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Soviet Union's T-26B, T-26 Model 1933 light tank

T-26 Model 1933 light tank:	T-26 Model 1937 and Model 1933 light tanks near Moscow in November to December 1941	OT-130 flame thrower:	OT-130 flame thrower:
OT-130 flame thrower:

Design

In 1933 a new turret was fitted to the T-26 which extended over the width of the hull.² This was designed by the Bolshevik Leningrad factory and KhPZ Kharkov works.¹ The turret could mount a 45 mm Model 1932 gun.¹

Main Armament

A 37 mm BS 3 (1930 model) was installed as the main armament for the T-26 Model 1932.²

The T-26 Model 1933 had a 45 mm gun installed.²

Turret

The seats of the loader and commander were welded in place to the floor.²

When traveling over rough terrain the gun was very hard to aim as the gun and turret weren't properly balanced.²

Variants

T-26B: Prototype was built with a 37 mm gun in the left turret and the right turret was removed. This proved unsatisfactory and a turret similar to the BT tanks was installed.
T-26B-1: Initially had a cylindrical turret with a 37 mm gun. Later vehicles had a 45 mm gun in a cast mantlet. One turret was installed as it was discovered that by putting the 37 mm gun in one of the 2 turreted models, one of the turrets could break from the stress. Early models had 37 mm. The hull was welded.
T-26B-2 (Model 1933)¹: Initially had a 37 mm gun.¹ Improved model with cast turret and 45 mm gun and coaxial MG.² Some had a rear MG as well, and others had antiaircraft MGs installed.² The turret had a overhang that had a gun counterweight in the turret. During production improvements were made to the visor and pistol ports, storage chests were attached to the track aprons, and aluminum road wheels installed.²
T-26B-1(V) & 2(V), T-26TU²: Commander's tank with a frame aerial around turret.² The radio had a range of 2 km and a power of 15-20 watts.²
T-26 Pch²: An experimental wading vehicle that had a snorkel attached and could wade in 5 meters of water.² It was a modified T-26 (1933), and water penetrated around the riveted armor.
AT-1²: Experimental version that added wings and twin boom tail mounting to turn it into a glider.² It was a modified T-26 (1933). It was designed by the O. K. Antonov design bureau.²
AT-26, AT-26 SP⁹: (Artilleriskiy Tank) Artillery version with 76.2 mm PS-3 gun and one MG. It was designed by S. Ginzburg in 1932 at the Kirov works in Leningrad. It had body armor of 15 mm, and the gun could traverse 20° and elevate from -1.5° to +43°. It was 1.95 m high, weighed 9.5 tons, and had a crew of 3-4. Used T-26B chassis.⁹
OT-130^1,2,9: Flame-thrower version^1,2 of B⁹, B-1 or B-2 that started production in 1938². It used the 1933 model of T-26 and had a 1938 model flamethrower installed instead of the 45 mm gun.² It could reach targets up to 50 meters and could fire 70 1-second bursts.² It carried between 135 and 400 liters of oil.² One change made during production was modifications to the mantlet.² Some carried the 7.62 mm DT MG coaxially and one in the rear of the turret.² Crew was 2 men and weighed around 9.3 tons.² It saw action in Manchuria against the Japanese and against Finland in Karelia in 1939-1940.²

	T-26 B	T-26 1933
Crew	3^6,8,9	3²
Physical Characteristics
Weight	9.2 - 9.6 tons⁹, 9.4 tons⁶, 9.5 tons⁸	9.4 tons^2,7
Length w/gun	15.76'⁹, 16'⁶, 16' 3"⁸ 4.88 m⁶	4.62 m⁷, 4.88 m²
Length w/o gun
Height	7.95'⁹, 7' 11"⁶, 8'⁸ 2.41 m⁶	2.24⁷, 2.41 m²
Width	7.85'⁹, 8'⁸, 11' 2.25"⁶ 3.41 m⁶	2.41 m², 2.44 m⁷
Ground clearance		0.38 m²
Ground contact length	9' 9"⁹
Ground pressure		0.65 kg/(cm²)²
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main	45 mm A/TK⁹ 45 mm L/46⁸	45 mm 1932² 45 mm Model 1932 20K⁷
OR	37 mm⁹
Secondary
MG	2 coaxial, bow	1 or 2: 7.62 mm DT MG² 7.62 mm DT MG, coaxial⁷
Side arms
Quantity
Main	92 - 100⁹, 169	100²
Secondary
MG	2,405, 3,000⁹	4,000²
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	15⁸	Front: 15⁷ Side: 15⁷
Hull Front, Upper	15⁹	15²
Hull Front, Lower		15²
Hull Sides, Upper	15⁹	15²
Hull Sides, Lower		15²
Hull Rear		15²
Hull Top	6 - 10⁹	10²
Hull Bottom	6 - 10⁹	6²
Turret Front	6 - 15⁹	15²
Turret Sides		15²
Turret Rear		15²
Turret Top		10²
Engine (Make / Model)	GAZ T-26^6,9	GAZ T-26²^,3
Bore / stroke		4 stroke²
Cylinders	8^6,9	4²
Net HP	81⁶, 88 - 91⁹, 90⁸	90⁷, 91@2,200 rpm²
Power to weight ratio		9.2 HP/ton²
Transmission		5 forward, 1 reverse
Fuel type	Gasoline^6,9	Gasoline²
Octane
Capacity		285 liters²
Performance
Traverse	360°	360°
Max Speed	17.4 mph⁶, 18 mph^8,9 28 kph⁶	28 kph², 35 kph⁷
Cross country speed	12.4 mph	12.4 mph
Road radius	108.7 miles⁶, 140 miles⁹, 190 miles⁸ 175 km⁶	375 km²
Cross country radius	110 miles⁹
Turning Radius
Elevation Limits
Fording depth		0.9 m²
Trench crossing	6' 2.8"⁶ 1.9 m⁶	1.8 m²
Vertical Obstacle	2' 7"⁶ 0.79 m⁶	0.75 m²
Climbing ability		32°²
Suspension (Type)
Wheels each side
Return rollers each side
Track length
Tires
Track width	10.2"⁹
Track centers/tread

Sources:

Russian Tanks of World War II Stalin's Armored Might, by Tim Bean & Will Fowler, 2002
Russian Tanks and Armored Vehicles 1917-1945, by Wolfgang Fleischer, 1999
The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
Panzer Truppen The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1933-1942, Thomas L. Jentz, 1996
Tanks of the World, 1915-1945, Peter Chamberlain, Chris Ellis, 1972
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles The Complete Guide, Leland Ness, 2002
Tanks of World War II, Duncan Crow, 1979
Airfix Magazine Guide 22 Russian Tanks of World War 2, John Milsom and Steve Zaloga, 1977