History, Development, and Use
of the T-35 Heavy Tank 

This section will cover the history, development, and use of the T-35 heavy tank. In this section you will find where the massive vehicle has been used, when it was designed, its limitations and abilities, and how the it functions.

 

Brief Operational History

The T-35 heavy tank was a vehicle that had its origins in the 1920's British school of tank warfare.  According to this theory, there were to be three types of tanks - infantry support tanks, cruiser tanks, and land battleship tanks.  The T-35 fell into the latter category.  It shared still more with the British concepts in that its designers got many of their ideas for the T-35 from the Vickers 'Independent' heavy tank.  The T-35 actually surpassed the 'Independent' and would see full production, whereas the British vehicle would not make it past the testing stage.

It would be armed with a single large turret (taken from the T-26) mounting a 45mm cannon, and four smaller turrets (taken from the BT-2 fast tank) that would have either 7.62mm machine guns or 37mm cannon.  Later models would have conical turrets for better protection.  They would also be slightly longer than the earlier versions.

Production of the T-35 vas very slow and few of these tanks were produced at the Kharkov Locomotive Factory.  Total production between 1935 and 1938 amounted to no more that 68 vehicles.  These would serve with the 5th Heavy Tank Brigade stationed around Moscow.  Tanks from this unit would be featured in many May Day parades where they gave the false impression of a powerful armored force.

These tanks only saw action during the opening days of the Great Patriotic War.  The exact location of where they served is uncertain at present.  There is evidence that they were used around Lvov and many sources claim that they were used around Moscow.  In either case, none would survive the first year of the war.  It would be a sad ending for a tank whose time had come and gone.

  

Tactical Use and Limitations

Originally the T-35 heavy tank was designed as a 'penetration tank' that would blast its way through heavily defended parts of the enemy line and conduct a firefight on all sides.  In this way it would act as a 'land battleship' that would outgun any armored opposition it faced, at least in theory.

The T-35 heavy tank saw very little combat action.  This was because so few were made and its disadvantages far outweighed its abilities.  The first limitation was its poor maneuverability.  Its great weight and length made it both slow and difficult to steer under combat conditions.  Its tremendous size also made it a rather large target.  Unfortunately, the armor of the T-35 was so thin that it could not survive the hits that it was sure to take.

The massive tank was not without its advantages however.  It did possess a formidable armament of cannon and machine guns.  The problem with these weapons lay in coordinating the fire of the five turrets, a difficult task at best.

 

Deployment Chronology

The T-35 occupied a unique place in tank history.  Here you can see what vehicles the T-35 heavy tank  replaced and what armored vehicle eventually replaced it.  You will be able to find more about each vehicle if we have them on our site by clicking on the links below.

The T-35 replaced... T-35 Heavy Tank The T-35 was replaced by...
Nothing.  It was the first of the 'land battleship' tanks. KV-1 Heavy Tank

 

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.

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