T-50 tank
Encyclopedia : T : T5 : T50 : T-50 tank
| T-50 light tank, with Finnish markings, at the Finnish Tank Museum in Parola | |
| T-50 light infantry tank | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 |
| Length | 5.20 m |
| Width | 2.47 m |
| Height | 2.16 m |
| Weight | 14 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 12–37 mm |
| Main armament | 45 mm Model 1938 |
| Secondary armament | 1×DT 7.62 mm machine gun |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | diesel model V-4 300 hp (220 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Road speed | 60 km/h |
| Power/weight | 21 hp/tonne |
| Range | 220 km |
The T-50 light infantry tank was built by the Soviet Union at the beginning of World War Two. This design had some advanced features, but was complicated and expensive, and only a short production run of 69 tanks was completed.
Description
The T-50 was a light tank developed on the eve of World War Two for the Red Army. The experience of the Spanish Civil War led to an effort to upgrade or replace the large Soviet tank fleet. Prior to 1939, most tanks in Red Army service were improved versions of foreign designs. For example, the most numerous tank, the T-26, was a copy of the British Vickers 6-Ton tank with a Soviet-designed turret and 45 mm gun. However, just prior and during the war the USSR developed new light, medium and heavy tanks of wholly indigenous design.The T-50 light tank was intended to replace the T-26 infantry tank; in prewar planning the T-50 was intended to become the most numerous Soviet tank. It was an advanced design for its time, with torsion-bar suspension, diesel engine (in common with all the new Soviet tanks) and well-sloped all-welded armor. An excellent feature was the three-man turret with commander's cupola. Commander's cupolas would not appear on other Soviet tanks until 1942. Most Soviet tanks of the 1939-43 era had one or two-man turrets, which are far less efficient in combat than three-man turret crews. All T-50s had radios.
The T-50 had several weaknesses. Like many Soviet tanks it was very cramped inside. The main problems, however, were related to the new V-4 engine developed specifically for this tank. The engine was extremely unreliable and the design bugs could not be worked out. This added expense; the low reliability and high cost, when compared to the similar T-70 and the larger but more effective T-34 spelled the demise of the T-50. Only 69 were built before production ended in January 1942.
The V-4 engine was unique to the T-50, unlike other Soviet light AFVs which used standard truck engines. For example, the T-60 and T-70 light tanks and the SU-76 self-propelled gun used standard GAZ truck engines. Specialized tank engines, more expensive to produce, were reserved for higher-performance AFVs. The very mobile BT-8 fast tank, the T-34 medium tank, KV-1 and IS-2 heavy tanks, and their derivatives all used variants of the same standard 12-cylinder model V-2 diesel engine.
Variants
There were two variants; a basic model and an up-armored model. Just prior to the German invasion of the USSR, many Soviet tanks had their armor reinforced with welded or bolted add-on plates. Some Kliment Voroshilov heavy tanks, T-28 medium tanks and T-26 light tanks received add-on armor fittings. A few T-50s also received these add-ons. This up-armored variant is recognizable by the bolt heads that hold the armor added to the turret sides and hull front. The normal T-50 is a very 'clean' looking vehicle by comparison. Ironically, the armor add-ons were in response to erroneous reports of powerful German antitank and tank guns. The uparmored T-50 had 57 mm of armor at its thickest points.Combat history
The few T-50s available were deployed on the Leningrad front. Few in-service photos survive and not much is known of their combat record. One uparmored T-50 was captured by Finnish forces and was used by them in 1944. On paper, the T-50 should have been easily able to hold its own against any early-war German tank, however, paper specifications cannot always predict real-world performance.
Most light tank production in 1941–43 consisted of the less advanced but simpler T-60 and T-70 light tanks. By 1943, the infantry tank role was considered obsolete, and cheaper SU-76 self-propelled guns took over the light infantry support role. Light tanks in tank regiments were being replaced by T-34 medium tanks. The liaison and reconnaissance roles of light tanks were assumed by cheaper armoured cars and Lend-Lease supplies of Canadian and British Valentine tanks and U.S. M3 Stuart light tanks.
Surviving T-50s
Today, at least two T-50s survive. One is at the Finnish tank museum at Parola. This is a later model with bolted-on appliqué armour. A standard T-50 is on display at the Kubinka armor collection outside Moscow.References
| Soviet Armored fighting vehicles of World War II | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Light tanks | Fast tanks | Amphibious tanks | |
| T-26 | T-50 | T-60 | T-70 | T-80 | BT-5 | BT-7 | BT-8 | T-37 | T-38 | T-40 | |
| Tankettes | Medium tanks | Heavy tanks | |
| T-27 | T-28 | T-34 | T-44 | T-35 | KV-1 | KV-2 | IS-2 | IS-3 | |
| Self-propelled guns | Anti-aircraft | ||
| ZiS-30 | SU-5 | SU-76 | SU-85 | SU-100 | SU-122 | SU-152 | ISU-122 | ISU-152 | T-60Z | T-70Z | T-90 | ||
| Armored tractors | Improvised AFVs | Experimental | |
| T-26T | Komsomolets | KhTZ-16 | IZ | NI | SU-14 | A-40 flying tank | SU-100Y | PPG | |
| Armored cars | |||
| D-8 | D-12 | D-13 | FAI | BA-10 | BA-11 | BA-20 | BA-21 | BA-3 | BA-6 | BA-27 | BA-64 | BA-I | LB-62 | LB-23 | |||
| Amphibious AC | Half-tracked AC | Aerosans
| |
| PB-4 | PB-7 | BAD-2 | BA-30 | ANT-IV | NKL-16 | NKL-26 | RF-8 | ASD-400 | |
| Soviet armored fighting vehicle production during World War II | |||
| List of armoured fighting vehicles of World War II | |||
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