Another Tank recovered from Lake.

**mauser98k** · 03-29-2010, 09:20 PM

Hi
Found this while browsing, maybe some of you have come across it before.Yet another tank was recently extracted from one of the lakes near St. Petersburg. There are plenty of tanks left since WW2, each year a few of them are being pulled out by different enthusiasts. This one is particular by it’s model “BT” which was translated as “Quick Moving Tank”. It had very narrow tracks so it had to move only on good roads, and the tracks could be completely removed so that it could roll on the rubber coated inner wheels on the good surfaces when army had to relocate quickly and there were good roads available.

Martin

**Adrian Stevenson** · 03-30-2010, 09:53 AM

Hi Martin, first shown here on the forum three years ago now by Dimas

but it is a nice recovery.

https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/armou...june-2007-a-9/

Cheers, Ade.

**mauser98k** · 03-30-2010, 02:17 PM

Hi Ade
Thanks for that I knew I seen it somewhere I did a search but nothing came up. Sorry for taking up the space on this thread.

Martin

**DonB** · 03-31-2010, 02:03 AM

by mauser98k

...Sorry for taking up the space on this thread.

New one to me! As a relative "newby" here, it is nice to see these older recoveries!

Don

pmccombs · 04-03-2010, 07:59 PM

Nice post...thanks,
paul

**chilsam** · 04-05-2010, 02:28 AM

With tracks off how would it move? Power came fome rear drive spocke,correct? Turning it would tear up rubber coating on boggies,am i missn something?

**mauser98k** · 04-05-2010, 01:54 PM

The BT tanks were 'convertible tanks'. This was a feature designed by J. Walter Christie to reduce wear of the unreliable tank tracks of the 1930s. In about thirty minutes the crew could remove the tracks and engage a chain drive to the rearmost road wheel on each side, allowing the tank to travel at very high speeds on roads. In wheeled mode the tank was steered by pivoting the front road wheels. However, Soviet tank forces soon found the convertible option of little practical use in a country with few paved roads, and it consumed space and added needless complexity and weight. The feature was dropped from later Soviet designs.

Martin

**chilsam** · 04-05-2010, 02:02 PM

Learned somthing NEW THANX 4 info!! Still seems like that would of taken a very tough rubber compound to keep from being ground off bogies should use it for car tires today thats right it would last to long!!THANX ! again