BT tank
The BT tank (Russian: Быстроходный танк/БТ, romanized: Bystrokhodnyy tank/BT, lit. "fast moving tank" or "high-speed tank") was one of a series of Soviet light tanks produced in large numbers between 1932 and 1941. They were lightly armoured, but reasonably well-armed for their time, and had the best mobility of all contemporary tanks. The BT tanks were known by the nickname Betka from the acronym, or by its diminutive Betushka. The successor of the BT tanks was the famous T-34 medium tank, introduced in 1940, which would replace all of the Soviet fast tanks, infantry tanks, and light tanks in service.
| BT-2, BT-5, BT-7, BT-7M | |
|---|---|
BT-5 side view | |
| Type | Light cavalry tank |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1932–45 |
| Used by | Soviet Union Spanish Republic Francoist Spain (captured) Republic of China People's Republic of China Mongolian People's Republic Finland (captured) Hungary (captured) Romania (captured) Nazi Germany (captured) Kingdom of Afghanistan |
| Wars | Spanish Civil War Second Sino–Japanese War Soviet–Japanese border conflicts Invasion of Poland Winter War World War II |
| Production history | |
| Designer | J. Walter Christie, Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB) |
| Designed | 1930–31 |
| Manufacturer | Malyshev Factory |
| Produced | 1932–41 |
| No. built | BT-2: 650 BT-5: 1884 BT-7: 5556 |
| Variants | BT-2, BT-5, BT-7, BT-7M |
| Specifications (BT-5) | |
| Mass | 11.5 tonnes (12.676 tons) |
| Length | 5.58 m (18 ft 4 in) |
| Width | 2.23 m (7 ft 4 in) |
| Height | 2.25 m (7 ft 5 in) |
| Crew | 3 |
| Armour | 6–23 mm |
Main armament | 45 mm Model 32 tank gun |
Secondary armament | 1-3 7.62 mm DT machine guns |
| Engine | Model M-5 400 hp (298 kW) |
| Power/weight | 35 hp/tonne |
| Suspension | Christie |
| Fuel capacity | 360 litres (95 US gal) |
Operational range | 200 km (120 mi) |
| Maximum speed | 72 km/h (44.7 mph) |
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