SMK tank

SMK
The Soviet SMK heavy tank
TypeHeavy tank
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1939 (prototype)
Used bySoviet Union
WarsWinter War
Production history
ManufacturerKirov Plant
Produced1939
No. built1
Specifications
Mass55 t (54 long tons)
Length8.75 m (28 ft 8 in)
Width3.36 m (11 ft 0 in)
Height3.35 m (11 ft 0 in)
Crew7

Armor20-60 mm
Main
armament
45 mm gun M1932 (forward turret), 76.2 mm gun L-11 (main, or rear-most turret)
Secondary
armament
3×7.62 mm DT MG
EngineGAM-34BT
850 hp
Power/weight15.5 hp/t
SuspensionTorsion bar
Ground clearance0.5 m (1 ft 8 in)
Fuel capacity1,320 l
Operational
range
220 km (140 mi)
Maximum speed 35 km/h (22 mph)

The SMK was an armored vehicle prototype developed by the Soviet Union prior to the Second World War. It was named after Sergei Mironovich Kirov, a Communist Party official assassinated in 1934. The SMK was discovered and classified by German intelligence as the T-35C, leading to the misunderstanding that the T-35 took part in the Winter War.[1]

Only one was built and after a trial showing the downsides of its weight and size against the KV tank and brief use in the war with Finland, the project was dropped.

  1. ^ WeSMK Heavy Tank Archived 2007-09-30 at the Wayback Machine onwar.com