T-34

by Thorleif Olsson

Probably the Soviet Unions T-34 had the greatest design for a tank ever developed. It balanced the qualities of armor protection, mobility and firepower. The T-34 was very reliable, simple to build, and produced in large quantities of 34.000 vehicles. The T-34 was based on the concept of Christies "fast tank" of the 1930s. T-34s design work started in 1934, to replace the old T-28. Meanwhile the production of the BT-tank had begun, the chief engineer of the Kirov Works in Leningrad - Mikhail Koszkin -, tried to fit a T-28 with a Christie-type suspension. The test resulted in the T-29-5. This was only faster than the T-28, but it did not offer better accuracy, and the type was abandoned. A design team at Komintern Factory in Kharkov, led by an engineer called Tsiganov, gave the birth of the T-34. They thought that it was better to produce a heavier version of the BT, that trying to put is characteristics on other design like the T-28. The latest BT-tank at the time was the BT-7M. One of those was given a sloped armor hull instead of the original slab-sided structure. This resulted in a BT-IS (Ispitatelinig), which showed very promising, and in 1936 a special design team led by Koszkin and A.Morozov (designer) was up at Kharkov. Morozov had designed the T-46-5, a fast medium tank, which was not taken up. In 1937 blueprints of the A-20 was made, which was an improved BT-IS.

This still had the wheel/track-option and BTs 45mm gun, but it had the T-34's shape and design. Koszkin was given the task to develop the T-30 further on. He then developed the A-32, which didn't use the wheel/track-option, but was now fitted with a short 76mm L-11 gun (76.2mm L/30.5). The A-32 had proved very good in trials and a small production was ordered. However after battle experience in the Spanish Civil War, it was proved that the A-32 had insufficient armor protection.

The improvements led to the T-34, which didn't use the wheel/track system. On 19th of December the drawings and models of the new T-34 were submitted to the High Command who accepted them for production, even before the prototype had been completed. The production was to be taken care of by Kharkov's (KhPZ) #183 Factory. In September of 1940, the first series produced T-34s left the factory.

The T-34 was known for its excellently shaped hull and turret and the 76mm gun of a relative long barrel-length and its high muzzle-velocity made it to a feared devil. The T-34's use of a diesel-engine reduced the risk for fire when hit, and gave the T-34 larger operation range. The Christie-suspension permitted high speed in rough terrain, meanwhile its wide tracks made it able to cross mud and snow easier and faster. The first T-34/76A Model 1940 was delivered to the Red Army in June 1940. When Operation Barbarossa was launched on June 22nd 1941, the production of the T-34 had not reached far enough to employ sufficient numbers to the Red Army. (1.225 T-34/76 had been built by KhPZ and STZ by June 22nd 1941). Approximately 2.800 T-34/76 was manufactured in 1941. At this time at least half of the total tank strength (21.000) was deployed in a infantry-support role, and BTs and T-26s comprised 75 percent of all tanks. Due to the speed of production (A single T-34 could be built in just 40 hours, and production cost was lowered three times from 1941-1943.), some of its component manufacturers were not fast enough to keep the time-schedule. The cost per vehicle was lowered from 269.500 roubles in 1941, to 193.000 in 1942 and to 135.000 in 1943. A shortage of the new V-12 diesel engines led to that some of the early T-34's had the older M-17 gasoline-engine (same as the BT and T-28 tanks used). A hastily laid demand for more transmissions produced some serious problems; some early T-34s were very unreliable, and spare parts to repair the transmission were added to the side hull.

Apart from the incredible losses of tanks in the 1941 campaigns (USSR lost 6.000 tanks only at the two battles at Minsk and Smolensk), the Russians lost all their western industrial regions with its raw materials. The training of the crews was almost not anything, when drivers and mechanics sometimes only had 1½ - 2 hours of training before they was sent to operational units. When Germany penetrated deeper into Russia, it became necessary to move or evacuate all factories all the way to the Urals and Siberia. After the evacuation, the T-34 was built by Ural Tank Building Establishment (Uralmashzavod, UZTM), which was a combination of the Komintern Factory from Kharkov and the Nizhni-Tagil Tank Plant.

Uralmashzavod did now produce the T-34 under the command of J.E.Maksarov, with A.Morozov as the Chiefengineer. In July 1942 the factory received the first blueprints of the T-34, and the first production model from Uralmashzavod was called "Comrade Stalin". The T-34 came as a sad surprise to the Germans when they encountered them in quantity in July 1941. (Even if the T-34 engaged the Germans for the first time on June 22nd at Grodno). When the Germans engaged them they noticed that all their tanks had suddenly become obsolete and undergunned, for they were not a match to the T-34 either in speed, hitting power or protection. For example, Dimitry Lavrynenko and his crew destroyed 52 German vehicles in the first months of the war. Lavrinenko was later killed in action in the Battle for Moscow in late 1941. This new and dangerous tank, superior to any German vehicle, immediately led to the Germans speeding up the development of the heavy PzKpfw. VI Tiger tank and the design work of a medium tank with a similar design as the T-34, later to be known as the PzKpfw. V Panther, which owed its appearance and features directly to the T-34. There were many soviet tank crews, heroes of the Soviet Union who fought with T-34/76s, and it was also used by Polish, Czechoslovak and Yugoslav tank units. The Germans were happy to issue as many captured T-34's to their units as possible, as well as Finnish, Hungarian and Rumanian armed forces.

In January 1943, the Russian captured their first PzKpfw. VI Tiger outside Leningrad, and by the spring of 1943 Russian intelligence also got to know about the PzKpfw. V Panther. This resulted in a need of a new tank design for the Russian engineers, which was to counter the new German tanks.

At first it was planned to up-armor the T-34/76 Model 1943. One prototype was built, known as T-43. On this vehicles glacis armor had been increased to 70mm, turret armor to 90-110mm. The extra armor resulted in increased weight to 32.000kg, by thus resulting in decreased mobility. However, the front armor did not guarantee a "bounce-off" off German 88mm rounds, and the 76.2mm F-34 gun was insufficient against the new German tanks. Due to this, the T-43 project was dropped. In April of 1943 the Artillery Design Bureau was authorized to examine the possibility to fit a T-34 chassis with a gun of greater calibre. Ironically, one of Red Army's greatest victories at Kursk in July 1943, was won when the Soviet armored forces qualitatively were weakest when compared to the Panzerwaffe. In the summer of 1943, Soviet tank brigades depended on their greater number of tanks available to counter the more powerful Panther and Tiger tanks. It was only under very favourable conditions, like at the close-range fighting at Prokhorovka in July of 1943 when the 76.2mm F-34 gun became a dangerous threat to the thick armor of the Panther and Tiger tanks.

In August of 1943, work began on a 85mm-armed T-34 tank.

Three design teams worked on the new design:

1) Team of General F. Petrov, who had developed the 85mm D-5 gun used on the KW-85, SU-85 and IS-1.

2) Team of V. Grabin, belonging to TsAKB (Central Artillery Design Bureau)

3) Team of A. Savin, belonging to Zavod #92 in Gorki.

By the fall of 1943, all three prototypes was sent to the Gorokhovieski Proving Grounds outside of Gorki for trials. In the meantime, Krasnoye Sormovo Zavod #112 in Gorki started the development and later production of a three-man turret. The now larger turret was designed by V. Kerichev. However, it was soon discovered that the ZiS-53 gun would not mate properly with the new turret. On 15th of December 1943, even though there only existed two prototypes missing their armament, production of the T-34/85 was ordered. Firing trials with a new modified ZiS-53 gun revealed more problems, and as a stop-gap measure, the runner-up D-5T gun was fitted on the first production batch of T-34/85 Model 1943s. These entered production in January of 1944 at Zavod #112. In the same month, Savin solved the ZiS-53 guns problems and it was approved for production. In March of 1944, the new ZiS S-53 Model 1944 gun replaced the D-5T gun on the assembly lines at Zavod #112, resulting in the most common version, the T-34/85 Model 1944. By early spring of 1944, two other factories began the production of T-34/85s;

Zavod #174 in Omsk and Zavod #183 in Nizhni Tagil. The former KhPZ #183 factory (now Zavod #183) built most of the T-34/85s, ending up with about 35.000 by May of 1945. Second factory was Krasnoye Sormovo Zavod #112 with some 10.000 built in 1944-45. The T-34/85 first entered service with the 1st Guards Tank Army in early 1944. It was a welcome counterweight to the German Panther and Tiger tanks encountered in the Soviet offensives through Byelorussia, Ukraine and into Poland. Except for being the only vehicle with the potent ZiS S-53 gun, it was the Soviets first vehicle equipped with a three-man turret (Commander, gunner, loader).

The T-34/85 was far superior in mobility, firepower and armor to its German counterpart (in weight), the PzKpfw. IV Ausf. H/J. While some analysts compare the Panther as clearly superior to the T-34/85, it should be kept in mind that, by Soviet standards, the Panther was a heavy tank in the same class as the IS-2. The costly and advanced production of the German Panther tank, paved the way for a far superior number of T-34/85's in the field.

The T-34/85 remained in production in Soviet Union until late 1940s. The T-34/85ii was a modernized version that appeared in 1947 and featured an improved engine as well as sightings, communications and other smaller modifications. In early 1950s, production of T-34/85 was initiated in Poland, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The Czech and Polish versions were almost identical to the Soviet version, but however the Yugoslav vehicle differed a lot from the original version. It used a new gun, and the hull front was modified. Production of all models ceased in 1956. In late 1960s the Soviets remanufactured the T-34/85 for export and war reserve use. Specified as T-34/85M, they had a V-54 engine, T-55 style road wheels and several internal modifications. Some of those have seen action in Vietnam and Angola.

After WW2, the largest single involvement of T-34/85 was their use in the Korean 1st Tank Brigade in 1950. Other major employment's of the T-34/85 has been in Europe and the Middle East in 1956 (Hungary), 1967 (6-day war) and 1973 (October war). Most of the Arab T-34/85 were ex-Czechoslovakian vehicles. The T-34/85 is still in service in third world countries. Total output of the T-34 is in the area about an incredible 80.000 vehicles, making it to the most widely produced tank ever, with the possible exception of the T-54/T-55.

Production (T34/76)

1940 - 270

1941 - 2.800

1942 - 12.520

1943 - 15.812

1944 - 3.500

Production (T34/85)

1944 - 11.000

1945 - 7.650

Anatomy of the T-34

T-34 Conversions

T-34/85 Model 1944s bought by the Estonian Comitee and named "Lembitu" after an Estonian hero

(Courtesy of PJ)

T-34/76 Model 1942/43 of 30th Guards Tank Brigade entering Krasnoye Selo near Leningrad, Jan 1944

(Courtesy of Thorleif Olsson)

T-34/76 (1942) tanks of the 45. Tank Regiment 8. Estonian Rifle Corps, May 1943

(Courtesy of Thorleif Olsson)

T-34/85 company briefing near Berlin

(Courtesy of Nicholas Brooks)

T-34/76 Model 1943 "Mstitiel" (Avenger) entering Sevastopol

(Courtesy of Nicholas Brooks)

T-34/85 (1944) near Odessa

(Courtesy of Thorleif Olsson)

T-34

(Courtesy of KJ)