Tanks and trucks

A partial list of US supplies to the USSR under the Lend-Lease agreement

2008-07-11T09:58:56Z

A partial list of US supplies to the USSR under the Lend-Lease agreement (except for combat vehicles and weapons), accidentally caught in open sources and published in the U.S. in 1952.

M10 Wolverine Tank Destroyer

2005-09-24T19:30:58Z

This was a first American self-propelled antitank gun that was developed using the tank chassis. The M10 was manufactured by "General Motors" and "Ford" corporations. From September 1942 to January 1944, total 6706 vehicles of two modifications were produced:

M10 - was based on the chassis of the M4A2 "General Sherman" Medium Tank. The vehicle had the completely welded hull and was armed with the powerful 76 mm gun which was adopted from antiaircraft gun. Total 4993 vehicles were manufactured.

M10A1 - was based on the chassis of the M4A3 "General Sherman" medium tank. Total 1713 vehicles were manufactured.

As a part of Lend-Lease agreement, the USSR received 52 of M10 tank destroyers by the middle 1943. The further fate of these tanks is unknown yet. Some sources mention, that in 1944 at least two antitank regiments of M10 "Wolverine" were formed and sent to the Eastern Front.

Parameter	Value
Crew, men	5
Combat weight, kg	29,000
Armor, mm	19-57
Armament	76,2mm M7 Main Gun 1 x 12,7mm Browning AAMG
Ammo	76mm: 54 rounds 12,7mm: 1000 rounds
Engine	GMS 6046 G71, 6-cylkinder diesel, 375 h.p.
Range, km	320
Max speed, km/h	48

{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=95|imagerandom=0|detail=5|limitstart=0|limitcount=15|displayname=1|displaydetail=0|displaydownload=0|bordercolor=#ffffff|imageshadow=shadow1|bordercolorhover=#cfcfcf|bgcolor=none|bgcolorhover=none|overlib=2|type=0}

Valentine Medium Tank in the USSR

2005-09-24T19:30:23Z

Mk.III Valentine Cruise Tank was designed by "Vickers-Armstrong" corporation and in February 14, 1936 (the St.Valentine Day - that's why it was named Valentine) showed their project to the War Ministry of the United Kingdom. It was infantry tank by usage, and it was light tank by it's weight (16 tons) however it's 65 mm frontal armor surpassed some heavy tanks. It's maximal speed was the same as of "Matilda" Heavy Infantry Tank because of it's less powerful engine. Mk I Valentine I had petrol engine with 135hp, all other modifications already had AEC or GMC diesel engines with 131hp, 138hp, or 165hp. However the late models were provided with more powerful engines speed was not increased due to increased weight of the tank.

Main feature of this tank was the absence of the hull and turret frameworks, all armor plates combined and fitted to each other using bolts and rivets. In contrast to "Matilda" its chassis didn't have any armor protection, moreover the brakes were mounted outside the hull that affected for their durability. In addition, there were too little room for the crew especially in Valentine III and IV. This tank was the most massed produced British tank - 6855 units were build. Another 1420 tanks produced in Canada.

Soviet Union received 2394 tanks from United Kingdom and 1388 tanks from Canada. It was the most popular British tank among Soviet tankers. What concerns its reliability and durability lets refer to one example: at the beginning of Melitopol Offensive Operation (October 24, 1943) the 19th Tank Corps had 101 T-34 and 63 Valentine tanks. During a battles the Corps lost 78 of T-34's and 17 Valentines tanks while all tanks used with more or less equal intensity.

Parameter	Value
Crew	3
Weight	16,750
Armor, mm	10-65
Armament	1 x 40mm Main Gun 1 x 7,92 mm coaxial MG "Besa" 1 x 7,7 mm anti-aircraft MG "Bren"
Ammo	40 m,: 61 rounds 7,92 mm: 3150 rounds 7,7 mm: 600 rounds
Engine	GMC model 6004, 6-cylinder gasoline, 165 h.p.
Range, km	150
Max speed, km/h	32

{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=96|imagerandom=0|detail=5|limitstart=0|limitcount=18|displayname=1|displaydetail=0|displaydownload=0|bordercolor=#ffffff|imageshadow=shadow1|bordercolorhover=#cfcfcf|bgcolor=none|bgcolorhover=none|overlib=2|type=0}

Mk.VII Tetrarch

2005-09-24T19:29:49Z

Mk.VII "Tetrarch" Light Tank was one of the first tank that came from the United Kingdom to the Russia. From 1940 to 1942 total 177 of these vehicles were manufactured.

It was light and fast tank, it was proposed for airborne troops. It's 165 h.p. "Meadows" engine and original chassis provided it with high speed up to 64 km/h. It had a 40 mm gun and a machine-gun: quite good armament for such class of a vehicle.

In the beginning 1942, 20 tanks were delivered to the Soviet Union as a part of the Lend-Lease agreement. In USSR Tetrarchs were tested thoroughly and some important advantages were revealed. The good controllability, maneuverability fast speed, and good passability are among them. Besides, the Tetrarch could consume a low-quality fuel while Soviet domestically produced light tanks could not.

Unfortunately, the Tetrarch had some disadvantages concernig its weak armor protection. All attempts to increase its protection by fitting additional armor plated failed. Such uparmored tank getting slow, losing its maneuverability and passability. Also, its engine getting overheat if an uparmored tank is moved off road.

Fortunately, without additional armor Tetrarch's firepower and mobility was comparable with the best Soviet analogs like BTs and T-70s. Moreover, the Tetrarch was lighter.

In summer 1942, some Tetrarchs were sent to the tank training school in Sumgait and here they were, probably, engaged with the Germans. Somehow or other, all known photos were taken during the Battle for Caucasus.

On September 19, 1943, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade has got a replacement: remains of the 132nd Independent Tank Battalion. There were total 15 tanks, two Tetrarchs among them. Unfortunately, these Tetrarchs were lost soon. One of them were knocked out in battle (September 30). On October 2, the second tank was completely destroyed by the German heavy artillery.

Parameter	Value
Crew,	3
Combat weight, kg	7 620
Length, m	4,3
Width, m	2,3
Height, m	2,1
Armor, mm	4-16
Armament	1 x 2 pdr, 1 x 7,92 mm "Besa" MG
Ammo	2 pdr: 50 rounds 7,92 mm: 2025 rounds
Engine	"Meadows" MAT, 12-öcylinder gasoline, 165 h.p.
Range, km	224
Max speed, km/h	64

Sources: "Tankomaster" #4, 1999

{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=94|imagerandom=0|detail=5|limitstart=0|limitcount=5|displayname=1|displaydetail=0|displaydownload=0|bordercolor=#ffffff|imageshadow=shadow1|bordercolorhover=#cfcfcf|bgcolor=none|bgcolorhover=none|overlib=2|type=0}

M3 'General Stuart' Light Tank

2005-09-24T19:29:12Z

M3 "General Stuart" Light Tank was one of the first US tank that reached Soviet beaches as the part of Lend-Lease agreement.

M3 was considered as one of the best light tank of World War II. It had an excellent characteristics: its "Continental" engine provided it with 250 h.p., so the 12-ton tank was able to run fast. It was very maneurable tank, indeed. Unfortunately, from 1942 its 37 mm gun wasn't match to the newest war conditions. All attempts to set up more powerful gun failed because it turret was too small. 37 mm gun had an equal ballistic data as the Soviet 45 mm AT-gun.

This vehicle was in production until 1943, when the more modern M5 modification has introduced. The M3 "General Stuart" served in Africa, Burma, on islands of the Pacific Ocean, in Europe and become the most popular american light tank: 13 859 units were build including the 711 tanks with "Giberson" diesel engine.

During 1942-1943 Red Army received 1 665 of M3A1 "General Stuart" tanks. This tank was an equal to the Soviet T-60 and T-70 light tanks, but some imperfection were detected: its engine was too sensitive to the gas (petrol) quality and the tank silhouette was too big for the light tank. However it was most mass tank of the World War Two: 22 734 units were build.

Parameter	M3A1
Crew	4
Combat weight, kg	12 940
Armament	37mm M6 Main Gun, 3x7,62mm "Browning" MG
Ammo	37mm: 116 rounds, 7,62mm: 6400 rounds
Engine	W670-9A "Continental" gasoline, 250 h.p.
Max speed, km/h	58
Range, km	113

{phocagallery view=category|categoryid=91|imagerandom=0|detail=5|limitstart=0|limitcount=11|displayname=1|displaydetail=0|displaydownload=0|bordercolor=#ffffff|imageshadow=shadow1|bordercolorhover=#cfcfcf|bgcolor=none|bgcolorhover=none|overlib=2|type=0}