In the second blog about Parola Armour Museum I’ll list my personal 5 Bottom Tanks from their collection.
But we start with some basic information about the museum. The Parola Armour Museum (opened 1961) is a specialized war museum of the Finnish Tank Core. The museum preserves the traditions of the WWII era Finnish Panssaridivisioona (Armoured Division) and Jääkäriprikaati (Jäger Brigade). In the Museum there are some 100 exhibits all of whom are not on display. Several tanks in the museum are still roadworthy.
So, You may ask, why these tanks and the museum is worthy of to write about? It goes back to the year of 1944. The Soviets had unleashed their major summer operation against Finns. Front lines were breached, defensive posts overrun. The Finnish High Command used the Panssaridivisioona and Jääkäriprikaati as a decisive elite force to stop Soviet breakouts and advances. If possible, to push them back in order to regain the lost main defensive lines in Kuuterselkä, Viipuri, Portinhoikka, Tali, Ihantala and Vuosalmi.
WWII era tanks of the museum and the men that used them in their part saved Finland from the Soviet occupation by being the necessary "Fire Brigade" to stabilize the front. However not all of these tanks were of the first class, far cry from it. In fact some of them were so bad they even couldn't be used in the front line service.
Thus here they are: the bottom ones!
5 Soviet KV-1E Model 1940 Heavy Tank
 |
| KV-1E at Parola 2026 © Historix |
Bottom 5 and 4 tanks have a special connection between them: the reason why the KV-1 tank was developed in the first place came from the battle experiences of the Spanish Civil War 1935-1939. There Soviet T-26 light tanks had been the masters of tank combat against Italian CV L3/33-35 tankettes and German PzKpfw I tanks. The entry of a new German anti-tank gun the 3,7 cm Pak 36 (Panzerabwehrkanone) and anti-aircraft gun 8,8 cm Flak 18 (Flugabwehrkanone) changed the situation. Now it became clear for the Soviets something heavier and better armoured has to be manufactured in order to regain initiative and proper armour protection.
KV-1 was designed to meet the challenge: it had to be protected well enough to be immune against 3,7 cm Pak 36 and other modern anti-tank guns. This was achieved by making the armour protection previously unseen heavy. As a rule in order to be successful tank has to find a balance between three factors: protection, firepower and mobility. KV-1 had the protection and also firepower to to some extent, but mobility and reliability became much of an issue. Poor mobility and high weight combined with unreliable transmission and drive train made KV-1 to struggle to keep up with faster and more agile T-34/76.
Despite the heavy structure of KV-1 it had no firepower advantage over the much lighter T-34/76 as both tanks shared the same F-32/F-34 tank cannon. KV-1 had very poor ergonomics and crew layout with limited visibility. This led to poor overall situational awareness - crews were essentially blind. Last, but not the least, KV-1 was significantly more expensive and slower to produce than the T-34/76.
To summarize; KV-1's heavy armour came at too high a cost in other vital areas. In fact these issues stayed unsolved leading to the cancellation of KV-1 production in 1943. KV-1 was replaced by more balanced designs like the IS series and upgraded T-34s.
Parola museum has the sole surviving KV-1E in the World. It was captured at Solomanni, north of Petrozavodsk, East Karelia, in the autumn of 1941. Finns had captured several KV-1s in various conditions but could take into use only two of them, one being this registered as Ps 272-1 and in Finnish use it was named as KV-1B.
Finnish troops gave it a nickname "Pulttiklimi" or "Boltklimi" referring to sub-index E (Ekranyi = Reinforced or with Screens) which meant that the tank had additional 25 mm applique armour riveted onto hull and turret with large bolts. Due to mechanical unreliability and lack of spare parts KV-1E was seldom used in battles and was released from the army inventory in 1945. Today KV-1E is a very interesting and rare museum exhibit but as a fighting weapon it belongs to the list of bottom ones.
KV-1E technical data:
Weight: 45 t
Armour: 30 – 110 mm
Armament: F-32 cannon 76,2 mm, 2x7,62 MG
Penetration: at 90 angles at 500 m distance 69 mm with standard BR-350A AP round (initial velocity of 662m/sec)
Powerplant: V-2K, 12-cylinder diesel, 600 hp
Speed: 35 km/h
Range: 225 km
Crew: 5 men; commander, gunner, loader, driver and assistant driver/bow gunner
4 Soviet T-26 light tank
Early in the 1930's Soviets purchased 15 Vickers 6-ton Model A tanks and manufacturing licences from England. It marked the beginning of a Soviet nine year production run of T-26 tanks with many sub variants. There were twin turreted MG and single turreted cannon tanks, flamethrowers, bridge layers, radio controlled versions, artillery tractors and ammunition carriers as well as fire support tanks with 76 mm regimental guns and even 122 mm howitzers. Soviets produced some 10 000 gun tanks and another 2 000 specialized versions.
 |
| Very rare T-26 Model 1933 at Parola 2026 © Historix |
The combat debut for T-26 was the Spanish Civil War. There it first shined, and at the same time Spain became it's swansong. After initial successes in the last part of 1936 the role of T-26 tanks declined. T-26 suffered multiple issues like weak tracks prone to break, poor vision devices which made the crew almost blind, practically nonexistent ventilation inside the turret and troublesome 71-TK-1 radio. But the most alarming feature was the thin armour of max. 15 mm. That had been sufficient when enemy tanks had no cannons.
 |
| Armour penetrated, T-26 at Parola 2026 © Historix |
 |
| Exit holes, T-26 at Parola 2026 © Historix |
The Spanish Civil War gave the T-26 reputation as the best interwar period tank
and at the same time destroyed it's fame. As the World War Two started the T-26 had already sunken to the category of bottom tanks with all its deadly shortcomings.
Finns captured numerous T-26s in the Winter and Continuation Wars. Some 100 examples were put in the front line service until mid July 1944, the last ones retiring as conscript trainers early in the 1960's.
 |
| T-26 with penetration holes, Winter War booty, at Parola 2026 © Historix |
T-26 technical data (in Soviet use):
Weight: 9,4 – 11 t
Armour: 6 – 15 mm
Armament: 45 mm 20-K cannon, 1 – 2 x 7,62 MG
Penetration at 90 angles at 300 m distance 53 mm
Powerplant: 4-cylinder, 6,4 liter horizontal air-cooled petrol. 90 hp
Speed: 35 km/h
Range: 340 km
Crew: 3 men; commander/loader, gunner, driver
3 Soviet T-60 M 1941 light tank
 |
| T-60 Light Tank at Parola 2026 © Historix |
 |
| T-60 shows the 20 mm cannon at Parola 2026 © Historix |
T-60 technical data:
Weight: 6,4 t
Armour: 7 – 35 mm
Armament: 20 mm TNSh automatic cannon, DT MG 7,62 mm
Penetration: at 90 angles at 500 m distance 15 mm
Powerplant: Gaz 202 6-cylinder petrol, 76 hp
Speed: 45 km/h
Range: 450 km
Crew: 2 men; commander/gunner, driver
2 Finnish BT-42 Assault Gun
What You expect the outcome to be if You take two obsolete weapon, put them together and hope to get a sound fighting combination? In 1942 Finns tried to get this done. Predictably the outcome was just one more tank straight into the Bottom Tank list.
Just before the start of the Continuation War, June 1941, Finns had a tank core of some 200 tanks, armoured cars or armoured tractors. Most of those were captured from the Soviet Red Army in the Winter War. However, of these Finns could field only some 50 battle worthy tanks. These were the British Vickers 6-ton tanks purchased to Finland before the Winter War (now equipped with captured Soviet 45 mm cannons) and war booty T-26 tanks of various sub-models.
German Panzerwaffe was taken as an example for the Finnish tank core how to improve and develop its structure and tactics. That in mind Finns formed in first half of the 1942 the Panssaridivisioona (Armour Division). It was done to replace the 1941 Panssaripataljoona (Armour Battalion) by adding new units to the composition of new Armoured Division. The main units of the body being HQ, Jääkäriprikaati (Jäger Brigade) and Panssariprikaati (Armoured Brigade). These were supported by Artillery-, Engineer-, Armoured AA- and Assault Gun Battalions among others and Quartermaster's Corps.
Now the BT-42 enters the stage: at the time Germans were unwilling to sell modern equipment to Finland, such as assault guns like Stug40. With no other options available, the Finns decided to build their own. In 1942 they took captured Soviet BT-7 tanks - already known to be unreliable and largely unusable - and rebuild them into a Finnish assault gun.
Lets have a look how it materialized. Timo Teräsvalli writes:
"The turrets of BT-7 tanks were renewed, and British howitzers of caliber 114 mm, year-model 1918 were installed. The new turret was large and sighting- and viewing equipment sorrowful."
And what can be said about the BT-7 chassis itself?
"The vehicle was indeed fast, but constantly suffered from all sorts of technical faults. The tracks often slipped off, and the track/road wheel changing mechanism was a poor concept".
Not much good it seems. What about the BT-42 in combat, how did it score? There was just one battle in which BT-42s took part. It was quite a significant one as well: to help the 20. Prikaati (20. Brigade) to defend the second largest city of Finland in 1944 - Viipuri, modern day Russian Vyborg in the Karelian Isthmus.
So, how did it go - the battle? Mr. Teräsvalli describes the situation:
"The explosive squash head (HESH) grenades from the old British howitzer had no effect on the Red Army tanks."
In fact one of the BT-42s hit enemy tank 18 times with no results. Respectively the very same enemy tank fired eight rounds back and scored no hits!
In Viipuri there were 9 BT-42 assault guns taking part to the defensive battle. Five (5) of them were lost during the fight. Other four ones withdrew the battleground. After the Battle of Viipuri all but one were scrapped. Good riddance, I suggest, their crews must have thought. Today the one remaining BT-42 is preserved at the Armour Museum of Parola.
 |
| The BT-42 at Parola 2026 © Historix |
P.S. the sorrowful career of BT-42s was a result of misunderstood tactical use as an anti-tank weapon. Had it been used as an armoured mobile indirect fire artillery against infantry, it would have been a sound weapon system with its potent HE round.
BT-42 technical data (in Finnish use):
Weight: 15,5 t
Armour: 6 – 22 mm
Armament: 114 mm H 18 howitzer, velocity of 345m/sec)
Penetration: HE and HESH round, armour penetraton almost nil
Powerplant: M-17T, V-12 petrol liquid cooled, 450 hp
Speed: on tracks 52 km/h, on wheels 72 km/h
Range: on tracks 230 km, on wheels 500 km
Crew: 3 men; commander/gunner, loader, driver
1 British Vickers-Carden-Loyd MkVI tankette
Finally the number one on my list. To be precise, it's not really a tank. We better characterize it as a tankette. That is to say a small tracked combat vehicle, usually with only two man crew, lightly armoured just to stop bullets and Usually with no rotating turret. Armament consisting only machine guns of various calibers. One might not expect much of a fighting capabilities with this kind of mix. Still in the 1920's-1930's this concept became surprisingly popular. How that came to be?
To find an answer we must look at politicians and money. Tankettes were cheap and easy to produce by great numbers. The numbers and saving costs seemed to be more important than to produce for the army capable tanks. The concept was born in Great Britain but was widely accepted by various armies around the world. Some nations purchased tankettes, others bought their manufacturing licences.
One of the most notable tankette is Vickers-Carden-Loyd MkVI. It was copied by Italy (CV L3/33 - 35), Poland (TK, TKS), Czechoslovakia (Tancik vz. 33) and Soviet Union (T-27).
 |
| Vickers-Carden-Loyd MkVI at Parola 2026 © Historix |
Tankettes fought on during the 1930's in Bolivia Chacao War between Bolivia and Paraguay, in Abyssinia (modern day Ethiopia) as Italy invaded and colonized the country, in Spanish Civil War and by Polish Army trying to stop the invading German forces in 1939. Needless to highlight the fact: tankettes were of little combat value.
 |
| MkVI Produced in July 1933 © Historix |
That's why they were phased out of service or were relegated to secondary roles after the early stages of the Second World War. With the exception of Italy, whose tankers had to fight on with their tankettes in North Africa 1940-1943. Germans used captured Polish TKS-tankettes as a security vehicles around airfields in Norway. Soviet T-27 was seen in the front lines of the Eastern Front 1941 but soon vanished the scene.
In the early 1930's Finland was seeking for replacement to its ageing and obsolete fleet of Renault FT-17 tanks. That's why an order of four Vickers tanks were made for trials. One of these was MkVI tankette. It had several serious drawbacks: in summer MkVI became unbearable hot for its crew due to engine which lay unprotected between the two crew members. It was armed only with one 7,7 mm MG and the armour protection barely managed to stop rifle bullets. Its cross-country mobility was weak and the engine kept interiors very noisy.
After the trials Finns selected wisely another option for their new service tank. The chosen one was Vickers 6-ton Tank type E.
 |
| MkVI has got some style of its own © Historix |
And there You have it: my choices for the 5 Bottom Tanks from the collection of The Armour Museum of Parola.
Vickers-Carden-Loyd Mk VI technical data:
Weight: 1,36 t
Armour: 4 – 9 mm
Armament: 7,7 mm MG
Powerplant: Ford four cylinder petrol, 40 hp
Speed: 45 km/h
Range: 160 km
Crew: 2 men; commander/gunner, driver
Notes
Soviet KV-1E Heavy Tank
1. Zaloga, Steven J. KV-1 & 2 Heavy Tanks 1939-45. p. 6-11
2. Teräsvalli, Timo. The Parola Armour Museum. p. 32-33
3. Green, Michael. Russian Armour in the Second World War.p. 117-126
Soviet T-26 Light Tank
1. Teräsvalli, Timo. The Parola Armour Museum. p. 25-27
2. Zaloga, Steven J. T-26 light tank. p. 4-5
3. Green, Michael. Russian Armour in the Second World War.p. 20-25
Soviet T-60 Light Tank
1. Teräsvalli, Timo. The Parola Armour Museum. p. 41
2. Green, Michael. Russian Armour in the Second World War. p. 19, 28-32
3. Kantakoski, Pekka. Panssarimuseo. p.24
4. Grog AI
Finnish BT-42 Assault Gun
1. Teräsvalli, Timo. The Parola Armour Museum. p. 29-31
2. Käkelä, Erkki. Panssaridivisioona 1942-1944. p. 170-175
3. Haapanen, Atso. Suomen Panssariase 1918-1944. p. 81, 96-97, 127
4. Zaloga, Steven J. BT Fast Tank The Red Army's Cavalry Tank 1931-45. p. 44
British Vickers-Carden-Loyd MkVI Tankette
1. Teräsvalli, Timo. The Parola Armour Museum. p. 15-16
2. Kantakoski, Pekka. Panssarimuseo. p. 10-11
3. Grog AI
