The Rise of Australasia

Although the total weight of the T-22 Tank at 23.7 tons barely entered the category of medium tanks during the World War II period, in an era where other countries’ tanks were underdeveloped, a weight around 20 tons was already colossal among tanks, a superb weapon of destruction on the battlefield.

And the T-22A tank, which was a full upgrade in firepower and armor based on the T-22 tank, was indeed the heavy tank that this era dictated.

The total weight of the T-22A tank reached 29.7 tons, which, rounded up, was virtually no different from 30 tons; it was a full 6 tons heavier than the T-22 tank and significantly larger in size.

This additional 6 tons were entirely allocated to the upgrades in firepower, armor, and power.

Firstly in terms of firepower, the T-22A tank was no longer equipped with the 75mm semi-automatic artillery but had been upgraded to the currently latest model M1922 127mm howitzers.

Although the firing speed of the firearm had drastically decreased, its power and the damage it could cause had significantly increased.

A heavy tank equipped with 127mm howitzers was a paradoxical combination of offense and defense on the battlefield, also a movable firearm with thick armor, a harbinger of death for the enemy.

Similarly, the secondary weapon had also been improved. Since the main weapon’s firing rate had decreased, a CA-1 37mm Machine Gun was mounted as a secondary weapon to enhance the T-22A tank’s firepower with the high firing rate of a smaller caliber firearm.

In addition, a BLN-2 machine gun was fitted to ensure the tank’s smaller caliber firepower.

This BLN-2 machine gun could also be detached for individual use, and several ammunition belts were specially prepared to ensure sufficient bullet supply for the machine gun.

A combination of one howitzer, one machine cannon, and one light machine gun provided the T-22A tank with enough firepower to handle any situation that might arise with the enemy.

If the firepower could already be considered luxurious, then in terms of armor protection, the T-22A tank was certainly reliable.

Since it was defined as a heavy tank, the T-22A tank sacrificed speed in pursuit of greater firepower and armor protection.

Compared with the T-22 tank’s armor protection of approximately 32 to 46 millimeters, the T-22A tank boasted an armor coverage of 46 to 61 millimeters, significantly enhancing its protective capability.

The thickest armor of the T-22 tank was as thick as the thinnest armor on the T-22A tank, which could already testify to the work done on the T-22A tank’s armor protection.

According to tests conducted by the tank manufacturing factory, even a direct hit from a 75mm artillery piece on the front of the T-22A tank had an extremely low possibility of destroying the tank.

And hits from the sides proved even less threatening to the T-22A tank, greatly enhancing the safety of the tank crew.

Thanks to the weight of the tank, the T-22A tank’s crew numbered eight people, including a driver, a commander, two gunners, a machine-gunner, two loaders, and a scout.

As the secondary heavy machine gun was replaced with a machine cannon, the reserve of machine gun bullets dropped to 600 rounds, but there were now an additional 190 rounds of 37mm shells, 21 rounds of 127mm shells, along with enough fuel for the T-22A tank to travel over 220 kilometers.

Yes, the fuel reserve of the T-22A tank had been reduced compared to previous tanks.

This was, in fact, normal, as the movement speed of heavy tanks had decreased, and carrying more fuel wouldn’t allow it to travel much farther in a fixed period of time.

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Compared with the amount of fuel carried, the stability, safety, and reliability of such a super-large vehicle were more pressing issues for the tank manufacturing factory to consider and improve.

It was also because of the T-22A tank’s behemoth-like weight that, despite power upgrades, its maximum speed on flat roads was only 32 kilometers per hour.

On this basis, the T-22A tank could maintain an average speed of about 25 kilometers per hour on flat roads, which was already almost the limit for this tank.

While such data might seem quite good, even comparable to the test data of the previous generation T-14 tank.

But on non-flat roads, due to its bulkier body, the T-22A tank’s test data was far poorer.

Under non-flat road conditions, the T-22A tank could only maintain an average speed of 18 kilometers per hour, and its maximum speed during travel never exceeded 25 kilometers per hour.

This also meant that a T-22A tank of colossal proportions wouldn’t be able to travel more than two hundred kilometers a day, provided it didn’t break down.

This was the reason why the T-22A tank’s fuel reserve was only for 220 kilometers.

The saved weight capacity was all turned into reserves for bullets and shells, which was a good thing since carrying extra fuel would be futile.

Overall, whether it’s the T-22 tank or the T-22A tank, compared to their previous generation of tanks, there had already been substantial progress.

Although it wasn’t certain how they would compare to World War II-era tanks, compared to the tank development of other countries, there was already a generational gap.

Even the British Empire, which had invested heavily in tank research, had yet to catch up to the performance of Australasia’s second-generation T-14 tank with their current tanks under research.`

This also meant that as long as Australasia continued its investments in the tank sector, maintaining a lead during the World War II period would certainly be manageable.

Tanks and airplanes would also become formidable weapons for Australasia and secure a higher international status and a broader arms trade market during World War II.

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