Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#61

Post by Juha Tompuri » 18 Nov 2020, 12:54

Interbellum wrote:
13 Nov 2020, 03:31

Hi!
In the wartime description of the original photo, it was written: Karelian Isthmus, Vyborg. 1944. 101st guards naval railway artillery brigade. Press photographer - Georgy Petrusov. There is another photo by G. Petrusov of exactly the same 130-mm naval gun, I guess made the same day - https://russiainphoto.ru/photos/32342/ The city with damaged buildings (Vyborg?) is visible. In June 1944, some batteries of 101st guards naval railway artillery brigade approached Vyborg, took positions along the line Koivisto-Vyborg and supported army units and marines to take islands in the Vyborg Bay. As far as I know 36 130-mm naval guns B-13 mounted on four-axle railway platforms were in 403rd-406th divizions (artillery battalions) of the brigade in 1944.

P.S. It was very hard for me to find WWII photos of B-13 naval guns in coastal defense service. But there are many photos of them, mounted on Soviet destroyer leaders and destroyers, as they were their main artillery weapon...
Hi!

Aaa... railway battery. Didn't at first understand that. Thanks for clarification.
At that case the building at your link could perhaps be for instance the Sotilassairaala (Military hospital) #2 at Neitsytniemi, Vyborg.

Image
https://russiainphoto.ru/photos/32342/
Image
https://wiipuri.fi/kuvat/neitsytniemi/

The Sotilassairaala at D-E 6:
https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/1 ... sAllowed=y

Regards, Juha

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#62

Post by Interbellum » 18 Nov 2020, 23:00

Juha Tompuri wrote:
18 Nov 2020, 12:54
Hi!

Aaa... railway battery. Didn't at first understand that. Thanks for clarification.
At that case the building at your link could perhaps be for instance the Sotilassairaala (Military hospital) #2 at Neitsytniemi, Vyborg.
The Sotilassairaala at D-E 6:
https://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/1 ... sAllowed=y

Regards, Juha
Seems to be possible. Here are some additional photos of the building complex, the Vyborg army hospital (because of this it was not marked as a target for bombers during WWII combats for Vyborg) is still functioning today after the recent period of close for several years, and required the facade repair.
https://reg-813.livejournal.com/48308.html


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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#63

Post by Interbellum » 19 Nov 2020, 15:03

I've posted above the photo of Yak-9 fighter in a factory test flight - viewtopic.php?p=2247412#p2247412
Here is a good photo of Yak-9 fighters at the front. This photo was also made by famous photographer Ye. Khaldei.

Yak-9D fighters over just liberated Sevastopol (Crimea), 3rd squadron of 6th guards Red Banner fighter aviation regiment, the Black Sea Fleet Naval Air Force, May 1944.
Piloted by: No. 22 - squadron commander, guards captain M.I. Grib (1918-2003), Hero of the Soviet Union, 404 combat flights, 75 air combats and 10 (individual) + 12 (in a pair/group) air victories during the war; No. 31 - guards junior lieutenant V.I. Voronov (1923-2004), 100 combat flights and 4 + 4 air victories during the war, in future - colonel general and commander of the Black Sea Fleet Naval Air Force in 1971-1982, wrote the book "Naval fighters" in 1986; No. 26 - guards senior lieutenant I.P. Belozyorov (1918-2006), Hero of the Soviet Union, 460 combat flights, 40 air combats and 5 + 2 air victories during the war, he was wounded 5 times; No. 30 - guards junior lieutenant B.T. Akulov (1921 - ?), 250 combat flights, 20 air combats, 6 + 4 air victories during the war, in March 1945 he was sentenced by the military tribunal to 4 years of forced labor camps with exclusion from the regiment's lists and deprivation of military rank...

Yak-9D was a long-range and the most mass-produced variant of Yak-9 with two additional fuel tanks inside wings, giving range of 1360 km to support advancing troops and to escort ground-attack aircraft and bombers in the absence of prepared airfields at the front line going forward. Yak-9DD variant with eight wing fuel tanks had higher maximum range, 2285 km, and used to escort new Soviet medium bombers Tu-2, also USAF aircraft (Douglas C-47 Skytrain transport planes, Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bombers) from Bari air base in the south of Italy. The Yak-9’s fuel tanks were self-sealing, and to prevent a fire with combat damage, cooled exhaust gases from the engine were used to fill the space freed from fuel.
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Yak-9.jpg

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#64

Post by Interbellum » 20 Nov 2020, 16:43

We’ve discussed already the use of US Dodge WC-51/WC-52 military light utility trucks in the Red Army.
viewtopic.php?p=2247416#p2247416
viewtopic.php?p=2277847#p2277847

They were supplied in 1942-1945 according to the Lend-Lease program, mainly as sets, which were assembled at the temporary factory in Bushehr (Iran) and at ZIS automobile plant in Moscow. According to US data 25202 Dodge WC series, including 24902 WC-51/WC-52 basic variants, 200 WC-53/WC-56 staff command vehicles and 100 WC-54/WC-64 ambulances were sent to USSR; according to Soviet data 19600 Dodge WC series were actually delivered and assembled, from which 19000 were given to the army. They were widely used to tow 57-mm and 76-mm divisional anti-tank guns or 120-mm regimental mortars, but also as scout, patrol, escort or radio/command vehicles.

The crew of 76-mm divisional anti-tank gun mod. 1942 ZIS-3 on the Dodge WC-51 (Dodge 3/4) off-road military light utility truck, 1st Belorussian Front, Polish-German border, Letschin (Brandenburg), April 1945.
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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#65

Post by Interbellum » 30 Nov 2020, 23:12

I've posted above two photos of 76-mm regimental gun model 1927 in a firing position:
viewtopic.php?p=2248264#p2248264
viewtopic.php?p=2301844#p2301844

Here is the good photo of 76-mm regimental gun model 1927 in a travelling position. Being already replaced in production with a new regimental gun model 1943, obsolete regimental guns model 1927 remained in service, however, until the very end of the war.
Horse-towed 76-mm regimental gun model 1927 with its crew enters the market square of just captured German town Neiße, Silesia (now Nysa in Poland), 1st Ukrainian Front, 24 March 1945.

For transportation the regimental gun model 1927, gun limbers models 1930, 1938 or 1942 were used. Six trays of four rounds were placed in each of the model. Charging boxes (caissons) were used in two variants - models 1930 and 1938, differed in the type of wheels (wood or metal) and suspension, similar to the corresponding gun limber. The charging box consisted of front and rear travels. The front travel was generally similar to the gun limber and also contained six trays of four rounds. The rear travel was somewhat large and accommodated eight trays of four rounds. Thus, the ammunition load for regimental gun model 1927 was 80 rounds (24 in the gun limber, 24 + 32 in the front and rear travels of the caisson).
76-mm regimental gun model 1927 was towed usually by four horses, another four was required to tow the caisson. Also light artillery tractors "Pioneer", "Komsomolets" or truck could be used. Regimental gun mod. 1927 was equipped initially with wooden wheels with spokes, in 1930 the new metal wheels with rubber tires were designed, which made it possible to bring the maximum transport speed of the gun to 25 km/h.
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76-mm mod. 1927.jpg

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#66

Post by Interbellum » 05 Dec 2020, 20:27

Medium tanks T-34-85 armed with D-5T gun, 38th independent tank regiment from the tank column “Dimitry Donskoy” formed at the expense of the Russian Orthodox Church, military camps near Tula, 8 March 1944.

Tank column "Dimitry Donskoy" named after the Grand Prince of Moscow and the victor of the Tatars in the great Battle of Kulikovo (1380), was created at the initiative of the Russian Orthodox Church on donations from believers and transferred on 7 March 1944 to the Soviet tank forces. The column consisted of 19 T-34-85 medium tanks (given to 38th independent tank regiment) and 21 OT-34 flamethrower tanks (given to 516th independent flamethrower tank regiment). The 38th independent tank regiment took part in Uman–Botoșani Offensive in the Western Ukraine in March-April 1944, the regiment's tankmen distinguished themselves in crossing the Dniester River, then they reached the state border of the Soviet Union. In those heavy combats in Ukraine and Moldavia, the 38th independent tank regiment, supporting infantry, destroyed or captured 40 enemy guns, 17 personnel carriers and 38 tanks/assault guns (including several Tigers), but lost 17 from its 19 T-34-85.
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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#67

Post by Interbellum » 07 Dec 2020, 01:51

D-5T tank gun, developed at the beginning of 1943 in the design bureau of Plant No. 9 under the leadership of F.F. Petrov, was distinguished by its low weight and short recoil. This 85-mm gun was successfully configured for installation in heavy tanks KV-85 and IS-85, but to install it in a medium tank T-34 it was required to increase the diameter of the turret ring and design a new turret. As a result, a new turret with 1600 mm diameter of the turret ring appeared, resembling a turret from experimental medium tank T-43. But the excellent mass-dimensional characteristics of a new gun were solved due to the great complexity of its design. In addition, a feature of the D-5T gun was the location of a recoil mechanism above the barrel, like in the German StuK 40 gun, but behind the main turret armor. For better balance, gun’s trunnions were moved forward, and the breech, on the contrary, was strongly pushed back to the rear of the turret. This practically excluded the loading of the gun on the move of the tank. As a result, D-5T tank gun was not accepted into service with the T-34, and immediately after the end of its tests, in October 1943, an order was given to the Central Artillery Design Bureau (chief designer V.G. Grabin) to develop a special 85-mm gun for the T-34. The serial production of this new gun (ZIS-S-53) was supposed to begin on March 1, 1944, and until then “Krasnoe Sormovo” plant was allowed to install D-5T guns in T-34’s turrets of its own design. So T-34-85 medium tanks with D-5T gun differed significantly from the tanks of later series: their turret was two-seater and the crew consisted of 4 tankmen, on the turret roof there was a commander's cupola strongly shifted forward with a two-piece rotating cover, the radio station was in the hull and its antenna was located on the right side (like in T-34-76 tank). In January-April 1944, 255 T-34-85 medium tanks with D-5T gun were produced, including 5 commander tanks with RSB-F radio station.

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#68

Post by Interbellum » 09 Dec 2020, 00:13

Medium tank T-34-85 in the mountains of Transylvania, Romania, 3rd tank brigade, 23rd tank corps, 2nd Ukrainian Front, September 1944.

This T-34-85 of early series, as can be seen by S-53 gun, the absence of links for attaching spare tracks to the front armor of the hull, and the MK-4 periscope observation devices without covers. During the Jassy-Kishinev Offensive in August 1944, Soviet tanks of the 3rd tank brigade (the brigade's tanks were marked with the letter B on the turret) were one of the first to enter the cities of Târgu Frumos and Roman in the Kingdom of Romania.
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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#69

Post by Interbellum » 13 Dec 2020, 08:59

The 85-mm S-53 tank gun was developed at the Central Artillery Design Bureau (TsAKB) and on January 1, 1944 was adopted for the T-34 tank, both with a standard (1420 mm) and an extended (1600 mm) new turret ring. S-53 compared favorably with analogues in its simplicity of design and reliability. The recoil mechanism was located under the base of the breechblock, which made it possible to reduce the height of the line of fire and increase the distance between the breech and the rear wall of the turret. In addition, the cost of the gun turned out to be lower than that of the 76-mm F-34 gun even and, all the more, of the 85-mm D-5T gun. T-34-85 medium tank with S-53 gun was officially adopted by the Red Army on January 23, 1944. When production was launched, the modified S-53 gun was assigned ZIS-S-53 index. For T-34 tank with ZIS-S-53 gun, the turret became three-seat, and the commander's cupola was moved closer to its stern. The radio station was moved from the hull to the turret. Observation devices were installed only of a new type - MK-4.

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#70

Post by Interbellum » 19 Dec 2020, 04:58

T-34-85 medium tanks with an infantry assault party from the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps go into battle for the Razdelnaya train station (Odessa Oblast), 3rd Ukrainian Front, April 1944.
Photo by Olga Lander (1909-1996) - one of over 800.000 women in the Soviet military service during WWII, army photographer and journalist.

Razdelnaya (Rozdilna in Ukrainian) was one of the largest railway junction in the south of USSR, through which the supply of the German Army Group Hollidt was carried out; a large number of echelons with various cargoes were concentrated there. The station and the town of Razdelnaya were held by the remnants of the 335th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht and the security units that remained at the disposal of the German command. During the Odessa Offensive on April 4, 1944, Razdelnaya was liberated from the German-Romanian troops (about 7000 KIA and 3000 POW) by the Soviet units from the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps and the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps. Among the Soviet trophies were 1 armored train, 13 armored draisines, 10 echelons with different military equipment and armament (including one echelon with tanks and self-propelled guns), 148 steam locomotives, large army warehouses. In the evening, another train was captured there, which arrived at the station from Odessa (the company, guarding the cargo, surrendered).
https://art-apple.ru/albums/worldwar-ph ... to-058.jpg - another photo of the same tanks, just before the infantrymen jumped off them.
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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#71

Post by Interbellum » 22 Dec 2020, 06:12

Soviet T-34-85 medium tanks of the 6th Guards Tank Army on the coast of Liaodong Bay, Dalian region, China, Soviet-Japanese War, 22 August 1945.

These are T-34-85 model 1945 tanks with a low commander's cupola of the late type, which was equipped with a one-leaf hatch.

During the Soviet-Japanese war, the 6th Guards Tank Army (1019 tanks and SPGs) took part in the Khingan-Mukden offensive operation, during which it advanced in the first echelon of the Transbaikal Front to Changchun and on August 11 overcame the Greater Khingan Range, thereby reaching the Central Manchurian Plain in the Lubei region. On August 12, the 6th Guards Tank Army began an offensive against Mukden (Shenyang), and part of its forces - against Changchun. The 6th Guards Tank Army's successful offensive across Manchuria ensured the dismemberment and rapid surrender of the Kwantung Army - the largest army group of the Imperial Japanese Army. By August 24, Soviet tanks had covered over 1100 kilometers, and the 6th Guards Tank Army’s vanguard troops reached the Pacific coast and entered Port Arthur at the tip of the Liaodong Peninsula.

The last fragment of the very popular “March of the Far Eastern partisans”/“Partisan’s Song”(1922) of the Russian Civil War period - “And on the Pacific Ocean had ended our campaign” - may illustrate this WWII photo very well.
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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#72

Post by Interbellum » 14 Feb 2021, 23:03

To the question about production of T-34-85 medium tanks - according to the archive data 25,899 T-34-85s were produced in 1944-1946 by three Soviet plants (No. 183 in Nizhny Tagil, No. 112 "Krasnoe Sormovo" in Gorky and No. 174 in Omsk).

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#73

Post by Interbellum » 28 Nov 2023, 19:08

One more interesting photo of Yak-9 fighter - the most mass produced Soviet fighter during WWII.
viewtopic.php?p=2247412#p2247412
viewtopic.php?p=2303554#p2303554

Yak-9DD fighter being tested at the Air Force Research Institute, 1944.

The Yak-9DD fighter with the VK-105PF engine was a long-range fighter version, a modification of the Yak-9D and Yak-9T. The number of wing gas tanks has been increased to eight, the wing design has been changed, and equipment for flying at night and in difficult weather conditions has been installed. The modification was carried out by the Yakovlev Design Bureau in connection with the need that arose in 1944 to have a fighter with a greater flight range than the Yak-9D, capable of carrying out escort missions for bombers as they operated deep behind enemy lines. The operational flight range of Yak-9DD increased to 1800 km (maximum 2285 km could be achieved in ideal conditions).
In August 1944, a group of twelve Yak-9DD fighters was sent to an Allied air base located near the Italian city of Bari to escort C-47 transports delivering supplies to Yugoslav partisans. During the relocation, a non-stop flight Bălți-Bari was carried out with a length of almost 1300 km, passing mainly over enemy territory. During their stay in Italy, the Soviet fighter group completed 155 combat missions. During the landing of the C-47, the escort team was in the air waiting to unload, and then accompanied the transport aircraft on the return trip. Often the Yak-9DD had to land on small partisan airfields in difficult weather conditions. During the entire duration of the mission, not a single breakdown was recorded in the operation of Yak-9DD fighters and they proved to have better maneuverability and speed at 3000 - 4000 m altitude than all models of US and British fighters located in the airbase. On Yak-9DD fighters, Soviet pilots also accompanied US B-17 and B-24 heavy bombers on flights from Poltava to Bari.
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Yak-9DD.jpg

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Re: Colorized photos of Soviet WWII weaponry

#74

Post by Interbellum » 11 Feb 2024, 15:17

Small summary on combat use of Yak-9.

The Yak-9 fighter's baptism of fire took place in December 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. Front-line pilots liked the new fighter - it was light, maneuverable, and very easy to fly; it was no coincidence that its prototype was a training aircraft. In terms of maneuverability and rate of climb, it was superior to the newest German fighter Bf 109G, although it was slightly inferior to it in maximum speed, combat survivability and firepower. In the spring of 1943, the Yak-9 appeared on the central sector of the Soviet-German front. For example, the Normandie Fighter Aviation Regiment, in which French pilots fought, was re-equipped with this fighter. As its production increased, the Yak-9 gradually replaced earlier types of Yakovlev fighters (Yak-1 and Yak-7) in front-line aviation units. By mid-1944, the Yak-9 had become the main air combat aircraft in the Soviet Air Force, and at the final stage of WWII it accounted for almost half of the total number of Soviet fighters. This was greatly facilitated by its extreme universality (front-line fighter, long-range fighter, high-altitude interceptor fighter, reconnaissance aircraft, fighter-bomber, ground attack aircraft etc. variants), as well as its simple and rational design, created with mass production in mind. At the same time, the Yak-9 was a very effective machine, capable of fighting on equal terms with any type of German piston fighters. This is confirmed by numerous combat examples of successful actions of Soviet pilots against Luftwaffe.

So, on April 4, 1944, 8 Yak-9s under the leadership of captain V.A. Makarov from the 195th Fighter Aviation Regiment (Karelian Front) attacked 33 German Ju 87 dive bombers, which were guarded by 12 Fw 190 fighters. In a fierce combat, Soviet pilots shot down 2 bombers and 2 fighters (+ 1 damaged) and returned home without losses. On July 28 of the same year, 4 Yak-9s under the leadership of lieutenant V.V. Kiselnikov from the 65th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment (1st Baltic Front), flying out for reconnaissance in Elgava area (Lithuania), discovered 6 Fw 190s patrolling in the air. Soviet pilots suddenly attacked the enemy and shot down 2 German fighters on the first pass, and then another. The Germans radioed for help, and soon 4 more Fw 190s entered the dogfight. But this did not change the course of the combat. Using their more nimble aircraft, Soviet pilots increased their score to seven, and then, having used up the ammunition during 13 min combat, returned to the home airfield without losses. Of course, not all fights ended so brilliantly. The Yak-9s also suffered significant losses. But still, the pilots loved this fighter, and the aircraft deserved it. A.V. Vorozheykin (ended the war as twice Hero of the Soviet Union, a major, deputy commander of the 32nd Fighter Aviation Regiment) scored 15 of his 46 + 13 (personal + in a group) aerial victories on the Yak-9 in 1944. Using powerful 37-mm gun of his Yak-9T, senior lieutenant I.V. Fedorov from the 812th Fighter Aviation Regiment (37 personal aerial victories during the war, Hero of the Soviet Union) destroyed 8 German aircraft in the sky of Ukraine, and on July 16, 1944, during the reconnaissance flight over Lithuania on the Yak-9R he entered alone the dogfight with 12 Fw 190, shot down one of them and successfully reached his home airfield. Hero of the Soviet Union, captain A.V. Kochetov shot down 20 + 11 enemy aircraft during the war and when served as the squadron commander of the 43rd Fighter Aviation Regiment flew a “personalized” Yak-9, purchased with funds donated by collective farmer A.G. Gayazov. The outstanding naval aviation ace, Hero of the Soviet Union, Guards captain M.I. Grib from the 6th Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment of the Black Sea Fleet Air Force fought on the Yak-9D in 1944, in 75 aerial combats he shot down 22 German planes (10 + 12) including 3 Bf 109 and 1 Bf 110 (all personal) on the Yak-9D. This list can be continued for a long time. And the winning point in WWII combat career of the Yak-9 was set by senior lieutenant V.A. Zhivotovsky, who on August 15, 1945 shot down a Japanese Mitsubishi J2M Raiden fighter over Korea - this was was the last aerial victory of Soviet Air Force in WWII.

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