZ), and by Experimental Plant No. 100.

The most problematic was the design of the frontal part of the IS-1 body.

The body of the IS-2 ( IS-85 or IS-122) with a stepped frontal part after the shelling, September 1944

The new front part of the IS-2 tank body mod.1944

Housing with a straightened welded frontal part before and after shelling. The maximum penetration distance of the 88 mm cannon of the upper frontal part was reduced to 450 meters, but when hit, cracking of the welds was noted.


The upper nose part made of rolled armor of the IS-2 Ural Heavy Engineering Plant (UZTM) during the shelling can withstands hit by 75 mm armor-piercing and sub-caliber shells of the KwK 42 L / 70 gun from any distance.
The bottom sheet made its way with the same gun from a distance of 1.5 kilometers.

The situation was worse with the 88-mm Pak 43 gun mounted on a Ferdinand self-propelled gun. An armor-piercing projectile of this gun penetrated the upper part of the frontal sheet from a distance of 450 meters, and the bottom - from almost four kilometers. The design of welds, which cracked when hit, was criticized.


The front part of cast armour of the IS-2 produced by plant No. 200 in most cases did not penetrate 8.8 cm Pak 43 L / 71 even at point-blank range (however, under certain conditions, it nevertheless made its way, but at a small distance of up to 255 meters).

The lower part of the frontal part of the 75-mm Panther cannon pierced and only from at a much shorter distance - 785 meters. The best resistance of welds was noted.

The straightened cast frontal part turned out to be more resistant. Under certain conditions, the upper part was too tough for Pak 43 even when the shooting was from point-blank distance.
(however, under certain conditions, it still could have been pierced from 255 m). The lower part of the frontal part of the IS-2 the 75-mm Panther shell could pierced from - 785 meters.

The sighting device in the upper part of the frontal part was a weak spot but it turned out to be smaller than the hatch of the early IS-2 and the bump-block completely coped with its task.

Thus for German tanks of all types. The IS-2 became about the same as the “Panther” was for Soviet medium tanks: in the frontal projection, it was now possible to penetrate it either into the lower frontal sheet of the hull or into the forehead of the turret.

The IS-2 tank with serial number 240-408102 of August 1944

It is worth to noting that even in August 1944, some of the tanks received the hulls of the old design. Manufacturers switched completely to a straightened front part only on September 1 1944 and most of the IS-2 were equipped with the straightened cast frontal parts from the factory No. 200.

This is how the new IS-2 looked from February to June 1945.

In early January 1945 the price to manufacture the one IS-2 was 280,000 rubles, and in the second quarter of 1945 cost of the IS-2 was 250,000 rubles apiece.

One of the IS-2 made in March 1945. The tank has a turret of the factory No. 200.

In total, from December 1943 to June 1945, the ChKZ made 3385 of IS-2s. In June 1945 the last 63 tanks were shipped away to the Red Army and only one IS-2 remained at the plant. That IS-2 underwent lengthy tests.

The history of the production of IS-2 will be incomplete without mentioning how these machines were produced on the territory of the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ). The decision that it was necessary to resume the production of heavy tanks in Leningrad was made in May 1944.

The IS-2 assembled in the Leningrad is preparing for the acceptance tests on April 6, 1945.

As you can see the IS-2 has the old type frontal part. The rest of the Leningrad IS-2s had the same a stepped frontal part of the tank body.

In total only ten IS-2s were built at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ).
The first five tanks were handed over to Red Army in May 1945, and the five IS-2 produced in March were finally accepted by the Red Army in June. After that, the release of heavy tanks at the Leningrad Kirov Plant (LKZ) was stopped.

https://warspot.ru/12831-malaya-modernizatsiya-bolshogo-tanka



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9j5x9Tfnv4s&frags=pl,wn








The heavy Tank IS-2 mod 1944

 

[tank]

The "Royal Tiger"




In March 1942 Fuhrer demanded the 6th Department of the Armed Forces to initiate work on creation the tank version gun of the Panzerjägerkanone 43 gun which would receive the KwK 43 L / 71 index.

Panzerjägerkanone 43.



June 21, 1942 was made the order to study the possibility to install the KwK 43 on the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf E tank but it wasn’t possible as the gun had too large dimensions and it had an excessive mass.

In August 1942, the 6th Department sent to Henschel-Werke (engineer Erwin Aders) and to Dr. Porsche’s company the technical requirements for the new tank.


The main conditions were:

1. installation the 88-mm KwK 43 L / 71 gun on the new tank,
2. the frontal armor tilt at large angles (as it was done on the Pz.Kpfw.V Panther)
3. more powerful armor protection than the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E has.



A unique case occurred in the history of the tank building.
A new tank was created not for solving specific combat missions, but for the sake of installing a desirable tank gun.



When the terms of the new competition were announced, many of German engineers were sure that this time the Porsche tank would win.



At first Porsche tried to remake his “Tiger” (P) ( the rejected PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf E project - VK 4501,) but it turned out that this was impossible, and his engineers took on the new VK 4502 (P) project.


The machine was designed in two layout options - the “Type 180” with a turret in front of the hull and the “Type 181” with the rear location of the turret.

Unfortunately for Dr Porsche the 6th Department accused the Dr. Porsche project of the excessive cost and choose for production the company Henschel-Werke project VK 4502 (H).




The Henschel-Werke designers come with a tank corresponded to the medium Pz.Kpfw.V Panther tank and they used a torsion bar suspension with a staggered arrangement of rollers - this solution each time tipped the scales in favor of their projects, because this type of suspension was developed by Dr. Knipkamp the Director of the 6th Department.


Dr Adersa Design Bureau, work began on the new VK 4503 (H) project in the fall of 1942 which in the one year became the famous Pz.Kpfw tank. VI Ausf. B “Tiger II” (“Royal Tiger”).

“Königstiger” in the museum at the Aberdeen in the USA


It is curious that the name “Königstiger” (“Bengal tiger” from German ) was rarely used by the Germans but it was popular among their enemies.


On October 20, 1943, a full-scale wooden prototype of the tank was demonstrated to Fuhrer at the Aris training range.

In October 1943 Henschel-Werke received an order to produce the first 176 “Royal Tigers”.


The assembly of the “Royal tigers” at Henschel was theoretically divided into 9 stages (6 hours each). On average the assembly of the one tank was taking up to 14 days. From 18 to 22 tanks were simultaneously in the welding shop and some 10 tanks in the assembly shop. As for the consumption of material, the production of one “Royal Tiger” was need 119,798 kg of steel (for comparison: the “Panther” - 77,469 kg).

Assembly of tanks in the workshop


The 6th (armored) Department of the Armed Forces decided to install the turrets designed for the project of Dr. Porsche on the first 47 tanks so Dr. Porsche wouldn’t take offense too much,

The assembly of the first three prototypes with the Porsche turrets began on November 18 1943.

Pz.Kpfw tank. VI Ausf. B “Tiger II” prototype.

Pz.Kpfw tank. VI Ausf. B “Tiger II” production tank with the Porsche turret.

Pz.Kpfw tank. VI Ausf. B “Tiger II” production tank with the Henschel-Werke turret.





The layout of the tank was classic for the German tank industry - the engine at rear was adjacent to the transmission at the front.



The hull and turret of the tank were covered with zimmerite, which protected the tank from anti-tank magnetic mines. From October 1944 German stopped applying this coating, since in this case the production cycle was extended for one more day. That was unacceptable in the conditions of the military situation of that time.

Please note:

The “King Tiger" transport tracks were assembled from the standard Kgs 73/660/152 tracks of the Pz.Kpfw.V “Panther”.


The Henschel-Werke factories in Kassel began production of the “Royal Tigers” in January 1944. By May 1944 the first 20 tanks had left the factory workshops, despite the fact that the 6th Force Department was planned to give the front 1237 vehicles a year with an average production rate of 120 vehicles per month.

However, this figure has never been achieved, and the monthly maximum output was 84 tanks (in August 1944).The number of “Royal Tigers” released throughout the war time in various sources ranges from 479 to 489.

As the war approached a dramatic final, the quality of the “Royal Tigers” steadily declined. First of all, this was due to the loss by the Reich of deposits of ores of alloying metals such as nickel, chromium and molybdenum.

Armour scheme Pz.Kpfw.VI Ausf. B "Tiger II"
Source - valka.cz




The Russian armor-piercing shells of the BS-3 (100 mm) and A-19 (122 mm) cannons penetrate when they hit the edges or joints of the frontal sheets of the Tiger-II tank’s hull at distances of 500-600 m.

The armor-piercing shells of the BS-3 (100 mm) and A-19 (122 mm) guns penetrate the frontal sheet of the Tiger-B tank turret at distances of 1000-1500 m.


A decrease in the content of these metals in the composition of German armor led to a decrease in its ductile properties. If an enemy shell hit the tank and doesn’t penetrated the armour still some pieces of the inner layer of the armor would broke off inside the tank and wounded the crew, detonated the ammunition or damage the equipment of the tank.


The quality of the armor of the Tiger-II tank deteriorated sharply compared to the quality of the armor of the PzKpfw VI Tiger Ausf E, Panzerkampfwagen V Panther, andassauit gunFerdinand of the first issues. Cracks and spalls form in the armor of the Tiger-II tank even from a single hits. From a group of shell hits (3-4 shells) in the armor formed spalls and breaks of large size.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwcuxkiLbT4&frags=pl,wn





Pz.Kpfw tank. VI Ausf. B “Tiger II” prototype.

 

[tank]

KV-85 Heavy tank – 148 built

In April 1943 the captured German heavy tank Pz.Kpfw.Tiger Ausf.E was shelling from a different guns on a shooting range andIt turned out that the Red Army urgently was needed a tank with a 85 mm gun

According to decision of the Decree GKO No. 3289 “On Strengthening the Artillery Arms of Tanks and Self-Propelled Installations” from May 5 1943 the two samples of the IS-1 and KV-1 with 85-mm guns had to be ready to state tests by July 1 1943.
At the end of March 1943 the Central Artillery Design Bureau (TsAKB) and Design Bureau of Plant No. 9 (Sverdlovsk) were engaged to design the 85-mm tank gun from 52-K anti-aircraft gun.
During the design of the gun installation the tank gun received the designation D-5T-85.

85-mm anti-aircraft gun 52-K of the 1939 model .

According to decision of the Decree GKO No. 3289 “On Strengthening the Artillery Arms of Tanks and Self-Propelled Installations” from May 5 1943 the two samples of the IS-1 and KV-1 with 85-mm guns had to be ready to state tests by July 1 1943.

The need to hasten the deployment of heavy tanks led Kotin to divide his TsKB-2 bureau in two. The first team chose to improve the stopgap KV-1S, whereas the second team began work on the new KV-13 headed by N.V. Tseits. Tseits’ vehicle would later develop into the IS-85, a much better balance between speed and armor.

The original KV-85 design was very different to the one eventually chosen. This was the KV-85G – a slightly modified KV-1S with an 85 mm (3.35 in) S-53 gun jammed in a KV-1S cast turret. It appears that only one prototype was made and was deemed unsatisfactory. This is almost certainly due to the lack of space for the crew and gun.

KV-1S with 85 mm (3.35 in) S-53 gun
Fortunately, the IS-85 turret was available by this time, but the IS chassis was not. Due to long, technical delays in IS-85 production, along with urgent requests for more heavy tanks with an even heavier armament, a new tank was made by taking a further modified KV-1S chassis and sticking an IS-85 turret on top. At least two other prototype vehicles using different 85 mm experimental guns (including the D-5T and a modified ZiS-5 gun, now 85 mm instead of 76 mm/3 in) were put into comparative tests with the new KV-85 (with IS-85 turret).

Object 239 (KV-85). Chelyabinsk, end of July 1943

On August 8th, the KV-85 was accepted for service by the State Defense Committee, and Resolution 3891 led to 148 KV-85s being produced as a stopgap from September to December at Chelyabinsk. The fifth crew member (the radio operator) was no longer needed because of demands for larger ammunition racks, containing 70 rounds, as well as the size of the gun breech.

The KV-85 had the same engine as its predecessors and weighed 46 tons, with armor thickness of 60 mm/2.36 in (hull), 75 mm/2.95 in (frontal glacis), to 100-110 mm/3.94-4.33 in (turret front, sides and rear). Top speed was around 40 km/h (29 mph) and range 250 km (155 mi). The D-5T gun was a shorter derivative of the original 85 mm (3.35 in) AA gun (792 m/s or 2,598 ft/s muzzle velocity) and was considered an absolute killer. However, it was much cheaper to make, and a lot less technically impressive.
In action
Combat of the few KV-85s was both limited and mixed. On paper, a KV tank with the infamous D-5T gun (as used on the SU-85 tank destroyer and to be used on the iconic T-34/85) sounds like a horrific opponent for the Wehrmacht, but this was not the reality of war. Whilst the larger gun was generally met well, the overall combat effectiveness of the tank was not, mostly due to the chassis.
It was simply unreliable, the armor was still poor, and even despite some adjustments, it could not consistently withstand shells of a caliber of 75 mm (2.95 in) or greater.This is particularly important, as the KV-85 was used as a breakthrough tank, and the Wehrmacht was now fielding high caliber guns to counter the Red Army’s previously near-invulnerable tanks. In one engagement in the Ukraine in November, 1943, the 34th Guards Heavy Regiment was repulsed with the loss of one third of its KV-85s by fire from Panzer IVs and Marder IIs. However, it could be argued that tactical factors influenced the level of losses faced by the Regiment and it is worth noting that a German counterattack was beaten off the next day with no Soviet casualties.

It was still noted that better protection was needed against even long-range enemy fire. It is evident that the tank itself simply did not pass the brutal quality control of war in 1943, but one must remember that the KV-85 was only a mere stop-gap to fill in for the slow development of the IS-1. Overall, the KV-85 was built in too few numbers to influence the war, but it certainly proved the need for IS tank production. Both the IS-1 and KV-85 were put up against the Tiger tank, but it was the IS-1 which proved itself more capable because of its modern chassis. IS-1/IS-85 production began the following year.

https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_KV-85.php

 

[tank]

Pavlov's House.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pavlov%27s_House


Sergeant Pavlov became known not only in the USSR, but throughout the world as the commander of a group that recaptured and defended the house 61 on Penzenskaya Street in the destroyed Stalingrad. The defenders of the house for 58 days did not allow the enemy to break through to the Volga in this section, repelling all German attacks. The four-story building was turned into a fortress and went down in history as the Pavlov’s House. For his feat in the Battle of Stalingrad Pavlov himself already in the rank of junior lieutenant will receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Yakov Pavlov

The front line in Stalingrad came closer and closer to the Volga. At the end of September the 13th Guards Rifle Division was holding the positions in ​​the Square area.
There were two four-story buildings an advantageous position in ​​the Square area.

On September 27, the commander of the 42nd Infantry Regiment, Senior Lieutenant Zhukov ordered to repelled these houses.
Two groups were formed for the operation: the first under the command of Lieutenant Zabolotny, the second under the command of Sergeant Pavlov.
On the evening of the same day, the task was completed.
A few days later, the building occupied by Zabolotny’s group was destroyed by shelling and all the defenders were killed under the rubble.

“Pavlov’s House” after the end of the battle

But the house defended by Pavlov and his three soldiers survived and now it was wedged into the German defense.

Award sheet of Sergeant Pavlov with a description of his military merits:

“Taking with him three fighters, Pavlov went on to carry out a very difficult combat mission. <...> The house from the Germans was gradually cleansed and occupied by four brave men. Installing the captured machine guns left by the Germans,Sergeant Pavlov with his soldiers took up a circular defense. Defending the house on three sides, the four brave men held it for 30 days, repelling more than 40 counterattacks and destroying a Germans' infantry battalion. Personally, Pavlov himself exterminated more than 90 Germans. The house was retained by Pavlov group until the complete liquidation of the encircled German group.”

A new group under the command of Lieutenant Afanasyev was formed to help the Pavlov’s group.
After arriving at the building the Afanasyev took the duties of the commander of the building garrison.

Ivan Afanasyev

Afanasyev and his fighters faced a difficult task of the defence of the position from the German attacks, which was complicated not only by the shortage of ammunition and food but also by the presence of the civilian population living in the basement.

The garrison equipped the firing points, mines were set on the outskirts of the house and they digged communication lines to deliver the necessary supplies
Later the junior lieutenant Chernyshenko mortar detachments joined the garrison but the number of the house defenders still did not reach 30 people, while they had to repel attacks of the superior enemy forces almost every day.

Germans attack (Stalingrad)

The defense of the house was continued until November 24 1942,
On November 24 an order was received to transfer Afanasyev’s group to the offensive unit and seize the “milk house” located opposite the Pavlov House. The task was completed, but the group suffered heavy losses.
The lieutenant Ivan Afanasyev was wounded and ended up in the hospital.

Ivan Filippovich Afanasyev died on August 17, 1975 in Volgograd ( Stalingrad).
Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov survived him for six years.


https://en.topwar.ru/11381-oborona-doma-pavlova-kak-eto-bylo.html

In the Second World War against Germany they held out:

Denmark .............................. 6 hours.
Holland .................................. 5 days.
Yugoslavia .............................11 days.
Belgium .................................18 days.
Grees ................................... 24 days.
Poland .................................. 27 days.
France ...............1 month and 12 days.


Pavlov’s house ... 1 month and 27 days.
USSR ....................................... 4 years. As a result, Germany surrendered.




Gepanzerter Selbstfahriafette fur Sturmgeschutz 7.5 cm Kanone Ausf A

 

[Mirof]

Hello
Were all those patriots already in the glorious red army when invading Poland with their german allies in 1939

Later they were our allies and thanks to their help we won the war . Pity they raised the Iron Curtain and furnished so many Kalashnikov through all the world to all terrorist of the time . We still continue to pay the bill of their tentative to conquer the world. They still put those Kalas to good use

Nowadays, wish you well

 

[tank]

Hello
Were all those patriots already in the glorious red army when invading Poland with their german allies in 1939

Later they were our allies and thanks to their help we won the war . Pity they raised the Iron Curtain and furnished so many Kalashnikov through all the world to all terrorist of the time . We still continue to pay the bill of their tentative to conquer the world. They still put those Kalas to good use

Nowadays, wish you well

Thanks,I hope you are well too.

I’m ashamed to ask, but can you clarify: What war did you win?




Belgium in World War II

Belgium remained neutral from the outbreak of World War II until the German invasion of its territory on May 10, 1940. On May 28, 1940, the Belgian armed forces surrendered on the orders of King Leopold III.

Subsequently in 1941 the two SS divisions (27th Flemish and 28th Walloon) were formed from the Belgian volunteers. At the same time, during the occupation on the territory of Belgium, the Resistance Movement was active.

Belgian-Congolesesoldiers, 1943.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgium_in_World_War_II

The losses of the Belgian army in the fight against the Wehrmacht amounted to 8.8 thousand killed, 500 missing, and 200 who were executed by Germans , 1.8 thousand died in captivity and 800 were killed in the Resistance movement [338].

According to Rüdiger Overmans about 10 thousand Belgians died during service in the German armed forces [339]. On January 31, 1944 in the German army there were 6845 natives of Belgium (5033 Flemings and 1812 Walloons) [340].

This calculation was made without taking into account the losses of Belgium residents in the Cherkasy encirclement in USSR in 1944, where the losses of the Walloons and Flemings were especially high.
After January 1944, there were only a few volunteers from Belgium to the SS troops.

The SS division “Wallonie” was formed from Flemish volunteers (Belgians, Luxembourgers, French, Spaniards) in October 1944, numbering up to 4,000 people. In the legionnaire format, the brigade took part in battles on the Eastern Front in 1943.

In April 1945 the SS division “Wallonie” was destroyed by Soviet troops near Schwerin and Brandenburg.

Some 5033 Flemish and 1812 Walloons soldiers fell into Soviet captivity.

The Belgian (Flemish) SS division “Langemarck”was formed from volunteers in October 1944, numbering up to 7,000 people. The division was fighting with the advancing units of the Red Army in the spring of 1945.

On May 5 1945 the Belgian (Flemish) SS division “Langemarck" was destroyed by the Red Army near Mecklenburg.

Some 2014 Belgian and 1652 Luxembourger soldiers fell into Soviet captivity.

According to official Russian data, out of 2014 Belgians 181 people died in Soviet captivity [341].


A significant number of Belgian SS men surrendered to Western allies.
Some of Belgium SS soldiers like the leader of the far-right party of the Rexists, the commander of the 28th SS division “Wallonia” Leon Degrell managed to escape by using a fake documents.

Leon Degrell

Since January 1945, the SS division “Wallonia”, formally was given the status of a full-fledged SS division. The SS division “Wallonie” fought heavy battles against Red Army in Pomerania. At the end of March, Degrel, who had by that time become the standartenfuhrer (colonel) of the SS, was again forced to lead the way out of the circle.

At the end of April, the remains of the SS division “Wallonie” was transferred to the Western Front, where they surrendered to the Anglo-American authorities. Degrell, promoted to brigadeführer on May 2 by Himmler (major general; formally, this appointment was invalid, since Himmler had been removed from all posts and expelled from the party personally by Hitler), fled to Norway, from where he flew to Spanish San Sebastian.

As of January 31, 1944, there were more natives of the Netherlands in the German army (18,473 people) than natives of Belgium.
Meanwhile, according to Rüdiger Overmans about 10 thousand Belgians were killed while they were fighting fo the Nazis.

Belgian civilian casualties amounted to 32.2 thousand victims of hostilities in 1940 and 1944-1945.
Some 16.9 thousand victims of Nazi terror what is including up to 500 Gypsies and 24 387 Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust [342] .

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Бельгия_во_Второй_мировой_войне




According to the results of a special study commissioned by the Belgian government: The Belgian authorities during the Second World War actively assisted the German occupiers in the deportation of Jews.

The report said: ”The Belgian Antwerp authorities went further than others in terms of facilitating the deportation of Jews from the country. On their initiative, the police arrested and extradited 1,243 representatives of Jewish nationality to the Nazis “...

https://www.dw.com/en/report-belgium-collaborated-with-nazis-in-deporting-jews/a-2351064

https://www.journalbelgianhistory.be/nl/system/files/edition_data/articlepdf/Debate-Saerens.pdf




How we didn’t win the war . . . but the Russians did.

Britain and America still insist they defeated the Nazis, in the face of overwhelming evidence that they were minor partners, says Norman Davies.

"Recently, when I spoke in Cambridge on the role of the Eastern Front and the significance of the victories of the Red Army, a young British historian sharply opposed me. “Do you not understand that only in France we fettered 56 German divisions,” he remarked. “If not for this, the Red Army would have suffered a brutal defeat.” However, another fact is much less known: if the Red Army had not destroyed 150 German divisions, the Allied landing would never have taken place.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/how-we-didnt-win-the-war-but-the-russians-did-dkzspjfmzg5





The Panzerkampfwagen II Ausf L “Luchs” (Lynx) VK1303

 

[Mirof]

I'm more than aware of all that . They were facists in all countries .
I just pointed out that we all together won the war against Germany .

I avoided to point out :
According to Cyrill Alexandrov, served as military at the side of the german between 1941 1945
1.240.000 URSS citizens among them
400.000 russians, 250.000 ukrainians, 180.000 coming form the peoples of central Asia, 90.000 Lettons, 70.000 estonian,
.?40.000 from the Volga, 38.000 Azeris, 37.000 lituanian, 28.000 caucasian etc ...
With all other facist coming from all over the world, they were convinced to fought the communism . Stupid they were .

In 1940, all the german forces were free to attack Neherlands, Belgium, France, having nothing to fear from the east because of their pact with URSS, the support of facist Italy, the isolationism of USA , and the closed borders of facist Spain .

I guess that when you will be tired to sell us the glory of soviet communism, you will do the same trying to sell us a Lada :tongue:

 

[tank]

I'm more than aware of all that . They were facists in all countries .
I just pointed out that we all together won the war against Germany.

I avoided to point out :
According to Cyrill Alexandrov, served as military at the side of the german between 1941 1945
1.240.000 URSS citizens among them
400.000 russians, 250.000 ukrainians, 180.000 coming form the peoples of central Asia, 90.000 Lettons, 70.000 estonian,
.?40.000 from the Volga, 38.000 Azeris, 37.000 lituanian, 28.000 caucasian etc ...
With all other facist coming from all over the world, they were convinced to fought the communism . Stupid they were .

In 1940, all the german forces were free to attack Neherlands, Belgium, France, having nothing to fear from the east because of their pact with URSS, the support of facist Italy, the isolationism of USA , and the closed borders of facist Spain .

I guess that when you will be tired to sell us the glory of soviet communism, you will do the same trying to sell us a Lada :tongue:

Wow!
I admire your ability to change your shoes in a jump.




Myth: USSR defeated German exclusively by numerical superiority.
(overwhelmed the enemy with corpses)

The myth of the gigantic losses of the Red Army during the World War II is one of the key in anti-Soviet and anti-Russian propaganda.
Many pseudo-historians claim that the losses of the Red Army were allegedly three times or even greater than the losses of the German Army.


In 1993, the historian Grigory Krivosheev [44] in his book “Russia and the USSR in the Wars of the 20th Century: Losses of the Armed Forces” made an accurate and detailed calculation.
According to his calculations:
The total number of killed Soviet soldiers during the Great Patriotic War amounted to 8,668,400 people.

This figure includes [81] :

# losses in the campaign against Japan and a wide variety of loss categories:

# those who died in hospitals from wounds and illnesses,
# those killed, those who died as a result of accidents,
# who were shot according to the sentences of military courts,
# who did not return from captivity.


“Russia and the USSR in the Wars of the 20th Century: Losses of the Armed Forces”

http://lib.ru/MEMUARY/1939-1945/KRIWOSHEEW/poteri.txt#w05.htm-_Toc536603349


All these figures were obtained by analyzing and summarizing the reporting and statistical materials of the all fronts and armies, as well as other archival information from the Ministry of Defense. [82]

From this information it becomes clear that the loss figures of more than 9 million, referred to by various historians, are overstated.


The total number of irretrievable losses [45] - killed, deceased and prisoners - in the period from June 22, 1941 to May 9, 1945 is: [46] [83]

Third Reich:.............................................................................................. 7,181.1 thousand;
Together with the Allies:............................................................................. 8,649.2 thousand;
Of them prisoners:...................................................................................... 4,376.3 thousand;


The Red Army, together with the allies on the Soviet-German front: ..... 11 520.2 thousand;
Of them prisoners:.......................................................................................... 4 559 thousand;


After compare the losses of the Soviet and German units (taking into account the all the allies)
The ratio is 1.33 to 1 ratio to the German.

This means that all the talk about “ten Russians per German” or about “overwhelmed the enemy with corpses” are the lies and the myths.
Nevertheless, the Red Army has a slight superiority in losses. This associated with the unsuccessful and largely catastrophic start of the war for Soviet Army. Do not forget that Germany attacked the USSR unexpectedly, without declaring war, which caused large losses of personnel of the Red Army.

At the beginning of the war during the German assault on the Brest Fortress. The 9,000 garrison of the Brest Fortress defended themselves from 17,000 German troops. The active defense of the Brest Fortress lasted seven days and during that time the losses of the defenders of the fortress amounted to 2,000 people, against 1,100 German.
(Please note: a significant part of the losses Soviet soldiers was due to the surprise of the German attack). [84]

The ratio is 1.81 to 1 ratio to the German.

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Брестская_крепость

At the end of the war, in the Berlin operation the Red Army lost 78,000 people while defeating more than a million-strong group of German troops.

The number of the losses:

The USSR: From April 16 to May 8, Soviet troops lost 352,475 people, of which 78,291 were killed. [4]

Poland: Losses of Polish troops over the same period amounted to 8892 people, of which 2825 people were killed [4].


Germany: According to the combat reports of the Soviet fronts:

Troops of the 1st Belorussian Front from April 16 to May 13
killed 232,726 Germans and captured 250,675 [20]

Troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front in the period from April 15 to 29
killed 114 349 Germans and captured 55 080 people [21]

The troops of the 2nd Belorussian Front in the period from April 5 to May 8:
killed 49,770 Germans and captured 84,234 people [22]


Thus, according to the reports of the Soviet command, the loss of German troops amounted:
# about 400 thousand people killed,
# about 380 thousand prisoners.

The ratio is 5.1 to 1 ratio to the Russian.

https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/Берлинская_наступательная_операция


Thus, while at the beginning of the war Soviet troops suffered many times greater losses, by the end of the war the situation had completely changed, and the Germans began to suffer many times and tens of times more losses than the Red Army. [85]



When you comparing the losses of the USSR and Germany with its allies on the Eastern Front it would also be interesting to recall the ratio of the losses in the First World War. [47]

The losses durring the First World War:


# England, France and their allies lost 5,413 thousand soldiers and officers killed and died from all causes, [48]
# Germany with its allies lost 4,029 thousand soldiers and officers killed and died from all causes. [48]


The ratio of losses is 1.34 to 1 to Germany with its allies.


Please note: The victorious side, England, France and their allies lost more than the defeated Germany with it’s allies.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgHWSJBlnas

 

[Mirof]

Yes
I agree
And the Lada was the best car in the world, we had the big fat chance to have spy who gave us the complete blueprint of the Lada, without that we would have never had the chance to have cars .
Thanks again, to have won the war with swiss knifes and corkscrews for us .

Oh by the way we have the same souces :

The losses durring the First World War:


# England, France and their allies lost 5,413 thousand soldiers and officers killed and died from all causes, [48] NOTE : including Russian Empire who was part of the allies their lost alone was 1.811.000
# Germany with its allies lost 4,029 thousand soldiers and officers killed and died from all causes. [48]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I_casualties

 

[tank]

“The New York Times” 1942-1945



S..L. Sulzberger // “The New York Times”, USA.

“Sergey - fighter of the Red Army"
January 4, 1942.

The excerpts from the article.

"The Russian soldier - stubborn and hardy - showed his fighting qualities to the whole world
Ultimately, the current war, despite all the terrifying power of modern technology, has once again demonstrated that the main thing for any army is the determination of the people and the morale of the soldiers.

I remember how two months ago I spoke with a Russian colonel on the Central Front. I asked the colonel what, in his opinion, was Hitler’s main miscalculation when he decided to open a hornet’s nest in the East. He replied: "Yesterday we sang" If tomorrow is war. " But today the war is already underway, and all Soviet people, as one, will defend their free homeland. Hitler does not understand the Russian soldier, the Russian character. He did not know how well a Russian soldier fights if he is forced to fight. ”

The most obvious example of the role of this factor is the comparison of campaigns in France and Russia.
In France, a military unit, once surrounded, usually capitulated. In Russia, the Germans have repeatedly stated that this or that Soviet unit was surrounded, but after that it broke through the ring and connected with the main forces.
The stubborn resistance of the Red Army near Moscow and Leningrad is largely due to the stubbornness of the Russian soldier, his grim determination to continue the fight even in the most adverse circumstances.
When a native of Western Europe or an American tries to predict the reaction of the Russians or draw general conclusions about their character, he often makes serious mistakes, as he is unable to comprehend the depths of the Slavic soul. The foreigner is often perplexed by the childlike intimacy inherent in a simple Russian soldier - he makes songs without hesitation, dearly loves his “rifle”, speaks sometimes tactlessly, but always sincerely - just as he loves and hates.”

https://0gnev.livejournal.com/114184.html




Ralph Parker, «The New York Times», США.

“A soldier who does not give up”.
December 6, 1942.


The excerpts from the article.

"The mighty Red Army is moving forward again. Over the past few months, she survived many bloody battles, and, stopping the advance of the Nazis, again went on the offensive. This invincible army is more than just a war machine. She is a symbol of the Russian people, personifying the character of the Russian people.

What makes Russians such stubborn, staunch fighters?



You will not be able to understand how the Soviet people managed to withstand and stop the onslaught of the Wehrmacht unless you would try to figure out what Soviet people are. How exactly does he differ from his ancestors? Did socialism manage to create a new type of person?

The Russians have always been brave fighters. The infantryman who fought on the banks of the San River is no different from his son, who kept the Germans on the Volga River this year. Like the gunners who defended the Malakhov Kurgan during the Crimean War, the people of Captain Alexander held the 35th[so in the text, in reality it was - the 30th - translator note] battery, did not flinch in the face of the enemy - when the Germans climbed onto the roof of the fortification and demanded that the defenders surrender, the people of Captain Alexander blew up the remnants of their ammunition, destroying themselves along with the enemy...

As for the Soviet man’s love of life, the persistence with which he defends his life on the battlefield should put an end to all theories (stemming mainly from Dostoevsky’s reading) that say that Russians love to suffer or that they despise death. The Russians fought in Sevastopol and Stalingrad in this way, not because they were not afraid to die, but because they wanted to live.”

https://0gnev.livejournal.com/164507.html




W. Lawrence, The New York Times, USA.

“The fighting spirit of the Red Army"
February 4, 1945.

The excerpts from the article.






"Last Friday marked the second anniversary of the brilliant victory of the Red Army at Stalingrad. Today, Soviet troops advance west into Germany. These two sentences briefly describe the history of the decline of the once mighty Wehrmacht and the strengthening of the Red Army, the number and quality of weapons of which have increased significantly...

The Soviet Union managed to carry out the evacuation, thereby protecting thousands of factories and hundreds of thousands of workers together with their equipment from the Germans. They were moved from captured and threatened areas to remote regions of the country, where, as a result of the greatest in the history of industrial migration, they resumed production activities as soon as possible.

Of course, both before the war, and now, Russia is far from the industrial pace and production volumes demonstrated by the United States, however, it was Soviet factories that produced most of the cannons, planes and tanks with which the multimillion-strong armies drove the Germans back to Germany. Lend-lease supplies from the United States and assistance from the United Kingdom play an important, but nonetheless only supportive role compared to Soviet industry”...

https://0gnev.livejournal.com/164007.html



https://youtu.be/Wv2gWvnvxeo




Light tank M3A2

 

[Mirof]

Dear Tank

STOP, the trashcan is full . :salute::

 

[tank]

Dear Tank

STOP, the trashcan is full . :salute::

Look man...
To be honest I’m getting tired with your silly remarks and the posts without any sense.

Sometime ago I had been asked by the owner of this site to report any cases of trolling...
So please stop rubbish my topic.

Please note: If you don't agree wyth any info I posted - you are most wellcome to disprove it with an achieve documets.

Thanks.
Tank.




The victory over Japan was not won by the bomb, but by Stalin

(“Foreign Policy", USA)


Has our nuclear policy been based on lies for all 70 years?

Ward Wilson

"However, supporters of both points of view proceed from the fact that the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with a new, more powerful weapon really forced Japan to capitulate on August 9. They do not even question the usefulness and expediency of the bombing and they don't ask whether they gave a result. A generally accepted point the view is: yes, of course, they gave the result. The United States delivered atomic strikes on Hiroshima on August 6 and on Nagasaki on August 9 and then the Japanese finally realized the danger of further bombing and they surrendered. “This narrative line enjoys the most powerful support.
But there are three serious shortcomings in it and when they taken together, the shortcomings significantly weaken the traditional understanding of the causes of Japanese surrender.”

"Explaining the end of the war with the use of the atomic bomb, the Japanese largely served their own interests. But they also served the American interests. Once the bomb ensured the victory the idea of ​​America’s military power is strengthened. The US’s diplomatic influence in Asia and around the world is strengthened, the American is strengthened security and $ 2 billion spent on the bomb wasn’t wasted. But on the other hand, if the admission of Japan was recognized as the Soviet Union’s entry into the war, the Soviets could say that in four days they did what the United States could not do in four years, and then the idea of ​​the military power and diplomatic influence of the Soviet Union will strengthen. And since the Cold War was already in full swing at that time, recognition of the decisive contribution of the Soviets to the Victory was tantamount to helping and supporting the enemy. "


Ward Wilson - is a senior fellow at the British American Security Information Council, a research organization, and author of Five Myths About Nuclear Weapons. This article is an adapted passage from this book.



Ward Wilson: The Myth of Hiroshima

https://youtu.be/r9H6o83NUf4



https://forum.treefrogtreasures.com/showthread.php?69570-Russian-Second-Front/page2




The Battle of Manchuria World War II

https://youtu.be/lLLnptEKcAw

 

[Mirof]

Dear dear Tank

Absolutely no document will ever let you even consider that what you write is, let's say : a little oriented .
It's always like if you were flipping a 2 faces coin .
So what I realy think is simple :

 

[tank]

Did Nuclear Weapons Cause Japan to Surrender?

https://youtu.be/CSSexxwDzgs



Why Did the Japanese Surrender in World War II?




https://youtu.be/vTfmwFNC0jw



True Cause of Japanese Surrender in WW2

https://youtu.be/_1_95IrT6ko



Hiroshima: Was the atomic bomb necessary?

https://youtu.be/584k0gwvhUs






Initial production type Light Tank M5 and Standard production Light Tank M5A1






Light Tanks M5A1, M5, M3A2.

 

[tank]

The deadly waltz.

The Moscow, in Levitan’s voice ( famous Soviet radio narrator) informed the country that the historic operation to lift the blockade from Leningrad was victoriously completed! But near Leningrad, there were more than two Wehrmacht divisions in a bag, including the Nordland and the Netherlands, and they tried to break out of it regardless of the losses.


A Mnatsakanov’s group was instructed to block an important intersection and take control of a bridge, thus blocking one of the exits from the bag to the Nazis trying to break through to their German troops.

The group of two tanks T-34/76 and infantrymen left towards the allocated by the order position. It had not yet reached the intersection for nearly a kilometer, as the leading T-34 suddenly stood up with a roar in the middle of the road and than after a moment of a delay it blazed a smoky bonfire.The commander and the mechanic - driver from the burning T-34 run to Alexander’s tank. The report turned out to be disappointing - at least two heavy Tiger tanks stand behind the bridge and they were keeping the road at the gunpoint.

Mnatsakanov sent a group of sappers with explosives along the drainage ditch, bypassing the Tigers. And himself in his T-34/76, hiding behind smoke and a blazing car, advanced forward to evaluate the further actions. The tank had already approached the burning tank when suddenly an angular and hefty silhouette climbed out of the smoke. One of the two Tigers advanced in the same way, covering himself with smoke of the burning tank, and the meeting was unexpected for both sides.


They fired almost at the same time. The German shell struck like a sledgehammer and luckily it ricocheted. The Soviet squealed in the same way bouncing off the Tiger’s armor. It was foolish to count on such luck in the second heavyweight shot so the driver Misha Burikov quickly brought the T-34 close to the enemy. The Tiger has a 5m long gun, it sticks out more than two meters of the Tiger dimensions. The T-34 itself is six meters long, therefore, when it comes close to the Tiger, it will not succeed in firing at the enemy. The German driver also realized this and moved forward, trying to crush the arrogant T-34, or at least damage it's chassis. Burikov reacted instantly moving backwards but not moving too far.


Александр Мнацаканов после войны и перед выходом в отставку.

The deadly waltz began. In terms of speed and maneuverability, the heavy Tiger was inferior to the T-34, because as soon as the Tiger braked and pulled back in order to be able to shoot at point blank range, Burikov was again right in the dead zone. The tiger jerked forward again with a twist, trying to squeeze the thirty-four out of the limits of the burning tank that protected it from the second Tiger, next to which both enemies waltzed. If the Tiger could have done this, the second Tiger would have done away with the T-34/76 with a heavy shell, but Burikov himself was not a miss and tried to maneuver in such a way as to put the Tiger on board our self-propelled guns. At the same time, both “dancers” themselves tried to hide behind each other from a possible shell from the side of their “fans”.

The case ended abruptly and very awkwardly for the German panzermanns. During one of the turns the Tiger slid the entire track from the icy edge of the roadside ditch and majestically flopped sideways into this same ditch, tightly setting it's belly to the edge, fastened quickly and tightly. Having put his T-34 in a safe place behind the blazing thirty-four, the crew of Mnatsakanov took a breath. The Tiger sat in a ditch, like a mammoth caught in a pit, and could not do a **** thing. For some time the panzermanns still were turned the turret and the cannon of the Tiger was bobbed into the gray sky or it was getting into the ground. It was clear that now their weapons are useless and fools was not found in this area to get into that narrow sector where the gun was still dangerous.

Russian tankers were surprised when they saw their infantrymen nearby. Those pleased with the good news: there was no German infantry by second Tiger. The Tiger crew was so carried away by the waltz of their partner at the burning thirty-four that they completely missed the sappers’ visit.
The sappers did not miss the chance and now the second Tiger has been left as a mangled scrap metal.
The bad news was the sappers did not have any explosives left. For Mnatsakanov it is unclear what to do with the stuck Tiger as he didn’t want to shoot the practically serviceable trophy.


The tiger turned the tower again and froze. Meanwhile, the infantrymen quickly but carefully dragged a large wooden box with cartridges by the handles and busily began to “mine” the disgraced giant. The box looked quite menacing as if it had been explosive.
Mnatsakanov come to the Tiger so he could be seen but could not be killed with the machine gun and he convincingly showed an anti-tank grenade to those who were sitting inside the Tiger.


The pantomime turned out to be effective - the hatch on the Tiger’s turret opened with a clang and a hand came out with a rag, the color of which a careless person could call white with a stretch.
Then, one by one, the Germans began to crawl out of the tank. Mnatsakanov still managed to be surprised that so many people were climbing out of the tank, much more than the usual crew. Suddenly he was scorched like a piglet and an irresistible force squandered him on the frozen ground. When he hardly came to his senses, the infantrymen gave kicks to the Germans who surrendered for the bad manners.


They shoot after surrendering. When the shell-shocked commander felt a little better and even could heard something it turned out that one of the surrendered Germans either by accident or by deliberately firing from the Tiger gun. In addition to the crew of the heavy tank were captured the chief of headquarters of the infantry regiment and several staff of the same infantry regiment who were unlucky to flee with the documents.


The tiger turned out to be perfectly operational. There come an idea to use the Tiger and arrange a traffic jam on a strategically important highway passing nearby. An experienced driver-mechanic Lozovsky recruited to lead this tank and another the most experienced tankers joined into the crew and pulled on the Tiger to the highway.


When the Tiger drove up to highway the Mnatsakanov with comrades first crushed the staff car, from which an officer who led a collumn of trucks jumped out. He was still trying to wave his hands when his car was flattened.
The German officer could not imagine that it was Ivans driving the Tiger. Then the Tiger opened fire on trucks and tractors puling guns. The panic began.

Having spent all the ammunition to zero and moving away from the place of battle, the tiger again rushed back to Soviet position. This was the end of luck, because the Russian threw shells into the Tiger. They didn’t penetrate, but the crew was shell-shocked soundly, and Mnatsakanov, after a recent shell-shock, had to be completely stunned.


Mnatsakanov was trying to report to his superiors but he was so bad that he could not speak but only mumbled, and then he lost consciousness. In general. Well, it was not a cinematic triumph for sure.

Later the brigade commander Prigenko visited Alexander in the hospital and seeing that the subordinate was completely deaf and could not understand what they were screaming in his ear, he painted a characteristic outline of the Hero Star in front of him in the snow.

By a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of March 24, 1945, Alexander Sidorovich Mnatsakanov was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger Ausf. E

 

[tank]

Fascinated.

Soviet Air Forces suffered the smallest casualties in World War II.

The losses of the Air Forces of all the countries who were participating in World War II:

http://forum.guns.ru/forummessage/205/813676-2.html

It turns out that the Air Forces of the USSR suffered the smallest losses of the pilots from the all warring countries of WW2. ( the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition and the “Axis powers”)


The losess of the pilots during the Second World War:

In the first place - Japan: - 60,750 killed pilots (well, this is understandable, “kamikaze”, traditions of honor, etc.)

In second place - Germany: - 57.137 killed pilots.

In third place - England: - 56.821 killed the pilots.

In fourth place - USA: - 40,061 killed the pilots.

And on the FIFTH and the last place - the USSR: - 34.500 killed pilots.


The Soviet Air Forces losses are even less than in the USA!

How come?

Maybe because the Soviet commanders hesitantly used the Air Forces, trying to save them?

Not at all.

The USSR was used the Air Forces three times more intensively than the German Air Force during the war years on the Eastern front:

German Air Forces made ............. 1 373 952 combat sorties,
USSR Air Forces ......................... 3 808 136 combat sorties!

This fact alone breaks all tales and legends about the simple-minded Russian Ivan, who, some “historians” say, is too simple to fight the “civilized German aces” on equal terms.


The Air Forces of any country of the World is always was the elite of the Army.
A combat pilot is a unique fighter that combines the knowledge and intelligence of an engineer with skills and reflexes of a professional Olympic-level athlete.

Therefore, the main goal of any Air Forces command is to save a pilot if he had been shot down in a war mission, since the cost of his training is a fortune compared to the plane itself...

Funny enough, the loss of the airpranes of the USSR Air Forces is also not in the first place between the all countries who were participating in World War II:

The losess of the aircraft during the Second World War:

1. German Air Force: ............ 85.650 aircraft;
2. Japanese Air Force: ......... 49.485 aircraft;
3. Soviet Air Force: ............. 47.844 aircraft;
4. USAF: ........................... 41,575 aircraft;
5. British Air Force: ........... 15.175 aircraft.

(The number of lost airplanes is much smaller than the number of pilots killed by the British because, for example, the English "Lancaster” bomber had a crew of 7 people, and it was the British heavy strategic bombers who fought mostly with the British)

Yes, the USSR lost the most of the aircraft from the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, but less than any of the “Axis powers” country.

https://topwar.ru/96391-sovetskaya-...64773100273-prestable-app-host-sas-web-yp-173





Junkers Ju 87 or Stuka (Sturzkampfflugzeug)

 

[Mirof]

OK
PLANES
You like numbers fine ( for once only; because it's boring )
Lost planes I will take your number

Build /Lost
USA 324.550 /41.575
Japan 79.123 /49.485
UK 131.549 /15.175
Germany 119.331 /85.650
URSS 157.621 /47.844
http://www.airservice.org/prod-mond.html
As you seems to like that, I will let you calculate the ratio ( baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddddddd )

Japan and Kamikaze : there were 3800 kamikazes


Stop here, it's awfully boring

Best