Russian tank comms

[John Kettler]

This info is from the post Op Bagration period, as evidenced by the presence of SU-100s. This is information on the radio arrangements in a T-34/85 formation.

http://english.iremember.ru/tankers/70-otroschenkov-sergei-andreyevich.html?q=%2Ftankers%2F70-otroschenkov-sergei-andreyevich.html&start=10

Fair Use

"Radio stations were fitted to the tanks of platoon, company and battalion commanders. Combat tank radios only worked as receivers. I believe that it was right. If a combat tank commander talked on the air he would have occupied it and neither battalion, nor company commander would have been able to deliver a command."

The radio station is quite clearly a transceiver. The distribution of transceivers is akin to the state the US tank force was in circa D-Day and until late 1944. There, only the PL and APL had transceivers fitted; the rest of the platoon's tanks had only receivers.

Proof it was indeed a T-34/85 unit.

http://english.iremember.ru/tankers/70-otroschenkov-sergei-andreyevich.html?q=%2Ftankers%2F70-otroschenkov-sergei-andreyevich.html&start=13

"At that moment it was shelled from the nearest high ground by a German tank. I saw how the shell knocked the ground just a couple of meters in front of that T-34 tank and bounced up as a red dot. Our tanker, unfortunately I have forgotten his name, turned the turret around and set the German tank on fire with the first round. I looked out and saw the flare that the German tank had turned into about one and a half kilometers away from us. The new T-34 tanks with their 85 mm guns evened the odds with the Germans in long range duels. The other battalions were still using T-34-76 tanks."

Regards,

John Kettler

[Trooper117]

Interesting info!