Any idea what kind of tank this is?

[naxos]

Can someone identify this tank?

Regards, Hardy

[naxos]

close-up

[Taesung]

it's a BT-7 late model

[Larry deZeng]

Just a guess, but it appears to be a Russian light infantry tank built between 1939 and mid-war: T-26, T-50, T-70. The T-26Sm Model 1939 is my first guess. The setting appears to be the endless Russian steppe that begins in eastern Ukraine.

http://www.lonesentry.com/features/f40_russian-t26.html
http://henk.fox3000.com/T26.htm

--Larry

[Larry deZeng]

I dunno, Taesung.......the rear of it doesn't look like a BT-7, at least according to 5 or 6 photos I found on the net. The BT-7 had two very distinctive exhaust pipes mounted on the rear that extended out a good 25-30 cm over the rear hull.

[Larrister]

Hello,

I think Taesung is correct. The photo shows what looks like a long narrow locker which has been opened at the rear of the tank. The two exhaust pipes are partially obscured but can be seen at the top of the lid.
Here's a side view of a BT-7. I have arrowed the locker with lid.
Pic from the excellent site www.battlefield.ru/index.php

Cheers,
Larry

[naxos]

Thank you guys - Taesung is right - BT-7

the one in my picture has a box mounted in the back with the lid open. The open lid covers the exhaust pipes- if you look again you can see just the top of the pipes.

Hardy

[W Petz]

Did you also notice the dead crewman in the foreground. Bill

Can someone identify this tank?

Regards, Hardy

[SurvivingPanzer]

OMG I didnt. Wow, what an impacting pic.

[Larry deZeng]

Tanks Taesung, Larrister and Naxos. I fold and concede. I couldn't find a good rear end shot of the BT-7 and I missed seeing the two exhausts just visible behind the storage locker. Good work! Puzzle solved!

--Larry

[naxos]

OMG I didnt. Wow, what an impacting pic.

I particularly like the low angle the picture was taken - one can see the tall grass in the fore and the fast Russian steppes in the background -

Here is the back of the pic; any idea to were the location is?

Hardy

[Larry deZeng]

I use a digital atlas with an index of over 3,000,000 place names called Vector Globe, and there are only 6 places listed that come even close to the spelling RASHANI:

Rashevka/Ukr.
Razhepy/Ukr.
Razhevo/Rus.
Razhnev/Ukr.
Razhnevy Polya/Ukr.
Razhnyuv/Ukr.

When Germans transliterate from Russian to German, the letter "s" often appears as a "z" when that same Russian word is transliterated into English. So I looked in the index for all place names in Russia and Ukraine beginning with both "Ras" and "Raz".

Unfortunately, none of these look right. It may be that its spelling was changed after the war, or perhaps in 1991-92 when Ukraine became independent and changed the spelling of many of the locations there.

--Larry

[naxos]

Thank you Larry;
I had the same problem - I believe that the Landser either wrote, like you say, phonetically or simply later rembebered the name of the location wrong.

Regards, Hardy

[naxos]

I found it; Rashany=Rossienie

From the KTB. of Panzer-Regiment 11 on 25 June 1941;
Tank Battle near Rossienie:
"During the afternoon, as a reserve, a reinforced company and the headquarters of Panzer-Abteilung 65 were pulled back along the left attack route to the crossroads northeast of Rossienie."

from the regimental history of Panzer-Regiment 11 (similar landscape)


Hardy

[Larry deZeng]

Good research! Undoubtedly that's it. But I couldn't find Rossienie in Vector Globe either, so the name has probably changed. But finding out where Pz.Rgt. 11 was on 25 June 1941 shouldn't be too difficult.

Glad you found it.

--Larry