building an ot-26 (whole other story…). I want to add some figures to spruce the thing up a bit and wanted to put one of the tankers in the turret hatch half in half out with an elbow leaning on the turret roof or something. the question: with the flame-thrower arrangement in the ot-26 turret, is it actually possible to stand like that? i have a picture of a mechanic or someone climing out of the turret hatch on an ot-26 so i know it’s functional but is there something that you can actually stand on to be at that level comfortably?
Sounds like a fun build.
No problem putting someone in the turret. The OT-26 was based on the old two-turret T-26. The chemical tank for the OT filled up the left side so they took off the left turret. Here’s a good diagram from the Armchair General site…
It’s on this page with some other goodies…
http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/galleries/T-26_6.htm
On this Russian site there are lots of T-26 and some OT-26 pictures…
http://armoured.vif2.ru/t-26.htm
Including this one of a couple of guys in the turrets of the old-style twin-turret T-26. It might help you determine how high to place your guy…
Hummm…they are really sticking out of there, much further than I’d expect. Maybe they’re standing on a case of vodka so they look better for the parade.
Good luck with it.
those guys are finns so i don’t know what case they’d be standing on (uniforms aren’t russian, you can see half the marking on the side and who else would bother using an OLD captured t-26 anyway? (actually i think that might be the original vickers tank, but anyway…) ). i think they’re standing so high because it’s just such a small tank. it’s at least half the size of something like a t-34 and it’s rear-engine/front sprocket so you know that transmission takes up half the room in the hull.
i know that the ot-26 was based on the original t-26 design but what throws me off is that the OT turret looks to be filled with all sorts of hoses and pipe-work. would that get in the way? logic dictates that the stuff should be out of the way of the escape route ala the hatch but this is a soviet tank so i really WOULDN’T be surprised if it somehow came up that all the hatches were fake and the unfortunate bastards had to pile in through the engine compartment grill in the back.
i think you’re at least partially right and it’s good to get a supporting opinion. i’d just hate to later find out that no one ever stood in the turret hatch of an ot-26 because it meant straddling the pilot light or something.
Yeah, I hear ya…the mysteries of the inner workings of Russian tanks. However, I’ve got some more pictures for you from the Armchair General site…
http://rkkaww2.armchairgeneral.com/galleries/T-26_1.htm
Here’s the layout of the drivetrain. I think we can rule out any secret backdoor route…
Here’s the front door being used. My, that is an itty-bitty tank…
I ran some of the Russian text from the Russian page and found the OT-26 has a crew of two, the turret has not only the flamethrower, but also a machine gun, and…
“The guidance of flamethrower and machine gun to the target was achieved with the aid of the human support.”
I think the only way all of that would fit together and work is to have someone in the turret. That must have been one heck of a job! I’d think they’d at least give them a hatch. But hey, if you’re not sure, why not put him outside “Midasizing” the tank like the last pic?
Here are some more great pics from the Armchair General page…
Being stuck in a tiny steel bucket with no windows, right next to a weapon that shoots highly flammable liquids and poses a potential explosion risk, in a tank that has to drive fairly close to an enemy to be of much use? I bet they had a shortage of volunteers.
Oh come on, in Soviet Russia everyone is a volunteer! (whether they like it or not) [X-)][;)]
goat monkey, sounds like an interesting build.
Are you converting the Italeri T-26? I’m having a go at that one myself - quite a dinky little thing compared to a Tiger! [xx(]