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Welcome to the suggestion for the T-100! This is a Soviet heavy tank, and can be considered the twin of the SMK we have in-game, armed with a 76 mm L-10 or L-11 gun, and a 45 mm 20-K turret. Its design is remarkably similar, so perhaps it could be a part of an event, or a tech tree vehicle.
History
T-35s during the October Revolution parade in Moscow, November 7th, 1940.
In the years leading up to World War II, the Soviet Union was a notable user of heavy tanks, quite literally. The T-35 weighed 45 tons, and despite a less than ideal service history, the Red Army was dead set on the multi-turreted land battleship design for its heavy tanks. Naturally though, these would have to be improved, and in 1937, the Auto, Armour, and Tank Directorate (ABTU) set forth plans for a vehicle capable of resisting 37 mm to 45 mm guns at point blank range, and 75 mm guns at 1,200 meters. Three bureaus were set to design a tank, but ultimately only two designs would become of this program, one being the SMK from the Kirov Plant, and the T-100, nicknamed Sotka (slang for 100) from OKMO. Initially, the designs were to have five turrets, similar to the T-35, but when design models were shown to Stalin during a meeting on May 4th, 1938, he reportedly broke off one of the model turrets and said ‘Why turn a tank into a department store?!’
After further deliberation, work on the first prototype of the T-100 began in the summer of 1938. The new T-100 was to use a 76.2 mm L-10 gun, paired with a 45 mm 20-K anti-tank gun, and initially another turret was planned, but later cancelled. By August 1st, 1939, the T-100 prototype had been built, and was ready for testing. According to ABTU, this was set to continue until January 3rd, 1940, but the beginning of the Winter War in November put a halt to state testing, and the T-100 would be sent to see combat in the Karelian Isthmus against Finland.
A T-100 from the 91st Tank Battalion of the 20th Heavy Tank Brigade in the Karelian Isthmus, Finland, 1940. Fighting in the Karelian Isthmus was the most intense, and also the most heavily defended.
Attached to a specialized unit, the 91st Tank Battalion of the 20th Heavy Tank Brigade, the T-100 arrived alongside the SMK and a prototype of the KV-1 on December 10th, 1939. They were assigned to the Karelian Isthmus, one of the most heavily contested areas of the Winter War, and would assist in destroying the Mannerheim Line. At least, that’s what the plan was. Sent in alongside infantry units, the first attack against Finnish defenses ended up in the T-100 and SMK retreating. The next day, another attack was staged, and the SMK was hit several times by Finnish anti-tank guns, with none disabling it. However, one shell eventually made its mark, with the shell disabling the main turret ring, meaning only the 45 mm turret was operational. While retreating, the SMK hit a mine that destroyed its left track and part of its suspension. With the SMK effectively out of the battle, the T-100 was the only one of the two remaining.
The T-100 and its crew, alongside a T-28, covered the SMK while the crew attempted to repair or pull the tank out, but the ground was much too icy. As such, the SMK was abandoned and its crew piled into the T-100. After what must have been a very close and intimate ride, plans were made by General Pavlov to recover it, but this was unsuccessful, and it wouldn’t be until February 1940 for the tank to be recovered. By this time, the T-100 was still in action, where it joined the KV prototype in advancing 155 kilometers during the Battle of Summa, surviving 14 non-penetrating anti-tank shells. After the war, the T-100 returned to the plant, and had its engine repaired. While the T-100 hadn’t been knocked out during the war, the real winner from the 20th Heavy Tank Brigade was the KV prototype, which demonstrated that due to its lower weight and similar ability to stop anti-tank shells. Due to this, the T-100, and the land battleship design itself, would be ditched in favor of more conventional designs.
The SU-100Y, armed with a 130 mm B-13 naval gun.
This wasn’t the end just yet for the T-100, though. Back in December 1939, it was requested by the Red Army’s Northwest Command that OKMO develop a vehicle based on the T-100. Not only would it be used as a self-propelled gun, but it would lay bridges, transport explosives, as well as recover tanks from the battlefield. The team at OKMO ultimately settled on mounting 130 mm B-13, a naval gun, on the T-100 chassis. In a case of bad timing, was fully completed on March 14th, 1940, a day after the Winter War ended. After this, the vehicle would see combat during the Battle of Moscow, but fall out of use and is preserved today at the Kubinka Tank Museum, the only remaining part of the original T-100.
A KV-1 driving along Manezhnaya Square in Moscow, 1942. The KV-1 took a number of design influences from the T-100 and SMK.
Specifications
Blueprint of the T-100, components in order:
1: Suspension tensioning mechanism
2: Driver’s port
3: 45 mm 20-K
4: 45 mm turret commander / gunner’s seat
5: 76 mm L-11
6: 76 mm turret commander’s seat
7: 76 mm turret gunner’s seat
8: Commander’s machine gun
9: Side firing port
10: Drum ammunition rack
11: Rear firing port
12: Turret 76 mm ammunition stowage
13: 76 mm loader’s seat
14: Engine
15: Cooling system fan
16: Exhaust pipe
17: Transmission access hatch
18: Drive wheel
19: Side clutch
20: Engine sub-frame
21: Support roller
22: Fuel tank
23: Floor 76 mm ammunition storage
24: Emergency escape hatch
25: Fuel tank filler tube
26: 45 mm ammunition rack
27: Machine gun ammunition
28: Driver’s seat
29: Guide wheel
Crew: 8
Mass: 58 tons
Length: 8.4 m
Width: 3.4 m
Height: 3.4 m
Ground clearance: 525 mm
Main armament: 76 mm L-10 gun (20 rounds) & 45 mm 20-K (393 rounds)
Secondary armament: 3× 7.62mm DT machine guns
Engine: 850 hp Mikulin GAM-34BT V-12 petrol
Maximum speed on road: 35.7 km/h
Maximum range: 200 km on road
Ground pressure: 0.68 kg/cm²
Sources
- Zaloga, Steven J., and James Grandsen. Soviet Heavy Tanks. Osprey, 1991.
- Танк прорыва Т-100. М.Павлов (Танкомастер №1 за 1998 г.)
- Тяжелый танк Т-100
- Т-100 – тяжелый танк прорыва
