About towers on pedestals, and not only ...

43
It's a funny thing, life. Recently, at the request of his wife, he climbed into the sofa, where a bunch of papers were gathering dust, in order to throw out all this waste paper and found a whole series of old "tank workshop" materials there and ... decided to "drive" them into the Anti-plagiarism system. "Driven" and saw that they have a high level of novelty. That is, something was planned for publication, something was published, but did not hit the Web, in a word, I earned a little money and it turned out to be good material for VO on the topic of Czech tanks... And then he looked there again, and there was a "continuation of the banquet" about the towers of Czech and not only Czech tanks, which fell on the pedestals of various fortified lines.


The most frequently encountered tower from a tank on a concrete base is, of course, the tower from the Renault tank R-35.



And it happened that when my magazine "Tankmaster" began to appear and be distributed, many considered it almost a miracle - in the days of the USSR, our people were not spoiled with such information. In the special storage of the library. IN AND. Lenin even kept drawings of the T-27 tankette. The fear was - “no matter how something happened”, and so strong that the very first issue of the magazine was generally handwritten! No one wanted me to recruit him for any money, and my friend, the artist I. Zeynalov, had to write all the text for him by hand! Well, they printed it in some research institute on a hectograph (not a single printing house took it!), Like Bolshevik leaflets in the underground.

About towers on pedestals, and not only ...

And here they are a whole set, and in one fortified area: on the left 38 (t), then either T-I or T-II, then "Renault".


A famous shot in which American soldiers walk past the turret of tank T-II.


Another tower T-II.


Tower T-II in the area of ​​Marseille.

But over time, the magazine got better and better, and then it began to be published in Moscow as an appendix to Technique-Youth. And here it began: both modeling firms and individual citizens "from there" began to overwhelm me with requests for help (and sometimes the most original ones - for example, send good drawings of a Russian hut in 1941 for a diorama with a T-III tank), and offers of cooperation . One came from the USA from St. Louis (that's where my TAM got to!), where its author worked as the chief biologist of the local zoo and part-time owned the Tank Turret company, which was engaged in collecting information about tank turrets used in the war on a stationary basis . The biologist wanted two things from me: first, he needed... a bone from a walrus penis (!). It turns out that walruses have a bone there and this is a rarity. And secondly - information from the photo, where were the towers of German tanks found in Russia and Poland. I never found a bone for him, because there were no "tank masters" among the Chukchi, but with a photo the matter burned out. Moreover, in one of the five companies, and in Penza in the 90s there were as many as five companies that produced models of tanks and podiums for dioramas, they decided to release a podium for a diorama, on which there would be a piece of the German fortified line from one of these photos. It was supposed to have a shaft, a concrete bunker built into it under the turret of the T-II tank, poles, gouges, a couple of “hedgehogs”, several funnels on the ground, but the figures of soldiers would have to be bought on their own. I remember that “grass” was also there, but we made few such podiums - they were expensive and were not in demand.


Tobruk fortress.

But ... about tank turrets installed permanently, in addition to TAM, I also wrote to "Technique-Youth" and "Technology and Armament", so communication with this American was not in vain. What turned out in the end? And here's what: the Germans during the Second World War proved to be highly practical, economical and thrifty people, so that they managed to use the equipment that got to them, both enemies and allies, very rationally.


Another Renault tower.

So, as stationary firing systems, turrets of even our Soviet BT-7s were used (judging by the photo), from which the upper armor plate was cut off and installed on a concrete base dug into the ground. By 1942, the Germans had so many captured tanks that standard drawings were developed for the installation of such Soviet tanks as the T-34 and KV, moreover, there were two options - concrete and log!


The tower from 38 (t) - so where did they all go ?!

At the same time, projects were developed for concrete bases for the German tanks themselves, which were being withdrawn from service: TI, T-II, 38 (t). Surprisingly, T-II turrets were often found, at least in Poland, re-equipped with 37-mm guns from T-III tanks. The ammunition was stored in the underground part of such a bunker, so the tightness in the tower was not an obstacle to such modernization. They were placed on pedestals and towers from the T-III and T-IV themselves, and the latter were already placed at the end of the war in different places, including at street intersections. The second largest were the towers from the French tanks "Hotchkiss", "Renault" AMX, which strengthened the coast of France, Holland and Belgium. Moreover, in France they were placed in the north, in Brittany, and in Normandy, and in the south - in the Marseille region.


The AMC-35 tower is for some reason painted with “bricks”. Belgium.

The most famous, of course, the defensive fortified line of Germany was the Atlantic Wall. On it, the Germans built both very powerful, with walls of many meters thick, pillboxes with 128 and 152-mm caliber guns, and “machine-gun nests” in the form of ... a concrete pipe without a roof! A soldier with an MG-34 machine gun was supposed to sit in this ... "fortification" and ... that's it! Leaned out, set the machine gun and shoot! And they bomb, they shoot - you put your head on the bottom and you sit, trembling with fear, hoping that the bomb will not fall into such a tiny “hole”.


Tower from T-III with 37-mm gun.


And this is a tower from T-III with an 50-mm gun in Russian snow.

But, in addition, the Germans built along the coast a lot of concrete pedestals for two people, on top of which they erected towers from R-35, H-35 / 39, AMS-35 tanks - in a word, they strengthened the defense with everything they had at hand! The distance between the towers was chosen in such a way that the guns of the towers (or machine guns, if guns were not installed in them) covered it with fire. Structurally, it was a concrete parallelepiped with a ladder and a door. Moreover, the internal turret volume made it possible to comfortably stay there for two soldiers, one of whom loaded, aimed the gun at the target, and fired from it, and the second gave him ammunition from below, that is, there was more than one person in the tower, like in a tank, but essentially - two, which made it possible to increase the rate of fire. Double towers AMS-35 were also very actively used. Under them, a slightly different type of base was developed, and there are several photos from different places with the installation of a turret from this tank. But there were very few tanks of this type in the French army, so Renault and Hotchkiss remained the main suppliers of turret installations.




Drawings of concrete bunkers for towers.

The towers of the Czechoslovak tank 38 (t) were also widely used. And where only they were not put: in Italy, and on the border of Germany, and in Czechoslovakia itself. Then, after the cancellation, the towers of Czech tanks produced in Sweden will also be used to strengthen the coastal defenses and will be installed along its eastern coast to counteract the Soviet landing forces.


Panorama of the coast in Normandy with Nazi anti-fortifications and a broken tower from the Renault.

As the Soviet and Allied troops approached Germany, the problem of defense became more and more acute, and the turrets of decommissioned tanks could not solve it. After all, their 37-47-mm guns were powerless against the armor of Soviet and Anglo-American tanks. In North Africa, the Germans also used towers from captured tanks. For example, the fortress of Tobruk was defended by towers from destroyed Matilda tanks.


Stationary installation of the tower tank "Panther".


Tower "Panther" in Italy.

In addition to tanks, the Panther towers were used for installation as long-term firing points (DOT). For this purpose, they were used as regular turrets of Ausf tanks. D and Ausf. A, as well as special towers, which differed reinforced to 56 mm roof and the absence of the commander's turret.


"Panther" PzKpfw V Ausf. A in Munster. Germany.

There were two modifications of bunkers using the Panther turret: Pantherturm I (Stahluntersatz) - the tank turret was mounted on a chase mounted on an armored base welded from 80 mm thick armor sheets, with a turret base thickness of 100 mm. The foundation itself consisted of two sections - residential and combat. The upper one was combat, and a tower was installed on it, where the ammunition was located. The lower compartment was intended for the rest of the bunker team. It had two exits, the first - through a secret door to the outside, the second - to the transitional section to the fighting compartment.


Tower from the "Panther" on the box base. "Line Gotha", September 1944 of the year.

The Pantherturm III (Betonsockel) is a variant of a bunker with a concrete base, which differed from the Pantherturm I only in the increased size of reinforced concrete compartments, but it had no special structural differences.

Simplified modifications of pillboxes with turrets only on the upper fighting compartment were also produced. This project included the installation of a tower on an armored box with access through a hatch, and with four brackets at the corners for crane hooks. The box, along with the turret, was transported in the back of a truck. On the spot, it was removed with a crane and installed in a pre-excavated hole, and covered with excavated soil. The tower, thus, was flush with the ground and became inconspicuous. Very often the Germans put them at the crossroads of streets or somewhere on the side of the lawn. Due to the fact that such towers did not have an engine, the tower turned exclusively by hand, that is, slowly.


The armored box with a turret from the Panther tank, of the Pantherturm I (Stahluntersatz) type.

All types of these firing points were used on the Atlantic Wall, on the Goth Line in Italy, on the Eastern Front, and also on the streets and squares of German cities. Often, damaged Panther tanks buried in the turret were used as pillboxes.


Another armored box with a tower from the "Panther" (simplified version). To make it more even, a log was planted under it.

At the end of March 1945, the 268 Pantherturm-DOTs were produced. But, of course, if there was a tank available with a broken chassis, but the whole tower, it could also be removed and used in such an installation. Inside the concrete casemate even beds were provided for rest. So, theoretically, such a stationary tower could resist long enough.


Very interesting photo. On it, the Alecto self-propelled guns based on the Tetrarch airborne tank pass by the Panther without wheels installed at the side of the road.

Sometimes such “boxes with towers” ​​were mounted on railway platforms, which turned the train with them into a kind of armored train.
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43 comments
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  1. +10
    8 January 2017 06: 02
    The author: Vyacheslav Shpakovsky
    very informative article, especially about:
    ... a walrus penis bone (!) was required. It turns out that walruses have bone there and this is very rare
    Yes
    1. +8
      8 January 2017 06: 30
      Quote: Mystery12345
      very informative article, especially about:

      All in accordance with the title of the article
      About towers on pedestals and not only…
      1. +13
        8 January 2017 11: 54
        Quote: svp67
        and not only…

        As for "... and not only", one can recall the absolute leader in this category, the Swiss.
        They created not just a stationary tower, they created a special machine for moving it, 10,5 cm Panzerabwehrsystem "Centurion"

        The price of the issue (alterations from a normal but outdated tank) is 38 thousand dollars apiece
    2. +6
      8 January 2017 07: 32
      And not a word about dying of hunger, but you tried to find about them in the article, right? In the end, what interested you is what you quoted. Not surprised.
  2. +2
    8 January 2017 06: 07
    I was expecting to see a photo with Soviet towers from the "Steel Line", and fortified areas on the Kuril Islands ...
    1. +8
      8 January 2017 08: 08
      Quote: commbatant
      I was expecting to see a photo with Soviet towers from the "Steel Line", and fortified areas on the Kuril Islands ...

      In the Far East, in the "Steel Belt" tanks were usually placed. The tank installation scheme is given on the website, the address of which is given below.
      http://fortification.ru/forum/index.php?topic=472
      8.0
      1. +4
        8 January 2017 13: 25

        tower from t-54/55
    2. +6
      8 January 2017 08: 37
      Soviet towers are a separate issue. In "Tankmaster" there was material about the towers from the T-34 in Bulgaria on the border with Turkey, about the towers on the island of Iturup ... but ... just imagine: my PR student comes to Iturup with her young husband and at the same time write a diploma for practice " PR ensuring the tourist attractiveness of the island of Iturup". She knows my interest, takes photos of tank turrets and that's it. Admire them, teacher, I don’t know anything else. And the husband could not help anything - not a specialist. And what and how to write here? "Here is a photo - on the left, on the right, there is water at the bottom. A tank tower on Iturup Island." Here is at least some selection of text and photo material.
      1. +4
        8 January 2017 13: 24
        Quote: kalibr

        1
        kalibr Today, 08:37 ↑
        Soviet towers are a separate topic. In "Tankomaster" there was material about towers from T-34 in Bulgaria on the border with Turkey, about towers on the Iturup island ...

        Vyacheslav Olegovich! I agree with you. I'm a little about something else. When the mess began with the PRC, in the 60-70s, I don’t know where they came from, probably they were stored somewhere. Machine-gun towers similar to the towers of the T-26 tank of the 1931 model and towers similar to the towers of light armored cars began to be put on the bridgeheads FAA type
        1. +3
          8 January 2017 13: 37
          Quote: Amurets
          towers of light armored vehicles of the FAA type


          The tanks that stood in the defense nodes of the "Steel Belt" were practically not re-equipped, the transmission was removed and all the free space was filled with ammunition. Tanks of various types were put up. One unit consisted of tanks IS-2 and IS-3. Another T-54 and T-55 tanks, and there were also tanks that had a flamethrower next to the gun. T-34 I have not seen.
        2. 0
          8 January 2017 17: 40
          FAI- Ford -A Izhora plant!
  3. +8
    8 January 2017 06: 53
    Värntorn 4a, installation of the Strv m / 42 tower on the bunker, which is part of the coastal defense system.
    1. +4
      8 January 2017 09: 33
      The Strv m / 42 is a Swedish medium tank during World War II. Developed by Landsverk AB in 1941-1942 based on the Strv m / 40 light tank. In 1943-1944, 282 Strv m / 42 were released in several versions. The tank for a long time formed the basis of the tank park of Sweden. In 1957, the Strv m / 42 was modernized by installing a new turret with a long-barrel 75 mm gun, received the designation Strv 74. In this form, they remained in service with the Swedish army until the end of the 1970s.
  4. +13
    8 January 2017 07: 03
    Photo 1. photo 2. Panther turrets began to be installed as pillboxes starting from 1943. Some turrets were removed from production Panthers, but most of the turrets were specially made for installation as anti-tank bunkers. Specially made turrets did not have the commander’s turret of full-fledged tanks - it was replaced by a simple hatch, and the roof of the turret was reinforced with 40 mm armor, which made it possible to withstand shelling with 150 mm shells (on a regular serial Panther turret, the armor of the turret roof was only 17 mm) . By February 1944, the Dortmund Hoerder Huttenverein factory had produced 112 Panther Ostwallturm kits. The second order for 155 Panther Ostwallturm was given to Ruhrstahl, which completed it by August 1944. The towers themselves were assembled into a single structure from these construction kits by the Demag-Falkansee plant. The company assembled 98 "Panther Ostwallturm" by the end of May 1944, planning to continue to collect 15 towers per month.

    There were two ways to mount the turrets, the first was mounting the turret on a Pantherturm I (Stahluntersatz) box welded from armor plates, and the second was mounting the turret on a reinforced concrete pillbox known as Pantherturm III (Betonsockel). Wa Pruf Fest IV (the army's fortification service) released an official engineering drawing dated November 30, 1944 showing exactly how to mount the Panther's turret on wooden beams in order to pour concrete into the frame. Pantherturm III (Betonsockel) was built on the same principle as Pantherturm I (Stahlimtersatz), only the dimensions of its compartments were somewhat larger, since the walls of the compartments were not made of steel, but of reinforced concrete. A large number of boxes of this type were installed in German cities, declared "fortified cities."
    1. +4
      8 January 2017 09: 05
      and the roof of the tower was reinforced with 40 mm armor, which made it possible to withstand shelling with 150 mm shells

      I believe it will be more accurate - it was able to withstand shell fragments of caliber up to 150 mm.
    2. +4
      8 January 2017 15: 48
      yes, really spoiled the blood of our grandfathers judging by the number of panther sleeves from the second picture
      1. +4
        8 January 2017 18: 02
        The shells, judging by the photo, are clearly not from 75mm, most likely someone threw off their shooting from 88mm near the tower.
  5. +11
    8 January 2017 07: 33
    A firing point with a tower from the T-18.Reconstruction of the DFS with a T-26 tank turret in the exposition of the "Stalin's line" complex
    Structures with tank turrets and tanks (TOT, DTOT) appeared in the nomenclature of long-term and field fortifications. : the enemy managed to overcome the cover zone on the move in most directions. Only individual fortified areas managed to partially delay his advance. “There is no doubt,” wrote Marshal of the Soviet Union I.Kh. Bagramyan, “that if we managed to maintain the combat readiness of the old fortified areas until the full commissioning of the new fortified areas, then this would immeasurably increase the defensive capabilities of the troops.”
    Stubborn battles in Osovets, Vladimir-Volyn, Minsk and Kiev URs can serve as a clear confirmation. Here, along with gun bunkers, firing points with turrets and T-18 and T-26 tanks were used. The Kiev UR, in which the TOT of 135 decommissioned tanks were installed, played a special role in repelling the enemy offensive. The most famous is the fact of the battle of the crew consisting of Sergeant Gvozdev and Private Lupov on June 2, 1941, who, from a firing point with a 45-mm gun installed to guard the bridge on the Drut River (near the village of Belynichi), knocked out three German tanks, one armored personnel carrier, several cars and scattered to a company of infantry. The enemy advance in this area was delayed for almost a day. The crew was presented to the orders of the Red Banner of War.
    1. +9
      8 January 2017 09: 43
      Alas, in the Pskov SD there was not a single bunker with a tower. And in Ostrovsky UR at least one bunker (KNP), and even that is not completed. Usually it is half flooded. When recently drained, the formwork has not yet been removed since construction.


      Although near Pskov there are a lot of photos of the crazy T-18, etc.
  6. +9
    8 January 2017 08: 06
    The so-called special tank company Berlin, which consisted of tanks incapable of independent movement, participated in the defense of Berlin. They were dug at the intersections of streets and were used as fixed firing points. Altogether, the Berlin company included 10 Panther tanks and 12 Pz IV tanks. From the history of the capture of Berlin:

    On April 28, 1945, the 219th Tank Brigade of the 12th Guards Corps of Krivosheev of the 2nd Guards Tank Army met the tanks of the Berlin company dug into the ground near the metro station on Kaiser-Damm-Bismarck-Strasse.

    Without wasting time fighting with these centers of defense, the brigade carried out a roundabout maneuver and continued the offensive towards Tiergarten Park.

    Later, these rooted tanks were successfully cleaned by the 35th mechanized brigade of the same corps.
  7. +12
    8 January 2017 09: 07
    Plus good
    The article is interesting. Tank towers in general can be considered as a separate type of weapons what In addition to their own life in tanks, they found application in URs, both in the West and in our country. Another area of ​​application for tank turrets is the creation of "river tanks"

    Well, you can’t remind about armored trains
    1. +4
      8 January 2017 21: 28
      "river tank"

      And then from the comment threw illustration request
      1. +1
        11 January 2017 00: 12
        Quote: Rurikovich
        river tank"

        Well then, you can add this photo here: an armored boat on a pedestal at the place where the Red Army crossed into China in August 1945.
  8. +10
    8 January 2017 09: 19
    Quote: commbatant
    I was expecting to see a photo with Soviet towers from the "Steel Line", and fortified areas on the Kuril Islands ...

    ZabVO 19 UR









    And this is from the Far East.





    Kuriles



    When I served in ZabVO, in a tank regiment, in Bezrechka, NTOTchiki often came to us from the fortified area for regular firing. Shot from a place, without the use of a stabilizer and guidance drives. Directed only by hand.
    1. +2
      8 January 2017 13: 30
      thanks for the photo
    2. +2
      8 January 2017 13: 38
      It was such a thing with us, the defense line in the Borzi region (first photo). I still found them in place, but alas, now they have not been around for 15-20 years, they have been dismantled.
      1. +3
        8 January 2017 17: 26
        I served in the Impeccable, so they constantly frightened us - "Let's send it to the UR to rot .." laughing
        1. 0
          9 January 2017 04: 03
          I myself live in Chita, but about 16 years ago I regularly ran to Zabaikalsk and Krasnokamensk on business trips, the towers were already dismantled ... But in the mid-nineties they were still there, and then I managed to admire them laughing Now in Bezrechka there is practically nothing left ... as in Mirnaya and in the Steppe ...
          It’s just decided to restore the Steppe, also at one time found how the Rooks flew there lol On August 6, 2010, when they were relocated to Domna Grach in the Aga Hangil area, he fell, almost at home, right next to the federal state.
  9. +7
    8 January 2017 12: 50
    All your "Tankmasters" ("Penza cycle") are in my "Gold Fund")))) As soon as I came to you, I'm amazed!))) And in Sevastopol there is a bunker with a T-26 turret plate. They say there is another similar one in the bushes nearby, but I have not seen it. Whose building, ours and the German one, I don’t know. They guarded the approaches to the airfield in Kachachi Bay - both sides could build ....
    1. +5
      8 January 2017 13: 51
      Well, it must be ... Somewhere preserved ... And I have nothing left, all "stole" friends ... "Give, give, give!" So here is a shoemaker without boots. There was a whole epoch ... But now there is IN !!!!
  10. +2
    8 January 2017 16: 52
    Stunned! No, of course, I knew that the Hans rationally used the captured and their own, understaffed equipment, I knew about its similar use, but so on such a scale and so thoughtfully!
    Thank you. hi
    PS
    So I discovered something new for myself - I mean the last "screenshot": I did not know what kind of cuttlefish they did on the chassis of airmobile tanks.
    PPS
    Right now I remembered: my uncle in Oktyabrsky had a selection of small different issues of the "master" and supplements to "TM" at the time it was ... lost somewhere when moving crying
  11. +6
    8 January 2017 17: 44

    Soviet DoT!
  12. +5
    8 January 2017 17: 46

    Another scheme!
  13. +2
    8 January 2017 19: 07
    add for variety

    Artillery armored firing point (BOT) "Pobeda" - tower KV-220 with 85-mm cannon

    IS-3 in the Far East, which confirms the inscription on the trunk. smile

    From the same opera

    And here the tower was already cut
    1. 0
      8 January 2017 21: 58
      What was the photo cut off for? If only they would say ... I'm not from myself .. sad
      1. 0
        9 January 2017 00: 55
        As a rule, one photo is put in the comment. As a rule, the latter. Previous flies. To put a few, you have to be smart.
  14. +2
    8 January 2017 19: 40
    As a child, I was in Leningrad and heard there: supposedly the Nevsky Piglet, the tower torn from the tank was used as a mini-pillbox
  15. 0
    9 January 2017 19: 28
    From the first words of the material, I thought it was Shpakovsky, looked at the end, it turned out to be exactly him :) As a producer of material, he is good, as a writer - none.
    1. +1
      9 January 2017 20: 31
      It’s good that I can do something at least ...
    2. The comment was deleted.
    3. +4
      9 January 2017 21: 00
      Gorinich

      Me, for example. I like the writing style very much. Lightweight, not conservative. With a minimum amount of foreign words. There is no allegory. There is no "party dryness" characteristic of publications 30 years ago. Specifications do not take up much space, but there is a personal impression. In my opinion, the presence of "gag", their impressions is the basis of the style.
  16. 0
    21 December 2017 19: 02
    in 1975, our "blue division" was re-equipped and all 250 IP 2 and IP 3 were buried on the Soviet-Chinese border

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