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Soviet Union's T-60 light tank
Nickname: BM-2 (Brtskaya Mogila na Dovoikh) "a brother's grave for two"¹

T-60 light tank:	T-60 light tank: Aberdeen Tank Museum	T-60 light tank:	T-60 light tank:
T-60 Anti-Aircraft tank:

Design

After the heavy losses of tanks after the invasion of Russia by Germany there was a great need for producing large numbers of tanks.^1,2 N. A. Astrov, of Zavod Nr 37, lead a design bureau in Moscow that altered the T-40.^1,2 The basic design was done in 15 days.¹

An increase in armor and armament was needed at the expense of keeping its amphibious capability.^1,2

Main Armament

Initially it was designed for a 45 mm gun, but this proved to powerful for the turret.² B. Shpital'n / Spitalny and Komaritzky had come up with the fully automatic 20 mm SchWak aircraft gun.² The turret had eight sides.¹

	Type	Weight	Penetration
	Type	Weight	1,000 m
20 mm SchWak²	Incendiary²	0.096 kg²	24 mm²

Crew

The driver was placed in the center in the front of the hull.

Armor

The first models had riveted armor but later T-60s had welded armor.² The hull was modified to have larger armor plates at sharper angles for better protection.²

Fighting Compartments

In the front of the T-60's hull contained the engine, power train, and controls for the driver.² The fuel tanks were located in the rear of the hull.²

The turret was offset to the left with the engine offset to the right.²

Not Well Liked

When talking to Josef Stalin on September 17, 1942, General M. J. Katukov said:

"I can't find much good about the T-60. Of course it has automatic weapons, but only a 20 mm gun. It would not be up to a serious fight against tanks. Besides, it has too little ground clearance and is completely useless in mud or snow. In the fighting around Moscow we had to tow these tanks."²

Prototype

Production

After writing to Josef Stalin about the benefits of the T-60 over the complex T-50, the Main Defense Committee (GKO) order production of 10,000 T-60s.¹ It is reported that Stalin was so interested in the T-60 that he attended the trials himself.¹

Factory No. 37 in Moscow started production in July 1941.² The first left the factory on December 15, 1941.² When Factory No. 37 was moved to the east of the Urals, the auto factory in Gorki and Factory No. 138 (38¹) in Kirov started production.² The armored body came from the Podolsk Machine Works.²

The goal was to produce 70 T-60s a day, but sometime only 40 a day were built.²

T-60: 6,000³, 6,022¹, 6,292^1,2
- Manufacturer: Soviet arsenals⁹
- Production: 1941-1943:
T-60 Model 1941: 1,818^1,2
T-60 Model 1942: 4,474^1,2

Variants

T-60 (Model 1941): Issued to reconnaissance units and infantry formations for support in combat. Some chassis were converted to carry Katyushka rocket launchers or tow 57 mm antitank guns. Had solid disc wheels.¹
T-60A (Model 1942): Increased armor. Had spoked wheels.¹ Started to appear in early 1942.
KT², A-T², or A-40²: In 1942 a vehicle chassis was fitted with wings, a double tail, and was towed by a TB-3 bomber as a glider.²
OSU-76²: At Factory No. 38 a design bureau was told to design a light self-propelled tank based on the T-60 chassis.² The were fitted with the 76.2 mm ZIS-3 (1942) divisional cannon.² Prototypes were built but when production of the T-60 was halted the T-70 was converted into the SU-76.²
BM-8-36²: It had 36 launching rails installed.² It fired 82 mm rockets up to 5,500 meters.²
T-60 Anti-Aircraft:

Usage

The T-60 was primarily assigned to reconnaissance units and infantry units. Some were formed into independent tank battalions which had:²

1 heavy company (KV tanks)²
1 medium company (T-34 tanks)²
2 light companies (T-60 tanks)²

Some vehicles were used at towing tractors for 76.2 mm divisional cannons in the artillery regiments of some rifle divisions.²

	T-60¹⁰	T-60 1941²	T-60A¹⁰ , T-60 1942^1,2
Crew	2¹^{,3,4,5,6,8,9,10}	2²	2^1,2,10
Physical Characteristics
Weight	12,700 lb, 11,354 lb 5.5 tons⁴, 5.75 tons^5,10, 6 tons⁹, 6.3 tons³, 6.4 tons⁶ 6,400 kg³	5.5-5.8 tons²	6.4 tons^2,10 5,150 kg¹ 5.07 tons¹
Length w/gun	12' 5"⁹, 13.1'^5,10, 13' 5.9"⁶, 13' 6"³, 14' 1" 4 m⁴, 4.11 m^3,6	4.1 m²	13.65'¹⁰, 14' 1"¹ 4.1 m², 4.29 m¹
Length w/o gun
Height	5' 8"³, 5' 8.5"⁶, 5' 9"^9,10, 6' 2.5", 6.65'⁵ 1.74 m^3,6, 1.8 m⁴	1.75 m²	5.85'¹⁰ , 6' 2"¹ 1.78 m², 1.89 m¹
Width	7' 6"^5,10, 7' 8"^3,9, 8' 0.75" 2.3 m³, 2.35 m⁴	2.35 m²	7.66'¹⁰, 8' 1"¹ 2.35 m², 2.46 m¹
Width over tracks
Ground clearance	1' 0.3 m⁴	0.3 m²	0.3 m²
Ground contact length	7' 6"¹⁰		7' 6"¹⁰
Ground pressure	6.55 psi, 6.83 psi 0.48 (kg/cm²)⁴	0.48 (kg/cm²)²	0.46 (kg/cm²)²
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main	20 mm ShVAK^1,3,10 20 mm^4,5,6,8 20 mm Shvak aircraft automatic gun⁹	20 mm SchWak 1941²	20 mm¹ 20 mm SchWak 1941² 20 mm ShVAK¹⁰
Secondary
MG	MG^4,5,10 7.62 mm MG⁶ 7.62 mm DT MG⁹		MG¹⁰ 1: 7.62 mm MG¹
MG - coaxial	7.62 mm DT MG^1,3 7.62 mm MG⁸	7.62 mm DT MG²	7.62 mm DT MG²
Side arms
Quantity
Main	780¹⁰	750 - 780²	780^2,10
Secondary
MG	780⁴, 945¹⁰	945-1,000²	945¹⁰
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	7 - 25^3,5 20⁸		0.78"¹ 20¹
Hull Front, Upper	0.75"@0°⁹, 14 - 20^4,10	14 - 20²	35^1,2,10
Hull Front, Lower
Hull Sides, Upper	15^4,10	15²	25^1,2,10
Hull Sides, Lower
Hull Rear	0.4"@0°⁹, 10-13⁴	10 - 13²	25¹
Hull Top	7 - 10¹⁰, 10⁴	7 - 10²	13^1,2,10
Hull Bottom	7 - 10^4,10	7 - 10²	13^1,2,10
Turret Front	0.75"@0°⁹, 7 - 15¹⁰, 15⁴	15²	25^1,2,10
Turret Sides	0.75"@0°⁹, 15⁴	15²	25², 15¹
Turret Rear	15⁴	15²	25², 15¹
Turret Top	7⁴	7²	7^1,2
Engine (Make / Model)	GAZ-202¹⁰, GAZ 203^3,6	GAZ 202²	GAZ-202¹⁰, GAZ 203²
Bore / stroke		4 stroke²	4 stroke²
Cooling	Water^4,9
Cylinders	6^4,9,10	6²	6^2,10
Capacity
Net HP	85@3,600 rpm⁴ 70¹⁰, 85^5,9	70@3,400 rpm²	85¹⁰, 85@3,400 rpm²
Power to weight ratio		12 HP/ton²	10.9 HP/ton²
Compression ratio
Transmission (Type)	4 forward, 1 reverse^4,9	4 forward, 1 reverse	4 forward, 1 reverse
Steering	Clutch brake⁹
Steering ratio
Starter
Electrical system
Ignition
Fuel (Type)	Gasoline^5,6,9,10		Gasoline¹⁰
Octane
Quantity	84.5 gallons 320 liters⁴	320 liters²
Road consumption
Cross country consumption
Performance
Traverse	360°⁹ Manual⁹	360°	360°
Max speed	27 mph⁵, 27.3 mph, 27.5 mph⁹, 27.9 mph, 28 mph^3,6,10 44 kph⁴, 45 kph^3,6	44 kph²	25 mph¹⁰, 38 mph¹ 42 kph², 45 kph¹
Cross country speed	18.6 mph	18.6 mph	18.6 mph
Road radius	270 miles⁹, 280 miles^3,6, 382 miles, 384 miles¹⁰ 450 km^3,6, 615 km⁴	315-614 km²	280 miles, 375 miles¹⁰, 380 miles¹ 315-614 km², 450 km, 615 km¹
Cross country radius	197 miles¹⁰ 315 km⁴		155 miles¹, 188 miles¹⁰ 250 km¹
Turning radius	20' 6" 6.2 m⁴
Elevation limits	+40°
Fording depth	2' 10" 0.8 m⁴	0.87 m²	0.87 m²
Trench crossing	6' 1"⁶ 1.85 m⁶	1.7 m²	1.7 m²
Vertical obstacle	1' 9.3"⁶ 0.54 m⁶	0.6 m²	0.6 m²
Climbing ability		28 - 29°²	28 - 29°²
Suspension (Type)	Torsion Bars⁴ Christie type coil spring torsion arm⁹
Wheels each side	4^4,9
Return rollers each side	3⁹
Tracks (Type)	Steel, skeleton, dry pin⁹
Length
Width	7"¹⁰, 1' 5.5"⁹		7"¹⁰
Diameter
Number of links
Pitch
Tires
Track centers/tread	260 mm⁴

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
-
Tanks of World War II, Duncan Crow, 1979
Tank Data 2, Aberdeen Proving Grounds Series, E. J. Hoffschmidt and W. H. Tantum IV, 1969
Airfix Magazine Guide 22 Russian Tanks of World War 2, John Milsom and Steve Zaloga, 1977