By 1941, the Red Army had a total of 64 armoured trains.
Ten armoured trains took part in the fighting on Belarusian soil in the summer of 1941: seven army trains, two operated by the NKVD, and one built with the assistance of railway workers from Gomel. Armoured Train No. 44 saw action at Molodechno before heading towards Lida, where encircled Soviet units were engaged in heavy fighting. The armoured train was damaged by enemy fire, but was repaired in the shortest possible time, and on 29 July its guns opened fire on German positions near Klimovichi and Kletsk. It was not until 6 August 1941, following a large-scale bombing raid on the Orsha–Unecha section of the railway, that the armoured train was sent for a complete overhaul.
Armoured Trains Nos. 50, 51 and 52, serving with the 21st Army, fought near Gomel. Armoured Train No. 50 provided artillery support to Soviet troops near Bobruisk, and on 4 July it knocked out 18 German tanks and armoured vehicles. During this period, while operating without infantry support, Armoured Trains Nos. 51 and 52 destroyed ten tanks, two tankettes, two armoured vehicles, 72 motorcycles, 50 motor vehicles and two aircraft. On 30 July, Armoured Train No. 52 was destroyed by enemy aircraft, but with the assistance of railway workers from Gomel, the crew built an improvised armoured train that operated under the same number. The 12th Battalion, comprising Armoured Trains Nos. 47, 48 and 49, fought in the Orsha–Zhodino–Borisov area. On 1 July, No. 47 engaged German tanks near Zhodino and destroyed several vehicles. No. 48 came under extremely heavy artillery fire and was put out of action. Armoured Train No. 48 was quickly repaired and became the last Soviet armoured train to defend Belarusian territory, in the Kostyukovichi area. On 17 August, while covering the withdrawal of Soviet troops, it was cut off from friendly forces. That evening, its crew set it alight and destroyed it on the bridge over the River Iput.
Near Zaslavl, close to the Stalin Line, NKVD Armoured Train No. 73 engaged German motorised infantry and tanks of the 20th Panzer Division. The armoured train was damaged in an air strike. After repairs, it was sent to the area around Yelizovo station to recapture a bridge over the Berezina that had been seized by the enemy. The mission was accomplished, but enemy aircraft again damaged the armoured train. Having established that it could no longer move, the crew removed the machine guns and gun breechblocks, then destroyed the ‘steel fortress’.
Eighteen armoured trains took part in the Bagration strategic offensive operation. During the war, armoured trains destroyed 370 tanks, 115 aircraft, 344 guns and mortars, two enemy armoured trains, 840 machine guns, 712 lorries and armoured vehicles, and 160 motorcycles. One in every four armoured train crew members received a state award.
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