T-70

The T-70 was a Soviet light tank of the Second World War, adopted in 1942 to replace both the T-60 scout tank and the short-lived T-50 infantry tank. It was designed by Nikolai Astrov's team at Factory No. 38 in Kirov and carried a two man crew, a 45 mm gun and a coaxial 7.62 mm DT machine gun, with up to 50 mm of armour on the turret front. The first batch used a GAZ-202 automotive engine on each side of the hull, one driving each track, an arrangement that proved a serious problem and was quickly redesigned as the T-70M with the engines placed in line. Production began in March 1942, was shared between Zavod No. 37, Zavod No. 38 and the Gorky Automobile Plant, and ended in October 1943 after 8,226 vehicles. Its chassis became the basis of the SU-76 self-propelled gun, and the tank stayed in service until 1948.