Thursday 6 June 2019

Thick Skin

"The 38th Tank Brigade with elements of the 266th Rifle Division began an offensive at 5:00 on a front from height 183 to Koshpurovka, overcoming stout enemy resistance at Grushino by 17:00 and capturing the settlement as well as the Karachintsev homestead. The tanks approached Maryevka, the offensive continues.

As a result, the brigade lost: one T-60 tank burned up from fire, one tank knocked out by a mine. 10 MK-2 tanks blew up on mines, of those two had their floor armour torn open and engines were disabled. One tank had its oil tank penetrated, two tanks had their tracks, skirts, and suspension destroyed, one tank had a drive sprocket destroyed, one tank lost a track and took 41 hits, 25 from 37 mm guns and 16 from 20 mm guns, none of them penetrating. 8 of the tanks listed will be restored by the end of May 13th, 1942."

4 comments:

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    1. Infantry Tank Mk.II, Matilda. Valentines were also called MK-3, Churchills were MK-4. Confusingly, Valentine Mk.IXs were sometimes called MK-9, so that was somewhat confusing.

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  2. Thanks, I'm used to reading about British tanks by their names. The fact that one took 25 hits from 37mm guns says a lot about how tough of hide they have. not to mention lack of good vision and anti infantry weapons on the tank.

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    1. The British had a very dismissive attitude towards tank-fired HE. Even the 3" howitzer was originally designed to fire only smoke.

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