Aquino Tank Weekend 2022: M4A2(76)W HVSS Sherman Tank in Action

The Ontario Regiment Museum has four Sherman tanks in its collection, two of which are runners. In addition to taking part in reenactments, these tanks are used in parades and other vehicle displays every year at Aquino Tank Weekend.

An Independent Heavy

Hungary put considerable effort into the creation of its tank industry before and during WW2. The light Toldi and medium Turan tanks were further developments of foreign projects, but the heavy Tas tank was an original tank, or at least was going to be if it was finished in time.

Hungarian army command had no illusions about the state of their armoured forces by 1943. The Turan (both the 40M Turan I with a 40 mm gun and the 41M Turan II with a short 75 mm gun) were powerless against Soviet T-34 tanks, let alone their heavies. They turned to the Germans for a license to produce either the Pz.Kpfw.IV with a long 75 mm gun or the Panther. The response was the same in both cases. The Germans did not consider Hungarian industry capable of producing complex tanks. The Hungarian Ministry of Defense decided to find its own way.

King Tiger Field Penetration Trials

"Report on the results of testing the T-6-B King Tiger superheavy tank in order to determine its weak points held on September 2nd, 1944, near Staszów by a commission composed of the following: [names]

The results of the trials are summarized in the following table:

Component of the tank	Gun caliber	Type of ammunition	Range	Angle	Result
Hull front	152	HEAT*	250 m	90	First hit: 350 mm wide breach in the machine gun ball.
				46	Second hit: 70 mm deep dent 230 mm in diameter.
	85	AP	200 m	46	60 mm deep dent 170 mm in diameter.
Turret front	57	Subcaliber	200 m	75	165 mm deep dent 70 mm in diameter.
Turret side	152	HEAT*	1200 m	70	Penetration, 200 mm breach.
			250	86	Penetration of both sides, entrance breach is 190 mm in diameter, exit breach is 840 mm in diameter.
	85	AP	200	86	Penetration 170 mm in diameter.
Superstructure side	152	HEAT*	465	85	Penetration of both sides, entrance breach is 170 mm in diameter, exit breach is 750 mm in diameter.
	85	AP	400	85	Penetration 150 mm in diameter.
	76	Subcaliber	300	88	Penetration 40 mm in diameter.
		AP			Dent 75 mm deep 84 mm in diameter.
	57	Subcaliber	200	88	Penetration 70 mm in diameter.
		AP	200	88	Penetration 60 mm in diameter.
	45	Subcaliber	150	80	Penetration 30 mm in diameter.

Aquino Tank Weekend 2022 Gulf War Reenactment

The Ontario Regiment Museum has a large collection of functional Gulf War era armoured vehicles, including a T-54 tank, BMP-1 IFV, several vehicles on the CVRT chassis, an M113 APC, and an M60A3 tank. Together with plenty of pyrotechnics, these make for an impressive Gulf War display.

"Tigers" from Lvov

Yuri Ozerov's cinematic series Osvobozhdenie (Liberation) began in 1968 with the film Ognennaya Duga (Fiery Salient). Its battle scenes were shot a year prior in the Kiev Military District on the territory of the Rzhyshchiv training center. The 1827th regional army base issued a large number of captured German weapons for filming, but there were no German armoured vehicles in storage in the Kiev Military District or anywhere else. The 17th Tank Repair Factory of the Carpathian Military District was tasked with production of replica Tiger tanks in the spring of 1967. This factory was formed in Lvov in July of 1944 to repair vehicles of the 1st and 4th Ukrainian Fronts.

"Tiger" tanks built at the Lvov Tank Repair Factory, Ognennaya Duga (1968)

T-80 Production Woes

 "To the Chief of the Tank Directorate of the GBTU, Engineer-Colonel comrade Afonin

1.

The poorly organized and irresponsible actions of the factory management as well as a lack of responsibility and assistance from the NKTP in the organization of a new tank factory throughout the first half of 1943 led to a drop in the quality and quantity of T-80 tanks produced at factory #40.

3.7 cm Pak Penetration

The German 3.7 cm Pak was a iniquitous anti-tank gun in the first half of the war. After the Germans faced the T-34 and KV-1 tanks in the summer of 1941 it was nicknamed Panzeranklopfgerät or Tank Knocking Device due to its inability to penetrate their armour. However, this penetration table shows that the gun was a tad more potent than its reputation suggests.

Gasoline T-34s

It would not be an exaggeration to say that the V-2-34 diesel engine was the T-34's core feature. This engine gave the T-34 its high mobility. However, not all T-34 tanks had this engine. Quite a large amount of T-34 tanks produced in the most difficult parts of the Great Patriotic War were equipped with M-17T and M-17F gasoline engines. This article will tell the tale of what the M-17 engine was, what the T-34 tanks with them looked like, and what the reason for this replacement was.

German Night Vision

 "To Acting Chief of the 4th Department of the SPG Directorate, GBTU, Engineer-Major comrade Konev

#4323ss
September 21st, 1945

As per your instructions, I familiarized myself with the night vision sight installed on the German reconnaissance tank.

Aquino Tank Weekend: Battle of Casa Berardi

The WW2 battle reenactment is the highlight of each year's Aquino Tank Weekend at the Ontario Regiment Museum. This year we saw the Ontario Regiment and Royal 22nd Regiment duke it out against the 90th Panzergrenadier Regiment at the Battle of Casa Berardi. 

T-54 with a Pipe

The army always needs tanks that can cross water obstacles. There are two ways of solving this issue: the tank can either swim or drive underwater. The Soviet T-54 tank went with the second option.

The topic of researching and studying underwater driving equipment was a very important one at the NIIBT Proving Grounds after the war. Experience gathered during WW2 showed that it was important to find methods of crossing water obstacles as quickly as possible. The proving grounds at Kubinka became one of the main developers of various underwater driving systems.

T-54 tank with underwater driving equipment installed, three quarters view.

Za Rodinu!

With the benefit of hindsight, it's easy to tell what intelligence is valid and what is not. However, in the moment, even mostly correct information takes on a very strange form.

This is one such example. 

Start of the Kubinka Museum

 "April 19th, 1938

The RKKA has obsolete tanks of various types, experimental domestic vehicles, samples obtained abroad, and captured vehicles that cannot be restored and used as fighting vehicles.

• T-18 tanks: 862
• Ricardo [Mark V]: 15
• Vickers 12 ton: 16
• T-24: 24
• T-41: 8
• T-33: 1
• T-34: 1
• Renault: 2
• Carden-Loyd: 4
• PT-1: 1
• T-29: 1
• T-46: 1
• T-43: 1
• T-26 APC: 1
• T-26 munitions carrier: 1
• T-26 fuel carrier: 1
• SU-14: 1

The Supreme Military Council of the RKKA decrees that the tanks will be used in the following ways: