T 34 85 entered service. History of creation. Engine and fuel system

T-34-85

T-34-85

The T-35-85 is a legendary car. And deservedly so. Plus she is very, VERY famous. And, of course, everyone knows it. Therefore, we will not describe what has been described a million times and will only tell you interesting and little-known facts about the tank and, of course, name all the modifications of the tank. That’s why we are “ALL Tanks”.

Combat use:

The T-34-85 fought not only in the Great Patriotic War. Since 1945, it has been the basis of the armored forces of the USSR and remained so for quite a long time. And, of course, it was supplied en masse to the allies of the USSR. Therefore, he managed to become a participant in many military conflicts of the era. Here is a list of these conflicts:

1) The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945.

2) The defeat of the Kwantung Army. 1945

3) Civil war in China. 1946-1949.

4) Korean War. 1950-1953.

5) Hungarian uprising. 1956

6) Suez crisis. 1956

7) Operation Bay of Pigs. 1961

8) War of Independence of Angola. 1961-1974.

9) Civil war in northern Yemen. 1962-1970.

10) War of Independence of Guinea-Bissau. 1963-1974.

11) The Vietnam War. 1965-1975.

12) Namibian War of Independence. 1966 - 1989

13) Six Day War. 1967

14) Yom Kippur War. 1973

15) Turkish invasion of Cyprus. 1974

16) War in Western Sahara. 1975-1991.

17) Civil war in Angola. 1975 -2002.

18) Civil war in Lebanon. 1975-1990.

19) War for the Ogaden. 1977-1978.

20) Civil war in Afghanistan. 1978-1992.

21) Sino-Vietnamese War. 1979

22) Iran-Iraq war. 1980-1988.

23) Lebanon War. 1982

24) War in Croatia. 1991-1995.

25) Bosnian War. 1992-1995.

26) Civil war in Yemen. 2014-2015.

Modifications and various vehicles based on the T-34:

1944

T-34-85 with D-5T cannon. “Transitional” model from T-34-76 to T-34-85. The only difference between the normal T-34-85 is the crew, like the T-34-76, four people. This was due to the peculiarity of the tower created by the Krasnoye Sormovo plant. About 300 of these tanks were produced.

T-34-85 commander. More powerful radio station. Reduced ammunition.

T-34-85M. The hull armor in the forehead is now 75mm. The hull itself became longer, it was “grown” in the stern, moving the fuel tanks there. The weight of the tank remained almost unchanged, since the armor in the most insignificant places (the roof of the engine compartment, etc.) was made thinner.

OT-34-85. Instead of a machine gun, there is a flamethrower.

AT-45. Unarmored artillery tractor based on the T-34-85.

1945

T-34 with a 100mm cannon. Experiment to create the T-34-100. It differs from a full-fledged T-34-100... in the absence of differences from the T-34-85. Except for the weapon itself, of course.

T-34 PRO. Mobile rocket weapon. The turretless T-34-85 carries a huge, folded launcher for a Soviet copy of the V-1 (V-1) missile. In the unfolded (combat) state, the tank serves as one of the supports of the installation from which the rocket launches.

1958

T-34T. ARV with various sets of equipment.

SPK-5. Self-propelled crane based on T-34-85. The crane was installed instead of the tower.

1960

T-34-85 model 1960. The tank has a new engine (520 hp), increased ammunition, and a new chassis from the T-55 tank.

RM-34. Radio biological and chemical reconnaissance vehicle. There are no turrets or weapons.

1966

T-34 ZSU with K-19 cannon (Cuba). The turret has been replaced with a completely new rotating wheelhouse with a 100mm anti-aircraft gun.

Type 63 ZSU (China). The turret has been replaced with a completely new rotating wheelhouse with two 37mm anti-aircraft guns.

In addition, the T-34-85, due to its prevalence, became the base for a huge number of different civil construction, engineering, fire fighting and other vehicles in various parts of the world, from Bulgaria to Cuba.

Vehicles based on the T-34 (see related articles):

Vozilo – A (Yugoslavia)

Type 58 (China)

T-34/90 (Yugoslavia)

M-628AC "Galeb" (Yugoslavia)

T-100 / T-34/100 (Egypt)

T-122/T-34/122 (Egypt)

T-34/122 (Syria)

T-34/122 (Cuba)

● In 1944, the cost of one T-34-85 tank was approximately 20 (!) times lower than the cost of the Panther tank and approximately 40 (!) times lower than the cost of the Tiger tank. Of course, it is worth considering that the term “cost of a tank” in military conditions is quite complex and can be calculated in different ways. But the approximate ratio still makes one whistle in surprise.

● On July 3, 1950, during the Korean War, four F-80C jet fighter-bombers attacked a convoy of North Korean vehicles and tanks. The Americans went on the attack, using unguided rockets and 12.7 mm machine gun fire from low altitude. Suddenly, North Korean T-34s opened fire on low-flying aircraft with their 85 mm guns. A successfully fired shell exploded in front of the pilot's plane and a fire broke out on board. A few seconds later the plane collapsed and fell to the ground like a burning torch. The plane's pilot became the first US pilot to die in combat on the Korean Peninsula. There are barely five cases of planes being destroyed by tanks in the entire history of wars, and then there’s an already outdated tank destroying a jet plane!

● In 1966, the series “Four Tankmen and a Dog” was released. Where the T-34-85 with the inscription “Rudy” (Polish for “red”) was at the center of events. The adventure takes place in Europe, starting from the USSR and ending with Germany. The series was extremely popular in the USSR.

● In 1967, during the Six-Day War, former opponents fought against Israeli troops under the Syrian flag: T-34-85 and German Pz.lV Ausf.l tanks, received in the late 40s from Czechoslovakia and France.

In February - March 1944, T-34-85 tanks began to enter service with the troops. In particular, around this time they were received by formations of the 2nd, 6th, 10th and 11th Guards Tank Corps. Unfortunately, the effect of the first combat use of the new tanks was low, since the brigades received only a few vehicles. The majority of them were “thirty-fours” with 76-mm guns. In addition, very little time was allocated in combat units for retraining crews. This is what M.E. Katukov, who commanded the 1st Tank Army, which fought heavy battles in Ukraine, wrote in his memoirs in the April days of 1944: “We experienced joyful moments in those difficult days. One of these is the arrival of tank reinforcements. The army received, albeit in small quantities, new “thirty-fours”, armed not with the usual 76-mm, but with an 85-mm cannon. The crews that received the new “thirty-fours” had to be given only two hours of time to master them. We couldn't give more then. The situation on the ultra-wide front was such that new tanks with more powerful weapons had to be brought into battle as soon as possible.”

One of the first T-34-85s with the D-5T cannon was received by the 38th Separate Tank Regiment. This unit had a mixed composition: in addition to the T-34-85, it also contained OT-34 flamethrower tanks. All combat vehicles of the regiment were built at the expense of the Russian Orthodox Church and bore the name “Dimitri Donskoy” on their sides. In March 1944, the regiment became part of the 53rd Combined Arms Army and took part in the liberation of Ukraine.

T-34-85s were used in significant numbers during the offensive in Belarus, which began at the end of June 1944. They already made up more than half of the 811 “thirty-fours” that took part in this operation. The T-34-85 was used en masse in combat operations in 1945: in the Vistula-Oder, Pomeranian, and Berlin operations, and in the battle of Lake Balaton in Hungary. In particular, on the eve of the Berlin operation, the staffing of tank brigades with combat vehicles of this type was almost one hundred percent.

It should be noted that during the rearmament of tank brigades, some organizational changes occurred in them. Since the crew of the T-34-85 consisted of five people, the personnel of the anti-tank rifle company of the brigade’s submachine gun battalion were called upon to complete the crews.

Until mid-1945, the Soviet tank units stationed in the Far East were armed mainly with outdated light tanks BT and T-26. By the beginning of the war with Japan, the troops received 670 T-34-85 tanks, which made it possible to equip the first battalions in all separate tank brigades and the first regiments in tank divisions with them. The 6th Guards Tank Army, transferred to Mongolia from Europe, left its combat vehicles in the previous deployment area (Czechoslovakia) and already received 408 T-34-85 tanks from factories No. 183 and No. 174. Thus, vehicles of this type took a direct part in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, being the striking force of tank units and formations.

In addition to the Red Army, T-34-85 tanks entered service with the armies of several countries participating in the anti-Hitler coalition.

The first tank of this type in the Polish Army was the T-34-85 with the D-5T cannon, transferred on May 11, 1944 to the 3rd training tank regiment of the 1st Polish Army. As for the combat units, the first to receive these tanks—20 units—was the 1st Polish Tank Brigade in September 1944 after the battles near Studzianki. In total, in 1944-1945, the Polish Army received 328 T-34-85 tanks (the last 10 vehicles were transferred on March 11). The tanks came from factories No. 183, No. 112 and repair bases. During the fighting, a significant part of the combat vehicles was lost. As of July 16, 1945, there were 132 T-34-85 tanks in the Polish Army.

All these machines were quite worn out and required major repairs. To carry it out, special brigades were created, which, at the sites of recent battles, removed serviceable components and assemblies from damaged Polish and even Soviet tanks. It is interesting to note that during the renovation, a number of “synthesized” tanks appeared, when the early T-34 had its turret plate changed and a turret with an 85 mm gun installed.

The 1st Separate Czechoslovak Brigade received the T-34-85 at the beginning of 1945. It then included 52 T-34-85 and 12 T-34. The brigade, being operationally subordinate to the Soviet 38th Army, took part in heavy battles for Ostrava. After the capture of Olomouc on May 7, 1945, the remaining 8 tanks of the brigade were transferred to Prague. The number of T-34-85 tanks transferred to Czechoslovakia in 1945 varies from 65 to 130 units in different sources.

At the final stage of the war, two tank brigades were formed in the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. The 1st Tank Brigade was armed by the British, and its MZAZ light tanks landed on the Adriatic coast of Yugoslavia in July 1944. The 2nd Tank Brigade was formed with the help of the Soviet Union at the end of 1944 and received 60 T-34-85 tanks.

A small number of T-34-85s were captured by German troops, as well as troops of states allied with Germany. There were only a few of these tanks used by the Wehrmacht, which is understandable - in 1944-1945, the battlefield in most cases remained with the Red Army. The facts of the use of individual T-34-85s by the 5th SS Viking Panzer Division, the 252nd Infantry Division and some other units are reliably known. As for Germany's allies, in 1944 the Finns, for example, captured nine T-34-85s, six of which were used by the Finnish army until 1960.

As often happens in war, military equipment sometimes changed hands several times. In the spring of 1945, the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, which fought as part of the 18th Army on the territory of Czechoslovakia, captured a T-34-85 medium tank from the Germans. It is interesting to note that at that time the brigade's equipment consisted of light T-70 tanks, medium T-34 tanks and a battalion of captured Hungarian tanks. The captured vehicle became the first T-34-85 tank in this brigade.

After the end of World War II, the T-34-85 for quite a long time - almost until the mid-50s - formed the basis of the tank fleet of the Soviet Army: the T-44 tank entered service in limited quantities, and the T-54 was adopted by industry too slowly. As the troops became saturated with modern armored vehicles, T-34-85 tanks were transferred to training units and also placed in long-term storage. In training units of a number of military districts, in particular in Transbaikal and Far Eastern, these combat vehicles were used until the early 70s. The author currently has no information about the presence of the T-34-85 in the troops, but there has not yet been a formal order from the Minister of Defense to remove the tank from service with the Russian Army.

As part of the Soviet Army, T-34-85 tanks did not take part in hostilities in the post-war years. There are known facts of combat use of “thirty-fours” in some “hot spots” in the CIS, for example, during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. Moreover, sometimes even memorial tanks were used for this purpose.

Outside the Soviet Union, the T-34-85 participated in combat operations on almost all continents until very recently. Unfortunately, it is not possible to indicate the exact number of tanks of this type transferred to one country or another, especially since these deliveries were carried out not only from the USSR, but also from Poland and Czechoslovakia.

After 1945, the T-34-85 was at various times in service in Austria, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Hungary, Vietnam, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, East Germany, Egypt, Israel (captured Egyptian) , Iraq, Cyprus, China, North Korea, Congo, Cuba, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mozambique, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, North Yemen, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Uganda, Finland (captured Soviet), Czechoslovakia, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, South Africa (trophy Angolan), Yugoslavia, South Yemen. As of 1996, tanks of this type were still available in the armies of Cuba (400 units, mainly in coastal defense), Albania (70), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Angola (58), Guinea-Bissau (10), Mali (18 ), Afghanistan and Vietnam.

The arena for the most widespread use of the Thirty-Four after World War II was Asia.

At 5 a.m. on June 25, 1950, T-34-85s of the 109th Tank Regiment of the Korean People's Army (KPA) crossed the 38th parallel and the Korean War began.

The creation of armored units of the KPA began back in 1945, when the 15th training tank regiment was formed, which was armed with American Stuart and Sherman tanks received from the Chinese, as well as two Soviet T-34-85s. The training of Korean military personnel was carried out by 30 Soviet tank instructors. In May 1949, the 105th Tank Brigade was formed on the basis of the regiment. By the end of the year, all three of its regiments (107th, 109th and 203rd) were fully equipped with “thirty-fours”, 40 vehicles each. By June 1950, the KPA had 258 T-34-85 tanks. In addition to the 105th brigade, 20 vehicles were in the 208th training tank regiment, and the rest in the newly formed 41st, 42nd, 43rd, 45th and 46th tank regiments (in reality - battalions, 15 tanks each) and in the 16th and 17th tank brigades (actually regiments of 40-45 vehicles each). The superiority of the North Korean troops, in terms of the quantity and quality of armored vehicles, was complete, since the South Korean army did not have a single tank at all, and the 8th American Army, stationed in South Korea and Japan, had at that time only four separate tank battalions, armed with M24 Chaffee light tanks.

The mountainous nature of the central part of the Korean Peninsula did not allow the use of large masses of tanks, so tank regiments were assigned to the 1st, 3rd and 4th KPA infantry divisions, which struck in the direction of Seoul. The success of the tank attacks was complete! The South Korean infantry units were completely demoralized. Not only had many of the soldiers never seen a tank before in their lives, but they also very quickly became convinced that their anti-tank weapons - 57-mm cannons and 2.36-inch bazookas - were powerless against the T-34-85. On June 28, 1950, Seoul fell.

A week later, a significant event occurred - on July 5, 33 T-34-85 tanks of the 107th KPA regiment attacked the positions of the 24th Infantry Division of the US Army. The Americans tried to repel the tank attack with fire from 105 mm howitzers and 75 mm recoilless guns. However, it turned out that high-explosive shells were ineffective, and there were only six 105-mm cumulative shells. They managed to knock out two tanks from a distance of 500 yards. During this battle, American infantry fired 22 shots at tanks from 2.36-inch bazookas - all to no avail!

On July 10, 1950, the first tank battle took place between a T-34-85 and an M24 from Company A of the 78th Tank Battalion. Two M24s were shot down, the T-34s had no losses. 75 mm American shells did not penetrate their frontal armor. The next day, Company A lost three more tanks, and by the end of July it practically ceased to exist - it only had two tanks out of 14 left! Such results completely demoralized the American tank crews and greatly upset the infantrymen, who now did not see any effective anti-tank weapon in the M24. The infantrymen experienced some relief only after they began using the 3.5-inch “super bazookas.” In the battles for Daejeon, the 105th Brigade lost 15 T-34-85s, seven of which were destroyed by super bazooka fire.

The Thirty-Four met a worthy opponent only on August 17, 1950. T-34-85s of the 107th Tank Regiment attacked the positions of the 1st US Marine Brigade on the Pusan ​​bridgehead. The North Korean tank crews, accustomed to victories, saw the well-known M24s in front of them and confidently went into battle. However, they were mistaken - it was the M26 Pershing from the 1st Tank Battalion of the US Marine Corps. Three T-34-85s were shot down by combined fire from 90-mm Pershing and Super Bazooka guns. From that moment on, a turning point occurred in tank battles. North Korean tank crews, well trained in offensive operations, turned out to be unprepared for combat with American tanks in conditions of positional warfare. The higher level of combat training of American crews had an effect. By September 1950, a balance of power had been established in the Busan bridgehead. Having landed at Inchon, the Americans turned the tide of events in their favor.

From Inchon there was a short route to Seoul, in the area of ​​which there were only 16 T-34-85s from the 42nd Tank Regiment with unfired crews and 10-15 tanks of the 105th Brigade. In the battles of September 16-20, almost all of these vehicles were destroyed.

The first battle of the T-34-85 with the Shermans took place on September 27. 10 "thirty-fours" attacked M4AZE8 of the 2nd platoon of company C of the 70th tank battalion. Three Shermans were hit in a matter of seconds. Then one T-34-85 ironed a transport convoy, smashing 15 trucks and jeeps into splinters, and was hit at point-blank range from a 105-mm howitzer. Another four T-34-85s fell victim to bazooka fire, and two North Korean tanks knocked out the main forces of the 70th tank battalion that approached from the rear.

By the end of the year, North Korean troops lost 239 T-34-85 tanks, most of which were knocked out by bazooka fire and aircraft. In battles with tanks, according to American data, 97 T-34-85s were shot down. With return fire, North Korean tanks destroyed only 34 American combat vehicles. At the same time, the T-34-85 was clearly superior to the M24 Chaffee in all respects. In terms of their characteristics, the “thirty-four” were similar to the M4AZE8, but had more powerful weapons. If the T-34-85 easily hit the Sherman at a direct shot distance with conventional armor-piercing shells, the American tank achieved a similar result only when using sub-caliber and cumulative shells. The only ones that were too tough for the T-34-85 in Korea were the M26 Pershing and M46 Patton, which had more powerful armor protection and weapons.

In 1959, the first tank unit of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was formed - the 202nd Tank Regiment, armed with the T-34-85. In 1967-1975, these tanks were used in battles against American troops along with the more modern T-54, T-55, PT-76 and proved themselves to be good. In any case, the last batch of thirty-fours arrived from the USSR in 1973. T-34-85 from the 273rd Tank Regiment of the Vietnamese People's Army took part in the last battle of this war - the capture of Saigon in April 1975.

Subsequently, T-34-85 fought in Kampuchea, and in 1979 they took part in repelling the attack of Chinese troops on the northern provinces of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. Some of the "thirty-four" were converted by the Vietnamese into ZSU. Instead of standard turrets, they were equipped with open-top armored conning towers with twin Chinese 37-mm Type 63 automatic anti-aircraft guns. According to other sources, these combat vehicles were manufactured in China.

The last Asian theater of operations where the T-34-85 fought was Afghanistan. Moreover, combat vehicles of this type were used in the 80s by both regular units of the Afghan army and the Mujahideen.

T-34-85 tanks were used in the most significant quantities during numerous wars in the Middle East.

The first 230 Thirty-Fours arrived in Egypt in 1953-1956. These were Czechoslovak-made tanks. Some of them were destroyed during the Anglo-French-Israeli intervention against Egypt in October - November 1956. Israeli tank crews, who fought in Shermans and AMX-13s, knocked out 26 T-34-85s. There were no military clashes between Egyptian and Anglo-French tanks.

A new large batch of T-34-85 - 120 vehicles - was delivered to the banks of the Nile from Czechoslovakia before the end of 1956. It was followed by the second (in 1962-1963), and in 1965-1967 - the third, another 130 tanks. In the early 60s, deliveries of "thirty-fours" from the USSR and Czechoslovakia began to Syria.

During the Six Day War of 1967, these tanks were in the first line of tank units along with the T-54. As you know, the Arabs were defeated in this war. On the Sinai Peninsula, Israeli troops knocked out and captured 251 T-34-85 tanks. Syrian losses were significantly lower, both due to the smaller number of armored vehicles involved and due to the conditions of their use - the Golan Heights is not the Sinai. It is interesting to note that in the Golan, former opponents fought against Israeli troops under the Syrian flag: German Pz.lVAusf.l tanks, received in the late 40s from Czechoslovakia and France, and T-34-85.

In the Yom Kippur War of 1973, T-34-85s were used on a much smaller scale and were used mainly for auxiliary tasks. Like the Israeli Shermans, many of them underwent modernization and alterations on the eve of this war.

In an effort to strengthen the tank's armament, the Egyptians managed to install a Soviet 100-mm BS-3 field gun on it. At the same time, the turret shoulder strap remained the same. True, only the front and lower parts of the standard turret have been preserved.

Instead of everything else, a rather cumbersome superstructure of a simple shape was built from light armor plates. A significant part of the armor plates on the sides and roof of this new turret were folding, which, on the one hand, facilitated the work of the crew in servicing the gun during firing, and on the other, solved the issue of ventilation of the fighting compartment. The combat weight of the vehicle has increased slightly, but the dynamic characteristics have remained virtually unchanged. Not stopping there, Egyptian designers installed a 122-mm D-30 howitzer in a turret similar in design, but slightly larger in size! It goes without saying that both of these vehicles could not be used as tanks. We were talking only about their use as self-propelled artillery units. Unfortunately, there is no data on the number of vehicles converted in this way, as well as on their participation in hostilities. The leading role in tank battles went to the modern T-55 and T-62.

Unlike the Egyptians, the Syrians took a different, simpler path. They decided to install the D-30 howitzer on the roof of the front part of the hull, while firing backwards. The tower was naturally dismantled. Five steel boxes for shells were attached to the sides of the hull. A folding working platform for the gun crew was mounted above the frontal armor plate. Inside the hull there were places for storing ammunition and crew seats. Before installation on a tank prepared in this way, the lower machine with wheel travel was removed from the gun and the shield was cut off. The conversion of tanks was carried out at the artillery school in Catanach and the armored school in El Kaboun.

Due to the weight being reduced to 20 tons, the dynamic characteristics of the vehicle even increased. The specific pressure on the ground has also become less. Naturally, the ballistic characteristics of the D-30 remained the same. The disadvantage of such a howitzer installation, which had all-round firing in the towed version, is the limited guidance sector. Formally, here too the gun could rotate 360°, but fire was conducted only in the 120° guidance sector at the rear of the tank. The ammunition load of the T-34-122 self-propelled gun consisted of 120 shells (80 inside the vehicle and 40 in boxes on the sides of the hull).

The first to receive these self-propelled guns at the beginning of 1972 were the artillery battalions of the 4th and 91st tank brigades (18 vehicles each) of the 1st Armored Division. By the beginning of the 1973 war, both Syrian armored divisions (1st and 3rd) were armed with the T-34-122. During combat operations, these vehicles were primarily used to conduct surprise fire raids on areas and provide direct fire support to troops. At the end of the war, they had to repel attacks by Israeli tanks, mostly without success, mainly due to insufficient training of crews to fire at moving targets.

These self-propelled guns went into battle again in Lebanon in 1976, and then in 1982. Another drawback of these vehicles was reflected here - on narrow mountain roads the self-propelled guns often could not turn around to fire. This was the last war in which the T-34-122 took part. Soon, modern self-propelled artillery units 2S1 and 2SZ arrived from the USSR, which began to replace the “thirty-four” in the artillery units of armored divisions. At the same time, the latter were transferred to the reserve.

In addition to Egypt and Syria, in the Middle East the T-34-85 was used by both sides during the war between North and South Yemen in 1962 - 1967. During the Lebanese Civil War, they were used by both various Lebanese warring factions and units of the Palestine Liberation Organization, which received 60 tanks from Hungary. Finally, Iraqi T-34-85s were used during the war with Iran in the 80s.

The African continent was also a battlefield for the T-34. They first took part in hostilities in Western Sahara in 1970. Ethiopia used them in Eritrea and against Somalia in 1977-1978. However, T-34-85s were also present in the Somali army that invaded the Ethiopian Ogaden province.

According to Western data, the first T-34-85s entered the FAPLA (Angolan Army) units in 1975, even before the country’s formal declaration of independence. In 1976, 85 tanks of this type were delivered there, which took part in battles with units of the UNITA movement and units of the South African army. At the same time, they were very effectively used against the South African Panhard AML-90 armored vehicles. Several tanks subsequently ended up in the possession of rebels in Namibia, where they took part in the fighting against South African troops in 1981. At the same time, some of the tanks were hit by fire from 90-mm cannons of Ratel-90 armored vehicles, and a number of them were captured by the South Africans.

The only Latin American country that ever possessed T-34-85 tanks was Cuba. In 1960, it signed the first agreements on the supply of weapons and military equipment with the USSR and Czechoslovakia. Soon the first batch of tanks - about three dozen T-34-85s - arrived in Cuba.

Meanwhile, preparations were in full swing for the invasion of Cuba by the “2506 Brigade,” formed from “gusano” emigrants to overthrow Fidel Castro. The brigade had up to 10 M4 Sherman tanks (according to other sources - M41) and 20 M8 armored vehicles. The landings began on April 17, 1961, in the Bay of Cochinos near Playa Larga and Playa Giron, and at first the invading forces were resisted only by small units of the people's militia, the Milisianos. By noon on April 17, when the intentions of the “gusanos” became clear, F. Castro arrived at the position for direct command of the troops. An infantry regiment, a tank battalion and a division of 122-mm howitzers were moving towards the landing area.

On the evening of April 17, the Milisianos, with the support of several T-34-85 tanks that arrived in time, tried to advance in the direction of Playa Larga. Unable to deploy into battle formation in the swampy terrain, the tanks moved in a column along the highway, preventing each other from firing. The “Gusanos” let them get closer and knocked out the lead “thirty-four” with three bazookas at once. The remaining tanks retreated, and the infantry also returned to their original positions. By the morning of April 18, the entire tank battalion from Santa Clara arrived at the battlefield under its own power, and two more tank companies were transferred from Managua on trailers. After several hours of artillery preparation, eight battalions of the army and police went on the offensive. T-34-85 tanks and SU-100 self-propelled guns moved behind the infantry combat formations, supporting them with continuous fire. By 10.30 in the morning they took Playa Larga and went ashore, where they transferred fire to the landing boats trying to approach the shore.

On April 19 at 17.30, units of the Cuban army and people's militia stormed the village of Playa Giron - the last point of defense of the “2506 brigade”. The first company to enter the village was a company of T-34-85 tanks; in the lead vehicle was Fidel Castro himself, who personally led the attack. The last two Shermans of the counter-revolutionaries were shot down in Playa Girón. Government troops lost only one T-34-85 during the entire operation.

In combat operations on the European continent after World War II, the T-34-85 was used three times. The first time was in 1956 in Hungary. In Budapest, the rebels captured five tanks of the Hungarian People's Army, and they then took part in battles with units of the Soviet Army that entered the city.

In 1974, during the Turkish intervention in Cyprus, T-34-85 tanks supplied to Greek Cypriots from Yugoslavia and Poland fought with Turkish troops.

The last case of combat use of T-34-85 tanks took place during the civil war in Yugoslavia in 1991 - 1997. Combat vehicles of this type were used here by all warring parties, since before the collapse of Yugoslavia they were available in the territorial defense forces of almost all union republics. The Thirty-Fours performed well in combat, although they were the most outdated tanks in this war. The crews tried to compensate for the weakness of their armor by hanging steel sheets or sandbags on the sides. True, the T-34-85 was mainly used not as tanks, but as self-propelled artillery mounts, firing from the spot.

A story about the use of T-34-85 tanks in Yugoslavia would not be complete without mentioning the attempt to thoroughly modernize them, undertaken in this country in the late 40s. The main reason for this event was the desire to modernize the tank and, in this form, to launch its own mass production in Yugoslavia, and not to purchase licenses for its production from the USSR, relations with which then sharply deteriorated.

The changes did not affect, perhaps, only the chassis, suspension and engine. The transmission has undergone some improvements. The most significant innovations were made to the design of the hull and turret. The upper part of the hull was slightly expanded, and it received side chines in the bow. Because of this, the directional machine gun had to be moved closer to the axis of the vehicle. The roof of the engine compartment was replaced with a new one, and the three standard cylindrical fuel tanks were replaced with semi-cylindrical ones. The tank received a completely new streamlined cast turret. Since the Yugoslav industry of those years was not able to produce such large castings, the turret was welded from six cast parts.

The ZIS-S-53 gun has also undergone modernization. A muzzle brake of the original shape was installed on it. According to other sources, the tank was equipped with a 75-mm cannon, developed on the basis of the German KwK39. A 7.62-mm Browning M1919A4 anti-aircraft machine gun was mounted on the rotating double-leaf loader hatch.

It should be noted that all these improvements actually increased the projectile resistance of the hull and turret, but they could not significantly improve the vehicle’s performance. For this reason, as well as due to technical difficulties, mass modernization of the “thirty-four” was never launched. Only 7 tanks were produced, which took part in the parade on May 1, 1950 in Belgrade.

There are still ongoing disputes about how many people were in the T-34-85 turret produced by Plant No. 112, equipped with the D-5T cannon.
To begin with, it’s worth looking at the “Dimitri Donskoy” column, just the crews standing in front of their cars. I think it's pretty clear.

However, one must understand that showing photographs alone is not a serious matter. So let's go deeper into the topic.

So, I already have the first T-34-85. As a matter of fact, the serial T-34-85 with the D-5T looked almost the same. A new two-man turret with an extended chase, a radio operator in the hull, and one fan in the turret.


TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2358, p. 9
The list of changes is attached; there is no increase in crew on the list.

TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2358, p. 1
So that there is no doubt - the same for the T-34-85 of factory No. 112 with the S-53 cannon, a 3-man turret and external changes are obvious (including an antenna on the roof of the turret)



TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11355, file No. 2364, pp. 1 and 4

Thus, we can safely say that most T-34-85 with D-5T were equipped with 2-seat turrets. But not all.
I have this photo in my photo collection. The antenna on the roof of the tower is clearly visible.


The intrigue is that the photo does not seem to be the same one from a series of 5 cars that was equipped with an RSB-F radio. Moreover, the vehicle following the tank with a 3-man turret does not have an antenna on the roof of the turret, that is, it has a two-man turret.

And finally. Where did the information about the 5-seat T-34-85 with the D-5T come from? Where the antenna is located is clearly visible, the NIIBT Polygon album has a general admiration...


TsAMO RF, fund 38, inventory 11377, file No. 289, p. 14

T-34-85 is a Soviet medium tank from the Great Patriotic War, the final modification of the T-34.

History of T-34-85

By the second half of 1943, the most important Soviet tank, the T-34, began to be significantly inferior to enemy tanks. Although the Red Army managed to win the Battle of Kursk, this was done mostly due to numerical superiority and personal courage, but not due to technical advantage. The victory was very costly for the Soviet troops, and it was obvious that a new tank was needed, more armored and with a more powerful gun.

By that time, the T-43 tank had already been created, which was superior to the T-34 in a number of parameters. However, it turned out that it was impossible to install a more powerful 85-mm cannon on it, which would be ideal for penetrating German tanks - the tank would become too heavy. So work on the T-43 was stopped, instead equipping the T-34 with a new gun and creating the final modification - the T-34-85.

The T-34-85 featured not only a more powerful gun, but also enhanced armor, as well as additional fuel tanks. Because of all this, the tank began to weigh 32 tons, but its speed and maneuverability did not change.

In December 1943, the T-34-85 entered mass production, and already at the end of January 1944 it began to be used in battles. The tank was produced until 1958, including for export. In total, more than 35 thousand T-34-85 units were produced.

TTX T-34-85

general information

• Classification - medium tank;
• Combat weight - 32.2 tons;
• The layout is classic;
• Crew – 5 people;
• Years of production – 1943-1958;
• Years of operation – 1944 to 1993 (officially in the USSR and the Russian Federation);
• The number produced is more than 35,000 pieces.

Dimensions

• Case length – 6100 mm;
• Length with gun forward – 8100 mm;
• Case width – 3000 mm;
• Height – 2700 mm;
• Ground clearance – 400 m.

Booking

• Armor type - rolled homogeneous steel;
• Body forehead (top and bottom) - 45/60° mm/deg;
• Hull side (top) - 45 / 40° mm/deg;
• Hull side (bottom) - 45/0° mm/deg;
• Hull stern (top) - 45 / 48° mm/deg;
• Hull rear (bottom) - 45 / 45° mm/deg;
• Bottom – 20 mm;
• Housing roof – 20 mm;
• Turret forehead – 90 mm;
• Gun mantlet – 40 mm;
• Tower side - 75/20° mm/deg;
• Turret rear - 52/10° mm/deg;
• Tower roof – 15-20 mm.

Armament

• The caliber and brand of the gun is 85 mm ZIS-S-53;
• Gun type - rifled;
• Barrel length - 54.6 calibers;
• Gun ammunition - 56-60;
• Angles VN- 5…+22 degrees;
• GN angles – 360 degrees. (manual rotation mechanism or electromechanical drive);
• Sights - telescopic articulated TSh-16, periscopic PTK-5, side level;
• Machine guns - 2 × 7.62 mm DT-29.

Mobility

• Engine type - V-shaped 12-cylinder diesel liquid cooled with direct injection;
• Engine power – 500 hp;
• Highway speed – 55 km/h;
• Speed ​​over rough terrain – 25 km/h;
• Cruising range on the highway – 250 km;
• Cruising range over rough terrain – 220 km;
• Specific power - 15.6 hp/t;
• Pendant type: Christie pendant;
• Specific ground pressure - 0.83 kg/cm²;
• Climbability - 30°;
• The wall to be overcome is 0.75 m;
• The ditch to be overcome is 3.4 m;
• The fordability is 1.3 m.

Modifications

• T-34-85 1943. A small-scale modification with a new three-man turret and an 85-mm D-5-T85 cannon. Produced from January to March due to unsatisfactory placement of the S-53 gun in the original turret;
• T-34-85. Main serial modification with 85 mm ZIS-S-53 cannon;
• OT-34-85. Instead of a frontal machine gun, it had an ATO-42 piston flamethrower;
• T-34-85 1947 with a new V-2-34M engine, a new radio station and optical instruments;
• T-34-85 1960 with a 520 hp V-54 or V-55 engine, modified internal design, new electronic equipment, a new radio station, increased ammunition and chassis from the T-55;
• PT-34 is a trawl tank created on the basis of the 1943 T-34.

Application

The T-34-85 began to enter service with the troops in February 1944. Unfortunately, the first tank battles were not very successful - the crews were not given time to retrain, and very few tanks were provided.

One of the first T-34-85s was received by the 38th Tank Regiment, which also had OT-34s, flamethrower tanks based on the T-34. In March 1944, this regiment became part of the 53-1 combined arms army and participated in the liberation of Ukraine, where, in fact, the T-34-85 was used on a large scale for the first time.

When the offensive against Belarus began in June 1944, about four hundred T-34-85s took part in it. However, they were used much more widely in 1945, for example, in the battle of Lake Balaton and in the Berlin operation.

By mid-1945, Soviet tank divisions in the Far East mostly had outdated equipment - light tanks BT-5, BT-7 and T-26. When the war with Japan began, 670 T-34-85s were sent there. Thus, these tanks actively participated in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, acting as the main striking force of tank units.

When even the power of an 85-mm cannon became insufficient to penetrate the armor of enemy tanks, work began on the T-34-100, as well as on the T-44. As a result, they all led to the appearance of the T-54 tank, which replaced the T-34-85 in the first years after the war. However, the service of this tank did not end - it actively participated in the Korean War, in the wars in the former Yugoslavia and the Arab-Israeli wars. Officially, this tank was in service until 1993, and in some countries it is still in service!

T-34-85 once took part in an interesting event of the 21st century. When there were anti-government protests in Budapest in October 2006, demonstrators were able to launch museum T-34-85s along with BTR-152s, and used the vehicles in clashes with officers of the law.

Memory of a tank

T-34-85 is one of the most popular tanks of the Great Patriotic War. Although most people have only heard of the T-34 tank, many museums have examples of the T-34-85. Also, this tank most often stands on pedestals in many Russian cities: Novokuznetsk, Voronezh, Kharkov, Nizhny Novgorod and several others.

Tank in culture

The T-34-85 tank was widely reflected in culture, and it was often replaced by earlier T-34s, since it was not possible to find the originals.

Movies

There are quite a lot of films featuring the T-34-85. The most famous of them:

• Chief designer. A film about the creation of the T-34, in which the T-34-85 was filmed instead of this tank;
• Fall of Berlin;
• In war as in war;
• Film epic “Liberation”;
• Hot Snow;
• Eternal Call;
• Four tankmen and a dog (despite the fact that during the series the crew fights first on the T-34, and then on the T-34-85, the T-35-85 was filmed in the film with minor alterations);
• White Tiger;
• Save Private Ryan. There is no mention of the T-34-85 here, but these were the tanks that were camouflaged as the PzKpfw VI “Tiger” featured in the story.

Games

The T-34-85 appears in many World War II games, such as Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45, World War II, Sudden Strike 3: Arms for Victory, and Sudden Strike: The Last Stand. , “Call of Duty”, “Blitzkrieg” as well as in the games “World of Tanks” and “”.

Other

Due to its popularity, the T-34-85 was produced by many different companies in the form of models. Also during Soviet times, this tank was featured on postage stamps.

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-34-85s were supplied in significant quantities 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 the German side suffered were 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 the new T-43 tank was not has reserves for this to increase 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 Heavy Engineering Plant" (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 fan;

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 of the Polish-made T-34:

1. different arrangement of ammunition - 55 rounds;
2. the number of crew members has been reduced to 4 people, thanks to a new system for aiming and loading the 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.

In each lower vertical sheet there are holes for the passage of the torsion axes of the suspension of the balancers of the road wheels, and cutouts for the trunnions of the balancers. 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, Head of the GBTU Marshal of Armored Forces Ya. N. Fedorenko and responsible employees of the People's Commissariat of Armaments arrived at Tank Plant No. 112. 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, the chief designer of the TsAKB, V. G. Grabin, proposed his project for modernizing 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 handed over it for approval by the People's Commissar of Armaments D.F. Ustinov and the 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 implemented design solutions 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 by 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 the individual production characteristics of different factories, and depending on the time of production, the 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 different methods for determining armor penetration were used. 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 the least role was played by the increased reliability of the tank by this time, and, of course, mass production. 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. Over the entire period of the war, 119 tank battles took place, of which 104 were conducted 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. Mr. Verne Peterson, who was walking as a wingman, 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)
• Angolan Civil War (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 took part in the May Parade and were subsequently used as training tanks. 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"