The T-80 was a Soviet light tank developed from the T-70. As the crew of T-70 was only two men, this proved difficult when operating, as the commander was also gunner, loader, and radio operator at the same time, causing an overwhelm of duties and inability to perform all of the tasks at the same time. The Soviets tried to solve this issue by adding a third crew member into the T-70, the redesigned turret allowing for higher elevation and more space to fit the additional crew member was added to the existing T-70 hull. Unlike the T-70’s turret, the turret of the T-80 was less armoured with 35 mm thick armour overall, however, the hull sides were strengthened from 15 to 25 mm; the rest of the armour remained unchanged.
The increased weight was compensated by installing a stronger version of the engine used in the T-70. Unfortunately, by the time the T-80 appeared, lend-lease equipment was abundant and the scouting role was given to armoured cars instead. All light tank production was ceased in October 1943 after 120 T-80 tanks were built. After the reorganization of the Red Army in November 1943, the light tanks were replaced by T-34 medium tanks. No new light tanks were designed until the post-war period with the PT-76.
The T-80 was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41. An upgrade over the T-70, the T-80 introduces a larger turret, allowing for an extra crew member to shorten the reload time and increase the tank’s survivability in the battlefield. As the armour of T-70 was already inadequate at times, the opponents the T-80 faces make the armour protection even more meaningless. The crew placement allows for disabling the tank by killing entire crew in single hit centre mass into the vehicle. The tank also suffers from very poor traverse speed of only 4.2° per second.
The SU-57B is a Soviet tank destroyer. It was introduced in Update 1.83 “Masters of the Sea”.
This tank destroyer uses a 57 mm ZIS-4 for its main gun. It features a low profile, good top speed (40 km/h in RB) and great penetration for its rank, but weak armour at all angles.
The overall design of the SU-57B allows for sneaky attacks, revolving around the 57 mm ZiS-4 gun that allows for engagement from medium range on unsuspecting enemies. Because of its low profile, this TD can use bushes and terrain to hide its approach. However, the trade-off is lacklustre mobility, so it compares with the ZiS-30 that provides better mobility and speed and can reposition much faster. Despite all these limitations, when played right the SU-57B can score good scores, but only when properly positioned and not detected.
Currently we have the T-50 and two different version of the T28 which while fun is a land boat. The T80 has worse turret armor than the T70 but a third crew member. I would love to see one as a tech tree and the second as a even vehicle. Giving the USSR a br2 tank destroyer like the italian beast would be a gun time.
- T80
- SU-57B
- No