Like any other sound tank system, the T-28 chassis was utilized in a variety of "spin-off" projects to extend the usefulness of the inherent base system. Evaluation was undertaken to test the validity of the T-28 as a self-propelled gun, an engineering vehicle and a bridgelaying (IT-28) instrument of war. A prototype "T-29" was developed to showcase the T-28 design utilizing a Christie suspension system. However, all of these projects - while some having reached prototype forms - fell to naught in terms of serial production efforts. Despite these failed attempts, Soviet tank engineers once again garnered much valuable experience in these forays.
The T-28 was outmoded and outclassed by the time World War 2 was in full swing. As such, she led quite a short operational military life for the Red Army - probably a good thing considering her inherent limited qualities when compared to her contemporaries. Her actual combat record spanned a short window from 1939 to 1941 and Red Army tank crews assigned to T-28 units saw combat in the "Winter War" during the Soviet invasion of Finland.
However, the T-28 shown her limitations in the limited war particularly in the department of armor protection. For the series as a whole, the T-28 sported armor thickness ranging from 0.79 inches up to 3.15 inches and, against the anti-armor weapons and specialized tactics of the Finns, the T-28 suffered mightily. Such was the failure of armor protection that in-the-field modifications (known as applique armor) were undertaken to supply T-28 crews with a fighting chance, bringing armor protection in parts up to as much as 6 inches. T-28 tanks modified as such came under the added designation of "T-28E" to signify their changes: "E" for "ekanirovki" translating to "screened" but moreso carrying the meaning that they had been "uparmored". The T-26E also fell into the Soviet Army inventory under the designation of T-28C or T-28M (Model 1940). Further attempts to extend the usefulness of the T-28 in the Finnish War led to some hulls being fitted with mine rollers in an effort to spot and activate enemy land mines before the "softer" undersides of advancing T-28s were exposed to them. This action undoubtedly would have tested the nerve of any tank crew.
By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the T-28 had seen her best days behind her. The armor upgrade program was suspect at best and the T-28 was slow, plodding and the multiple turret systems with the multiple weapon systems proved cumbersome to try and coordinate in the heat of battle. The type of 76.2mm gun fielded by the T-28 was regarded as inadequate against new German armor developments. The slab-sided armor of the T-28 herself made for a tempting target to anti-tank crews and proved easy to penetrate by shaped projectiles at distance. Performance qualities of the T-28 degraded with the addition of the extra armor and crews were essentially sitting ducks if caught out in the open by German tanks. In the moment, the T-28 was finished as a combat tank, ready to be replaced by the products of experienced Soviet tank engineering that would bring about such war-winning designs as the KV and IS heavy series as well as the world renowned T-34 medium tank.
Beyond Soviet Army use, the T-28 found its way (in limited numbers) into the inventories of Finland, Hungary and the German Army as captured spoils of war. It is believed that Turkey purchased a pair of T-28s outright in 1935 as part of a broader military vehicle purchase. Spain may have received a single T-28 example from the Soviet Union during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, the war proving essentially a testbed for new and exotic military machines.
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