The weapons and equipment in the film and its details
As mentioned earlier, "Unbreakable" is not as good as the other two similar Russian films shot in the same period in terms of props. For example, the appearance of the German tank in this film is basically similar to the later model of the German No. 4 tank, such as the No. 4 H-type tank, but it is modified with a T-54/55 tank. In this respect, the film is similar to Soviet-era films such as " Moscow " and " Stalingrad ". Although it was shot in a real car, the effect it showed was greatly discounted in the eyes of audiences, especially military fans.
▲KV tank and T-34 tank act together, often holding back. There are a lot of Soviet T-34 tanks in this film. Although most of them are real vehicles, there are many mistakes. At the beginning of the film, when Konovalov led his team to perform a security mission, his T-34 tank got stuck. Judging from the picture in the film, the T-34 tank is a T-34/76 1943 tank (however, the first appearance in Konovalov's telescope view in the film is more like a T-34/85 tank, which became T-34/76 1943 tank after being pulled to close-up). In terms of time, the possibility of such a tank appearing does not exist. As we all know, when the Great Patriotic War broke out, the T-34 tanks equipped by the Soviet Army were mainly of the 1940 and 1941 models. Even in 1942, these two models will account for a large proportion in quantity.
▲ The T-34-76 tank model 1943 and the T-34-85 tank model 1944 appearing in the film
The background of the story in the film should be at the turn of the spring and summer of 1942, when the Soviet army owned The latest tank can only be the T-34/76 Type 1942 tank at most, and the Type 1943 tank will not appear. Due to the unique hexagonal turret of the T-34/76 1943 tank and the addition of the commander's tower later, it is not difficult to distinguish from the shape. The Type 1942 tank had little difference in appearance from its predecessor, the Type 1941, mainly because the production process was improved to meet the requirements of mass production in wartime. At that time, the T-34 tank still stably occupied the performance advantage over the German tank, and there was no urgent need to improve its three major performances, but to focus on improving production efficiency.
▲ Judging from the details of the turret, the KV tank in the film should be a prop car made. Its parts were reduced from 861 in the 1941 model to 614 in the 1942 model, cutting production time in half. Other parts of the improvement ideas are similar. All this makes the production of T-34 not only saves material, but also greatly reduces the cost. The cost of producing a T-34 in 1941 was 269 500 rubles , which dropped to 193 000 rubles the following year. The simplification of the structure also greatly improved the production efficiency, and the production man-hours decreased from 8,000 man-hours in 1941 to 3,700 man-hours in 1942, saving more than half. But at the same time, the level of craftsmanship of the 1942 tank has also dropped significantly. However, this did not affect the main performance of the T-34 tank. Later Westerners commented on this: "It doesn't matter, because this apparent manufacturing roughness does not seem to affect the armor's protective ability, nor the actual performance of the tank." In fact, later wartime production Soviet tanks have maintained this feature. Therefore, the T that appears in the filmThe -34 was supposed to be a Model 1942 tank, not a Model 1943 with a hexagonal turret. As for the new tank brought by Pavla, it should also be the 1942 model, and it is impossible for the T-34/85 tank in the film to appear. The reason for this is probably because Russia has retained a large number of World War II equipment, but it is impossible for any crew to find enough props, especially the older models, which can only be used at that time. New models of tanks on the battlefield come to count.
▲The T-34-85 tank that appeared in the film
In the film, Konovalov has been driving the KV-1 heavy tank, relying on the outstanding advantages of this tank to obtain great results. The KV-1 tank is a product designed by the genius designer Ke Jing. Later, the IS series heavy tanks with better performance also came from the hands of Ke Jing. Judging from the pictures in the film, the appearance of the three KV-1 tanks used by Konovalov is different, and they belong to two slightly different models in the armored enhanced type, namely the welding of the KV-1 1941 tank. Turret version and 1940 model with additional armor. Interestingly, the difference between the KV-1 tanks 1940 and 1941 is very similar to the difference between the 1940 and 1941 T-34 tanks, mainly because the KV-1 tanks also adopted the same 34 tanks due to the same gun . The KV-1 tank was originally produced with the Model 1940 with the same L-11 short-barreled 76.2mm gun as the T-34/76 Model 1940, while the Model 1941 was changed to the T-34/76 Model 1941 The equipped F-34 gun is similar to the ZIS-5 long barrel 76.2 mm gun (the ZIS-5 gun is developed from the F-34, and the barrel length of the two is slightly different, the former is 41.2 times the diameter , the latter is 41.5 times the diameter, but there are also data that the length of the two artillery barrels is the same). In addition, it should be noted that due to the limitation of wartime equipment supply, some KV-1 1941 tanks also adopted the old L-11 artillery. There is no data to prove it.
▲The KV tank with welded turret in the film
The early production KV-1 1941 tank is said to be identical to the 1940 model except for the artillery. The armor protection of these two types of KV-1 tanks was also considered to be very strong at the time. The thickness of its artillery shield is 90 mm, the thickness of the front and sides of the turret is 75 mm, and the thickness of the front and sides of the hull is also 75 mm. In 1941, it can protect most anti-tank weapons. effect. It was only because Marshal Kulik earlier mentioned the shortcomings of the limited protection of this type of tank, and in early 1941 the Soviet Union learned that Germany had a new and stronger tank (but it was later proved that this statement was purely a rumor), and then the armor appeared. Enhanced KV-1 tank. The armored KV-1 tank is called the KV-1E tank, the letter "E" is taken from the initials of the Russian word for additional armor, and its armor thickness has reached 1.5 times the original. This tank is divided into three different models according to the type of armor. The first model was based on the 1940 model with additional armor added. The reason for this type of model is said to be that the steel mills that produced armored steel plates were unable to process steel plates with a thickness of more than 100 mm at that time, and had to bolt an additional 35 mm thick armor plate to the tank turret. This armor plate is not only fixed on the front and sides of the turret, but also additional armor is installed in the parts of the hull, such as the gap between the road wheels and the towing wheels. The additional armor on the turret also maintains a certain distance from the main armor, the reason is said to be to deal with a new type of armor-piercing projectile . The second tank used by Konovalov after his return from injury was this model, with a very obvious bolt-on additional armor on the outside of the turret, which was ultimately unable to participate in the final battle because it could not be repaired before the battle. The second variant was the cast turret version of the KV-1 Model 1941. This tank uses an integral cast turret, the mainThe distinguishing feature is that the transition between the front and side armor of the turret, and between the side armor and the rear armor is relatively streamlined, with no obvious seams. This model has 110-120mm thick armor from the start and does not require additional armor plates. The third model was the welded turret version of the KV-1 Model 1941. This tank is welded with rolled armor plates with a thickness of 110-120 mm, and its protection ability is almost the same as that of the cast turret model. Judging from the shape of the turret, the first and last tank used by Konovalov in the film was a welded turret of the 1941 model. However, judging from the vibration of the barrel of the KV-1 tank when the KV-1 tank moves quickly and fires, as well as the texture of the turret, it is likely to be a self-made prop car. After all, there are probably very few KV-1s that can be driven. It's very difficult to shoot a movie.
In the film, the reason why Konovalov was able to achieve great results is closely related to the huge performance advantage of the KV-1 tank he used compared to the German tank (objectively speaking, the equipment advantage and the superb technical and tactical quality of the personnel) are two fundamental factors that are indispensable for achieving greater results). The advantage of the KV-1 tank over the German tank is first manifested in its excellent protection performance. After the appearance of the KV-1E tank, its frontal armor with a thickness of more than 110 mm made it difficult for German tanks to destroy it from the front, which laid the foundation for the long survival time of this type of tank on the battlefield. On the other hand, the main equipment of the German tanks at that time was at a disadvantage in terms of protection ability and firepower, or at least not dominant. Unlike the German tanks in the film, which were modeled on the No. 4 H tank, in 1942 the German army was not equipped with so many tanks with long-barreled artillery. Considering that even the No. 3 tank equipped with a 60-caliber long-barreled 50mm gun was difficult to pose a serious threat to the KV-1 tank at that time, the discussion here only involves the German No. 4 tank equipped with a 75mm gun. From the original intention of the design, the No. 4 tank actually acts as a kind of equipment to perform fire support tasks, and its artillery uses a short-barreled 75mm gun for this reason. But on the Soviet-German battlefield , after the Germans encountered Soviet tanks with excellent protection and firepower, they had to change the relatively more spacious No. 4 tank from the main fire support mission to the tank combat mission. This requires the use of artillery and ammunition with stronger armor-piercing capabilities, which gave birth to the birth of the mid-to-late model of the No. 4 tank. The last of the No. 4 tanks to use short-barreled artillery is the No. 4 F-type tank. Its KwK37 24-caliber 75mm artillery has limited armor-piercing capabilities because it is only equipped with grenades. The gun can destroy armor plates with a thickness of 41 mm at a distance of 100 meters at a 60-degree angle, and can destroy armor plates of 39 mm and 35 mm at a distance of 500 meters and 1,000 meters, respectively. This kind of armor penetration ability To deal with the KV-1 tank, it is not enough to deal with the T-34 tank. In order to solve the unfavorable position of the armored force in the battle with the Soviet tanks, the German army decided on November 18, 1941 to replace the KwK40 type 43 caliber 75mm gun under development for the No. 4 tank. However, due to the backward development progress of the No. 4 G tank scheduled to be equipped with the gun, it had to be refitted on the existing No. 4 F tank. The modified tank was named the No. 4 F2 tank. A total of 175 such tanks were produced from March to July 1942, and another 25 F-types were converted into F2s, for a total of 200 vehicles. From a time point of view, this tank is likely to catch up with the battle at the turn of the spring and summer of 1942.
▲ The second KV used by Konovalov was an armored 1940 model. Let's see if the power of its artillery can pose an effective threat to the latter? KwK40 type 43 times diameter 75 mm is equipped with 39 type armor-piercing projectile, its projectile weight reaches 6.8 kg, can penetrate 98 mm armor at a distance of 100 meters at a 60-degree angle, and can penetrate armor at a distance of 500 meters and 1,000 meters respectively. up to 91 and 82 mm. Such capabilities are not a lethal threat to the KV-1E tank, and even if it hits the frontIt cannot penetrate its frontal armor up to 100 meters. From this point of view, it is still in line with the actual situation that the German tanks in the film kept hitting Konovalov's tanks but could not destroy it from the front. As the successor of the Panzer IV, the Panzer IV G began production in May 1942, and it is difficult to catch up with the battle in the film in terms of time. Moreover, the early models of this type of tank still use the KwK40 43-caliber 75mm gun, and the armor-piercing ability has not been improved. It was not until the No. 4 G tank produced at the end of March 1943 that the KwK40 48-caliber 75mm gun was used. After that, some early tanks were also replaced with the gun when they were sent back to China for repair. Even with this new long-barreled gun, its armor penetration under the above conditions can only reach 106, 96 and 85 mm, respectively. In other words, it can only pose a serious threat to the KV-1E tank at a distance of 100 meters. In the film, Konovalov said after the tank was hit: "They dreamed that they could penetrate the armor of KV!" This kind of confidence from the tank crew members was really a sign of the KV-1 tank at that time. The best proof of excellent protection.
