Improvement of Optical Devices for Surveillance and Guidance in Fire Control in the Red Army Tanks in 1918-45

This article discusses the processes of development and improvement of the material and technical base of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army in 1918-45, and specifically explores the optical devices for surveiling combat vehicles on the example of tanks. It also analyzes changes in the tactical and technical characteristics of periscopic sights, combined surveillance devices, etc. A comparative analysis of the Soviet and German devices of this kind is carried out. The aim of this work is a detailed coverage of the history of the evolution of optical devices for surveillance in the Red Army combat vehicles. A wide range of sources and literature, namely scientific and technical manuals and textbooks covering tactical and technical characteristics of surveillance devices, military literature describing the pages of the feat of the Soviet people, electronic resources complementing the circumstances of the events and giving a more detailed picture of the interaction of man and optical devices in the fighting were used as materials for the study. Speaking about the research methodology, this article is based on a comparative-historical method. The article consistently analyzes the history of the creation of the first optical surveillance devices in the period from 1918 to 1945, the setting up of the first experimental models for weapons, as well as their use during hostilities. With specific historical examples, the work demonstrates the importance and the need to develop technologies in the field of optics. The article concludes that since the creation of combat vehicles, engineers have gradually increased the importance of optical surveillance devices through the introduction and modernization of technologies that ensured an ever-increasing performance and survivability of combat units. Optical devices have become an indispensable part of the equipment of many units. After all, thanks to them, the soldiers in the Red Army were able to quickly detect the enemy and his position, to monitor him and correct the fire of artillery guns. Undoubtedly, the courage and bravery of Soviet soldiers in the ranks of the Red Army became an integral part of the victory for the USSR in World War II, but, with all this, all the technical progress in the military-industrial complex played an equally important, and sometimes decisive, role. Another important conclusion is that the optical devices mounted on Soviet tanks ensured their superiority in battle tanks over the stronger armed Germany at the expense of agility and responsiveness.

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