[烛光生存狂]-【卫国战争老兵回忆】列姆·乌拉诺夫（Rem Ulanov）

http://www.ww2f.com/weapons-wwii/12467-t-70-tank.html

Rem Ulanov

"Colombina"

I have a picture of SU-76 over my desk, and it reminds me of my young days, which were closely connected to this vehicle, about wartime friends and events, about my job at Kubinka proving grounds and all the following things.

Let me start from the beginning. In March 1943, after leaving hospital, I was sent along with other soldiers to 15 training self-propelled artillery regiment, located at Iksha station of Savelovskaya railway. The regiment was deployed on the territory of incomplete "Gidroprivod" factory. The order and cleanliness of the base surprised me. I was even more surprised and put on my guard by the guardsmen at the regimental banner.They were dressed in dark blue overalls and tanker’s helmets. There was a strange vehicle standing at the HQ building. It had the chassis of the German Pz-III tank, but instead of turret it had some weird armoured superstructure, resembling self-made armored trains of the Civil war times. It was housing a ZIS-3 gun, very well familiar to all frontline soldiers (ZIS-3 gun has not been mounted on German tanks’ chassis, this was S-1 gun, a version of tank F-34 gun - Editor)

让我们从头说起,1943年3月,离开医院后,我和其他士兵被送到了第15自行火炮训练团. Savelovskaya铁路的Iksha车站.该团所处的位置属于正在施工的"Gidroprivod"厂的管区.基地的秩序和整洁程度让我吃惊。当我们由在团旗处站岗的警卫的协助下戴上防护装置（？）后，我的惊讶程度就更甚了。（俄文转译的吧，感觉表达还是有点问题）他们穿着蓝黑色工作衣,头带着坦克头盔.在指挥部建筑前停着一辆很奇怪的车辆.地盘采用的是缴获的德国三号坦克,但是炮塔则被一个焊接的装甲盖板所取代,就和内战时自制的装甲列车类似,安装了一门和前线士兵使用的非常类似的ZIS-3炮(事实上ZIS-3没有安装在德国坦克的地盘上,装的是F-34坦克炮的一种变形,称为S-1)

An aspiration to make this excellent and reliable gun mobile on the battlefield caused this hybrid to come to life. The decision was quite timely, and allowed our early self-propelled artillery to use captured tanks. Several regiments of these vehicles were sent to war. But what will be my military profession now? A driver, an artillerist or a tanker? Before being wounded in January 1943 I was towing a 120 mm regimental mortar with my 1.5 ton GAZ-AA truck, which driver’s cabin was popularly called "say bye-bye to your health" (Horses, however archaic they could seem, were more efficient than trucks during the winter). The 15th regiment, subordinate to the Head Artillery Department, was involved in training primarily truck and tank drivers. After three months of training the drivers were issued a hand-written certificate, that this or that person is qualified to drive ZIS-5 and GAZ-AA trucks. The certificate was signed by the chief of staff and the clerk, and then stamped. It was possible to get this certificate from the clerk for a glass of "makhorka" (home-grown tobacco, it was very popular in Red Army) if the clerk liked you...

战场上需要这种有着优秀可靠的机动火力,直接导致了这些混血儿的诞生,不过这个决定是非常及时的,这样就可以让我们利用缴获的坦克来制造早期型的自行火炮.这些自行火炮装备了几个团开赴战场.但是此时我的军事生涯要怎么继续呢?做一名驾驶员,一名炮兵或者一名坦克手?在我1943年1月负伤之前,我是一名卡车司机,驾驶着一辆GAZ-AA 1.5吨卡车拖拽团属120mm迫击炮.在卡车驾驶室也就意味着"和健康说再见了".(不管多老的马在冬天都要比卡车来的有效).第15炮兵团隶属于炮兵司令部,主要负责训练卡车和坦克驾驶员.经过了3个月的驾驶培训后,你会得到一张手写的驾驶执照,这也就意味着你现在有资格开ZIS-5或GAZ-AA卡车.驾驶执照由参谋长签发,之后由秘书盖章.如果这位秘书看得上你得话,在领到驾驶执照得同时还能拿到一玻璃瓶的"马合烟"(一种国产得烟草,在红军种非常普遍).

The tank drivers (who were as a rule recruited from truck and tractor drivers) were getting their military profession put into their papers upon the completion of the course and promotion of the graduates to the rank of sergeant. Theoretical lectures were held in classroom that had SU-76 engine and its transmission - both assembled and disassembled.

坦克驾驶员(原则上是从卡车司机和拖拉机手中挑选),继续进行军事专业训练,完成后可以晋升为士官.在教室里上有关SU-76发动机和传动装置的理论课,包括装备和拆卸两部分.

The first version of SU-76 (SU-12) had 26-cylinder carburetor engines GAZ-202 of 75 h.p. each. The two engines had their own radiators, clutches, their own gearboxes and transmissions. All these mechanisms were placed in the front of the hull, and between them was the driver’s seat. One can imagine, how hard it was to operate a vehicle with two gearboxes and two clutches.

首批SU-76 (SU-12)采用的是两台GAZ-202型26缸发动机,每个为75 hp.两台发动机各有一套散热器,离合器,变速箱和传动装置.所有的部件都放置在车体前部,驾驶员座位的两边.你可以想象在车内同时操作两个变速箱和离合器有多么困难.

Two famous Soviet designers - Lipgart and Astrov, changed the destiny of the SP gun. In 1942 they rebuilt it based on GAZ-202 engines. Now SP’s engine was made up of two engines with consequently joined crankshafts. This engine, installed on a single framework, had one tow-disked clutch and one 4-speed gearbox, produced initially at Moscow, and later at Ural’s ZIS factory. The engine of 150 h.p. was located at the right side of the hull and was, despite its length, quite compact and relatively easy to maintain. A common cooling system with a single cellular radiator and 6-vane fan was handled cooling very well. The transmission was also simplified, and in many features replicated the transmission of mass-produced pre-war T-26 tank.

Lipgart 和Astrov两名著名得苏联设计师改变了自行火炮的命运.1942年,他们在GAZ-202的基础上进行了重新设计.新型自行火炮的（？）动力装置由两部发动机组成因此必须对动力输出轴进行整合（这个地方的表述我再查一下，不过大体是这么个意思）。如今自行火炮的发动机采用一个离合器和一个四速变速箱.改良后的车辆最初在莫斯科生产,之后ZIS工厂也开始投入生产.发动机为150 hp,安装在车体的右侧,尽管长度增加,但是设计的非常紧凑使得维护起来非常容易.由一个多孔散热器和一个6叶风扇组成的散热系统表现也非常良好.传动装置设计的也非常简单,其中的大部分部件采用了战前曾大量生产的T-26步兵坦克上的.

This is how SU-76 (SU-15) came forth. Open hull and low back wall of the fighting compartment provided the crew with excellent conditions for intensive fire. German "Artshturm" SP gun with 75 mm gun (Soviet codename for StuG 40) was beautiful outwardly, but conditions for crew were quite inconvenient and physically intolerable because of gas and empty cartridges accumulation.

敞开的车体和降低高度的战斗室为乘员集中火力设计提供了一个非常优秀的环境.德国人安装75mm炮的"Artshturm"自行火炮(苏联人对StuG 40的称呼)外形非常漂亮,但是弹药发射后的气体和堆积的空弹壳会对乘员的操作带来不方便,同时身体也无法忍受.

My tank driver’s training was almost completed. It assumed 18 hours of actual tank driving. In reality we would not get more than 3 hours. I, however, was luckier. In late August 1943 our regiment was relocated from Iksha station to Ivanteevka. I was among the guys who drove the SP’s we used for training on mudroads of Moscow area. That was the time when I appreciated excellent driving characteristics and wonderful mobility of "Colombina" - all SU-76’s arrived at destination without any breakdowns.

我的坦克驾驶员训练快完成了,这其中应该包括18个小时的实车训练,但实际上不超过3个小时.不过我还算是很幸运的.1943年8月末,我们团要从Iksha车站移防到Ivanteevka.我和其他人要驾驶着自行火炮赶到目的地,以训练我们在泥泞的莫斯科地区的驾驶能力.得益于"Colombina"［注］优异的驾驶特性和机动能力,所有的SU-76都准时抵达目的地,一路上没有发生任何的故障.

［注］科隆比娜(Colombina)在意大利语中是小鸽子，在戏剧里常常以活泼伶俐的年轻女仆的形象出现

SP’s with 122 mm gun on T-34 chassis (SU-122) arrived a day later because of technical problems. We ended up at Mamonovka station, where 999th self-propelled artillery regiment was in the process of formation. We received other 21 vehicles in Kirov. Experts were murmuring: we would have been better off getting vehicles from Gorki factory, what can these guys in Vyatka make anything except for their toys? But vehicles manufactured in Kirov were in no respect worse than the ones produced in Gorki or Mytischi. Except for SU-76s we received twenty ZIS-5 trucks, twenty GAZ-AA trucks with fully closed, although wooden, driver’s cabins, two field repair workshops on GAZ-M chassis, and Antonov oil-heaters. The HQ received "Dodge" ѕ and two Willis jeeps. To enhance batteries’ independence, they were all allocated a "Komsomolets" tower, a Willis jeep and a "Red October" motorcycle. However, before leaving for the front, all this surplus equipment was taken away.

T-34地盘的122 mm自行火炮(SU-122)则由于技术故障晚了一天才到.我们抵达了Mamonovka车站.第999自行火炮团正在那里组建.我们接受了21辆基洛夫(Kirov)生产的车辆.内行都在低估:我们可以得到高尔基(Gorki)工厂生产的更好的车辆,为什么那些维亚特卡(Vyatka)的家伙除了玩具之外得到的装备都比我们好?不过凭心而论, 基洛夫的产品并不比高尔基或Mytischi的要差.除了SU-76,我们还接受了20辆ZIS-5卡车,20辆全封闭,采用木头驾驶室的GAZ-AA卡车,2辆GAZ-M地盘的维修车,和Antonov加油车.团部接受了道奇卡车和威利斯吉普,为了提高炮兵连的独立性,划拨了1辆"共青团员号"牵引车,1辆威利斯吉普和1辆"红十月"摩托车.不过在我们开赴前线之前,这些盈余的装备都被调走了.

The whole regiment had less than 180 personnel. We embarked on the train in Mytischi in late November 1943. As soon as we hit the road, the poor third food ration was switched to richer second one. We ate soup with canned red fish. But where were we going? Nobody knew that. After a 10-day-long travel, which was just one long sequence of destruction sights - blown-up bridges, burnt-down houses, ditched train cars, scattered pieces of metal, we crossed Dnieper by a weak wooden bridge, and saw the long-suffering city of Kiev. 100 more kilometres to the west we disembarked from the train at Irsha station under bombs of "Junkers", which seemed to have appeared out of the blue. From Iksha to Irsha.

整个团的人数不足180人.1943年末11月末我们在Mytischi登上了火车.等我们上路后,原先的三级食物配给提升到了二级.我们现在吃着罐头鲑鱼汤．但是我们要去哪里呢？没有人知道．在这10天的旅途中，我们所见之处都满目疮痍．毁坏的桥梁，破损的房屋，被丢弃的铁路机车，到处都是金属碎片．借由一座木头危桥．我们穿过了第聂伯河，看到了已经饱受磨难的基洛夫．在西面100公里不到的地方我们在Irsha车站下的车．遭到了斯图卡的轰炸．看来在从伊克沙到伊尔沙沿线的天空中他们无处不在。

But the losses from bombs were insignificant. The second ration was changed again to the first one. Now we were getting 900 grams of bread and 100 grams of vodka. Having recovered from the air assault, we deployed in a column and moved westwards on a winter road. At a small village called Chelovichi we painted all SP’s and trucks white with chalk paint, according to the order of our command. There was a lot of chalk - Ukraine is famous for that.

但是轰炸几乎没有造成损失．二级配给改为了一级配给．如今我们可以得到900克面包和100克伏特加酒．冒着敌人的空袭，我们一路纵队沿着冬季公路向西进发．在一座称为Chelovichi的小村庄，根据指挥官的命令我们用白色粉笔为自行火炮和卡车进行涂装．这里有大量的粉笔－－乌克兰著名产品之一．

In the night our battery entered a strange village with our lights off. The exhaust pipes were gleaming on the right sides of vehicles’ hulls. Digits and arrows were shining with phosphorus light on my console.

晚上我们连闭灯进入了一个陌生的村庄．车体右侧的排气管非常的亮．驾驶舱仪表板上的数字和指示箭头在荧光灯的照耀下非常醒目。

My feet in boots and leg-wrappings were frozen to a degree of total insensitivity. My right shoulder was hot; the left one was cold, neighboring the gas tank with 400 litres of B-70 petrol. Antifreeze was used in the cooling system, and the most dangerous thing was to miss the moment when temperature (after the engines had been turned off) drops below minus 35 degrees Celsius - if the temperature was lower, one could have problems with starting the engine.

我的右肩膀热，左肩膀冷，边上就是400升B-70汽油的油箱．冷却系统要用防冻液．当温度(发动机关闭后)降到零下35度以下的时候是非常危险的.如果温度太低的话,在启动发动机的时候有很困难.

One of the few shortcomings of the vehicle were its weak two 6 V 6ST-140 accumulators. If the driver missed or slept through the moment of critical temperature drop, there was still a hope of electrical start. For this procedure the electrical network was rearranged in a way so that one of the starters was receiving twice as much power and could rotate the crankshafts with greater momentum. If this procedure didn’t work, there was a hope to start the engine with help of a huge crank, which needed strength of two or even three people. The last hope was to start the engine through towing the vehicle with another SU-76. However, this was the most barbarian thing you could do because of the transmission overload.

这是车辆仅有的缺点之一就是它那两台6 V 6ST-140的蓄电池.如果驾驶员在温度到达临界点的时候错过了或者睡着的话,就只能寄希望用电发动.为了完成这个操作，车辆的电路系统按照某种方式进行了重新布线,这样其中一个电打火器可以获得2倍的功率，这样就可以为发动机曲轴提供更大的动力.如果这样没用的,就要用大的曲柄来启动,不过这需要2或3个人的力量才行.最后一个办法是用另一辆SU-76牵引来启动发动机.但是这也是非常野蛮的,因为这样会使传动装置超负荷.

In order to stretch my legs and warm up a little I got out of the vehicle through my hatch, walked around the vehicle and checked whether the tracks had been strained evenly. Excellently controllable "Colombina" was very sensitive to uneven track strain. The way to check whether the track strain was right was very easy - one just had to step on a track part hanging from the drive sprocket - two track links were supposed to lie on the ground. If more than two track links were on the ground - the tracks were strained too weakly. Less than two track links on the ground meant that it was strained too tightly.

为了让腿恢复点知觉,我打开了舱盖绕着车辆散步,同时也检查下履带的张紧度是否平均."Colombina"的优秀可操纵性对履带张紧度不平均的反应非常敏感.检查履带的张紧度是否符合要求其实非常简单——坦克手只需要踩在履带下部靠近主动轮与接地端紧靠的履带——正常情况下会有两个履带板接触到地面。如果有超过2个履带板接地表明履带太松了，而如果少于两个履带板接地的话则说明太紧了。

It was all quiet around. On my right and left I could see peasant’s houses with heyroofs. Getting back on my driver’s seat, I looked at the thermometer and, having realised the temperature level allows me to take a half an hour nap, closed the hatch. I woke up from strong knock on the front hull and loud curses. Opening my hatch a little, I saw two officers dressed in clean white sheepskins. One of them, short and fat, had a papakha on. The other one, tall and slim, was holding the flashlight for the former. "Why are you parked here? Where is your commander?" - the papakha guy shouted, trying to prod me with his stick. I slammed the hatch, catching the stick. "Let the stick go!" - papakha guy ordered. Opening the hatch a little, I let the stick go. The fat and the slim went around the vehicle, and started to knock on the turret, calling for the commander. Junior Lieutenant Karginov, having taken away the tarpaulin covering the rear part of the vehicle, jumped down to the ground and received several strikes on his back. The battery commander who ran to the scene also got his portion of curses - it turned out that we parked our vehicles in a wrong place.

周围的环境非常恬静.在我的左右可以看到农舍.当我回到驾驶座上关上舱盖后,我看了下温度计,现在车内的温度足够我睡半个小时.没多久我就被前部车体的重击声和咒骂声吵醒了.我打开了舱盖,看到了2个穿着干净的白羊皮衣的军官,其中一个又矮又胖,带着一顶papakha,手里拿了个手电筒.另一个则又高又瘦."你怎么停在这里?""你们的头在哪里?"矮胖子吼道，他还想拿他的手杖打我，但是我碰得一声就关上了舱门，并把他的手杖夹住了。“把手杖松开！”矮胖子命令。然后我把舱门开了一个小缝，他把手杖抽走了。那两个人向车后走,开始敲打战斗室叫醒车长,Karginov少尉拨开覆盖在车上的防水布,刚一跳下了车后背就挨了几下,这时连长也赶了过来嘴上还不停的咒骂.我们把车停错了位置.

Battery commander and the commanding officer walked on, telling us to follow them. At the first speed and low gas the vehicle was not producing any noise, even on solid-frozen ground. A T-34 would have woken everybody up in radius of three kilometers with its clinking tracks. At the dawn our infantry moved on to capture the village. Several times the Russian grey overcoats were standing up, but they could not take that village. There was an 8-wheeled German gun-armed armoured car at the outskirts of the village, pinning our infantry down by its fire. Lt. Karginov told me to turn the SP to the right and our second shot blew the turret off the German armoured car. This was our first, and, unfortunately, the last victory. Two days later a large German SP penetrated front armour of my "Colombina" by an armor-piercing round at some 1500 metres. Following recommendations of experienced drivers, I would leave the front gas tank full, and would use the rear gas tank. This is why we did not explode immediately after being hit.

连长和其他长官也走过来了,告诉我们跟着他们.尽管是在冰封的路面上,但是车辆在发动和行驶过程中没有发出很大的噪音.如果换成是T-34的话,那么三公里范围内的人都能听到它发出的声音.黎明时分,我们的步兵开始攻占一个村庄.但是那些俄国"灰大衣"发起的几次进攻都没有奏效.村外的一辆德国8轮装甲汽车把步兵们都订在了那里.Karginov少尉要我把自行火炮开到右边,之后两炮结果了那辆德国装甲汽车.这是我的第一个战果,但很遗憾,也是最后一个.两天之后,1辆大型的德国自行火炮从1500米距离上发射的一发穿甲弹击穿了"Colombina"的前部装甲.依照一些有经验的驾驶员那学来的经验,我没有使用前部的油箱,而是用了后面的油箱,这也是为什么车辆在被击中后没有立刻爆炸的原因.

I tore pockets off my jacket earlier in the train. I also had my belt with TT pistol under the jacket - all these things helped to jump out of the vehicle without getting stuck. I sensed the hit right after I saw the shot blast. I flew out of the hatch, which I had open, and ran forwards, trying to get as far from the vehicle as I could. I stumbled and fell into a trench. Lying there, I heard the explosion of gas in the vehicle. After that the ammo started to detonate. When it was all over, I walked back to my "Colombina", which now looked like a witch, not the beauty it used to be. I was scared of taking a look at the fighting compartment. I felt bitter, sad and lonely.

我撕破了之前在列车上穿的甲克.把TT手枪别在了甲克的腰带上.这么做是为了在快速离开车辆时不被拌住.在看到了敌人火炮射击的火光后我觉得是被击中了右边.打开舱盖后,就没命的往前跑到尽可能离车远的地方.在跌跌撞撞的翻进了一条战壕没多久,我先听到了车辆油箱爆炸的声响.之后弹药也开始爆炸.当爆炸结束后,我返回到了"Colombina"身边,如今它看起来就好象是个女巫,完全失去了平时的迷人风采.我怀着悲伤,悲伤的心情战战兢兢的向战斗室看去.

All of a sudden I heard: "Ulanov, run over here!" Three guys were looking from behind a barn. I ran up to them - they were my crew! All alive!

这时我突然听到个声音:"Ulanov,快点跑到这边来!" 我看到有三个人在个谷仓后面,我大步的跑向了他们,他们是我的战友,他们都活着!

For several days NKVD officer has been scrutinizing us - probably, we burnt the vehicle by ourselves? Later he left us alone, having realised we were innocent. Technical officer of the regiment ordered me to take over a truck from a soldier who got sick. First I was transporting wounded soldiers on hey in the truck, and after that the regiment’s liaison officer.

几天之后来了位NKVD军官开始审查我们,可能觉得我们是自己把车辆给引爆的?不过在确信我们是清白的之后,我们就没事了.团里的技术官命令我接替一名生病的士兵去开卡车.一开始我负责把运送伤兵,之后就开始负责接送团部的联络军官.

In late December I took my boss and another staff officer to the city. When approaching a destroyed bridge across Uzh river, my truck detonated an anti-tank mine by its left front wheel. The blow was so strong, that I blacked out. But I had that stupid thought: the engine blew up. After I recovered, I opened my eyes but could not see anything. I tried to scratch my eyes, but my hands encountered canvas on the face. So I took it off, and, being so happy that I can still see, started to touch the windshield. It was so transparent and clear - it was simply not there! The radiator, the engine cowling and the cabin’s left door were also missing.

12月末,我开车送我的"老板"和另一个参谋到城里.在我们靠近一座已经被摧毁的横跨Uzh河桥时,我的卡车左前轮压中了一颗反坦克地雷.爆炸威力十分惊人,我顿时没有了知觉.我当时很愚蠢的以为是发动机爆炸了.在恢复了知觉后,我睁开了双眼可什么都看不到.准备用手摸眼睛的时候,手碰到了盖在脸上的一张帆布.在拿开了之后,我发现自己又能看到东西了,哈哈.在确定我能看清东西后,我开始处碰汽车的风挡玻璃。它看起来如此的干净透明——因为它已经无影无踪了！散热器,排气管和左边车门都不见了.

When I fell out of the cabin I saw that the wheel was also missing and the axle was in a small depression in frozen soil. Captain Semenov, who sat next to me, was wounded in his stomach and feet. And the liaison officer was hit by the headlight and thrown out of the truck’s body. We stayed out in the frost for two ours, before he could bring the medics in. I had shell shock, a chemical burn, and frostbites on hands, nose and ears, and numerous scratches on my left hand and leg. I don’t know what happened to the captain. I myself spent three weeks lying on hey in a hospital and after that was directed to bettering soldiers’ battalion.

当我爬出驾驶室后发现车轮也不见了,车轴也浅浅的压入了冻土中。坐我边上的Semenov上校的胃和脚受伤了.参谋被车大灯打中被爆炸的气浪抛出了卡车.在上校找人来救我们之前,我俩就呆在一起,我的手,鼻子和耳朵被冻伤.左手和大腿也被划伤了.我已经不记得在哪里遇到了上校.在医院躺了三个星期后

On the way to a town called Ovruch I saw a column of factory-fresh SU-76’s. My hart started to beat faster - "if I can’t make it to my regiment, I will ask these guys to take me" - I thought. The chief of staff, dressed in a luxurious fur vest, looked at me with suspicion. I was a guy in a greatcoat without a flip, unshaved, with a frostbitten face and a chewed up tanker’s helmet on uncombed hair. He recommended me to recover some more, come to full strength and regain appearance fit of a sergeant of the Red Army. I guess he was right. In Ovruch, having learned that I was a driver and also a tank driver, the representative of the 26th Independent Security Company belonging to the 13th Army HQ "hired" me. There I was put to run the only captured tank they had - Pz. IV. As I drove several dozens of kilometers on the tank, I had an opportunity to evaluate its driving characteristics and driver-friendliness. Both were worse than ones of SU-76 were.

在前往一个名叫Ovruch的小城时,我看到了一队新出厂的SU-76车队.我灵机一动"如果找不到自己的团的话,就想办法加入这支部队".穿着舒适的毛皮背心的参谋长,用怀疑的眼神看着我这个穿着破烂军大衣,没刮脸,满脸冻疮,稻草头上带着一个破烂的坦克头盔的家伙.他建议我再恢复一段时间，确定完全康复并且重新获得与一个红军士官相称的形象。我想他是对的。在Ovruch,当得知我是名驾驶员还是名坦克驾驶员后,隶属于第13集团军的第26独立警卫连"雇佣"了我.我被安排去开他们仅有的一辆缴获的德国四号坦克.我在这辆坦克上行驶了几千公里,所以也有机会就就它的驾驶特性和舒适度做个评估.这两项指标都要比SU-76来的差.

Huge 7-speed gearbox, positioned to the right from the driver’s seat, was bothering me with its heat, howling and strange smells. The tank’s suspension was harder, than the one of SU-76. The noise and vibration of "Maybach" engine was giving me headaches. The tank devoured huge amounts of fuel. Dozens of buckets had to be poured into the tank through single funnel, which was very uncomfortable. The former driver, having come back from hospital, wanted to get his job back. He started to build a scheme against me, saying, that Ulanov was lazy, slept all the time, the vehicle was not maintained properly and in general he was a suspicious guy. And eventually he got what he wanted. It was a pretty safe spot - the Army’s HQ has never been closer than 20 km to the combat area, and the tank only carried some five pieces of ammo. So I was relocated to operate a small BA-64 armored car.

大型的7档变速箱安装在驾驶员座位的右边,它的噪音和奇怪的味道让我很不舒服."Maybach"发动机的噪音和振动也让我头痛.坦克需要大量的燃料,原先的司机从医院回来后还想继续干他的老本行.为了把我赶走就开始四处中伤我,说Ulanov非常懒,整天都在睡觉,对车辆的保养也很差,总之是一个非常多疑的人.之后他终于说出了实情.这是一份非常安全的差事,因为集团军司令部要离作战区域最少20公里,坦克里也最多就放5枚炮弹.所以我被重新安排去开1辆小型的BA-64装甲汽车.

In May 1944 we were offered to go to armor school in Moscow. I gladly accepted the offer. However, instead of Moscow we, several cadets, ended up at the junior lieutenants’ courses of the 13th Army in Kremenets town in Western Ukraine. All our protests were in vain. They threatened to deprive us of our Komsomol membership. We had to subdue ourselves.

1944年5月,我们被送去莫斯科的装甲学校,我很乐意接受这个命令.但是我们这几个预备军校生并没有到莫斯科，而是在西乌克兰Kremenets镇驻扎的第13军中结束了我们的少尉（？）教程。我们徒劳着进行抗议,上级威胁要开除我们共青团团员身份,最后我们只能妥协.

Graduating the three-month courses were rifle and machine-gun platoon commanders. I ended up at MG platoon commanders’ training. The main subjects were political education, tactics and hardware. The basic requirement was to assemble and disassemble the heavy Maxim, DP, infantry version of Degtyarev, and the German MG 34 with eyes closed. In late August 1944 I graduated as a junior lieutenant, a commander of a machine gun platoon. My last name was 232nd on the graduation order list.

我结束了成为一名机枪排长的训练.主要的课程是政治教育,战术和武器.基本的要求是在闭眼的情况下组装和拆卸马克沁重机枪,DP,Degtyarev步兵型和德国MG 34机枪.1944年8月末,我晋升为少尉,成了一名机枪排排长.我的姓出现在毕业生花名册的第232位。

When the unit was in process of formation in Dembe town in Poland, an officer arrived at the regiment. He had a leather jacket and Armor Corp’s insignia - according to the order of the Front’s Staff he was searching out SP-gunners who somehow ended up in infantry.

当时部队正在波兰的Dembe组建,一名军官来到了团里.他穿着皮甲克.佩带着Armor Corp的徽章.根据方面军参谋部的命令他来寻找由于各种原因现在呆在步兵部队里的自行火炮手.

I came up to him and reported that I was a trained SU-76’s driver.

- And would you handle commanding a SP?

- I can do that.

我走到他面前,报告说自己曾经接受过SU-76的驾驶训练.

-你有把握指挥一辆自行火炮吗?

-我想我可以.

In 15 minutes, having turned the platoon over to my substitute, I sat in the truck that carried "caught" SP-gunners away. In 1228th Self-propelled artillery regiment I received a well worn, but well working vehicle. My driver was Pisanko from Kharkov (born 1928). He was a slim and weak guy, with a red nose, but very dependable.

在15分钟后我向排里做完交接工作,然后我坐上了一辆把临时“抓”来的自行火炮炮手运走的卡车.第1228自行火炮团,我领到了新衣服,也有了炮车.我的驾驶员来自哈尔科夫(Kharkov),出生于1928年,他非常瘦弱,有一个红鼻子,不过非常可靠.

Dear Pisanko! You saved my life, stopping the vehicle when I, walking in front of the vehicle, suddenly fell through the gap in a bridge flooring when crossing Visla at night...

亲爱的Pisanko！你救了我的命，当我们在夜间穿过Visla的时候，我走在车辆前面突然从大桥的一个裂缝上掉到河里的时候，你及时的把车停下了。

Our gunner was an older Migalatiev, who served in artillery even during WWI. The loader was Tsarev, who previously served on a heavy 152 mm SP - he was so happy that he no longer had to carry 40 kg shells around - our shells weighted just 12,5 kg. The same day we were instructed how to engage Tigers. 2 SPs work together. One SP opens fire, and, backing up, serves as bait for a Tiger. When the Tiger has his side exposed, the second SP opens on him at 300m or less. The trick was so simple!

我的炮手名叫Migalatiev,从一战开始就在炮兵服役了.Tsarev是装填手,他之前在一辆重型152mm自行火炮上服役.他现在非常开心,不用再搬运40公斤的炮弹,我们的炮弹重量只有12.5公斤.同一天我们接受了和虎式坦克交战的技巧.2辆自行火炮一起行动.1辆开火,然后掉头,引诱老虎,当虎暴露侧翼的时候,另外1辆就在300米或更近的距离开火.办法就这么简单!

After 80-km long march and crossing Visla at night, we dug five vehicles of our battery in, covering 1 km of frontline. German artillery started shelling our positions at the dawn. The shelling lasted till darkness. This went on for three more days. I paid attention to the fact that many shells did not explode. I did not count, I had other things to do, but I believe approximately two of ten shells would not explode. One of the shells landed on the breastwork of our shelter and did not explode. First we felt little uncomfortable, but later we got used to it.

在赶了80公里的路夜里通过Visla河后,我们连的5辆自行火炮负责1公里长的防御带.德国从黎明开始向我们的阵地炮击一直持续到夜里.就这样持续了三天.我发现有很多的炮弹都没有爆炸,没有具体的数过,不过我相信有大约12发炮弹没有爆炸.其中的一枚落在我们的庇护所的胸墙上.刚开始我们觉得很不自在,但没多久我们就习惯了.

On the third day German tanks assaulted our positions. There were no Tigers among them. On our right we had IPTAP (abbreviation means "Istrebitel’no Protivotankovy Artilleriiski Polk" - Anti-Tank Artillery Regiment) guns dug in. Working together we managed to beat off several assaults. The surviving German tanks retreated with backward movement. Our ground-attack Il-2s helped us a lot! Strafing at low altitude they fired their missiles, which almost hit us sometimes. When adjusting the gun, I was first using the periscope, which was not too comfortable, as it shook together with the vehicle when we fired our gun. Migalatiev recommended me to forget this piece of iron and look at the targets directly without any optical devices. First my eyes would close from the blast wave coming from the muzzle brake, but later I got used to it and could make adjustments more precisely.

到了第3天,德国坦克开始向我们阵地袭来,里面没有虎式坦克.我们和在我们右翼的反坦克炮兵团联手打退了几次敌人的进攻.幸存的德国坦克开始后撤,但马上就遭到了我们的Il-2的攻击.他们在低空扫射并发射火箭弹,有好几次就差点打中我们.在调节火炮的时候,我第一次使用潜望镜.使用起来非常不舒服,每次开火的时候,潜望镜就会和车辆一起振动.Migalatiev提醒我忘记这个铁皮疙瘩,不借助任何装置直接用眼去瞄准.刚开始我的眼睛会随着炮口制退器产生的冲击波而闭上,不过之后我的眼睛都习惯了并且可以更加精确的调整（瞄具？）

Our position was not too favorable - we were dug-in in an open field. And in order to avoid losses we withdrew back to a Polish village. Its inhabitants left the area or hid themselves somewhere, and flocks of terrified geese were flying away from the shell bursts like white fuzz. My vehicle was parked under a plum tree, and I, not even leaving the fighting compartment, ate and ate the tasty berries. The next day I had problems with my stomach. Four days later I was taken to hospital. The doctors said it was dysentery. Too much of good food is not good!

我们的阵地位置不是很理想,为了避免损失我们撤到了一个波兰人的村庄.村民或者离开或者躲到什么地方去了.一大群因为炮弹爆炸的声音受到惊吓的鹅飞到了空中,就好象白色的绒毛.我的车就停在了一棵梅子树下,我就在战斗室里吃了很多美味的浆果.第2天我就感觉自己有点不舒服.四天后我被送到了医院.医生告诉我得了痢疾.看来再好吃的东西也不能多吃啊!!!!

12 days later I came back to my regiment and reported to the assistant of the chief of staff. He said: "We had a guy with the same last name as yours." I said: "That was me." He looked at me, understood what was going on and ordered me to get my food both at the soldiers and the officers’ kitchen. I thanked him and asked, when I can get a command of SP. The answer was quite simple - when some SP commander gets killed.

12天后我回到了团里,向参谋长助理报道.他说:“我们下面有个家伙的姓和你的一样。”我说：“那就是我。”他看着我，明白了问题所在然后命令我到厨房中打两份饭（士兵级别和军官级别的各一份）。我向他表示感谢并且询问，什么时候我们指挥一辆自行火炮，回答很简单——当某个指挥官阵亡之后。

I did not have to wait for a long time. Fortunately, it wasn’t that somebody got killed. The regiment commander wanted to have some lieutenant from the 4th battery in his staff. I just got his place.

我没有等待很长时间,幸运的是,没有人阵亡.团长想让第4炮兵连的一个中尉（车长）到他的参谋部中工作，因此我接替了他的位置。

My new crew, all older people, met me with suspicion and distrust. Gun-layer Schukin and driver Perepelitsa were old enough to be my fathers: they were around forty, and I was still a teenager. And the loader, Yaschka Vorontsov, was five years older than I was.

我的新战友都是些老兵,用充满怀疑和不信任的眼神看着我.炮手Schukin和驾驶员Perepelitsa的年纪足可以当我的父亲,他们大约四十岁,而我还是个十几岁的青年,装填手Yaschka Vorontsov也要比我大五岁.

Here I have to make a remark, that a loader, or a "plugger", as some called them, had the lowest position in the crew’s hierarchy. The SP commander, a commanding officer, was the full master of the vehicle and his crew. The ideal here was a strict, somewhat rude, but just lieutenant. Weaklings and slobs, who tried to make the crew happy, didn’t stay in the commander’s position for a long time. Gun-layer, whose job was to maintain the gun, optic systems, to sort and arrange the shells, and, most importantly, to do precise shooting, was commander’s substitute. Driver was responsible for the engine, transmission, the running gear, coordinated the crew’s work when refueling the vehicle with petrol or antifreeze, took care of accumulators. He could argue with commander concerning the cross-country routs and the ways to overcome obstacles. The lowest class, loader, had to clean the ammo from preservation grease, had to beat the dirt out of the tracks, ran to the kitchen to get food for the crew and did all the hard work.

在这里我说明一下，装填手（或者被称作“苦力”）是车组乘员中地位最低的人。自行火炮的车长,作为一名军官,需要完全的掌控自己的车和人.理想化的车长应该是一位严格，略微粗暴一些，但是公正的中尉军官（这里的表述不太地道）。那些懦弱或者懒惰的指挥员，试图单纯的取悦于他的下属，通常不会在指挥员的位置上待多久。炮手的工作主要是保养火炮和光学瞄准镜,给炮弹进行分类.最重要的是准确的射击,代替车长的工作.驾驶员要对发动机,传动装置负责.在给车辆加油和加防冻液时和其他乘员一起操作.同时还要负责蓄电池.他有权与指挥官讨论确定越野行驶路径和如何克服障碍物。地位最低的装填手,负责清洗炮弹上的保护油脂.清除粘在履带上的泥土,为其他乘员做饭.可以说他负责的都是最繁重的工作.

Perepelitsa and Schukin kind of in passing examined my knowledge of the vehicle and the gun. Having realized, that I knew the vehicle pretty well, Perepelitsa asked me if I have been SU-76’s driver before. Having heard the positive answer, he became friendlier. After a while, he offered me to eat from the same canteen with him, honoring me in this way. Schukin and Vorontsov ate from another canteen. I would distribute my additional officer’s ration evenly among the crew. I did all the heavy work together with the crew. After several successful engagements, when we knocked out a German half-track and captured a lot of stuff, including priest robes, a roll of beautiful velvet, flints for lighters - my relationships with the crew became very normal. However, I always sensed the patronage of the older crewmembers.

Perepelitsa和Schukin就车辆和火炮的知识问了我很多,不过这些问题我都很熟悉.之后Perepelitsa问我之前是否做过SU-76的驾驶员,在得到了肯定的答复后,他马上就变得很亲切.之后,就邀请我和他在一个饭盒里吃饭.这对我来说是表示尊重.Schukin和Vorontsov用另一个吃.我也把额外的军官定量配给分给乘员们吃.我也和乘员们一起干重活.在经历了几次成功的战斗后,当时我们击毁了1辆德国半履带车,缴获了大量的物资,包括牧师长袍,一匹漂亮的天鹅绒和打火机--我和乘员们的关系开始变得比较正常了.但我似乎感觉总是在这些老兵的阴影之下。

In mid November 1944 it a lull descended on Sandomier bridgehead. The artillery shelling ceased. The sky was also clear. It was just the observation balloon that would appear in the rear behind the forest. The cold time came. We had to take care of the vehicle’s heating. With T-34s it was easier - one had to start fire of two or three big logs under the vehicle, and the logs, burning slowly, would heat the vehicle. The grease on the bottom of the vehicle hissed and bubbled, it stank, but it was warm inside.

1944年11月中旬,Sandomier桥头堡安静了下来,炮兵停止了射击,天空也放晴了.一个观察气球也出现在了后方.气温下降了,我们要开始为车辆保温.相对来说T-34就很简单了.把2到3根大原木点燃放在车底,原木燃烧的很慢可以为车辆保温.车底会随着温度的升高发出臭味,但车子里面就会很温暖.

This trick would not work with petrol-fueled "Colombina". We received an order from the HQ: To keep the accumulators warm, one should use felt or dog hides. Easy to say, dog hides! All the dogs in the area were either dead or just dispersed.

可是这个办法却不能用在使用汽油的"Colombina". 我们接到了一个上级的命令:用毛毡或者狗皮来给蓄电池保温.说的简单,狗皮!!这里附近的狗不是死了就是跑了.

We started to make the shelters deeper, putting logs on tops of them and covering them with soil. Every change of position was accompanied with construction of a new shelter. This became so exhausting that we had only thing to do: bring the Polish peasants with their shovels under a barrel of a gun. To my surprise, the Polish peasants, doing this exhausting work, having completed it and having drunk "bimber" (moonshine) with our generous food, went back to their houses appeased and without any offence.

我们开始挖深庇护所.用原木支撑住顶部.每次改变阵地就意味着我们要重新修筑一个庇护所.这项工作太累人了，我们就想到了一个办法:让波兰农民带着铲子来干，当然是在我们的枪口之下。让我惊奇的是,这些波兰农民完成了这个艰苦的工作，然后吃着我们给他们的食品喝着私酿酒，吃饱喝足之后就很平静的各自回家了。

In the -5, even -8 degrees frost the water would not freeze in the section of the dugout where our "Colombina" was standing. In the living part of the dugout, depending on the intensity of heating, it was warm or even hot, and we could handle it without overcoats and padded jackets on. In late December 1944, a week before New Year, a foamed regiment commander’s adjutant came tearing along and informed us, that in an hour we would have a visit from top brass - divisional, army and Front command. We had a little alarm, as we had a large metal barrel with sugar-beet fermentation product in our dugout. The whole area was covered with fields of sugar beet, which had not been harvested due to hostilities. Actually, the very name of the area was sugar plant.

即使在－5甚至－8度的霜冻天气中，在“Colombina”待的掩体中的水仍然不会结冰。在掩体的“居住区”，由于加热的程度里面很温暖甚至有些热。靠着洞里的热量,我们把大衣脱了只穿甲克.1944年12月末,也就是新年的前一个星期,团副跑来告诉我们,在过一个小时,师级,集团军和方面军级的高级军官要来我们团参观.我们只有很少的时间做准备了.我们有一大罐糖,是在我们的防空洞里用甜菜发酵做成的.整个地区种植了大量的甜菜,可惜由于战斗没有人来收割.实际上,这个地区的甜菜是非常有名的.

It was impossible to pull the barrel with this home-made brazhka (a starting product for moonshine manufacturing, usually 10-15° alcohol - Valera) out of the dugout through the narrow passage, and it was a waste just to spill it out. Our decision was to put the barrel in the darkest corner, cover it with tarpaulin, overcoats and other stuff. We also had a hope that the generals will not make it through the narrow passage to the dugout because of their large bellies.

The top brass, at least 10 high-ranking officers, arrived after an hour. I reported to them at the entrance to the dugout. The regiment commander ordered me to get the vehicle out of the shelter and prepare it for firing. The engines had been warmed up before and started right away. "Colombina", lifting the rear part of the hull at the ramp, quickly but calmly appeared at the surface. Having ordered to Schukin to elevate the barrel in position for long-distance fire (17 km), I jumped out of the fighting compartment and reported readiness.

至少有10位高级军官,在一个小时后到了.我在防空洞门口向他们汇报.团长命令我把车子开出庇护所准备射击.命令Schukin抬高炮管我跳出战斗室

The top brass liked the speed and distinctness of our actions, but they all, to my horror, headed towards the dugout. I left them all behind and, running into the dugout first, tried to hide the damn barrel behind me. When the exhaust gas of the engines disappeared, the sour smell of fermenting beet appeared in the air. The damn smell made it through the tarpaulin and all the stuff. A general said that there was some sour smell in the dugout.

Regiment’s commander, saving the situation, said:

- Our guys brewing their own brazhka.

- Brazhka?

- Yes.

- Well, this seems to be legal. But you have bimber, don’t you?

- Yes, just a little, comrade general.

- It must be some awful stuff?

This sentiment our crew’s chief wine maker Leshka Perepelitsa could not take, his professional skills got insulted, and he suggested they tried it. The command agreed. Perepelitsa pulled out two 800g flasks from a secret corner, and put glasses and cups on the table. Schukin opened a can of stewed pork. Well, for the coming victory!

The moonshine in the flasks was 60° alcohol... Everybody wheezed, wiped away tears and started to joke: quite a brazhka it was! For the exemplary maintenance of the vehicle and distinct actions the crew received a citation. The regiment commander was very happy. Leaving us, the generals said that the beer was good but recommended not to abuse it. And one more hour later the adjutant came back running and on behalf of the regiment commander asked for some more fiery liquid.

After New Year we were all expecting a large-scale offensive. The armour was deploying all over the bridgehead. Behind the armour heavy 152 mm SPs were dug-in. Signal troops were working hard on cable communication system.

January 4th 1945 I was ordered to come to the regiment’s staff, where I was informed that I was sent to the Higher Officer’s Technical Armour School of the Red Army, to the department of SU-76 battery’s technical officer. I tried to protest, mentioning my unwillingness to leave my comrades, and the coming offensive. It was just 600 km between Berlin and us! The chief of staff, an older officer, told me: "Go for it, sonny. This is the regiment commander who is sending you. He really liked your dugout. And the war - we can handle finishing it without you."

With every step I took to the East I was getting farther and farther from my comrades, from my dear "Colombina". When I have crossed Visla on the ice with a passing vehicle, I realized the war was over for me. I did not know that in June 1945, in six months, I would be back to Germany to test the new Gorki factory SP guns, I did not know that I would be testing tanks at Kubinka from 1946 to 1950. I did not know many things. My whole life was lying ahead of me...

In 1944, when four factories of our country were producing tens of thousands of new T-34s the most mass produced tank in all the history of world-wide tank production, the designers under the leadership of A.A. Morozov created a new tank T-44. It contained a number of innovations. The main one was the transversal mounting of the engine. This bold design decision determined the construction of later modifications of the tank for many decades to come.

The decision did not come easy though. All the previous medium and heavy Soviet (and not just Soviet) tanks were assembled with the engine positioned longitudinally in the hull. In the T-34, the clutch was installed on the toe of the crankshaft together with an air turbine to cool the radiators. The power from the engine was transferred to the gearbox through a pair of conical gears. The exhaust gases escaped through the exhaust pipes out the back wall of the hull. On both sides of the hull there were two inclined radiators. The left-over space between the radiators and the engine was filled by accumulators. Those who never attempted changing the batteries on a T-34 have no idea what it was to like to install, secure and connect the terminals of four 64 kg wooden crates, all done in the dark and in the cramped confines of the engine compartment. They were inserted either through the cramped driver's hatch or by rope, through the top turret hatches.

The skeptics (who always did and will exist) said: you can't put a high-speed V-12 engine with a working displacement of almost 40 liters perpendicular to the direction of travel of the tank - this will inevitably cause problems that could be as severe as broken connecting rods. They also thought that decreasing the displacement of the engine compartment for the purpose of enlarging the battle compartment was unnecessary. Moving the turret rearward could limit the elevation angle. However, all of these were just unsubstantiated fear, a stubborn devotion to tradition. Rotating the engine resolved many problems. The significant decrease in the length of the engine compartment allowed the designers to shift the turret rearward, with its axis of rotation positioned in the center of the hull. It has also become possible to increase the thickness of frontal armor more than twice without disturbing the center of mass or increasing the mass of the tank. In the T-34 the thickness of armor was 45 mm all around, except for the bottom and the top. At the beginning of WWII this seemed like enough. Improvements made to the T-34 during WWII included increasing the caliber of the gun (from 76 to 85 mm), strengthening the armor of the turret and a host of other innovations. However, the hull of the tank remained weak. Increasing the battle compartment allowed the under-floor ammunition stowage to be removed (it was inconvenient because the used shells always got in the way) and be moved to the side stowage. Meanwhile, the height of the tank decreased by 300 mm, even though the turret remained essentially unchanged. Getting rid of the conical pair in the transmission permitted for a more compact gear box and for improved control of the brakes and the steering clutch. Handling the machine became much easier because now the driver's hatch was positioned on top of the turret, instead of in the front of the hull, providing the driver with great visibility and keeping him from getting splashed during fording. The drive train received torsion bar suspension, which resulted in smoother traversal of rough ground. The T-34's ride was rather stiff and harsh. The tracks of the new machine were borrowed from its predecessor.

The T-44 was the last Soviet medium tank with paddle-type tracks. However, the mechanism for tensioning them was significantly better on the T-44. On the T-34 to tension the tracks, you first had to loosen two lug-nuts on the crank and then pound it with a sledge-hammer in order to separate it from the hull. After tensioning the track you again had to use the sledge-hammer to set the crank back in its place. Only then could it be secured in its place. The process required up to three people and an expansive array of indecent expressions. On the T-44, the job could be easily done by one person, without the help of a sledge-hammer.

The rotation of the engine slightly complicated the transmission by introducing an additional reduction gear - gear-train and fan drive. At the same time the accessibility to the engine-transmission bay improved. Its cover now turned along with the radiator and allowed easy access to the engine and its accessories, as well as to all the elements of the transmission and the accumulators. All in all, this was essentially a new machine. My first acquaintance with the tank took place in March 1945 at the Kazan' Senior Officer's Technical Armor School of the Red Army (KVOTBTShKA). The beautiful machine was located in a closed and guarded parking bay. You could only see it through the slits in the garage doors. Its grace and low stance were amazing and unusual for a medium tank. Just as captivating were the two highly raised headlights above the front armor plates, the hull machine gun and the circular array of spokes on the cast road wheels.

A small run of T-44s was produced at the liberated Kharkov factory #75, later named after the people's commissar of wartime tank production Malyshev. However, they did not get to see battle action. Several tank regiments were formed with these machines after the war. A tank, just like any other machine, has to go through rigorous testing. Pre-production units are subjected to factory testing. One of the tests consists of resource assessment. The amalgamation of these tests fully reveals all the traits of a machine. Such tests are essential. The positive characteristics of the new machine are know to the designers even while they are still working behind a draft board. However, whatever weaknesses it may have, appear unexpectedly. Resource tests determine the machine's ability to perform problem-free by subjecting it to a test run, accruing a predetermined number of hours of operation, and conducting a required number of field firings. These tests are long, but they are the only sure way to properly assess the tank's capabilities. In mid-1947, the GBTU (Chief Tank and Armor Directorate) adopted a decision to conduct resource testing of the T-44. Three tanks were set aside for this purpose, each of which had to accumulate 6000 km. The test program required that every 1500 km the vehicles undergo shooting tests, complete disassembly and wear analysis. After reassemble, the machines could proceed with their run. All in all there were 4 stages.

The testing place was chosen to be the research oriented armor proving grounds (NIIBT) of the Red Army - Kubinka station of the Western rail road, unit 68054. All my life I've been grateful for the fact that after the disbanding of the self-propelled SU-76 gun regiment, in which I served as the deputy of battery equipment, I was sent to Kubinka for further service. The staff of the proving grounds consisted of erudite and talented military engineers and tank specialists. The machines there included tanks of almost all epochs and countries. During my service there, through conversations with friends and superiors, and by becoming acquainted with many different examples of military machinery, I enriched my knowledge like I couldn't have done anywhere else.

The department entrusted with conducting the testing was headed by engineer-colonel Karakozov. The group of test drivers was headed by a benevolent engineer-colonel Vasilii Fomich Maksimtsev and engineer-major Timofeev. Commanders of the tanks and technicians-testers were appointed to be captain Borisov, senior lieutenant Kaplinskiy and me - lieutenant Ulanov. My crew consisted of a driver senior sergeant Gorbanets, sergeant Kalistratov and junior sergeant Vedeneev. After 50 years, I still remember them clearly - after all, we spent one and a half years riding together in the same tank. Three vehicles, covered by tarpaulin, arrived on flat cars from Kharkov in July. Having unloaded ours, me and Gorbanets tried it out. There wasn't much room at the unloading station so we couldn't really accelerate the tank. But it was immediately clear: this was no T-34! The smoothness of the ride and acceleration dynamics were significantly better.

Most of the time was spent road-testing the tanks at the track. At that time it was a main road consisting of a 30 km circle, situated slightly to the north of the army town proving grounds. The tanks were delivered to the track on heavy-duty trailers pulled by the mighty three-axle "Diamond" tractors. To provide for enough engagement weight, the bed of the tractor was loaded with 10 tons of pig-irons. The loading tank on slippery ramps, transporting it over deteriorated cobbled roads, crossing four railroad tracks at the Kubinka station - all this was not for the weak of heart. At the site there was a small building with stores of fuel/lubrication materials and a mobile kitchen. In a week's worth of work we could average 100-150 km. The idea was to traverse at least one full lap while it was still light.

The next day the crew serviced the machine and the technicians filled out procedural documents summarizing the testing of the previous day. Each examiner was given a brown notebook with slots for pencils. In addition, each received a small wooden box with two sharpened aluminum containers with screw lids and 10 ceramic retorts. The containers were meant for collecting samples of the motor oil from the engine and transmission lubrication systems, the retorts - for the main wheel bearing lubricant. At the garrison officer's kitchen the technicians could be recognized by their dirty overalls and containers with oil samples. After weighing the machine, the first run was performed on the smaller track on the grounds of the institute.

After a 20-km race the T-44 was weighed again. Its weight increased almost by a ton, even though on the outside it was only covered with some dirt. That's when the hard work began. Having just barely woke up in the morning you had to run past the kitchen, which was still closed, hanging on to the "Belomor" in your teeth (the "Belomorkanal" or simply "Belomor" is a cigarette's brand - Valeri), to catch the old "Bedford" truck, which transported the technical examiners to the track. Being late for the truck meant upsetting the day's testing and was unthinkable.

The summer of 1947 was a hungry one in our country due to the drought of the previous year and the extraordinary expenses necessary to restore a war-ravaged country. No less were the resources expended on developing nuclear weapons. We understood everything and tried not to whine. The ration system severely limited the consumption of bread, sugar, and other foods. Officers with families had to share their rations among all the members. Bachelors had it slightly easier. Nevertheless, the feeling of hunger never went away. By the end of the summer, it became a little easier: when we drove away from the base, we deployed a "landing party" in the persona of sergeant Kalistratov, equipped with a bucket, a knife and a bit of salt, obtained by dubious means at the soldier's kitchen. While we conducted our work, traversing the bumpy track, the "landing party" secretly got hold of some potatoes, which he skinned, boiled, and mashed. Having done the lap, we stopped next to the devious Kalistratov, who was peering from the bushes, turned off the engine and started eating away at the much-anticipated meal. Since I didn't have a spoon, Kalistratov carved something resembling one out of wood and gave it to me, laughing.

Pretty soon a competition developed between our three crews: who could accrue the most mileage. The first thousand kilometers were relatively trouble-free, but then all sorts of problems began to pop up. Due to a defective guard coupling in the fan drive, a shaft broke on Borisov's tank. On my tank, when I was switching gears, two of them engaged simultaneously, which caused a break of a gear pinion. Kaplinskiy lost his engine. However, in this case, impudence was to blame. Trying to prove that his T-44 is the best and the strongest, he was towing a heavy IS-3 tank, which, in turn, lost its engine.

The track runs were pretty intense. Every day 10 or more machines were accumulating the necessary mileage. After the repair of my machine, which suffered from a broken gear pinion, I took it to the track. Boris Kaplinskiy, whose motorcycle recently broke down, asked me for a ride. Stretching out on the front seat of the "Diamond," he was blissfully warming himself next to the hot engine. I was sitting on the roof top of the cabin, facing rearward. Suddenly, after crossing the railroad at the Kubinka station, the trailer separated from the hitch at 20 km/h. I started pounding on the roof of the passenger compartment. The driver stopped the tractor abruptly. The trailer, coasting down the road, hit out tractor and it bounced off like a ball. Boris Kaplinskiy was thrown to the ground and found himself right in the path of an approaching trailer. Prowling the ground with the tow bar, it was slowly moving right at my friend, who was lying on the ground. The tall and stately Boris took the only reasonable course of action in this situation: on all fours, he quickly started crawling toward the roadside.

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the spectacle was so amusing that I could not contain my laughter. Everything turned out fine that time. The trailer with the tank safely came to a halt on the side of the road. Winter came and with it - new incidents. Due to an incomplete draining of the cooling system, caused by a water pump system that had been modified to reduce engine height, a small shaft broke after an impeller pump froze over. The repair of the shaft, considering the field conditions, was something of an acrobatic stunt. Two people grabbed a third one by the legs and lowered him, head-down, into the engine bay, where he had to loosen the fastening and remove the broken shaft. Then, he was pulled out and after a short breather, lowered back down to install the new shaft. If he could not complete the job in two attempts, he was repeatedly lowered until the new part was secured.

The packed winter track allowed for greater speeds. This allowed us to accumulate the desired mileage. One time, having returned from the track, I discovered that my cheeks, nose, and ears were frost bitten. During driving, the driver was supposed to be protected from rain and snow by a removable tarp cover with a small glass window. However, this set up was not successful and its use was deemed impractical. My frostbite became known to the local and Moscow authorities. Their reaction was exceptional: in three days all officers of the institute received wool sweaters, fur vests, like the ones given out during the war, new white coats, woolen boots with rubber galoshes for the engineers and padded gray winter shoes for the technicians. In addition, the testers were given padded tank helmets and fur mittens on a leather string. Pretty soon, you could see officers' wives strutting around the town in their husbands' overcoats. Every unfortunate event has its positive sides.

By 1948, our vehicles amassed more than 2000 km. The authorities were impatient. With their silent consent, we started running the tanks on a stretch of a snow covered Minsk highway between Golitsyn and Mozhaisk. In the test protocol, the nature of the road was described as "a winter, snow covered road without ditches and sharp turns." In two weeks the signs of testing became noticeably more prominent. Paddle-type tracks quickly became worn out. At high speeds, which at times reached 60 km/h, the upper segments of the tracks, severely bashed on the drive wheels, creating excessive stress in the drive train. The driving was conducted only during the night, when the number of cars was relatively few.

The T-44 tank was not equipped with the night vision equipment at the time. This equipment was demonstrated to us by its developers during one of the training days, which were organized 1-2 times a month. That device was highly secret. It was set up in the auditorium of the club. On the outside, the building was heavily guarded by armed soldiers from the headquarters defense company. Each officer was given a chance to look through the device at those present in the auditorium. Finally, it was my turn. I started looking around through the rows of officers. In the green-blue light I recognized the features of engineer-colonel Skvortsov. I knew that it was Skvortsov by his high forehead and glasses. Then there was Major Krementulo, sleeping in the dark room, agape with his head tilted back. Then - Lenochka from the chemical laboratory (Lenochka is a female name - Valeri). Even the distorted image of the night vision scope could not detract from her beauty. We were all shocked by the capabilities of that device.

Unfortunately, track testing soon ended, and ended too bad. When one of the tanks from our group tried to pass a slow-moving truck, it collided head-on with an approaching truck, smashed it to pieces and killed the two people inside. Having torn off the cabin with its gun, the vehicle dragged it almost all the way to the park. The vehicle was a self-propelled "100" artillery gun (means SU-100 - Valeri), which was used for testing motor oil additives. Its commander was a young and cheerful lieutenant Kalinin. During the field court trial, his superior, engineer-colonel I…, nick-named "Sperokheta blednaya" (a Russian coarse, means somewhat like "pallid sperm" - Valeri), denied any involvement in the incident, even though he was fully aware of where and how the "100" was being tested. Kalinin got a two-year prison sentence and was deprived of all decorations.

After that, the testing moved back to the deteriorated track. In February Kaplinskiy crossed over to the other side of Moscow river in search of a better track and found a suitable route. Its main advantage was that there were no villages nearby. On the return trip, his tank fell through the ice up to its turret. Fortunately, the water in that place was not deep. The attempt to pull the tank out without additional help was unsuccessful and the second engine went out of line.

The testing continued. After a certain number of kilometers, the tanks had to conduct field firing with live rounds: 10 shots with the turret parallel to the hull and 10 shots with the turret - perpendicular. During the trip from the park to the firing range, my driver became ill, and so I had to drive the tank myself. The number of kilometers accumulated by me and Gorbanets was about the same. After lowering the seat into the combat position, I was ready to carry out orders of the two artillery officers in charge of the shelling. Kalistratov and Vedeneev stepped out of the vehicle into a shelter. Having found myself in the cramped position of the driver I was amazed at how difficult controlling the machine has become. The pedals of the main clutch, the fuel supply, and incline brake all were now positioned much higher. The levers of the steering clutch and gear shifting became inconvenient to operate. The visibility was limited.

The shelling lasted for 15-20 minutes. Hot cartridges were rolling underfoot, just like in a T-34 or an SU-76. I was deafened and choked by the gases from the gun. After we finished firing, I started the engine, not without some difficulty, and drove in reverse out of the firing range. Taking a rest, I thought: how would the driver feel in this tank during a real battle? The three-year old war was still fresh in my mind.

The ambition to accumulate mileage was replaced by a more rigorous examination of various junctions and mechanisms of the tank. The trouble-shooting and problem analysis became stricter. It was discovered that falling-home of the road wheels appeared sooner than anticipated. To increase the service life of the road wheel drive train, the new tank was set up with a slight camber of the paired road wheels. However, this resulted in greater stress on the outer rollers. As the run progressed, camber disappeared, and both wheels - the outer and the inner were loaded equally. The last stage of the run proceeded with the falling-home of the road wheel, where the inner wheel became more loaded. On our tanks, falling-home began to appear after 2500 km. To successfully complete a 6000 km run, it was necessary to replace expensive parts of the drive train.

By the middle of the third thousand the tank became worn out. Boris Kaplinskiy, loyal to his negligence, ruined an engine by not submitting motor oil samples to the chemical analysis lab. This was his third engine. It has to be mentioned that the expert staff of the chemical lab could predict any problems an engine might have with a high degree of accuracy by analyzing the oil. After being reprimanded by his superiors and calming his grief, Kaplinskiy took me to the "Mukhran." That was the nickname of a blue-painted beer stand. The name was derived from captain Mukhrankiy's last name, because his wife worked at the stand. The captain played the role of both husband and rationer. He measured out the beer from barrels with the help of air cylinders used to start the tank. And if you were nice to his wife, she could pour you a hundred grams of the hard stuff.

The engine of my machine got old and worn out and could no longer start properly. The oil pressure dropped to 2-3 atmospheres. Under heavy loads, it started smoking, spewing out black smog out the side. The tracks got ripped several times. The last rip could have ended quite tragically.

On a rainy autumn day, Gorbanets was driving the machine on the track, and I, as usual, was boldly sitting on top of the hull next to the driver's hatch (this way it was more convenient to monitor the instrument panel) and taking notes in the issued notebook. We were required to record the revolutions of the crankshaft, oil pressure and temperature, and water temperature every 30 minutes. In one place the track passed pretty close to a steep Moscow river bank. To save me from getting splashed by mud, Gorbanets tried to circumnavigate a large puddle on the right and approached the bank at full speed. Just at the moment the left track ripped. I didn't realize it at first, but when the tank started pulling to the left, it finally hit me what had happened. The tank stopped, the engine died and it slowly started to slide toward the precipice. I quickly jumped to the ground and while trying to prevent the tank from sliding, started yelling to the driver to start pushing the tank. But the tank kept on sliding and even together with Kalistratov and Vedeneev, we couldn't possibly hang on to a 32-ton beast.

The disaster was prevented by a lonely little tree growing on the edge of the bank. It strained and bent under the load, but the tank stopped. We secured the tank a much as we could with tow cables, dumped anything that we could get hold of under the drive wheels, and started waiting for the next machine to pass by. After 10 minutes or so, a "100" appeared and pulled us out to safety. At the department everybody understood that the results of testing were quite sufficient to develop a comprehensive picture of the machine's operational characteristics. Some of the test materials were sent to NTK (Technical Research Committee) and the Chief Directorate even before the testing ended. The machines had exhausted their resources and showed everything that they were capable of. It was clear that they could not run for 6000 km without major repairs. After 3000 km the testing ended.

Shortly afterwards, a batch of T-54, guarded and covered by tarpaulin arrived from Nizhnij Tagil for testing.

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