Colonel J Lee Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Hello cohorts, I was looking at the information panel on a BT-7 while playing a 1941 scenario and it says the max speed is 31 mph. I was very surprised. I have a book by MBI Publishing edited by Tim Bean and Will Fowler that says the BT-7 could do 45 mph. Why the difference in the game? :confused: 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonC Posted March 8, 2008 Share Posted March 8, 2008 Tracks. Wheels. The BT series could run on either, and had a faster top speed using wheels only on roads. I've seen 45 mph and 55 mph quoted for that (early versions like BT-2, as high as 65 mph). With the tracks on it moves much better off road obviously, but the top speed (even on road) drops. I've seen the 31 mph figure the game uses and others as high as 37 mph. The game figure might be low-balling the top speed with tracks (many things Russians get the lowball treatment in CMBB), but it is correct to use a lower tracked top speed, and not the wheels-only road-only figures. That configuration just wasn't used in combat (it took 15 minutes to switch, with crew exposed and tank motionless, not something to do with enemy around) - probably wasn't used much at all even outside combat, during the actual war. Outside of admin road marches anyway. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel J Lee Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 Great answer, Jason. I thought as I posted, "I have a feeling Jason C. is going to jump on this". The book I referenced does have the higher speeds for the earlier BTs, like you said 45mph and 70mph (!!!), but that makes a lot of sense to be in the 30s with tracks. You're right, though; 31 seems too low. But I feel better about this now. When I saw the OOB for the scenario I'm playing as Russians, I thought, "man, I've got to try an end-run down the flank with those quick buggers". Might still try it - I've got about 20 of them to work with. Of course I'll have to lay a lot smoke to cover these tin-foil wrapped machines. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 9, 2008 Share Posted March 9, 2008 Colonel J Lee and JasonC, Milsom's RUSSIAN TANKS 1900-1970, a standard reference, lists on page 169 the cross country top speed of the BT-7 as 33 mph, which is pretty close to BFC's number. By contrast, the road number in wheeled configuration is 45.6 mph. Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel J Lee Posted March 9, 2008 Author Share Posted March 9, 2008 Hey John, The MBI book gives the following (exact) information: BT-2: 70 mph (wheels); 40 mph (tracks) BT-5: 70 mph (wheels); 40 mph (tracks) BT-7: 45 mph (wheels); 31 mph (tracks) Evidently, the difference between our two references (books) is 2 mph with respect to the BT-7 operating on tracks. Ironically, my book (or one with similar specifications for this AFV) appears to have been used by BFC for giving the BT-7 its max speed. Close enough either way. The earlier BT models (2 and 5) were evidently faster! Thanks for weighing in, John. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Kettler Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Colonel J Lee, You're welcome! Regards, John Kettler 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt AA Posted March 11, 2008 Share Posted March 11, 2008 Wasn't the BT also designed to be able to run on railway tracks? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel J Lee Posted March 15, 2008 Author Share Posted March 15, 2008 That I don't know, Sgt. AA. I skimmed through the section on BT-7s in my MBI book and didn't see a reference to this. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ww2steel Posted March 19, 2008 Share Posted March 19, 2008 Most sources list the BT-7 as loosing the trackless ability. (A few show the BT-7M as the model that looses this.) I am not at home so I cannot double check the specific sources. Mike 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidFields Posted March 25, 2008 Share Posted March 25, 2008 Perhaps I am wildly wrong, but, as a practical matter, where there really many roads in the Soviet Union in 1941 where one could drive 55-60 mph? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.