Soviet Tank T-28 on rails (an armored platform) WWII 1/72 UMmT 641

Soviet Tank T-28 on rails (an armored platform) WWII 
1/72scale plastic model kit
UMmT 641

Manufacturer: UMmt (Ukraine)
Scale: 1/72
Material: Plastic
Condition: New in Box

The Soviet T–28 was a multi-turreted tank that was among the world's firstmedium tanks. The prototype was completed in 1931, and production began in late 1932. It was an infantry‑support tank intended to break through fortified defences. The T–28 was designed to complement the heavier T–35 (also multi-turreted), with which it shared turret designs. The type did not have much success in combat, but it played an important role as a development project for the Soviet designers. A series of new ideas and solutions were tried out on the T–28 which were later incorporated in future models.The T–28 was in many ways similar to the British Vickers A1E1 Independent tank, which greatly influenced tank design in the period between the wars, even though only a single prototype of this trend‑setter was manufactured, in 1926. The Kirov Factory inLeningrad began manufacturing a tank which was based on the design of the British Independent in 1932. The T–28 tank was officially approved on 11 August 1933. The T–28 had one large turret with a 76.2mm gun and two smaller turrets with 7.62mm machine guns. A total of 503 T–28 tanks were manufactured over a period of 8 years from 1933 to 1941.The T–28 was deployed during the Invasion of Poland and the Winter Waragainst Finland. During the initial stages of the Winter War, the tank was used in direct fire missions against Finnish pillboxes. In the course of these operations it was found that the armour was inadequate and programs were initiated to upgrade it. Frontal plates were upgraded from 50 mm to 80 mm and side and rear plates to 40 mm thickness. With this up‑armoured version the Red Army broke through the main Finnish defensive fortification, theMannerheim Line.

According to Russian historian Maksim Kolomiets in his book T–28. Stalin's Three‑headed Monster, over 200 T–28s were knocked out during the Winter War, but only 20 of them were irrecoverable losses (including 2 captured by the Finnish Army). Due to the proximity of the Kirov Plant, all other knocked‑out tanks were repaired, some of them over five times.

T–28 tanks, with horseshoe radio antennas

The Finns nicknamed the T–28 Postivaunu ("mail coach" or "post train") after a lone Soviet T-28 tank commander was captured with his knocked out tank that carried the monthly salary of and mail addressed to the 91st Tank Battalion (this occurred 19–20 December 1939, during the battle of Summa). The T-28 was also nicknamed Kivitalo ("stone building") by the Finns due to its large size.

Variants

• T-28 Model 1934 or T-28A—main production model with the same machinegun turrets, and similar main turret as the T-35 heavy tank and Model 27/32 76.2mm gun.
• T-28 Model 1938 or T-28B—version with improved L-10 76.2 mm gun (from 16.5 calibres to 26 calibres), improved gun stabilization system and improved Model M-17L engine.
• T-28E or T-28C â€” 1940 addition of appliqué armour in response to poor performance in Finland. Total front armour was increased to 80 mm, weight to 32 t, and road speed dropped to 23 km/h
• T-28 Model 1940 â€” the final batch of about twelve tanks had the same conical turret as late‑production T-35 tanks.
• T-28M - had 80 mm max and 20 mm minimum of armor. It had a 76.2 mm gun, weighed 32 tons vs the 28 ton of earlier T-28 models. It was used in Winter War. It wasn't successful as the speed was reduced to 16 mph.

T–28
T–28E (Finnish designation) registered as R–48, since 1943 Ps. 241–4, at the Parola Tank Museum in Finland
Type	Medium tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1933–45
Used by	Soviet Union, Finland, Hungary,Turkey, Nazi Germany
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1931
Produced	1932–41
Number built	503
Variants	T-28E, T-28 Model 1940, OT-28
Specifications
Weight	28 tonnes
Length	7.44 m (24 ft 5 in)
Width	2.87 m (9 ft 5 in)
Height	2.82 m (9 ft 3 in)
Crew	6
Armor	20–30 mm
Main armament	76.2mm KT-28 cannon (70 rounds)
Secondary armament	4 or 5×7.62mm DT machine guns(8,000 rounds)
Engine	45.8L Mikulin M-17 12-cylinder 500 hp (373 kW)
Power/weight	18 hp/tonne
Suspension	twin bogies with plunger springs
Operational range	220 km (140 mi)
Speed	37 km/h (23 mph)