Teletank

Last updated
Shot-up TT-26, a remotely controlled T-26 light tank with TOZ-IV telematics, of 217th independent tank battalion of 30th Tank Brigade. Two antenna leads on the turret roof and two-colour camouflage of the vehicle are visible. Karelian Isthmus, February 1940. Tt-26.jpg
Shot-up TT-26, a remotely controlled T-26 light tank with TOZ-IV telematics, of 217th independent tank battalion of 30th Tank Brigade. Two antenna leads on the turret roof and two-colour camouflage of the vehicle are visible. Karelian Isthmus, February 1940.

Teletanks were a series of wireless remotely controlled unmanned tanks produced in the Soviet Union in the 1930s and early 1940s so as to reduce combat risk to soldiers. [1] They saw their first combat use in the Winter War, at the start of World War II. A teletank is controlled by radio from a control tank at a distance of 500–1,500 metres (0.31–0.93 mi), the two constituting a telemechanical group. Teletanks were used by the Soviet Red Army in the Winter War against Finland, fielding at least two teletank battalions at the beginning of the Eastern Front campaign in the Second World War. [1]

Contents

Design

Teletanks were equipped with DT machine guns, flamethrowers, smoke canisters, [1] and sometimes a special 200–700 kg time bomb in an armoured box, dropped by the tank near the enemy's fortifications and used to destroy bunkers up to four levels below ground.[ citation needed ] Teletanks were also designed to be capable of using chemical weapons, although they were not used in combat. Each teletank, depending on model, was able to recognize sixteen to twenty-four different commands sent via radio on two possible frequencies to avoid interference and jamming. Teletanks were built based on T-18, T-26, T-38, BT-5 and BT-7 light tanks.

Standard tactics were for the TU control tank (with radio transmitter and operator) to stay back as far as practicable while the teletank (TT) approached the enemy. [1] The control tank would provide fire support as well as protection for the radio control operator. If the enemy was successful at seizing the teletank, the control tank crew was instructed to destroy it with its main gun. When not in combat the teletank was driven manually.

In addition to teletanks, there were also remotely controlled telecutters and teleplanes in the Red Army. [2] [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

T-34 Soviet medium tank, Second World War

The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. Its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than its contemporaries while its 60 degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The Christie suspension was inherited from the design of American J. Walter Christie's M1928 tank, versions of which were sold turret-less to the Red Army and documented as "farm tractors", after being rejected by the U.S. Army. The T-34 had a profound effect on the conflict on the Eastern Front in the Second World War, and had a lasting impact on tank design. After the Germans encountered the tank in 1941 during Operation Barbarossa, German general Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist called it "the finest tank in the world" and Heinz Guderian affirmed the T-34's "vast superiority" over German tanks. Alfred Jodl, chief of operations staff of the German armed forces noted in his war diary "the surprise at this new and thus unknown wunder-armament being unleashed against the German assault divisions," although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war.

T-26 Soviet light infantry tank

The T-26 tank was a Soviet light tank used during many conflicts of the Interwar period and in World War II. It was a development of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank and was one of the most successful tank designs of the 1930s until its light armour became vulnerable to newer anti-tank guns. It was produced in greater numbers than any other tank of the period, with more than 11,000 units manufactured. During the 1930s, the USSR developed 53 variants of the T-26, including flame-throwing tanks, combat engineer vehicles, remotely controlled tanks, self-propelled guns, artillery tractors, and armoured carriers. Twenty-three of these were series-produced, others were experimental models.

BT tank Light cavalry tank

The BT tanks were a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had the best mobility of all contemporary tanks. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, or its diminutive Betushka. The successor of the BT tanks was the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which would replace all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks, and medium tanks in service.

BT-7 Light cavalry tank

The BT-7 was the last of the BT series of Soviet cavalry tanks that were produced in large numbers between 1935 and 1940. It was lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for the time, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, or its diminutive, Betushka.

Radio control Use of radio signals to remotely control a device, vehicle or drone

Radio control is the use of control signals transmitted by radio to remotely control a device. Examples of simple radio control systems are garage door openers and keyless entry systems for vehicles, in which a small handheld radio transmitter unlocks or opens doors. Radio control is also used for control of model vehicles from a hand-held radio transmitter. Industrial, military, and scientific research organizations make use of radio-controlled vehicles as well. A rapidly growing application is control of unmanned aerial vehicles for both civilian and military uses, although these have more sophisticated control systems than traditional applications.

Anti-tank warfare Technology and tactics based around countering and immobolizing tanks

Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente developed the first tanks in 1916 but did not deploy them in battle until 1917, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapons. The first developed anti-tank weapon was a scaled-up bolt-action rifle, the Mauser 1918 T-Gewehr, that fired a 13mm cartridge with a solid bullet that could penetrate the thin armor of tanks of the time and destroy the engine or ricochet inside, killing occupants. Because tanks represent an enemy's strong force projection on land, military strategists have incorporated anti-tank warfare into the doctrine of nearly every combat service since. The most predominant anti-tank weapons at the start of World War II in 1939 included the tank-mounted gun, anti-tank guns and anti-tank grenades used by the infantry, and ground-attack aircraft.

Remote-control vehicle Type of vehicle

A remote-control vehicle is defined as any vehicle that is teleoperated by a means that does not restrict its motion with an origin external to the device. This is often a radio-control device, a cable between the controller and the vehicle, or an infrared controller.

Armoured warfare Military use of armored fighting vehicles

Armoured warfare or armored warfare, is the use of armored fighting vehicles in modern warfare. It is a major component of modern methods of war. The premise of armoured warfare rests on the ability of troops to penetrate conventional defensive lines through use of manoeuvre by armoured units.

T-38 tank Soviet amphibious light tank

The T-38 amphibious scout tank was a Soviet amphibious light tank that saw service in World War II. Developed as a modernized version of the earlier T-37A light tank, the T-38 proved to be only a moderate improvement over its predecessor, and was eventually replaced in 1940 by the T-40.

Type 95 Ha-Go light tank Light tank

The Type 95 Ha-Gō was a light tank used by the Empire of Japan during the Second Sino-Japanese War, at Nomonhan against the Soviet Union, and in the Second World War. It proved sufficient against infantry but, like the American M3 Stuart light tank, was not designed to combat other tanks. Approximately 2,300 were produced, making it the most numerous Japanese armoured fighting vehicle of the Second World War.

Tanks of the interwar period

This article discusses tanks of the interwar period.

Tank desant is a military combined arms tactic, where infantry soldiers ride into an attack on tanks, then dismount to fight on foot in the final phase of the assault. Note that this differs from infantry troops merely riding on tanks as a form of ad-hoc transportation. Desant is a pan-Slavic general term for airborne or parachute drops and naval infantry amphibious landing operations.

Tanks in World War II Overview of tanks in World War II

Tanks were an important weapons system in World War II. Even though tanks in the inter-war years were the subject of widespread research, production was limited to relatively small numbers in a few countries. However, during World War II, most armies employed tanks, and production levels reached thousands each month. Tank usage, doctrine and production varied widely among the combatant nations. By war's end, a consensus was emerging regarding tank doctrine and design.

A tank corps was a type of Soviet armoured formation used during World War II.

T-26 variants Vehicles based on the Soviet T-26 light tank

More than 50 different modifications and experimental vehicles based on the T-26 light infantry tank chassis were developed in the USSR in the 1930s, with 23 modifications going into series production. The majority were armoured combat vehicles: flame tanks, artillery tractors, radio-controlled tanks (teletanks), military engineering vehicles, self-propelled guns and armoured personnel carriers. They were developed at the Leningrad Factory of Experimental Mechanical Engineering by talented Soviet engineers P.N. Syachentov, S.A. Ginzburg, L.S. Troyanov, N.V. Tseits, B.A. Andryhevich, M.P. Zigel and others. Many Soviet tank engineers were declared "enemies of the nation" and repressed during Stalin's Great Purge from the middle of the 1930s. As a result, work on self-propelled guns and armoured carriers ceased in the USSR during that time. T-26 light tanks were also modified into armoured combat vehicles in the field during wartime.

Combat history of the T-26 Combat history of Soviet light tank

Though nearly obsolete by the beginning of World War II, the T-26 was the most important tank of the Spanish Civil War and played a significant role during the Battle of Lake Khasan in 1938 as well as in the Winter War. The T-26 was the most numerous tank in the Red Army's armoured force during the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The Soviet T-26 light tanks last saw combat in August 1945, in Manchuria.

This article deals with the history and development of tanks of the Soviet Union and its successor state Russian Federation from their first use after World War I, into the interwar period, during World War II, the Cold War and modern era.

Tanks in the German Army

This article on military tanks deals with the history of tanks serving in the German Army (Heer) from the Deutsches Heer of World War I, the interwar period, and the Panzers of the German Heer during World War II, the Cold War and modern times.

IS-2 Soviet WWII heavy tank

The IS-2 is a Soviet heavy tank, the first of the IS tank series named after the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. It was developed and saw combat during World War II, and saw service in other Soviet allied countries after the war.

The 13th Light Tank Brigade was an armored brigade of the Red Army that fought in the Winter War.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Alexander Lychagin (9 October 2004). "What is Teletank?" (Google translated page). Odint Soviet news. Retrieved 1 August 2010.
  2. , Alexey Isaev. 1942, Battle of Kharkov. Interview for Echo of Moscow radio station (in Russian)
  3. http://pvo.guns.ru/book/vniirt/index.htm#_Toc122708803 (Google cache: ) Short essays on history of VNIIRT: development of telemechanical cutters (Russian)