| T-34 Medium-Heavy Tank |
| weight | gun caliber | Speed |
| 26.5 t | 76 mm | 53 mph |
T-34 Medium Tank
ID: Plastic tank gaming piece: T-34 tank/ armor piece from the game Axis & Allies Europe 40-2nd Ed.
The Story of the T-34: The T-34 was one of the best all-around tank designs of the war, and would go on to become a symbol of Soviet military power. Somewhat ironically, its key suspension system was based closely on the designs and theories of an American, Walter Christie. When his innovative Christie Suspension system was rejected by the US Army, together with his innovative theories of armored warfare, Christie began shopping his system around to other interested nations. The Soviets were among the first to show interest, and they bought 2 prototypes, which they reverse-engineered and developed into their highly-successful BT tank series of “fast†(or “cavalryâ€) tanks. The system was later adapted to become the foundation of the British Cruiser tanks (most notably with their highly successful Cromwell and Comet tanks) and the Soviets developed it into a heavier “universal†tank, which would become the T-34. The T-34 had the best balance between mobility, firepower and armor of any tank in the first half of the war. It’s poor ergonomics and 2-man turret were disadvantages in the first mass-produced versions, known collectively as the “T-34/76†after their 76 mm gun, so it wasn’t perfect by any means. As German heavier tanks like the Tiger and Panther appeared its short 76 mm gun began to be less adequate as a tank-killer, and so the Soviets developed the harder-hitting T-34/85, with a larger 85 mm gun and a larger 3-man turret. Nevertheless, its sloped armor and superior mobility would inspire the Germans to go back to the drawing board when designing the Panther series as a replacement for the Panzer IV... and that armor would cause the Germans to upgrade their Panzer IV’s to longer-barreled, higher-velocity versions of the 75 mm and stop manufacturing turreted versions of the Panzer III (which had a turret ring to small for the newer guns) altogether. (The turreted Panzer III would soon be replaced on the production line by the fixed-gun StuG III, which lacked the flexibility of a revolving turret, but could carry a more powerful gun.) The mere fact that the cocky Germans had been forced to revolutionize their tank designs to cope with it is a tribute to the effectiveness of the T-34’s basic design, imitation, after all, being the “sincerest form of flattery.â€
Usage Notes: Use this piece for “Global 1939†and “Invasion of Italy†Variants as either a medium or heavy armor unit (depending on your own “House Rules†preference.) Other Soviet Pieces of interest may be: the ZIS-42 Halftrack, Yak fighter, Sturmovik tactical bomber and Pe-* strategic bomber. Other tanks of interest may be: the German Panther, Japanese Ha-Go, British Matilda, and US Sherman tanks.
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