Tamagakure
Not joined
"Perhaps there is a universal, absolute truth. Perhaps it justifies every question. But that's beyond the reach of these small hands." - Yang Wen-li
As the Second World War progressed, the Soviets were fielding better and better tanks. The Finnish Army, on the other hand, had to make do with a large number of captured tanks, which were for the most part lightly armored and armed.
The Finns decided to redesign the BT-7 Model 1937 tank. They constructed a new turret and armed it with British-made 114.3 mm howitzers that had been supplied by the British during the Winter War (Q.F. 4,5 inch howitzer Mark II, also known as 114 Psv.H/18 in Finland). Eighteen BT-42 were built and these were pressed into service in 1943.
Type Assault gun
Place of origin Finland Finland
Service history
Wars Continuation War
Production history
Number built 18
Variants BT-43
Specifications
Weight 15 tonnes
Length 5.7 m (18 ft 8 in)
Width 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in)
Height 2.2 m (7 ft 3 in)
Crew 3
Armor 6–13 mm
Main
armament
114 mm (4.5-inch) howitzer
Engine Mikulin M-17T
500 hp (370 kW)
Power/weight hp/tonne
Suspension Christie
Operational
range
375 km (233 mi)
Speed 53 km/h (33 mph)
First class disaster. Ruined the BT-7s main advantage of mobility, and the new gun was completely ineffective against enemy tanks.