History Brief
As the Second World War progressed, the Soviets were fielding better tanks. The Finnish Army, on the other hand, had to make due with a large number of old obsolete captured tanks, which were for the most part lightly armored and armed.
The Finns redesign the BT-7 model 1937 tank. They constructed a new turret and armed it with British-made 114.3 mm howitzers that had been supplied by the British during the Winter War (Q.F. 4,5 inch howitzer Mark II, also known as 114 Psv.H/18 in Finland). The Finns constructed 18 BT-42s and these were pressed into service in 1943.