Библия Времени. Найди свое. Лим Ворд
VI Ausf. B «Tiger II». The height of the caterpillars in the front of the machine is just below the height of the adult male. The heaviest, mass-produced tank of all time and people, participating in the fighting – with a full load of 75 tons. More massive than him, only fired several times on the enemy, the self-propelled mortar «Karl» – 126 tons. Of the non-fought tanks by mass, it corresponds to the unfinished French twin-tower FCM F-1 – 145 tons, eight crew members and 185-ton German «Mauss» (six tankers, 200 mm armor) – Panzerkampfwagen VIII «Maus».
Armament: 88 mm. gun, 77—84 shells, two MG-34 machine guns, 26 mm. anti-personnel mortar. Reservations: the forehead of the tower 107 or 180 mm., Depending on the manufacturer, the side of the tower, 82 mm., The forehead of the body 120 mm., The board 82 mm. The roof of the tower and the shell – 40 mm. Speed along the highway is 38 km. h., Cross-country 13 km. h. The power reserve, respectively, is 150 km. and 70 km. Specific power 10 hp t. Ground pressure 1,02 kg. see Transporting a tank by rail, with the condition of changing tracks – is possible, but overcoming water obstacles – almost exclusively under water, outside bridges, using an air intake for the engine.
The effect of using the «Tiger-2» in battles was not great, in comparison with the existing excessive expectations. Most of these immobilized vehicles are abandoned by their crews. It is necessary to think, replacement of tracks «Tiger II» in the field is a very difficult task.
From 1944 to 1945, 489 Royal Tigers were produced.
On the chassis «Tiger 2» was also created a self-propelled artillery unit «Yagdtigr», 79 pieces. The caliber of the gun is 129 mm., The frontal armor is unthinkable 250 mm. This machine is represented in this photo.
5. STEN, surname. «Puncher», the most massive British submachine gun of the Second World War. The acronym (pronounced together abbreviation) is formed by the names of the main developers. The machine is a simplified version, in fact, the ersatz of the German (Hugo Schmeisser) MP28, quickly replenished the losses of small arms of the British army after the disaster at Dunkirk. The container is located horizontally (in which there is a peculiar chic) of the magazine 32 cartridges (in fact 28), the aiming range is 100 meters. Rate of fire 540 rounds per minute. Weight 2.95 – 3.27 kg. Disadvantages: overheating of the barrel, low reliability, inconvenience of using the «last chance» as a cold weapon in hand-to-hand combat, unsatisfactory balancing. Advantages: cheap and fast manufacturing. From 1941 to 1945, 4 million units were produced.
6. American self-loading rifle M1 Garand (Em-Ouen Garand), the main weapon of the US infantry of the times of World War II and the war in Korea. The recharging mechanism operates on the evacuation of the powder gases. The capacity of the holder (pack) is 8 cartridges, 7.62 × 63 mm. The aiming range is 550 m. Weight is 4.32 kg. 5, 4 million units were produced.
7. Soviet submachine gun system A. Sudayev (PPS). The fire mode is only automatic (as well as its analogue, the German «Schmeisser» MP-40). The magazine has a capacity of 35 cartridges 7.62 × 25 mm. Rate of fire 600 rounds per minute. Sighting range 200 m. Weight 3.2 kg. Only 2 million copies have been issued (in different countries). On the sum of combat qualities, PPS is considered the best submachine gun of the Second World War.
The Lvov-Sandomierz operation starts on July 13, 1944. The place of action practically coincides with that area – 300 kilometers west of Kiev, where three years ago the tank battle for Dubno-Lutsk-Brody was disastrous for the Red Army. The main idea is the encirclement of the German fascist troops, the liberation of Lviv. The forces of the parties: the Soviet Army – 1, 2 million people, 2,200 tanks, 2,800 aircraft. Wehrmacht, the Armed Forces of Hungary, the Ukrainian division of the Waffen SS «Galicia» – 0.9 million people, 900 tanks, 700 aircraft. By July 18, the German defense is breaking through in two places. Two armored armies (800 tanks and automatic control systems, plus auxiliary equipment and tank destroyers) are deployed in the breakthrough, which pass through 50—80 km. (already without ridiculous breakages) and close the ring of encirclement near the town of Brody. An isolated group of troops, eight divisions, 30,000 people are being destroyed on the ground by aircraft, artillery strikes and tank attacks, and 18,000 are surrendering.
In Lviv, the Poles raise uprising, unite with the advancing Soviet units, together, in a completely friendly way, cleanse the city of Germans. But, their idea is to make Lemberg again a Polish city, representatives of the USSR do not find any understanding. Part of the leadership of the local Army Krajowa is arrested, does not agree to cooperation, and is sent to Siberia.
The troops of the 1st Ukrainian Front leave without delay to the territory of Poland, to the Vistula River and (by crossing it on a low-water bridge and using ferries) free Sandomierz. Here they, in particular, meet with the battalion of the new tanks «Royal Tiger» (20 units), seize three of them – with broken caterpillars, 13 – in fully serviceable condition (they complete their own advanced units). Having liberated a few more Polish cities, August 15, considerably stretched their supply lines, Soviet troops stop the offensive. Losses of the USSR – 65 thousand people irrevocably, Germany-Hungary-Ukrainian Nazis 54 thousand people, and 32 thousand prisoners, as well as almost all the tanks and aircraft available at the beginning of the offensive.
The Iasi-Kishinev operation begins on August 20, 1944 in Romania; Deep echeloned defense implies huge losses among the advancing troops. However, the artillery strike, backed by assault aviation attacks, is so strong that defensive lines simply cease to exist. The Romanian units are separated from the German army; the commander of the latter fled, abandoning his troops. By August 24, the Soviet mechanized troops are advancing 130—140 kilometers, closing a ring around 18 enemy divisions.
At the same time, an anti-government uprising broke out in Bucharest; The Romanian king arrested the premier Antonescu and the generals who support the Reich, declares war on Germany, asks for help from the Soviet Union. August 29, with the liquidation of the encircled troops and the exit to the port of Constanta, the operation is completed. The forces of the parties: the USSR – 1.3 million people, 1,900 tanks and self-propelled artillery systems, 2,200 aircraft, Germany-Romania – 0,9 million people, 400 tanks, 800 aircraft. Losses: USSR – 13,200 soldiers and officers, 75 tanks, 11 aircraft, Germany-Romania – 135,000 killed, 208,000 prisoners. Tanks T-34-85, coming from factories so much that it is customary to take on new, not repaired, vehicles.
The Ardennes operation. The forces of the parties: the United States and Great Britain – 84,000 people, 1,500 tanks and self-propelled guns, about 1,200 aircraft (all in this theater of operations the allies had 8,000 aircraft) Germany – 240,000 people, 1,800 tanks, 800 aircraft. Begins on December 16, in southwestern Belgium; the main purpose of the «fire Reich», Field Marshal Walter Model – to cut off the bridgehead of the Anglo-American forces advancing to Germany. Volunteers Otto Skorzeny, 2000 people, 150 of whom speak fluent English, are called to land in the rear, to destroy military leaders, to commit sabotage, to rearrange road signs, to sow panic. After the initial success, the tank units of the Wehrmacht begin to tie in positional battles. Airborne troops return through the front line to their troops. Saboteurs, when the initial plan is determined, are promptly identified and, after a short military court, they are shot (the military performing such operations are not considered combatants, the norms of international humanitarian law do not apply to them). The focus applied since the Anschluss of Austria, this time, in general, fails. The weather has improved, the tanks are subjected to powerful attacks of Anglo-British «Typhoons». German troops stop on December 25, before reaching their goal – the French port of Pas-de-Calais. Nevertheless, the situation continues to be serious, and on January 6, Churchill appeals to the Soviet command to begin the offensive on the Eastern Front ahead of schedule. Losses of the parties: Germany – 40 000 killed, 600 tanks, about 350 aircraft, the United Kingdom – the United States – 30 000 people irrevocably, 800 tanks, 400 aircraft (on land and in the air). Walter Model