BT-42
The BT-42 is a Finnish conversion of the BT-7. Unlike the BT-7, the BT-42 is not remembered fondly. Our friends at the online tank encyclopedia have said that it was "mediocre in every direction".
IRL[edit]
The BT-7 already has a page on it, so you can read about that if you like. The BT-42 was a Finnish version of the vehicle that functionally fitted a smaller version of the KV-2's cannon to the top, using leftover British 4.5" howitzers.
The Finns, at this point understandably desperate for anything that was an armored box that could spew shells, approved the project with the intent of using them as tank destroyers. A turret was designed that looked like the KV-2's turret, and in total 18 were made.
The BT-42 had all the same problems as the KV-2 and even more. For example, the rear armor on the turret was too weak and as such largely worthless, and the vehicle lacked a machine gun to defend itself from infantry at closer ranges. It also had horrible balance on account of the large turret. The HEAT shells were too unreliable to penetrate Soviet tanks, and were outdated the moment Barbarossa commenced. The BT-42 may have had more utility as an SPG but we will probably never know, as most of them were captured or destroyed in the TD role.
| Finnish Forces in Flames of War | |
|---|---|
| Tanks: | Vickers 6 Ton - T-26 - T-28 |
| Transports: | |
| Infantry: | Finnish MG Platoon - Tank Hunter Platoon - Finnish Pioneer Platoon - Finnish Rifle Platoon - Finnish SMG Platoon - Jääkäri Platoon |
| Artillery: | 75 PstK/40 - 76K/02 - Finnish 81mm Mortar - |
| Tank Destroyers and Assault guns: | BT-42 |
| Armored Cars: | |
| Aircraft: | JU-87 Stuka - Fokker C.X |
| Anti-Aircraft: | Landsverk SPAA |