As the T-60 light tank proved too weak when faced with German tanks, an improved design was needed. Based on a lengthened T-60 chassis, with the addition of a fifth roadwheel, the T-70 was designed as a better armed, armored, and more agile tank. It had thicker armor, and replaced the 20 mm gun main gun with a 45 mm one. To improve engine power, necessitated by the almost three ton increase in weight, a complex dual-engine design was built. Each track was powered by its own engine, which proved unreliable. The engine layout was later changed to a more conventional one, with the two engines powering both tracks together.
While an improvement over the T-60 design, the T-70 was already obsolete when production started in 1942. Its 45 mm gun was too weak to penetrate the armor of newer German tanks, and it suffered from the two-man crew layout of its predecessor. Production ended the following year, as focus shifted to the more powerful T-34 medium tank. The role as an infantry support tank was taken over by the SU-76 self-propelled gun. The SU-76 used a lengthened version of the T-70 chassis, and was eventually manufactured in greater numbers than the T-70 itself. A total of 8226 were built.
An experimental anti-aircraft tank, the T-90, was designed, armed with a dual 12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun. A prototype was build, but as the more powerful ZSU-37, based on the SU-76, was designed, the T-90 was cancelled.
| T-70 | |
|---|---|
| Crew | |
| Crew |
|
| Physical Characteristics | |
| Weight | 9.2 t |
| Length | 4.29 m |
| Width | 2.32 m |
| Height | 2.04 m |
| Armour | |
| Armour (range) | 10-45 mm |
| Performance | |
| Speed (max) | 45 km/h |
| Armament | |
| Primary weapon | 45 mm Tank Gun Model 1932/38 (1) |
| Secondary weapon | 7.62 mm DT (1) |
