- Yes
- No
caid’s suggestion #153
I would like to suggest a new Chinese reserve premium, the T-26 mod 1937
the T-26 is in general a decent Reserve tank. it has average mobility, and low protection but is a good gun. will it feel sometimes pretty basic, which it is, the tank offers a good balance and easy use for the new players.
only ingame we only have the T-26 Mod 1939 which is the same as found in Russia. China never used this model. I do not think a single T-29 Mod 1939 ever went to China. still, china used a decent number of T-26. it was just not the Model 1939. it was the model 1935 and Model 1937.
now older does not mean worse. the Model 1937 is not significantly inferior to the Model 1939 used for the T-26 No.531. It is even a slightly bit better but not in a way it will be noticeable.
the T-26 mod 1937 was the 2nd generation of “modern” tanks that China acquired in 1937, after the defeat of the battle of Shanghai which saw most of the 1st generation of “modern” tanks destroyed during this sole battle against the Japanese. China had a total of 20 Vickers 6-tons of 2 different versions (the only difference being the radio on the rear of the turret) and only a few survived the battle. As the central government ended up with nearly no armoured vehicles for its army, it was clearly at a disadvantage against the Japanese who fielded thousands of tanks of all sorts. virtually, China had nothing. this is when they decided to import the T-26 from Russia. the T-26 had the advantage to be based on the Vickers 6-ton and while most of their parts were completely different and incompatible, It still gave the advantage to reduce the training of the crew and the mechanics who were already familiar with the Vickers 6-ton. the T-26 were also in most aspects superior to the Vickers 6-ton. notably on the firepower. China ordered and obtained 82x T-26, mainly the model 1935 but also a dozen model 1937. those T-26 were built in Russia in 1936 & 1937 which made them brand new. they were shipped from the port of Sevastopol along with Ba 3/6, 76.2mm and 45mm gun towed gun, spare parts and 1500 rounds for the 45mm for each tank. they arrived in the French Indochina the same year and the shipment waited there serial months until it was safely to China. the T-26 was integrated into the 200th mechanized division of the Kuomintang army. they served along with the few surviving Vickers 6-tons. the tank fought the Japanese in various clashes during WW2 from 1938 to 1945. it was China’s strongest tank until the massive support from the USA after Pearl Harbour. after WW2, the T-26 was used in the last part of the Chinese Civil War against the Chinese Red Army where many were captured by the communists. in 1949, the Nationalist army still had a handful of T-26 in their inventory despite the heavy losses during WW2 which reached nearly 90% and the few captured by the communist Chinese. the last few were shipped from Shanghai to Taiwan when the National government were forced to exile as the Civil War didn’t turn in their favour. by them, the Nationalists were mostly using the M3 and M5 light tanks for main tanks as the Sherman were not available in number. there is little account of what happened to the T-26 after 1949. surely they were used for a short time as reserve since the tanks were completely obsolete and new tanks were arriving to services and had in every aspect better performance. Taiwan received more M5 light tanks as well as M24 Chaffee & M18 Hellcat in 1952. The mainland China received a large number of T-34-85 in 1950. this makes the T-26 no more than a historical tank. some T-26 in China survive up to this day and can be found the the Chinese Museum.
This suggestion will focus on the model 1937.
this model does not offer a groundbreaking change over the Model 1938/39 we have in the game. it can be simplified as a T-26 with the turret of a BT-5, a radio frame around the turret, and a spotlight over the gun. other than that it will be about the same. the model 1937 feature a new commander’s hatch and a roof P-40 machine-gun mount. the rear machine-gun is usually removed which is making the turret identical to the Mod 1933 outside the roof.
so why add this tank?
i think not only it should be added but also replace the one in the Chinese T-26 No.531. it’s because China never used the 1938 or 1939. it used the 1935 and 1937 exclusively. Russia also used the same model but Russia had the 1938 and 1939 too. giving the 1935 to China as a reserve will make China look slightly more unique and interesting to play. it will also make it easier to identify them on the battlefield. a fun fact. the T-26 No.531 was actually a T-26 Mod 1937
Firepower
if you expect the tank to have a buff in the firepower, you will be disappointed, but at the same time, it will not be any worse than the current T-26. it will have the same gun, the same ammunition, the same coaxial, the same reload rate, and the same turret rotation. the only difference is the gun’s elevation is slightly better with -8° to +25° instead of -6° to +22°. the turret will rotate at the speed of 16°/sec and the gun being a 45mm 20-K will have more or less 60mm of penetration under 500m. 111 rounds are carried for the 45mm.
Mobility
the tank weighs 9,750 kg which can be rounded up to 9.8 tons. it makes it a light tank without question. the tank is slightly lighter than the Model 1939 in the game. this makes it slightly more mobile as well. The straight 4-cylinder petrol air-cooled 6.6-litre T-26 (Armstrong Siddeley type) provides 91 hp at 2100 rpm. it could technically reach 95hp but it was intentionally limited to 91 hp to avoid overheating issues which they still had anyway. the gearbox offers 5 speeds and the tank can reach 31.1 km/h which makes the mobility of this tank just okay. additionally, the tank will feature a roof-mounted 7.62mm DT machine gun and 2772 rounds for the 7.62 mm are carried (for the roof and coaxial together)
Protection
the T-26 is not notorious for its protection. but it’s still okay for the time. the tank has 15mm of armour everywhere. the front and size, all the vertical part that is likely to take a hit have 15mm. the only exception is the gun mantlet which is 20mm on the Cylindrical turret of the T-26 model 1935. this give the tank a slightly better protection than the model 1939. the crew include 3 men 2 of them are in the turret and 1 in the chassis. this makes the tank have a low survivability.
How to identify the T-26 model 1937 from the other?
the Model 1933 and 1935 are nearly identical externally. the main difference is the absence of a rear machine gun in 1933. but it does not matter as there is no T-26 model 1933 that was sent to china. it was confirmed in the Russian production and every photo evidence shows either the model 1935 or 1937.
the model 1937 has few external differences. the main difference which most people will notice is the roof machine-gun on the P-40 mount. this is a huge giveaway as it’s the only model of T-26 with a cylindric turret to have a roof machine-gun. the turret also has no rear machine gun like the T-26 Model 1933. which makes people misidentify the 1937 for a 1933 when the roof machine-gun was removed (as it was seen during the evacuation of Shanghai in 1949) but another slightly more tricky giveaway is the commander’s hatch having a round hatch instead of the square one. this feature was specific to 1937 and was surely made to make it easier to use the roof machine gun.
the T-26 1938 and upward had a conical turret which is very different. this turret was not necessarily better, it was simply different.
https://i.imgur.com/4rkyiQt.jpeg
The frame around the turret is not proof of the model. it was just a radio antenna. nothing more. it only means the tank has a radio inside.
Source
- 抗日中坚——记中国装备过的T-26B轻型坦克简史_哔哩哔哩_bilibili
- Stories about weapons. Tank T-26 outside and inside. Part of 1
- T-26 variants - Wikipedia
- T-26: Development History and Combat Employment - THE RUSSIAN BATTLEFIELD
- Combat History of the T-26 | Encyclopedia MDPI
- USSR - T26 Variants - Nevington War Museum
- T-26 Light Tank
- https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1677734794911351794&wfr=spider&for=pc
- https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1646453268015178416&wfr=spider&for=pc
