Your Ideal Tank Contest

MrVic: Russian HT-75
Nicknamed “Volumes of Death”

Origins:
Zh. Kotin the designer of numerous Russian tanks was the mastermind behind the HT-75. With a number of previous
designs under his belt he was on a pretty well set path of design until a detour showed up on his desk mid 1938.
It was a design and shipment documents for a Hotchkiss designed many years before a automatic feed for a 75mm cannon.
The design was never fully tested and the concept design was sold to the Russians mid 1930’s. By the same token the
Frenchmen owned company Hotchkiss working out of the U.S. also bought/acquired the same design in the 1930’s The U.S.
worked on further developing it but the project stalled out as the working prototypes had many bugs and flaws. With
the size constraints and the mechanical flaws still evident and the clouds of war were stirring. The kinks to make it
reliable were not worked out until after the start of the war. After the start of the war the project was resumed again
to be used in B-25 bomber in place of the manual 75mm cannon for ground attack. By the time they hit production the
advent of rockets quickly filled the niche the cannon would fill for the Air Force. Some years later in 1960 the weapon
was employed in aircraft for the US Air Force. The Russians took the design and never gave up. By the onset of 1939 the
weapon system was working as intended but it still required a large amount of space. With a semi automatic cannon with
10-20 round ammo hoppers gave the gun the ability to quickly fire off shells as long as it was on a sufficiently stable
firing platform. The decision was made to incorporate it into a larger heavy assault tank. The State Defense council
had concerns on its ammo usage from the onset of the building of the prototypes. Luckily Russian theory that firepower
is the foremost overall else, prevailed into the HT-75. Built on a heavy chassis and with little anti-infantry defense
weapons, with enough room to support the cannon and manpower/space to operate and reload the cannons ammo hoppers was
finally achieved. Though the State Defense Councils worries were well founded as once in the field the ammo usage was
immense, due to crews direct “firing for effect”. In the end the raw amount of support fire power and destruction caused
to the German forces meant it was going to have a long and destructive tenure in the Russian army.
General Data
Formal Designation(s)......................HT-75
Manufacturer(s).................................Factory No.100 Kirovskiy Works in Leningrad (LKZ)
Production Quantity...........................6 (330 Ordered)
Production Period............................1940-?
Type..............................................Heavy Assault Tank
Length /hull (m)...............................8.14m
Width (m)........................................3.38m
Combat Weight (kg)..........................61000
Crew................................................6
Barrel Overhang (m)..........................0.2
Height (m)........................................3.3m
Radio Equipment................................71-TK-3
Armament
Primary Armament........................Ziz-75mm SemiAuto
Traverse (degrees).........................360° (Electric)
Elevation (degrees).........................-4° to +24.5°
Ammunition Carried.........................143
Secondary Armament....................... 2x 7.62mm DT MG
Ammunition Carried.........................2475-3087
Mobility
Engine Make & Model.........................V-2K
Type & Displacement..........................V12
Horsepower (max.)...........................600hp@2000rpm
Power/Weight Ratio...........................9.5 hp/tonne
Gearbox.......................................5 forward, 1 reverse
Fuel.................................................Diesel
Range on/off road (km).......................250 km
Mileage (litres/100km).......................240 l/100km
Fuel Capacity (litres)..........................600 l
Speed on/off road................................26 km/h
Track Width........................................65 cm
Track Ground Contact..........................419 cm
Ground Pressure.................................17.6 psi
Ground Clearance (m)..........................0.48
Turning Radius (m)...............................2.15
Gradient (degrees)................................22°
Vertical Obstacle (m)...........................0.78
Fording (m).........................................1
Trench Crossing (m)............................2.64
Armor..............Front...................Side.................Rear..............Top/Bottom
Upper Hull.....75mm@60°..........75mm@90°.....70mm@90°........40mm@0°
Lower Hull.....75mm@60°..........75mm@90°.....60mm@40°........40mm@0°
Turret............75mm@90°..........75mm@90°.....75mm@90°........40mm@0°
Mantle..........110mm@round.........NA.................NA....................NA
Designer Notes:
Well I was researching some other weapons in the 40mm department when I was met with road blocks. A friend of mine works for a air force museum , so I gave him a call out of desperation. As we got to chatting he brought up a weapon system I had never thought about that had its roots in the 1930's. I began to see if it was feasible and he checked records on his end. In the end it truly was usable! So the fun began...how do I use this thing. I finally understood why it was skipped past by the US early on. So I turned to the Russians and their concept of superior firepower. In the end its was great fun purely since it was such a surprise find lol. Granted its only a confirmed in tech of the period and concept/design. But its was great fun and working prototypes did exist in WW2 mainly the issue I had was trying to nail down when they were built. The designs tho were much older just never fully worked out. Best photo I could find of one now days. My link