![]() These vehicles saw the end of the war, when their infantry support rôle was discarded in favor of fast-moving armored divisions entirely equipped with T-34s. Most were opposed to Finnish forces, and one, up-armored, was captured and reused in 1944. The few T-50s produced were sent to the Leningrad front. After this, the glacis and turret reached 57 mm (2.24 in) of thickness, which was impressive for a supposedly "light" tank. When operation Barbarossa went under way, some T-50s received, like many other models, extra layers of bolted-on appliqué armor. Therefore, despite being an overall excellent design, the engine led to numerous delays and the whole project succumbed to more urgent priorities. By comparison, the T-60/T-70/SU-76 shared a more reliable standard GAZ truck engine. The troublesome V-4 inline-six diesel led to the accumulation of such development problems that the series was terminated because of it. The T-50 also shared some issues with other Soviet tank designs, like a cramped and uncomfortable fighting compartment. It is not known if drum-type external fuel tanks were mounted at any point. This gave a top speed of 60 km/h (37 mph) and 220 km (140 mi) operational range. The specifically designed V-4 diesel inline-six engine offered 300 hp (220 kW) and a 21 hp/tonne (16 kW/tonne) ratio. A seventh roadwheel was raised up at the front, acting as track tensioner and idler. There was a major difference with the T-34 though, since the drivetrain comprised six smaller roadwheels, each suspended on its own torsion bar unit, and three return rollers. Radio was a common equipment, while it was reserved to commander tanks only on previous designs. Both had their own one-piece hatch opening to the front, acting as a shield when open. The loader was located on the left and the gunner was located on the right. He had his own cupola with eight vision blocks, a feature later adopted on most Soviet tank designs. The tank commander was placed behind the gunner in the turret rear right hand side corner. Although cramped, it was a three-man design. The hexagonal, sloped-side turret was innovative. The driver was located on the left hand side, with his own hatch opening downwards, and could see through a simple slit with an armored cover. It compared well to the standard German 37 mm (1.46 in), but was equipped with crude sights. For better commonality, the main armament was the standard 45 mm (1.77 in) Model 1938 gun, carrying 150 rounds. The minimum thickness was 12 mm (0.47 in) on the engine deck, roof and belly. The front glacis was 37 mm thick (1.46 in), with an equivalent thickness of 50 mm (1.97 in) due to the slope. It had a narrower frontal section that accentuated the slope of the upper hull, which narrowed towards the rear. ![]() The all-around excellent welded, well-sloped armor was also similar. The final design of the T-50 was very much inspired from the T-34, having the same turret design. While OKMO was transferred to Omsk during September 1941, design work resumed, but the final model suffered from several issues and it emerged as costly to built as the T-34, which led to its cancellation after 69 were built until January 1942. This was accompanied by crucial choices in production, that were centered around a very few models. It was decided in June to stop all projects and transfer the whole tank production to the Ural footsteps. A first prototype was built and the production design was under way when Operation Barbarossa started. The first prototype was very promising, looking like a scaled-down T-34, with similar performance but smaller and thus cheaper to produce. Meanwhile, a second project design to replace the BT series was developed at the Malyshev Factory (KhPZ) in Ukraine. It was assumed that the production could start in April 1941, but due to various technical problems, various delays occurred. This raised various issues that were corrected by Troyanov and the production design was ready in January 1941. Both prototypes were eventually completed and tested in late 1940. Voroshilov Factory Number 174 in Leningrad in May 1940. The bureau was gutted during the Great Purge and work was resumed at the K.E. Part of the initial design was taken from the abandoned T-46-5 project, and led to the improved T-126 and T-127 prototypes. Kirov Factory Number 185 in Leningrad, which would also assume production. Design work commenced at OKMO (Opytniy Konstruktorsko-Mekhanicheskiy Otdel or "Experimental Design Mechanical Department"), under S.
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