In the 1930s Russia had very large armoured forces and almost all of the tanks were copies or derivatives of western designs. All the light tank forces, that comprised the great bulk of Russian armour, were derived from British carrier chassis (as were British light tanks up to the Mk VI) and in the case of the T26 was a copy of the Vickers 6 ton tank. The medium tanks of the BT series were based on the American Christie design. The BT series eventually evolved into the T34 but the Christie suspension was not abandoned until the disappointing T44 introduced a torsion bar system. The T28 medium tank produced in 1932 was very similar to the British A6 'Sixteen tonner' experimental tanks that were built in the late 1920's. The huge T35 originating in a 1929 design had many similarities with the famous Vickers 'Independant' of the mid 1920s. This impressive vehicle is in the Bovingdon museum. The most obvious similarities are the layout of the five turrets and the suspension system. The Russians purchased examples of the Carden-Lloyd carriers, the 6 tonner and the Christie around 1930. Most Russian armour of the early war period is covered in the above! The only development thread that seems to be original is the KV line. I don't know where the torsion bar suspension used came from but it could be from the cooperation with the Germans at Kazan. T26 Varieties T26A as Vickers 6 ton model A with 2 turrets each with mg T26A4 2 turrets one with mg one with 27mm (command tank) T26A5 2 turrets one with mg one with 37mm (command tank) T26B as Vickers 6 ton model B one turret 37mm T26B1 as T26B but with 45mm AT26 76.2mm L16.5 with coax. mg (very small numbers) T26B2 improved B1 - better turret. T26S lowered suspension better sloped armour and turret The Finnish 'T26E' were Vickers 6 tonners purchased from Britain rearmed with Russian 45mm guns. These had originally been fitted with Bofors 37mm guns by the Finns. The Vickers 6 ton tank was a very sucessful design it was sold to: Poland, China, Finland, Russia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Siam, Greece, Portugal, and Britain in the dark days of 1939/40. The suspension was also used for the Matilda I. It fought on BOTH sides in: The Spanish Civil War, The Winter War, The Gran Chaco War (good quiz question - answer 2 each side). Apart from the T26 the influence of the 6 tonner is seen in: 7TP - Poland, LT vz 35 - Czech also served as R2 - Roumania and Pz35t Germany, Turan - Hungary, and M11/39 - Italy. All this proves that I have a small obsession with the Vickers tonner, I consider it as influential as the Christie, the British only used it as a last resort in 1939/40. Why? With the 2pdr it could have stopped the German armour in 1940 given a chance. I can see a game here! Back to Frontline Vol. 2 Iss. 3 Table of Contents Back to Frontline List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2002 by Rolfe Hedges This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com