During 1941, Soviet factories on the front were evacuated to the east. But not all people could be taken and not all equipment was shipped out. When fighting eventually came to the Ukraine regions, factories in Odessa, Kiev, Kharkiv, and others would produce improvised tanks in an attempt to hold back the German advance. This is how the KhTZ-16 and NI tanks were made.

Following these lines, the KhTZ-15 Gun Tank would be built. Made on the chassis of a agricultural tractor, an armored structure made of either boiler steel or thin naval steel would be affixed to the tractor. The tank featured a non-rotating turret where a DP Light machine gun, DSHk heavy machine gun, or small mountain cannon could be mounted. The tank had a crew of 2, a driver and a gunner. The driver was seated in a normal position meanwhile the gunner sat on the fuel drum to reach the weaponry mounted on the driver’s roof. As the tank had no floor, enemy soldiers could throw grenades or even crawl under the tank to disable it. A deadly oversight. The speed of the tank was respectable with a top speed of 14 mph, but at high speeds the tank could tip over due to the tall turret that protruded on the top of the tank. Furthermore the tank was vulnerable to flank attacks as it had no rear facing vision ports and no way for the crew members to look behind with out exiting the tank and exposing themselves to enemy fire.

The effectiveness of these tanks are questionable as that feature no real armor and it’s armament could be underwhelming. It’s armor was only 8-15 mm thick and could only repeal small arms fire. Even an anti tank gun could penetrate its weak skin. Tank on tank combat would mean certain death, but when accompanied by infantry, the tanks could prove useful as lightly armored mobile pull boxes and more so in defensive positions.

It is estimated that 27 were produced before the city fell in 1941. No examples survive today.

Controls:
Ag1 to activate engine
Ag2 to open gun doors
Ag3 for head lights
Roll and Pitch for movement
Camera controls for machine gun
VTOL both ways to open the drivers view port