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Soviet Union's T-40 light tank

T-40 light tank:

T-40S light tank:

Design

The T-40 was created during 1940 as a replacement for the T-37 and T-38⁸.² Earlier light tanks were vulnerable to machine gun fire and to shell splinters so N. A. Astrov, at a research department of Zavod Nr 37, was instructed to design to new light tanks to overcome these difficulties.¹ One of these new models was to be amphibious.¹

In the Water

It had a 4-blade ship's propeller and was steered by two rudders.^1,2 Had a welded body and the hull resembled a boat's.^1,2 There were additional float chambers installed to improve its performance in water.² The hatches were hermetically sealed.¹

Turret

The turret was mounted to the left with external roller mantlets.² The main weapon in the turret was the 12.7 mm DSchK 38 machine gun and it had a coaxial 7.62 mm DT machine gun.²

	Type	Velocity	Penetration
	Type	Velocity	100 m	300 m
12.7 mm	BST² (armor piercing)²	895 m/sec²	10 mm²	8 mm @ 60°²

Engine

The T-40's engine and gearbox were based on an automobile's.² It was the GAZ 202 which could produce 85 HP.²

Prototype

The T-30A prototype was tested in July and August 1939.¹

Production

The T-40 was accepted for production on December 19, 1939.¹

T-40: 220², 230
- Production:
  - 1941: 41^1,2
  - 1942: 181^1,2
- Manufacturer: Factory No. 37 in Moscow

Variants

T-30A¹: Amphibious prototype.¹
T-30B¹: Amphibious prototype.¹ Had more armor.¹
T-40⁸: Amphibous.⁸ Was designed to be built by factories that produced automobiles. Early production had the 12.7 mm installed. First used in the Winter War with Finland. Issued to reconnaissance and liaison units at beginning of 1941.
T-40A⁸: Amphibious.⁸ Increased armor.⁸ Limited production as it was no longer amphibious as the extra weight caused it to lose its buoyancy.
T-40S⁸: Non-amphibious version.⁸ Was rushed into production at time of German invasion. Was redesignated T-60.

Usage

The Red Army started to equip reconnaissance and armored liaison units in early 1941.

	T-40^2,8	T-40A⁸	T-40 1940	T-40 1941²	T-40 S⁸
Crew	Commander, driver 2^3,5,7,8	2⁸	2^1,2	2²	2^4,8
Physical Characteristics
Weight	12,300 lb, 13,007 lb⁵ 5.5 tons^2,8, 5.8 tons³, 5.9 tons^5,6, 6 tons⁷ 5,900 kg^3,5	6.2 tons⁸	5.5 tons¹ 5,590 kg¹	5.5 tons²	6.1 tons⁸, 6.2 tons⁴
Length w/gun	13' 6"^3,8,13' 5.8"⁵, 13' 5.9"⁵, 14'⁷, 14' 6.25" 4.11 m^3,5,6	14'⁸	4.43 m¹ 13' 6"¹	4.11 m²	13.9'⁸, 14'⁴
Length w/o gun
Height	5' 8"⁷, 6' 4.8"^5,8, 6' 5"³, 6' 6", 6' 11.5" 1.95 m^3,5,6	6.48'⁸	2.12 m¹ 6' 11"¹	1.95 m²	6.38'⁸, 6.48'⁴
Width	8' 3", 7.65'⁸, 7' 7.7"⁵, 7' 8"^3,7, 2.33 m^3,5,6	7.65'⁸	2.51 m¹ 8' 3"¹	2.33-2.35 m²	7.65'^4,8
Ground clearance	1' 2"			0.34 m²
Ground contact length	7.66'⁸	7.66'⁸			7.66'⁸
Ground pressure	6.55 psi			0.46 kp/(cm²)²
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main	12.7 mm DShK 38 12.7 mm DSchK 38 MG² 12.7 mm DShK MG^3,8 12.7 mm MG⁵ 12.7 mm MG⁷ and 7.62 mm MG⁷		12.7 mm MG¹ 12.7 mm DShK MG⁸	12.7 mm DSchK 38 MG²	12.7 mm⁴ 12.7 mm DShK MG⁸
OR	20 mm⁸ 20 mm ShVAK 20		20 mm^1,8		20 mm^4,8
Secondary
MG			7.62 mm MG¹	7.62 mm DT²	MG⁴
MG - coaxial	1: 7.62 mm MG²
Side arms
Quantity
Main	550⁸	550⁸		550²	550⁸
Secondary
MG	2,016⁸	2,016⁸		2,016²	2,016⁸
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	6 - 13⁵, 7 - 14^3,5, 14⁷ Front: 14⁶ Side: 9⁶				10 - 14⁴
Hull Front, Upper	13⁸, 14	14⁸		10 - 13²	14⁸
Hull Front, Lower	13
Hull Sides, Upper	10, 13⁸	14⁸		13²	14⁸
Hull Sides, Lower	10
Hull Rear				10²
Hull Top	6 - 10⁸	6 - 10⁸		6²	10⁸
Hull Bottom	6, 6 - 10⁸	6 - 10⁸		6 - 10²	10⁸
Turret Front	7 - 14⁸, 14	7 - 14⁸		14 - 15²	7 - 14⁸
Turret Sides	10			10²
Turret Rear				10²
Turret Top				7²
Engine (Make / Model)	GAZ-202^2,5,8 GAZ⁷	GAZ-202⁸		GAZ-202^2,3	GAZ-202⁸
Bore / stroke				4 stroke²
Cylinders	6^2,7,8	6⁸		6²	6⁸
Net HP	70⁵, 85^2,6,7,8	85⁸		85@3,600 rpm²	85^4,8
Power to weight ratio				15.4 HP/ton²
Transmission
Fuel type	Gasoline^5,8	Gasoline⁸		Gasoline²	Gasoline^4,8
Octane
Capacity				206 liters²
Performance
Traverse	360°
Max speed	27 mph³, 27.3 mph⁵, 28 mph^7,8 44 kph^2,3,5,6	26 mph⁸	45 kph¹ 28 mph¹	44-45 kph²	26 mph^4,8
Water speed	4 mph⁷, 6.2 mph, 6.5 kph²			5-6 kph²
Cross country speed	18.6 mph
Road radius	210 miles⁷, 217.5 miles, 220 miles, 222 miles⁸, 223.7 miles⁵, 224 miles³, 360 km^3,5	210 miles⁸		185-360 km² 280 miles²	216 miles⁸
Cross country radius	115 miles⁸	100 miles⁸			110 miles⁸
Turning radius
Elevation Limits	+40°
Fording depth	Amphibious³			Amphibious²
Trench crossing	6' 1"⁵, 5' 8" 1.85 m⁵			1.7m²
Vertical Obstacle	2' 3.75"⁵, 2' 2" 0.7 m⁵			0.6 m²
Climbing ability				34°²
Suspension (Type)	Torsion bar^1,2,8
Wheels each side	4⁷, 5
Return rollers each side	3⁷
Track length
Tires
Track width	7"⁸	7"⁸			7"⁸
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
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