T-34

T-34
T-34-85 medium tank
TypeMedium tank
Place of originSoviet Union
Service history
In service1940–present
Used bySoviet Union and 39 others
WarsWorld War II
Korean War
East German uprising of 1953
Hungarian Revolution of 1956
Vietnam War
Suez Crisis
Bay of Pigs Invasion
North Yemen Civil War
Six-Day War
Yom Kippur War
1974 Cypriot coup d'état
Turkish invasion of Cyprus
Ethiopian Civil War
Angolan Civil War
Ogaden War
Vietnamese invasion of Kampuchea
Sino-Vietnamese War
Yemenite War of 1979
Soviet–Afghan War
Iran-Iraq War
Yugoslav Wars
Syrian Civil War
Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)
Production history
DesignerKhMDB
Designed1937–1940
Unit cost3,094–9,000 Man hours[1]
130,000–429,000 Rbls[2]
Produced1940–1946 (USSR),
1951–1955 (Poland),
1951–1958 (Czechoslovakia)
No. built84,070[3]
35,120 T-34[3]
48,950 T-34-85[3]
VariantsSee T-34 variants
Specifications (T-34 Model 1941[7])
Mass
  • 26.5 tonnes (29.2 short tons; 26.1 long tons)
  • 31 tonnes (34 short tons; 31 long tons) (T-34-85)
Length6.68 m (21 ft 11 in)
Width3.00 m (9 ft 10 in)
Height2.46 m (8 ft 1 in)
Crew4 (T-34)

ArmourHull front 47 mm /60° (upper part)[4]
45 mm (1.8")/60° (lower part),
Hull side 40 mm[5]/41°(upper part),
Hull rear 45 mm,
Hull top 20 mm,
Hull bottom 15 mm;
Turret front 60 mm (round),
Turret side 52 mm/30°,
Turret rear 30 mm,
Turret top 16 mm [verification needed]
Main
armament
76.2 mm (3.00 in) F-34 tank gun
Secondary
armament
2 × 7.62 mm (0.3 in) DT machine guns
EngineModel V-2-34 38.8 L V12 Diesel engine
500 hp (370 kW)
Power/weight18.9 hp (14 kW) / tonne (T-34)
SuspensionChristie
Ground clearance0.4 m (16 in)
Operational
range
Road:
330 km (210 mi)
Cross-country:
200 km (120 mi) [a][6]
Maximum speed 53 km/h (33 mph)

The T-34 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II. When introduced, its 76.2 mm (3 in) tank gun was more powerful than many of its contemporaries,[8] and its 60-degree sloped armour provided good protection against anti-tank weapons. The T-34 had a profound effect on the conflict on the Eastern Front, and had a long-lasting impact on tank design. The tank was praised by multiple German generals when encountered during Operation Barbarossa, although its armour and armament were surpassed later in the war. Its main strength was its cost and production time, meaning that German panzer forces would often fight against Soviet tank forces several times their own size. The T-34 was also a critical part of the mechanized divisions that formed the backbone of the deep battle strategy.

The T-34 was the mainstay of the Soviet Red Army armoured forces throughout the war. Its general specifications remained nearly unchanged until early 1944, when it received a firepower upgrade with the introduction of the greatly improved T-34-85 variant. Its production method was continuously refined and rationalized to meet the needs of the Eastern Front, making the T-34 quicker and cheaper to produce. The Soviets ultimately built over 80,000 T-34s of all variants, allowing steadily greater numbers to be fielded despite the loss of tens of thousands in combat against the German Wehrmacht.[9]

Replacing many light and medium tanks in Red Army service, it was the most-produced tank of the war, as well as the second most-produced tank of all time (after its successor, the T-54/T-55 series).[10] With 44,900 lost during the war, it also suffered the most tank losses ever.[11] Its development led directly to the T-44, then the T-54 and T-55 series of tanks, which in turn evolved into the later T-62, that form the armoured core of many modern armies. T-34 variants were widely exported after World War II, and as recently as 2023 more than 80 were still in service.[12]

  1. ^ Yermolov A Tankovaya promysshlenost St Petersberg (2012) p. 188
  2. ^ Zaloga 2015, p. 38
  3. ^ a b c Zaloga & Kinnear 1996, p. 18
  4. ^ Specifications for T-34 model 41 Archived 26 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine WWIIVehicles.com. Retrieved on 18 May 2013.
  5. ^ Zaloga 1994, p. 5
  6. ^ Zaloga & Grandsen 1984, p. 184
  7. ^ Zaloga & Grandsen 1984, p. 184
  8. ^ McFadden, David Frederick (2002). Two ways to build a better mousetrap. Ohio: Ohio State University. p. 11.
  9. ^ Askey, Nigel. "The T-34 in WWII: the Legend vs. the Performance". www.operationbarbarossa.net. Nigel Askey. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2015.
  10. ^ Harrison 2002
  11. ^ Krivosheev, G. I. (1997). Soviet Casualties and Combat Losses. Greenhill. p. 253. ISBN 978-1-85367-280-4.
  12. ^ IISS 2023, pp. 456, 458, 299.


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