Tankopedia
InterwarLightLight TankSoviet Union

T-26

In service 1931 - 1945

A licensed Vickers design turned into the most numerous tank in the world during the 1930s.

Built byBolshevik Factory / Factory No. 174

T-26
T-26 in Kirovsk — WolfDW, via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain

Development history

The Soviet Union bought the Vickers 6-Ton, redesigned it around the hard-hitting 45 mm gun and built it on an industrial scale unmatched anywhere else. It dominated Republican armour in Spain and formed the backbone of Red Army tank brigades in 1941, by which time its thin riveted armour was hopelessly outclassed. Enormous numbers were lost in the first months of Barbarossa.

Variants

One canonical record, 4 recorded variants.

  1. T-26 Model 1931

    1931

    Twin machine-gun turrets in the Vickers pattern.

  2. T-26 Model 1933

    1933

    Single turret with the 45 mm 20-K gun; most numerous version.

  3. T-26 Model 1939

    1939

    Conical welded turret and sloped hull sides.

  4. OT-26 / OT-133

    1934

    Flamethrower versions for assaulting fortifications.

Notable actions

  • Spanish Civil War (1936-39)
  • Battles of Khalkhin Gol (1939)
  • Winter War (1939-40)
  • Operation Barbarossa (1941)