FIGHTING VEHICLES OF THE EASTERN FRONT, T-34 TANK

SOVIET TANKS

T-34 MEDIUM TANK

It is difficult to write about the T-34 medium tank without use too many superlatives, as the T34 has passed into the realms of legend. It was one of the decisive weapons of World War II., and was produced in such vast numbers and in so many versions that entire books have been written on the subject without exhausting the stories of the vehicle and its exploits.

BT-7 successor

In simple terms the T-34 had its origins in the shortcomings of the B-7 and its forebears. The first result of the Bt series improvements were the designs known as the A-20 and  A-30 produced in 1938 as developments of the BT-IS but passed over in favour of a heavier-gunned tank with increased armour and known as the T-32. In the T-32 can seen most of the features of the later T-34. It had a well shaped hull with sloped armour and a cast and sloped turret. Which mounted a 76,2mm (3-in) high velocity gun. The strengthened Christie suspension was carried over from the BT series. But the ability to run an wheels without tracks was abandoned. Good as the T-32 was a selection panel requested more armour and so the T-34 was born. It went into production in 1940 and mass production of the T-34/76A soon followed. When Germany attacked the Soviet Union in 1941 the type was already well established, but its appearance came as a nasty shock to the Germans. The T-34’s well – sloped and thick armour (minimum of 18mm/0.71in and maximum of 60 mm/2,36 in) protected the tank against most German anti-tank weapons and the L/30 76,2mm fun, soon replaced in service by an even more powerful L/40 gun of the same calibre was effective against most panzers. The secondary armament fitted was two 7,62mm (0.3in) machine guns. From 1941 onwards the  T-34 was developed into a long string of models, many of the with few externals differences Production demands resulted in many expediences, the finish of most T-34’s being rough to an extreme, but the vehicles were still very effective fighting machines. Despite the disruption of the production lines during 1941, ever-increasing numbers poured off the extemporised lines, and all manner of timesaving production. Methods (ranging from automatic welding to leaving whole sections of surface unpainted) were used. The second major production model was the T-34/76B with a rolled-plate turret.

BT-7

Successor of the T-34 tank

T-34 variants

Successively improved models of the T-34 were T-34/76C with a larger turret containing twin roof hatches in place of the original single hatch; the T-34/76D with a hexagonal turret and wider mantlet, plus provision for jettisonable exterior fuel tanks. The T-34/76E was fitted with a cupola on the turret and was of on all-welded construction. The T-34/76F was identical to the T-34/76F apart from its cast rather than welded turret. (It should be noted that the designations are Western and were designed to provide a means of identification).

In time, the 76,2-mm gun was replaced by an 85-mm (3.34-in) gun using the turret taken from the KV-85 heavy tank. This variant became the T-34/85, which remains in service in Afghanistan, where they have been used by the Talibian militia. They are also used by China which deploys over 500; Croatia, Congo and Mali which deploy 20 each; and Angola and Laos which deploy between 10 and 15 each. Special assault gun versions using the 85-mm gun and later the 100-mm(3.94in) or 122-mm 84.8-in) artillery pieces were developed and flamethrowing , tractor, engineer and mine-clearing versions also rolled off production lines.

However, it was a battle tank that the T-34 has its main claim to fame. High production ensured that the T-34 was available in thousands an the T-34 assumed mastery of the battlefield. This forced the Germans on to the defensive and also took from them both the tactical and the strategic initiative, thus helping win the Soviet war.

INTO ACTION: THE FIRST COMBATS

  

Their firs encounters with the T-34 came as a nasty shock to the Germans during the invasions of the USSR. On 8 July 1941, PzKpfW IIIs of the German 17^th Panzer Division saw a single Soviet tank whose silhouette was unfamiliar. As usual, German gunners opened fire on the approaching tank, expecting to destroy it, but instead saw their rounds ricocheting off the tank’s turret. Increasingly alarmed, the Germans watched this new tank shrug off the shells from their standard 3,7-cm (1.46-in) anti-tank gun as it advanced on its squat tracks through the German position, crushing the anti-tank gun as it went. The tank, a T-34, then disappeared behind the German lines, the Soviet tank was stopped only by a shot into its rear from a 10-cm (3.94-in) gun. Again in Jyly 1941, a 3,7-cm anti-tank battery of Panzerjäger Abteilung 42 reported how it had encountered’ a completely unknown type of tank…We opened fire immediately but the armour was not penetrated until the range was 100m (110yards). Armour-Piercing projectiles stick in the armour plating at 200m (220yards); Another gun crew reported: Half a dozen anti-tank guns fire at he T-34, which sound like a drum-roll. But he drives staunchly through our lines like an impregnable prehistoric monster; Eventually, only the arrival of the 7.5-cm (2.95-in) Pak 40 anti-tank gun could restore the balance.

The German Pzkpfw III tanks was unable to take on the T-34. One German crew reported: “Quite remarkable, lieutenant Steup’s tank made hits on a T-34, once at about 20m (22yards) and four times at 50m (55yards) with the PzGr. 40 projectile without any noticeable effect…The T-34s came nearer and nearer although they were constantly under fire. The projectiles did not penetrate but sprayed off the side; A German tank officer from Pz.Abt. 4 reported: ‘Time and time again our tanks have been split right open by frontal hits. The commander’s cupolas on the PzKpfw III and PzKpfw IV Have been completely blown off, proof that the armour is inadequate and the attachments of the cupolas is faulty. It is also proof of the great accuracy and penetration of Russian T-34’s 76,2mm gun..The former pace and offensive spirit (of the Panzer force) will evaporate and be replaced by a feeling of inferiority, since the crew know they can be knocked out by enemy tanks while they are still a great distance away’.

SPECIFICATION

T-34/76B

T-34/76B

Weight: 28250kg (62280lb)

Powerplant: one Model V-2 34 liquid-cooled V-12 diesel engine delivering 373 KW (500hp)

Dimensions: length 6,58 m (21ft 7in) width 3 m (9ft 10in), height 2,44m (8ft)

Armour: hull nose, upper sides and rear 45 mm, (1,77 in); hull lower sides and glacis plate 47 mm (1,85 in); hull top and cover plate 20 mm (0.70 in); turret front 65 mm (2,56in); mantlet 20-46mm (0,79-1,81 in); turret sides 65 mm (2,56ub); turret rear 47 mm (1,85in); turret roof front 15 mm (0,59 in); turret roof rear 30 mm (1,18in)

Armament: one 76,2 mm (3in) Model 1940 F-34 L/41.2 rifled gun with 80 rounds, and two 7,62 mm (0.3in) DT-machine-guns (one coaxial and one bow) with 2394 round.

Permormance: maximum speed 51,5 km/H (32 mph);  range 450 km (280 miles)

T34/85

T-34/85

Weight: 32000kg (70547lb)

Powerplant: one Model V-2 34 liquid-cooled V-12 diesel engine delivering 373 KW (500hp)

Dimensions: length7,5m (24ft 7,33in) width 3 m (9ft 10in), height 2,39m (7ft 10in)

Armour: hull nose, upper sides and rear 45 mm, (1,77 in); hull lower sides and glacis plate 47 mm (1,85 in); hull top and cover plate 22 mm (0.87 in); belly 18 mm (0,71in); mantlet 90 mm (3,54 in); turret sides 75 mm (2,95 in); turret rear 60 mm (2,36 in); turret roof front 18 mm (0,71 in); turret roof rear 22 mm (0,87 in)

Armament: one 76,2 mm (3in) Model 1940 F-34 L/41.2 rifled gun with 80 rounds, and two 7,62 mm (0.3in) DT-machine-guns (one coaxial and one bow) with 2394 round.

Permormance: maximum speed 50,5 km/H (31,1 mph);  range 300 km (186 miles) on internal fuel.

T-34 IN ACTION

(Sources of the article; Text:The Encyclopedia of tanks&armoured fighting vehicles from World War I to the present day, Pictures:internet)