The T-50 was an advanced but obscure Soviet light tank which
resembled a smaller T-34, but had the positive features of a three-man
turret and a radio fitted as standard. Design
started in 1939, but less than 70 were produced (various sources list
63 to 68). The primary reasons
for it's failure was that it cost nearly as much to make as the T-34,
was more
complex than other light tanks (such as the T-60 and T-70) and had a
very unreliable engine (which had been specifically designed for
it). The few that were built saw action starting in
late 1941. They were technically superior to even German medium tanks,
with well-sloped armor and acceptable gun.
The T-50 had a crew of four: driver, commander, gunner and loader.
The gunner and loader manually rotated the turret at 5 degrees per
second. The T-50 used 9.9 gallons of diesel per hour.
Subassemblies: Medium Tank chassis with advanced slope +3,
full rotation Medium Weapon
turret with advanced slope +2, tracks +3
P&P: 220 kW HP diesel w/220-kW tracked drivetrain, 8,000 kWs
batteries, 92 gallons gasoline (fire chance: 10) in standard fuel tanks,
Occ: 1 CS body, 3 CS both
Cargo: 2.4 Body, 0.2 Tur
| Armor | F | R/L | B | T | U |
| Body | 6/120 | 5/120 | 4/120 | 4/40 | 4/40 |
| Turret | 6/120 | 5/50 | 4/50 | 4/40 | 0/0 |
| Tracks | 4/40 | 4/40 | 4/40 | 4/40 | 4/40 |
Weaponry
50mm Medium Tank Gun/45mm Model 1938 [Turret:F] (150)
Ground LMG/7.62mm DT coaxial [Turret:F] (4,000)
Equipment
Turret: Short range radio and reciever
Statistics
| Size: 14'x7'x8' | Payload: approx. 1.3 tons |
Lwt: 15.45 tons |
| Volume: 108 | Maint.: 56 hours | Price: $12,600 |
HT: 10
HP: 750 [body], 270 [each track], 200 [turret]
| gSpeed: 30 |
gAccel: 3 |
gDecel: 20 | gMR: 0.25 | gSR: 5 | GP: very low (4/5) |
Design Notes
Design gSpeed was 38. The chassis cost, weight and HPs and
track DR were divided by two, then track DR was bought back up to
40. Loaded weight was increased by 3.5%.
Some tanks added bolted-on armor. This increased DR by 100 on the
front and 75 on the sides; ground pressure increased to Low (2/3).