|
Posted on 01/17/2005 7:40:40 PM PST by SAMWolf
|
|
 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
|
| Our Mission: The FReeper Foxhole is dedicated to Veterans of our Nation's military forces and to others who are affected in their relationships with Veterans. In the FReeper Foxhole, Veterans or their family members should feel free to address their specific circumstances or whatever issues concern them in an atmosphere of peace, understanding, brotherhood and support. The FReeper Foxhole hopes to share with it's readers an open forum where we can learn about and discuss military history, military news and other topics of concern or interest to our readers be they Veteran's, Current Duty or anyone interested in what we have to offer. If the Foxhole makes someone appreciate, even a little, what others have sacrificed for us, then it has accomplished one of it's missions. We hope the Foxhole in some small way helps us to remember and honor those who came before us.
|
 In December 1930, the USSR had undertaken work to develop a new breakthrough heavy tank, the T-30. This work began after the signing of an agreement between UMM RKKA and the General Design Bureau of the Artillery Department. The first proposals were for a 50-ton vehicle armed with a 76-mm gun and five machine-guns. However, a lack of experience with such vehicles hampered the finishing of a plausible design - even on paper! At the beginning of 1932, the first sketches and a wooden prototype were created, but the T-30 project was canceled due to design problems (almost insuperable problems with running gear) which appeared during its development.  Prototypes of the T-35 (left) and the T-28 (right). Another attempt was undertaken by the Auto-Tank-Diesel Section of the Economic department of the OGPU. This was a special section that employed tank designers convicted during the Purges. As in the previous case, this project had too many serious problems and was also abandoned.  The T-35-1 on parade in Moscow. May 1, 1933. Only foreign specialists could get the project off the ground. In March 1930, a small group of German engineers led by Edward Grotte arrived in the USSR. This group was assigned to the Special Design Bureau AVO-5 in Leningrad in the "Bolshevik" Factory. AVO-5 had already worked on the TG-1 project. As far as I understand, the TG-1 was intended only to teach Soviet engineers how to develop a heavy vehicle, it was not intended as full-functional production vehicle. In August 1931, when the TG-1 was completed and tested all the German engineers were repatriated from the USSR. The AVO-5 was then reorganized. The New design bureau was issued a directive by UMM RKKA: "By 1 August 1932, a new 35-ton heavy tank based on the TG-1 must be developed and built." The new project received the "T-35" designation. On February 28, 1932, G.G. Bokis (Deputy Chief of the UMM RKKA) was reporting to M.N. Tukhachevsky: "The work on the T-35 is going briskly, and should be completed on time." On August 20, 1932, assembly of the very first prototype under the T-35-1 designation had been completed, and on September 1, it was shown to a special commission of the UMM RKKA. The tank made an impression on all the members of the commission. Outwardly, the T-35 looked like the English A1E1 "Independent" five-turret tank. Many people believe that the T-35 was copied from the "Independent", however, the Russian Archives have no documents, which can confirm such conjecture. Without such documents, we have no right to suspect Russian developers; the question is still open.  The T-35A on trials. The main turret was supposed to be armed with a powerful 76.2 mm PS-3 tank gun and one DT machine-gun, but because of a lack of PS-3 guns, a dummy gun was mounted instead. Later, the shortage of PS-3s remained, and the 76.2 mm KT Tank Gun used instead. The transmission of the T-35-1 had been developed with experience gleaned from the TG-1. It consisted of the M6 petrol engine, the main friction clutch, the gearbox and side clutches. Driving the tank was quite easy due to a well-designed pneumatic system.  The running gear of the T-35A tank Tests conducted in the autumn of 1932 revealed some defects in the transmission. Moreover, it was too complex and expensive for mass production, and all work on the T-35-1 had been canceled and the vehicle sent to Leningrad as a study aid for tank corps trainees. In February 1933, new work on the T-35-2 began. As per Stalin's order, standardization of tank turrets for the T-28 and T-35 was implemented. On the T-35-2 the new M-17 tank engine, a new gearbox, and an improved transmission were installed. All other parts were the same as on the T-35-1. This tank was also intended to be arm with the 76.2 mm PS-3 gun. The vehicle was completed in April 1933, and on May 1, it was shown on military parade in Leningrad while the T-35-1 was shown on parade in Moscow.  The T-35-2 on parade in Moscow. November 7, 1933. Both the T-35-1 and the T-35-2 were prototypes. Almost simultaneously, the first production model, the T-35A, was developing using experience from these prototypes. In May 1933, the Soviet Government ordered mass production at the KhPZ Factory. All documents and the T-35-2 prototype were sent here. The T-35A had many changes, which distinguished it from its predecessors. The new vehicle had a longer chassis, smaller turrets, an improved hull, and some other alterations. In essence, it was a new vehicle, and so it had some teething troubles during its manufacture. I wish to notice, each T-35 was unique, since minor improvements were made in every tank, and therefore they were not true production vehicles because they didn't pronouncedly follow the base blueprints. Different parts of the T-35 manufactured at different factories:
 The first production T-35A on parade in Moscow. May 1, 1934. According to the production plan, all these factories should have started manufacture in June 1933, but due to unforeseen problems, they began in August 1933. Final assembly began on October 18, 1933, and was finished on November 1. The final assembly was usually aided by using hydraulic lifting jacks, but in this case, the hull was placed on an elevated assembly jig in order to install the final components such as the running gear, turret, and armament. The first production T-35A was put on parade in Moscow on May 1, 1934. Per a Governmental order of October 25, 1933, the KhPZ had to complete five T-35A tanks and one T-35B (with an M-34 engine) before January 1, 1934, but up to this date only one vehicle had been fully completed. The other three T-35A's were still unarmed, and the manufacture of the T-35B had not even started. The T-35B project was later abandoned at all.  Sectors of fire of the T-35A The production of the T-35A was extremely expensive: a single tank cost 525,000 rubles - as much as nine BT-5 light tanks. This was a definitive reason why its manufacture was cancelled. According to the plan of 1934, the KhPZ had to produce ten vehicles (T-35A). During production, the factory made some changes to cut production costs. However, factory engineers met with many problems. For instance, the tracks of the tank were too fragile, and the M-17 engine often overheated. The first vehicle had to be completed on August 20, 1934, but was not. However, the KhPZ built ten by the very end of 1934.
|
Morning Feather. First one in today. :-)
Morning Victoria.
Time flies when yo have jet lag. ;-)
Morning ProudVet77.
More firepower is always a good thing. :-)
Morning Echo Talon.
Mice picture. It's now my background. :-) Thanks
Morning Radu.
Morning alfa6.
Then you return to the land of the daytime posters?
Morning Iris7.
The T-35 looked impressive, just wasn't very practical.
Morning Aeronaut.
We could learn a lot from the Israelis about Urban fighting vehicles.
Morning E.G.C.
Looks like we missed an ice storm in Portland over the weekend. :-)
Morning GailA.
It was 27 in Atlanta yesterday morning. HAd to remind myself we were in the South. ;-)
Aye Laddie, I'll be back to days after Thursday night, I can't wait.
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
The dentist appointment went off without a hitch. Except for a few areas which need improvement, I'm doing fine overall. My next appointment is in May.
Nice weather through the week. Going up into the 60's tommorow.
How's it going, Snippy?
Read: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11
[God] delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us. —2 Corinthians 1:10
Bible In One Year: Exodus 5-7
They were called the "lost boys" of Sudan. Thousands of them fled the civil war in that country and sought refuge from the chaos and killing. Many had been taught the gospel in churches founded by missionaries, but they knew little of the world beyond their villages.
A National Geographic article profiled one of these "lost boys" who is now resettled in the United States. He told a church congregation that he is grateful for the comforts of the US, but also for the faith he learned through hardship. "Americans believe in God," he told them, "but they don't know what God can do."
In the crucible of testing, we move from theory to reality as we experience God's power. When there seems to be no hope, we may share Paul's feeling of being "burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we [despair] even of life" (2 Corinthians 1:8). But we can also learn, as Paul did, that in the darkest times "we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead" (v.9).
If God has allowed you to be in a desperate situation today, why not reconsider all that the Almighty has done and can still do. By trusting God in hardship we learn what He can do in our lives. —David McCasland
Read: Matthew 4:18-20
Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. —1 Peter 3:15
Bible In One Year: Exodus 8-10
Fishermen sometimes bestow this blessing on one another: "May you keep a tight line," by which we mean, "May you always have a trout on your line."
As I've gotten older, however, I must confess that a tight line means less to me now than it once did. I get as much enjoyment from fishing as I do from catching.
When I'm fishing, I have more time to walk streamside and enjoy the solitude and silence, and to look for places where fish might be lurking. When I try too hard to catch, I lose too many fish and the enjoyment of the day.
Jesus calls us to be fishers of men, not catchers (Matthew 4:19). My job is to go where the fish are, walk among them, study their habitat, and learn their ways. And then to toss out a line and see if one rises to the surface. There's more enjoyment in that easy effort, and I have better results.
So I want to fish for people, looking for opportunities to speak a word about Jesus, casting here and there, and leaving the results with God. It's more calming for me and for the fish—the folks who might get spooked by my clumsiness.
Thus I now bless my fellow fishers with: "May you keep your line in the water." Or, as another fisherman once put it, "Always be ready" (1 Peter 3:15). —David Roper
How long on days before you go back to nights?
Morning Mayor.
You liked Monday so much you wanted to do it over? ;-)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
