BT-7
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The BT-7 BT (russian: БТ) is the Russian abbreviation for "fast tank" (, ). was the last of the
BT series The BT tanks (russian: Быстроходный танк/БТ, translit=Bystrokhodnyy tank, lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") were a series of Soviet Union, Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They we ...
of
Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
cavalry tank The cruiser tank (sometimes called cavalry tank or fast tank) was a British tank concept of the interwar period for tanks designed as modernised armoured and mechanised cavalry, as distinguished from infantry tanks. Cruiser tanks were developed ...
s 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 An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...
, or its diminutive, ''Betushka.'' The BT-7's successor was the famous
T-34 The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank introduced in 1940. When introduced its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was less powerful than its contemporaries while its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The C ...
medium tank, introduced in 1940, which replaced all of the Soviet fast tanks,
infantry tanks The infantry tank was a concept developed by the United Kingdom and France in the years leading up to World War II. Infantry tanks were designed to support infantrymen in an attack. To achieve this, the vehicles were generally heavily armoured to ...
, and medium tanks then in service.


Development

The first prototypes of the BT-7 had a distinctive canted-ellipse shaped turret mounting both the main gun and a coaxial
machine-gun A machine gun is a automatic firearm, fully automatic, rifling, rifled action (firearms)#Autoloading operation, autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as Automatic shotgun, a ...
. The specification also called for the project to allow for the installation of new guns without any significant change to the framework: the 76 mm KT-26 or PS-3 main gun (a short-barreled howitzer) and the 45 mm 20K model 1932/38, a long-barreled, high-velocity gun useful against tanks, but less effective than the 76 mm gun against infantry. In the rear of the turret, there was a rotating drum-type magazine for 18 45 mm shells or a radio station. The prototype underwent an extensive testing program in the summer and autumn of 1934. As a result of this testing, it was felt that a machine-gun was unnecessary on a tank with a 3-man crew, especially as it made the assembly of the turret more complicated. Therefore, in early 1935, the tank went into production with a simpler design, incorporating the turret from the
BT-5 The BT tanks (russian: Быстроходный танк/БТ, translit=Bystrokhodnyy tank, lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") were a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly arm ...
. (However, the idea of a wheeled/tracked vehicle with a 76 mm cannon was not abandoned and the plant was commissioned to develop a new BT-7 turret from the turret of the
T-26 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 ...
-4.) In the production model, a cylindrical turret housed a 45 mm 20K gun with a
DT machine gun The Degtyaryov machine gun (russian: Пулемёт Дегтярёвa Пехотный, Pulemyot Degtyaryova Pekhotny literally: "Degtyaryov's infantry machine gun") or DP-27/DP-28 is a light machine gun firing the 7.62×54mmR cartridge that was ...
. On some of the tanks, a model 71-TC radio with frame antenna was installed. The crew consisted of three men: the commander (who also served as the gunner); the loader and the driver. In 1937, the company launched production of the BT-7 with a conical turret. The main armament remained the same, but the ammunition was increased to 44 rounds. All serving tanks now installed the DT machine gun in the rear niche. For the firing of the gun and coaxial machine gun at night, the tank was equipped with two special projector-type headlamps, and a mask placed on the gun. Subsequently, these lights were retrofitted to earlier models of the tank. Improvements were also made to the drive wheels, caterpillar tracks and gearbox by 1938. In parallel with the main modification, 153 BT-7A artillery tanks were produced between 1936 and 1938. These were fitted with a larger turret and a 76 mm KT-type gun with 50 rounds of ammunition (40 in a tank with a portable radio). In 1938, four experimental BT-8 tanks mounted with V-2 diesel engines were produced. After comparative tests of the BT-7 and BT-8, the diesel tanks were put into production in 1940 (under the designation BT-7M) with the powerplants being produced in a separate plant of the Voroshilovets factory to ensure supply. The diesel tanks were more fuel efficient, and the petrol-powered tanks were soon placed into reserve. Several experimental tanks were conceived based on the BT series, for example the wheeled BT-IS, designed by N.F. Tsyganov, a platoon commander in the 4th Armoured Regiment of the
Ukraine Military District Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian invas ...
and self-taught designer. The type successfully passed field tests, but was not ordered in bulk. Another Tsyganov design was the SV-2 "Cherepakha" ''(turtle, черепаха)'', with a new design of hull and turret. There was also the command tank KBT-7 with a fixed superstructure, the OT-7 mounting a
flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...
, the KhBT-7 designed to protect from toxic contamination and lay smokescreens, the SBT bridgelayer and the TTBT-7 and Thubten-7 radio-controlled tanks (known at the time as Teletanks). Finland converted 18 captured tanks into
BT-42 The BT-42 was a Finnish assault gun, constructed during the Continuation War. It was constructed from captured Soviet BT-7 light tanks and British 4.5-inch howitzers (114 mm-calibre light howitzer, model 1908) from 1918, which had been don ...
assault guns. Shortly before
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
(the German invasion of the Soviet Union), the BT-7 underwent an up-armor program. In 1940, Mariupol Ilyich Iron and Steel Works produced 50 sets of hinged homogeneous armor for the BT-7M, which increased the weight of the test tank to 18 tons. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the installation of these kits to military units. Between 1935 and 1940, between 5753 BT-7 tanks of all modifications were built.


Combat experience

In June 1941, at the outset of ''Barbarossa'', the BT-7 was the main cavalry tank of the Soviet army. Tank losses were high, with over 2,000 BT-7 series tanks lost in the first 12 months on the Eastern Front. Hundreds more had been immobilized before the invasion by poor maintenance, and these had to be abandoned as the Soviet forces withdrew eastward. The BT-7 continued to be operated by the armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army for almost the entire war, but in greatly-decreased numbers after 1941. By 1 November 1942, 32 BT-7 tanks were captured by Romanian forces. BT-7 series tanks continued in use by the Soviets in the Far East, against Japanese forces which lacked the heavy tanks of their German allies. BT-7 tanks were employed against Japanese forces in the
Battles of Khalkhin Gol The Battles of Khalkhin Gol (russian: Бои на Халхин-Голе; mn, Халхын голын байлдаан) were the decisive engagements of the undeclared Soviet–Japanese border conflicts involving the Soviet Union, Mongolia, Ja ...
in 1939 and the
Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian strategic offensive operation (russian: Манчжурская стратегическая наступательная операция, Manchzhurskaya Strategicheskaya Nastu ...
in 1945.


Modern day

As of early 2018, there is one known remaining BT-7 in operational order.


Organization and use

The Table of Organization and Equipment for a typical Soviet light tank brigade in 1939 is as follows: *3 tank battalions, each containing **3 tank companies, each with 17 BT-7 or
T-26 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 ...
s; **1 signal platoon; **1 antitank platoon with 3 45 mm antitank guns; **1
antiaircraft Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
(AA MG) platoon *1 reserve tank company, with 8 BT-7 or T-26 tanks; *1 signal company, with 5 T-37A tanks; *1 motorized infantry battalion, containing **3 motorized rifle companies; **1 signal platoon; **1 antitank platoon with 3 45 mm antitank guns; **1 AA MG platoon *1 additional AA MG platoon in brigade headquarters; *1 motor transport battalion; *1 reconnaissance battalion; *1 pioneer company; *1 medical company; *1 chemical company (flamethrowers).Soviet light tank brigade TO
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References


Notes


Citations


External links



at the Russian Battlefield
BT-7 "test drive" (video)

BT-7 at wwiivehicles.com (updated link)
{{Interwar tanks Light tanks of the Soviet Union Cavalry tanks Interwar tanks of the Soviet Union World War II tanks of the Soviet Union Military vehicles introduced in the 1930s Malyshev Factory products