'A Brother's Grave For Two'

'A Brother's Grave For Two'

 Conceived as a replacement for the obsolete T-38 amphibious scout tank, the T-60 was produced from 1941 to 1942. Nicholas Astrov’s team at Moscow Factory No.37 had been assigned the task of designing amphibious and non-amphibious scout tanks in 1938. As a result, they produced the T-30A and T-30B prototypes. The former was subsequently manufactured as the T-40 amphibious tank, which also led to the T-40S Sukhoputniy (‘dryland version’), a heavier vehicle that proved to be too complex to build. The T-30B prototype, which shared the T-40 chassis (but simpler in construction, and with heavier armour) was accepted as the T-60 scout tank.

Though initially intended to be armed with a 12.7mm machine gun (as with the T-40), this was upgraded to the 20mm TNSh cannon. While the weapon was capable of penetrating 15mm of perpendicular armour from a distance of 500 metres, this was totally ineffective against the newer German tank designs. Attempts were made to re-arm the vehicle with the 37mm ZiS19 cannon, but a shortage of suitable ammunition forced the plan to be abandoned. Beset by further problems, the project was cancelled, prompting the Soviet High Command to choose the recently developed T-70 as the new standard light tank. A number of T-60s were captured by the Germans, who re-designated them ‘Panzerkampfwagen T-60 743(r)’.

Ultimately, the T-60 suffered from poor armour protection, inferior armament, and sluggish performance. It was often felt that the vehicle posed more of a danger to its two-man crew than to the enemy, a sentiment that gave rise to its nickname ‘bratskaya mogila na dovoikh’ (‘a brother’s grave for two’).

The Model

While there have been several kits of the T-60 over the years, the best choice currently available is from the Ukrainian company, MiniArt.