On May 4, 1938, an expanded meeting of the USSR Defense Committee was held in Moscow. The meeting was chaired by V.I. Molotov, I.V. Stalin, K.E. Voroshilov, other state and military leaders, representatives of the defense industry, as well as tank commanders who recently returned from Spain were present. The audience was presented with a preliminary design of the light wheeled-tracked tank BT-20, developed at the Kharkov Locomotive Plant named after the Comintern (KhPZ).