The tradition of using armored mobile trains in the USSR dates back to the time of the Civil War. In those days, they were used for combat support of military formations and in separate tactical independent operations. At the same time, armored trains valued speed and mobility, firepower and strong armor. Armored trains of the Great Patriotic War were often used as a traction force for transporting trains with important cargo.
In the autumn of 1920, the Bolshevik army had more than 100 armored trains. But by 1924, their number was much smaller, since the military artillery department, to whose balance the trains were transferred, did not consider them effective weapons and treated them as ordinary guns on platforms.
Armored trains in WWII
Armored trains in the Great Patriotic War were recruited into divisional units. For example, the armored trains "Kuzma Minin" and "Ilya Muromets" were part of the 31st independent Gorky division of armored trains. The compound also included: a black steam locomotive S-179, an armored railcarBD-39, a couple of BA-20 armored cars, three motorcycles and about a dozen cars and an airborne mortar company. There were about 340 people in the division in total.
Armored trains during the Great Patriotic War were used from the very beginning until the Victory. In addition to supporting infantry units that were fighting along the railway, defeating the enemy at railway stations, guarding the coast and counter-battery fire on enemy artillery.
These trains were so successful in the initial months of the war that their production was started in several cities at once. The designs of armored trains varied greatly. This depended on the capacity of the construction company manufacturing this combat vehicle, on the availability of armored steel and a set of weapons. By the beginning of the war, the main part of the trains was produced by the Bryansk Train Plant. This plant produced not only artillery armored railway platforms, but also trains equipped with air defense equipment.
Air defense anti-aircraft armored trains in the Great Patriotic War made a significant contribution to the protection of railway stations from attacks by enemy aircraft, knocking them down with anti-aircraft guns of various sizes and DShK machine guns.
Armored trains of the Great Patriotic War. How many were made?
On June 22, 1941, the Russian army consisted of 34 light and 19 heavy armored trains, which had 53 armored locomotives, more than 100 artillery sites, about 30 air defense platforms and 160armored vehicles designed to travel on railway tracks. Also available were nine armored tires and several armored motor cars.
In addition to the army, NKVD troops also owned armored trains. They commanded 23 armored trains, 32 gun platforms, 7 armored vehicles and more than 30 armored wagons.
The main armored trains of the Red Army
The most famous type of armored train during the Great Patriotic War was the armored train BP-43 designed in 1942.
This train included an armored locomotive PR-43, which was located in the middle of the connection, two artillery platforms at the head of the armored train and the same number at the end, two anti-aircraft platforms and 2-3 platforms carrying ammunition, repair materials for the train and railroad track. Also, the armored train had a pair of armored cars BA-20 or BA-64, adapted to move along the railroad tracks.
21 armored trains of this type were made for the army and almost the same number for the NKVD.
Technical data of armored mechanisms
The armored trains of the Great Patriotic War, "heavy" models, were equipped with 107-mm guns that could hit at a distance of up to 15 kilometers. Armored sheets, up to 10 cm thick, provided protection against artillery shells, whose caliber reached 75 mm.
One refueling of water, fuel oil and coal was enough for an armored train to travel about 120 kilometers at a speed of 45 km/h. One filling - 10 tons of coal and 6 tons of fuel oil. Curb weightarmored train reached 400 tons.
The combat team included: command, a control platoon, two platoons of artillery turret gun and onboard machine gun crews, a platoon of anti-aircraft gunners, a detachment responsible for the movement and traction of an armored train, and a platoon of an armored car crew, which had 2-5 cars moving on rails.
Armored trains of the Great Patriotic War. German models
Before Operation Barbarossa, the German command planned to introduce several armored trains adapted to the Russian railway gauge. There were few of them, the General Staff of the German Land Forces assigned them an insignificant role in the conduct of hostilities. For example, until 1942 they guarded the rear of the railway line from partisans. And much later, having studied the successful tactics of using such mechanisms by the Soviet troops, the Germans began to use armored trains in combat battles.
In total, the German army on the Eastern Front had about 12 armored trains and a couple of dozen armored railcars. There were cases when the Germans used captured Soviet trains.
Equipment of German armored trains
German armored trains 26-28 had three tank or artillery platforms and two infantry cars, 29-31 had two tank platforms and one infantry platform. From the end of 1943, a platform with an air defense system began to be attached to armored trains. Steam locomotives of such compositions had only an armored cabin.
As shown by the fighting,German armored trains were not only technically backward and primitive, but their firepower was also very weak. Therefore, the command of the German troops kept them in the rear to fight the partisan formations.
Historical fact of the duel between Soviet and German armored trains
The combat power of Soviet armored trains seriously helped the army in the victory over Nazi Germany. However, the mechanism itself, no matter how high a technological level it may occupy, cannot do anything without a team that controls it. So, the drivers of armored trains during the Great Patriotic War also contributed to the overall victory. To prove this, it is enough to recall one episode from the war.
In 1944, two armored trains met near Kovel in Ukraine: the Soviet Ilya Muromets and the German Adolf Hitler. The drivers of the Russian armored train, skillfully using the folds of the terrain, were able to place the train in such a way that the Germans did not see it and fired at random. At the same time, our gunners saw the German train quite well. After a short artillery duel, the German armored train was destroyed, which at that time was very symbolic and predicted the imminent death of all the Nazis. Our team did not receive a single hit. This happened thanks to the skillful actions of the armored train drivers. Indeed, in military science it is known that brute force does not yet guarantee victory in battle. You also need maneuverability and skill in combat operations.
Armored trains and the Battle of Stalingrad
In the spring of 1942, the German army came close to the Volga River and the city of Stalingrad. All possible forces were thrown to his defense. In the defense of Stalingrad, the armored trains of the Great Patriotic War play a very prominent role.
One of the very first armored trains that arrived at the city was the NKVD armored train 73. Throughout September, he did not leave the battles. The Germans tried to destroy it with aircraft, artillery and mortars, four platforms were smashed, but the armored train survived and was able not only to fight back, but also to deliver a powerful retaliatory strike against the accumulation of enemy troops.
On September 14, about 40 enemy planes attacked an armored train near Mamaev Kurgan. Due to the impact of an aerial bomb on the platform with ammunition, a powerful explosion occurred, which destroyed most of the armored train. The surviving team removed all available weapons from the train and retreated to the river. A little later, another armored train with the same number appeared at the front - it was created in Perm by former soldiers of the 73rd armored train. They became his new crew.
On August 5, an armored train No. 677 also arrived at the Stalingrad Front, which was reassigned to the 64th Army. He kept a railway crossing near the village of Plodovitoe. At this point, the "steel fortress" was able to repel numerous German tank attacks. Thanks to him, the 47th kilometer point remained with the Russian troops. A little later, while supporting the counterattack of the 38th Streltsy Division, the armored train came under fire from bombers, who bombarded it with incendiarybombs. After the battle, he had to retreat to the rear for repairs, as he received more than 600 holes and dents.
Also, armored trains No. 1, 708, the 40th division and the famous "steel fortress" Kirov took part in the battle of Stalingrad.
The famous Soviet armored trains in WWII
In the first years of the war, the Germans were surprised at the power and design of our armored trains. For a long time they did not believe that they were built by the Russians. They thought that the trains were imported from America. But in fact, all armored trains in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 were built in the Soviet Union. By the time of the German invasion, the history of the creation of mobile "fortresses" in the Union had more than one decade. During the Civil War, armored trains were actively used by different parties. Their maneuverability, protection and armament were constantly improved. Therefore, the Nazis were surprised by the skillful use of this type of weapon in battles with them.
We will mention the most famous armored trains during the Second World War.
Armored train "Kuzma Minin"
This armored train turned out to be the most successful design. It was built in the winter of 1942 in Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod).
The armored train included: a steam locomotive sheathed with armored sheets, two artillery platforms, two covered platforms armed with two 76-mm tank guns and coaxial machine guns. Also, anti-aircraft platforms were installed in front and behind the armored train, and in the center - a platform with an M-8 rocket launcher. The thickness of the frontal armor was 45mm, and the top - 20 mm.
The guns of the train could fire at a distance of up to 12 km, destroying enemy equipment, and machine guns and a launcher hit enemy manpower.
The power of the armored train of the Great Patriotic War, the photo of which is located below, is amazing. It really is a "steel fortress on rails"
Armored train "Ilya Muromets"
Built "Ilya Muromets" in 1942 in the city of Murom. It was protected by 45 mm sheets. During the entire period of the war, he did not receive a single serious injury. His combat path passed through all the strategically important points of the Second World War and he ended in Frankfurt an der Odra. On account of this armored train of the Great Patriotic War, there are 7 enemy aircraft, 14 artillery and mortar batteries, more than 35 strongholds, about 1000 German soldiers and officers.
For courage and military merit, the armored train "Ilya Muromets" and "Kuzma Minin", which were part of the 31st separate unit, were awarded the Order of A. Nevsky. In 1971, "Ilya Muromets" in the city of Murom was installed for life parking.
Other armored trains in the Soviet army
The above battle trains were not the only ones of their kind. History also knows other armored units that played an important role in the Second World War. This also applies to the B altiets armored train built at the Izhora plant. It had 6 tank guns, 2 120mm mortars and 16 machine guns. He actively participated in the defense of Leningrad, covering the approaches to the city immediately from 15firing points.
Also, during the battle near Leningrad, the armored train "People's Avenger", built in the same city, distinguished itself. It was armed with two air defense guns and two tank guns, as well as 12 Maxim machine guns.
Armored trains after the war
The armored trains of the Great Patriotic War, photos of which are presented in this article, are the heroes of their time. They made a huge contribution to the victory of our people over Nazi Germany. However, by the end of the war, it became clear that improved artillery would now be able to destroy such mechanisms, like light armored vehicles. In addition, the doctrine of modern warfare implied greater maneuverability and tactical mobility of military units, and armored trains are strongly tied to railway tracks, which seriously reduces their mobility.
Aircraft developed at the same pace as artillery, for which the destruction of an armored train did not become something difficult, and anti-aircraft guns of armored trains could no longer provide reliable protection. Until 1958, somehow the development and design of such mechanisms was still ongoing. But then they were withdrawn from service.
Meanwhile, the experience and knowledge of mounting military guns on trains has not gone into oblivion. At the end of the 80s, the BZHRK (missile system on a railway platform) began to be on combat duty to protect the integrity of the state. In appearance, they do not differ from civilian trains, but inside they have systems for launching strategic missiles. Some of them had nuclear warheads.
So the "grandchildren" continued the glorious work of their"grandfathers" for the protection of our Motherland.
