T-26-4

This page is about the Soviet light tank T-26-4. For other versions, see T-26 (Family).

T-26-4

T-60

T-26-4

T-60

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Light tank

Research:2 900

Purchase:700

Show in game

Description

The T-26-4 is a rank I Soviet light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.51 "Cold Steel". It is a variant of the T-26 with a 76 mm howitzer.

The T-26-4 is a rather unusual tank, combining average speed, thin armour and a large gun. It uses the same hull as T-26 and an enlarged turret not dissimilar to the T-28's main turret, able to mount the 76 mm KT-28 howitzer.

This tank and its gun can be roughly compared to its German peer, the Pz.IV C, and its 7.5 cm KwK37 L/24. However, it is vastly inferior to it in ALL terms.

The penetration is almost two times lower, and shell travel speed is by about 1/4 lower as well. Reloading also takes a bit more time. Armour wise, they are the same, but Pz. IV C has 30 mm of armour at the front. The German tank is also a lot faster, with the HP/ton ratio almost two times better. To complete the list, it also has a mere -5° of gun depression, compared to -10° of the Panzer. Lastly, Pz.IV C can also equip HEAT shells, to deal with better-armoured targets.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull15 / 15 / 15

Turret15 / 15 / 15

Crew3 people

Visibility75 %

15 mm thick plates cover most of the visible parts of the tank, and that's little armour for that BR, and with just 3 crew members and the low speed of the tank, chances of surviving for more than 10 minutes are low. However, a skilled tanker can use the small profile of the tank and its 76 mm APHEBC cannon and try to destroy light and medium targets.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	15 mm (18°) Driver's plate 15 mm (1°) Front plate 7 mm (64-80°) Front glacis 15 mm (6-52°) Lower glacis	15 mm (0-1°)	15 mm (1-31°) Top 15 mm (11°) Bottom	10 mm Hull 6 mm Rear
Turret	15 mm (0-3°) Turret front 15 mm (6-7°) Gun mantlet	15 mm (0-1°)	15 mm (1°)	10 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheel is 10 mm thick while tracks are 15 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 6 mm thick

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB34 / 4 km/h

RB and SB31 / 4 km/h

Number of gears5 forward

1 back

Weight11.0 t

Engine power

AB174 hp

RB and SB91 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB15.8 hp/t

RB and SB8.3 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	34	4	11	141	174	12.82	15.82
Realistic	31	4		80	91	7.27	8.27

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB106 → 136

RB95 → 122

SB111 → 142

Total cost of modifications2 970

890

Talisman cost190

Crew training200

Experts1 000

Aces20

Research Aces96 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

10 / 10 / 20 %

100 / 100 / 100 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Suspension Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Brake System Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Filters Research: 250 Cost: 75 65 Transmission Research: 320 Cost: 95 80 Engine Research: 320 Cost: 95 80	Improved Parts Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Improved FPE Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Crew Replenishment Research: 250 Cost: 75 65	Horizontal Drive Research: 200 Cost: 60 50 Adjustment of Fire Research: 165 Cost: 50 40 Elevation Mechanism Research: 250 Cost: 75 65 Artillery Support Research: 320 Cost: 95 80

As usual, Parts and FPE are the most important modules to research. After that, mobility upgrades will be very useful, since the tank has below-average mobility when stock. Even more important, perhaps, are the Horizontal Drive and Elevation Mechanism modifications. These will improve the vehicle's poor turret traverse speeds. Finally, the BR-350A shell has more penetration and contains more explosive filler than the stock shrapnel shell. If you are having difficulties with penetrating or destroying enemy targets using the shrapnel shell, this modification will prove invaluable.

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm KT-28 cannon

Ammunition50 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

5.2 → 4.0 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 21°

76 mm KT-28					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	50	-5°/+21°	±180°	N/A	15.2	21.1	25.6	28.3	30.1	5.20	4.60	4.24	4.00
Realistic					9.5	11.2	13.6	15.0	16.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)	APHEBC	37	37	33	30	27	24
OF-350M	HE	11	11	11	11	11	11
Sh-353	Shrapnel	27	25	21	19	16	12

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)	APHEBC	370	6.3	1.2	14	155	48°	63°	71°
OF-350M	HE	387	6.2	0.05	0.1	710	79°	80°	81°
Sh-353	Shrapnel	381	6.2	0.5	8	85	62°	69°	73°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-26-4

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
50	45 (+5)	39 (+11)	29 (+21)	1 (+49)	No

Note:

• Turret empty: 39 (+11) shells.

Machine guns

7.62 mm DT machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition1 890 rounds

Belt capacity63 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.62 mm DT machine gun

Ammunition1 890 rounds

Belt capacity63 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

10.4 → 8.0 s

Fire rate600 shots/min

7.62 mm DT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,890 (63)	600	N/A	N/A
Rear	1,890 (63)	600	±15°	±15°

The small calibre of the DT machine guns makes them largely ineffective against all armoured vehicles but the ones with an open compartment. They still can be used to ping targets as a rangefinding help or to mow down minor obstacles blocking your line of sight. The clip capacity is quite poor as they rely on magazines of 63 bullets instead of belts like similar machine guns from other nations.

Usage in battles

All three of this tank's shells have a very low muzzle velocity, which means that engaging at long range, or even at medium range, is practically impossible. Instead, the T-26-4 does the most damage up close, where aiming is easier. Fortunately, most engagements at this tier are close-up.

The lack of armour is really something to be kept in mind, even some machine guns (8 mm, 12.7 mm) will be able to go through your thickest pieces of armour (15 mm). Due to this, you want to be trying your best to avoid enemy vehicles getting the first shot, driving undercover is advisable to avoid being spotted, and if you spot an enemy vehicle it would be best to engage and destroy them as soon as possible to avoid them becoming a threat. Due to the lack of effective armour, aircraft can also be a risk, again, staying in cover will make it more difficult for enemy vehicles to spot and engage your T-26.

However, this vehicle sometimes has trouble actually getting in to those close engagements. It has quite poor mobility compared to its peers (for example, the BT-5), and therefore can miss out on the first stages of a battle. The slow speed also means that long flanking manoeuvres may be difficult to pull off. Therefore, this tank finds success as an ambusher or as a direct supporter of friendly vehicles. Team play is vital to being successful in this vehicle.

This vehicle has quite a high-calibre gun for this rank, but the stock shrapnel shell has poor penetration (despite its high post-penetration damage). It if often unable to penetrate enemy tanks frontally, and against some vehicles, such as the Pz.III E, it can't even penetrate the side armour. This makes flanking even more important for this vehicle--otherwise, the player will often find themselves unable to deal damage to the enemy. Once the APHEBC BR-350A shell is researched, the gun will be able to penetrate most tanks at this battle rating through their frontal armour, and finding side-shots will become less important.

If possible, try to concentrate your fire on lightly armoured vehicles--It's dangerous to go alone, so be sure to stay near teammates. Otherwise, you risk an encounter with a tank that you won't be able to penetrate.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Gun can easily destroy any tank it meets with a single shot
• Manoeuvrability is quite good, although somewhat limited by its low top speed (30 km/h)
• Decent reload speed

Cons:

• Very low survivability; the armour is thin, not angled and is only 15 mm max. Can get frontally penetrated by anything like the Pz.II, Pz.III and even heavy MG.
• The three crew members are packed tightly together significantly reduces survivability
• Poor mobility overall; has low top speed limited manoeuvrability around the battlefield, the weak engine doesn't allow it to climb hills
• The narrow tracks slow it in desert maps like Sinai or snowy maps like Frozen Pass
• The slow reverse speed of only -3 km/h is very fatal as it cannot back away from danger in time
• Average turret rotation combined with the sluggish hull traverse prevents it from responding to flanks quickly
• Average -5° gun depression limits its potential in hilly terrains
• Some ammo is stored inside turret which tends to explode when hit

History

The T-26-4 light tank is a variant of the T-26 light tank in Soviet services. Instead of mounting a 45 mm cannon as its main armament, the T-26-4 mounts the 76.2 mm KT tank gun and is intended to fill the role of an artillery tank. The turret looks similar to the T-28 medium tank, if not the same.

The T-26-4 design was tested in October 1933 after five were built. It was in this test that the 76.2 mm KT cannon was chosen to arm it instead of the more powerful and innovative 76.2 mm PS-3 cannon. A production of 50 of these tanks was scheduled in 1935, but an incident on September 19, 1934, with a shell case destruction caused the military to cancel the T-26-4. The T-26-4 turret was then used on the BT-7A light tank intended for the same role.

In-game description

An experimental version of a fire support light tank. Even before the T-26 began serial production the authorities of the Red Army raised the question of enhancing the tank's weaponry and building a fire-support tank. The process of designing a turret for the 76 mm cannon began in February, 1932. An experimental model of the T-26-4 was built in November, 1932. After it underwent successful testing in 1933 the factory received an order to build a base batch of five vehicles. The new vehicles entered military testing in 1934. After testing was complete an experimental batch of 50 vehicles was planned. However, during a drill near Leningrad an incident occurred, after which the decision was made to cancel the production of the experimental batch. All further work on this vehicle was cancelled.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the T-26-4 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

T-26-4 Tank Review - NUSensei

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same chassis

• T-26 (Family)
• SU-5-1

External links

• [Development] Pz-35t & T-26-4

Experimental Design and Mechanical Engineering Department
Light Tanks
T-26	T-26 · T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-26E · T-26-4
T-50	T-50 · T-126
Heavy Tanks	T-35
Tank Destroyers	SU-5-1 · SU-100Y
Export
T-26	␗T-26 · T-26 No.531
See Also	Omsk Transport Engineering Plant