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For many years there were rumours of a secret armoured vehicle collection somewhere in Russia. While many Soviet vehicles are openly displayed around Russia, there is a notable absence of vehicles of other nationalities. Whilst this might partly be explained by national pride, it stood to reason that they must have a large number of foreign vehicles hidden away somewhere, especially German vehicles captured during the War and NATO vehicles ‘acquired’ since.
Over the years a certain amount of information filtered out from Russia, most notably a strong rumour that there was indeed such a collection and that it included the only surviving example of the Maus, Germany’s end-of-the-war super-heavy tank. Recently, particularly since the break up of the Soviet Union, a number of Westerners have gained access to the collection, now known to be stored at a military base at Kubinka and to be part of the Kubinka Tank Institute (‘NIIBT’).
The collection is located about 1 kilometre inside the army base at Kubinka, a small town approximately 40km west-south-west from central Moscow on the M1 road to Minsk. The vehicles are officially housed in and around seven hangars (Halls 1-7) as shown in the main plan. One hangar has German Second World War vehicles, one has Allied Second World War and NATO post-war vehicles, one has vehicles from other miscellaneous countries (France, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, etc.), one has Soviet wheeled vehicles, and three contain an impressive collection of Soviet tracked vehicles. Outside the hangars there are a number of other Soviet vehicles on display, plus a large armoured train. There are, in fact, two further storage buildings that are not open to visitors. Hall 8, located with the administration building, holds recent acquisitions, often from field trials, and vehicles being prepared for display elsewhere. Hall 9, along with its open storage area, houses part of the reserve collection including duplicate vehicles and vehicles retired from other locations, many of which were previously displayed on plinths around Russia. It should be noted that most Soviet vehicles at Kubinka are marked with an identification number which is not a tactical number but a collection reference number.
The Soviets have undoubtedly managed to collect together at Kubinka one of the largest armoured vehicle collections in the world. Not only does it contain the best collection of Soviet vehicles in the world, which is only to be expected, but it also contains a representative sample of all the major designs produced by their allies and enemies throughout this century. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the collection is the number of unusual and rare vehicles that were accumulated – probably more by accident than design – and typified by the German, Hungarian and Japanese vehicles. The collection had about a third more vehicles in the 1960’s and 1970’s but these vehicles, including many Second World War German ones, were cut up for scrap.
It is to be hoped that with the increasing openness of the CIS, many more people will soon be able to visit, and appreciate, the Kubinka collection. However, this process seems to be taking place only very slowly. With an injection of cash and enthusiasm it could become a first-league collection, alongside Bovington and Fort Knox and, to a lesser extent, Saumur and Aberdeen Proving Ground. It is of course inevitable that it will increasingly lose its charm and air of mystery as probably the last major tank collection in the world kept behind closed doors.
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Hall 1: Soviet Heavy Tanks
The collection of heavy tanks in Hall 1 is arranged in a similar way to the other Soviet halls, that is in two opposing rows of vehicles, but the first row begins with an area set aside for oversize vehicles. These are the T-35 Model 1933 heavy tank, and the SU-14BR-2 and SU-100-Y SP guns.
| Location ID: | 2110 | | Latitude, Longitude: | 55.564742, 36.716448 | | Location Accuracy: | 7 |
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Unique ID: |
357
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Collection number 112 painted on left turret side.
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This was an experimental design, of which a number of different prototypes were built. This is a 1947/48 prototype.
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Unique ID: |
358
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Collection number 113 painted on left turret side.
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In 1950 a modernised derivative of the IS-4 and IS-7, the IS-8, was accepted for production. Due to Stalin’s death in 1953 it was redesignated T-10 when it entered service that year and continued to be produced until 1957.
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363
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Collection number 118 painted on left turret side.
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The Obiekt 268 SP gun is based on the T 10, but the gun is mounted in a fixed superstructure in place of the turret and uses a stereoscopic rangefinder.
(“Obiekt” is variously translated as ‘Object’, ‘Project’ or ‘Item’. The original is used throughout this work).
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Unique ID: |
365
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Collection number 120 painted on left turret side.
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The Obiekt 279 heavy tank has a turret very similar to the Obiekt 277 design. However, the hull is a very large boat shape tapering out at the sides almost to a knife-edge, giving it the appearance of having a very steep sloping glacis plate all round. The hull is mounted on four sets of tracks; these run the full length of the hull, two on each side. There are five roadwheels for each track, no return rollers, and the idler and sprocket wheels are at the same level as the roadwheels to keep them clear of the boat-hull. The outer armour is thin plate fixed around a hull core. It was developed in 1957 to investigate AFV survival on the nuclear battlefield.
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368
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Collection number 123 painted on left turret side.
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The SU-100P is a self-propelled gun based on a new design of chassis. It mounts a 100mm weapon in a small square superstructure at centre of the hull, with an open crew compartment behind. The SU-100P, Obiekt 112, SU-152P, SU-152G and SU 152 were all manufactured by Uralmash; the designer was L. Gorlitsky.
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369
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Collection number 124 painted on left turret side.
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The Obiekt 112 armoured carrier is based on the same chassis as the SU-100P. It is also known as the Izdeliye 112 and BTR-112.
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370
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Collection number 125 painted on left turret side.
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The SU-152P self-propelled gun was built in 1949. It has an extended chassis with seven roadwheels per side instead of the six of the Obiekt 112 and SU-152G.
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Hall 2: Soviet Medium Tanks
| Location ID: | 2115 | | Latitude, Longitude: | 55.565152, 36.71647 | | Location Accuracy: | 7 |
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Unique ID: |
489
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Collection number 218 painted on left turret side.
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The Obiekt 167 was an experimental tank design with a conventional live track and return roller arrangement with the aim of improving cross-country performance relative to the T-62. It was armed with a 9M14 (‘AT-3 Sagger’) missile system on the turret rear.
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492
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Collection number 221 painted on left turret side.
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Obiekt 430 was the original test-bed for the T-64 developed in 1960. It was fitted with a 100mm D-10 gun, and a 5 cylinder 600hp 5TD engine in a new design of chassis. It was developed into the prototype T-64 (Obiekt 432) then the series production T-64 (Obiekt 434).
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494
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Collection number 223 painted on left turret side.
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Text in original Preserved Tanks In Russia publication:
Obiekt 434 had a 125mm gun and the 5TDF engine in its final form.
Text in Preserved Tanks In Russia Update:
Additional photograph(s) available.
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Unique ID: |
498
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Collection number 227 painted on left turret side.
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Obiekt 288 has a chassis based on the T-64 but it is fitted with a windowed cab in place of the turret. It is an unarmed engine test-bed vehicle and is fitted with two 350hp engines. It was built in 1963.
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501
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Collection number 230 painted on left turret side.
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This is a T-72AV fitted with KDZ (‘Komplekt Dinamicheskoy Zashity’) explosive reactive armour (ERA) boxes around the hull and turret. KDZ was developed at Kubinka.
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502
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Collection number 231 painted on left turret side.
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The Obiekt 219R is the production version of the T-80B. It resembles the T-72 but has improved armour protection and is powered by a new gas turbine engine.
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Hall 3: Soviet Light Tanks
| Location ID: | 2120 | | Latitude, Longitude: | 55.565519, 36.716529 | | Location Accuracy: | 7 |
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67) T-26 Light Tank
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British / Soviet
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Unique ID: |
506
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Collection number 304 painted on left turret side.
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Towards the end of its life the T-26 was considerably redesigned to produce this final version of the T-26, known M-1937 (‘T-26S’). It was largely of welded, rather than bolted, construction while the turret front was drop forged. This example has a modified rear hull as it was prepared for a parade and fitted with a GAZ-51 truck engine. It has also been provided for other displays in the Moscow region.
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508
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Collection number 306 painted on left turret side.
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This BT-5 is unusual in being fitted with an uprated M-17 engine in place of the standard M 5 engine. It is configured for road transit on its wheels, with its tracks removed and stowed on the track guards.
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510
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Collection number 308 painted on left turret side.
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Text in original Preserved Tanks In Russia publication:
A prototype light amphibious tank was developed to replace earlier designs and was known as the T-30. Two prototypes of this vehicle were developed, the T-30 which was amphibious and the T-30S (“Sukhoputniy” or ‘ground only’) which was not.
Text in Preserved Tanks In Russia Update:
Previously incorrectly designated as T-30S.
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511
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Collection number 309 painted on left turret side.
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Text in original Preserved Tanks In Russia publication:
The T-30 was accepted for production in December 1939 as the T-40. This particular T-40 is unusual in being armed with the 20mm ShVAK cannon; this weapon armed the T 30 prototype but the smaller 12.7 DShK HMG was more common on production models of the T-40 as the 20mm cannon was also required for use as an anti-aircraft weapon.
Text in Preserved Tanks In Russia Update:
Previous history incorrect.
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512
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Collection number 310 painted on left turret side.
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In 1940 some advanced light tank designs were developed, with sloped armour all round, in order to provide better armour protection. This resulted in the T 126SP and T-127 prototypes, developed as replacements for the T-26. The T 126SP was accepted for production as the T-50.
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513
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Collection number 311 painted on left turret side.
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Unique ID: |
514
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Collection number 312 painted on left turret side.
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A new model of light tank was introduced in 1940, the T-60, which was an improved design based on the T-30 prototype, with the main armament increased to a 20mm TNSh-20 cannon (a variant of the ShVAK aircraft cannon), and 20mm frontal armour. This vehicle appears to be an early T-60 M 1941, although it has a mix of spoked and solid road wheels from the M 1941 and M-1942 (‘T 60A’) respectively.
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520
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Collection number 319 painted on left turret side.
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The K-90 amphibious light tank was developed in 1950 as a prototype competitor for the PT-76 light tank. It was armed with a new 76mm D-56T main armament.
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521
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Collection number 320 painted on left turret side.
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The PT-76 entered service in 1951 with armoured reconnaissance units and naval infantry tank regiments. It is fully amphibious without preparation and has been built in large numbers since. This is a later, standard model PT-76B, with double-baffle muzzle brake.
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Unique ID: |
531
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Collection number 330 painted on left side.
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Two air-portable SP guns that did not make it into service were the ASU-76 and K 73. The ASU-76 was developed in 1949 and has a 76.2mm gun with multi-baffle muzzle brake.
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532
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Collection number 331 painted on left side.
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The K-73 was developed in 1949 and is armed with a 57mm Ch-51 gun.
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Unique ID: |
534
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Collection number 333 painted on left side.
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The ASU-57P was a modified prototype of the ASU-57 designed to be fully amphibious. It was developed in 1954 but did not enter production.
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