RUSSIA

“IN THE FEROCIOUS WAR THAT UNFOLDED IN THE EAST, THE T-34 EMERGED AS ONE OF THE DECISIVE WEAPONS IN THE SOVIET ARSENAL”

A HIGHLY EFFECTIVE MAIN GUN

When first encountered in June 1941, the 76.2mm main armament of the T-34 could defeat any German tank. It took the Germans until the spring of 1942 to equip their Panzer IV and Assault Guns with more powerful guns that could defeat the T-34.

SLOPING ARMOUR

The T-34 was the first tank to go into large scale production with sloping armour which provided far more effective protection than implied just by its thickness. The 45mm armour of the glacis was equal to 90mm being angled at 60 degrees.

A NEW TANK

The tracks carried on the T-34 were from the outset wider than those carried on the German panzers. The T-34 thus had a lower ground pressure, being better able to cope with mud and deep snow, whereas the panzers simply sank in both.

No country has created a greater range of tanks, or produced so many since 1930, as the Soviet Union – this being continued under Russia, its successor state. By the time of the German invasion in June 1941, the Red Army tank park was larger than the rest of the world’s put together.

Although the majority of the 24,000 tanks in service were destroyed in that year, there were already in service advanced medium and heavy tanks superior to any fielded by the Wehrmacht. The T-34 became the mainstay of the tank forces, with the heavy KV series,