Combat history of the T-26
The first series-produced T-26 tanks were shown to the public during the military parade on Red Square in Moscow on 7 November 1931—the 14th anniversary of the October Revolution.
The first German delivery of armoured vehicles to Franco's insurgent Nationalist forces was of Panzer I light tanks for the Condor Legion, which arrived only a week later.
Twelve T-26s advanced 35 km during the ten-hour raid and inflicted significant losses to Francoists (around two squadrons of Moroccan cavalry and two infantry battalions were defeated; twelve 75 mm field guns, four CV-33 tankettes and twenty to thirty trucks with cargo were destroyed or damaged) with the loss of 3 T-26 tanks to gasoline bombs and artillery fire.
Nevertheless, the T-26 was used with great success during the Battle of Guadalajara in March 1937 after the 1st Tank Brigade was finally formed (its HQ was in Alcalá de Henares).
T-26 tanks often attacked enemy trenches or defense positions in the narrow streets of Spanish towns without support, where they met strong resistance.
Nationalist infantry, the Moroccans especially, defended courageously despite heavy casualties, throwing hand grenades and gasoline bombs, which are dangerous to tank engines.
Despite the T-26's superiority over the German Panzer I light tanks and Italian CV-33 tankettes (armed only with machine guns), the Spanish Civil War uncovered a vulnerability of the T-26 – weak armour.
Greater danger was posed by the 8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37/41 anti-aircraft gun, first deployed in those years, and capable of destroying any tank at very great range.
[citation needed] The first military operation of the RKKA in which T-26 light tanks participated was the Soviet-Japanese border conflict, the Battle of Lake Khasan in July 1938.
The T-26 proved to be a very good tank during the Battle of Khalkhin Gol according to army reports: its cross-country capability in desert conditions was excellent and, despite thin armour (which was easily penetrated by Japanese 37 mm guns[21]), the T-26 exhibited high survivability.
Together with the BT and T-28, the T-26 was part of the main strike force during the breakthrough of the Mannerheim Line, in which tanks shelled antitank teeth, Finnish pillboxes, machine-gun nests, and other fortifications.
In the beginning, the brigade was involved into combat for Kiviniemi and later it was redeployed to Hottinen area where its tanks, suffering high losses and shortage of repair facilities, supported the attacks of the 123rd and the 138th Rifle Divisions till the end of December.
In January tankers of the 35th Brigade evacuated and repaired their T-26s, practised in cooperation with artillery, engineer and rifle units, and manufactured wooden fascines for trench crossing which were placed in special towed sleds.
Tank platoons suffered significant losses because of poor infantry reconnaissance of Finnish positions and ambushes, and absence of engineer support.
But if the actions were planned well, tank attacks were often successful – for instance, the platoon of the 111th OTB broke through enemy defense and rescued the encircled infantry battalion without losses on 9 December 1939.
[34] The 9th Army (Repola, Kandalaksha and Suomussalmi area) received tank units, equipped with T-26s, in the course of the war only – for example, the 100th and the 97th OTBs had 47 T-26s each (including twin-turreted T-26 mod.
The tank company from the 100th OTB together with infantry group crushed the Finnish ambush near Kuokojärvi on 8 December 1939, encircled and captured the town next day.
The platoon from the 97th OTB destroyed Finnish firing-points between Alasenjärvi and Saunojärvi lakes, which helped Soviet rifle regiment to enter the last one.
[35] The favourable experience of the 100th OTB which successfully performed independent missions cross-country was not taken into consideration, and many Soviet commanders believed till the end of the war that tanks could be used along the roads only.
Poor reconnaissance and absence of artillery preparation often resulted in tragic circumstances – in such a way, the platoon of the 100th OTB lost five tanks to single Finnish anti-tank gun near Kursu (Lapland) on 14 December 1939, battalion executive officer was among 9 men killed in action.
[41] The combat and technical losses of the 7th Army in action on the Karelian Isthmus from 30 November 1939 to 13 March 1940 were 930 T-26 tanks of all variants, with 463 of these repaired during the war.
Finnish anti-tank guns easily penetrated T-26's thin anti-bullet armour, and its cross-country ability in the rough terrain, covered with deep snow, was mediocre because of low-powered engine.
Poor quality roads, the vulnerabilities of track design in the early 1930s, and inadequate maintenance, recovery and repair services all took their toll.
The sophisticated T-50 was developed keeping in mind the experience gained in the Winter War and Soviet tests of the German Panzer III tank.
[48] The majority of the Red Army's T-26 tanks in European military districts were lost in the first months of the German-Soviet War, mainly to enemy artillery and air strikes.
In addition, the limited availability of recovery vehicles and spare parts meant that broken down tanks and other non-combat losses often could not be repaired.
Nine tanks of the battalion crossed the Dnieper River but eleven remained in enemy territory after the bridge was destroyed, with the remainder having been lost in combat.
Yakovlev's T-26 destroyed two pillboxes, three anti-tank guns, four machine-gun nests, three mortars and an ammunition depot in Krasny Bor, in addition to killing about 200 enemy soldiers.
[61] During the offensive phase of the Continuation War in summer and autumn of 1941, the Finns captured more than 100 T-26s of different models (including several tanks with applique armour).
In addition, some Finnish T-26s had a modified driver's hatch opened to the left as well as a different kit of spare parts tools, and many tanks were equipped with a special rear beam for towing guns and damaged vehicles.
