"Bronetraktor" ХТЗ-16, 40.000 years of evolution

ImportantSimone5 · August 22, 2024, 6:45pm

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“Bronetraktor” ХТЗ-16.

History.

July 20, 1941. Operation Barbarossa has been underway for a month, and the Soviet armed forces have already suffered very heavy losses. Half of the Soviet tanks had been destroyed, and the situation did not seem to be improving. Given the painful situation of the Soviet armored troops, Resolution 219 was adopted, which ordered the transformation of agricultural tractors into improvised combat vehicles with the equipment of armored plates and anti-tank guns on them. Nearby tractor factories were ordered to produce these aforementioned vehicles, despite supply problems. Given the urgent needs, four engineers from Moscow were sent to the Kharkov Tractor Plant. Multiple possible armament configurations were tested, but ultimately it was decided to mount a Model 1932 (20-K) 45 mm tank gun with a DT machine gun coaxial to the weapon. We then tried to decide which hull to use, and it was decided to use the STZ-3 and STZ-5 artillery tractors. The HTZ factory in Kharkiv used the STZ-3 tractor for the new vehicle, called “ХТЗ-16” (translated to HTZ-16). Changes to the layout of the vehicle were necessary as it was not yet suitable for combat: first the engine power was increased, the chassis was lengthened, a fuel tank was moved and armor with a thickness of between 30 and 16 mm steel (not enough to protect against anti-tank guns but on par with other Soviet light tanks). During the tests the vehicle was appreciated for its mediocre mobility but despised for its little armor and poor precision, but by 16 September 1941 about a hundred of these armored tractors were produced, after which production had to temporarily stop due to the displacement of the HTZ in Stalingrad. Various of these vehicles were used for training Soviet tankers, while an unknown number were used to fight the Axis forces during their advance into the Russian hinterland. The vehicles left incomplete in the factories were captured by the Germans, who used them as simple tractors.

Armaments and propulsion.

The armored tractor was armed with a Model 1932 (20-K) 45 mm tank gun placed in a fixed superstructure with a limited arc of fire and a supply of at least 36 projectiles placed in 3 wooden cases of 12 rounds each. There was also a 7.62 mm Pulemët Degtjarëva Pechotnyj DT machine gun coaxial with the cannon which could however be removed and used in one of the side slits.
As an engine, the tractor was powered by a 1-MA 4-cylinder kerosene engine with 58 hp, which could push the vehicle up to a maximum speed of 20 km/h on the road.

Specifications.

Spoiler

Crew: 2
Length: 3,83 m
Width: 1,87 m
Height: 2,3 m
Weight: 7 tonnellate
Engine:
Maximum speed: 20 km/h
Armament: 1x 45 mm tank gun model 1932 (20-K) e 1x Pulemët Degtjarëva Pechotnyj DT
Armour: 30-10 mm

Pictures and drawnings.

Spoiler