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Arabia
Soviet T-34 tank spotted in use in Yemen War
2016-11-20
From the Downright Romantic Department:

At 45 tons the German Panther was considered to be a medium tank.

Video at the link

T-34 in use in Hungary in 1956.
[SouthFront.org] A video, showing a process of combat usage of the Soviet T-34-85 tank in Yemen, was published online.

According to an annotation to the video, the tank is used by Arab military, fighting on the side of Saudi Arabia, as a stationary firing point in the province of Dhale. The footage shows a tankman, who shoots from a turret gun with the help of a rope cord, being outside of the tank.

The best medium tank of the times of World War II, the T-34-85, is actively used in local conflicts in the Middle East. In August of this year, such tanks were spotted in Syria.

Soviet tanks became even more popular in Yemen, where fighting has been ongoing for more than ten years. During this time, the most part of tanks, which were in service in the Yemeni Army, has been destroyed by supporters of expelled President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi. This led to the fact that the Houthis and Yemeni troops also began to actively use very old military hardware – the T-34 tanks and the SU-100 self-propelled guns.


The SU-100 was a 100mm antitank gun mounted on a T-34 chassis. It was introduced in 1944. It could penetrate the sloped 80 mm front armor of the German Panther from 1,500 m. The same gun was used on the later T-54 and T-55.
The T-34-85 tank became a part of the Red Army in the spring of 1944. In contrast to its predecessor, the T-34-76, the tank had a new cast turret with reinforced armor protection and a 85-mm cannon. Its armor-piercing projectile, weighing 9.2 kg, was capable to pierce a 102-mm armor from a distance up to 1000 meters, as well as to hole a 111-mm armor from a distance up to 500 meters. An AP composite shot could break through a 138-mm armor from a distance of 500 meters. The number of a tank’s crew increased to five people. Officially, the T-34 tank was removed from service in the Russian Army in 1993.
Posted by:badanov

#15  Meh. Call me when someone breaks out the T-35s
Posted by: Rob Crawford   2016-11-20 18:55  

#14   A crew of five? Like this maybe, driver, loader, gunner, commander..... Radioman?

The fifth crewman operated the front hull machine gun and the radio.
Posted by: badanov   2016-11-20 18:30  

#13  I have the occasional milspeak flashback. :)

No apologies necessary, Mike dear. My vocabulary has grown substantially since I found this place.
Posted by: trailing wife   2016-11-20 17:57  

#12  
Posted by: Skidmark   2016-11-20 17:21  

#11   The Communists seized the STG-44s from the Nazis after the war. They never threw weapons away, so these old rifles were given to Middle East regimes. They never threw them away either, so they just sat around for decades before being uncrated for the post 2000 festivities. No mystery here.
Posted by: Thumper Dribble5791 2016-11-20 13:14

Thumper,

I kinda figured that was the answer - but you gotta wonder what might still be quietly sitting in some dusty, forgotten warehouse in the Rodina.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2016-11-20 17:07  

#10  Fifth crewman was from NKVD. Kept a pistol on the rest of the crew.
Posted by: Spanky Gromomble8844   2016-11-20 14:33  

#9  The Communists seized the STG-44s from the Nazis after the war. They never threw weapons away, so these old rifles were given to Middle East regimes. They never threw them away either, so they just sat around for decades before being uncrated for the post 2000 festivities. No mystery here.
Posted by: Thumper Dribble5791   2016-11-20 13:14  

#8  I wasa thinkrn Prince George County
Posted by: Frank G   2016-11-20 12:14  

#7  TC, Gunner, driver, loader, RTO/assistant driver

In actuality 5th crewman was there so they can spread the workload when they break track and other fun maintenence things.
Posted by: Injun Bucket8891   2016-11-20 10:15  

#6  A crew of five? Like this maybe, driver, loader, gunner, commander..... Radioman?

BadMan?
Posted by: Shipman   2016-11-20 10:00  

#5  Mike, recently we've also seen a stash of STG-44s still in the crate show up in Syria, as well as on the battlefield in N.Africa.
Posted by: Rex Mundi   2016-11-20 09:55  

#4  TW,

My apologies, 'PG' is shorthand for the Persian Gulf. I have the occasional milspeak flashback. :)

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2016-11-20 09:39  

#3  What is the PG?
Posted by: trailing wife   2016-11-20 09:35  

#2  According to Jane's here,, Paraguay is still using Shermans and Stuarts. I'm guessing replacement parts could be an issue.
Posted by: Matt   2016-11-20 08:12  

#1  ...Some interesting firepower has shown up in wars over the last 20 years or so - WWII armor from both sides showed up in the Balkans, and a lot of German (!) gear has shown up in the PG. One wonders how it got there in the first place (the PG wasn't an area of operations for the Wehrmacht) and how long some poor soul(s) had been quietly waiting to use it...

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski   2016-11-20 06:33  

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