T-26-4

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

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

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 KwK 37 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

15mm armor covers most of the visible parts of the tank, and that's paper even in BR 1.0, and with just 3 comrades 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 76mm 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

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

Armaments

Main armament

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	38 (+12)	25 (+25)	13 (+37)	1 (+49)	Yes

Note:

• Turret empty: 25 (+25) shells.

Machine guns

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	N/A	N/A

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 relies 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.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support

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.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Gun can easily kill any tank it meets with a single shot
• Manoeuvrability is quite good, although somewhat limited by its low top speed (30 kph)
• 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

"In 1940, the T-26 light tank was modernised for the last time. The vehicle's underturret box was equipped with homogenous armour with sloping plates and its thickness was increased to 15 mm. The frontal section of the turret was welded. A distinctive feature of the tank was the special defensive cover over its radiator grille. An extra DT machine gun was mounted on the turret's roof and was used as an anti-aircraft gun.

All these changes led to the T-26's mass exceeding 10 tonnes. In spite of its strengthened construction, its undercarriage was pushed to the limit. Often, particularly when turning, the tank started losing its tracks. Test results showed that the tank's armour did not meet modern requirements, and there was no weight allowance for increasing its armament. Other flaws in the tank's design included its low speed, poor weight distribution and low reliability.

However, the tank was easy to control, simple to service and did not require much effort in the field. Although the tank had an engine with horizontally placed cylinders, the tank's profile remained low, which made it harder to hit. Many technical solutions applied to the T-26 were used later on other tanks. When used correctly and in the hands of an experienced crew, the light tank could cause serious damage to the enemy forces. The T-26 made a significant contribution to routing the enemy at Moscow, and took part in practically all combat operations right up to 1944.

A significant number of these tanks, after being captured and modified in various ways, served in the German and Finnish armies. Some of them were used by Finland until the beginning of the 50s."

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• [Devblog] Pz-35t & T-26-4

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.