Tuesday 11 December 2018

Tank Budgets


"Preparation of materiel

1. Tanks

Tank
Amount
Unit Cost
Total Cost
T-26 small tank
3500
40,000
140,000,000
T-26 infantry carrier
500
40,000
20,000,000
BT fast tank
2000
70,000
140,000,000
T-28 medium tank
825
100,000
82,500,000
T-35 large tank
150
125,000
18,750,000
T-75 tank
25
250,000
6,250,000
T-33 and T-41 reconnaissance tanks
3000
13,000
39,000,000
Total
10,000

446,500,000

Spare parts:
For tank
Total cost
T-18
3,200,000
T-24
350,000
T-26
30,000,000
BT
35,000,000
T-28
9,000,000
T-35
2,500,000
T-75
1,000,000
T-33 and T-41
4,000,000
T-27 tankette
7,500,000
Total spare parts
92,550,000
"


Unfortunately, the source doesn't say what year this budget came from. There are some hints though. The T-33 is a precursor of the T-37A tank. A prototype was built in the spring of 1932, but the tank did not do well in trials and was not accepted for mass production. Presumably, this budget was composed shortly before the decision to not produce the tank was made. The T-41 was also an amphibious reconnaissance tank, which underwent trials in the fall of 1932. The fact that Grotte's TG-1 tank is absent from the list altogether and the T-24 is only listed in the spare part production section agrees with this timeframe. This seems about the right time that something like a superheavy tank that cost twice as much as a T-35 would still be considered viable. 

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