T-90 tank prototype, source: Flickr.com with permission of the publishing user, edited

Origins

In September 1942 development began at the GAZ factory in Gorky on a new tank that would later enter the historical record under the designation T-90. The new vehicle was based on the chassis of the T-70 light tank and differed from it essentially only in the turret — which explains why the prototype was completed in just two months. Driving and firing trials took place in November 1942, and the tank passed them without difficulty.

Design Description

The vehicle was more accurately described as a self-propelled anti-aircraft gun — or more precisely, an anti-aircraft machine gun carrier — than a conventional tank. It had a small octagonal turret with 35 mm armour, open at the top to allow engagement of enemy aircraft. In the turret's front wall were two 12.7 mm DShK machine guns. For the series production version, more powerful 14.5 mm KPV machine guns had been planned, but these were still in development at the time — and as it turned out, were not ready until 1944.

The tank had a two-man crew: the driver and the commander, who also served as gunner and loader. Combat weight was 9.3 tonnes. Most of the vehicle's parameters were identical to the T-70, given the shared chassis, hull and powerplant. By the time the prototype was being built and tested, production of medium tanks was already well established in the Soviet Union — tanks of considerably greater combat value than any light type.

T-90 tank prototype, source: Flickr.com with permission of the publishing user, edited

This fact, combined with how the battlefield situation was developing, led Soviet military planners to consider gradually winding down light tank production altogether — which would of course have had fatal consequences for the T-90, since no chassis would have been available for it. It was for this reason that the T-90 project was ultimately not approved for series production. The prototype thus remained, despite satisfactory trial results, the first and last example of this vehicle ever built.

Technical Specifications

ARTICLE
CONTENTS:

ORIGINS

DESIGN DESCRIPTION

TECHNICAL DATA