Based on the classic Soviet riverine vessel, the Bolt Action BK1124 is a floating tank. The Soviets used the bronekaters (armoured boats) to penetrate deep into estuaries and river systems to provide a platform for amphibious assaults and also supportive firepower.
The Eastern Front included a surprising amount of coastal and riverine warfare, a fascinating fact commonly obscured by the mammoth scale of the fighting taking place elsewhere. Around the Crimean peninsula and the sea of Azov to the south, and across the Gulf of Finland and the lakes of the Leningrad front in the north, Soviet forces fought from a variety of vessels. Some of the most successful of these were the ‘Bronekater’-style of armoured boats frequently referred to as ‘tankships’.
These were armoured, steel-hulled vessels commonly equipped with one or two tank turrets (initially T-28 or BT-7 turrets, but switched to T-34 turrets from 1940), and several minor turrets mounting machine guns. After 1942, some versions of the type 1124 armoured gunboat replaced one of their tank turrets with a Katyusha rocket launcher for direct artillery support.
The tank-ships were tough and versatile, designed to be light enough to be lifted out of the water and carried by train to where they were needed. Though the early gunboats displaced thirty tons or less, later types tipped the scales at almost fifty tons. With a laden draft of less than a meter, Bronekaters were used to patrol coastal areas, lakes and rivers, including the Azov, Dnepr, Volga and Danube. They also acted as landing craft for Naval commando forces.
These boats were designed to be carried from river to river on special carriages on armoured trains! Now there is a scenario!
This pack contains:
- One A type 1124 Soviet armoured boat.
Note: Models supplied unassembled and unpainted. This is a resin and metal kit requiring extensive assembly.
Scale: 28mm - 1/56th.
