Classification:	Medium tank
Combat weight, t:
Layout diagram:	Classical
Crew, persons:
Manufacturer:
Years of production:
Years of operation:
Number of issued, pcs.:	More than 35000
Case length, mm:
Length with gun forward, mm:
Case width, mm:
Height, mm:
Ground clearance, mm:
Booking
Armor type:	Rolled steel homogeneous
Body forehead (top), mm/deg.:
Body forehead (bottom), mm/deg.:
Hull side (top), mm/deg.:
Hull side (bottom), mm/deg.:
Hull stern (top), mm/deg.:
Hull rear (bottom), mm/deg.:
Bottom, mm:
Housing roof, mm:
Turret front, mm/deg.:
Gun mask, mm/deg.:
Tower side, mm/deg.:
Tower feed, mm/deg.:
Tower roof, mm:
Armament
Caliber and brand of gun:	85 mm ZIS-S-53
Gun type:	Rifled
Barrel length, calibers:
Gun ammunition:
Angles VN, degrees:
	Telescopic articulated TSh-16, periscopic PTK-5, side level.
Machine guns:	2 × 7.62 mm DT-29
Mobility
Engine's type:	V-shaped 12-cylinder diesel liquid cooled with direct injection
Engine power, l. With:
Highway speed, km/h:
Speed ​​over rough terrain, km/h:
Cruising range on the highway, km:
Cruising range over rough terrain, km:
Specific power, l. s./t:
Suspension type:	Christie pendant
Specific ground pressure, kg/cm²:
Climbability:
Wall to be overcome, m:
Ditch to be overcome, m:
Fordability, m:

Armor tilt effect

Mass production

Serial production at Soviet factories

Armored hull of the T-34-85 tank

Housing layout

Housing design

Armored turret of the T-34-85 tank

Armament

Engine and transmission

Combat use

The Great Patriotic War

After 1945

Vehicles based on T-34

Interesting Facts

T-34-85 in computer games

Soviet medium tank of the Great Patriotic War period. Adopted by the Red Army by GKO Decree No. 5020 ss, dated January 23, 1944.

It is the final modification of the T-34 tank, model 1943. The new, spacious, three-seat gun turret was developed using design and technological solutions implemented in the experimental T-43 tank. The installation of a more powerful 85-mm cannon, combined with a number of design modifications, significantly increased the combat effectiveness of the T-34-85 tank compared to its predecessor, the T-34-76. The new turret provided an increase in the volume of the fighting compartment, the ability to accommodate a more powerful 85-mm cannon, a better distribution of functions between crew members and its security. With the overall armor protection slightly increased, thanks to the turret, (compared to the T-34-76 tank), but insufficient, compared to the enemy’s heavy tanks, in 1944, the T-34-85 tank practically did not lose its former mobility and maneuverability - the main thing the advantages of a medium tank in fights with heavy Tiger tanks and Panther medium tanks. As a combat vehicle, the T-34-85 tank was a classic example of a combination of design and technological solutions, which in their entirety ensured the best compliance with the tactical and technical requirements for a “cruising” tank during the “Turning Period” of World War II. The main, most objective criterion that determines the quality of the T-34-85 medium tank is the absolutely positive attitude of the crews of Soviet tank crews towards it.

The T-34-85 was produced in the USSR from January 1944 to 1950, before the start of mass production of the T-54. Under license from the USSR, 3,185 tanks of this type were produced in Czechoslovakia in 1952-1958 and 1,980 tanks in Poland in 1953-1955.

In total, over 35 thousand units of T-34-85 tanks (including those produced in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic and Poland) were produced, and taking into account the previously produced T-34-76, the total production was about 70-80 thousand units. This allows us to say that the T-34 tank was the most popular tank in the world.

Since 1944, the T-34-85 was the main medium tank of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War, and after its completion, it formed the basis of the tank forces of the Soviet Army until the mid-1950s, before the mass entry into the tank forces of the Soviet Army of the latest medium T-54 tanks. Officially, the T-34-85 tank was removed from service in the Russian Federation only in 1993. After the war T-34-85 significant quantities were supplied to a number of countries in Europe and Asia, where they were used in armed conflicts, including the Korean and Six Day Wars and a number of others. As of 2010, the T-34-85 is still in service with a number of countries.

Story

In 1943, due to the massive appearance of new models of armored vehicles with enhanced armor among the Germans, the effectiveness of 76.2 mm guns became sharply insufficient. In the battle on the Kursk Bulge, in the battles of large masses of tanks, the German offensive was stopped, but only at the cost of huge losses of its own armored vehicles, the bulk of which by that time were T-34 and lightly armored light tanks T-60 and T-70. At the same time, the main losses German side suffered not from the fire of Soviet tanks, but from the action of anti-tank artillery, from mines and bomber aircraft.

This forced us to look for ways to improve the combat qualities of the T-34. After developing several options, the T-34-85 was launched into mass production in 1944, armed with a new 85 mm cannon. The crew increased from 4 to 5 people, the tank received a new turret with reinforced armor and more convenient for the crew and commander. As a result, the weight increased by several tons, which led to a slight decrease in dynamic characteristics.

Armor tilt effect

The analysis showed that the slope of the armor is important only for cases where the caliber of the projectile does not exceed the thickness of the armor, that is, in this case, for calibers less than 45 mm. As the caliber increases, the protective effect of the tilt decreases rapidly. For 88 mm shells, the slope of the T-34 armor had virtually no effect on armor penetration.

Reasons for creating the final modification of the T-34 tank

In 1942, as large-scale production was mastered and the ongoing modernization of the T-34-76 tanks was carried out, in order to reduce the labor intensity of production and improve combat qualities, the leading design bureau of the T-34 tank, plant No. 183, began developing a project for a new medium T-43 tank.

The T-43 tank project was developed in the direction of increasing, compared to the T-34 tank, combat survivability by increasing the thickness of the armor plates of the hull and turret, and combat effectiveness by increasing the volume of the fighting compartment by developing a new, more spacious turret. During the development of the project, the level of unification of components and parts with the serial T-34 tank was 78.5 percent; the configuration and dimensions of the hull remained essentially the same as on the T-34; engine, transmission, chassis elements, gun - the same as on the T-34. At the same time, in the T-43 project some design developments were implemented on the pre-war project of the T-34M tank. In particular, due to the increase in the combat weight of the T-43 tank, compared to the T-34 tank, a torsion bar suspension of road wheels was implemented for the first time for a medium tank.

However, by mid-1943, when the need arose to install an 85-mm cannon on the T-43 medium tank (four versions of the 85-mm cannon developed for the medium tank were ready for testing), it turned out that new tank The T-43 does not have a reserve for this to increase its combat weight. Even with its “native” 76-mm cannon, the T-43 tank weighed more than 34 tons. A further increase in the mass of this tank led to a decrease in such an important indicator of combat effectiveness as mobility. In addition, the transition of factories to large-scale production of the new tank would inevitably cause a decrease in production volumes, which was considered unacceptable in wartime conditions. In addition, the torsion bar suspension of the road wheels, which had a relatively large diameter, was not yet reliable enough for the operating conditions of a medium tank... Because of this, the design bureau of plant No. 183 decided not to create a new tank but to modernize the existing T-34 to the final modification.

Mass production

In December 1943, plant No. 112 began preparing for serial production of the T-34 tank, with the D-5T cannon, in the new “Sormovo” turret.

January 1, 1944 The T-34 tank has been equipped with the S-53 cannon, with the possibility of installation in turrets with both standard (1420 mm) and extended (1600 mm) turret shoulder strap diameters, ( State Defense Decree No. ..., dated January 1, 1944)..

January 23, 1944 The T-34-85 tank was adopted by the Red Army, ( GKO Resolution No. 5020 ss, dated January 23, 1944). In this regard, all T-34 tanks, with a 76-mm cannon, produced in 1944 and previous releases, received the designation T-34-76.[A].

1944 First half of the year., serial production of medium tanks T-34-76 (model 1943) continued to be carried out by: plant No. 112 “Krasnoe Sormovo”; " Ural plant Heavy Engineering" (UZTM), Sverdlovsk; No. 183 “In the Name of the Comintern”, Nizhny Tagil; plant No. 174, Omsk.

The leading plant for the production of T-34-85 tanks in 1944÷1945 was plant No. 183

The Stalingrad Tractor Plant (STZ) did not resume tank production; The Ural Heavy Engineering Plant "Uralmash", (UZTM), Sverdlovsk, produced exclusively self-propelled guns based on the T-34 tank; The Ural Kirov Plant (UKZ), Chelyabinsk, completed the production of T-34-76 tanks and completely switched to the production of heavy tanks and self-propelled guns based on them.

In January 1944. Plant No. 112 produced the first 25 units. T-34-85 tanks, with a D-5T cannon, in a new “Sormovo” turret.

Since February 1944 Plant No. 112 began a gradual transition to the production of T-34-85 tanks, with the S-53 cannon.

In February 1944. Plant No. 112 produced 75 units. T-34-85 tanks, with a D-5T cannon.

Since March 1944 The production of S-53 guns has begun, in commissioning mode.

In March 1944. Plant No. 112 produced 150 units. T-34-85 tanks, with a D-5T cannon.

In April 1944. Plant No. 112 produced the final batch, 5 units. T-34-85 tanks, with a D-5T cannon, completed the production of T-34-76 tanks, and began mass production of T-34-85 tanks, with a S-53 cannon.

Notes:

In total, between January and April 1944, plant No. 112 produced 255 units. T-34-85 tanks. with D-5T cannon, of this quantity, 5 units. - commander's, with radio station RSB-F.

When the S-53 cannon was first installed in the Sormovo turret, it became clear that the turret needed to be modified in order to increase the lower elevation angle.

Since May 1944 The continuous production of S-53 guns has begun.

Since June 1944 Plants No. 112 and No. 174 began serial production of T-34-85 tanks. with the S-53 cannon, and completed serial production of the T-34-76 tanks.

Serial production of T-34-85 tanks was carried out by: plant No. 112, Krasnoye Sormovo, from January 1944 to 1950 inclusive, a total of about 12,221 units; plant No. 183, (Nizhny Tagil), from March 15, 1944, to 1946 inclusive, about 14,434 units in total; plant No. 174, (Omsk), from June 1943 to 1946 inclusive, a total of about 3994 units.

The total number of T-34-85 tanks built by USSR factories in the period 1944÷1950 is approximately 30649 (35399÷35415) units.

Until now, according to Soviet and (foreign) sources, only approximate information is provided on the number of T-34-85 tanks produced:

During 1944, in total approximately 10647÷10663 units were produced; of this amount: 10499 units. - linear; 134 units - commanders; 30 units - flamethrowers. In particular:

Plant No. 183 produced approximately 6,585 units in total;

Plant No. 112 produced approximately 3062 units in total;

Plant No. 174, produced approximately 1000 units in total;

During 1945, a total of approximately 12,551 units were produced; of this amount: 12110 units. - linear; 140 units - commanders; 301 units - flamethrowers. In particular:

Plant No. 183 produced approximately 7,356 units in total;

Plant No. 112 produced approximately 3,255 units in total;

Plant No. 174, produced approximately 1940 units in total;

During 1946, in total approximately 2701 units were produced; exclusively linear tanks T-34-85. In particular:

Plant No. 183, produced approximately 493 units in total;

Plant No. 112 produced approximately 1,154 units in total;

Plant No. 174 produced approximately 1054 units in total;

From 1947 to 1950, serial production of exclusively linear T-34-85 tanks was carried out only by plant No. 112. In particular:

In 1946, plant No. 112, produced approximately 2701 (5500) units;

In 1947, plant No. 112, produced approximately 2300 (4600) units;

In 1948, plant No. 112, produced approximately 1850 (3700) units;

In 1949, plant No. 112, produced approximately 450 (900) units;

In 1950, plant No. 112, produced approximately 150 (300) units;

• Data from foreign sources are indicated in brackets.

In the T-34-85 tank, the quality and reliability of components and assemblies have reached the highest level, while the design and layout have retained exceptional manufacturability, high maintainability, rapid restoration and commissioning of tanks damaged during combat operations.

The structural and weight reserves for further increasing the combat effectiveness of the T-34-85 tank were far from completely exhausted. In particular:

• Torsion bar damping of the road wheels was not implemented, by analogy with the experimental T-43 tank and the serial T-44, which would have provided: improved dynamic characteristics of the vehicle; increasing the volume of the fighting compartment due to the elimination of the side shafts of the spring shock absorbers of the track roller suspension.
• The transverse installation of the engine was not implemented, by analogy with the serial T-44 tank, which would have provided the possibility of rearranging the hull in order to shift the turret rotation axis back, in order to unload the front road wheels, in order to strengthen the frontal part of the hull and increase the volume of the hull's fighting compartment.

Note: The serial medium tank T-44 was a symbiosis of the serial T-34-85 and the experimental T-43. Strengthening the armor protection of the hull of the T-44 tank, compared to the T-34, was achieved, in particular, by: reducing its construction height; elimination of fender niches, and therefore due to a decrease in the useful volume of the hull, compensated by a decrease in the number of crew members.

During mass production, the factories made changes to the design of the T-34-85 tanks in order to: reduce production costs; increasing reliability; combat survivability and combat effectiveness.

As production progressed, the shape of the beam of the bow of the hull, connecting the upper and lower frontal sheets, changed and decreased in size, and on later production vehicles it was completely removed - the upper and lower frontal sheets were butt welded.

During 1944, the following were introduced: mounting of 5 spare tracks on the upper frontal plate of the hull; box-shaped, hinged front mudguards; installation of small smoke bombs (MSG) on the stern plate of the hull.

Serial tanks T-34-85 (like their predecessors, T-34-76), built by different factories, with absolute unification of components and parts, at the same time had minor, individual - factory, design differences due to local technological features production. In particular: various options for mounting spare fuel tanks on the sides of the hull; various options for protective strips of the turret shoulder strap; in the chassis, support rollers were used only with rubber tires (the shortage of rubber was eliminated thanks to supplies from the USA), both stamped and cast, with developed ribbing and lightening holes; various options of caterpillar tracks; gun turrets differed in the configuration and location of welded and casting seams, the number and location of viewing devices, ventilation fungi, and mounting units; handrail brackets; location and design of the commander's cupola.

T-34-85 tanks with a D-5T cannon, built at plant No. 112, Krasnoye Sormovo, had the following design features:

The gun mantlet was cylindrical at the base of the barrel, the width of the embrasure window was smaller, a TSh-16 telescopic articulated sight was installed, and there was no electric drive for turning the turret. The trunnions of the gun cradle have a large offset forward, relative to the turret rotation axis, the commander's cupola is shifted forward, there is no antenna output on the turret roof, and only one ventilation mushroom was installed on the first turrets.

Since June 1944, Plant No. 112 began producing T −34-85 tanks with the S-53 cannon, while the first tanks had external features similar to tanks with the D-5T cannon. In particular, the configuration of the early Sormovo turret, U-shaped mounting eyes, location of fuel tanks, etc.

In December 1944 Plant No. 112 submitted a number of proposals to improve the turret layout for consideration by GABTU. In particular:

• about replacing the double-leaf commander's hatch with a single-leaf one;
• on the introduction of a frameless ammunition rack for 16 rounds in the turret niche;
• about duplication of turret rotation control;
• about improving the ventilation of the fighting compartment by dispersing the fans, by moving one of the two installed in the rear of the turret roof to its front part. At the same time, the front fan was an exhaust fan, and the rear one was a discharge one;

In January 1945, from the above proposals from plant No. 112, only a single-leaf hatch cover for the commander’s cupola was introduced.

T-34-85 tanks, with fan fungi on the turret, were produced exclusively by plant No. 112 after the war. There was no viewing slot on the right side of the hull.

Conventional numbers and list of sources used: M. Baryatinsky. Article: “Tank of the Great Victory.” Magazine: “Modelist-Constructor” No. 5. 2002 I. Shmelev. Monograph: “Tank T-34”. Magazine: "Technique and Armament". No. 11÷12. 1998 G. Smirnov. Section: "Tales about weapons."

Licensed production at factories in Poland and Czechoslovakia

At the end of the 1940s. In accordance with the decision of the governments of Poland and Czechoslovakia, to assist in the development of serial production of T-34-85 tanks, design and technological documentation, technological equipment, and equipment were transferred from the USSR, and Soviet specialists were seconded. In 1949, the ČKD Plant, Prague, acquired a license for the production of the T-34-85 tank and the SU-100 self-propelled guns.

In 1951, the Polish plant Burnar Labedy acquired a license to produce the T-34-85.

T-34-85 tanks, Polish and Czechoslovak production, had minor design differences. Serial production was carried out: in Poland, for 5 years; in Czechoslovakia, for 6 years.

By May 1, 1951, the first 4 units were collected. Polish T-34-85, some of the components and assemblies for them were delivered from the USSR. From 1953 to 1955, 1185 vehicles were produced in Poland, and a total of 1380 vehicles.

In the winter of 1952, the first T-34-85 of Czechoslovak production was produced by the CKD plant, Praha Sokolovo, according to other sources, by the Stalin plant in the city of Rudy Martin.

In Czechoslovakia, T-34-85 tanks were produced until 1958, a total of 3185 units were produced, a significant part of which were for export. On the basis of the T-34-85 tank in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic the following were developed and produced: the MT-34 bridge layer; evacuation tractor CW-34, and a number of other vehicles.

In 1953, the Polish T-34s were upgraded twice and designated accordingly: T-34-85M1 and T-34-85M2. During the modernization: a pre-heater was installed; the engine was adapted to operate on various types of fuel; devices have been installed to facilitate tank control; the location of the ammunition has been changed; a remote control system for the directional machine gun was installed, which made it possible to reduce the number of crew members to 4 people; Underwater driving equipment has been installed. In Poland, on the basis of the T-34 tank, several samples of engineering and repair and recovery vehicles were developed and produced.

Design features Polish-made T-34:

1. different arrangement of ammunition - 55 rounds;
2. the number of crew members was reduced to 4 people, thanks to new system aiming and loading a frontal machine gun;
3. additional mechanisms have been installed to make it easier to control the tank;
4. equipment has been installed to ensure overcoming water obstacles along the bottom;
5. the configuration of the tower has been slightly changed;
6. the angular speed of rotation of the tower has been increased, up to (25÷30)°/sec;
7. installed: another radio station - “10RT-26E”; another tank intercom - TPU-47; other observation devices for the commander - TPK-1, or TPK-U25;
8. a night vision device has been installed for the driver;
9. The volume of additional fuel tanks has been increased, providing an increase in cruising range to 650 km;
10. the engine is adapted to operate on various types of fuel, equipped with a heater that facilitates starting at low temperatures;

Design features of the Czechoslovak-made T-34:

1. Slightly different tower configuration;
2. different shape and location of additional fuel tanks.

List of sources used:

1. I. Shmelev. T-34 tank. Monograph. Magazine: "Technique and Armament". 11-12.1998
2. Website: M. Baryatinsky. Medium tank T-34-85. /Armor collection 4.99.

Design and layout of the T-34-85 tank

With the adoption of the final modification of the T-34-85 tank, all production T-34 tanks of previous releases (samples of 1940–1943) received the single designation T-34-76. Unlike its predecessor T-34-76, T-34-85, with the S-53 cannon (ZIS-S-53), had a three-man turret of increased size (the ring diameter was increased from 1420 to 1600 mm), which made it possible to increase the volume fighting compartment, place a more powerful gun, an additional crew member and free the tank commander from the role of gunner, for more effective coordination of the crew’s actions.

The first T-34-85 tanks, built by plant No. 112, Krasnoe Sormovo, with a D-5T cannon, had a two-man turret, which was somewhat structurally different from the turret developed by plant No. 183. The D-5T gun took up a lot of space, which did not allow placement additional charger.

Note: T-34-76 tanks (T-34, model 1943), the final series of production, had a three-man turret with a commander's cupola. The gunner was called “tower commander” or “turret commander”.

Armored hull of the T-34-85 tank

Housing layout

The internal volume of the case is conventionally divided into four sectional compartments: the control compartment, in the front part of the case; fighting compartment, in the middle part of the hull; power plant compartment, in the rear of the hull; power transmission compartment, in the aft part of the hull. The fighting compartment, power plant and power transmission compartments are separated from one another by removable steel partitions.

IN department of management posted:

• The driver is on the left and the machine gunner is on the right;
• height-adjustable driver's seat and machine gunner's seat;
• levers and pedals of drives for controlling units and systems of the power plant and power transmission;
• devices that control the operation of the engine and electrical equipment;
• frontal machine gun in a ball mount;
• two compressed air cylinders for air starting the engine;
• part of the ammunition;
• two manual carbon dioxide fire extinguishers;
• first aid kit;
• part of spare parts.

In front of the driver there are: two compressed air cylinders for air starting the engine; panel with control devices; left and right control levers; gearbox slide; manual fuel supply handle; fuel pedal; brake pedal with latch; main clutch pedal.

To the left of the driver, on the side wall, there is an electrical panel on which are located: an electric starter start button; tachometer; speedometer. Two manual carbon dioxide fire extinguishers are mounted under the electrical panel.

IN fighting compartment of the hull and armored turret , posted:

• Along the path of the tank, to the left of the gun, is the gunner, followed by the tank commander; to the right of the gun is the loader;

IN fighting compartment of the corps , posted:

• at the bottom, a nozzle heater for the heating system is installed;
• the bulk of the ammunition was stored in the boxes;
• Along the bottom of the fighting compartment (under the ammunition boxes) there are drive rods for controlling the tank mechanisms.
• On the sides of the fighting compartment section, behind the vertical bulwarks made of sheet steel, there are lower, between the spring shock absorber shafts of the track roller suspensions, and upper fuel tanks.

IN power plant department located:

• in the middle of the compartment, along the longitudinal axis, there is a sub-engine frame for mounting a “V-shaped” diesel engine “B-2”;
• On the sides of the engine there are water radiators, batteries, an oil cooler - mounted on the left water radiator, oil tanks and middle fuel tanks.
• in the roof of the power plant compartment, there is a hatch for access to the engine and a hatch for the passage of air to the radiators - an air inlet closed by blinds;
• Tank control rods run along the bottom of the compartment.

IN power transmission compartment located:

• power transmission units;
• electric starter;
• two air cleaners and aft fuel tanks.
• in the roof above the power transmission compartment there is an air vent hatch, closed with blinds with a mesh;
• The upper aft armor plate is folding and has a hatch for access to the power transmission units.
• a box for tools and spare parts, installed on the horizontal shelf on the starboard side.

Housing design

The tank hull is welded and consists of the following main parts: frontal part; sides; aft; bottoms and roofs.

The armor plates of the hull are made of rolled armor, connected to each other by electric welding, and have thicknesses and angles of inclination, respectively: upper frontal - 45 mm, 60°; lower frontal - 45 mm, 53°; upper stern - 45 mm, 48°; lower stern - 45 mm, 45°; upper side - 40°. The front bottom sheet is 20 mm thick, the rest - 13 mm. Roof thickness 20 mm.

Frontal part of the body. Consists of upper and lower frontal armor plates.

It is noteworthy that as the T-34-85 tanks were produced, the beam of the bow of the hull connecting the upper and lower frontal plates decreased in size, and on later production vehicles it was removed - the upper and lower frontal sheets were butt welded.

On the upper frontal plate on the right, an embrasure is cut for the ball mounting of the frontal (course-oriented) machine gun and armor protection is welded (armor cap of the embrasure), on the left, a hatch is cut for the entry and exit of the driver, closed with a lid. In the driver's hatch cover there are two windows for installing viewing observation devices, covered with armored covers, opened by a mechanical drive from the internal handle. On the sides of the towing hooks there are threaded holes, closed with armored plugs on the threads. Through these holes, access to the shanks of the “worms” of the track tensioning mechanism is provided.

Hull sides. They consist of lower vertical and upper inclined armor plates, to which horizontal shelves (fender covers) are welded. To the lower sides of the inclined armor plates, on the outer side, horizontal fenders are welded, which, together with the horizontal shelves of the hull, form dirt-proof wings, serve as a place for the location of spare parts boxes and as a support for paratroopers.

On the left side fender there is a box with tools and spare parts for the gun.

On the starboard fender: a box for tools and spare parts is installed; spare tracks for caterpillars are fixed; one or two tow ropes are laid.

On the left inclined armor plate of the hull there are installed: in front - brackets for the headlight and signal typhon; in the aft part there are mounting brackets for two spare, unarmored tanks, one for fuel, the other for oil.

On the right inclined armor plate of the body there are installed: in front - a radio antenna output bracket; in the aft part there are mounting brackets for two spare unarmored fuel tanks.

Fuel and oil located in spare, unarmored fuel tanks are consumed before the tank enters battle.

Each lower vertical sheet has holes for the passage of the torsion axes of the suspension of the track rollers' balancers, and cutouts for the balancer's trunnions. On the outer sides, brackets are welded to the lower vertical sheets for attaching rubber stops that limit the upward movement of the track rollers. On the inside of the vertical armor plates, shafts are welded for the spring shock absorbers (springs) of the track roller suspensions. Between the shafts for the shock-absorbing springs of the suspensions of the 2nd and 3rd pairs of road wheels, on the sides of the fighting compartment section, there are compartments for the front - lower and upper, onboard fuel tanks, between the shafts for the shock-absorbing springs of the suspensions of the 3rd and 4th pairs The support rollers, on the sides of the power plant section, are equipped with compartments for medium fuel tanks. Behind the shock-absorbing spring shafts of the 5th pair of road wheels there are compartments for aft fuel tanks. The fuel compartments are closed from the inside of the tank, with vertical bulwarks made of sheet steel.

Hull stern. Consists of upper and lower stern plates and final drive housings.

The top stern sheet, removable, is bolted to the side sheets and can be hinged back. In the middle part of this sheet there is a round hatch for access to the power transmission (transmission compartment units), closed with a lid on hinges and bolts, and on the sides there are two oval holes for exhaust pipes, protected from the outside by armored caps and brackets are installed, with locks, for mounting smoke bombs. The wires to the electric igniters of the smoke bombs are carried out in steel protective tubes fixed to the upper stern sheet.

Bottom of the case. At the bottom of the body there are: hatches for access to suspension parts, to the drain plugs of tanks and the gearbox housing; hatch for access to the engine water and oil pumps; In the front part of the bottom, on the right, there is a hatch for the crew to exit the tank in conditions where the situation does not allow exit through the upper hatches. On the inside of the bottom of the hull there are brackets for fastening the power plant and power transmission units, as well as the seats for the driver and machine gunner.

Housing roof. Consists of three parts: the roof of the fighting compartment; roofs of the power plant compartment; power train roofs.

The roof over the fighting compartment (turret sheet), is welded to the front and side sheets, has a cutout with a diameter of 1600 mm. On the inside, along the perimeter of the linear cutout, the annular housing of the tower ball support is welded.

There are hatches in the roof above the fighting compartment: in the corners, hatches above the shafts for the suspension springs of the 2nd and 3rd pairs of road wheels; in front, on the right and on the left, there are two round hatches for access to the filler plugs of the front and middle fuel tanks. All hatches are closed with armored covers.

The roof of the power plant compartment, removable, is bolted to the side sheets and partitions, consists of a middle sheet located above the engine, having a hatch for access to the engine, and two side sheets with air inlets, closed by louvres made of armor plates. The blinds are controlled from the fighting compartment. Each air inlet is covered with an armored cap with cutouts for air passage. Through these cutouts and the air intake, air is drawn in by the fan and used to cool and power the engine. In the side sheets of the roof of the power plant compartment there are two hatches above the shafts for the suspension springs of the 3rd and 4th pairs of road wheels and one hatch each for access to the filling necks of the oil tanks. All hatches are closed with armored covers.

In the roof of the power transmission compartment there are air exhaust louvres covered with a mesh. The blinds are controlled from the fighting compartment. On the right side of the roof of the power transmission compartment, there is a hatch, closed with an armored cover, for access to the filling neck of the aft fuel tanks.

Armored turret of the T-34-85 tank

The history of the creation of a turret for the T-34-85 tank

1943 End of August. People's Commissar of Tank Building V. A. Malyshev and Head of GBTU Marshal arrived at Tank Plant No. 112 armored forces Y. N. Fedorenko and responsible employees of the People's Commissariat of Armaments. At a meeting with plant managers, Malyshev said: “The victory in the Battle of Kursk came at a high price. Enemy tanks fired at ours from a distance of 1,500 m, while our 76-mm tank guns could hit “Tigers” and “Panthers” at a distance of 500-600 m. Figuratively speaking, the enemy has arms one and a half kilometers away, and we are only half a kilometer away. It is necessary to immediately install a more powerful gun in the T-34.".

Initially, it was planned, on a competitive basis, to consider the option of installing an 85 mm cannon with anti-aircraft ballistics, D-5T, on the T-34 tank, which by this time had been successfully used on heavy tanks KV-85, IS-1 and SU-85 , based on the T-34 tank, in the D-5S version. However, due to the large dimensions of the D-5T gun, it was obvious that a new, more spacious turret would need to be designed for it. In this regard, chief designer TsAKB - V.G. Grabin, proposed his project for the modernization of the "thirty-four", for the installation of his, more compact S-53 cannon, in the standard turret of the serial T-34 tank (model 1943), and submitted it for approval to the People's Commissar of Armaments D F. Ustinov and People's Commissar of Tank Construction V. A. Malyshev. The project involved the start of production of prototypes at plant No. 112.

The S-53 gun was implemented Constructive decisions, developed before the war for the F-30 gun, intended for the KV-3 design heavy tank. However, V. A. Malyshev and many specialists from the Scientific Tank Committee (NTK) and the People's Commissariat of Armaments doubted the merits of the “Grabinsky project”. In this regard, Malyshev urgently ordered M.A. Nabutovsky, the head of the tower group of plant No. 183, with a group to fly to plant No. 112 and figure everything out...

1943 October. To speed up the work on linking the 85 mm cannon in the turret of the T-34 tank, on the initiative of V. A. Malyshev, the turret group of plant No. 183, led by Nabutovsky. sent to TsAKB. Nabutovsky arrived to Malyshev, and he ordered to organize a branch of the design bureau of plant No. 183 at the artillery plant where Grabin's TsAKB worked. After a short collaboration with Grabin, Nabutovsky was sent to the design bureau of F. F. Petrov...

As a result, a joint conclusion was made that to install the S-53 and D-5 guns on the T-34 tank, a new, more spacious turret with a wider shoulder strap is required.

M. A. Nabutovsky, at a special meeting in the presence of D. F. Ustinov, Ya. N. Fedorenko and V. G. Grabin, made a counter proposal to design new turrets for the T-34 tank, to accommodate S-53 guns in them and D-5T, based on the design of the turret of the experimental medium tank T-43, project of plant No. 183. M. A. Nabutovsky criticized V. G. Grabin’s idea. From the speech of M. A. Nabutovsky: “Of course, it would be very tempting to put a new gun in a tank without significant modifications. This solution is simple, but absolutely unacceptable for the reason that with this installation of the gun, its fastening will turn out to be weak, and a large unbalanced moment will arise. In addition, this creates crowded conditions in the fighting compartment and will significantly complicate the work of the crew. Moreover, if shells hit the frontal armor, the cannon will fall out.” Nabutovsky stated: “By accepting this project, we will let the army down”….. Grabin broke the silence that followed: “I’m not a tanker, and I can’t take everything into account. And to implement your project will take a lot of time, reducing production.” Ustinov asked: “How long does it take to submit the design bureau project of plant No. 183 for approval at this meeting?” Nabutovsky asked for a week, the director of plant No. 112, K.E. Rubinchik, provided him with his entire design bureau. Ustinov scheduled the next meeting in three days. A. A. Moloshtanov arrived to help M. A. Nabutovsky...

When designing, the 3-seater turret of the experimental T-43 medium tank was taken as a basis. The design of the turrets began simultaneously: the design bureau of plant No. 122 "Krasnoe Sormovo", headed by V.V. Krylov, for the 85-mm D-5T cannon, and the turret group of plant No. 183, led by A.A. Maloshtanov and M. A. Nabutovsky, for the 85-mm S-53 cannon.

Within three days of round-the-clock work, the technical documentation for the new turret for the S-53 gun was ready.

As a result, for the T-34 tank, two new turrets were developed, very similar to each other, reminiscent, but not copying, the turret of the experimental T-43 tank, with a shoulder strap “clear” diameter of −1600 mm.

1943 October. An Order was given to the TsAKB (Chief Designer V.G. Grabin), “On the development of a special 85-mm gun for the T-34 tank.”

1943 October. The D-5T gun was tested on the T-34 tank, in a new turret developed by plant No. 112:

For better balancing, the gun trunnions were moved forward significantly; however, the breech of the gun was located very close to the rear plate of the turret, which made the loader’s work difficult. Even when the tank was moving at low speed, trained loaders could not avoid collisions between the head of the projectile and the breech of the gun. The D-5T gun took up a lot of space, so the new turret could only accommodate two people. As a result, the D-5T cannon was not adopted for service with the T-34 tank.

1943 October - November. Fulfilling the NKV order to create an 85-mm cannon for the T-34 tank, TsAKB and plant No. 92 produced three prototypes of new tank guns: S-53, (leading designers of TsAKB: T. I. Sergeev, G. I. Shabarov); S-50, (leading designers of TsAKB: V. D. Meshchaninov, V. A. Tyurin, A. M. Volgaevsky); LB-1 (LB-85), (plant No. 92, designer A.I. Savin). During the tests, which continued until the end of 1943, preference was given to the S-53 cannon.

The S-53 gun was distinguished by its simplicity of design, reliability and compactness, and provided the ability to accommodate three crew members in the new, more spacious turret. The recoil brake and knurl are located under the base of the bolt, which made it possible to reduce the height of the line of fire and increase the distance between the breech and the rear wall of the turret. The production cost of the S-53 gun turned out to be even lower than for the 76-mm F-34 gun, not to mention the D-5T.

1943 Beginning of December. Plant No. 122 sent two experimental T-34 tanks, with new turrets, to the Moscow Artillery Plant, where they were installed with S-53 guns and carried out mostly successful tests, during which flaws in its design emerged. In this regard, at artillery plant No. 92, during the next meeting, with the participation of: D. F. Ustinov, V. A. Malyshev, V. L. Vannikova, Ya. N. Fedorenko, F. F. Petrova, V. G. Grabina and others, it was decided, for now, to install the D-5T cannon on the Sormovo T-34 tanks and at the same time modify the S-53 cannon.

Serial production of the S-53 cannon was supposed to be launched at plant No. 92, from March 1, 1944, and until then, plant No. 112 “Krasnoe Sormovo” was allowed to install the D- cannon in the new turret, designed by plant No. 112. 5T.

According to the plan, plant No. 112 was supposed to produce 100 units by the end of 1943. T-34 tanks, with a D-5T cannon, that is, before the official adoption of the T-34 tank, with an 85-mm cannon in a new turret, into service. However, the first vehicles were produced only at the beginning of January 1944.

Plant No. 112 "Krasnoe Sormovo" was asked to: ensure the production of T-34-85 tanks with the D-5T gun in quantities:

• In January 1944 - 25 units;
• In February 1944 - 75 units;
• In March 1944 - 150 units;
• From April 1944 - completely switch to the production of T-34-85 tanks, instead of T-34-76.

1944 January. 1. The S-53 cannon was adopted for service on the T-34 tank, both with standard (1420 mm) and extended (1600 mm) shoulder straps.

1944 January... Moloshtanov and Nabutovsky, with all the documentation on the layout of the new S-53 cannon in the new turret for the T-34 tank, arrived at plant No. 183.

Turret design, with S-53 cannon (ZIS-S-53)

The turret of the T-34-85 tank, developed on the basis of the design of the turret for the experimental medium tank T-43, was 5-sided, with rounded ribs, and had an armor thickness increased to 90 mm in the frontal part. For some reason, Soviet tank crews classified the turret configuration of the T-34-85 tank as “Conical”, and the turret of the T-54 tank as “Hemispherical”.

It is noteworthy that when creating the new D-5T tank gun, and the S-53, which won the competitive tests, the ballistics of the 85 mm 52-K anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model were taken as the basis.

The 52-K anti-aircraft gun, during test firing that took place from April 25 to April 30, 1943, at the NIIBT training ground in Kubinka, pierced the 100 mm frontal armor of a captured Tiger from a distance of 1000 m. In addition, the development of a new tank gun based on the 52-K anti-aircraft gun reduced the time to master the production of shells.

In fact, the configuration of the tower body is formed by a frontal, rounded, embrasure part, five flat inclined faces, mating linear surfaces of variable radius, and a flat, horizontal 6-sided roof.

• The tower is cast, hexagonal in plan, with inclined side walls. An embrasure for installing a cannon is cut into the front wall, covered with swinging armor.

Technologically, the tower is divided into three parts: linear part; body part; roof of the tower, connected to each other, along the perimeters, by welds.

Running part (upper tower shoulder strap) - a large-sized casting, cylindrical at the bottom, conjugated at the top, with a 6-sided base for mounting the body part.

The cylindrical part serves as a holder for the support ring of the upper shoulder strap of the ball joint welded into it.

Hull part - large-sized casting, formed by a frontal (embrasure) part (thickness 90 mm) and 5 inclined flat edges (walls): two front - side (thickness 75 mm, slope 20°); two rear - side, (thickness 75 mm, slope 20°) and one rear edge, (thickness 52 mm, slope 10°), connected to each other by radius fillets.

In the frontal part there is an embrasure window for installing a gun, which is covered with a swinging armor protection (mask) of the gun. On the inside, brackets with bosses are welded to the frontal part, to which horizontal trunnions for the gun cradle are bolted. On the left bracket there is a stopper for fastening the gun “On the march”, and a lifting mechanism for the gun.

The side walls of the turret have embrasures for firing from personal weapons, covered with armor plugs. Outside, on the side walls of the tower, welded: handrails for paratroopers; mounting hooks or eye brackets. On the rear wall of the tower, on the outside, fastenings for tarpaulin are welded.

Tower roof: flat, 6-sided, cut from a flat armor plate (thickness 20 mm). There are hatch cutouts in the roof:

1. for installing two periscopic observation devices, for the loader and gunner;
2. ventilation, for the installation of two fighting compartment fans, covered with armored caps with windows for air passage;
3. antenna output;
4. hatch for entry and exit of loader and gunner;
5. cutout for installing a commander's cupola;

Commander's turret. Serves to provide all-round visibility to the tank commander. Cylindrical in shape, cast from armor and welded around the perimeter to the roof of the gun turret. There are five slots in the walls of the turret, covered with transparent triplex armored glass, through which, with the help of viewing devices, the commander has an all-round view, both with a rotating and stationary gun turret. The turret roof rotates on a ball bearing. On its roof there is a hatch for the tank commander and a periscope observation device, similar to the devices installed on the roof of a gun turret, is installed.

Due to individual characteristics production of different factories, and depending on the time of production, turrets, T-34-85 tanks equipped with S-53 and ZIS-S-53 guns differed in: the number, configuration and location of casting and welds; the shape of the commander's cupola (in January 1945, only the single-leaf commander's cupola hatch cover was introduced into production); the shape and location of the protective strips of the turret shoulder strap. The post-war towers of plant No. 112 had a spaced arrangement of ventilation hoods, the front fan was an exhaust fan, the rear one was a discharge fan.

Turret layout, with S-53 cannon (ZIS-S-53)

The main armament of the tank is installed inside the turret: a cannon and one coaxial machine gun. Vertical aiming of the gun is done manually, using a sector lifting mechanism located to the left of the gun. The vertical elevation angle of the gun is 22°. The vertical descent angle is 5°, while the unhittable (dead) space for the cannon and coaxial machine gun on the surface of the earth is 23 meters. The height of the gun's line of fire is 2020 mm. The rotation of the turret is carried out by a rotation mechanism located to the left of the gun, using a manual drive, with an angular speed of 0.9°, per revolution of the flywheel, or an electromechanical drive, with an angular speed of 25÷30°/sec. The main stowage for 16 (on some vehicles - 12) shots is located in the aft niche and on the racks. On the right wall of the tower, 4 shots are secured in clamps. To ensure the “rollback” of the gun, after firing, free space is provided behind the breech. Inside the turret, on the left side, there are reinforced: a bracket for the turret rotation mechanism and mounting brackets for the radio station and tank intercom devices (TPU). Inside the tower, on the left rear and aft walls, there are mounting brackets for the transceiver and the radio power supply. The following seats are attached to the turret and rotate with it: the tank commander; gunner and loader. The loader's seat is suspended on three belts, two of them are attached to the turret ring, and the third to the gun cradle. The seat height adjustment is made by changing the length of the belts. The tower does not have a floor that rotates with it, which is attributed to its design disadvantage. When firing, the loader worked standing on the lids of cassette boxes with shells placed on the bottom of the hull. When turning the turret, he is forced to move after the breech of the gun, kicking the fallen spent cartridges, which, during intense fire, accumulated and made it difficult to access the shots placed in the ammunition rack on the bottom of the hull.

Armament

Ammunition for the S-53 cannon
Shot brand	Projectile type	Projectile brand	Shot weight, kg	Projectile weight, kg	Explosive mass, g	Fuse brand	Muzzle velocity, m/s	Direct shot range at a target 2 m high	Year of adoption
Armor-piercing shells
	armor-piercing blunt-headed with a ballistic tip, tracer					MD-5 or MD-7
	armor-piercing sharp-headed, tracer
	armor-piercing sharp-headed with protective and ballistic tips, tracer								post-war period
	armor-piercing sub-caliber, coil type, tracer
	armor-piercing sub-caliber streamlined, tracer								post-war period
High-explosive fragmentation shells
	steel solid-body anti-aircraft fragmentation grenade					KTM-1 or KTMZ-1
	steel fragmentation grenade with adapter head					KTM-1 or KTMZ-1
	steel solid-body fragmentation grenade, with reduced charge					KTM-1 or KTMZ-1
Practical equipment
	practical solid, tracer

Penetration table
Projectile Distance, m
(meeting angle 90°)
(meeting angle 60°)
(meeting angle 90°)
(meeting angle 60°)
(meeting angle 90°)
(meeting angle 60°)
1It should be remembered that at different times and in different countries they were used various techniques determination of armor penetration. As a consequence, direct comparison with similar data from other guns is often impossible.

Engine and transmission

The T-34-85 tank was equipped with a 12-cylinder four-stroke uncompressor diesel engine V-2-34. The rated engine power was 450 hp. at 1750 rpm, operational - 400 hp. at 1700 rpm, maximum - 500 hp. at 1800 rpm. Cylinder diameter 150 mm. The piston stroke of the left group is 180 mm, the right one is 186.7 mm. The cylinders were arranged in a V-shape at an angle of 60°. Compression ratio 14 - 15. Dry engine weight with electric generator without exhaust manifolds 750 kg. Fuel - diesel, grade DT or gas oil grade "E" according to OST 8842. The capacity of the fuel tanks is 545 l. Outside, on the sides of the hull, two fuel tanks of 90 liters each were installed. External fuel tanks were not connected to the engine power system. The fuel supply is forced, using a twelve-plunger fuel pump NK-1. Lubrication system - circulation, under pressure. Oil circulation was carried out by a three-section gear oil pump. The capacity of internal oil tanks is 76 l, external - 90 l. The cooling system is liquid, closed, with forced circulation. There are two tubular radiators, installed on both sides of the engine and tilted towards it. Radiator capacity 95 l. To clean the air entering the engine cylinders, two Multicyclone air cleaners were installed on the tank. The engine was started by an ST-700 electric starter with a power of 15 hp. or compressed air (two cylinders were installed in the control compartment). The transmission consisted of a multi-disc main dry friction clutch (steel on steel), a gearbox, final clutches, brakes and final drives. The gearbox is five-speed, with constant mesh gears. Onboard clutches are multi-disc, dry (steel on steel), brakes are floating, band, with cast iron linings. Final drives are single-stage.

Combat use

The Great Patriotic War

Despite a number of very serious improvements to the T-34, its combat characteristics in the second half of the war could not be considered completely satisfactory against the backdrop of improvements in German tanks and anti-tank weapons.

Lowly vulnerable in 1941 to almost any German tanks and anti-tank weapons (even in the old version, which was weaker armed and armored), the T-34 at the end of the war was no longer able to withstand on equal terms heavy German tanks and assault guns (which, however, were all they had far from an absolute advantage in all combat situations, not to mention the fact that they belonged to a different class in terms of mass, high cost of production, and often lost in mobility, not to mention their quantitative disadvantage and technological difficulties at the end of the war, which affected, for example, on the quality of their armor). The T-34 also turned out to be insufficiently protected from German infantry anti-tank weapons, which by that time included the latest anti-tank rocket launchers, although German tanks suffered no less from fire from American-made bazooka-type grenade launchers. As a result, in 1945, approximately 90% of hits to the T-34 resulted in armor penetration. This had to be compensated for by their massive and competent use, and the leading role in the fight against enemy tanks passed to a noticeable extent to heavy tanks, such as the IS-2, and self-propelled guns; nevertheless, the T-34, while remaining the Soviet main tank, played an invaluable positive role in the second half of the war, which is partly explained by improved control of tank forces, better interaction with other branches of the military, especially with aviation, as well as very good mobility and still remaining Quite decent armor and firepower. Not last role The reliability of the tank, which had increased by this time, and, of course, the mass production also played a role. By the end of the war, the T-34 was the most numerous tank in the USSR army.

After 1945

After World War II, the T-34-85 was actively exported to many countries around the world and was used in a number of military conflicts. Tanks remained in service with some countries, such as Iraq, until the end of the 20th century.

• Korean War(1950-1953, China, North Korea). The Korean War was a real test for the T-34 crews, who had to operate in the conditions of enemy air supremacy, against well-equipped American Army and Marine Corps units with anti-tank weapons. North Korean T-34-85s were used most intensively in the first two months of the war, but after the losses suffered, their participation in battles was rarely noted and only in small groups of 3-4 tanks. During the entire period of the war there were 119 tank battles, of which 104 were carried out by US Army tanks and another 15 by USMC tank crews. During these battles, North Korean tankers on the T-34-85 managed to knock out 34 American tanks (16 M4A3E8 Sherman, 4 M24 Chaffee, 6 M26 Pershing and 8 M46 Patton), 15 of which were lost irrevocably. In turn, the Americans claim to have destroyed 97 T-34-85s in tank battles (another 18 are supposedly recorded).

American aircraft inflicted significant losses on the North Korean T-34-85. Against the backdrop of this fact, the incident that occurred on July 3, 1950, when four F-80C Shooting Star jet fighter-bombers, led by the commander of the 80th Air Force, Mr. Amos Sluder, looked unexpected, went to the Pyeongyo-Ri area to attack enemy vehicles moving to the front line. Having discovered a column of approximately 90 vehicles and tanks, the Americans went on the attack, using unguided rockets and fire from onboard 12.7-mm machine guns from low altitude. An unexpected response came from the North Korean T-34s, which opened fire on the low-flying aircraft with 85-mm guns! A successfully fired shell exploded in front of the pilot's plane and damaged the fuel tanks with shrapnel, causing a fire on board. Walking Slave Mr. Vernet Peterson reported to Major Sluder on the radio: “Boss, you're on fire! You better jump." In response, the commander asked to indicate the direction to the South, where he was going to continue to pull, but at the same moment the plane collapsed and fell to the ground like a burning torch. Major Amos Sluder became the first 5th Air Force pilot to die in action on the Korean Peninsula.

• Suez Crisis (1956, Egypt)
• Hungarian uprising (1956, USSR, rebels)
• Vietnam War (1957-1975, North Vietnam). Used in small quantities in Laos and South Vietnam. No meetings of the T-34-85 with American units were recorded.
• Operation Bay of Pigs (1961, Cuban Army)
• 1962 military coup in Yemen (1962, Republican forces). On September 26, 1962, 6 T-34-85 tanks were used by the Free Officers to blockade the residence of Imam Mohammed Al-Badr. Having taken the Bashayar Palace into a semicircle, the tanks began shelling the upper floors of the building, causing a fire. After ten hours of siege, the palace garrison and the imam's family fled using a secret exit from the basement. Another 20 T-34-85 tanks took up positions in the capital's Sharar Square to prevent possible actions by the monarchists.
• Six-Day War (1967, Egypt, Syria). Egypt lost 251 T-34-85s, accounting for almost a third of its total tank losses.
• Turkish invasion of Cyprus (1974, Greek Cypriots)
• Civil War in Angola (1975-2002, government army)
• Civil war in Afghanistan (1978-1992, government army, mujahideen)
• Sino-Vietnamese War (1979, Vietnam)
• Lebanon War (1982, Palestine Liberation Organization)
• War in Croatia (1991-1995) (1991-1995, Croatia, Yugoslavia?)
• Bosnian War (1992-1995, Bosnian Serbs)

Countries that had a tank in service

After World War II, the T-34 was in service with the next 40 countries, and in 1996 it was still in service with the countries marked with an asterisk*. (Zaloga & Kinnear 1996:34).

Countries of Europe and America

Middle Eastern and Asian countries

African countries

Serial variants, modernization and modifications of the T-34-85 tank

• T-34-85 Modification 1943 A small-scale modification of the T-34 with an 85-mm D-5-T85 cannon and a new solid-cast three-man turret. It was produced from January to March 1944 by plant No. 112, due to the fact that the placement of the S-53 cannon in the turret of the original version turned out to be unsatisfactory.
• T-34-85. Serial modification of the T-34 tank, produced in large series in 1944-46. A new cast turret with an increased ring diameter was installed. Armor protection increased to 90 mm (front of the turret and hull). The main armament is an 85-mm ZIS-S-53 cannon, a radio station is installed in the turret. Subsequently, the tank was modernized several times (last time in 1969). In the 50s it was mass-produced in Poland and Czechoslovakia.
• OT-34-85 is a modification of the T-34-85 with the installation of an ATO-42 piston flamethrower instead of a machine gun.
• T-34-85 Modification 1947- The tank is equipped with a new V-2-34M engine, a new radio station and optical instruments.
• - The tank has a new V-54 engine (520 hp), the internal design of the vehicle has been slightly changed, and a new chassis.
• PT-34- Modification created on the basis of the T-34 Model 1943 as a tank trawl.

Comparison of the main Soviet medium tanks of the Second World War
	T-34 Modification 1940	T-34 Modification 1941	T-34 Modification 1942	T-34 Modification 1943
					85 mm ZIS-S-53	85 mm ZIS-S-53
	76 shells	77 shells	77 shells	100 shells	60 shells	58 shells
Power reserve

Yugoslav modernization of the T-34-85 tank

After the war, on the initiative of the leadership of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOLA), an attempt was made to establish mass production of a modernized, Yugoslav version of the T-34-85. As a result of modernization, the following design changes were made:

• In the front part of the hull, bevels are implemented in order to reduce the area of ​​the frontal surface of the upper frontal sheet. The bevels weakened the body and complicated the technology of its production, but it was expected. that Yugoslav factories will master the technology of welding armor plates;
• The roof of the tower was made convex, the commander's cupola was eliminated, but four periscopic viewing devices were installed, the cylindrical bases of the hatches were mated to the roof by welding, weakening the structure of the tower;
• The volume of the rear niche of the turret has been increased in order to increase the ammunition capacity;
• The turret ventilation scheme has been changed; the fan hood is located on the roof of the aft part of the turret;
• The ZIS-S-53 gun is equipped with a muzzle brake;
• A Yugoslavian-made diesel engine was installed, changes were made to the transmission;

A total of 7 tanks were modernized...

In 1950, modernized tanks participated in the May Parade and were later used as training ones. In the early 1950s, modernization work was curtailed. One tank is preserved in the open exhibition of the military museum in Kalemegdan (Belgrade).

Vehicles based on T-34

During the war, the famous “self-propelled guns” SU-85, SU-100 and SU-122 were built on the basis of the T-34-85. The SU-85 and SU-100, designed to fight enemy tanks, were armed with 85 and 100 mm rapid-fire cannons, respectively. The SU-122, classified as an assault gun, carried a 122 mm howitzer with a low rate of fire (the separately loaded gun also had a manual piston-type shutter, which negatively affected the rate of fire) and was mainly used as shock artillery against infantry and tanks (with some restrictions it could can also be used as a self-propelled howitzer). Vehicles based on the T-34-85 remained in service with some countries until the end of the 20th century.

In Egypt, the T-34-85 was equipped with a 100 mm M1944/BS-3 gun and was called the “T-100 tank destroyer”

On October 26, 2006, during anti-government protests in Budapest, demonstrators managed to start the engines of the museum's T-34-85 and BTR-152, and used them in clashes with the police.

T-34-85 in computer games

T-34-85 can be seen in the following computer games:

• Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive and Call of Duty: World at War
• "T-72: Balkans on Fire";
• "Company of Heroes: Eastern Front" (amateur modification);
• "Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory";
• online game “Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45”;
• MMO game "World of Tanks"
• Real-time strategy "Order of War".
• "Tanks of the Second World War: T 34 against the Tiger"
• "ArmA 2"
• "ArmA 2: Operation Arrowhead"
• "Blitzkrieg"
• "Caribbean crisis"
• "T-34 vs Tiger"

Most experts are of the opinion that the T-34 tank was the best in World War II, it achieved victory, but there are other opinions. A whole staff of developers worked on the creation of this tank even before the start of World War II.

It is believed that the history of the T 34 tank began with the creation of the experimental A-20 tank. Since 1931, wheeled-tracked tanks of the BT type began to appear in service; they were considered high-speed. After experience had been gained in combat operations, the Kharkov Locomotive Plant was tasked with creating a project for a wheeled-tracked tank that would be able to replace the BT in the future. According to historical data, the design began in 1937 by the technical department under the leadership of Koshkin. It was assumed that the new tank would have a 45 mm gun and 30 mm thick armor. The diesel version of the B-2 was offered as an engine. The engine was supposed to reduce the vulnerability of the tank and the fire hazard of the equipment. Three drive wheels were also provided on each side due to the noticeably increased weight of the equipment. The weight of the car became more than 18 tons, the entire structure was complicated.

T-34 tank prototypes

The production of a tank engine began on the basis of aviation oil engines. The engine received the B-2 indexation during wartime, and many progressive ideas were incorporated into its design. Direct fuel injection was provided, there were 4 valves in each cylinder, and a cast aluminum head. The engine passed state tests for a hundred hours. Diesel mass production began in 1939 at a special plant headed by Kochetkov.

During the creation process, the design of the A-20 seemed too complicated, so it was planned to create a purely tracked tank, but it had to have anti-ballistic armor. Due to this idea, the weight of the tank was reduced, which made it possible to increase the armor. However, initially it was planned to create two vehicles of equal weight in order to conduct an equivalent test and determine which tank is better.

In May 1938, the design of a wheeled-tracked tank was nevertheless considered; it had a fairly rational shape, was created from rolled armor plates, and had a conical turret. However, after consideration, it was decided to create exactly such a model, but only on caterpillar tracks. The main thing for the tank was to be able to create excellent anti-ballistic armor. Such tanks were already created in 1936. They had a mass of 22 tons, but the armor was 60 mm. Experienced tank on caterpillar tracks was named A-32.

Both models A-32 and A-20 were fully completed in 1938. Most military commanders were inclined towards the A-20 version; it was believed that a wheeled-tracked tank was more effective in battle. However, Stalin intervened in the consideration of the projects and ordered the proactive construction of two models to begin in order to test them in comparative tests.

More than a hundred employees were involved in the development of both models, since both tanks had to be completed in the shortest possible time. All experimental workshops were combined into one and all employees worked under the best tank developer - Koshkin. Both projects were completed in May. All tanks were submitted for testing in 1939.

Features of the A-32 tank

Tank A - 32 had the following characteristics:

• very high speed
• machine body made of rolled steel sheets,
• rational armor angles,
• 45 mm gun,
• DT machine gun.

In 1939 A-32 was modified again. The armor was strengthened by adding various cargoes to the armor of the tank, which increased the weight of the vehicle to 24 tons. A new L-10 tank gun, developed at the Kirov plant, was installed. In December 1939, the Defense Committee decided to build several test models with reinforced 45 mm armor and a 76 mm tank gun.

It is this model that will become the famous T-34; in the process of creating the design of this machine, special attention was paid to simplifying the design. Specialists from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant and specialists from the Technology Bureau helped a lot with this. It was thanks to them that the T-34 tank model was finally developed for mass production. The production of the first experimental models began in Kharkov in the winter of 1940. On March 5 of the same year, the first two models left the plant and were sent on their first march from Kharkov to Moscow under the strict control of M.I. Koshkina.

Start of production of T-34

On March 17, the tanks were shown to the entire Kremlin leadership, after which ground testing of the vehicles began. The tanks were subjected to a full armor test, firing direct fire at the tanks with armor-piercing and high explosive shells. In the summer, both tanks were sent to a cross-country training ground anti-tank barriers. After this, the cars went to their home plant in Kharkov. On March 31, the decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party for mass production of the tank was approved. It was planned to build about 200 T-34s by the end of the year.

By the summer their number had increased to five hundred. Production was constantly slowed down due to poor recommendations and data from specialists with test site, which was added to the GABTU test report. As a result, only three cars were produced by the fall, but after modifications were made based on comments, another 113 cars were produced by the new year.

After the death of Koshkin, the management of KhPZ A.A. Morozov not only managed to correct the serious problems that had arisen with the tank, but also managed to improve the firepower of the tank by installing a much more powerful F-34 gun than the L-11. After this, tank production increased significantly, with 1,100 vehicles built in the first six months of 1941. In the fall of 1941, KhPZ was evacuated to Nizhny Tagil, Sverdlovsk region.

Already in December, the first T-34 tanks were produced at the new location. Due to the military situation, there was a shortage of rubber and non-ferrous metals so as not to stop the production of tanks, the designers reworked all the design details and were able to significantly reduce the number of parts. Soon the development of a new T-43 vehicle began.

Tank 34 was a great achievement in tank building. The design of the tank was very reliable, had very powerful weapons and reliable armoring of the hull and turret of the tank. Most importantly, the car was very dynamic.

Video history of the creation of the T-34

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Design of the T-34 tank. Description of the tank design.

The T-34 tank had a classic layout with a rear-mounted transmission. Inside, the tank's hull was divided into four compartments: control, combat, engine and transmission.

The control compartment was located in the bow of the tank. It contained the driver's and radio operator's seats, controls, control instruments, a DT machine gun in a ball mount, part of the ammunition, a radio station (not initially installed on all tanks), surveillance devices, two compressed air cylinders for a spare engine start, spare parts , tools and accessories.

View of the control department, where the driver-mechanic of the T-34 tank was located. The black cylinder on the top left is the balancing mechanism of the hatch cover. To the right of the hatch above the cylinders is a TPU tank intercom.

The fighting compartment was located in the middle part of the vehicle. It housed the seats of the tank commander (aka gunner) and turret gunner (aka loader). A turret was installed above the fighting compartment on a ball bearing, which housed weapons, part of the ammunition and surveillance devices. There was a hatch (later two hatches) in the roof of the tower for landing the crew.

View of the radio operator's position in the T-34 tank. A ball machine gun mount is clearly visible in the center. On the right you can see the radio station.

The engine compartment was located behind the combat compartment in the middle part of the tank and was separated from it by a continuous collapsible partition with hatches closed with removable covers. An engine, two water radiators, two oil radiator tanks, and four batteries were installed in the engine compartment. The engine was located with its toe towards the stern; radiators - on both sides of the engine, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tank.

T-34 tank hull

The transmission compartment was located in the rear of the tank. It housed the main clutch with a centrifugal fan, a gearbox, side clutches with brakes, an electric starter, final drives and two fuel tanks.

The tank's hull was a rigid armored box with an oblong, rounded bow and stern. The body was welded from rolled sheets of homogeneous armor MZ-2 (I8-S). To increase projectile resistance, the upper part of both sides was made inclined. The main parts of the hull are the bottom, bow, sides, stern, roof and transverse partitions.

Armored mask of a machine gun ball mount in the front plate of a T-34 tank

The bottom - the main fastening element of the hull - consisted of front and rear parts, connected end-to-end by a weld. The connection was reinforced by a T-shaped steel beam, which was the lower part of the motor bulkhead frame. The beam was welded and riveted to the bottom on both sides of the joint. The thickness of the bottom in the front part was greater than in the rear. In the bottom there were three hatches, closed with armored covers, six holes with plugs and eight cutouts, four on each side. In the front part of the bottom near the radio operator's seat there was an oval-shaped hatch for the crew's emergency exit from the tank.

Finished welded hull of the T-34 tank. Welds are manually cleaned of flux.

In the engine compartment, a sub-engine installation was mounted on the bottom, consisting of two transverse brackets, to which two parallel frames were screwed with 36 bolts. The engine was installed on these frames. The bow of the hull consisted of a front beam, three armor plates, a driver's hatch cover and an armored machine gun cap.

T-34 tank armor scheme

The upper frontal plate of the hull had a rectangular shape at the bottom, a trapezoid at the top and was butt welded to the front beam, side plates, fender liners and turret plate. On armored hulls manufactured by the Stalingrad Shipyard (plant No. 264) in 1942, the upper frontal plate was welded to the side plates with a tenon connection.

Components of the roof over the engine of the T-34 tank

A recess was stamped into the sheet above the driver's head and there were loops for attaching the hatch cover and two bases for mirrored periscope viewing devices. The instruments were located at an angle of 60° to the longitudinal axis of the tank. At the top of the hatch cover there was a base for a central mirror periscope viewing device.

T-34-85 tank armor scheme

From the beginning of 1942, a driver's hatch of a simpler shape appeared with two prismatic viewing devices, borrowed from the A-43 tank. To protect against bullets and shell fragments, the prisms were closed from the outside with hinged armor covers. On the right side of the driver's hatch in the armored cap there was a ball mount for a DT machine gun. Beginning in 1942, an armored mask was placed on the barrel of the machine gun (with the exception of vehicles produced by STZ).

Reservation of sight PT-4-7

The sides of the hull consisted of lower and upper parts connected by welding. The lower one was a vertical armor plate that had five holes for the passage of the balancer axes, four cutouts for the balancer axles, and five brackets with platforms for attaching rubber buffers that limited the rotation of the balancers. The casing of the track tension mechanism was welded in the front part of the vertical side plate, and the final drive casing was welded in the rear part. The upper part of the side was a fender liner with a horizontal bottom and an inclined side sheet. On the inside, eight boxes were welded to the sides (four on each side), in which inclined spring suspensions of the rollers were installed. Tanks for fuel and oil were mounted in the space between the boxes.

Cast turret of the T-34 tank, model 1942. Produced at plant No. 183

The hull stern consisted of an upper inclined sheet, a lower inclined trough-shaped sheet and two final drive housings. The upper inclined trapezoidal sheet was fastened with hinges and screws to the lower and side sheets. It had a quadrangular hatch (since 1942 - round, with the exception of tanks produced at STZ), providing access to units installed in the rear of the transmission compartment, and two oval holes for exhaust pipes (from the outside, these holes were protected by armored caps).

Armored viewing device. On early versions it was bolted, on later versions it was welded.

The roof over the fighting compartment was an armor plate, in which there was a large round cutout for installing the turret and four cutouts for access to the upper part of the roller suspensions, which were closed on top with covers. The roof over the engine compartment consisted of a middle longitudinal sheet with a hatch for access to the engine, two side sheets over the radiators, two longitudinal sheets of louvers and caps over the radiators.

The roof over the transmission compartment consisted of two armor plates over the fuel tanks, two louvre armor plates, a narrow end cross plate and a mesh over the roof.

T-34 tank, produced in 1943 by the Chelyabinsk ChKZ.

The turret was welded, oval, streamlined, mounted on a ball bearing above the fighting compartment of the hull. There were three cutouts in its front frontal plate: the central one for mounting a cannon; right - for a coaxial machine gun; left - for telescopic sight. In the side sheets of the turret there were cutouts for welding the bases of viewing devices, and under them there were holes for firing from a revolver.

In the rear sheet of the turret niche there was a hatch for dismantling the gun; its cover was secured with four and then six bolts. For tanks produced by STZ in 1942, the entire rear turret plate was removable (fastened with eight bolts). Sormovo cars did not have this hatch at all.

Turret of the T-34 tank, produced at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant (Nizhny Novgorod)

In the roof of the tower there was a trapezoidal hatch, closed with a hinged lid, in which there were two holes: the left one - for installing an all-round viewing device; the right one is for signaling. Since the fall of 1941, the all-round viewing device has not been installed, and its hole has been welded shut. This hole was no longer present on tanks produced in 1942.

There were two holes in the front sheet of the turret roof: on the left - for installing a periscope sight; on the right, on the longitudinal axis of the turret, covered with a cap - for ventilation. Since the end of 1941, there were two holes for sights - to the left and to the right of the fan.

On the first production tanks, there was a hole in the rear turret roof plate for inserting an antenna with welded armor. In vehicles of subsequent production, this hole was welded, but later it was simply not made, since the radio equipment, along with the antenna input, was moved from the turret niche to the bow of the hull (on the right side along the tank).

T-34 tank gun - L-11

In addition to welded ones, cast towers were produced, in which the roof and bottom of the niche were welded after preliminary mechanical treatment. The bases of the side viewing devices were cast integrally with the turret body. Otherwise, the cast tower was no different from the welded one. In 1942, a tower of the so-called “improved” shape was introduced, closer in its outline to a regular hexagon. This tower was made both cast and stamped. The front inclined wall of the turret had a rectangular cutout for mounting weapons. From the outside, the cutout was covered with an armored frontal shield, which was bolted to the turret. Two viewing slots equipped with viewing devices were cut on the side walls of the tower. In the rear wall of the niche there was a hole for attaching a device for checking the rollback and roll-up of the gun compressor. The hole was closed with a plug, which was secured with a nut from the inside of the tower.

The pumping part of the F-34 cannon of the T-34 tank

In tanks manufactured in 1943, under the viewing slots there were holes for firing from a revolver, which were closed with plugs. The roof of the tower was a flat armor plate. In the front left part of the roof there was a hole for a periscope sight. On command tanks, there was a hole in the front right side of the roof for a commander's panorama. In the middle part of the roof there were two round hatches for the entry and exit of the crew. Between them there was a removable jumper, which made it possible to remove the onboard fuel tanks through the hatches without removing the turret. At the rear of the roof there was a ventilation hatch covered with an armored cap.

Since 1943, a number of tanks had a cylindrical commander's cupola with five viewing slits with protective glass installed on the left hatch. The turret roof, which rotated on a ball bearing, had a hatch that was closed with a double-leaf lid with a hole for a viewing device in one of the doors. Tanks with a commander's cupola did not have a removable lintel in the turret roof.

Tanks T-34-76 and T-34-85 at a military parade in 1945.

The towers of all variants were driven by an electric turning mechanism or manually. When the electric drive was operating, the maximum rotation speed of the tower reached 4.2 rpm.

WEAPONS. Early T-34 tanks were equipped with a 76-mm cannon mod. 1938/39 J1-11 with a barrel length of 30.5 calibers and an initial armor-piercing projectile speed of 612 m/s. Vertical aiming - from - 5° to +25°. Practical rate of fire in a tank is 1 - 2 rounds/min. The gun had a vertical wedge semi-automatic breech with a device for disabling semi-automatic action, since in the pre-war years the GABTU leadership believed that there should not be semi-automatic equipment in tank guns (due to gas contamination in the fighting compartment). A special feature of the J1-11 gun was its original recoil devices, in which the compressor fluid was in direct contact with the air in the reel.

From February to March 1941, the T-34 was equipped with a 76-mm gun mod. 1940 F-34 with a barrel length of 41.5 calibers. Gun weight 1155 kg. The maximum rollback length is 390 mm, vertical guidance from - 5°30" to +2648". The shutter is wedge, with semi-automatic mechanical copy type. The gun's recoil devices consisted of a hydraulic recoil brake and a knurler and were located under the barrel. The cannon was fired using foot and manual mechanical triggers.

The interior of the T-34-85 tank turret with an 85 mm cannon.

The F-34 gun has been modernized twice. During the first modernization, the bolt and semi-automatic mechanism with a copier device, trigger mechanisms were changed, the compensator in the recoil brake, the safety lock for locking the bolt in a traveling manner and the bracket with a buffer were eliminated. In the second case, instead of a barrel with a free pipe, they installed a monoblock barrel with a breech, connected to the pipe using a coupling.

The tank was armed with two 7.62-mm DT machine guns, one of them was coaxial with the cannon, the other was mounted in a ball mount in the front hull. To fire from the /1-11 cannon, a TOD-6 telescopic sight and a PT- periscope panoramic sight were used. 6; from the F-34 cannon - a TOD-7 telescopic sight and a PT-7 periscopic panoramic sight, later replaced by a TMFD-7 telescopic sight and a PT-4-7 periscopic panoramic sight. In addition to the standard periscope sight, some tanks were equipped with a PT-K commander's panorama.

T-34 tanks on parade in 1945.

For firing from closed positions, since 1943, the F-34 cannon was produced with a side level mounted on a cradle. For firing from /1-11 and F-34 guns, unitary cartridges from divisional guns model 1902/30 and model 1902/30 were used. 1939 and from the regimental gun mod. 1927:

With a high-explosive long-range fragmentation grenade (steel 0f-350 and steel cast iron OF-350A) and a KTM-1 fuse;
- with a high-explosive grenade of the old Russian model (F-354) and fuses KT-3, KTM-3 or ZGT;
- with an armor-piercing tracer projectile (BR-350A, BR-350B, R-350SP) and an MD-5 fuse;
- with an armor-burning projectile (BP-353A) and a BM fuse;
- with bullet shrapnel (LU-354 and Sh-354T) and Hartz shrapnel (Sh-354G), with tubes - 22-second or T-6;
-with rod shrapnel (LU-361) and T-ZUG tube;
-with buckshot (LU-350).

View of the T-34 tank engine from the turret side

In October 1943, a unitary cartridge with a sub-caliber armor-piercing tracer projectile (BR-354P) was put into service and began to be included in the ammunition load of the T-34 tank.

In tanks produced in 1940-1942, the ammunition consisted of 77 rounds, which were placed on the floor of the fighting compartment and on its walls. 20 high (for 3 shots) and 4 low (for 2 shots) suitcases were installed on the floor of the tank - a total of 68 shells. There were 9 shots placed on the walls of the fighting compartment: on the right side - 3, in a common horizontal layout and on the left - 6, in two horizontal layouts - 3 shots each.

In tanks produced in 1942-1944 with an “improved” turret, the ammunition load consisted of 100 rounds (armor-piercing - 21, high-explosive fragmentation - 75, sub-caliber - 4). To store shots on the floor of the fighting compartment, 8 boxes for 86 shots were equipped. The remaining 14 rounds were placed as follows: 2 armor-piercing tracer rounds - in cassettes on the lid of the box in the right rear corner of the fighting compartment, 8 high-explosive fragmentation rounds - on the left side of the fighting compartment, and 4 sub-caliber rounds - in cassettes on the right side. The machine gun ammunition initially consisted of 2898 rounds (46 discs). For tanks of early production that did not have a radio station, it included 4,725 rounds of ammunition (75 discs). The T-34 with an “improved” turret carried 3,150 machine gun rounds (50 discs), one PPSh submachine gun, 4 magazines for it and 25 F-1 hand grenades.

Transmission of the T-34 tank. The starter is visible from above, clutches are visible on the sides.

The TO-34 flamethrower tanks were armed with an ATO-41 or ATO-42 piston flamethrower produced by plant No. 222, mounted in a ball mount instead of a course machine gun. The fire mixture (60% fuel oil and 40% kerosene) was fired due to the pressure of powder gases from the combustion of the charge to the 45-mm cannon cartridge. The flamethrower was reloaded and the next cartridge was supplied automatically, under the influence of the hydraulic pressure of the fire mixture. The stream of fire mixture was ignited with a gasoline torch, and the latter with an electric spark. The flamethrower could fire both single shots and automatic ones (a burst of 3-4 shots). The flamethrowing range reached 60 - 65 m. Up to 10 liters of fire mixture were consumed per shot. Tank capacity - 100 l (uATO-42 - 200 l), gas tank capacity - 2 l. The gun ammunition on flamethrower tanks remained unchanged, the machine gun ammunition was reduced to 2,750 rounds.

Transmission of the T-34 tank.

ENGINE AND TRANSMISSION. The T-34 tank was equipped with a 12-cylinder four-stroke uncompressor diesel engine V-2-34. Rated engine power - 450 hp. at 1750 rpm, operational - 400 hp. at 1700 rpm, maximum - 500 hp. at 1800 rpm. Cylinder diameter 150 mm. The piston stroke of the left group is 180 mm, the right one is 186.7 mm. The cylinders were arranged in a V-shape at an angle of 60°. Compression ratio 14-15. Dry engine weight with electric generator without exhaust manifolds 750 kg.

Fuel - diesel, grade DT or gas oil grade "E" according to OST 8842; it was supplied forcibly, using a twelve plunger fuel pump NK-1. Early production tanks had six fuel tanks with a total capacity of 460 liters and four external fuel tanks with a total capacity of 134 liters. By the end of the summer of 1943, the number of fuel tanks was increased to eight, and their capacity increased to 540 liters. Instead of four onboard ones, they began to install two rectangular stern tanks, and since 1943, two cylindrical tanks with a capacity of 90 liters on each side. Soon their number was increased to three: one on the left side, two on the right. External fuel tanks were not connected to the engine power system.

Air purifier "Multicyclone" installed in the transmission compartment of the T-34-85 tank

Lubrication system - circulation, under pressure. Oil circulation was provided by a three-section gear oil pump.

The cooling system is liquid, closed, with forced circulation. There are two tubular radiators, installed on both sides of the engine with an inclination towards it, with a total capacity of 90 - 95 liters.

To clean the air entering the engine cylinders, a Pomon type air cleaner was installed on the tank, and since 1942, two Cyclone type air cleaners.

The engine was started by an ST-700 electric starter with a power of 15 hp. or compressed air (two cylinders were located in the control compartment).

The transmission consisted of a multi-disc main dry friction clutch (steel on steel), a gearbox, final clutches, brakes and final drives.

The gearbox is three-way, four-speed (from the end of 1942 - five-speed). Onboard clutches are multi-disc, dry (steel on steel); The brakes are floating, band, with ferrodo lining. Final drives are single-stage.

Four-speed gearbox of the T-34 tank. General form

The tank's chassis, applied to one side, consisted of five double road wheels with a diameter of 830 mm. The track rollers produced by different factories differed significantly in design and appearance: cast or stamped, with rubber bands or with internal shock absorption (in the summer of 1942, STZ produced rollers without any shock absorption at all). Individual suspension, spring. The rear drive wheels had six rollers for engagement with the ridges of the track tracks. The guide wheels are cast, with a crank mechanism for tensioning the tracks. Early tanks had rubber-coated guide wheels. The tracks are steel, with cast or stamped tracks. For tanks of early production they consisted of 74 tracks (37 ridge and 37 flat) with a width of 550 mm. For vehicles produced in 1942-1943, the tracks consisted of 72 tracks with a width of 500 mm.

created on the basis of the experimental medium A-32 and put into service in December 1939. The design of this vehicle marks a qualitative leap in domestic and world tank building. For the first time, it organically combines projectile-proof armor, powerful weapons and a reliable chassis. Projectile protection is ensured not only by the use of thick rolled armor plates, but also by their rational inclination. In this case, the sheets were joined by manual welding, which was replaced by automatic welding during production. The tank was armed with a 76.2 mm L-11 cannon, which was soon replaced by the more powerful F-32 cannon, and then the F-34. Thus, in terms of armament, it corresponded to the KV-1 heavy tank.

High mobility was ensured by a powerful diesel engine and wide tracks. The high manufacturability of the design made it possible to establish its mass production using an insufficiently qualified workforce at seven different machine-building plants. During the Great Patriotic War, along with an increase in the number of vehicles produced, the task of improving their design and simplifying manufacturing technology was solved. The original welded and cast turret designs, which were difficult to manufacture, were replaced by a simpler cast hex turret. Increasing engine life was achieved by creating highly efficient air cleaners, improving the lubrication system and introducing an all-mode regulator. The replacement of the main clutch with a more advanced one and the introduction of a five-speed gearbox instead of a four-speed one contributed to an increase in the average speed. More durable tracks and cast road wheels improve the reliability of the undercarriage. Thus, the reliability of the tank as a whole was increased while the labor intensity of manufacturing was reduced. In total, more than 52 thousand T-34 tanks were produced during the war, which took part in all battles.

History of the creation of the T-34 tank

On October 13, 1937, the Kharkov Locomotive Plant named after the Comintern (plant No. 183) was issued tactical and technical requirements for the design and manufacture of a new wheeled-tracked tank BT-20. To accomplish this task, by decision of the 8th Main Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defense Industry, a special design bureau was created at the plant, subordinate directly to the chief engineer. It received the factory designation A-20. During its design, another tank was developed, almost identical to the A-20 in terms of weight and size characteristics. Its main difference was the absence of a wheel drive.

As a result, on May 4, 1938, at a meeting of the USSR Defense Committee, two projects were presented: the A-20 wheeled-tracked tank and the A-32 tracked tank. In August, both of them were considered at a meeting of the Main Military Council, were approved and were made in metal in the first half of the next year.

In terms of its technical data and appearance, the A-32 tank differed slightly from the A-20. It turned out to be 1 ton heavier (combat weight - 19 tons), had the same dimensions and the shape of the hull and turret. The power plant was similar - the V-2 diesel. The main differences were the absence of a wheel drive, armor thickness (30 mm instead of 25 mm for the A-20), a 76 mm cannon (a 45 mm was initially installed on the first model), and the presence of five road wheels on one side in the chassis.

Joint tests of both vehicles were carried out in July - August 1939 at a training ground in Kharkov and revealed the similarity of their tactical and technical characteristics, primarily dynamic ones. The maximum speed of combat vehicles on tracks was the same - 65 km/h; average speeds are also approximately equal, and the operational speeds of the A-20 tank on wheels and tracks did not differ significantly. Based on the test results, it was concluded that the A-32, which had a reserve for increasing mass, would be advisable to protect with more powerful armor, correspondingly increasing the strength of individual parts. The new tank received the designation A-34.

In October - November 1939, tests were carried out on two A-32 vehicles, loaded with 6830 kg (up to the weight of the A-34). Based on these tests, on December 19, the A-34 was adopted by the Red Army under the designation T-34. (Read also the article "T-29 Medium Tank")
Officials of the People's Commissariat of Defense almost until the very beginning did not have a strong opinion about the T-34 tank, which had already been put into service. The management of plant No. 183 did not agree with the customer’s opinion and appealed this decision to the headquarters and the People’s Commissariat, proposing to continue production and provide the army with T-34 tanks with corrections and a warranty mileage reduced to 1000 km (from 3000). K.E. Voroshilov put an end to the dispute by agreeing with the opinion of the plant. However, the main drawback noted in the report of the NIBT Polygon specialists - the crowded conditions - was never corrected.

In its original form T-34 tank produced in 1940, it was distinguished by a very high quality of processing of armor surfaces. In wartime, they had to be sacrificed for the sake of mass production of a combat vehicle. The initial production plan for 1940 provided for the production of 150 serial T-34s, but already in June this number increased to 600. Moreover, production was supposed to be launched both at Plant No. 183 and at the Stalingrad Tractor Plant (STZ). The latter was supposed to produce 100 cars. However, this plan turned out to be far from reality: by September 15, 1940, only 3 production tanks were produced at KhPZ, and the Stalingrad T-34 tanks left the factory workshops only in 1941.

The first three production vehicles in November-December 1940 were subjected to intensive testing by shooting and running along the route Kharkov - Kubinka-Smolensk-Kyiv-Kharkov. The tests were carried out by officers of the NIBT Test Site. They identified so many design flaws that they doubted the combat effectiveness of the vehicles being tested. GABTU presented a negative report. In addition to the fact that the armor plates were installed at large angles of inclination, the thickness of the armor of the T-34 tank produced in 1940 was superior to most medium-sized vehicles of that time. One of the main shortcomings was the short-barreled L-11 cannon.

Initially, the tank was equipped with a 76-mm L-11 cannon with a barrel length of 30.5 calibers, and starting in February 1941, along with the L-11, a 76-mm F-34 cannon with a barrel length of 41 calibers was installed. However, the changes affected only the armor mask of the swinging part of the gun. By the end of the summer of 1941 were produced only with the F-34 cannon, which was produced at plant No. 92 in Gorky. After the start of the Great Patriotic War, by decree of the State Defense Committee No. 1, the Krasnoye Sormovo plant (plant No. 112 of the People's Commissariat of Sustainable Industry) was connected to the production of T-34 tanks. At the same time, the Sormovichi team was allowed to install aircraft parts brought from Kharkov on their tanks.

Thus, in the fall of 1941, STZ remained the only major manufacturer of T-34 tanks. At the same time, they tried to launch the production of the maximum possible number of components in Stalingrad. Armor rolled products came from the Red October plant, armored hulls were welded at the Stalingrad Shipyard (plant No. 264), guns were supplied by the Barrikady plant. In short, an almost complete production cycle was organized in the city. However, the situation was the same in Gorky and Nizhny Tagil. It should be noted that each manufacturer made some changes and additions to the design of the vehicle in accordance with its technological capabilities, so T-34 tanks from different factories had their own characteristic appearance.

In total, during this time, 35,312 T-34 tanks were manufactured, including 1,170 flamethrower tanks.

CHASSIS AND SUSPENSION.

The T-34 tank chassis, based on the Christie system, had five pairs of large rollers with a gap between the second and third pairs. The suspension of each roller was independent and suspended perpendicularly on a coil spring inside the housing. The drive sprocket was mounted at the rear, which reduced vulnerability. The same system was used on BT series machines. The drive sprockets rotated wide cast manganese steel tracks with central guide pins located on alternating tracks. Wide tracks gave a small specific pressure on the ground, not exceeding 0.7-0.75 kg/cm 2. For British, German and American tanks, the value of this parameter was 0.95-1.0 kg/cm 2. The fenders covered the upper part of the suspension system and protruded 25 cm in the front of the hull and 10 cm in the rear. The suspension allowed the T-34 tank to maintain high speed even when moving over very rough terrain, while the wide tracks of the tank weighing 28.3 tons made it possible to move through mud and deep snow.

HULL AND RESERVATION.

The hull, designed by Nikolai Kucherenko, hung over the tracks and had sloping sides. It was welded from rolled sheets of homogeneous steel. The thickness of the hull armor at the front was 45 mm, 40 mm at the rear and 20 mm at the top. The quality of the welding was very poor, but not so bad as to allow the welds to fail. The front armor plate, 45 mm thick, mounted at an angle of 60 degrees, had no openings, with the exception of the driver's hatch and the embrasure of the ball machine gun mount. There was a periscope in the driver's hatch. Sloping armor provided excellent protection from projectiles and protective properties was equivalent to a 75 mm thick vertical armor plate. In fact, the T-34 tank was the most invulnerable in 1941. The roof of the rear part of the hull behind the turret was slightly raised, and the engine compartment louvers and exhaust pipes were placed on it. The upper rear plate and engine cover were secured with screws. If it was necessary to replace the engine or transmission, they could be removed.

ENGINE.

The engine was located in the rear of the hull and was a V-shaped four-stroke 12-cylinder liquid-cooled diesel engine, originally developed for the BT-7M tank. This version of the 3.8 liter engine was upgraded for the T-34. At 1800 rpm it developed power of 493 hp. The power/weight ratio was 18.8 hp. per ton, which allowed the T-34 tank to reach a speed of 54 km/h on the highway and 25 km/h over rough terrain, depending on its nature, with an average fuel consumption of 1.84 l/km. When driving on the highway, this parameter improved significantly. The V-2 engine also made it possible to significantly increase the cruising range of the T-34 (up to 464 km) compared to tanks that had conventional gasoline internal combustion engines. The main fuel tank was located inside the hull, four cylindrical auxiliary tanks were on the sides and two smaller tanks were at the stern. The transmission was located in the rear of the hull and did not clutter up the fighting compartment and control compartment. At the beginning of the war, the transmission was unreliable, so some crews carried spare transmissions, tying them to the engine compartment with cables.

TOWER.

All models of the T-34 tank had a low turret. Although the low silhouette of the turret was useful in combat, it limited the deflection of the main and secondary armament barrels, especially on a reverse slope or when firing at short range. In addition, it was cramped inside the tower. From the control room one could immediately get into the tower. On later models, handrails for landing began to be welded to the turret and hull.

DRIVER AND CONTROLS.

The control area was separated from the engine compartment by a partition. The driver's workplace was located on the left side of the hull. It was equipped with a large hatch mounted on hinges. The hatch had a periscope for observation. The driver controlled the tank using a system with an onboard clutch and brake. The system was controlled by two control levers and a gear shift lever, as well as clutch pedals and a foot brake. The levers were connected to the transmission in the stern using metal rods running along the bottom of the gunk. To control the T-34 tank, it was necessary to exert more physical effort than to control Western-made vehicles, on which the transmission and gearbox were located next to each other. Driver mechanics of T-34 tanks often had to use a wooden hammer if the levers jammed. Four-speed gearbox at 100 latest tanks The T-34 model of 1943 was replaced by a five-speed one. As a result, it became easier to change gears and increase the speed of the tank. The floor contained the fuel injection, clutch and brake pedals. There was a pedal in the bottom (often called a “landing pedal”) that made it possible to stop the tank. There were also two compressed air cylinders for starting the engine at low temperatures.

SHOOTER-RADIOIST.

The radio operator's workplace was located on the right in front of the hull. The hatch for leaving the vehicle was located in the bottom directly in front of the radio operator. The gunner-radio operator's armament consisted of a 7.62-mm Degtyarev tank machine gun in a ball mount with a horizontal aiming angle of 24 degrees and vertical aiming from -6 to +12 degrees. Machine guns mounted on tanks of the 1942 model were equipped with an armored mask. Despite the fact that at the beginning of the war there were no radio stations on most T-34 tanks and, due to an acute shortage of personnel, the radio operator’s position was empty, the number of tanks equipped with radios was constantly growing. In 1941, the vehicles of tank company commanders were equipped with the 71-TK-Z radio station. Efforts were made to equip platoon commanders' tanks with radios. During the first two years of the war, 71-TK-1 radios were also used. The situation improved when, at the end of 1942, the mass use of 9-P radio stations began. Although the range of these radios was 24 km, when moving they were effective at a distance of 8 km.

The Germans, who paid increased attention to providing crews with stable radio communications, noted the low quality of tactical interaction between Soviet vehicles. Due to the lack of radio communications, the Russians had to rely on flag signals. There was even a special hole in the tower hatch for giving signals using flags. In practice, this was very inconvenient - the platoon commander was too busy controlling his own tank and shooting. Often he simply gave the command to other crews to follow him. The situation improved as radio production increased, and by the summer of 1943, 75-80 percent of all vehicles were equipped with them. Internal communication between crew members was carried out using the TUP system. Tank helmets were equipped with headphones and throat microphones.

TANK COMMANDER AND LOADER.

The main drawback of all T-34 tanks was the poor ergonomics of the turret. There were three people in the turrets of the German vehicles: a gunner, a loader, and a tank commander, who was responsible for observing the terrain, managing the crew, and coordinating actions with the rest of the unit’s tanks. A completely different situation took place in the cramped, two-person turrets of the T-34. The commander had the same tasks as the German, in addition, he had to fire the cannon. This in itself is a serious matter, which distracted the commander from fulfilling his command duties. Loading also took a long time. Despite this, the Soviet command conducted a short and unsuccessful experiment, placing the responsibility for loading the gun instead of firing on the tank commander. The crew members who were on duty in the turret sat on seats hanging from the turret shoulder strap. The commander sat to the left of the gun, and the loader, who was also supposed to fire from the machine gun coaxial with the gun, to the right.

The quality of the optical equipment of the T-34 tank was inferior to the quality of the equipment of German tanks. The main 2.5x telescopic sight TOD-6, which was installed on the first T-34 models, was later replaced by the TMFD sight. Tanks that went into battle straight from the assembly line of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant in the fall of 1942 often did not have sights at all. They could only fire directly. Aiming was carried out by the loader directly through the barrel. To observe the surrounding area, the commander and loader used a PT-6 periscope. Later, periscopes PT-4-7 and PT-5 began to be used. Due to war-related shortages, periscopes were often not installed for loaders. The periscope's field of view was very narrow, and it could not be increased by holes in the armor made at the level of the commander's and loader's shoulders. Under the observation holes there were embrasures for firing a pistol, another embrasure. On later T-34 models these embrasures were absent.

Many German crew commanders preferred to fight with their heads out of the hatch. This provided them with a 360 degree view. If the T-34 commander tried to do this, the large forward-opening hatch would almost completely block his view. He would have to sit directly on the turret, not only risking coming under enemy fire, but also being hit by a very heavy hatch. The size of the hatch was such that, when opened, it also revealed the loader. T-34 tanks Model 1943 had separate hatches for the commander and loader, but only the latest models were equipped with surveillance devices that provided a 360-degree view. The tower itself was originally made of rolled sheets with a cannon in a cast cradle. On the 1941 model, the cast cradle was replaced with a bolted corner cradle. In 1942, a cast turret with an armor thickness of 52 mm was adopted for service, although it was no different from a turret made of rolled sheets.

MAIN WEAPONS

The first T-34 tanks of the 1940 model were armed with a short 76.2 mm L-11 gun of the 1938 model with a barrel length of 30.5 calibers. In 1941, a very small number of T-34s were armed with the 57mm long-barreled high-power ZIS-4 cannon, designed to engage lightly armored targets at long ranges. The greater power of the gun compensated for the reduction in caliber. But the L-11 remained the standard gun for the T-34 model of 1940.

However, the engineers had a more successful gun, although there were bureaucratic difficulties in installing it. The OKB of Plant No. 92, headed by designer V. Grabin, developed a new 76.2 mm F-32 cannon. It was installed on new heavy KV tanks. When firing at armored targets, due to the longer barrel, the gun showed much better results compared to the L-11, which was equipped with the T-34 tanks of the 1940 model. By the end of 1940, an employee of the V. Grabin Design Bureau, P. Muravyov, adapted the F-32 cannon for installation on the T-34 and on its basis developed a new cannon (F-34 with a barrel length of 42 calibers), significantly superior to the L-11. On their own initiative, V. Grabin and the director of plant No. 92, A. Elyan, began production of the F-34 along with the L-11 and sent both guns to the Kharkov plant, which was engaged in the production of T-34 tanks.

Tanks of this model (T-34 model 1941) were mainly used as tanks for platoon and company commanders and after the start of the German invasion they performed very well in battles, thanks to their increased firepower. Stalin became aware of this from reports of war correspondents from the front line. Units fighting on the front line required more tanks equipped with the effective F-34 gun than the L-11, so in the summer of 1941 the State Defense Committee finally approved the F-34 gun as standard for the T-34 tank. The F-34 had a conventional semi-automatic breech. The commander could fire either manually or using a pedal; he was responsible for the horizontal rotation of the tower manually or using an electric drive. When fired from the F-34, these shells penetrated the armor of the German PzKpfw III and IV (the thickness of the frontal armor was 50 mm) from almost any distance.

F-34 gave T-34 such an advantage in range and destructive power that the Germans resisted the T-34 tank with great difficulty. The PzKpfw IV with frontal armor 80 mm thick was adopted only in the spring of 1943. The Red Army continued to remain in a leading position - the BR-350P armor-piercing projectile was adopted. It penetrated 92 mm armor when fired from a distance of 500 m - approximately the same distance as firing in a tank battle. However, the appearance at the front in 1943 of new German vehicles, specially designed to combat the T-34, radically changed the situation. When firing from a normal distance, the F-34 could not penetrate the frontal armor of the Tigers and Panthers. During the Battle of Kursk in July 1943, T-34 tanks were forced to approach German tanks within direct fire range or maneuver in such a way as to reach their flank or rear. The problem was solved when the 85-mm gun was adopted at the end of 1943. Initially, the T-34's ammunition capacity was 77 rounds. On the T-34 model 1943 it was increased to 100 rounds. The standard ammunition consisted of 19 BR-350AAP rounds, 53 F-354 or OF-350XE rounds and 5 SH-350 rounds.

ADDITIONAL WEAPONS.

The first 115 T-34 tanks of the 1940 model were armed with a DT machine gun in the rear of the turret for rearward firing. The 1928 model machine gun had an effective firing range of 800 m and a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute. To avoid jamming and overheating, the rate of fire was reduced to 125 rounds per minute. The machine gun had a retractable metal butt, a wooden pistol grip and a separate optical sight instead of the diopter mounted on the infantry machine gun. The disk-type magazine contained 60 cartridges, placed in two rows. In total, the ammunition load contained 35 disks, one half of which was stored in racks on the rear wall of the turret, and the other in the front part of the hull next to the radio operator’s position.

NEW HEXAGONAL TOWER.

Deputy People's Commissar of Defense and Head of the Main Artillery Directorate G.I. Kulik did not like the T-34 tank, so he insisted on making various changes. As a result, production of T-34 tanks was interrupted in the early stages, and the Council of People's Commissars ordered the development of a program to improve the T-34. The improved vehicle received the designation T-34M. The project was terminated. Morozov developed a new turret for the T-34M, taking into account the shortcomings identified during the combat use of early model vehicles. For example, German infantrymen from anti-tank teams climbed from the stern to combat vehicle and installed a disk anti-tank mine under the turret ledge. In addition, the ledge formed a trap, from which incoming shells bounced directly into the vulnerable turret ring. The new cast hexagonal turret developed by Morozov was first installed on the T-34 tank of the 1943 model. It was devoid of many shortcomings: it had no protrusion, was much simpler to manufacture and larger than the towers of earlier models. Consequently, there was slightly more space in the turret for the crew. However, the problem of a small and overworked crew was finally solved only with the appearance of the three-seat turret of the T-34/85 tank, production of which began in the winter of 1943.

						Engine	Speed
T-34 mod. 1941
T-34 mod. 1943
T-34-85 mod. 1945

Use of T-34 tanks.

T-34-76 tanks were in service with tank units of the Red Army throughout the Great Patriotic War and took part in almost all combat operations, including the storming of Berlin. In addition to the Red Army, the T-34 was in service with the Polish Army, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia and the Czechoslovak Corps, which fought against Nazi Germany. It is a reliably known fact that only the 8th Tank Division at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War was equipped with crews trained to operate on the T-34. As for the rest, all the "thirty-fours" received by June 22 were in storage, the tankers studied on the T-26. Naturally, this state of affairs could not but have a detrimental effect on the actions of the mechanized corps in the first weeks of the war. The first to enter into battle with the Nazis were the thirty-four troops of the 5th Tank Division of the 3rd Mechanized Corps, stationed in the Lithuanian city of Alytus. This was the only unit in the district that had a. However, not a single vehicle was in operation before the start of the war; all thirty-fours were put into storage in the park. Naturally, due to lack of experience, during the first battles, some of the T-34s were lost due to technical breakdowns and illiterate operation. In addition to T-34 tanks, the division had BT-7, T-26 and badly worn T-28. The division had well-trained crews, since it was based on a regular tank brigade of the Red Army. The division's shortcomings include poor reconnaissance organization and lack of communications and evacuation means.

As early as June 19, units of the division were withdrawn from the military camp and concentrated on the right bank of the Neman (the eastern outskirts of Alytus). Here the units began digging dugouts and trenches; the materiel was carefully camouflaged. On June 22 at 4:20 am, German aircraft bombed combat parks, barracks and the airfield. However, the losses of the 5th Panzer Division were small. After the raid, the division commander, Colonel Fedorov, gave the order to bring all vehicles into the operational space. The colonel's contact with army headquarters was lost, and no orders were received. In the afternoon, the 7th Panzer Division approached Alytus. At the same time, German aircraft attacked the location of units of the 5th Panzer Division.

On the approaches to the bridges, German tanks were met by an advance detachment. The preparation of the bridges across the Neman for an explosion was carried out by the 4th Engineer Regiment, but for unknown reasons, on the night of June 21-22, by order of representatives of the district headquarters, they were cleared. Therefore, it was not possible to blow up the bridges, and the German tanks crossed to the right bank of the Neman. Here they were met by units of the 9th and 10th tank regiments of the 5th tank division, hastily advanced to this area. Due to inconsistencies in actions and poor reconnaissance, units of tank regiments entered the battle area uncoordinated. The first to reach the bridges was the 2nd battalion of the 9th tank regiment, senior lieutenant Verzhbitsky (T-34-76 tanks), which attacked the crossing units of the 20th tank division. A little later, the attack of the 2nd battalion was supported by the 1st battalion - 24 T-28 tanks. Due to the fact that these vehicles were very worn out and had virtually no engine life, they were used for firing from a spot.

Thanks to the successful actions of the 9th Tank Regiment of the 5th Tank Division, the German movement across the north bridge was stopped. During this battle, the crew of the T-34-76 tank, Sergeant Makogon, knocked out 6 enemy tanks. However, their losses were also significant: out of 24 T-28s - 16, out of 44 T-34s - 27 (almost half due to technical breakdowns), out of 45 BT-7s - 30 were lost. At the same time, the vehicles of the 7th The Wehrmacht tank division managed to break through the southern bridge, which was covered by the 5th motorized rifle and 10th tank regiments. During the oncoming tank battle, it was not possible to stop the German offensive. The 5th Panzer Division suffered heavy losses, there was not enough fuel and ammunition, communication between the units was disrupted, and at night they began to retreat to Vilnius in disarray. The oncoming battle near Alytus on June 22, 1941 was the first tank clash of the Great Patriotic War. And the first test of the strength of the T-34 tank, which later became legendary.

Performance characteristics

	T-34 model 1940	T-34 model 1941 (cast tower)	T-34 model 1942 (cast tower)	T-34 model 1943	T-34-85 sample 1944
Crew
Dimensions (mm):
length
width
height
Armor (mm):
forehead of the tower
gun mask
turret side
rear of the tower
tower roof
forehead of the body
hull side
rear of the hull
body roof
bottom
Engine:	V-2-34 500 l. With.	V-2-34 500 hp	V-2-34 500 l. With.	V-2-34 500 l. With.	V-2-34 500 l. With
Speed ​​max, (km/h)
Ground pressure (kg/cm2)
Cruising range (km):
along the highway
on the ground
Fuel capacity (l):
in internal tanks
in additional tanks
A gun					85 mm ZiS S-53
Ammunition
Armor-piercing projectile

All variants of the T-34 tank

Since the T-34 tank was produced at different enterprises, there were differences between the manufactured models and samples. In August 1939, the Main Military Council adopted the T-34 as the main medium battle tank of the Red Army. New project was completed during December 1939 and became known as the T-34 tank of the 1940 model. December 19, 1939 drawings and models of the new T-34 were presented to the High Command, which recommended the new tank for production, despite the fact that a prototype had not yet been manufactured.

DIESEL ENGINES.

The first production samples of T-34 tanks were equipped with V-2 diesel engines, but due to their shortage, the old M-17 gasoline engine began to be installed on the tanks. The T-34 tank experienced such problems with the transmission that the tanks often went into battle with spare transmission parts bolted to the power compartment cover with steel cables. T-34 Model 1940 had a turret made of rolled armor plate and a short-barreled 76.2-mm L-11 gun, Model 1938. The gun was installed in a cast cradle, which was welded to the casing. The T-34 model of 1940 became the standard model for all variants of the tank. They had interchangeable elements, including the engine, weapons, transmission and periscopes. The designers' main concern was simplicity of design. The tank had a welded hull made of rolled steel sheets. The designers used a Christie suspension with five large twin steel rollers on each side and a large gap between the second and third pairs. The drive wheel, located on the stern side for safety reasons, was a gear drum used on BT series tanks. It drove cast manganese steel tracks with central guide pins located on alternating tracks. First T-34 models had a turret with a noticeable protrusion and a massive hatch occupying the entire rear of the turret. The T-34 tank of the 1940 model was equipped with one periscope located in the front left. At the end of 1941, a small number of tanks were produced equipped with a long-barreled 57 mm ZIS-4 cannon, designed to engage lightly armored targets at greater distances than the 76.2 mm L-11 cannon.

T-34 MODEL 1941.

The second model of the T-34 appeared in 1941. Essentially, it was a command tank of the 1940 model with a turret made of rolled armor plate, equipped with a more powerful 76.2-mm L/41.5 cannon of the 1940 model. The turret retained the same bulky hatch, but some versions of the tank had two observation devices. The hull design remained the same, but a box for property was now installed on the right fender. The most notable feature of the T-34 tanks of the 1941 model was the replacement of the cast cradle with a corner one, which was secured with bolts. In 1942, tanks with a cast turret and new, wider tracks appeared. Some tanks were equipped with flamethrowers (ATO-41) and armored gas tanks mounted on the stern.

T-34 MODEL 1942.

In 1942, a cast turret (as opposed to a rolled sheet turret) became standard. The new turret weighed 4.4 tons with a ring diameter of 1.38 m. The tank had various improvements made taking into account the experience of combat use. The tank commander and gunner now each had a separate hatch. In addition, a new hull-mounted 7.62 mm DT machine gun was installed, which was more effective in close combat. At the beginning of 1942, designers developed a new model of the T-34 - the T-34M. It had a chassis similar to that of the KV heavy tank (but with smaller diameter rollers), and was completely new uniform hulls and towers. However, this tank was not accepted for production. The only element of its design that was used for the next model, the T-34/76 model of 1943, was the hexagonal turret. As mentioned above, the T-34 tank of 1943 was designed taking into account information from the battlefield, which stated that one of the shortcomings of the T-34 was the turret protrusion overhanging the rear of the hull. This made the tank vulnerable to German anti-tank infantry who would climb onto the tank and place flat mines under the turret ledge. A new cast hexagonal turret without a projection appeared on the T-34 of the 1943 model. The new model had other innovations, including increased fuel capacity and weldable armor plate components.

TANK T-34/76E.

Subsequent models of the T-34/76 are better known in the West by their British classification.

Models E and G were produced in 1943. The hull and turret of the T-34/76 remained the same, but the tank received new, more efficient systems air purification and lubrication. The hull design was improved by using an automated welding technique for higher quality materials, which produced higher quality joints. Model E clearly demonstrated the success of Soviet industry. It became clear that each new T-34 model would be stronger and better armed.

TANK-34/76F.

Model F had a different appearance from other T-34 models, in particular the commander's panorama. The main differences were, however, inside the tank the T-34/76F received an improved and more efficient chassis. The old four-speed gearbox has been replaced with a five-speed one. It became easier to change gears, the speed of the tank increased. Improved air filters were used. The mechanical part of the T-34/76F was significantly different from the earlier T-34 models. However, a small number of tanks of this model were produced, as the situation began to change dramatically. In 1943, it became obvious that the 76.2 mm gun installed on the T-34 tank did not meet the requirements of the time. The model received many improvements, including more powerful armor, but the weapons remained insufficient. The appearance of German tanks equipped with long-barreled 75-mm and 88-mm cannons with high muzzle velocity finally confirmed that the T-34 should receive more powerful weapons. The result was the appearance of the T-34/85 tank.

TANK T-34/85-1.

Developed in 1943, the T-34/85 was a rearmed T-34 tank with an 85 mm cannon. The tank had a new turret, originally developed for the KV-85 tank with a ring diameter of 1.56 m. The enlarged turret provided space for one more crew member, and the tank commander was able to concentrate on performing his immediate duties, without being distracted by gunfire . The first T-34/85-1 were sent to the elite guards tank units. The new guns quickly proved their usefulness. They were developed on the basis of the pre-war 85-mm M1939 anti-aircraft gun, had an effective firing range of 1000 m and were said to be able to penetrate frontal armor tanks "Tiger" and "Panther".

The most famous tank created in the USSR. According to popular opinion, it is the leader in the “Best Tanks of World War II” category. Direct descendant of BT light tanks. The prototype of the T-34 was experimental lungs tanks - wheeled-tracked A-20 and tracked A-32. In the summer of 1939, comparative tests of the A-20 and A-34 vehicles were carried out at the Kharkov training ground, during which the similarity of their performance characteristics was revealed. Both tanks showed approximately equal speed on the tracks. After passing the tests, it was decided to build a new tank, with the index A-34, based on the A-32 prototype.

Birth of the T-34.

During February-March 1940, two T-34 prototypes made the transition from Kharkov to Moscow under their own power. Chief designer M. Koshkin and designer Alexander Aleksadrovich Morozov took direct part in the run. Seriously ill, Koshkin himself sat down at the levers of the T-34 more than once. The disease progressed and on September 26, 1940 M. Koshkin died. He was posthumously awarded the State Prize for his contribution to the creation of the T-34.

On March 17, 1940, the T-34, among other types of military equipment, was presented to the leadership of the state and army. The tanks generally made a favorable impression, and it was decided to begin production of new vehicles at KhPZ No. 183. The target of 150 vehicles, initially set, was soon quadrupled. But due to production difficulties, only 115 medium tanks could be produced until 1941. In the forties, the cost of the T-34 was 429,596 rubles according to KhPZ reports and 510,000 rubles according to the People's Commissariat of Medium Engineering.

Start of production.

In the winter of 1940, three production T-34s went on a Kharkov-Kubinka-Smolensk run to identify design flaws. The officers of the BT Research Institute who carried out the tests found so many shortcomings that the report they submitted was not left to the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense Marshal G.K. Kulik has no choice but to give the order to stop the production and acceptance of the T-34. In return, it was decided to speed up the development of a new medium tank, the A-43, with torsion bar suspension and improved armor.

Head of ABTU Ya. Fedorov, with whom G.K. agreed. Kulik proposed to leave the BT-7M in production and speed up work on the T-50. The management of the Kharkov plant did not agree with such an unforestable assessment and the proposal to put an end to their brainchild and insisted on continuing production, proposing to temporarily reduce the warranty mileage of the car, which was supposed to be a thousand kilometers, by three times. The dispute was stopped by Voroshilov, who, although at that time he lost the high position of People's Commissar, but as a member of the Politburo of the Central Committee and as an old Bolshevik, he did not lose his influence, both on Stalin and on the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars, Molotov. It was his recommendation that allowed the continuation of production of the T-34 until it was replaced in production by the T-43M.

Less than six months later, the Second World War showed the correctness of this decision. T-34, the production of which was launched in Stalingrad and Kharkov, allowed a short time organize their production at enterprises in rear areas during the war. From the moment it was put into production until the start of the war, the new T-34 was manufactured in quantities of about 1,225 units. With the beginning of the mobilization of industry, the Gorky plant "Krasnoye Sormovo" (factory No. 112) joined the production of the tank.

Machine evaluation.

In accordance with the states of 1940, the “thirty-four” were to be included in all newly organized mechanized corps. Each of the two tank divisions of the mechanized corps was supposed to include 375 tanks, of which 210 were medium tanks. Each mechanized division had 275 tanks, of which seventeen T-34s. The rest are light tanks T-26 and BT, another 63 were included in the tank divisions heavy tanks KV. It follows from this that just to replenish equipment, according to the staff, the thirty newly formed corps required not much more than 8,760 medium tanks of a new design.

Serious shortcomings of the T-34 tank, identified even in pre-war times, included poor visibility and the commander’s workload, which did not allow him to control the tank throughout the battle. Crew constraint, structural “dampness” of components and assemblies. But let’s be fair, it took the Germans much more time to fine-tune the design. Tanks that took comparable time to fine-tune did not differ in design reliability or design completeness. In the autumn of '41, in conditions of extreme shortage of V-2 engines, some T-34s were equipped with an M-17 carburetor engine. Although the T-34 lost somewhat in average speed. Several dozen vehicles were equipped with a 57-mm cannon instead of the standard gun. These tanks served as part of the twenty-first tank brigade, which took part in the defense of Moscow throughout the autumn of forty-one.

The decision is quite controversial, since the fragmentation effect of a three-inch projectile was much higher than that of a fifty-seven millimeter one. The quality of the 57-mm shells was poor, and the BS of the standard T-34 gun turned out to be quite sufficient for German combat vehicles. The issue of equipping the T-34 with a 57-mm cannon quickly lost relevance, since the production of such guns was soon discontinued.

The high cost of the machine, during the forty-first year, was reduced by approximately half, to 249,256 rubles. The vast majority of T-34s produced in 1940 were lost in the battles of 1941. Whereas the tanks produced during the forty-first and forty-second years were used for quite a long time. For the longest time, on the Leningrad Front, the T-34s there took part in the Vyborg offensive in about forty-four. During the forty-second year, the industry produced 12,527 vehicles for the front. At the same time, the cost was further reduced:

KhPZ(No. 183)	"Krasnoe Sormovo"	UZTM	№173
165 810	209 700	273 800	312 700

Mainly, the cost of the T-34 was reduced by simplifying the machine in production. In the forty-first year alone, several thousand improvements were made to simplify the design and production technology. In addition, we should not forget about the widespread use of low-skilled labor in the production process.

Layout of the T-34 tank produced in 1940-41.

Layout of the T-34 tank produced in 1942.

Diagram of the T-34 tank produced in 1941, plant No. 183.

Diagram of the T-34 tank produced in 1942, plant No. 183.

Diagram of the T-34 tank, 1942, plant No. 183, hexagonal turret.

Interesting fact. In 1942, GABTU refused to pay for T-34s manufactured by the Krasnoye Sormovo plant, due to a high percentage of defects. To resolve the conflict, the plant management had to turn directly to L. Beria. In general, even I. Stalin gave an objective assessment of the products of this plant as “Sormovo freaks.”

The T-34, which was produced in 1942, differed from the vehicles of previous years of production, not only in appearance. Which is due to the production conditions: production unfolded under conditions of evacuation, when enterprises began to work literally in the open air; the overwhelming majority of employed workers were women and children - unskilled workers: approximately 50% were women, 15% were old people and 15% were children; the technologies necessary for production were not implemented.

All this determined a decrease in the combat qualities of vehicles produced in 1942-43. Often the weight of the T-34 was higher than the nameplate, and the engines developed much less power. Tanks weighing 31-32 tons, with an engine power of 320-360 hp, came off the assembly line. Whereas according to the passport it was supposed to have a weight of 28.5 tons and an engine of five hundred horsepower. As a result, T-34 tanks developed a speed on the highway of about thirty-five kilometers per hour instead of the required fifty. The checkpoint added to the problems. Often T-34 tanks could only move in second or fourth gear; in the rest the engine simply stalled. The time between overhauls has decreased.

However, the statement that the T-34 tank was bad is not true. Not one of the tanks of the Second World War was without shortcomings. The point is this. If some nations could produce armored vehicles in practically peaceful, or even peaceful conditions, then the USSR launched production under evacuation conditions. And therefore he was in the worst conditions among the states participating in the Second World War.

For example, even the German tank industry, not to mention the Allies, was in much more advantageous conditions. Prague, where tanks and self-propelled guns were produced for the German army, was not bombed at all, and the last products left the workshops already in 1945 during the Prague Uprising.

Therefore, military acceptance officers could not pursue a strict policy of rejecting T-34s that did not meet the passport specifications. The front required tanks, and such actions could only help the enemy. In 1942, the question of the very existence of the state seriously arose, and therefore there was not much choice.

Performance characteristics of the T-34 tank.

	T-34-76 release 1941	T-34-76 release 1942	T-34-76 release 1943
Combat weight, i.e.	28,12	28,12	28,2 - 30,9
Crew, people	4	4	4
Main dimensions: Length with gun forward, mm	5920	5920	5920
Width, mm	3000	3000	3000
Height, mm	2400	2400	2520
Ground clearance, mm	400	400	400
Gun, type, caliber, mm	F-34, 76mm	F-34, 76mm	F-34, 76mm
Ammunition of shells, things	77	77	100
Machine gun, quantity, type, caliber, mm	DT, 2 x 7.62	DT, 2 x 7.62	DT, 2 x 7.62
Ammunition load, pcs. (with walkie-talkie/without walkie-talkie)	2646/2394	2646/2394	3600
Reservations: Upper frontal sheet, mm/deg	45/60	45/60
Lower frontal sheet, mm/deg	45/53	45/53
Liner, mm/deg.	40/40	45/40
Board, mm/deg	45/0	45/0
Turret front, mm/deg	45 (52 cast)	52
Tower side, mm/deg	45 (52 cast)	52
Maximum speed highway, km/h	55	55
Cruising range, km (highway/country road)	300/250	300/250
Climbability, degrees	30	30
Roll, deg.	25	25
Wall, m	0,75	0,75
Brod, m	1,3	1,3
Engine, type, brand	Diesel, V-2-34	Diesel, V-2-34
Power, l/s	500	500
Fuel tank capacity, l (internal/external)	460/134	540/270
Change box re- dacha, type	Mechanics cheskaya four- step- melting	Mechanics cheskaya four- step- melting
Number of gears, forward/ back	4/1	4/1 or 5/1
Rotation mechanism, type	Onboard friction they	Onboard friction they
Radio station	71-TK-Z	71-TK-Z or 9P

T-34 tank production diagram

T-34 tank armor scheme

On the T-34, produced in 1942, turrets were installed different shapes. If at first, the turrets of the first tanks differed slightly from the turrets produced in 1941, then by the end of the year the T-34 received a cast turret.

The statement that the T-34 used almost boiler steel instead of armor steel is not true. The truth is that due to a shortage of armor, a number of vehicles had non-standard armor parts in their armored hull structure. In some cases, T-34s had two, and sometimes three types of rollers. The quality of the armor decreased somewhat due to the loss of nickel and manganese deposits, which were located in occupied Ukraine. But soon the quality of the armor was improved to acceptable, thanks to supplies from the Arctic. In addition, Lend-Lease supplies of copper, aluminum, nickel and other materials that were in constant shortage helped correct the situation.

Production centers.

In total, during 1940-44. industry produced 350,312 T-34s with a 76-mm cannon. Of these, 1170 tanks are armed with a flamethrower. Price fluctuations in the forty-third year ranged from 136 to 141 thousand rubles at plant No. 183 and up to 210,700 rubles. at plant No. 174. The T-34 tank with a 76-mm cannon was produced at the following factories:

• Kharkov plant (evacuated to Nizhny Tagil, retained the number and received the name UTZ named after Comintern);
• "Krasnoe Sormovo", plant No. 112 in Gorky;
• UZTM, in the city of Sverdlovsk;
• Stalingrad tractor (until the end of 04.1942);

Conclusion.

T-34 tanks produced in 1942 - 1943 were part of tank units until the end of the war and took part in offensive operations of that period. In 1945, some of these tanks were transferred to the Far East and Transbaikalia. There, T-34s took part in the Manzhur operation. Tanks of this modification were finally withdrawn from the states in the late forties.

Description of the design of the T-34 tank.

Cases.

Kharkov buildings. The armored hull of the T-34 tank underwent many changes throughout production. The armor for the hull came from Mariupol. The edges of the armor plates were connected to each other “in a quarter”, which ensured a tight connection. The welding, exclusively done by hand, caused a lot of criticism in terms of its quality, but from the looks of it, it looked pretty good. If we take the appearance of the first experimental series armored hull as a point of reference, then changes to the design were made in May 1940.

Initially, the production technology consisted of the following cycle - tempering of the armor plate, heat treatment prior to sheet bending, end processing, surface grinding, stamping, hardening. A rather complicated process that resulted in a lot of defects. To simplify, Mariupol engineers recommended dividing the front sheet into two sheets, connecting them with a beam. The beam was made by stamping from armor plate. And this led to an increase in the weight of the T-34 tank by one hundred kilograms.

The deep stamping above the mechanical drive hatch was, in some cases, replaced with a separate part and welded to the front plate. Welded joints completely replaced the riveted ones at the end of the summer of 1940. This type of armored hull was produced throughout the production period before the evacuation, and was the standard for other factories.

Stalingrad corps. Initially, the armored hulls were assembled from the same parts as the Kharkov-made hulls. However, there were still differences. So the blinds on the top covers of the MO were replaced with grilles that were simpler in design. The second innovation was the towbar, first without a cable lock, then with a lock. The hook was first secured with rivets and then by welding.

The stamping above the hatch was significantly reduced. One of the three observation devices was removed, and the remaining two were directed forward. To reduce the sharply increased dead zone, an all-round viewing device was added to the driver.

After the Mariupol plant went into evacuation, plant No. 264 became the main contractor for the production of armored hulls. The technical equipment of the plant (Stalingrad Shipyard) did not allow cutting armor plates in the required quantity using Mariupol technology. To correct the situation, it was necessary to introduce a “spike” connection of armor plates. The “quarter” connection remained only when connecting the BO roof to the front sheet.

The transmission compartment hatch of the T-34 tank is only cast. Externally, such hatches differed only in that they were slightly higher and wider, although the dimensions of the hatch cutout remained the same. The mechanical drive hatch has changed slightly, the cutout for surveillance devices has become flatter. The “horseshoe” of the ball installation was replaced with a ring.

At the next stage of changes, they abandoned the tenon connection of the hull roof with the side sheets. This type of armored hull is found on later T-34 tanks. This type of body is characterized by fastening the armor protection of the exhaust pipes with eight bolts, and not seven as before.

Sormovo buildings. Production of armored hulls at Krasnoye Sormovo from assembly from Kharkov components. The early Sormovo buildings are outwardly indistinguishable from the Kharkov ones. Since the beginning of the development of production of T-34 armored hulls, work has begun to adapt the technology to local conditions. This approach found understanding on the part of the management and the corresponding resolution of the People's Commissariat of Defense gave the plant a free hand in this direction. The plant was allowed to make any changes to the specifications and drawings, provided that nodal compatibility was not violated.

However, in October, only twenty T-34 tanks left the workshop. These vehicles were equipped with M-17 carburetor engines; whether they differed in appearance from diesel tanks is unknown. All vehicles had early-type hulls; components for them were supplied by related factories.

The first differences were akin to the differences in the Stalingrad-type armored hulls, although not similar. The most noticeable difference is the round transmission access hatch and the straight bottom sheet of the stern. The large loops of the upper stern, which overlapped the lower sheet, are the most striking difference between the Sormovo T-34 tanks. These loops were placed in a small cutout, the geometric dimensions of which were not constant, and sometimes this cutout was completely absent.

Unlike their Stalingrad colleagues, the Sormovo team used a characteristic triangular-shaped connection to connect the BO roof with the upper frontal sheet, as well as the lower frontal sheet with the bottom. Also, a protrusion protecting the observation device mounted on the front sheet had a characteristic triangular shape. The mesh covering the blinds was secured using three loops. A towing device was developed and installed on serial T-34 tanks for towing an artillery gun behind the tank. This was a purely Sormovo innovation.

At the next stage, we abandoned the stamping of the mechanical drive above the hatch, as well as the third observation device. Also at this time, an armored machine gun mask appeared. After working out a new method of installing the gun, it became possible to abandon the rear hatch in the turret. Another characteristic feature was the many metal strips welded to the hull, which, according to the designers, served to prevent projectile fragments from jamming the components of the T-34 tank. As well as many different handrail brackets.

In 1943, a fundamental decision was made to unify the T-34 hulls. Deliveries of cut from the Urals began and tank hulls from various factories became more similar to each other. The round hatch in the stern was increased in diameter and moved to the right. After mastering automatic welding in the production of T-34 armored hulls, they abandoned finger joint sheets.

Ural buildings. Having gone through several stages of evolution, Nizhny Tagil launched the production of a new type of armored hulls. The main credit for this goes to the introduction of automatic welding, namely the Paton Institute, which was evacuated to UVZ. The use of automatic welding, for which straight long seams are preferred, led to the abandonment of finger joints between armored parts, with the exception of the front of the hull with the sides of the tank.

UZTM joined the production of armored hulls in the spring of 1942. In the initial period, some of the cases were made using simplified technology, which was associated with technological problems. In the summer of this year, the task became significantly more complicated - the plant was required to launch the entire production of the T-34. Also, during this period, the Chelyabinsk plant joined the medium tank production program.

Design documentation for the T-34 tank was delivered to both plants from Novy Tagil, while to Omsk from both Nizhny Tagil and Sverdlovsk. As a consequence of all this, and the fact that UZTM (and not the only one) sent components to other factories, the armored hulls of these factories did not have well-recognized features, unlike the previous ones.

Only a few external features are known. For example, the handrails of the “prefabricated structure” of Chelyabinsk tanks, similar to those installed on the KV. But the same handrails are sometimes found on cars produced by other factories, with the exception of Omsk. The mesh of the blinds, in addition to stamping, was produced bent, which is more typical for UZTM.

It is known for sure that ChKZ from 10.10.42. began installing the mounting bracket for the tank stove on 10/22/42. handrails for paratroopers, and since January, the protection of the machine gun began to cover the entire barrel, and not a third. A plate with a number was rolled onto the front beam of the T-34 tank; very often only by this plate can one reliably determine the place of manufacture of the vehicle.

T-34 towers.

Kharkov towers. Only about 10 turrets of the first production version were produced, two of them were intended for tanks that were assembled for display to members of the government. The turret ports, as well as the surveillance devices, are located exactly along the axis of the tower. The tower hatch is flat with a device for all-round observation in the center. Some of these T-34 tanks were used for training purposes, and some were sent to the army.

The towers of the next series were already different in their design. The military demanded an increase in internal volume, for which they had to shift the fold line of the side sheet. As a result, the observation devices moved to a plane directed at a slight angle forward. About 16 T-34s with such turrets were produced between the end of August and the beginning of September 1941. Another requirement of the military - to move the radio into the housing from the tower - was fulfilled during the production process.

At the next stage, the hatch above the commander’s head was enlarged, and it was stamped. The armored parts of the turret were produced by a plant in Mariupol. The cast tower was also mastered here. The cast turret was 200 kg heavier, but did not have any advantages in terms of projectile resistance. The main advantage is a reduction in the production cycle, an increase in the production of T-34 tanks.

The most noticeable difference of this type is that in the aft niche the bevel of the top cover and the rear hatch for installing an enlarged gun were eliminated. The armor of the T-34 surveillance devices was initially carried out integrally with the turret, then it was abandoned in order to unify the welded structure with the turret. The all-round viewing device was removed from the top hatch, the hole under which was welded with a plug.

The production of welded and cast towers took place in parallel. When installing the F-34 gun into the turret, protective ridges were welded on both sides of the mantlet.

At the same time, new changes were approved. The diameter of the T-34 turret ring has been changed from 1764 to 1785 millimeters, and the height of the turret itself has been increased by thirteen. Molded ridges appeared on both sides of the mask. Fan hinges have been introduced, as well as a six-bolt mount for the lump hatch. In the T-34 turrets of early production, the hinges were fastened to the cover with rivets, and to the turret roof with bolts to allow dismantling. Towers of this type were produced minimally until June 1941.

The latest T-34s, which were manufactured in Kharkov, did not have a cutout in the hatch for an all-round observation device, and only one observation device on board. Starting in October 1941, the Kharkov plant began its work in the Urals.

Sormovo. The production of Krasny Sormovo towers began similarly to other factories, with the use of components from Mariupol. However, the developed foundry production made it possible to almost immediately move on to the production of our own towers of our own design. In addition to its own production, the program involves related factories Kuznetsk, Kulebak, Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, as well as the Novotagil Iron and Steel Works.

The towers of the Sormovsky plant differed from those of the Mariupol plant in more rational forms, primarily the contours of the front part, they were more pointed, as well as the shape of the casting joint. This measure similar to the “kerchiefs” of the Stalingrad plant. Probably, from February 1942, the T-34 turrets began to be equipped with a hatch of increased thickness with stamping, and the strengthening of the gun mantlet armor also dates back to this time.

It was decided to abandon the hatch in the stern. The dismantling of the gun was rarely carried out under military conditions, and the aft hatch increased the time required for production. The method of installing the T-34 gun without a rear hatch was previously worked out, both in factory and field conditions.

Since March, Sormovo thirty-fours have been produced without a stern hatch, but with jack retaining bonnets and two stops under the mantlet ridges. The protective strip complemented the stops and prevented the turret from sliding forward during installation. In the middle of '42, handrails were installed on the turret and hull.

At the same time, cast armor was adopted for the T-34 commander’s panorama and the observation device on the roof. On the front part they began to put a casting number, first of three digits, then of four. Towers of this type remained in production until 1943, when other factories switched to hexagonal ones.

Nizhny Tagil. The first T-34s assembled in Nizhny Tagil were equipped with turrets assembled from Mariupol parts. The process of mastering our own was complicated by the loss of technical documentation during the evacuation. This episode is mentioned more than once in memoirs, and it is quite likely that this was the case. So the documentation had to be restored in an extremely short time.

It was not possible to mold the entire tower on the existing molding tables. Before obtaining the necessary equipment for this, we decided to mold it from several elements. The resulting T-34 turret differed from the previous one in a number of innovations tested in Stalingrad, as well as its own innovations.

T-34s of this period were equipped with turrets produced by Kulebaki and, according to a number of evidence, produced by UZTM. The Nizhny Tagil tower contained a number of clearly visible differences, such as:

• armoring of on-board observation devices, which provided a larger viewing angle;
• cut shape of the upper part of the gun mask;
• longer overlays for the gun mantlet of the T-34 tank.

This type was in production from the beginning until the winter of '42, when it was replaced by a hexagonal tower. As an exception, repair T-34s could use parts from later years of production.

Some T-34s with early turrets were equipped with a 57-mm cannon, and quite a few turrets were used as bunkers. There were turrets produced for armored boats and armored trains, with their own minor differences in design.

Stalingrad production. Initially, the Stalingrad towers were made from parts brought from Mariupol, and in appearance they should not differ from the Kharkov ones. At the end of the summer of '42, improvements developed but not implemented due to the evacuation in Kharkov production were introduced into production. The scarce observation device for the loader was often not installed at all, and a blank was put in its place. The fan cover began to hinge forward, then it was replaced by a fixed cross-shaped cover.

Until the autumn of '42, the configuration of the towers remained the same. Since September '42, work began on developing a new version of cutting armor plates for towers and hulls, which were completed by the end of the year. When applied to T-34 turrets, this method involved eliminating the bending of the side plates in the rear part.

The main feature of these towers was:

• the size of the rear wall of the T-34, which was secured with 8 bolts, was increased;
• cross-shaped fan cover;
• armoring of on-board observation devices improves visibility (both types of armor were used until the reserve was exhausted);
• three parts of the lower rear part of the tank turret, instead of two;
• a characteristically shaped observation device for a turret gunner.

Some T-34s had a hatch with stamping of increased thickness (both types of hatches were used until the reserve was exhausted). The hatch hinges were welded to simplify the design, although this complicated its dismantling.

At the next stage of changes, the rear wall of the turret was made permanent, similar to the Sormovo T-34. Stops were welded onto the T-34 hull, and in the rear part there were jack stands, in case it was necessary to lift the turret to dismantle the gun. This option went into production in May 1942.

The gun mantlet, instead of the right and left parts, consisted of an upper part with a curve, as well as a flat lower part. The front part also became flat, resulting in a prominent lower cheekbone. The gun mantlet shield is shorter at the bottom. There were two types of masks:

• mask of the first type with a smaller angle of inclination (did not exist for long);
• mask with a shortened shield, produced starting in the spring of '42.

In addition to the T-34 with welded turrets, STZ produced T-34 with cast ones. At first these towers were produced in Mariupol. Then, from the end of forty-one, towers presumably from the Kulebak plant arrived. The production of our own cast turrets was mastered in the summer of forty-two; in July, cars with cast turrets began to leave the factory workshops. There were two options - the first had a more rounded outline of the cheekbones, and the second externally repeated the welded tower.

At this point, the development of the Sormovo towers was stopped.

Hexagonal towers of the Sormovo plant.

Factory No. 112 arrived at the production of hexagonal turrets only in 1943. By equipping a batch of tanks of the transition series with Ural-made turrets (stamped and cast), Sormovo mastered the production of its own turret of an original shape.

A characteristic feature of Sormovo-made towers is the rather clumsy cutting of the sprues. The tank commander's observation turret was made of strips of metal rolled into a ring.

The turret is cylindrical in shape with a chamfer at the top. The weld seam is covered with a cover plate. This sign is typical for all turrets of this type. Tides around weapon ports are also characteristic. The external difference between the commander's cupolas of the flamethrower vehicles was the antenna insertion at the rear of the wall.

Factory No. 122 produced hexagonal turrets of several types, because in the winter of 1944 he mastered the production of the T-34-85. On the roofs of the later hexagonal turrets, which were produced together with the T-34-85 turrets, there were no eye bolts, which were replaced with hooks welded to the sides of the turret, similar to the T-34-85.

Stamped towers.

Towers of this type owe their appearance to the order of the State Defense Committee to double the production of towers at UZTM by October of the forty-second year. Production capacity did not allow us to speed up the production of cast towers. Therefore, an unusual decision was made - to use a 100,000-ton press from the Shleman company for their production.

Under the control of chief engineer Gorlitsky L.E. a team of designers designed a stamped tower. It was previously planned to use stampings from 60 mm rolled steel, but due to its acute shortage, they began to use 45 mm for the production of the turret.

The shelling of the turret showed that the new type of turret was even superior to cast ones in terms of shell resistance.
From 10/1/1942, stamped turrets, together with cast ones, were used to equip vehicles of our own production.

Since December of this year, the interior space of the tower has been slightly increased. The volume of production of stamped towers made it possible to send part of the products to the manager. "Krasnoe Sormovo" and No. 183.

All the changes introduced in the cast towers were also implemented in the stamped ones. This applies to the jumper between the two hatches, as well as the eye bolts and the observation turret equipped with a hatch with two doors.

Typical for stamped T-34 turrets was the placement of the armored fan cowl - a forward slot, as well as recesses for observation devices on the roof.

After the curtailment of the production program for T-34 tanks at UZTM, from 2050 to 2062 cast and stamped turrets were sent to related factories.

Tank T-34 on video.

• Tank T-34 video test drive
• "Strike Force: Tank of the Great Victory" video
• "Film "Chief Designer"