AT-34

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

.
T-34

T-34 Model 1942

Type Medium tank
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1940–96
Soviet Union
Used by
and 39 others, see below
World War II, Korean War,
Hungarian Revolution of 1956,
Wars
Middle East, African conflicts,
Vietnam War, Bosnian War
Production history
T-34 Main Design Bureau -
Designer
KMDB
Designed 1937–40
Produced 1940–56
Number built about 84,070
Variants see T-34 variants
Specifications (T-34 Model 1941)
Weight 26.5 tonnes (29.2 short tons)
Length 6.68 m (21.9 ft)
Width 3.00 m (9.8 ft)
Height 2.45 m (8.0 ft)
Crew 4

Armor 52 mm (2.0 in)

Primary
76.2 mm (3.00 in) F-34 tank gun
armament
Secondary 2×7.62 mm (0.308 in) DT
armament machine guns
 12-cyl. diesel model V-2
Engine
500 hp (370 kW)
Power/weight 17.5 hp/tonne
Suspension Christie
Operational
400 km (250 mi)
range
Speed 53 km/h (33 mph)

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank produced from 1941 to 1958. It is widely regarded
to have been the world's best tank when the Soviet Union entered World War II, and
although its armor and armament were surpassed by later tanks of the era, it is credited as
the war's most effective, efficient and influential design.[1] First produced at the KhPZ
factory in Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine), it was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces
throughout World War II, and widely exported afterwards. It was the most-produced tank
of the war, and the second most-produced tank of all time, after its successor, the T-54/55
series.[2] A 1996 publication showed that the T-34 was still in service with twenty-seven
countries.

The T-34 was developed from the BT series of fast tanks, and was intended to replace
both the BT-5 and BT-7 tanks and the T-26 infantry tank in service (Zaloga & Grandsen
1984:66, 111). At its introduction, it was the tank with the best balanced attributes of
firepower, mobility, and protection in existence, although initially its battlefield
effectiveness suffered from the unsatisfactory ergonomic layout of its crew compartment,
lack of radios and poor tactical employment. The two-man turret crew arrangement
required the commander to also serve as the gunner, an arrangement common to most
Soviet tanks of the day; this proved to be inferior to the German arrangement of three
men (commander, gunner and loader).

The design and construction of the tank were continuously refined during the war to
improve effectiveness and decrease costs, allowing steadily greater numbers of tanks to
be fielded. In early 1944, the improved T-34-85 was introduced, with a more powerful
85 mm gun and a three-man turret design. By the war's end in 1945, the versatile and
cost-effective T-34 had replaced many light and heavy tanks in service, and accounted for
the majority of Soviet tank production. Its evolutionary development would lead directly
to the T-54/55 series of tanks, built until 1981 and still operated today.

Production history
Revolutionary design

"We had nothing comparable." —Friedrich von Mellenthin (1956)

Before 1939, the most numerous Soviet tanks were the T-26 light tank and the BT series
of fast tanks. The T-26 was a slow-moving infantry tank, designed to keep pace with
soldiers on the ground. The BT tanks were cavalry tanks, very fast-moving light tanks,
designed to fight other tanks but not infantry. Both were thinly armoured, proof against
small arms but not anti-tank rifles and 37 mm anti-tank guns, and their gasoline-fueled
engines (commonly used in tank designs in the world at these times) were liable to burst
into flames "at the slightest provocation" (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:111). Both were
Soviet developments of foreign designs from the early 1930s: the T-26 based on the
British Vickers 6-Ton, and the BT tanks based on a design from American engineer
Walter Christie.

In 1937, engineer Mikhail Koshkin was assigned by the Red Army to lead a new team to
design a replacement for the BT tanks, at the Kharkiv Komintern Locomotive Plant
(KhPZ) in Kharkiv. The prototype tank, designated A-20, was specified with
20 millimetres (0.8 in) of armour, a 45 mm (1.8 in) gun, and the new model V-2 engine,
using less-flammable diesel fuel. It also had an 8×6-wheel convertible drive similar to the
BT tank's 8×2, which allowed a tank to run on wheels without caterpillar track (Zheltov
1999). This feature had greatly saved on maintenance and repair of the unreliable tank
track of the early 1930s, and allowed tanks to travel over 85 km/h (53 mph) on roads, but
gave no advantage in combat. By then, the designers considered it a needless waste of
space and weight (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:66, 111). The A-20 also incorporated
previous research (BT-IS and BT-SW-2 projects) into sloped armour: its all-round sloped
armour plates would be more likely to deflect armor-shells than perpendicular armour. [3]

A-8 (BT-7M), A-20, T-34 Model 1940 and Model 1941

Koshkin convinced Soviet leader Joseph Stalin to let him develop a second prototype, a
more heavily armed and armoured "universal tank" which could replace both the T-26
and the BT tanks.[4] The second prototype Koshkin named A-32, after its 32 millimetres
(1.3 in) of frontal armour. It also had a 76.2 mm (3 in) gun, and the same model V-2
diesel engine (Zaloga 1994:5). Both were tested in field trials at Kubinka in 1939, and the
heavier A-32 proved to be as mobile as the A-20. A still heavier version of the A-32 with
45 millimetres (1.8 in) of front armour and wider tracks was approved for production as
the T-34. Koshkin chose the name after the year 1934 when he began to formulate his
ideas about the new tank, and to commemorate the decree expanding the armoured force
and the appointment of Sergo Ordzhonikidze to head tank production (Zaloga 1994:6).

Two prototype T-34s were completed in January 1940, and underwent a gruelling 2,000-
kilometre (1,250 mi) drive from Kharkiv to Moscow for a demonstration for the Kremlin
leaders, to the Mannerheim Line in Finland, and back to Kharkiv via Minsk and Kiev, in
April and May (Zaloga 1994:6). Some drivetrain shortcomings were identified and
corrected (Zaloga & Grandsen 1983:6). Resistance from the military command and
concerns about high production cost were finally overridden by anxieties about the poor
performance of Soviet tanks in Finland and the effectiveness of Germany's Blitzkrieg in
France, and the first production tanks were completed in September 1940, completely
replacing the production of the T-26, BT, and the multi-turreted T-28 medium tank at the
KhPZ. Koshkin died of pneumonia at the end of that month (exacerbated by the drive
from Kharkov to Moscow), and the T-34's drivetrain developer, Alexander Morozov, was
appointed Chief Designer.

The T-34 had the coil-spring Christie suspension of the BT, but dispensed with the
weighty but ineffective convertible drive. It had well-sloped armour, a relatively
powerful engine, and wide tracks. The initial version had a 76.2 mm gun, and is often
called T-34/76 (originally a World War II German designation). In 1944 a second major
version began production, the T-34-85 (or T-34/85), with a larger turret mounting a larger
85 mm gun.

Establishing and maintaining production

The original T-34 Model 1940 can be recognized by the low-slung barrel of the L-11 gun,
below a bulge in the mantlet housing its recoil mechanism. This pre-production vehicle
lacks the usual driver's hatch.
"Quantity has a quality all its own" —attributed to Joseph Stalin

The T-34 posed new challenges for Soviet industry. It was the most heavily armoured
medium tank produced to that point, and subassemblies originated at several plants:
Kharkov Diesel Factory No. 75 supplied the model V-2 engine, Leningrad Kirovsky
Factory (former Putilov works) made the original L-11 gun, and the Dinamo Factory in
Moscow produced electrical components. Tanks were initially built at KhPZ No. 183, in
early 1941 at the Stalingrad Tractor Factory (STZ), and starting in July shortly after the
German invasion at Krasnoye Sormovo Factory No. 112 in Gorky. There were problems
with defective armour plates, however (Zaloga 1983:6). Due to a shortage of new V-2
diesel engines, the initial production run from the Gorky factory were equipped with the
BT tank's MT-17 gasoline-burning aircraft engine, and inferior transmission and clutch
(Zheltov 2001:40–42). Only company commanders' tanks could be fitted with radios;
such radios were expensive and in short supply. The L-11 gun did not live up to
expectations, so the Grabin design bureau at Gorky Factory No. 92 designed a superior F-
34 76.2 mm gun. No bureaucrat would approve production, so Gorky and KhPZ started
producing the gun anyway; official permission only came from Stalin's State Defence
Committee after troops in the field sent back praise for the gun's performance (Zaloga &
Grandsen 1984:130).

There was political pressure from conservative elements in the army to redirect resources
into building the older T-26 and BT tanks, or to cancel T-34 production pending
completion of the more advanced T-34M design. This political pressure was brought to
bear by the developer of the KV-1 and IS-2 tanks which were in competition with the T-
34. Political pressure between designers and factories producing different tanks to meet
the same requirements continued much later post war, including a period when the T-55,
T-64 and T-72 were all in production at different factories with differing political patrons
on the supreme council of the USSR (Armour Magazine, "Why Three Tanks" July-
August 1998). Germany's surprise attack against the Soviet Union in June 22, 1941
(Operation Barbarossa) forced the Soviet Union to freeze further development, and shift
into full production of tanks.

T-34 Model 1942 rolls off the line at Zavod no. 112 Krasnoye Sormovo in Gorky
Germany's fast advances forced the monumental evacuation of tank factories to the Ural
mountains. KhPZ was re-established around the Dzherzhinski Ural Railcar Factory in
Nizhny Tagil, renamed Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183. The Kirovsky Factory was
evacuated just weeks before Leningrad was surrounded, and moved with the Kharkov
Diesel Factory to the Stalin Tractor Factory in Chelyabinsk, soon to be nicknamed
Tankograd ('Tank City'). Voroshilov Tank Factory No. 174 from Leningrad was
incorporated into the Ural Factory and the new Omsk Factory No. 174. The
Ordzhonikidze Ural Heavy Machine Tool Works (UZTM) in Sverdlovsk absorbed
several small factories. While these factories were relocating at record speed, the
industrial complex surrounding the Stalingrad Tractor Factory produced forty percent of
all T-34s (Zaloga & Grandsen 1983:13). As the factory became surrounded by heavy
fighting in the Battle of Stalingrad, the situation there grew desperate: manufacturing
innovations were necessitated by material shortages, and stories persist that unpainted T-
34 tanks were driven out of the factory into the battlefields around it (Zaloga & Sarson
1994:23). Stalingrad kept up production until September 1942.

The T-34's 12-cylinder Model V-2 diesel engine, at the

Finnish Tank Museum in Parola
Barring this interruption, the only changes allowed on the production lines were to make
the tanks simpler and cheaper to produce. New methods were developed for automated
welding and hardening the plate, including innovations by Prof. Evgeny Paton.[5] The
design of the 76.2 mm F-34 gun Model 1941 was reduced to 614 parts, compared to the
earlier model's 861 (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:131). Over two years, the production cost
of the tank was reduced from 269,500 rubles in 1941, to 193,000, and then to 135,000
(Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:131). Production time was cut in half by the end of 1942, even
though most experienced factory workers had been sent to the field and replaced by a
workforce consisting of 50% women, 15% boys, and 15% invalids and old men. At the
same time T-34s, which had been "beautifully crafted machines with excellent exterior
finish comparable or superior to those in Western Europe or America", were much more
roughly finished, although mechanical reliability was not compromised (Zaloga &
Grandsen 1983:17).

Development

"The technological pace-setter of World War II tank design" —Steven Zaloga et

al. (1997:3)

In 1942, a new hexagonal turret design derived from the abandoned T-34M project
entered production, improving the cramped conditions, and eventually adding a
commander's cupola for all-round vision. Limited rubber supplies led to the adoption of
steel-rimmed road wheels, and a new clutch was added to the improved five-speed
transmission and engine.

After German tanks with the superior long 75 mm (2.95 in) gun were fielded in 1942,
Morozov's design bureau began a project to design an advanced T-43, aimed at increasing
armour protection, while adding modern features like torsion-bar suspension and a three-
man turret. The T-43 was intended to be a universal tank to replace both the T-34 and the
KV-1 heavy tank, developed in direct competition with a Chelyabinsk heavy tank design
bureau's KV-13 project. (Zaloga et al 1997:5)

In 1943 the Soviets encountered the new German Tiger and Panther tanks. Experience at
the Battle of Kursk and reports from front-line commanders indicated that the T-34's
76.2 mm gun was now inadequate. An existing 85 mm (3.3 in) antiaircraft gun was
identified which was effective against the new German tanks, and could be adapted to
tank use (Russian Battlefield 1998b). Unfortunately, the T-43 prototype's heavier armour
was still not proof against the Tiger's 88 mm gun, and its mobility was found to be
inferior to the T-34's, even before installing a heavier 85 mm gun. Although it shared
over 70% of its components with the T-34, a commitment to manufacturing it would have
required a significant slow-down in production. (Zaloga et al 1997:5)

The T-43 (right), next to a T-34 Model 1943

In consequence the T-43 was cancelled, and the Soviet command made the difficult
decision to retool the factories to produce a new model of T-34 with a turret ring enlarged
from 1,425 mm (56 in) to 1,600 mm (63 in), allowing a larger turret to be fitted. The T-
43's turret design was hurriedly adapted by V. Kerichev at the Krasnoye Sormovo
Factory to fit the T-34 (Zaloga 1984:166). The resulting new T-34-85 tank had a much
superior gun and finally, a three-man turret with radio (which had previously been in the
hull). Now the commander needed only to command the tank, leaving the operation of
the gun to the gunner and loader.

Overall production slowed down somewhat while the new tank started its production run.
Although a T-34-85 was still not a match for a Panther, the improved firepower made it
much more effective than before. The decision to improve on the existing design instead
of tooling up for a new one allowed the Soviets to manufacture tanks in such numbers
that the difference in capabilities could be considered insignificant. In May 1944, the
Wehrmacht had only 304 Panthers operating on the Eastern Front, while the Soviets had
increased T-34-85 production to 1,200 tanks per month (Zaloga et al 1997:6).

Cost-effectiveness

The cost to produce a T-34-85 tank was initially about thirty percent higher than a Model
1943, at 164,000 rubles; but by 1945 it was down to 142,000 (Harrison 2002:181).
During the course of the war, the cost of a T-34 tank had been reduced by almost half,
while in the meantime its mobility remained nearly the same, and its main gun's armour
penetration and turret frontal armour thickness nearly doubled.[citation needed]

Production figures

T-34-85 with Polish Army markings

By the end of 1945, over 57,000 T-34s had been built: 34,780 original T-34 tanks in
1940–44, and another 22,559 T-34-85s in 1944–45 (The Russian Battlefield 1998a,
1998b). In 1946, after the war, 2,701 T-34s were built, and large-scale production ceased.
Production was restarted under license in 1951 in Poland and Czechoslovakia, where
1,380 and 3,185 T-34-85s were made, respectively, by 1956. Later, T-54/55 and T-72
tanks were also built outside the Soviet Union. In the late 1960s, Soviet T-34-85s
underwent a modernisation program (T-34-85M) for export and reserve service, being
retrofitted with drivetrain components from the T-54/55 series tanks—a testament to the
level of standardisation in Soviet tank design.

As many as 84,070 T-34s are estimated to have been built, plus 13,170 self-propelled
guns built on the T-34's chassis (Zaloga & Grandsen 1996:18). Some of these ended up in
various Cold War conflicts around the world.

Model designations
German intelligence in World War II referred to the two main production models as T-
34/76 and T-34/85, with minor models receiving letter designations such as T-34/76A—
this nomenclature has been widely used in the West, especially in popular literature.

The Red Army never had a consistent policy for naming the production models (Zaloga
1994:19). Since at least the 1980s however, many academic sources (notably, AFV
expert Steven Zaloga) have been using Soviet-style nomenclature: T-34 and T-34-85,
with minor models distinguished by year, as T-34 Model 1940. This system is used here.

Some Russian historians use different names: they refer to the first T-34 as the T-34
Model 1939 instead of 1940, all T-34s with the original turret and F-34 gun as Model
1941 instead of Models 1941 and 1942, and hexagonal-turret T-34 as Model 1942 instead
of 1943 (Zheltov 2001, passim).

Captured T-34s in German service were designated Panzerkampfwagen T-34(r), for

Russland ('Russia').

The Finns called the T-34 Sotka after the Common Goldeneye, a sea duck, because the
side silhouette of the tank resembles a swimming waterfowl (as related in the memoirs of
Finnish tank ace Lauri Heino). The T-34-85 was called pitkäputkinen Sotka, 'long-
barreled Sotka'.

The T-34 (German designation: T-34/76) was the original tank with 76.2 mm gun.

 Model 1940 (T-34/76A) — Early production run with interim L-11 76.2 mm tank
gun in a two-man turret
 Model 1941 (T-34/76B) — Main production with heavier armour and the
superior F-34 76.2 mm gun
 Model 1942 (T-34/76C) — Many minor manufacturing improvements
 Model 1943 (T-34/76D, E, and F) — New cast hexagonal turret, nicknamed
"Mickey Mouse" by the Germans because of its appearance with the twin, round
turret-roof hatches open. Main production had a new commander's cupola
 T-34/57 — Fewer than 324 T-34s in 1941 and 1943–44 were fitted with the ZiS-4
or the ZIS-4M high-velocity 57 mm gun to be used as tank hunters (Wachowski
2004). Some of them took part in the Battle of Moscow

The T-34-85 (T-34/85) was a major improvement with a three-man turret and long 85
mm gun.

 Model 1943 — Short production run of February–March 1944 with D-5T 85 mm

gun
 Model 1944 — Main production, with simpler ZiS-S-53 85 mm gun, radio moved
from the hull into a turret with improved layout and new gunner's sight

Various technical improvements continued to be made to the T-34-85, including major

refurbishing programs in 1960 and 1969. All T-34-85 models are externally very similar.
Pre-war development of a more advanced T-34 tank was resumed in 1944, leading to the
T-44. The new tank had a turret design based on the T-34-85's, but a new hull with
torsion-bar suspension and transversely-mounted engine. It had a lower profile than the
T-34-85 and was simpler to manufacture. Between 150 to 200 of these tanks were built
before the end of the war. With some drivetrain modifications and a new turret and gun, it
became the T-54, starting production in 1947.

Czechoslovakian-built T-34-85s can be recognised by a semi-conical armoured fairing

(like a rear-facing scoop) on the left rear slanting side panel of the engine compartment
sponson. These were widely exported.

Variants

Identification of T-34 variants can be complicated. Turret castings, superficial details,

and equipment differed between factories. New features were added in the middle of
production runs or retrofitted to older tanks. Knocked-out tanks were rebuilt, sometimes
with the addition of newer-model equipment and even new turrets. Some tanks also had
appliqué armour made of scrap steel of varying thickness, welded on to the hull and
turret. Tanks thus modified were called s ekranami ('with screens') in Russian.[citation needed]

Other T-34-based AFVs

 Flame-thrower tanks — OT-34 and OT-34-85 were fitted with an internally

mounted flame-thrower replacing the hull machine gun
 PT-34 — Mine roller tank, mostly built on T-34 Model 1943 or T-34-85 chassis
 Self-propelled guns — The T-34 chassis was used as the basis for a series of
self-propelled guns
o SU-122
o SU-85
o SU-100

After World War II, some T-34s were fitted with 122 mm howitzers as self-propelled
artillery by Syria and Egypt.

T-34 ARV (right) towing a disabled tank at the

Battle of Kursk

T-34-based support vehicles

There were many support vehicles and even civilian tractors and cranes built on the T-34
chassis starting during the war and continuing at least into the 1990s. The vast majority of
these were conversions of old or damaged tanks and self-propelled guns.
  Bridging tanks — Old tanks rebuilt in the field or at repair facilities. These were
simply driven into water two abreast for special river-crossing operations, to be
recovered later.
 Armoured recovery vehicles — During World War II, some old tanks were
rebuilt as armoured recovery vehicles (ARVs), by plating over the turret ring or
adding a superstructure. After the war, this repurposing program was formalized
in successively more elaborate models.

Table of tank models

Soviet medium tank models of World War II

T-34 T-34 T-34 T-34 T-43
Model 1940 Model 1941 Model 1942 Model 1943 prototype T-34-85 T-44
Weight 26 t 26.5 t 28.5 t 30.9 t 34 t 32 t 31.9 t
Gun 76.2 mm L- 76.2 mm F- 76.2 mm F- 76.2 mm F- 76.2 mm 85 mm ZiS- 85 mm ZiS-
11 34 34 34 F-34 S-53 S-53
Ammunition 76 rounds 77 rounds 77 rounds 100 rounds 60 rounds 58 rounds
Fuel 460 L 460 L 610 L 790 L 810 L 642 L
(120 U.S. gal) (120 U.S. gal) (160 U.S. gal) (210 U.S. gal) (215 U.S. gal) (170 U.S. gal)
Road range 300 km 400 km 400 km 465 km 300 km 360 km 300 km
(185 mi) (250 mi) (250 mi) (290 mi) (185 mi) (225 mi) (185 mi)
Armour 15–45 mm 20–52 mm 20–65 mm 20–70 mm 16–90 20–90 mm 15–120 mm
(0.60–1.8 in) (0.8–2.1 in) (0.8–2.6 in) (0.8–2.8 in) mm (0.8–3.5 in) (0.6–4.7 in)
(0.6–3.5 i
n)
Cost 270,000 193,000 135,000 164,000
rubles rubles rubles rubles
Notes: dimensions, road speed, engine horsepower did not vary significantly, except for the T-43 which was slower
than the T-34. References: Zaloga & Grandsen (1984:113, 184), Harrison (2002:181), KMDB (2006).

Combat history

T-34 Model 1942 s ekranami (Russian for 'with screens'), with appliqué armour welded
to the hull, near Leningrad, 1942
The T-34 is often used as a symbol for the effectiveness of the Soviet counterattack
against the Germans. The appearance of the T-34 in the summer of 1941 was a
psychological shock to German soldiers, who had been prepared to face an inferior Soviet
enemy; this is shown by the diary of Alfred Jodl, who seems to have been taken by
surprise at the appearance of the T-34 in Riga (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:127). The T-34
could take on all 1941 German tanks effectively. However, the new tank suffered from
severe mechanical problems, especially with its transmission and clutch—at least fifty
percent of the first summer's total tank losses were due to breakdowns rather than
German fire, although this also included old tanks in disrepair (Zaloga & Grandsen
1984:127). There was a shortage of repair equipment, and it was not uncommon for early
T-34s to go into combat carrying a spare transmission on the engine deck. The
mechanical troubles were eventually sorted out.

During the winter of 1941–42, the T-34 again dominated German tanks through its ability
to move over deep mud or snow without bogging down. German tanks simply could not
move over the same terrain the T-34 could handle. The Panzer IV used an inferior leaf
spring suspension and narrow track with a tendency to sink in deep mud and snow.[6] The
German infantry, at that time armed mostly with the PaK 36 37 mm (1.46 in) towed
antitank gun, and had no effective means of stopping T-34s. During the Battle of France
the Pak 36 had even earned the lovable nickname "Door Knocker" due to its inability to
penetrate anything but the lightest tank armor yet worked very well at announcing the
presence of the gun crew. Needless to say crews of these weapons fighting on the Eastern
front also found it severely underpowered for engaging enemy tanks, often having to rely
on heavier towed firepower such as the relatively rare but effective Pak 38 or newer and
much heavier Pak 40 and especially the 88 mm Flak guns which could not be moved into
location as easily. Only the poor level of Soviet crew training, the ineptitude of Soviet
commanders, and the early distribution prevented the T-34 from achieving greater
success.

T-34 Model 1943 at the Battle of Stalingrad

The emphasis in the Red Army in 1942–43 was on rebuilding the losses of 1941 and
improving tactical proficiency. T-34 production increased rapidly, but the design was
"frozen"—generally, only improvements that sped production were adopted. Soviet
designers were well aware of the need to correct certain deficiencies in the design, but
these improvements would have cost production time and could not be adopted. By mid-
1943 T-34 production was running at about 1,000 tanks per month, much higher than the
German rate.[7] However, Soviet losses greatly exceeded German losses due to continued
tactical inferiority.
In response to the sheer number of T-34s appearing on the battlefield and the ever
growing need for heavier firepower, the Germans were beginning to field very large
numbers of the high-velocity PaK 40 75 mm gun, both towed and self-propelled. These
made up most of the anti-tank artillery by 1943. By late 1942 and into mid 1943
Germany had also begun to field the revered Tiger heavy tank and Panther medium tank,
which further increased the need for an improved T-34. These improved versions came in
two notable forms: The first was an uparmored version in 1943 which also incorporated
greater fuel capacity, reliability, and a modified turret. The second notable version
appeared in 1944 in the form of a new turret carrying a form of the 85 mm ZiS AA/AT
gun which greatly increased firepower over the previous 76.2 mm F-34 cannon and
finally gave the T-34 the offensive capability it had so badly needed.

T-34-85 equipped with stand-off screens to protect thinner side and top armour from the
HEAT warheads of Panzerfausts during street fighting. These particular shields were
constructed from 5–8 mm (0.2–0.3 in) steel wire. Berlin, May 1945.

By the last years of the war, the Soviets' improving tactics remained inferior to the
Germans', but the Red Army's growing operational and strategic skill and its larger
inventory of tanks helped bring the loss ratios down (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:223). The
appearance of the T-34-85 in early 1944 gave the Red Army a tank that had better armour
and mobility than German Pzkw IV and Sturmgeschütz III, but it could not match the
Panther in gun [1] or armor protection [2]. To the Soviet advantage there were far fewer
Panthers than T-34s, and the T-34-85 was good enough to allow skilled crew and tactical
situations to tip the balance.

At the outset of the war, T-34 tanks amounted to only about four percent of the Soviet
tank arsenal, but by the war's end, they comprised at least 55% of the USSR's massive
output of tanks (based on figures from Zaloga 1984:125–6, 225; Zheltov 2001 lists even
larger numbers). By the time the T-34 had replaced older models and became available in
greater numbers, newer German tanks, including the improved Panzer V 'Panther',
outperformed it. The Soviets' late-war Iosif Stalin tanks were also better-armed and
better-armoured than the T-34.

A natural comparison can be made between the T-34 and the US M4 Sherman medium
tank. Each tank formed the backbone of the armoured units in their respective allied
armies. The T-34 was a "world-beater" at the time of its debut, while the Sherman was a
strong contender when introduced in 1942. Both models were upgraded and improved
extensively throughout their service life, receiving new turrets with more powerful guns.
Both were designed for ease of manufacture and maintenance, even sacrificing some
performance for this goal. Neither was a match for the German Panther or Tiger tanks in
armour or firepower, but these heavy vehicles were both in a class more comparable to
the Soviet IS-2 heavy tank or the American M26 Pershing (Zaloga & Grandsen 1983:37).

Tanks were expected to have many roles on the battlefield, the foremost being infantry
support and exploitation. The tank-vs-tank role is nonetheless important. German tank
production was limited to relatively small numbers of superior but complex vehicles (in
part because of production diversion into self-propelled guns), which put them at a
numerical disadvantage. The Soviet decision to build large numbers of T-34s, gradually
improving and simplifying the design proved to be a superior strategy, and helped to win
World War II.

After World War II

North Korean T-34-85 which was caught on a bridge south of Suwon by U.S. attack
aircraft during the Korean War

Hungarians inspect a T-34-85 in Budapest, during the 1956 Revolution

T-34-85s were used in many Soviet-client and formerly-Soviet client states after the end
of World War II, The North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 was spearheaded by
a full brigade equipped with about 120 T-34-85s. There they were pitted against the M24
Chaffee, M4 Sherman and M26 Pershing but not the Centurion tanks of the UN forces.
The North Korean 105th Armoured Brigade had some early successes against South
Korean infantry and U.S. M24 light tanks, but lost its momentum when faced with U.S.
M26 medium tanks and infantry well-equipped with antitank weapons. After the first few
months, North Korean armour was rarely encountered (Zaloga & Kinnear 1996:34–38).

The Finnish Army used the T-34s captured from the attacking Soviets during and after
the war until the 1960s. Many were improved with Finnish or Western equipment, such
as optics.

T-34s equipped many of the Eastern European (later Warsaw Pact) armies and were
employed in the suppression of the East German uprising of June 17, 1953, as well as the
Hungarian uprising in 1956. They were also used in the Middle East, the Vietnam War,
and even as recently as the Bosnian War. In May 1995, a Serb T-34 attacked an
UNPROFOR outpost manned by the 21st Regiment of the Royal Engineers in Bosnia,
inflicting lifelong injuries to a British peacekeeper.[8] Croatia inherited twenty-five or
thirty from Yugoslavia but has since withdrawn them from service. T-34s were
sporadically available in Afghanistan (it is not known if T-34s were used against
coalition troops), and Saddam Hussein had T-34s in the Iraqi army in the early 1990s.
Several African states, including Angola and Somalia, have employed T-34-85s in recent
years. Cuban T-34-85s also saw action in Africa.

Cypriot National Guard forces equipped with some thirty-five T-34-85 tanks were used to
enforce a coup by the Greek junta against democratically-elected President Archbishop
Makarios on July 15, 1974. They also saw extensive action against Turkish forces during
the Turkish invasion in July and August 1974, with two major actions at Kioneli and at
Kyrenia on July 20, 1974. (Drousiotis 2006)

China produced T-34 under the designation Type 58, though production soon stopped
when Type 59 became available. A small number of T-34's have also been spotted in
China, converted into fire-fighting vehicles.

Other countries

After the Second World War, the T-34 was used by the following 40 countries, and was
still in service in 1996 in 27 of those countries which are indicated by asterisks * (Zaloga
& Kinnear 1996:34).

Europe and the Americas

 East Germany  Indonesia

 Hungary  Iraq
 Albania*  Poland  Laos
 Austria  Romania*  Lebanon*
 Bulgaria*  Soviet Union  Libya*
 Cyprus  Yugoslavia*  Mongolia*
 Czechoslovakia  North Korea*
 Cuba  Afghanistan*
 Finland  Egypt*
  People's  Algeria*  Mali*
Republic of  Angola*  Mozambique*
China*  Republic of the  Somalia*
 Syria* Congo*  Sudan*
 Vietnam*  Equatorial  Togo*
 South Yemen Guinea*  Zimbabwe*
(PDRY)*  Ethiopia*
 North Yemen  Guinea*
(YAR)  Guinea-Bissau*

Combat effectiveness

Polish T-34 Model 1943 in Poznań, Poland. Note the different turret shape from the
Model 1942's (top of page).
“The finest tank in the world” —Field Marshal Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist
(Liddell Hart 1951)

Combat effectiveness of early war T-34s can be evaluated in terms of 'hard' factors —
armour, firepower, and mobility — and 'soft' factors such as crew comfort, vision
devices, crew task layout and so forth. The T-34 was outstanding in hard factors and poor
in soft ones.

In 1941 the thick, sloped armour of the T-34 could defeat all German anti-armour
weapons at normal combat ranges except the towed 88 mm Flak guns. By mid-1942 the
T-34 was vulnerable to improved German weapons and remained so throughout the war,
but its armour protection was equal to or superior to comparable tanks such as the US M4
Sherman or German Pzkw-IV.

In terms of firepower, the T-34's 76 mm gun with anti-tank ammunition could penetrate
any 1941 German tank with ease. This gun also fired an adequate high explosive round.
In 1943, the 76 mm could not penetrate the Panther's amour and was out-ranged by the
Panther's long 75 mm and the Tiger's 88 mm. The introduction of the Soviet 85 mm gun
in 1944 did not make the T-34-85 equal in firepower, but the 85 mm could penetrate both
Panthers and Tigers at reasonable ranges ranges.[9][10][11]

In terms of mobility, the T-34's wide track, good suspension and large engine gave it
unparalleled cross-country performance. First-generation German tanks could not begin
to keep up.
Rear view of a T-34-85. In the centre is a circular transmission access hatch, flanked by
exhaust pipes, MDSh smoke canisters on the hull rear, and extra fuel tanks on the hull
sides.

In terms of ergonomics, the T-34 was poor, despite some improvements during the war.
All 76 mm-armed versions were greatly hampered by the cramped two-man turret layout.
The commander's battlefield visibility was poor; the forward-opening hatch forced him to
observe the battlefield through a single vision slit and traversable periscope. He was also
over-tasked by having to fire the main gun. In contrast, most contemporary German,
British, and U.S. medium tanks had much superior three-man turrets with commander,
gunner and loader. The three-man turret layout allowed the tank commander to
concentrate on leading his crew and co-ordinating his actions with the rest of his unit,
without having to manage an individual task such as laying or loading the gun. This
makes an enormous contribution to crew effectiveness. The T-34-85 corrected this
problem, which had been recognised before the war. Many German commanders liked to
fight "heads-up", with the seat raised and having a full field of view. In the 76 mm-armed
versions of the T-34, this was impossible (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:135–7).

Turret of the T-34-85, with commander's cupola allowing all-round vision (introduced
partway through the production run of the T-34 Model 1943)

Visibility from the driver's seat was also poor. Tactically, this affected the driver's ability
to use terrain to their advantage, since he could not see folds in the ground as well, or
have as wide a range of vision as in some other tanks.

Interior of a T-34-85 tank viewed from the driver's hatch, showing the ammunition boxes
on which the loader had to stand in the absence of a turret basket. In the foreground is the
driver's seat.

The loader also had a difficult job due to the lack of a turret basket (a rotating floor that
moves as the turret turns). This problem was shared with many other tanks, for example,
the US M-3 Stuart. The floor under the T-34's turret was made up of ammunition stored
in small metal boxes, covered by a rubber mat. There were nine ready rounds of
ammunition stowed in racks on the sides of the fighting compartment. Once these initial
nine rounds were fired in combat, the crew had to pull additional ammunition out of the
floor boxes, leaving the floor littered with open bins and matting. This distracted the crew
and degraded their performance (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:137).

Other key factors diminishing the initial impact of T-34s on the battlefield were the poor
state of leadership, tank tactics, and crew training, a consequence of Stalin's purges of the
Soviet officer corps in the late 1930s, aggravated by the loss of the best-trained personnel
during the Red Army's disastrous defeats in 1941. Many crews went into combat with
only their basic military training plus seventy-two hours of classroom instruction. These
problems were exacerbated by the T-34's poor ergonomics and lack of radios during the
early war, making it practically impossible to co-ordinate tank units in combat. German
tank soldiers found that the Soviet armour attacked in rigid formations and took little
advantage of terrain (Zaloga & Grandsen 1984:126–27, 135). By 1943–44 these
problems had largely been corrected, although Soviet crew training never reached the
level of German training.

Tank as a symbol

War memorial in Kaliningrad, Russia

Hundreds of T-34s were installed as war memorials in Soviet-bloc countries.

A T-34-85 tank monument in the East German city of Karl-Marx-Stadt (Chemnitz) was
the target of a 1980 bomb attack that inflicted minor damage on the vehicle and blew out
nearby windows. The bomber, Josef Kneifel, was imprisoned for life in Bautzen, but
released in a deal with the West German government in 1987. This attack on a symbol of
Communist oppression remained one of the few high-profile bombings ever mounted
against the regime. After German unification in 1990, the tank was transferred to a
museum in Ingolstadt.

Another such tank, mounted atop the monument to Soviet tank crews in Prague, was the
focus of significant controversy. The monument, intended to represent Lt I.G.
Goncharenko's T-34-85, the first Soviet tank to enter Prague in May 1945, actually bore
an IS-2m heavy tank. To many in Prague, the tank was also a reminder of the Soviet
invasion which ended the Prague Spring of 1968. The tank was painted pink by artist
David Černý in 1991. Following an official protest from the Russian government, the
arrest of Černý, a coat of official green paint, public demonstrations, and a further coat of
pink paint applied by fifteen parliamentary deputies, the tank was finally removed to a
military museum (Wright 2001:379, Zaloga & Kinnear 1996:42–43).

Another T-34 formerly painted pink is the Mandela Way Tank in London.

Polish Czterej pancerni i pies movie poster (1966)

Four tankers and a dog (Czterej pancerni i pies) was a very successful war-themed
Polish television series of the 1960s (based on an eponymous novel by a Polish writer
Janusz Przymanowski (1922 - 1998), himself a Red Army volunteer) which made T-34
tank number 102 an icon of Polish popular culture. It was also shown in other Soviet-bloc
countries where it was also well received, surprisingly even in the German Democratic
Republic. At the beginning of the twenty-first century reruns of the black and white series
still manage to attract a large audience.

News of an unconventional use of a T-34 broke, quite unexpectedly, from Budapest on

October 23, 2006. A month-long crisis centred around the Ferenc Gyurcsány cabinet
scandal climaxed during the official fiftieth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian
Revolution. Protesters managed to start an unarmed T-34 tank which was part of a
memorial exhibition and used it in riots against police forces. (The tank ran out of fuel
after a few hundred meters and caused no personal injury.)[12][13]

Importance
The T-34 was among the most important weapons systems in the Red Army in World
War II. At the time it was first fielded in 1940, it was easily the finest tank design in the
world (Zaloga & Grandsen 1983).[14] By mid-war the T-34 was no longer technically
superior to its opponents, but it was still effective in combat (Zaloga & Grandsen 1983)
Monument to T-34 in front of theatre in Hrodno, Belarus
"The impression that it made was to influence greatly subsequent tank
development throughout the world" —John Milsom (1975)

The improved T-34-85 remained the standard Soviet medium tank with an uninterrupted
production run until the end of the war. The Germans responded to the T-34 by
introducing completely new, very expensive and complex second-generation tanks,
greatly slowing the growth of their tank production and allowing the Soviets to maintain
a substantial numerical superiority in tanks (Zaloga & Grandsen 1983:37). Production
figures for all Panther types reached no more than 6,557, and for all Tiger types 2,027.[15]
[16]
Production figures for the T-34-85 alone were 22,559. The T-34 replaced most light,
medium, and heavy tanks in Soviet service. Its evolutionary development led directly to
the T-44 and T-54/55 series of tanks, built until 1981 and still operated today.

Surviving vehicles
There are hundreds of surviving T-34s. Examples of this tank are in the collections of
most significant military museums, and hundreds more serve as war memorials. Many are
in private ownership, and demilitarised working tanks change hands for between $20,000
and $40,000 USD.

The durability of the T-34 is underlined by a recent restoration. In 2000, a T-34 Model
1943 was recovered that had spent 56 years at the bottom of a bog in Estonia.[17] The tank
had been captured and used by retreating German troops, who dumped it in the swamp
when it ran out of fuel. There were no signs of oil leakage, rust, or other significant water
damage to the mechanical components. The engine was restored to full working order.[18]

Other significant surviving T-34s include a Model 1941 at the US Army Ordnance
Museum in Aberdeen, Maryland. This is one of the oldest surviving vehicles. Other older
76 mm-armed T-34s have recently been recovered from old battle sites, but there is no
known remaining T-34 Model 1940, with an L-11 gun.