Soviet OOB11 - 2020

[Pibwl]

Some remarks on aircraft (which I researched lately) and other things, that are worth to look at. Only things, that caught my eye last years, without nitpicking through all the OOB.

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11, 295 T-34/76 M1940 - not a big problem, but the photos show M1941, with high-placed barrel. Example photographs:
https://www.o5m6.de/redarmy/img/t-34early_03.jpg,
http://beutepanzer.ru/Beutepanzer/su...4_early_10.jpg

021, 651 T-35 M1939 - a picture shows early model - this one should have conical turrets. Example photographs:
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8e/fc...ee965fd1f9.jpg,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:T35_8.jpg


A bit more on SP guns:

32, 198 SU-76M [assault gun] 719 SU-76M [CS inf tank] - standard "M" variant was produced and used only from 7/43 (now 5/43). Date change demands correction in CS formations 369-371 (unit 719 - however, they were assigned to some infantry divisions only from mid-44).

According to Russian book on SU-76, a standard armament was also DT AAMG, which could fire through a hole in a front plate, or on AAMG mount.
Sabot ammo was introduced in 4/43 according to this book, so unit #32 could have it as well (mabe a smaller number, than #198).
A picture from a manual shows ammo load: 7 Sabot, 15 AP, 31 HE, 7 unspecified.

Turret sides were only 10mm inclined at 20deg, so it might be too thin for 2.
I wonder, whether turret rear should be armoured at all - it was low vertical wall, reaching below the gun's breach level. On the other hand, it should be dangerous for the crew, not the vehicle itself. I'm looking at German Marders and PzJgrs, and they are not consistent here - some have armour 0, like LaS 762, PzJgr 38(t) and Marder I 37L, while Marder II, Marder III H and III M have rear armour 1, with similar compartments open from the rear.
Only from post-war 1945 production SU-76M had high rear wall.


318 SU-76 [tank destroyer] - turret rear armour was inclined at 20deg, but it was only 10 mm (now: 2), turret sides were also 10 mm/25deg.

It is available here until 6/43. It could be doubled from 4 or 5/43 with sabot ammo (unless removed from 5/43 at all, with an advent of SU-152).
However, it is worth to double it as class 18 Assault gun, like SU-76M, available from 1/43 until 12/43 at least (they were produced until July).


SP gun formations:

SU-76/76M were a mainstay of SPG regiments, but were not directly assault guns, rather SP artillery firing indirectly, which could be used as CS vehicles.

As for SP-artillery formations (concerning 075 Assault Gun Co, 076 Assault Gun Pl, 154 Assault Gun Sec):

- before 1/43 they have only improvised SU-26, and there should be only small units (probably only sections).
- from 1/43 there were only 4 vehicles in platoons, in fact named "batteries" (batareya) in Russian. Higher level formation was a regiment with 25 or 21 guns in 6 or 5 batteries (initially in 1/43 - 4/43 they were mixed of SU-76 and SU-122 batteries).
- After 10/43 there were 5 vehicles in batteries (regiment still had 21). In late 1944 there appeared also three-battery SU-76 regiments for infantry divisions.

Unfortunately, this organization didn't fit for heavy tank destroyers like SU/ISU-152, which also exist here as assault guns.

The organization gets complicated in tank destroyer class (it concerns 014 TD Platoon, 112 TD Battery):
- Before 1/43 there were only improvised ZiS-30, which were used mostly in 4-vehicle batteries assigned to tank brigades, withouth higher-level TD units.
- From 1/43 there appear SU-76 (which were used in SP artillery batteries/regiments described above). We can use it as a stop-gap TD in 4-vehicle batteries.
- From 5/43 there appear SU-152. And they were first used in 2-vehicle batteries (#334 TD Section), creating 12-vehicle regiment (6 batteries and KV command tank)...
- medium TDs appearing from 9/43, like SU-85, were organized in 4-vehicle batteries (four batteries in regiment). To complicate things, from 10/43 heavy TDs were used in 3-vehicle batteries (four batteries in regiment) - but maybe it can be ignored
- finally, in 1944 there were 21-vehicle regiments introduced, with 5-vehicle batteries for all TDs.

The information above is from Russian books on SU-76 and Red Army SP guns in general ("Frontovaya Illustracya 4/2002")

482, 483 SU-76i - they could receive sabot ammo as well, introduced in 4/43 (maybe in smaller number than later units 345, 346).

Misc:

42, 135 BA-64 - size should be 2 (now 3), like BA-20, SdKfz-221, Tatra T-72 and wz.34 (BA-64 was similar or even smaller).
Same for Polish LWP #44, Yugo #10, Czechoslovakia 260

43 Halftrack - photo is Scout Car. Soviet halftrack is eg. here:
https://qph.fs.quoracdn.net/main-qim...d51ab5c036c219

However, the Soviets in fact didn't "waste" rare APCs for infantry, and there were no halftrack-riding infantry formations at all... According to M. Bariatynski "Tanki lend-lease v boyu" and other authors, 118 halftracks were used as recce or armoured command vehicles, and the rest (over 1000) were employed as gun tractors, especially for AT artillery.
Anyway, it's worth to duplicate it as class 32 Scout vehicle, like M3A1 Scout Car.


44 GAZ truck - the icon is very different from 1.5t GAZ - it has wide hood and tarpaulin over the cab (see a drawing: https://images.app.goo.gl/WSvRTw3561owkzZM8 ). The best one seems 3179/80/81, which is smaller than ZiS-5 and has open separated platform. Same for units 465 and 598.

I suggest to change name to GAZ 1.5t truck - they were universally known as "polutorka" (one-and-a-half).

It's a detail, but the photo is not typical for GAZ truck. Most numerous was standard light 4x2 GAZ-AA 1.5 ton. The 6x4 GAZ AAA were rare - but the photo probably isn't even GAZ-AAA (GAZ-AAA photos: https://www.mojehobby.pl/zdjecia/5/0...auto_downl.jpg, http://www.armchairgeneral.com/rkkaw.../GAZ_AAA_2.jpg). A couple years ago there was better 4x2 truck as pm00160.
The photos of GAZ-AA are eg.: http://acemodel.com.ua/pages/models/72202/2.jpg , https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F...ie_(2-797).jpg , http://armchairgeneral.com/rkkaww2//...cks/GAZ_MM.htm

The same for 134 AOP Light Truck (or it can be replaced with some field car like GAZ M-1 with icon 2746). Speed should be the same 18. The icon might be covered platform truck 3182.


74 BM-8-36 - better quality photo is at https://www.aviarmor.net/tww2/armore...sr/bm-8-36.htm

88, 468 SU-57 - the gun was in fact original US M1 57 mm. I don't know if they had US sabot ammo, but if they had, it could have been from a beginning. All sources say it had 99 rounds for main gun.

The second vehicle might be changed to eg. 125 Gun APC (HalfTrack) class - apart from three artillery regiments, they were used in 4-vehicle batteries in recce units.


108, 333, 336 T20 Komsomolets - size should be 2 (now 1) - they were noticeably larger, than tankettes, similar to Carriers.

BTW: as for 333 unit, there were not enough Komsomolets to tow AT guns and they were too valuable, so they weren't used as ammo carriers. Besides, they had two benches at the rear, not a platform.

129 BM-31 Andryusha - better quality photo: http://wio.ru/galgrnd/rocket/bm-31-12.jpg


332 Ammo Truck - it should be A/T wheel (photo of 6x4 Studebaker) and size 3 to be consistent. Since this is ammo truck, maybe icon 3158 with crates is better.

169, 485 KV-2 - a photo shows final model with vertical sides - it should be early photo 0081, with slanted turret front.

Russian sources and Polish author J. Magnuski don't credit early KV-1 with anything other, than 36 rounds of ammo, like later tanks (now 44).

As for names, unit 025, 486 KV-2 M1941 was a standard production, and 169, 485 was an early one, and both models were introduced in 1940. Early turret had factory designation MT-1, improved (standard) one had no specific designation and was called a "lowered turret". [edited]


339 T-27 [prime mover] - size should be 1 (2), like T-27 tankette

344 Carrier - known in Russia first of all as Mk.I Universal.


370 122mm M-30 FH - best icon seems 2105 (upper view http://technicamolodezhi.ru/rubriki_.../1971/art6.jpg) (icon 2128 is of German origin, has very different narrow tails and too long barrel.
Same for German #133 12.2cm Haubitze, Polish LWP #154, Czechoslovak #186


655 T-26 Dozer - I still couldn't find any info of T-26 dozer in Russian books, apart from a light snow plough.

However, according to M. Baryatynski, during the Winter War, in 2-3/40 there were introduced T-26 with disc mine rollers, apparently a small number. It could be reclassified, and the same icon would do (with appropriate changes in formations).

828 Studebaker US6 - could be doubled as a prime mover (for howitzers and heavy AT guns) and as class 23 APC (wheel) for motorized infantry, which has only 4x2 ZIS and GAZ at the moment.

870 Dodge T214 - most often in Russian sources is designation WC 51/52, rather than T214 - however, according to M. Bariatynski, they were known just as "Dodge 3/4t".

That's basically all for land equipment.