The T-46 was a Soviet fast light tank developed in 1935, as an improvement to the earlier T-26. The design was later discarded by the government, after the prototypes were built and tested. The project ended up being too expensive and a poor design. The thin armor, bulky hull and small main gun put the crew in great danger, which made the tank unsuitable for use in combat.

T-46
T-46
TypeLight tank
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
Used by Soviet Union
Production history
DesignerOKMO team
Designed1935
ManufacturerZavod No.185
Produced1936
No. built4
VariantsT-46, T-46S, T-46-1
Specifications
Mass18-19 tonnes
Length5.5 m (18 ft 1 in)
Width2.33 m (7 ft 7.7 in)
Height2.29 m (7 ft 6 in)
Crew3

Armor15 mm
Main
armament
45 mm L/46
Secondary
armament
7.62 mm MG
EngineGAZ T-26 8 cylinder petrol
Approximately 90 hp
Power/weight8,74 hp/tonne
SuspensionChristie
Operational
range
500 km
Maximum speed 60 km/h

History

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The Soviet T-46, began as an improvement to the T-26. The T46 served the same purpose as the T26, but it was quite different. It was a fast and lightly armored tank. It could reach speeds of up to 50 km/h with relative ease. The T-26 suspension consisted of eight small road wheels carried in pairs on small bogies. The bogies were supported in pairs by leaf springs. This was a much less effective system than the Christie suspension, which had a more advanced, yet more expensive system to maintain and produce. This is the reason why the OKMO team at Zavod No.185 was ordered by the Government of Soviet Union to produce an improved version of the fast light-tank, T-26. Yet the design of the T-46 proved too expensive, compared to the final performance of the vehicle, to mass-produce it. Its thin armor, small main armament and the bulky, big design of tank, made the government of Soviet Union cancel the project, and rather create the T-26S and later T-46S, as the improved, mass-production capable tanks.

Yet some legacy left over by the T-46S, a later improved version of the T-46 lived on to see the battles in Finland.

References

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  • "Soviet Union's T-46 Light Tanks - World War II Vehicles, Tanks, and Airplanes". wwiivehicles.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  • "T-46 Light Tank". historyofwar.org. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  • "The Russian T-46 Light Tank | TankNutDave". tanknutdave.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.