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Description
History
The loss of Polish-Bolshevik War ment that the Soviets had to give up their plans of expanding the revolution to the rest of the world. That does not mean, of course, that they ceased preparing for the first occasion to occur. One of the important elements of their tactics were tanks. These machines appeared four years earlier and were still somewhat of a curiosity. However the bolsheviks saw the potential they had and attempted to create vast armoured forces and invade Europe.

Like mentioned above, the concept of the tank was still in flux, and so were the tactics. Some wanted the tanks to be just an infantry support vehicles; other saw them as a true strike force, which was to attack first, break enemy's defences and leave what's left to the infantry. However everyone agreed upon one thing: tanks were too slow. The Mark V tank, one of the first models to appear, could not exceed 10 km/h. The Soviets obtained several of them after the unsuccesful British attempt to quell the revolution. They also had some Renault FT-17s, but these were only just faster and had weaker armour. They had to look for better solution.

Ironically, it would have never appear if it wasn't for the Western military leaders. In the 1930s, American inventor Walter Christie tried to sell his designs to the U.S. Army, which he called a "convertible tank". This vehicle could ride on its tracks, like a standard tank, or could have its tracks taken off and ride using only the wheels. The chassis consisted of four big road wheels per side, of which the last was powered via a chain drive. The tank used new, revolutionary suspension, later known as "Christie's suspension".

But Christie's project was rejected. Frustrated, he turned to the foreign investors, though the U.S. law banned any tank export from the USA. One of the countries interested in the project was Poland, which ordered a single tank for testing. However Christie kept delying the delivery and when the Polish officials came for the tank, he demanded them to pay the licentional fee immediately ($90.000). It was then when the Polish team met two Soviet officers and discovered that right after signing the contract with Poland, Christie also made a deal with the USSR and sent the tank there. Poland was given the money back, but they had to forget about the new tank. The Russians begun trials and the result was a family of vehicles known under an acronym of "BT" - from Russian "bystrokhodnyi tank", or "high-speed tank".

One may ask, why would the Russians need a track-wheeled tank in a country where paved roads were still a rarity, mostly placed in big cities like Moscow or Leningrad. The answer is simple, as the tank gives us a hint of the Soviet plans. The BTs were obviously not ment to move on the Soviet roads, they were to cross Poland on tracks, take them off and continue on wheels along the German and French highways...

But in the end, the track-wheeled propulsion proved very problematic. It took 30 minutes to take the tracks off, put them on the tank and turn it into wheel driving mode. Though the speed of the tank was much better on wheels (72 km/h to the 52 km/h on tracks), it could not compensate for the complexity of the mixed suspension. This feature was discarded in later models and the BT could only move on tracks.

One feature which appeared in the BT tanks was the sloped frontal armour. Thanks to that, the overall protection was higher than in the case of vertical armour. However it limited the space inside and the space between the sloped armour and the mudguards created the shot-traps, where the shells could easily get stuck and damage the tank. Moreover, a good portion of the front armour was taken by the driver's hatch which was easy to damage.

There were several different version (and multiple subversions) of the BT tank. The first batch of the vehicles was called BT-2 and had several turret variants (one machine gun + 37 mm cannon, just a cannon or three MGs). Later the BT-5 introduced a bigger turret with a 47 mm gun. The BT-7 had different hull design and a new engine. Aside from that, there were multiple specialised version: flame tanks (typically designated KhBT for "khimichisky" - chemical), artillery support self-propelled guns, command versions (with characteristic rail antenna on the turret) or amphibious tanks. Most of them stayed in prototype stage or were produced in small number, though.

The first combat test came in 1936/39 during the Spanish Civil War. The BT tanks proved superior to the German light tanks sent to support nationalists, easily knocking them out with their forty-seven milimeters. Then, in May 1939, the tanks fought with Imperial Japanese Army at the Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia, dealing with the Japanese tanks with ease, but turning out to be "a bit fireprone", as Marshal Zhukov's has put it in his conversation with Stalin. Unlike the future designs, BT tanks were still powered by gasoline engines. In the hot, Mongolian climate a single Molotov's cocktail was enough to set the tank on fire. The Finns used this drawback during the Winter War, also using improvised incendiary weapons to destroy the Soviet tanks.

The BT tanks were used during invasion of Poland in September 1939. The Independent Operation Group "Polesie" managed to destroy four and capture one (not used by Poles). There are unconfirmed accounts of clashes with, depending on source, 7TP light tanks or TKS tankettes. Because the BT tanks were often the first at the battlefield, their crews were one of the cruelest units, because the high command was still behind and could not control their actions. It wasn't unheard of that Soviets would capture people and tie them at their tanks fronts, as living shields. Like mentioned above, they were also sent to Finland during the Winter War (Talvisota). Having very few anti-tank weaponry, the Finns turned to improvised weapons like Molotov cocktails or bunched grenades.

With an outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in June 1941, the BT tanks turned out to be horribly outclassed by the German tanks. While having strong armament, their armour could be pierced by most of the German guns. Moreover their mobility was rather poor compared to T-34s or KV-1s due to their narrow tracks. Because of that, their flammable engines and lack of proper defensive training, thousands of BT tanks were abandoned during a hast retreat of Soviet army during initial stages of German invasion. When the tides turned against Germany, BT tanks were rarely used, as obsolete model. Their definitive end of service was the Soviet assault on Manchuria on August 9th 1945, the same day a nuclear bomb destroyed Nagasaki. After this, BT tanks were finally retired.

However, the BT tank played another important role in the developement of armoured forces. In 1937, Kharkiv Locomotive Plant presented a developement version of BT tank, named A-20. It had sloped armour both at the front and on the sides. Later the designers scaled it up to the point it was no more light, but medium tank. Developed in secret, it became a prototype of one of the most succesful tanks in the world - the T-34...

The kit
Which wargaming kit of mine is it? Tenth, I believe. To be honest I've never been a big fan of BT tanks, but I saw one on the internet while looking for the T-26 and I liked it so much I had to buy it.

The kit comes in a single sprue, but it's a bit more complicated than i.e. Panzer II or KV-1. It contains 7 parts, of which three form the hull, one is a turret, two - tracks with wheels and the last is what I believe to be either exhaust or muffler. The kit is excellently detailed for such a small scale. There are bolts and nuts at any place possible, including the mudguards, wheels (the front wheels are different from the others, just like in the real tank), front armour and even at the tank's belly, along with two hatches. The engine's grill is fully visible. There are even two tiny shovels at the back of the tank. Note that this feature is only present at the right-hand side of the model; I think that this assymetry adds to the tank's look (though Death the Kid would probably disagree )

I painted it with Humbrol's green (H150), though I didn't care whether it's historically accurate or not. I weathered it with drybrush, using Humbrol's Matt 63 (I use it for German Panzers). I also used some silver metallic for shovels and brown for the exhaust/muffler.

Model: Zvezda
Paints: Humbrol, no exceptions
Scale: 1/100

Description
History
The loss of Polish-Bolshevik War ment that the Soviets had to give up their plans of expanding the revolution to the rest of the world. That does not mean, of course, that they ceased preparing for the first occasion to occur. One of the important elements of their tactics were tanks. These machines appeared four years earlier and were still somewhat of a curiosity. However the bolsheviks saw the potential they had and attempted to create vast armoured forces and invade Europe.

Like mentioned above, the concept of the tank was still in flux, and so were the tactics. Some wanted the tanks to be just an infantry support vehicles; other saw them as a true strike force, which was to attack first, break enemy's defences and leave what's left to the infantry. However everyone agreed upon one thing: tanks were too slow. The Mark V tank, one of the first models to appear, could not exceed 10 km/h. The Soviets obtained several of them after the unsuccesful British attempt to quell the revolution. They also had some Renault FT-17s, but these were only just faster and had weaker armour. They had to look for better solution.

Ironically, it would have never appear if it wasn't for the Western military leaders. In the 1930s, American inventor Walter Christie tried to sell his designs to the U.S. Army, which he called a "convertible tank". This vehicle could ride on its tracks, like a standard tank, or could have its tracks taken off and ride using only the wheels. The chassis consisted of four big road wheels per side, of which the last was powered via a chain drive. The tank used new, revolutionary suspension, later known as "Christie's suspension".

But Christie's project was rejected. Frustrated, he turned to the foreign investors, though the U.S. law banned any tank export from the USA. One of the countries interested in the project was Poland, which ordered a single tank for testing. However Christie kept delying the delivery and when the Polish officials came for the tank, he demanded them to pay the licentional fee immediately ($90.000). It was then when the Polish team met two Soviet officers and discovered that right after signing the contract with Poland, Christie also made a deal with the USSR and sent the tank there. Poland was given the money back, but they had to forget about the new tank. The Russians begun trials and the result was a family of vehicles known under an acronym of "BT" - from Russian "bystrokhodnyi tank", or "high-speed tank".

One may ask, why would the Russians need a track-wheeled tank in a country where paved roads were still a rarity, mostly placed in big cities like Moscow or Leningrad. The answer is simple, as the tank gives us a hint of the Soviet plans. The BTs were obviously not ment to move on the Soviet roads, they were to cross Poland on tracks, take them off and continue on wheels along the German and French highways...

But in the end, the track-wheeled propulsion proved very problematic. It took 30 minutes to take the tracks off, put them on the tank and turn it into wheel driving mode. Though the speed of the tank was much better on wheels (72 km/h to the 52 km/h on tracks), it could not compensate for the complexity of the mixed suspension. This feature was discarded in later models and the BT could only move on tracks.

One feature which appeared in the BT tanks was the sloped frontal armour. Thanks to that, the overall protection was higher than in the case of vertical armour. However it limited the space inside and the space between the sloped armour and the mudguards created the shot-traps, where the shells could easily get stuck and damage the tank. Moreover, a good portion of the front armour was taken by the driver's hatch which was easy to damage.

There were several different version (and multiple subversions) of the BT tank. The first batch of the vehicles was called BT-2 and had several turret variants (one machine gun + 37 mm cannon, just a cannon or three MGs). Later the BT-5 introduced a bigger turret with a 47 mm gun. The BT-7 had different hull design and a new engine. Aside from that, there were multiple specialised version: flame tanks (typically designated KhBT for "khimichisky" - chemical), artillery support self-propelled guns, command versions (with characteristic rail antenna on the turret) or amphibious tanks. Most of them stayed in prototype stage or were produced in small number, though.

The first combat test came in 1936/39 during the Spanish Civil War. The BT tanks proved superior to the German light tanks sent to support nationalists, easily knocking them out with their forty-seven milimeters. Then, in May 1939, the tanks fought with Imperial Japanese Army at the Khalkhin Gol in Mongolia, dealing with the Japanese tanks with ease, but turning out to be "a bit fireprone", as Marshal Zhukov's has put it in his conversation with Stalin. Unlike the future designs, BT tanks were still powered by gasoline engines. In the hot, Mongolian climate a single Molotov's cocktail was enough to set the tank on fire. The Finns used this drawback during the Winter War, also using improvised incendiary weapons to destroy the Soviet tanks.

The BT tanks were used during invasion of Poland in September 1939. The Independent Operation Group "Polesie" managed to destroy four and capture one (not used by Poles). There are unconfirmed accounts of clashes with, depending on source, 7TP light tanks or TKS tankettes. Because the BT tanks were often the first at the battlefield, their crews were one of the cruelest units, because the high command was still behind and could not control their actions. It wasn't unheard of that Soviets would capture people and tie them at their tanks fronts, as living shields. Like mentioned above, they were also sent to Finland during the Winter War (Talvisota). Having very few anti-tank weaponry, the Finns turned to improvised weapons like Molotov cocktails or bunched grenades.

With an outbreak of the Great Patriotic War in June 1941, the BT tanks turned out to be horribly outclassed by the German tanks. While having strong armament, their armour could be pierced by most of the German guns. Moreover their mobility was rather poor compared to T-34s or KV-1s due to their narrow tracks. Because of that, their flammable engines and lack of proper defensive training, thousands of BT tanks were abandoned during a hast retreat of Soviet army during initial stages of German invasion. When the tides turned against Germany, BT tanks were rarely used, as obsolete model. Their definitive end of service was the Soviet assault on Manchuria on August 9th 1945, the same day a nuclear bomb destroyed Nagasaki. After this, BT tanks were finally retired.

However, the BT tank played another important role in the developement of armoured forces. In 1937, Kharkiv Locomotive Plant presented a developement version of BT tank, named A-20. It had sloped armour both at the front and on the sides. Later the designers scaled it up to the point it was no more light, but medium tank. Developed in secret, it became a prototype of one of the most succesful tanks in the world - the T-34...

The kit
Which wargaming kit of mine is it? Tenth, I believe. To be honest I've never been a big fan of BT tanks, but I saw one on the internet while looking for the T-26 and I liked it so much I had to buy it.

The kit comes in a single sprue, but it's a bit more complicated than i.e. Panzer II or KV-1. It contains 7 parts, of which three form the hull, one is a turret, two - tracks with wheels and the last is what I believe to be either exhaust or muffler. The kit is excellently detailed for such a small scale. There are bolts and nuts at any place possible, including the mudguards, wheels (the front wheels are different from the others, just like in the real tank), front armour and even at the tank's belly, along with two hatches. The engine's grill is fully visible. There are even two tiny shovels at the back of the tank. Note that this feature is only present at the right-hand side of the model; I think that this assymetry adds to the tank's look (though Death the Kid would probably disagree )

I painted it with Humbrol's green (H150), though I didn't care whether it's historically accurate or not. I weathered it with drybrush, using Humbrol's Matt 63 (I use it for German Panzers). I also used some silver metallic for shovels and brown for the exhaust/muffler.

Model: Zvezda
Paints: Humbrol, no exceptions
Scale: 1/100