The last reported combat employment of a teletank came in the spring of 1942. Soviet engineering officer Aleksandr Kantsev apparently rigged six diminutive T-27 tankettes full of explosives to serve as armored torpedos. Six of these robot TT-27s were deployed in the Battle of Sevastopol—two successfully hit their targets, another two had their lines cut by machine-gun fire and self-destructed, and two were blown up by anti-tank fire.

An intercepted German intelligence report of the 339th Infantry Division describes their employment:

Connected by three cables to a dug in BT tank, which is its source of energy. Each BT can release two bombs, remotely controlled, and moving in a zig-zag patterns. The Cable is 5 km long. The bomb explodes when it reaches its target using a detonator. If the cables are hit and torn, the bomb will explode in 7.5 minutes. The prisoners mention that these bombs are unsatisfactory, and there were losses when cleaning up stuck or dud bombs.

While kamikaze tankettes saw little success, Kantsev would go on to become a celebrated science fiction writer.

Several other nations also deployed robot vehicles during World War II. Germany deployed over 8,000 Goliath remote-controlled demolition vehicles, as well as a few hundred heavier models. The United States deployed drone kamikaze planes—indeed, Joseph Kennedy Jr. would tragically perish in accident involving an explosive laden QB-17 intended to strike a Nazi V-3. (The drone aircraft had to be taken off by a human pilot.)

Despite being at the cutting edge of technology, World War II–era drones were only effective in highly specialized circumstances, not ideal for the fast-paced ground warfare of the conflict. The Soviet teletanks were an ambitious attempt to practice the sort of remote-control drone warfare that is rapidly becoming a reality today.

Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

Image: Wikimedia Commons