BT-7

This Soviet cavalry tank—Bystrochodnij Tankov or “Fast Tank” type 7—served from 1935 through 1945. Though lightly armoured, it was reasonably well-armed through most if its service life, and had much better mobility than other contemporary tank designs. In June 1941 it was the Soviet Army's main cavalry tank and suffered significant losses. The far superior T-34 largely replaced the BT-7 in front-line service by 1942, but the BT-7 nevertheless served throughout the war, including in clashes with Japanese forces in the Far Eastern Theater. Before World War II, the BT series of light tanks also saw action in the Spanish Civil War. Soviet industry produced about 5,556 BT-7s through 1941, the most-produced variant of the BT Series (this unit represents all BT series tanks). The BT-7's main weapon was a 45 mm L/46 M1932/38 (20-K) gun in a fully-rotating turret, capable of firing both ant-tank and anti-personnel rounds. This variant of the venerable 'sorokopyatka' ('forty-fiver') gun had better ballistics, a higher rate of fire, and was more reliable than its predecessors (such as the 45 mm M1932/34 (20-K) main gun of the T-26 tank). It also carried two 7.62 mm DT machine guns in the turret, one facing forward and the other rearward. A crew of three operated this 13.9-tonne tank, which could attain a top speed of 44 mph.