T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.)

This page is about the Soviet light tank T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.). For other versions, see T-26 (Family).

T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.)

T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.)

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Light tank

Purchase:250

Show in game

Description

The T-26 mod. 1939 (1st Gv.T.Br.) is a premium rank I Soviet light tank with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.41.27. Essentially a premium version of the original T-26, it boasts all its benefits and weaknesses. It costs 250 Golden Eagles.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armourfront / side / back

Hull15 / 15 / 15

Turret15 / 15 / 15

Crew3 people

Visibility75 %

This is definitively the worst characteristic of this vehicle: armour is flat and thin on all sides. Do not expose yourself to enemy fire. Crew placement is not lined up from the front, meaning shells without HE filler can take up to 3 shots before being destroyed. Beware HMG and autocannons.

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	15 mm (22°) Front plate 7 mm (64-80°) Front glacis 15 mm (6-52°) Lower glacis	15 mm (21-23°) Top 15 mm (0°) Bottom	15 mm (0°) Top 15 mm (12°) Bottom	10 mm Hull 6 mm Rear
Turret	15 mm (13-15°) Turret front 15 mm (5-44°) Gun mantlet	15 mm (17-19°)	15 mm (17°)	10 mm

Notes

• Suspension wheel are 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

Weight9.8 t

Engine power

AB174 hp

RB and SB91 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB17.8 hp/t

RB and SB9.3 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	9.8	141	174	14.39	17.76
Realistic	31	4		80	91	8.16	9.29

While being a light tank, its mobility is one of a medium tank. The top speed is very, very low for a light tank, combined with the low power to weight ratio given by its weak engine, the T-26 has poor acceleration and speed on most surfaces. It can reach around 30 km/h only on hard, flat surface, after a long, uninterrupted acceleration period. With even a small turn the speed will drop significantly. The narrow tracks significantly reduce its off-road mobility in muddy, sandy or snowy maps. Despite the tracks being short and far apart, the T-26 still has slow hull traverse and often needs a forward/backward jerk to start turning properly. Reverse speed is also very poor (-4 km/h), which cannot save you from most bad situations.

It will eventually take you where you want to be, provided that you are a very patient player, choose your route well, and avoid too many tricky turns.

Modifications and economy

Repair cost

AB322

RB280

SB422

Total cost of modifications5 020

500

Crew training150

Experts1 000

Aces20

Research Aces145 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

2 × 20 / 20 / 30 %

2 × 75 / 75 / 75 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 450 Cost: 45 40 Suspension Brake System Research: 500 Cost: 50 45 Filters Transmission Engine Research: 960 Cost: 95 85	Improved Parts Improved FPE Crew Replenishment	Horizontal Drive Research: 450 Cost: 45 40 45mm_AP_1942_ammo_pack Research: 450 Cost: 45 40 Adjustment of Fire Research: 500 Cost: 50 45 Elevation Mechanism Research: 750 Cost: 75 70 Artillery Support Research: 960 Cost: 95 85

Armaments

Main armament

45 mm 20-K cannon

Ammunition205 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

3.8 → 2.9 s

Vertical guidance-6° / 22°

The 20-K is the typical Soviet rank I gun. Players should get used to it since it will be your main armament up until rank II. The APHEBC round has a good amount of HE filler, meaning penetrating shells will do good damage, sometimes even one-shotting enemies. In longer ranges, shells begin to lose penetration and accuracy; it is not made for sniping. Try to bring ~10-15 BR-240SP (pure AP shells) for heavier targets. This gun is very forgiving to beginners, with its very fast reload speed and turret traverse.

45 mm 20-K					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	205	-6°/+22°	±180°	N/A	15.23	21.08	25.60	28.31	30.12	3.77	3.34	3.07	2.90
Realistic					9.52	11.20	13.60	15.04	16.00

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-240	APHEBC	70	68	59	50	42	35
BR-240SP	AP	73	71	62	52	44	37

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-240	APHEBC	760	1.43	1.2	9.0	29.26	48°	63°	71°
BR-240SP	AP	757	1.43	N/A	N/A	N/A	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	12th rack empty	13th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
205	202 (+3)	197 (+8)	187 (+18)	177 (+28)	167 (+38)	157 (+48)	139 (+66)	121 (+84)	103 (+102)	79 (+126)	61 (+144)	29 (+176)	1 (+204)	No

Ammo racks of the T-26 (1st Gv.T.Br.)

Turret empty: 157 (+48)

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
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	1,890 (63)	600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The T-26 is definitely best suited to a more support role, flanking the battlefield and finding a good position to support your teammates from, the 45mm cannon has very good characteristics with its rounds (APHEBC, AP) being able to deal fair damage to enemy vehicles from short and long range and the fast reload allowing for quick adjustment of aim between shots, this allows the T-26 to be a highly effective flanking vehicle if a good camping spot is found, however, the limited gun depression (-6°) will affect which positions are usable, keeping long range is certainly an effective way to avoid taking damage. The T-26 is also usable at closer ranges for brawling with enemy vehicles, but it should be kept in mind that the thin armour on the T-26 (≤15mm) will leave the vital modules of your vehicle such as your crew, gun & powerplant (engine & transmission) at risk of taking damage, the mobility of the T-26 is also lesser than many of its counterparts which could potentially put it at risk in a brawling scenario, on the other hand the T-26's good reload (3.77 - 2.9s) will usually give it an upper hand if you can survive the first shots against an enemy vehicle.

Due to the top speed of the T-26 being less than many other vehicles at its BR (30 km/h), it will usually arrive to the battlefield after the fighting has already begun, this has the advantage of arriving after your team has already identified many targets, and also meaning that you will not be in the front line of attack, this will usually allow for you to last a bit longer than players who rushed the centre of the battlefield, alternatively it is also less likely that you will reach capture points before they are capped by your faster teammates although there are cases where you can help capture a contested point.

The lack of armour is really something to be kept in mind, even some machine guns (8mm, 12.7mm) will be able to go through you thickest pieces of armour (15mm), due to this you want to be trying your best to avoid enemy vehicles getting the first shot, driving in cover 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.

In terms of the T-26's gun there are 2 round options, the APHEBC round has 70mm best effective penetration as well as 29.26g of TNT equivalent explosive, this will allow for this round to penetrate most armour at this BR and also have good post pen damage if the fuse is set off. Second round type is an AP round, this has 73mm best effective penetration but lacks any explosive filler, this makes its post pen damage less effective than the APHEBC round. More info on both these rounds can be found in the "ammunition" section above.

It is also worth keeping in mind that the reverse speed is only 3km/h, so you will have to be careful when driving out into potential enemy fire.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great firepower; the stock shell has 69 mm maximum penetration and 32 g TNT which can frontally penetrate many tanks
• Even in an up-tier situation it can still effectively penetrate tanks like the B1
• Massive ammo capacity and fast reload time is good for new players who are learning to aim
• Premium bonuses thanks to its premium status

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

Development

The T-26 light tank was design is derived from the British Vickers 6-ton tank. In the early 1930s, a Soviet buying committee travelled to Britain and purchased tanks, tractors, and cars for use in the Soviet Union, of which the Vickers tank was chosen. Fifteen Twin-turreted Vickers tank arrived into the Soviet Union on May 1930, equipped with only machine guns. Four more Vickers were delivered at the end of 1930, these being the single-turret variants with a 47 mm gun, and the deliveries were finished by 1932. The Vickers-produced tanks were designated as the V-26.

The Vickers 6-ton tank competed with several Soviet designs for the "most suitable" tank design for Soviet use. One such competitor was the Soviet T-19 light tank, which had advantages over the Vickers design, but also disadvantages. The T-19 designer, S. Ginzburg, suggested for a "hybrid" tank to be built off the features of the T-19 and the Vickers tank. But in January 1931, intelligence picked up that Poland bought up many foreign tanks from Britain and France with a license to mass-produce them. As Poland was considered an enemy to the state, the pressure caused by this intelligence caused the Soviet military council to adopt the foreign tanks into Soviet usage, thus the Vickers 6-ton tank, under the designation as the T-26, was accepted into service in February 13, 1931 as the mainstay of the Red Army's armoured forces.

Although outclassed later in the war, it was considered one of the more successful and widely produced tank model in the 1930s. It, along with with the BT light tanks, composed of the majority of Russia's armoured forces in the late 1930s. It weighed just a little under 10 tons, had 15 mm thick armour in front, with a 45 mm 20K gun, and had a crew of three people. The Bolshevik Factory in Leningrad was the first factory to start producing the T-26 from June 1931, and production of the tank lasted from then until 1941.

Variants

During its production life, many variants of it were made for different purposes, up to 53 different ones to fit different roles, though only 23 would see service in production. Such designs included changes like a twin-turreted version (some with only machine guns and some with cannons), command tanks, added armour, artillery tanks (such as the T-26-4), flamethrower tanks, remote-controlled tanks, or just armoured carriers to tow artillery and such. Others were simply modified variants of the normal variants such as the T-26E, which was the base single-turreted T-26 design with 30-40 mm applique armour made during the Winter War, which made them more resilient to the Finnish anti-tank weapons.

All these tanks produced in the span of 1931 to 1941 made up a total 10,300 tanks, and 1,701 other variants of it, for a total of 12,001 units produced.

Combat usage

The T-26 first saw combat in the Spanish Civil War, where it showed its superiority over the current tanks of the period fielded by Italy and Germany. Then it saw combat against the Japanese in the Soviet-Japanese border conflicts at Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol, which exposed some of the design defects such as poor armour welding and the disadvantages of riveted constructions (the rivet would break off and could harm the crew inside). After that, the T-26 saw service in the Invasion of Poland and the Winter War against Finland. The Winter War effectively showed the Soviets that the T-26 was obsolete, as the 37 mm guns and anti-tank rifles and Finnish have could penetrate the light armour of the T-26. When World War II for Russia finally broke out in Operation Barbarossa, the T-26 proved inferior to the German's Panzer IIIs and Panzer IVs, plus the air supremacy of the Luftwaffe ensured many tanks were lost in the opening stages of Barbarossa.

The T-26 at this point also was breaking down and the lack of spare parts made repairs hard, resulting in multiple T-26 units also being knocked out for being irrecoverable. The T-26 was gradually phased from service by the new, venerable T-34 medium tanks, which gave Germany a run for their money. The T-26 still saw service in the war as a second-line unit, as it was still fighting in the Battle of Moscow of 1941, Stalingrad of 1942, and in Manchuria in 1945. Some T-26 even saw action in the 1st Guards Tank Brigade (1st Gv.T.Br.), but these were quickly replaced by the more venerable T-34.

Survivors

A number of survivors exist today in different museums, about 45 of them are still intact. A majority of them are in Russia, Spain, and Finland, where they saw most of their services.

Media

Right side of the T-26, which shows the insignia of the 1st Guards Tank Brigade.

See also

• Standard Soviet T-26: T-26

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.