Topic: Tanks of WWII Part two: T 34 Medium Tank

[Chris SI]

Famous Soviet medium tank

The 1943 tank battle at Kursk remained the largest conflict of its kind for thirty years, and in it, the Russian victors used no less than 3,600 T-34 tanks. The T-34, with its 3 inch (76.2 mm) 30.5 calibre gun was then considered the finest tank in the world and the judges in this case included German generals who, one presumes, could speak with chagrined authority. The T-34 did not give the Germans this impression at first encounter. Only 1,100 T-34s had been built when the Germans invaded Russia in June 1941 and their use then, in World War I 'ones and twos' style, made them relatively ineffectual. By the time Kursk was fought, however, the large numbers of T-34s present was a crucial factor in the Russian triumph. With well-sloped armour, fast speed, and bigger gun the T-34 outmoded at a stroke the standard German PzKpfw IV.

Developed from the BT series of fast tanks, the T-34 showed at its trials in 1939 far greater capabilities than existed in tanks of comparable size. The T-34/76 which entered service in 1941-42 weighed 27.6 tons and possessed a V2/V-12 liquid cooled diesel 500 hp engine producing a speed of 32 mph T-34s were 21 ft 7 inches long, 9ft 10 inches wide , 8ft high, had trench crossing capability of up to 9 ft 8 inches and a range of 188 miles (302.5 km). T-34 armour consisted of 1.7/1.85 inches (45/47 mm) on hull nose, glacis, sides and tail, 0.78 inch (20 mm) on decking and belly, 1.7 inches (45mm) on turret front, sides and rear, 0.78/1.77 inches (20/46 mm) on mantlet, and 0.63 inches (18 mm) on the top. Its 3 inch (76.2mm) M40 (L/411.2) gun, which carried 77 rounds, was able to batter its shells into the armour of all German tanks except for the Tiger and the Panther. This capability gap was filled in 1944 by the T-34/85, the Russian answer to the Panther and a marriage between the tank and the new 3.35 inch (85 mm) M-43 or M-44 (L/51.5) derived from an 85 mm anti-aircraft gun. The T-34/85 had a range of 220 miles (354 km) and became in its turn the most effective tank of the war. Secondary armament consisted of two DT machine guns.