Among historians of domestic tank building, there is an opinion that work on Soviet light tanks ended with the T-80. In fact, this is far from the case, although the ending of the story was still sad, largely due to the wishes of the military.
The military understood that the T-80 is only a temporary measure and in fact already needs to be replaced even when it was put into production. The ghost of the T-50 killed in January 1942 hovered in the air, as can be clearly seen from the technical specifications for a light tank, dated July 22, 1943:
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 1394, p. 43
These requirements were only a continuation of the general trend towards the creation of a new tank, which was no longer an evolution of the T-70/T-80. Suffice it to say that the new engine (a pair of 300 hp diesel engines) had been planned since the winter of 1943.
The above requirements, however, did not last long. After the Kursk Bulge, the military’s appetites increased sharply, and this is very clearly visible from the technical specifications for a light tank, dated November 27, 1943:
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 1485, p. 217
It may seem that the requirements have disappeared into the void, but this is not so. GAZ named after Molotov no longer took part in this race, because the capabilities of the plant, which had already suffered greatly during the bombing, did not allow the construction of such tanks. Plants No. 38 and No. 40 were no longer needed for the same reason, as well as due to the transfer to the production of SU-76. But there was one enterprise that took on the design of a new tank.
Plant No. 174, evacuated to Omsk, was the main developer and manufacturer of light tanks before the war, and the T-50 should not be discounted. Moreover, the main part of the factory design bureau was evacuated to Omsk, including the pilot plant No. 185 that was poured back into it. Back in 1942, a number of research projects were carried out in Omsk related to the T-34, which became the main product of plant No. 174. In a word, there was a basis for the development of a new generation light tank in Omsk.
In February 1944, a report on experimental work was sent to GABTU, to which was attached a preliminary design of the body of the successor to the T-50.
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2243, p. 139
This development fully fit into the requirements of the military, dating back to the end of 1943. Suffice it to say that the diameter of the turret ring was 1660 mm, which is larger than that of the T-34/85 turret. The project also included a characteristic feature of plant No. 185 - dual bogies on torsion bars, like on the T-100.
The project, however, was subject to justified criticism, which the plant promised to review and remake the hull. In addition, even this project was not the final one. In March, GABTU decided to fool the hamster once again, as a result of which this was born:
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2243, p. 5
Yes, yes, these are not printing defects. The front of the hull is 90 mm at 62 degrees (a general greeting to the modernization of the IS), the sides are also 90 mm, as are the sides of the turret. The turret forehead is from 90 to 200 (!) mm. And to top it off, the 85-mm S-53 cannon as a weapon. The engine is a V-8 with 400 horsepower. In general, the result is a light, heavily armored tank that looks at the Leopard like it’s crap.
The tower, alas, was never sawed down, but we can roughly guess what it would have been like. In 1942, Plant No. 174 designed a welded turret with a tenon connection. Just in case, a tenon connection was also required from the design of the new light tank. So, as it increased in size, there was room for both a turret a la T-50 and S-53.
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 754, p. 175
Traces of the Omsk tank, which quite claims to be called Winged Doom, are lost in the spring of 1944. The military probably realized what they had done. Instead of a light tank, we got a pocket T-44. In addition, in the spring of 1944, Plant No. 174 began preparations for the production of T-34/85, which were much more needed.
LTTB or light tank with heavy armor was added to World of tanks in update 0.9.3. The WoT developers placed this tank at the seventh level.
How to research the LTTB tank
In order to research the LTTB tank, you will need to gain 59150 experience on the MT-25 tank. Don’t forget to uncheck the box for accelerated crew upgrades if you already had the MT-25 in your hangar with elite status. The cost of the LTTB tank is 1,380,000 silver.
How to play the LTTB tank
LTTB is in many ways similar to its predecessors - the T-50 and MT-25, and some players call the LTTB the successor to the T-50-2. You can argue about the similarities with the T-50-2, but playing on LTTB is different from playing on the old 50-2.
On LTTB, it is best to serve as an active light; thanks to its excellent dynamics, a light tank with heavy armor can quickly change its location, quickly climb hills, maneuver and hide behind hills to escape enemy fire.
In one-on-one combat, LTTB most often loses to low-level light tanks, so it is better to avoid such confrontations.
What weapon to install on the LTTB tank
The best weapon on the LTTB tank is the top-end D-10-85, 85 mm caliber. It’s worth adding a few sub-caliber shells to your ammunition load to combat armored opponents in critical situations, although you shouldn’t engage in open confrontation with them while your team has more powerful tanks. The following figure shows the characteristics of the D-10-85 gun.
Characteristics of the LTTB tank
The characteristics of the Heavy Armored Light Tank in the World of tanks game are shown in the figure below.
How to upgrade LTTB in World of tanks
The main task of the LTTB tank is active light. Therefore, dynamic characteristics are important for this combat vehicle, which means the first thing to do is research the new chassis, then the engine, then the guns and radio station.
LTTB- a light tank with heavy armor, apparently it will be at level 7, there is no exact information yet.
LTTB- a little-known project of a light tank with heavy armor for the USSR army. The main task of the design vehicle was reconnaissance in force; its interesting design, coupled with excellent weapons, would have made it possible to meet the requirements if the tank had gone into production.
Light tank for the army
If you are interested in the history of Soviet tank building, then you must have heard about such light vehicles as the T-50 and T-80.
T-80 was a continuation of the famous mass-produced T-70 tank. The military did not make big plans for it, since the design of the vehicle did not provide for significant changes. A total of 75 T-80 tanks were produced at plant No. 40 in Mytishchi.
The T-50 is a light tank with a more thoughtful layout, which had great potential for the future. This plan was never put into practice. Although the vehicle was put into service back in April 1941, Plant No. 174, which was supposed to produce this vehicle, did not create a single T-50 before the start of the Great Patriotic War. In the next six months, at the cost of incredible efforts, we managed to assemble 50 tanks. It was clear to everyone that the plant was not able to pull a car of such a heavy design; for it, even the production of the amphibious T-40 required incredible efforts.
After the plant was evacuated in August, it was decided to develop two sites. One for the production of the T-50, the other for the creation of V-4 engines for it. But, in January 1942, the assembly of the tank was stopped and plant No. 174 was fully engaged in the production of the T-34. We managed to collect only 15 T-50s.
First TTT
Although production of the T-50 tank had ceased, design bureaus were still creating projects based on it;
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 1394, p. 43
In 1943, the tactical and technical requirements were still quite humane. The military ordered a vehicle with four crew members, a 57 or 76 mm gun and two 110 hp engines. every. The armor was supposed to consist of 45 mm rolled homogeneous sheets of high hardness and be located at an angle of 60 degrees. Details above. According to the TTT, it is already clear that the tank should have been more like the T-50 than the T-70/80.
Second TTT
It would seem that it would take a lot of time to develop a machine with such TTT, but the military had less and less. Immediately after the battle on the Kursk Bulge, even more complex tactical and technical requirements were presented, dated November 27, 1943:
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 1485, p. 217
First sketch and third TTT
The frontal armor of the new project tank was supposed to be 75 mm, a 76 mm gun with anti-aircraft ballistics, and one diesel engine with a power of 300 hp. and a maximum speed of 50 km/h. Of course, the weight of the tank also increased; now it was supposed to be 20 tons.
It became clear that not every plant could cope with such a task. The only enterprise capable of developing and creating a new light tank was plant No. 174, which was mentioned above. Already in February 1944, a preliminary design of the hull of a new tank was ready, which in its outline was very similar to the T-50.
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2243, p. 139
The project was carefully studied and had a number of interesting design solutions. For example, the shoulder strap of its turret was 1660 mm, even the T-34-85 is smaller (1600 mm), and the suspension design consisted of torsion bars on which balancers with a two-wheel bogie hang. Of course, there was some constructive criticism, which, however, the designers took note of and promised to finalize the project.
The military suffered further; in March, the GABTU decided to surprise the designers again by providing them with new tactical and technical requirements for a light tank:
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2243, p. 5
The new TTTs provided for the creation of not just a reconnaissance tank, but a combat reconnaissance tank. Its frontal and side hull armor is as much as 90 mm!!! (we carefully study the corrections on the scan) at 62° tilt (very similar to the IS design), and the armor of the turret forehead varied from 90 to 200 mm. Engine 400 hp, armed with the main gun S-53 85 mm caliber. Such a tough nut to crack would be too much for many enemy tanks to handle, and in response it could destroy almost any vehicle.
A sketch of the tower was never created, but one can guess what it would have been like. And in 1942, they designed a welded turret with a tenon connection (factory No. 174), based on it, you can imagine what a turret for LTTB would look like, simply by increasing it in size and adding a turret:
TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 754, p. 175
End of the project
As you probably already understood, the project did not go beyond paper, and all traces of it were lost in 1944. Most likely, the military’s excessive demands would have led to the creation of a very difficult-to-produce device. It was for the same reasons that the German project of the VK 16.20 Leopard light tank was canceled. It is much easier to create vehicles with a unified design, which is why the Germans decided to make reconnaissance vehicles based on the Panther.
At that time, Soviet designers were already preparing for the release of the T-34-85, the importance of which is difficult to overestimate. It was not advisable to slow down the production of eighty-fives, and all the capacities of plant No. 174 were devoted to preparing for their production.
