The modernized T-34 was recognized as the best medium tank at the final stage of the second world war.
History decreed that one of the greatest victories of the Red Army in the Great Patriotic War - near Kursk - was won at a time when the Soviet armored and mechanized troops (BT and MV) were qualitatively inferior to the German Panzerwaffe. By the summer of 1943, the most painful design flaws of the T-34 had been eliminated, but the Germans had new Tiger and Panther tanks, which were noticeably superior to ours in terms of armament power and armor thickness.
Therefore, during the Battle of Kursk, Soviet tank formations, as before, had to rely on their numerical superiority over the enemy. Only in isolated cases, when the thirty-fours managed to get close to the German tanks almost close, the fire of their guns became effective. The issue of a cardinal modernization of the T-34, and especially in terms of its armament, was sharply on the agenda.
MORE POWERFUL GUN REQUIRED
At the end of August, a meeting was held at plant number 112, which was attended by the People's Commissar of the Tank Industry VA Malyshev, the commander of the armored and mechanized forces of the Red Army, Ya. N. Fedorenko, and senior officials of the People's Commissariat of Arms. In his speech, Malyshev noted that the victory in the battle at the Kursk Bulge went to the Red Army at a high price. Enemy tanks fired from a distance of 1,500 meters, while our 76-mm tank guns could hit Tigers and Panthers only from 500-600 meters. “Figuratively speaking,” said the People's Commissar, “the enemy has arms one and a half kilometers away, and we are only half a kilometer away. We need to immediately install a more powerful cannon in the T-34”.
In fact, the situation was much worse than the People's Commissar described it. But attempts to rectify the situation were made from the beginning of 1943.
On April 15, the State Defense Committee, in response to the appearance of new German tanks on the Soviet-German front, issued a decree "On measures to strengthen anti-tank defense", which ordered the GAU to subject anti-tank and tank guns that were in serial production to field tests, and submit within 10 days your conclusion. In accordance with this document, the deputy commander of BT and MV, Lieutenant General of Tank Forces V. M. Korobkov ordered to use the captured "Tiger" during these tests, which took place from 25 to 30 April 1943 at the NIBT Polygon in Kubinka. The results were disappointing. So, the 76-mm armor-piercing tracer shell of the F-34 cannon did not penetrate the side armor of a German tank even from a distance of 200 meters! The most effective means of dealing with the enemy's new heavy vehicle was the 85-mm 52K anti-aircraft gun of the 1939 model, which penetrated its 100-mm frontal armor from a distance of up to 1000 meters.
On May 5, 1943, the State Defense Committee adopted a decree "On strengthening the artillery armament of tanks and self-propelled guns." In it, the NKTP and NKV were assigned specific tasks to create tank guns with anti-aircraft ballistics.
Back in January 1943, the design bureau of plant number 9 under the leadership of FF Petrov began to develop such a weapon. By May 27, 1943, working drawings of the D-5T-85 cannon were issued, designed like the German self-propelled barrels and characterized by low weight and short recoil length. In June, the first D-5Ts were manufactured in metal. This gun was successfully assembled into the KV-85 and IS-85 heavy tanks, and in the D-5S version - into the SU-85 self-propelled gun.
However, to install it in the T-34 medium tank, it was required to increase the diameter of the turret ring and design a new turret. The design bureau of "Krasny Sormov", headed by V. V. Krylov, and the tower group of plant No. 183, led by A. A. Moloshtanov and M. A. Nabutovsky, worked on this problem. As a result, two very similar cast towers appeared with a shoulder strap diameter of 1600 mm. Both of them resembled (but did not copy!) The turret of the experimental T-43 tank, taken as the basis for the design.
The D-5T cannon in the new turret would seem to be able to solve all the problems, but … Excellent weight and size characteristics of the gun were ensured due to the great complexity of the design. In addition, a feature of the D-5T was the location of the recoil brake and the recoil brake above the barrel, similar to the German Stuk 40 assault gun, but unlike the latter, behind the main turret armor. For better balance, its trunnions were moved forward, and the breech, on the contrary, turned out to be quite strongly pushed back to the rear of the turret, which practically excluded the possibility of loading the gun while the tank was moving. Even when moving at low speed, trained tankers, trying to load, hit the breech of the gun with the head of the projectile several times. As a result, the D-5T was not accepted into service with the T-34 tank, and immediately after the end of its tests, in October 1943, the TsAKB (chief designer - V. G. Grabin) ordered the development of a special 85-mm gun for the T-34. The serial production of the new gun was supposed to begin at plant number 92 on March 1, 1944, and until then, as a temporary measure, "Krasny Sormov" was allowed to install the D-5T in the tower of its design. At the same time, the plant was asked to ensure the production of the tank in the following quantities: in January 1944 - 25 units, in February - 75, in March - 150. From April, the company was to completely switch to the production of T-34-85 instead of T-34.
The tanks, armed with the D-5T cannon, differed markedly from the machines of a later release in appearance and internal structure. The tower was double, and the crew consisted of four people. On the roof there was a commander's cupola strongly shifted forward with a two-piece lid rotating on a ball bearing. A viewing periscope MK-4 was installed in the cover, which made it possible to conduct a circular view. The accuracy of fire from a cannon and a coaxial machine gun was provided by the TSh-15 telescopic articulated sight and the PTK-5 panorama. On both sides of the tower there were viewing slots with triplex glass blocks and loopholes for firing personal weapons. The radio station was housed in the hull, and its antenna input was on the starboard side, just like the T-34. The power plant, transmission and chassis have practically not undergone any changes.
These machines were somewhat different depending on the time of release. For example, the first production tanks had one tower fan, while the next had two. The latest tanks had MK-4 observation devices and a later commander's cupola. The radio station was located in the tower, but the hulls still retained the antenna input on the right side plate or its plugged hole.
From January to April 1944, 255 T-34 tanks with a D-5T cannon left the factory workshops, including five command vehicles with RSB-F radios.
Fulfilling the order of the NKV to create an 85-mm gun for the T-34 in October-November 1943, TsAKB and Plant No. 92 produced three prototypes. TsAKB presented cannons S-53 (leading designers - T. I. Sergeev and G. I. Shabarov) and S-50 (leading designers - V. D. Meshchaninov, A. M. Volgevsky and V. A. Tyurin), and Artillery Plant No. 92 - LB-1 (LB-85) cannon, designed by A. I. Savin.
APPROVED S-53
During the tests, which lasted until the end of 1943, preference was given to the S-53 cannon, which was adopted by the T-34 tank on January 1, 1944, both with a standard (1420 mm) and with an extended shoulder strap. It compares favorably with analogues in simplicity of design and reliability. The recoil brake and knurler were 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 tower. In addition, the cost of the gun turned out to be lower than that of the 76 mm F-34 and even more so than that of the D-5T.
The T-34-85 tank with the S-53 cannon was adopted by the Red Army by GKO decree No. 5020ss of January 23, 1944.
Beginning in February, plant No. 112 Krasnoe Sormovo began to gradually switch to the production of vehicles with the S-53 gun. Moreover, the first tanks had many features from the T-34 with the D-5T in their guise: an early Sormovskaya tower, U-shaped eyelets, the location of fuel tanks, etc. From March 15, 1944, factory # 183 began production of the T-34-85, and since June - № 174 in Omsk.
Meanwhile, continuing, despite the start of serial production, field tests of the S-53 revealed significant defects in the recoil devices of the gun. Plant No. 92 in Gorky was instructed to carry out its revision on its own. In November-December 1944, the production of this gun began under the symbol ZIS-S-53 (ZIS - the index of the Stalin Artillery Plant No. 92, C - the TsAKB index). In total, 11,518 S-53 guns and 14,265 ZIS-S-53 guns were manufactured in 1944-1945. The latter were installed both on the T-34-85 and on the new T-44 tanks.
For thirty-fours with S-53 and ZIS-S-53 cannons, the turret became three-seater, the commander's cupola moved closer to its stern. The radio station was moved from the hull to the tower. The machines were equipped with only a new type of observation devices - MK-4, both in the early - open and late - closed versions. During 1944, the attachments of five spare tracks on the upper frontal sheet of the hull were introduced, box-shaped front mud flaps, reclined on hinges, smoke bombs MDSh were installed on the aft sheet of the hull. As production progressed, the shape changed and the dimensions of the hull bow beam, which connected the upper and lower front plates, decreased. On machines of later releases, it was generally withdrawn - the top and bottom sheets were butt welded.
IMPROVEMENTS AND IMPROVEMENTS
In December 1944, plant number 112 submitted a number of improvements to the design of the tank turret for consideration by the GBTU. In particular, it was proposed to replace the double-leaf commander's hatch with a single-leaf one, equip a frameless ammunition rack for 16 shots in the turret niche, introduce duplicate turret rotation control and, finally, improve the ventilation of the fighting compartment by installing spaced fans. Of these improvements, only the first was adopted in January 1945.
As for improving ventilation, the Sormovichi intended to move one of the two fans installed in the rear of the tower roof to its front. In this case, the front was exhaust, and the rear was forced. Apparently, for some unknown reason, GBTU decided to postpone the implementation of this very sensible proposal. In any case, in the photographs of the hostilities in the spring of 1945, T-34-85 with spaced fans are not found. Such tanks are not visible at the Victory Parade either. However, the units of the Kantemirovskaya tank division, passing through Red Square on November 7, 1945, were equipped with just such machines. All this suggests that tanks with spaced fans began to be produced after the Great Patriotic War, or, apparently, at the very end of it, and only at Plant No. 112. These machines are distinguished by another characteristic detail - the absence of a viewing slot in the right side of the hull. But the frameless ammunition rack, unfortunately, was never implemented.
An experienced specialist could determine at which plant exactly the T-34-85 was produced by a number of signs associated with the technology of manufacturing tanks. Towers, for example, differed in the number and location of molded and welded seams, in the shape of the commander's cupola. In the undercarriage, both stamped road wheels and cast ones with developed ribbing were used. There were various options for attaching fuel tanks and smoke bombs. Even the protective strips of the turret ring were different. Several variants of tracked tracks were also used.
In addition to the linear ones, from June 1944, flamethrower tanks OT-34-85 were also produced. Like its predecessor, OT-34, this machine was equipped with an ATO-42 automatic piston flamethrower from factory # 222 instead of a course machine gun. Its installation in the tank was developed at factory # 174, which, along with Krasny Sormov, was a manufacturer of flamethrowing machines.
LEARNING IN BATTLE
The tank units of the Red Army T-34-85 began to arrive in February-March 1944. So, about then, these vehicles were received by the brigades of the 2nd, 6th, 10th and 11th Guards Tank Corps. Unfortunately, the effect of the first combat use of the new thirty-fours turned out to be low, since only a few of them were received by the formations. In addition, very little time was allotted in combat units for retraining crews.
Here is what M. E. Katukov wrote about this in his memoirs, in the days of April 1944, commander of the 1st Tank Army, which was fighting heavy battles in Ukraine: “We survived in those difficult days and happy moments. One of these is the arrival of tank replenishment. The army received, however, a small number of new thirty-fours, armed not with the usual 76-mm, but with an 85-mm cannon. The crews who received the new thirty-fours had to be given only two hours to master them. We could not give more then. The situation on the ultra-wide front was such that new tanks with more powerful weapons had to be put into battle as soon as possible."
Experienced teletank OT-34-85
Among the first were the T-34-85 with the D-5T gun, the 38th separate tank regiment. Together with the 516th separate flamethrower tank regiment, he was part of the Dimitry Donskoy column, built with funds from the Russian Orthodox Church. With the money collected by the believers, 19 T-34-85 tanks and 21 OT-34 flamethrowers were purchased. At a solemn meeting on March 8, 1944, the transfer of vehicles to the Red Army took place. On March 10, the 38th Tank Regiment went to the front, where, as part of the 53rd Army, it took part in the Uman-Botoshan operation.
T-34-85s were used in significant numbers during the offensive in Belarus, which began at the end of June 1944. They accounted for more than half of the 811 thirty-fours who took part in Operation Bagration.
It was in the summer of 1944 that the troops were actively developing new technology. For example, on the eve of the Yassy-Kishinev operation, live-fire exercises were conducted in all parts of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. Simultaneously, in order to demonstrate the combat qualities of the T-34-85 cannon, it fired at German heavy tanks. Judging by the memoirs of VP Bryukhov, Soviet tank crews trained quickly: “In the Yassy-Kishinev operation, in fifteen days on my T-34-85, I personally knocked out nine tanks. One fight is well remembered. Kushi passed and went to Leovo, to join the 3rd Ukrainian Front. We walked on corn as high as a tank - we couldn't see anything, but there were roads or glades in it like in a forest. I noticed that at the end of the clearing a German tank rushed towards us, then it turned out that it was a Panther. I command: “Stop. The sight - to the right 30, tank 400 ". Judging by the direction of his movement, we were supposed to meet at the next clearing. The gunner threw the cannon to the right, and we moved forward to the next clearing. And the German also spotted me and, seeing the direction of movement of the tank, began to conceal me in the corn. I look into the panorama to the place where it should appear. And for sure - it appears from a 3/4 angle! At this point, you need to make a shot. If you let the German shoot and he misses the first shell - jump out, the second will be guaranteed to be in you. The Germans are like that. I shout to the gunner: "Tank!", But he does not see. I see, he's already halfway out. You can't wait. The seconds go by. Then I grabbed the gunner by the collar - he was sitting in front of me - and threw it onto the ammunition rack. He sat down at the sight, let him down and hit him in the side. The tank burst into flames, no one jumped out of it. And, of course, when the tank flared up, at that moment my authority as a commander rose to an unattainable height, because if not for me, this tank would have hit us and the entire crew would have died. Gunner Nikolai Blinov felt humiliated, he was so ashamed."
On a massive scale, the T-34-85 were used in hostilities in the winter and spring of 1945: in the Vistula-Oder, Pomeranian, Berlin operations, in the battle at Lake Balaton in Hungary. So, on the eve of the offensive on Berlin, the staffing of tank brigades with combat vehicles of this type was almost one hundred percent.
And by the beginning of the Vistula-Oder operation, the 3rd Guards Tank Army under the command of General PS Rybalko, for example, had 55,674 personnel, which was 99.2% of the regular strength. The fleet consisted of 640 T-34-85 (103% manning), 22 T-34 minesweeper tanks, 21 IS-2 (100%), 63 heavy ISU-122 self-propelled guns (100%), 63 medium-sized SU-85 self-propelled guns (63%), 63 light self-propelled guns SU-76 (100%), 49 light self-propelled guns SU-57-I (82%).
At the final stage of World War II, the thirty-fours took part in the most impressive marches: to Prague in May and across the Great Khingan Ridge and the Gobi Desert in August 1945. At the same time, the first was characterized by a high rate of movement. Thus, the 3rd Guards Tank Army covered 450 km from Berlin to Prague in 68 marching hours. The failure of the vehicles for technical reasons was low - in the 53rd Guards Tank Brigade, only two T-34-85s out of 18 in service broke down.
Until mid-1945, Soviet tank units stationed in the Far East were armed with obsolete light BT and T-26 tanks. By the beginning of the war with Japan, 670 T-34-85s had entered the troops, 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 former deployment area (Czechoslovakia) and received 408 T-34-85s from factories No. 183 and No. 174 on the spot. Thus, vehicles of this type took the most direct part in the defeat of the Kwantung Army, being the striking force of tank units and formations.
In conclusion, we can say that the measures taken in 1943-1944 to modernize the T-34 made it possible to significantly increase its combat capabilities. In the design of the tank as a whole, a certain balance of compromises was observed, which favorably distinguished it from other armored vehicles of the Second World War. Simplicity, ease of operation and maintenance, high maintainability, combined with good armor protection, maneuverability and powerful weapons, became the reason for the popularity of the T-34-85 among tankers. It was these machines that were the first to break into Berlin and Prague, making the last shots at the enemy in the Great Patriotic War. It is they who, in most cases, have frozen on pedestals, forever remaining in the memory of the people as one of the symbols of our Victory.
