Warspot Digest: July 2021
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The Polish Army's Phantom Reserves [READ MORE] In the early 1930s, Poland built the TK-S, a very good design based on the British Carden-Loyd Mk.VI tankette. A similar thing happened with light tanks. Polish tank builders designed the 7TP tank based on the Vickers Mk.E. The next step, the development of a fully domestic design, turned out to be too difficult for Polish industry. Attempts were made, but progress did not move past several prototypes. This article discusses 10TP cavalry tank and other experimental designs that did not manage to enter service with the Polish army. |
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Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright [READ MORE] The British first encountered the Tiger tank on the battlefield towards the end of 1942 in Tunisia. Employment of Tigers in early 1943 resulted in a number of losses. The Germans were fairly diligent about demolishing tanks that could not be recovered, but an intact sample was found for study before too long. This vehicle was studied thoroughly by British experts in order to build a complete picture of the first German heavy tank. |
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T-44: A Step in the Right Direction [READ MORE] Work on a radically new tank often results in the creation of intermediate vehicles. This exact thing happened with Soviet medium tanks in WWII. Several attempts were made to replace the T-34 with modernized vehicles. The first attempt was called T-34M, later the T-43 took a shot at the reigning champion. The results were similar: neither tank replaced the T-34. The first Soviet new generation medium tank, the T-44, travelled a long way and changed a lot before it entered production. |
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The Bug with a Big Caliber [READ MORE] Germany was a leader in self propelled artillery at the start of WWII. Approaching the idea of motorized artillery from a new angle, they ended up with a wide spectrum of SPGs by the middle of the war. This also applied to self propelled howitzers, which were first used in France in 1940. Truly mass produced SPHes entered service closer to mid-1943. These were the Grille (Grasshopper), the best SPG series with the 149 mm sIG 33 howitzer. |
