I have never read about them before…
"Now and then, life brings us together with persons who were witnesses of surprising historical facts. An old tank soldier, Viktor Dmitrievich Scherbitsky, began relating to me his military career with the unusual statement: "I served on the teletank at the beginning of 1939". My reaction was not surprising: "Excuse me….you served on what!?" Viktor Dmitrievich smiled and continued his story.
Your are not the only one surprised by that statement. Many people do not believe that we had such equipment as the Teletank – a tank controlled by radio – and that we had it in 1930s, when the radio was a miracles among miracles. I happened to be in this battalion, probably because I had training in electrical engineering, having worked at a power station before entering the army. Our unit was classified and military secrets were kept under tight security. This, perhaps, partly explains the reason why few know about teletanks even today. If any information remains, it would be located somewhere deep in the archives and may possibly be found in Podol'sk.
Our battalion consisted of paired combat groups of T-26 tanks. Each pair consisted of a command and control tank, which was given the designation TU, and a teletank, designated TT. The crew of TU tank included an operator who would control the operation of the TT tank by radio. The TT tank could operate 1.5 kilometers ahead of the control tank and was armed with special weapons. It could lay down a smoke screen by means of cistern installed specially for this purpose. The designers of the TT also contemplated that this tank could deliver chemical weapons at a much closer distance to the enemy without subjecting crew members to danger. The tank had a flame thrower installed which was also controlled by radio. It was also equipped with a Degtyaryov machine gun. Finally, there was a specially modified turretless version of the teletank with reinforced armour and a specially designed running gear, which was considerably more reliable than the standard T-26.
This latter tank was able to convey a special box, protected by 30mm of armour, against an enemy pillbox. Inside the box was a 500kg explosive. The mechanism for lowering the box and placing the explosive in operation was controlled by radio. The explosive included a fifteen minute fuse set from the moment the explosive reached the ground, which would allow the tank the necessary time to back up and reach a safe distance. Such an explosive charge could destroy the most powerful reinforced concrete pillbox down to depth of four levels. In our battalion, there was only one group of such tanks, which had taken part in the Finnish campaign. The main task of these teletanks was to breakthrough reinforced defensive lines – such as the Mannerheim Line. The officers who trained us also had experience in the Finnish campaign…"
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Are there any rules for wargaming with them?
Thanks in advance for your guidance.
Amicalement
Armand
