The A-32 Prototype
Not content with the A-20 in its current state, engineer Mikhail Koshkin took the same design and evolved it by way of enlarged dimensions (6m x 2.6m x 2.4m) which resulted in an extra road wheel to each hull side being added. The roadwheel-running quality of the A-20 was dropped for simplicity and a reduced maintenance commitment and armor was further increased to 30mm at the most critical facings. The primary armament was the larger-caliber 76.2mm gun while retaining both secondary 7.62mm DT machine guns in their place. All these changes came at a price for the vehicle's combat weight increased accordingly to 21 tons (US Short).
A-20 and A-32 Review
The plans for both vehicles were put on display for Soviet authorities during May of 1938 and some continued to champion the idea of a fast-moving tank that could run freely on its roadwheels while others saw the value of a slower, well-armored and armed tank to thoroughly defeat the enemy head-on. Stalin himself approved both forms for construction and this work began in February of the following year. By May, the drivable vehicles were made ready for the rigorous testing phase. Finalized forms of each were then thoroughly reviewed by authorities in September of 1939 - the same month that would see the beginning of World War 2 (September 1st, 1939).
In the State review and trials process, the A-32 was found to offer much more than the now-limited A-20: the road wheel drive function was no longer a prerequisite of future Soviet tanks and the shift-in-thinking to armor and firepower over speed finally took hold in the ranks. By this time, 45mm thick armor was being requested by the Army and the A-32 proved the superior candidate. Now given the more potent L-11 L/30.5 main gun, the A-32 design was constructed in two working prototypes - setting the stage for what would become the war-winning T-34 Medium Tank. The T-34 would carry-over many of the excellent qualities of the A-32 including its thick, sloped armored facings and a long-barreled main gun - its effect on the war would prove greater than any other tank, pulling the Soviets out of the brink towards a path to victory, a path that would run squarely to the doors of Berlin itself.
Meanwhile, the sole, abandoned A-20 prototype saw its last days in December of 1941 where it was used, and subsequently heavily damaged, in the desperate (yet successful) defense of Moscow.
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