T-29

History

Soviet tank design underwent significant experimentation (and evolution) during the two world wars (World War I and World War II). Such is the determination to advance the stockpile of existing, outdated and aging main battle tanks, in some cases the country even imports foreign aid, while in other cases indigenous designs influenced by foreign products - like it - turned out to be The case is "T-29".

The T-29 was designed with a medium tank in mind, which means that relative to light combat systems such as the in-service T-26 light tank (detailed elsewhere on this site), the firepower and protection Ability is greatly improved. However, this comes at a cost, as the added weight and reduced power are by-products, and are often accompanied by more complex systems, increased production and procurement costs, and more crews sharing a cramped fighting compartment.

The T-29 certainly had many of these qualities, but was ultimately swept away by the complicated politics of the then Communist Soviet Union.

In 1933, under the leadership of engineer N.V. Zeitz of the Kirov Plant (Plant No. 185) in Leningrad, work on the T-29 began with the aim of creating a new medium tank with increased mobility.

This led to the introduction of the "Christie Suspension System" developed by J. Walter Christie of the United States and successfully used on some British and Soviet tanks. However, the system itself is complex, which means increased costs, increased production time and longer maintenance procedures.

Nonetheless, the program continued, with two pilot vehicles being produced for testing and evaluation as early as 1934.

The tank has four large wheels on one side of the hull, the drive sprocket at the rear and the track idler at the front. The track connections were wider than the standard Soviet method at the time and provided good ground pressure, especially on loose terrain.

Three sprockets are installed to guide the chain links upstream of the fuselage side. Like the BT series of fast tanks, the T-29 can be driven on sprocket assemblies or on wheels without tracks (some axles are steerable, while others are used for propulsion power).

This provides an excellent on-road speed increase (up to 81 km/h) compared to the standard 55 km/h performance, but reduces off-road capability.

Internally, this tank borrows heavily from its predecessor, the T-28 - a bulky multi-turret developed in 1933, 503 of which were produced and featured during WWII (1939-1945) action. Therefore, the T-29 is equipped with multi-turret armament, with a larger centralized turret in the top center of the fuselage, which houses the main gun armament and a coaxial machine gun. The turret is inherited from the T-26-4 artillery tank, which houses a powerful 76.2mm KT main gun.

Smaller, independently operated turrets were mounted forward of this location and on either side of the cab in the center of the bow, each turret carrying individual machine guns. All in all, the car is well-armed with a main gun and up to five separate 7.62mm DT machine guns in different directions, capable of engaging enemy tanks and infantry with equal lethality at range.

The five crew consisted of a driver, vehicle commander, main gunner and several gunners/loaders.

The only M-17F 12-cylinder 500 hp gasoline engine was installed in the rear of the fuselage.

The new tank is undoubtedly more efficient in terms of performance and maneuverability, as the Christie suspension did not disappoint. Even on paper, the armament concept is remarkable compared to its contemporaries.

However, all the good things went bad, and the products were too complex - and therefore expensive - to be easily produced in the quantities required by the Soviet army.

In 1936, another albeit improved T-29 pilot car appeared, but it was equipped with a 76.2mm L-10 gun as its main weapon. The design was further developed into the "T-29C" in 1937, which also differed by having five wheels on one side of the fuselage.

Additionally, the hull superstructure includes sloping armor panels for improved ballistic protection (a key feature of the upcoming war-winning T-34 medium tank).

The range in this final form is recorded at 200km, which increases to 300km when driven on wheels. The most important fairing (i.e. the front) has armour protection up to 30mm, and the stated dimensions are 7.3m long, 3.2m wide and 2.8m high. The combat weight is 24 tons.

Serial production of the improved T-29 was planned for 1938, but the project suffered an irreparable setback when Zeitz fell victim to Stalin's politically motivated "Purge" in the fall of 1937. Due to the absence of the chief engineer, the T-29 project stalled before finally making Soviet military history. Its story ends with the delivery of one prototype to the Finnish front during the "Winter War" between the Soviet Union and neighboring Finland, while another prototype was successfully defended as the Germans drove within the Soviet capital Moscow.

Having said that, the T-29 was just a footnote that ended up being a stepping stone to more advanced designs.

Soviet tank design underwent significant experimentation (and evolution) during the two world wars (World War I and World War II). Such is the determination to advance the stockpile of existing, outdated and aging main battle tanks, in some cases the country even imports foreign aid, while in other cases indigenous designs influenced by foreign products - like it - turned out to be The case is "T-29".

The T-29 was designed with a medium tank in mind, which means that relative to light combat systems such as the in-service T-26 light tank (detailed elsewhere on this site), the firepower and protection Ability is greatly improved. However, this comes at a cost, as the added weight and reduced power are by-products, and are often accompanied by more complex systems, increased production and procurement costs, and more crews sharing a cramped fighting compartment.

The T-29 certainly had many of these qualities, but was ultimately swept away by the complicated politics of the then Communist Soviet Union.

In 1933, under the leadership of engineer N.V. Zeitz of the Kirov Plant (Plant No. 185) in Leningrad, work on the T-29 began with the aim of creating a new medium tank with increased mobility.

This led to the introduction of the "Christie Suspension System" developed by J. Walter Christie of the United States and successfully used on some British and Soviet tanks. However, the system itself is complex, which means increased costs, increased production time and longer maintenance procedures.

Nonetheless, the program continued, with two pilot vehicles being produced for testing and evaluation as early as 1934.

The tank has four large wheels on one side of the hull, the drive sprocket at the rear and the track idler at the front. The track connections were wider than the standard Soviet method at the time and provided good ground pressure, especially on loose terrain. Three sprockets are installed to guide the chain links upstream of the fuselage side. Like the BT series of fast tanks, the T-29 can be driven on sprocket assemblies or on wheels without tracks (some axles are steerable, while others are used for propulsion power).

This provides an excellent on-road speed increase (up to 81 km/h) compared to the standard 55 km/h performance, but reduces off-road capability.

Internally, the tank borrows heavily from its predecessor, the T-28 - a bulky multi-turret developed in 1933, 503 of which were produced and used in World War II (1939-1945) ) during an action. Therefore, the T-29 is equipped with multi-turret armament, with a larger centralized turret in the top center of the fuselage, which houses the main gun armament and a coaxial machine gun. The turret is inherited from the T-26-4 artillery tank, which houses a powerful 76.2mm KT main gun. Smaller, independently operated turrets were mounted forward of this location and on either side of the cab in the center of the bow, each turret carrying individual machine guns.

All in all, the car is well-armed with a main gun and up to five separate 7.62mm DT machine guns in different directions, capable of engaging enemy tanks and infantry with equal lethality at range. The five crew consisted of a driver, vehicle commander, main gunner and several gunners/loaders.

The only M-17F 12-cylinder 500 hp gasoline engine was installed in the rear of the fuselage.

The new tank is undoubtedly more efficient in terms of performance and maneuverability, as the Christie suspension did not disappoint. Even on paper, the armament concept is remarkable compared to its contemporaries.

However, all the good stuff went bad, and the product was too complexand therefore expensiveto easily produce in the quantities required by the Soviet Army.

In 1936, another albeit improved T-29 pilot car appeared, but it was equipped with a 76.2mm L-10 gun as its main weapon. The design was further developed into the "T-29C" in 1937, which also differed by having five wheels on one side of the fuselage.

Additionally, the hull superstructure includes sloping armor panels for increased ballistic protection (a key feature of the upcoming war-winning T-34 medium tank).

The range in this final form is recorded at 200km, which increases to 300km when driven on wheels. The most important fairing (i.e. the front) has armour protection up to 30mm, and the stated dimensions are 7.3m long, 3.2m wide and 2.8m high. The combat weight is 24 tons.

Serial production of the improved T-29 was planned for 1938, but the project suffered an irreparable setback when Zeitz fell victim to Stalin's politically motivated "Purge" in the fall of 1937. Due to the absence of the chief engineer, the T-29 project stalled before finally making Soviet military history. Its story ends with the delivery of one prototype to the Finnish front during the "Winter War" between the Soviet Union and neighboring Finland, while another prototype was successfully defended as the Germans drove within the Soviet capital Moscow.

Having said that, the T-29 was just a footnote that ended up being a stepping stone to more advanced designs.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

Not available.

Changes