Not all things in our life are as obvious as they might seem at first glance. Especially when it comes to technical aspects. For example, few people know why the T-34-85 tank actually has two cylinders at the stern. Most will assume that these are cruise fuel tanks. This answer will not be correct. It is difficult to guess on your own, especially if you are not fond of studying armored vehicles on an ongoing basis.
The T-34-85 tank was designed on the basis of the Soviet T-34 tank and was put into service in 1944, becoming the crown of the domestic tank building in the family of medium-sized vehicles. Among all the brethren, it was the 85th that was able to demonstrate the maximum combat effectiveness in the conditions available at that time. The main features of the model are enhanced booking, increased functionality and ergonomics of the interior space. At the same time, the speed of the T-34-85 decreased very slightly, thanks to shock design solutions.
If you look at some of the T-34s from behind, you can see the "fat" cylinders. Many people mistake them for fuel tanks. This is not true. In fact, this is BDSH-5. In other words, these are tank smoke bombs for installing smoke screens. By the way, the BDSH-5 was created on the basis of the MDSh - a marine modification of a smoke bomb for ships.
Checker BDSH is a metal cylinder 480 mm high and 412 mm in diameter. Inside it is a mesh cylinder, under which lies an anthracene smoke mixture. The smoke screen was activated using an electronic fuse, less often with a shock fuse. The checker worked for 5-7 minutes. In this case, the area of the smoke screen could reach 2 hectares.
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On T-34 tanks, smoke bombs were used to create smoke barriers in order to protect the tank itself or to create smoke barriers, which covered the advancing troops with their action (primarily infantry). The crew also camouflaged the tank with smoke if the vehicle was hit. It is worth noting that Soviet tankers were also supposed to have a number of hand-held smoke bombs, which, in the event of hitting, were thrown out of the tower through the hatch.
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After the end of the war, checkers BDSH-5 were used for some time. They were installed including, but the new T-44 and T-54. After some more time, this type of equipment was considered obsolete and was withdrawn from use in the troops. This happened due to the development of smoke release systems. It is also worth noting that the smoke bombs were attached to the same equipment that was used to transport cruise fuel banks. However, as a rule, they did not go into battle with the latter.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/110120/53030/