Between the two world wars, in some places very bizarre combat vehicles were created in Europe. These include the so-called "machine gun". It may seem strange today, but in the 1920s and 1930s, such vehicles were really in demand as part of the armed forces of the armies of different countries. Let's take a closer look at these cars and get to know a few outstanding representatives?
What is a "machine gun"?
It is most correct to call such vehicles in accordance with Russian terminology the word "wedge". Most of the representatives of this family are lightly armed and lightly armored tracked off-road vehicles. We needed such for a convenient and quick organization of a machine-gun point. The fact is that in the 1930s, light machine guns were just beginning to appear, and heavy machine guns were very heavy, inconvenient and cumbersome. To operate the latter, a whole calculation of several people was required.
At the same time, the deployment of the calculation in the context of a combat situation was not a quick and dangerous business. Therefore, even during the First World War, in a number of countries they tried to establish the calculations of machine guns on a wheeled or tracked course. By the way, the legendary cart from the times of the Russian Civil War is also a kind of "machine gun".
1. T-27
Soviet tankette, produced from 1931 to 1933. The crew of the car consisted of 2 people: a driver and a shooter. With a mass of 2.7 tons, it accelerated to 40 km / h thanks to an engine with a recoil of 40 hp. The T-27 was armed with a 7.62 mm machine gun. A total of 3,300 of these machines were created.
2. Carden-Loyd Mk VI
British-made wedge, production of which began in 1929. With a mass of 1.5 tons, it was driven by a 22.5-horsepower engine. The maximum speed was 48 km / h. The crew consisted of two people. A wedge was fired from a 7.7 mm machine gun. A total of 450 of these machines were built.
3. Renault UE Chenillett
French wedge heel from a company that needs no extra introduction today. This could be armed not only with a machine gun, but also with a 20 mm cannon! The crew consisted of 2 people. With a mass of 2.1 tons, the machine was driven by a 38 hp unit. The maximum speed reached 38 km / h. In total, the French made more than 5 thousand of these. Produced since 1932.
4. Carro Veloce CV-35
An Italian tankette weighing 3.2 tons and a 43 hp unit. She had two 8 mm machine guns at once. The travel speed could reach 42 km / h. In total, the Italians built about 2.5 thousand of these tankettes. The light combat vehicle has been in operation since 1935.
5. AH-IV
Strictly speaking, the AH-IV is no longer quite a tankette, but a much more "weighty" machine gun carrier, which can be safely attributed to the category of small tanks. However, a direct relative of wedges. The crew is 2 people, the engine is 55 hp, the weight is 3.9 tons, and the armament is a pair of 7.9 mm machine guns.
If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should definitely read about "Sturmtiger": how the formidable destroyer of the cities of the Wehrmacht showed itself in practice.