M72214 SU-18 SOVIET PRE-WWII EXPERIMENTAL LIGHT SPG

The SU-18 is a Soviet prototype tracked self-propelled gun from the interwar period. The first copies of this vehicle appeared at the turn of the 1920s and 1930s, but the car never entered mass production. The length of the wagon's hull was probably about 4.4 meters and a width of about 1.8 meters. The drive was provided by a single 35 HP engine. The construction of the SU-18 self-propelled gun was based on the first Soviet tank, the T-18, which was produced in large numbers. This tank, in turn, was based on the captured French Renault FT-17 vehicles. Work on the SU-18 began at the end of 1929, and compared to its predecessor, instead of a rotating turret, it had a stationary case made of armor plates with the main armament, which was a 76.2 mm mod. 1927. The vehicle did not have any additional armament. Relatively quickly, as already in 1930, the numerous disadvantages of this vehicle were realized, including: poor armor, very low stock of ammunition carried in the car, which oscillated between 4 and 6 missiles, and poor off-road properties. . For these reasons, the SU-18 was not put into mass production.