Russian Medium Tanks

    Russian medium tanks were arguably the best in World War II, especially the superb T-34.  With curved armor and lines that would be echoed in Russian tanks for years to come, Russian medium tanks had the speed, firepower, and armor to take on and defeat any Wehrmacht tank early on in the war.

T-34/76

t34.jpg (8271 bytes)
T-34/76

DIMENSIONS

Mass (mt):
26.7

 Length (m):
6.5		 Width (m):
2.97		 Height (m):
2.4

TIME PERIOD:
1940 (T-34)
to
1943 (new T-34 models)
    Based on the Red Army's BT "fast tanks," the T-34 was a total surprise to the Wehrmacht when the Soviets outclassed them with it in July 1941.  Having every virtue of a tank, the T-34 was fast with its V-2-34 500hp diesel engine, powerfully armed with its 76.2mm L/30 Model 1938 (later L/41 Model 1940) main gun, well armored with its sloping hull, long-ranged, and even easy to maintain.  Its only major quirk was that the early T-34s mass-produced for the Russo-Finnish War were plagued with manufacturing errors and defects.  The first 115 tanks had a rear-firing machine gun in a ball emplacement mounted in the back of the turret, but this was considered extraneous and later deleted.
     This first major production run of the T-34 was designated T-34/76 by the Germans, and that is the name it has kept throughout history.  The Red Army at the time, however, had no intention of using individual designations and so called it the T-34, just as they would call the later, greater, T-34/85.

T-34/76C MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   49kph

 Range:  302km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
45mm 47mm 45mm 45mm 22mm 45mm 70mm 45mm
76.2mm L/41 M1940 Tank Gun Max. Range:  2530m Mx. Penetrate: 105mm
7.62mm Coaxial Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun
7.62mm Bow Machine Gun Max. Range:  450m Light Machine Gun

 

T-34/85

T-34-85.jpg (9353 bytes)
T-34/85

DIMENSIONS

Mass (mt):
32

 Length (m):
7.5		 Width (m):
2.99		 Height (m):
2.25

TIME PERIOD:
1934 (T-34)
to
End of War (T-34)
    When the Soviets dropped the T-34 onto Germany's Panzers, Germany responded with the "big cat" tanks with their 75mm and 88mm guns.  The Soviet counter to this was to improve the T-34, first by dramatically increasing its armor, then by giving it a bigger gun, the 85mm Model 1943 in a turret adapted from the KV-85.  This big gun made the /85 more unwieldy than the /76, but its speed was not greatly affected.  The T-34/85 was equal to a Panther in strength and, due to its easily mass-produced design and the industrial strength of the Soviet Union, was produced at twice the rate of the German's heavy tank.  Out of 40,000 T-34s built from 1940 to 1945; 12,000 were T-34/85s.
     With such a prodigious chassis, the T-34 was turned into all sorts of utility and support vehicles just like the American M4 Sherman.   Minesweepers, armored recovery vehicles, and the powerful SU-100 "Cat-Killer" tank destroyer.

T-34/85 MEDIUM TANK

Max. Speed:   48kph

 Range:  299km
Front Bottom Front Driver Hull, Side Hull, Rear Hull, Deck Gun Shield Turret Front Turret Side
60mm 60mm 45mm 45mm 22mm 60mm 75mm 75mm
85mm L/51 M1943 Tank Gun Max. Range:  2730m Mx. Penetrate: 119mm
7.62mm Coaxial Machine Gun