World of Tanks’ Soviet Steel Expansion

Merciless

Earlier this month, Wargaming.net released a huge update to “World of Tanks: Xbox 360 Edition” – the Russian-themed “Soviet Steel” expansion. And in August, the tanks keep rolling with the massive Combat Ready Starter Pack, which includes all kinds of in-game goodies at a bargain price.

“Soviet Steel” provides a whole new arsenal to play with, with 29 killer USSR vehicles and two all-new maps. For “World of Tanks” fans, this is an exciting opportunity to experience some of the most iconic tanks of World War II, but also to dive into some of the lesser-known ones. Here’s a helpful guide, to walk you through what’s hot and what’s not in 1940s communist armor fashion.


Light Tanks

  • The T-18, styled as the “MS-1” in “World of Tanks,” was the first-ever Soviet-produced tank. Based on a French design from the 1920s, this tank didn’t see much service, and was not particularly successful when it did.
  • The T-26 light tank was one of the Soviet Union’s most successful and heavily produced tanks, with over 11,000 having been built. It was shipped in large numbers to Spain to take part in the Spanish Civil War, fought off the Japanese during an attempted invasion from Manchukuo, supported the Russians against the Finns in the Winter War, and was the primary tank – despite being totally outclassed – against the Germans during their invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II.
  • The BT series of tanks (the BT-2 and BT-7 are available in “Soviet Steel”) were tanks designed for speed, rather than toughness. Lightly armored and highly maneuverable, they were among the most successful tanks of their time. The BT-2 was derived from a U.S. design, while the later BT-7 used a Soviet-modified version of a BMW engine, and featured a more resistant hull design and much more powerful guns.
  • The T-46 was a tank that never really came to fruition. It had been originally designed as an improvement on the T-26, but was scrapped after it was found to be too expensive, thinly armored, and poorly armed. Prototypes did see a little service in the Winter War against Finland, but these did not fare well.
  • The A-20 was a transitional design between the BT series and T-34 medium tank (see below). It retained the trackless drive feature of the BT, but lost out to a slightly heavier, full-tracked variant (A-20G, later A-32) which the start point for T-34.
  • The T-50 helped to invalidate the doctrine of light infantry tanks in the warfare of the time. Because armored cars and half-tracks could assume the reconnaissance and infantry-support roles that they had once done, light tanks – with their thin armor and weak weapons – were phased out. However, the T-50 was an excellent design for its time, and would have been produced in large numbers if not for the lack of V-4 engines necessary to its mass production.

Medium Tanks

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