Recently, the World War II movie "Hunting T-34" was released in Chinese theaters, which is adapted from the 1965 Soviet film "Lark" (also known as "Ghost Chariot T-34"), which tells the story of a group of heroic Soviet fighters driving T-34 tanks to escape from the enemy's pursuit and interception. At present, the film's box office performance is among the best in Russia, and it has won three awards at the 2020 Russian Golden Eagle Awards for Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Visual Effects.
DVD cover of The Hunt for the T-34
Image source: Amazon
Stills from The Hunt for T-34
The film focuses on the fierce confrontation between the T-34 and the Leopard tank, which makes fans feast their eyes. But the film's "emphasis on the outside and light on the inside" lacks the shocking effect of the classic Russian war film, nor can it bring people to reflect on war and human nature - but when a film can attract the attention of many fans with the name "T-34" alone, it is enough to show that tanks have gone beyond their basic use as a tool of war and have also had a huge influence in the cultural field.
The development of tanks has been more than a hundred years, this modern weapon set firepower, armor, speed in one, is not only a battlefield weapon, but also the embodiment of national strength, this article will be through some tank-related commemorative coins, review the development of tanks in the past century.
A steel monster that came out of nowhere
In the summer of 1916, the Battle of the Somme, the largest battle of the First World War, entered a white-hot phase. The positions were turned into slaughterhouses, and the Water of the Somme Was stained red with blood, but the sacrifices of the soldiers did not allow either side to usher in a happy victory, because the trenches of the two sides were staggered, and machine guns, artillery, and barbed wire formed a net of death. Faced with the stalemate, the British decided to send a new weapon, the tank, hoping to make a breakthrough in the war.
On 15 September, 18 British Mark I tanks roared across a 10-kilometer-wide battle line, and these steel monsters roared and roared, easily rolling over one barbed wire mesh after another, greeting the Germans with machine guns and artillery. The German soldiers were horrified to see the bullets bouncing back on this monster, abandoned their positions in panic, and were broken through by the British for 4 to 5 kilometers, and even captured 300 people by a tank. The first time tanks appeared on the stage of history, they left an unstoppable impression.
The Mark I tank first appeared on the battlefield
Source: Library of Congress
From the outside, the Mark I tank is a diamond-shaped box with tracks on both sides, gun mounts, and a pair of steering wheels behind the car. Interestingly, this tank has a distinction between "male" and "female", the "male" tank is equipped with 2 guns and 4 machine guns, and the "female" is equipped with only 5 machine guns. However, the environment inside the tank is much more awkward than the high-profile appearance - during the operation, the 8 occupants will suffer from heat, smoke and bumps in the car. Since there was no radio communication at the time, each tank was equipped with two carrier pigeons to communicate with the command.
As the first tank to go to the battlefield, the Mark I actually achieved quite limited results, because the British only used it as an infantry support weapon, and its survival rate was quite low - initially the British army had more than 40 tanks, but only 18 arrived on the battlefield and were able to participate in the battle, and only a few were left after the first day of combat. The remaining tanks were reimbursed for mechanical failures, mud and combat damage.
The Mark I and its derivatives produced more than 2,000 tanks, and although their practical role was limited, they were still advertised by the British as a weapon to defeat the enemy.
"A Hundred Years after the End of World War I: Tanks"
2018 British £5 commemorative silver coin
"World War I: Battle of the Somme"
2016 British Pound 5 Commemorative Silver Coin
"The Anzac Spirit: Shaking the Earth"
2018 Australian 50 Cent Commemorative Silver Coin
After the Mark I was put into the battlefield, the British realized that the battlefield needed more maneuverable tanks, so they developed the Mk.A "Whippet" medium tank. The tank has a peculiar appearance, with its engine and fuel tanks placed in front of the car and weighing only about 14 tons, half the weight less than the Mark I tank. This "burden reduction" also reduced the crew to only 3 people, and the weapons were only 4 machine guns on the turret. In 1918, the "Whippet" was first introduced to the battlefield, and it proved with actual results that the improved mobility of tanks was important for pursuing the retreating enemy: on the French battlefield, a force of 7 "Whippet" tanks annihilated two German infantry battalions, killing more than 400 people.
"Whippet" on the battlefield in France, 1918
Image source: reddit.com
It is worth mentioning that after the end of World War I, a small number of "Whippet" tanks were purchased by Japan, and the Japanese army formed a tank unit on this basis.
During this period, in addition to Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, the United States, and Russia also developed tanks.
The Saint-Chamund was the second tank developed by the French Army, with 1 main gun and 4 machine guns, and a total of 400 were produced in the late Stage I. This tank lacks mobility and the hull is too long, but it uses a gasoline engine to drive the electric drive system, which also has a certain impact on the development of future tanks in the design, and can be regarded as the originator of self-propelled artillery.
"San Chamond" tank
Source: Wikimedia Commons
"Modern Warfare 1917-2017"
2017 French 10 Euro Commemorative Silver Coin
The representative tank of the French army during World War I was the FT-17 Renault light tank, the first tank to use a rotating turret, which is directly related to the tank to be introduced next.
"Renault" tank
Museum of the Royal Belgian Armed Forces, 2005
Source: Wikimedia Commons/Paul Hermans
A torrent of steel, a collision of iron and blood
When we mention the "steel torrent", many people will think of the soviet union's powerful armored forces during World War II, but the powerful Soviet tanks were not born out of thin air. In 1919, the Red Army dismantled and studied the "Renault" tank captured from the White Army, and on this basis built a prototype, which was the first mass-produced tank in the Soviet Union: the KS tank, the "Red Sormov", the first car was also known as the "Freedom Fighter Comrade Lenin". This tank almost completely copied the design of the "Renault" tank, only a dozen were produced, did not participate in any battles, and was withdrawn in the 30s, but it had a deep influence on the design of tanks such as the T-18 and T-19.
"Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Armored Forces (KS Tanks)"
2010 Russian 1 ruble commemorative silver coin
The most representative Soviet World War II tank is the T-34. During the Spanish Civil War, the Soviet Union supplied the IRA with more than 300 T-26 and BT-5 light tanks, but they performed poorly in actual combat and were often destroyed by anti-tank weapons. As a result, Pavlov, chairman of the Council of Soviet Armored Forces, suggested that the Red Army develop a new tank to solve the problem of insufficient protection of the old tank. Between 1938 and 1939, three design plans were approved: the A-20, A-30, and A-32. In the end, the A-32 won, and the designer Mikhail Koshkin developed the T-34 tank based on this model. In January 1940, the Soviet Union produced two prototypeS-34s, koshkin in order to test these two tanks, from Karkov/Kharkov all the way to Moscow, the 2018 Russian film "Tanks" set in this history, fictionalized a thrilling plot of adventure chase.
Stills from Tanks
The T-34 is available in several variants, the most famous of which are the T-34/76 and T-34/85, two of which are known for the caliber of the tank guns. The tank weighs 26.5-30.9 tons, has a crew of 4-5 people, a frontal armor thickness of 45 mm, an off-road travel of 230 km, and an off-road speed of 36 km/h, achieving a balance in firepower, armor and speed. It is also easy to operate, which is quite important in actual combat.
By the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, more than 1,200 T-34s had been produced, mainly the T-34/76. On June 22, 1941, the day of the outbreak of the Soviet-German War, the T-34 participated in the battle for the first time in Grodno, Belarus, and although the German tanks were strong with the "Blitzkrieg", they encountered the T-34 and hit the nail, because no German tank at that time could penetrate the frontal armor of the tank.
T-34 tanks participating in a military parade in Moscow's Red Square in 1941
Image source: albumwar2.com
As the battle progressed, the T34/76 appeared weak in the face of thicker armored German tanks, so the Red Army upgraded the T34 tank with a larger turret and an 85 mm tank gun on the hull, resulting in the T-34/85, a new type of tank that had the opportunity to destroy the German main battle tank at a distance of 200 meters. During World War II, the T-34 series of tanks produced about 84,000 units, the largest number of tanks produced during this period, and made a great contribution to the anti-fascist cause.
"Weapons Designer: Mikhail Koshkin"
2019 Russian 25 rubles copper-nickel commemorative coin
"Liberation of Nikopol"
2014 Ukrainian 5 Hryvnia Copper-Nickel Commemorative Coin
"50th Anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War: Liberation of Prague"
1995 Russian 3 rubles copper-nickel commemorative coin
"WWII Tank: T-34"
2010 Tuvalu $1 commemorative silver coin
"Victory Tank T-34"
2020 Cameroon 1000 franc commemorative silver coin
In 1944, the Soviet heavy tank IS-2 "Stalin 2" appeared on the battlefield. This tank, a replacement for the KV-1 and IS-1, was fitted with a 122 mm main gun, weighed 46 tons, had a crew of 4 people, a thickness of frontal armor of more than 100 mm, an off-road travel of 160 km and an off-road speed of 10-15 km/h. During World War II, the IS-2 was produced by more than 2,000 vehicles, and although it far surpassed the T-34 tank in firepower and protection, it sacrificed maneuverability and rate of fire.
IS-2 tank
"Weapons Designer: Joseph Curtin"
In World War II, the main opponent of the Soviet union's main tank was the German heavy tank, of which the Tiger tank was the most famous.
Tiger tank
Image source: imgur.com
The Tiger tank, officially known as the Panzer VI E and designated Sd.Kfz.181, began development in 1941, went into production in August 1942, and produced more than 1,300 units by the time of production in August 1944. The tank was armed with an 88 mm caliber tank gun and a 7.92 mm caliber MG-34 machine gun, weighing 57 tons, with a frontal armor thickness of 100 mm, an off-road travel of 60 km and an off-road speed of 20 km/h. Its powerful firepower and heavy armor gave the Tiger a great advantage in combat, but it also had several fatal drawbacks: high production costs, frequent mechanical failures, and short combat distances. In the famous Battle of Kursk, the Tiger tank did not take much advantage.
Tiger tanks during the Battle of Kuselk
"The Road to Victory: The Battle of Kursk"
2004 Gibraltar £5 commemorative silver coin
Even so, the Tiger tank's mighty appearance and fierce record also made the Allied soldiers deeply frightened. On 13 June 1944, the British destroyed 27 tigers and other combat vehicles by a Tiger tank in the village of Pokaki near Normandy, a feat that made the Tiger a myth. In the 2014 movie "Fury", the director arranged 4 Sherman tanks against 1 Tiger tank, and it is difficult to say that it was not affected by the legend of the Tiger tank.
Stills from "Fury"
The Tiger tank in the play is genuine, still walkable, and unique
It is now in the Bovington Tank Museum
"WWII Tanks: Tiger Tanks"
2008 Liberian $5 commemorative silver coin
As for the "old friends" of the Tiger tank on the Western Front, there were the American "Sherman" tank, the British "Churchill" tank and the "Cromwell" tank.
The "Sherman" tank is the largest medium tank produced in the United States in World War II, producing more than 48,000 units from 1941 to 1945, although the original intention of the tank is to standardize the parts to facilitate maintenance, but in fact, the manufacturers will "magic modify" the tank according to the actual needs of the battlefield, making it a "golden oil" tank (especially in britain, the tank gun was replaced with a 17-pounder gun, which gave birth to the "Sherman Firefly" tank). The Sherman tank weighs more than 30 tons, has a frontal armor thickness of 63 mm, is equipped with a standard 75 mm tank gun, has a crew of 5 people, has an off-road travel of 90 km and an off-road speed of 21 km/h. Due to its high body and interesting appearance, the "Sherman" tank was jokingly called "steamed buns" by military fans. During World War II, the Sherman tank was thrown into various battlefields and became a weapon for the Allies to counter the fascist army.
Sherman tank
图源：Wikimedia Commons/Joost J. Bakker
"World War II: 'Sherman' Tanks"
2005 Canada 50 Cent Commemorative Silver Coin
"WWII Tanks: M4 'Sherman' Tank"
"World War II: The Battle of Italy"
2015 Canada $20 Commemorative Silver Coin
During World War II, the Idea of using tanks in britain was to use infantry tanks to assist infantry in tearing through enemy lines, and then use cruise tanks to achieve deep breakthroughs, but the actual products of the "Churchill" infantry tank and the "Cromwell" cruise tank were somewhat weak in the face of various armored vehicles of the German army. Regarding their various parameters and achievements, the reasons for the length will not be repeated.
"Churchill" tank
"WWII Tanks: Churchill"
Cromwell cruise tank
General Stanisła Mautek's vehicle, the Hera
"General Stanisław Mautsek"
2003 Polish 10 zloty commemorative silver coins
The last WWII tank to be mentioned is the Japanese Type 97 medium tank, which, although it appears to be vulnerable among the main tanks of various countries, is rampant on Chinese soil and commits unforgivable crimes against Chinese soldiers and civilians. However, tanks can also "make meritorious deeds" - China's famous Gongchen tank is the Type 97 tank captured by the People's Liberation Army, which made great contributions in the Liberation War and drove through Tiananmen Square as the leader of the first tank team at the founding ceremony. In 1959, the Gongchen tank was decommissioned and preserved in the military museum of the Chinese Revolution.
Hero tank
The "WWII Tanks" series issued in Tuvalu in 2010 also includes a silver commemorative silver coin of the "Type 97 Tank", which readers are invited to look at critically.
"WWII Tank: Type 97 Medium Tank"
The main tank that keeps pace with the times
Modern tanks have experienced the baptism of world wars and the Cold War, and have far surpassed the old tanks in performance, truly becoming the "king of land warfare".
Taking the T-80 tank as an example, this tank is equipped with a 125 mm smoothbore gun, weighing 42.8-48 tons, the frontal armor thickness is 250 mm, the off-road travel is 360-450 km, and the off-road speed is 48 km, which is the first mass-produced all-gas turbine-powered main battle tank in history, and has the reputation of "flying tank". Since its mass production and service in 1976, its various improved models have experienced many wars, among which the T-80BVM tank is mounted with flexible explosive reactive armor, the thermal imaging sight is added, and the new tank gun is replaced, which enhances the battlefield survivability.
T-80U tank
图源：Wikimedia Commons/Vitaly V. Kuzmin
"Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Armored Forces (T-80 tanks)"
The T-90 is a main battle tank based on the T-72B tank and developed using the T-80U's fire control system, which is a derivative of the T-72 and began mass production in the 1990s. This tank is a mixture of traditional armored steel plates, multi-layer composite armor, explosive reactive armor, equipped with a 125 mm tank gun, the combat range is 500 kilometers, and the outer fuel tank can reach 700 kilometers, and the speed is 65-80 kilometers per hour. As for which of the T-80 or T-90 is stronger, critics disagree.
T-90A tank
"Guardian of the Homeland (Modern)"
2018 Russian 3 ruble commemorative silver coin
In 2017, the Chinese Bank issued a set of gold and silver commemorative coins for the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army Chinese, one of which showed the image of the Chinese army soldiers under the party's banner, with typical weapons and equipment, armband patterns of the military branches, and the shape of the Great Wall.
Chinese 15 grams commemorative silver coin for the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army (Army)
According to the interpretation of the relevant article, the type 99A main battle tank appeared in the pattern of this silver coin. The Type 99A main battle tank is the most advanced and fully informatized main battle tank of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, and was the first phalanx of the armored phalanx at the 60th anniversary military parade of the National Day in 2009, the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression in 2015 and the 70th anniversary of the National Day in 2019. It is equipped with a 125 mm main gun, compatible with multiple ammunition types, and the hull is equipped with advanced composite armor to withstand multiple enemy attacks. The vehicle was also equipped with a laser sight suppression jamming device and an active defense device to improve the battlefield survivability of the tank. All in all, the Type 99A main battle tank meets the requirements of all-terrain and all-weather combat, and can be called a "big power heavy weapon".
The Type 99A main battle tank in the 2019 National Day 70th Anniversary Military Parade
Tanks are not only a sharp blade for attacking the depth of the enemy, but also a backing for defending the country, and only when they are handed over to peace-loving countries can their true value be reflected.