Original Item: Only One Available. Now this is a lovely example of a Pre War, early Soviet Union Armored Tanker tunic, as worn by a Captain. The tunic itself we believe to be the Model 1924, which according to research did have the two breast pockets and the lower side pockets. It is in wonderful condition and is presented without any extensive damage.

The tunic has the raspberry piping, identifying it as being worn by Tank and Armored units. The uniform still retains all of its buttons with much of the original black paint still present on them. The collar insignia has (1) enameled red bar on each side, signifying that this was worn by a Captain.

Comes more than ready for further research and display.

Approximate Measurements:
Collar to shoulder:    8"
Shoulder to sleeve:   24.5”
Shoulder to shoulder:   15”
Chest width:  18.5"
Waist width:  19"
Hip width: 22"
Front length:  30"

In Soviet Russia, the so-called armored forces preceded the Tank Corps. They consisted of the motorized armored units made of armored vehicles and armored trains. The country did not have its own tanks during the Civil War of 1918–1920.

During this time, and based on the experience of the Civil War with its sweeping movements of horse-mobile formations, Soviet military theorists such as Vladimir Triandafillov and Konstantin Kalinovsky elaborated the principles of combat use of armored units, which envisioned a large-scale use of tanks in different situations in cooperation with various army units. In the mid-1930s, these ideas found their reflection in the so-called Deep Operation and deep combat theories. From the second half of the 1920s, tank warfare development took place at Kazan, where the German Reichswehr was allowed to participate.

In 1930, the First Mechanised Brigade had its tank regiment of 110 tanks. In 1932, the first Mechanised Corps had over 500 tanks, and it was probably the first armored unit of operational significance anywhere in the world. That same year, the Red Army established the Military Academy of Mechanisation and Motorisation of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (which became the Malinovskiy Mechanised Force Academy and is today part of the Combined Arms Academy of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation).