Object 217 PPG | WW2 Soviet Tankette | 28mm

NOTE: the PHOTOS here are of the vehicle printed in 1/48 SCALE next to HEROIC 28mm figures. the FILES are in 1/56 SCALE. I would recommend printing at 1/48 (use a scale conversion chart, this site has one) if you use more heroic minis or have an FDM printer!!

During the Winter War (also known as the Russo-Finnish War) of 1939-1940, the Soviet Union got its arse beaten by the Finns, at least during the opening of the war; the Soviets lost anywhere from 1,200 to 3,500 tanks during the campaign against an enemy that only had 32. Soviet losses in manpower were even worse, with upwards of 130,000 soldiers being marked KIA or MIA and a greater number wounded. As such, the Soviets designed many specialized vehicles in an attempt at solving some of the problems caused by the Finns or the Finnish terrain itself. You can thank the Finns for the existence of, for example, the KV-2. Also, this thing.

The PPG (standing for what in Russian means 'armored machine gun nest'), also known as Object 217, was a design for a small infantry-support tankette to replace the obsolete T-27 in frontline service. It was designed hastily by the Kirov Plant in Leningrad at the height of the Winter War in 1940 with an emphasis on speed of production and low cost (very Soviet).

The already-existing T-27, based on the Carden-Loyd carrier, had numerous problems which were first combat-demonstrated in Finland; it was too tall, too thinly armored, and performed quite badly in the snow. This new vehicle remedied these in a variety of ways; the hull, built from a few riveted and welded pieces of rolled armor, was only 55cm tall to minimize silhouette. This came with the notable disadvantage of, with the access hatches on the top closed, terrible visibility for the two prone crewmembers through twin periscopes which only pointed forward. The hull's armor was 20mm thick in the front and 10mm on the sides, enough to face small arms and probably anti-tank rifles. Mobility was still not a priority; the PPG was equipped with a 2-cylinder motorcycle engine, enough to propel the tankette on its own. The vehicle was designed to be towed into place by a T-26 and not propel itself to the battlefield, so this limited propulsion was deemed enough; when it was propelling itself, the PPG could drive cross-country at a brisk 7 kilometers an hour and on roads at a quite speedy 18. It could ford puddles no more than a half meter in depth and climb hills with up to 35-degree inclines. To top the vehicle off, it was armed with two DT machine guns.

The PPG never saw service. The single prototype constructed in March 1940 was initially impressive as it somehow met all of the program's requirements in such a goofy little vehicle, but its... serious design flaws called into question its actual practicality. Had the Winter War continued longer, the 217 may have actually seen service, as these design flaws weren't actually the reason for the cancellation of the project; the Winter War ended on March 17, 1940, and with it ended the only reason the PPG was needed by the Soviets. The program was cancelled and the single prototype (+ four more which were on the way) was scrapped.