BT Fast Tank: The Red Army's Cavalry Tank 1931-45

When the Red Army needed to mechanize its cavalry branch in the 1930s, the BT fast tank was its solution.

Based on the American Christie high-speed tank, the Red Army began a program to adapt the design to its own needs. Early versions were mechanically unreliable and poorly armed but by the mid-1930s, the BT-5 emerged, armed with an excellent dual-purpose 45mm gun. It saw its combat debut in the Spanish Civil War in 1937 and was later used in the border battles with the Japanese Kwangtung A...