Soviet BT Light Tank

By Crusader1307

The Soviet BT Tank was a Class type of Light Armor Vehicle, designed for use by The Soviet Army. The Class was in use between 1932 and 1941. The BT (which stands for ''Fast Moving Tank''), was actually designed by an American Inventor. While considered a lightly armored fighting vehicle, The BT was perhaps one of the most mobile (fast) of all Tanks of the period. The BT (of which 8 known variants were also created), saw several thousand production Models. Crewed by (3), The BT was 13-tons in weight. It was 18-feet in length with a width of 8-feet. Duel tracked, it was propelled by a single 400-HP Gas Engine. This gave it a land speed of almost 45-mph. Slightly short of 1-inch of armor plating throughout, The BT was also known for it's robust armament systems. They were equipped with a 45mm Main Gun and supported by as many as (3) 7.62mm Machine Guns. However, as effective as The BT was as an Infantry Support Vehicle, German Armor was still superior to it – in particular their firepower). The BT would be removed from service in 1942, but would be used in the design of the famed T-34 Soviet Battle Tank – which variants can still be found even today.