T-34
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- For the military training aircraft, see T-34 Mentor
| Image:T-34 76 Westerplatte p d.jpg War memorial in Gdańsk, Poland (see side view) | |
| T-34 Model 1943 General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Length | 6.75 m |
| Width | 3.00 m |
| Height | 2.45 m |
| Weight | 30.9 t |
| Suspension | Christie |
| Speed | 55 km/h road 26 km/h off-road |
| Range | 465 km |
| Primary armament | 76.2 mm F-34 |
| Secondary armament | 2×7.62 mm DT machine guns |
| Armour | 70 mm |
| Power plant | model V-2 diesel 500 hp (373 kW) |
| Crew | 4 |
The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank first produced in 1940, at the Chelyabinsk Tractor Plant. It was the mainstay of Soviet armoured forces throughout WWII, and widely exported afterwards. A few T-34s remained in use until the 1990s.
It was developed from the BT series of Fast Tanks, but meant to replace both the T-28 medium and the BT series. When first built, it was the tank with the best balance of firepower, mobility, and protection in existence. By the end of WWII, its production had replaced all other Soviet tank designs except for a small number of Iosef Stalin heavy tanks. This multi-role design greatly influenced the development of Main Battle Tanks in the late 20th century.
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Production history
The T-34 was first designed and built at the Kharkov Komintern Locomotive Plant in Kharkiv, in the Ukrainian SSR. The ancestry of the T-34 derives from the BT series of fast tanks developed in the USSR in the 1930s. In the Spanish Civil War these were discovered to be too lightly armoured and armed for the sort of combat that would be expected. The T-34 took the BT's Christie-type suspension and incorporated it into a much more robust tank. The BTs were derived from prototype fast tanks built by American tank designer J. Walter Christie, which were sold to the Soviet Union after the American military declined to buy them. The T-34 incorporates elements of the Christie suspension, in particular the large road wheels and large internal coil springs but not the ability to run on wheels alone.
Development proper commenced in 1936, and two rival prototypes, the A-20 and the A-32, were completed in 1939. Full scale production of an up-armoured A-32, designed by M.I.Koshkin, started in July 1940. The T-34 was produced in two major variants, the basic T-34 with a 76-mm gun (often called T-34/76 in the west), and later the T-34-85 with a larger turret mounting an 85-mm gun.
Between 1940 and 1944, nearly 36,000 T-34 tanks were produced. Another 23,000 T-34-85s were built in 1944 and 1945. After the war, the T-34 was out of large scale production in the USSR by 1946 when 2,701 were built, and was followed by the T-44 and the T-54. Production was restarted in 1951 in Poland and Czechoslovakia, where 1,380 and 3,185 T-34-85s were made, respectively, until 1956. The highest estimate for chassis production not used for mechanised guns is 65,947. Some of these ended up in various Cold War conflicts all over the globe.
| Image:Russian T-34.jpg | |
| T-34-85 General characteristics | |
|---|---|
| Length | 8.15 m |
| Width | 3.00 m |
| Height | 2.60 m |
| Weight | 32 t |
| Suspension | Christie |
| Speed | 55 km/h road 24 km/h off-road |
| Range | 360 km |
| Primary armament | 85mm ZiS-S-53 |
| Secondary armament | 2×7.62mm DT machine guns |
| Armour | 90 mm |
| Power plant | model V-2 (diesel) 500 hp (373 kW) |
| Crew | 5 |
Variants
- T-34
- Model 1940 (German designation: T-34/76A) - Armed with L-11 76.2mm tank gun, cast or welded two-man turret.
- Model 1941 (T-34/76B) - With heavier armour, cast or welded two-man turret, and the superior F-34 76.2 mm gun.
- Model 1942 (T-34/76C) - Production model of 1942 with many simplified components, generally equipped with cast two-man turrets although a few welded ones remained.
- Model 1943 (T-34/76D, E, and F) - Production model of 1943 with cast hexagonal turret, nicknamed "Mickey Mouse" by the Germans because of its appearance with the twin, round turret-roof hatches open. Later models (German designation 'E') had a commander's cupola.
- T-34M - 1940 prototype (A-43) with improved armour, hexagonal three-man turret, torsion bar suspension, sprung road wheels, increased fuel and ammunition complement. Five hulls were built, but development was abandoned when the war broke out.
- T-34/57 - A very few T-34s in 1941 and 1943 were fitted with the ZIS-4 high-velocity 57 mm gun to be used as tank hunters. This gun had a better penetration than the 76.2mm F-34 (140 mm of steel at 500 m, as opposed to 90 mm), but the small projectile couldn't carry an adequate high explosive charge to use against unarmoured targets.
- T-34-85 - Production model of late 1943 with an 85mm gun and enlarged, cast three-man turret with thicker armour.
- T-44 - In 1944 the T-34M programme was resurrected, but quickly renamed T-44. The new tank had a turret design based on the T34/85'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.
- OT-34 - Variant of both T-34 and T-34-85, fitted with an internally mounted flame-thrower replacing the hull machine-gun.
The T-34 chassis was used as the basis for a series of self-propelled guns such as the SU-122, SU-85, and SU-100. Captured T-34s in German service were designated Panzerkampfwagen T-34(r).
Post-war, some T-34s were fitted with 122 mm howitzers as self-propelled guns by Syria and Egypt.
Soviet medium tank models of World War Two
| T-34 Model 1940 | T-34 Model 1941 | T-34 Model 1942 | T-34 Model 1943 | T-34-85 | T-44 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight | 26 t | 26.5 t | 28.5 t | 30.9 t | 32 t | 31.9 t |
| Gun | 76.2mm L-11 | 76.2mm F-34 | 76.2mm F-34 | 76.2mm F-34 | 85mm ZiS-S-53 | 85mm ZiS-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 |
| Road range | 300 km | 400 km | 400 km | 465 km | 360 km | 300 km |
| Armour | 15–45 mm | 20–52 mm | 20–65 mm | 20–70 mm | 20–90 mm | 15–120 mm |
Combat history
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 the Germans, whose ideology had taught them that the Soviets were 'sub-human' and presumably incapable of such technical excellence; this is shown by Jodl's diary, who seems to have been taken by surprise at the appearance of the T-34 in Riga (The first confirmed use of the T-34 seems to be at Smolesk some time later). The T-34 could take on all 1941 German tanks effectively. However, early T-34s, like many new tank designs, suffered from severe mechanical problems, and many were lost due to breakdowns rather than German fire. It was not uncommon for early T-34s to go into combat carrying a spare transmission on the engine deck, so poor were the early examples. The mechanical troubles were eventually sorted out and the T-34 is generally considered mechanically superior to later German tanks.
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 German infantry, at that time armed mostly with PaK36 37 mm and PaK38 50 mm towed antitank guns, had no effective means of stopping T-34s. Only the poor level of Soviet crew training and the ineptness of Soviet commanders prevented the T-34 from achieving greater success.
The emphasis in the Red Army in 1942–43 was on rebuilding the losses of 1941 and building up tactical proficiency. T-34 production rose 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. However, Soviet losses greatly exceeded German losses due to continued tactical inferiority.
In response to the T-34, the Germans were beginning to field larger numbers of high-velocity PaK40 75 mm guns, both towed and self-propelled. They were also able to put the Panther medium tank into the field by 1943 and the Tiger heavy tank in late 1942. By mid-war the T-34 no longer held technical superiority over German tanks. Loss ratios remained unfavorable to the Soviets; as their technical superiority waned, their tactical proficiency was not catching up fast enough.
By the last years of the war, Soviet tactical skill had improved, but the gap was never fully closed. The appearance of the T-34-85 in early 1944 gave the Red Army a tank that had better firepower, armour and mobility than German Pzkw IV and Sturmgeschutz III but it could not match the Panther in most respects. To the Soviet advantage there there were far fewer Panthers than T-34s. However, the T-34-85 was good enough to allow skilled crew and tactical situations to tip the balance.
At the outset of the war, only about five percent of all Soviet tanks were T-34 variants; this increased to fifty or sixty percent by mid-1943 and was even higher by the war's end. By the time the T-34 had replaced older models and became available in greater numbers, newer German tanks (including the improved German design based on the T-34, the Panzer-V 'Panther') outperformed it. The Soviets' late-war Iosif Stalin heavy tanks were also better-armed and better-armoured than the T-34.
An obvious comparison can be made between the T-34 and the US Sherman. Each tank formed the backbone of the armour units in their own and allied armies. Both were good designs at the time they debuted. Both were improved significantly without much loss of effectiveness. Both could be manufactured in large numbers and maintained in difficult conditions. Neither could take on the best German tanks (Panther or Tiger) on equal terms, but too much has been made of that fact. Tanks were expected to have many roles on the battlefield, the foremost being infantry support and exploitation. The tank-vs-tank role is nonetheless very important. That German tank production was limited to relatively small numbers of superior but complex vehicles (in part because of production diversion into self-propelled guns) told against them. The Soviet decision to build large numbers of T-34s, gradually improving the design, was a much better decision and helped to win WWII.
After the Second World War, T-34-85s were in use in Korea—the North Korean invasion of South Korea in 1950 was spearheaded by a regiment of T-34-85s. There they fought the Sherman and M26 Pershing but not the Centurion tanks of the UN forces. In general though tank warfare was a minor part of that war. T-34s were also used in the Middle East, the Vietnam War (most famously in the attack on Lang Vei) and even as recently as the Bosnian War. Croatia inherited twenty-five or thirty from Yugoslavia but has since withdrawn them from service. T-34s figured prominently in the Warsaw Pact's suppression of the Hungarian uprising in 1956. T-34s were sporadically availible in Afghanistan (it is unknown if T-34s were used against coalition troops) and Saddam Hussein had T-34s in his army in the early 1990s.
Combat effectiveness
Combat effectiveness of early war T-34s can best be evaluated in terms of 'hard' factors - armour, firepower, and mobility - and 'soft' factors - ergonomics. The T-34 was outstanding in hard factors and poor in soft ones.
The 'big three' of tank design have always been armour, firepower, and mobility. The T-34 was an outstanding balance of all three throughout its WW2 lifecycle. In 1941 its thick, sloped armor could defeat all German antiarmour weapons at normal ranges. T-34s could be knocked out only by the towed 88mm Flak guns or at close range by 50 mm and 75 mm short barreled tank guns. The majority of German tanks in 1941 did not have 75 mm guns; indeed 37 mm guns were far more common. By mid-1942 the T-34 was vulnerable to improved German weapons and remained so throughout the war, but its armor protection was equal to comparable tanks such as the US M4 Sherman or German Pzkw-IV.
In terms of firepower, the T-34s 76 mm gun could penetrate any German tank in 1941 with ease. This gun also fired an adequate HE round. In 1943, the 76 mm was outranged by the long 75 mm of the Panther and the 88 mm of the Tiger. The introduction of the 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.
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.
Overall then, in hard factors the T-34 was the trendsetter for worldwide tank development in the first half of the war.
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 distracted by having to fire the main gun. In contrast, contemporary German medium tanks had much superior three-man turrets with commander, gunner and loader. The three-man turret layout, common on US and British medium tanks, allowed the tank commander to concentrate on leading his crew and coordinating 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 recognized before the war. German commanders usually operated "heads-up", with the seat raised and having a full field of view, unless taking fire. In the 76 mm-armed versions of the T-34, this was impossible.
Visibility from the driver's seat was poor, with some drivers reporting that their optics were so bad they kept their hatch open slightly even in combat. Tactically, this affected the driver's ability to use terrain to their advantage, since they could not see folds in the ground as well, or have as wide a range of vision as in some other tanks. 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 other key factor diminishing the initial impact of T-34s on the battlefield was the poor state of tank tactics and crew training, a hangover from Stalin's purges of the Soviet officer corps in the late 1930s. This was further exacerbated by the lack of radios during the early war, making it practically impossible to coordinate them in combat. By 1943 these problems had largely been corrected, although Soviet crew training never reached the level of German training.
Importance
The T-34 was among most important weapon systems in the Red Army in the Second World War. Since the Soviet-German front was the decisive land theatre of the WWII, the importance of the T-34 can hardly be exaggerated. At the time it was first fielded in 1940, it was easily the finest tank design in the world. By mid-war it was no longer technically superior to all its opponents, but it was still better than most, and it was available in huge numbers.
The up-gunned T-34-85 remained the standard Soviet medium tank until the end of the war in an uninterrupted production run. 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; this probably contributed to their defeat.
The T-34's balanced design allowed it to replace most light, medium, and heavy tanks in Soviet service. Its evolutionary development would lead directly to the T-44 and T-54/55 series of tanks, built until 1981 and still operated today. Its service history would influence the employment of the main battle tank (MBT) class in modern armoured warfare.
See also
- Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau
- List of military equipment of Croatia
- List of Soviet tanks
- Mandela Way T-34 Tank
- Vickers Tank Periscope MK.IV
References
- Steven J. Zaloga and James Grandsen, Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two, 1984. Arms and Armour Press, London. ISBN 0-85368-606-8
- Military Heritage feature on the T-34 (Carl Para, Military Heritage, April 2002, Volume 3, No. 5, pp.18-20 and pp. 22-23).
External links
| Soviet Armored fighting vehicles of World War II |
|---|
| Light Tanks |
| T-26 | T-60 | T-70 | BT Fast Tanks |
| Medium Tanks |
| T-28 | T-34 | T-44 |
| Heavy tanks |
| T-35 | Kliment Voroshilov (KV) | Iosif Stalin (IS) |
| Tank destroyers and Self-propelled guns |
| SU-76 | SU-85 | SU-100 | SU-122 | SU-152 | ISU-122 | ISU-152 |
| Experimental |
| A-40 flying tank |
| Soviet armored fighting vehicle production during World War II |
