By Peter Suciu<\/a><\/p>\n T<\/span>he United States produced more than 50,000 M4 Sherman tanks between 1942 and 1945, and it was the most commonly used tank in the Second World War. However, even the most patriotic American history buff will be quick to point out that it was far from the best-armored fighting machine of the conflict.<\/p>\n Though some might suggest the German Tiger or Panther tanks earned that top spot, by most accounts, the Soviet Red Army\u2019s T-34 easily has the distinction of being the king of the battlefield. It was the tank that played a critical role in stopping the German advance, the vehicle that pushed the Nazis back, and was at the vanguard of the Red Army\u2019s drive into Berlin nearly four years later.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Soviet T-34 was arguably the most important Allied tank of the Second World War when one considers impact, numbers produced, and longevity,\u201d explained Dr. Alexander Hill, professor of history at the University of Calgary and author of The Red Army and the Second World War<\/em> (Cambridge University Press, 2017).<\/p>\n \u201cNot only did its combination of speed, armor and firepower provide a nasty surprise for Germany in the summer of 1941, but in its later up-gunned form, it continued to serve effectively through to the end of the war and beyond,\u201d Hill told\u00a0The Armory Life<\/em>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the U.S. Sherman was also important, the Sherman\u2019s appearance on the battlefield in 1942 didn\u2019t cause anything like the consternation amongst German forces that the T-34 did,\u201d said Hill. \u201cShortly after its appearance on the battlefield, Germany considered the possibility of copying the T-34 for its own use \u2014 something that it certainly didn\u2019t consider for the Sherman!<\/p>\n Dozens of books and hundreds of articles have been written on the T-34, so its entire history doesn\u2019t really bear repeating. What is important to note is that the tank\u2019s designers had managed to achieve a perfect compromise of firepower, protection and mobility. Whereas most tanks of the 1930\u2019s had to sacrifice one or more of those factors in favor of the other, the Soviet designers were able to create a nearly perfect balance.<\/p>\n The fact that it came about is quite impressive given the shortcomings of the nation that produced it.<\/p>\n The Soviet Red Army had essentially tried to copy Western designs throughout the 1920s with mixed results. However, in 1927, to rectify the shortage of designers and engineers, the Soviet military selected promising young engineers from its fledgling automotive industry and charged them with developing new tanks and other armored vehicles. It has been suggested in the various books and articles that the Soviets took a short step from producing tractors to producing tanks, and then made that step very quickly.<\/p>\n Though a number of designs still fell short of the perfect tank, by 1939 the international situation was such that the tank that was to become the T-34 was essentially accepted \u201coff the drawing board.\u201d Perhaps the failure to refine played in its favor. It was simply the right tank from the start.<\/p>\n The first prototype left the factory in late January 1940, while full production began in June 1940. It was known simply as \u201cPrinadiezhit-Chetverkior\u201d or \u201cthirty-four\u201d to its crews.<\/p>\n By the end of 1940, a mere 115 T-34s had been produced, but it was clear even then that these were a leap forward in tank design. The T-34 was initially armed with a 76.2mm long-barreled high-velocity gun, which was actually innovative for a tank of its class. It was also powered by a 500 horsepower diesel engine \u2014 one that was already in service in the Soviet\u2019s BT-7M tanks. The T-34\u2019s modified Christie suspension permitted relatively high speeds, even on rough terrain, while the wide tracks reduced ground pressure and ensured that the tank wouldn\u2019t bog down in soft dirt.<\/p>\n Though it had arrived too late for the Winter War with Finland in the spring of 1940, it was likely for the best. Germany seriously underestimated the Soviet Red Army, in part because there was practically nothing known about the T-34. That changed just a day after the Nazis launched Operation Barbarossa. On June 22, 1941, the first T-34 tanks were encountered on the battlefield.<\/p>\n They came as a shock to the Germans.<\/p>\n It might have played an even more significant role, had the Red Army been equipped with a greater number. Yet, when Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union in late June 1941, a total of 1,225 T-34s had been produced. That number grew quickly to 1,853 by the Battle of Moscow in December of that year.<\/p>\n Though those few T-34 tanks didn\u2019t stop the initial German invasion, as noted by Dr. Hill, the German designers seriously proposed that the tank should be \u201creverse-engineered.\u201d That plan never moved forward, and instead, the Germans went ahead with the Panther. Although that latter design owned a great deal to the T-34, it has been suggested that it was a missed opportunity.<\/p>\n Germany opted to essentially reinvent the wheel and largely failed.<\/p>\n Live The Armory Life.<\/strong> The latest content straight to your inbox plus an automatic entry to each of our monthly gun\u00a0giveaways!<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Even as the Tiger and Panther arrived, the T-34 was further upgraded \u2014 notably receiving an 85mm gun in 1943. The T-34\/85 was so successful, it remained in production until the mid-1950\u2019s when the Soviet Army finally adopted the T-54. Even then, the T-34 served in secondary roles and there are reports that some remain in service in North Korea.<\/p>\n In January 2019, TV Zvezda, the official television channel of the Russian Ministry of Defense, first reported that the Kremlin had made a deal to receive 30 World War II-era T-34\/85 tanks from Laos. It was part of a three-way deal that also involved Vietnam, where the Russian military would receive the vintage war machines.<\/p>\n Though jokes could now be made that the Kremlin may need to send those tanks to the frontlines in Ukraine given the massive number of Russian tanks destroyed to date, the actual reason was for museum displays, parades, and most notably state-sponsored movies and other media.<\/p>\n Those 30 T-34 tanks, which had been provided as part of military-technical cooperation with Laos conducted with the Soviet Union by way of Vietnam, reportedly arrived at Russia\u2019s far eastern port of Vladivostok on January 9, 2019. The tanks were subsequently transported to Vietnam at the end of December and then loaded onto ships \u2014 arriving at Naro-Fominsk, outside of Moscow and home to the Russian Army\u2019s 4th Guards Tank Division.<\/p>\n More than a dozen of the tanks were refurbished for future use in parades and movies. Described at the time as being \u201cin entirely good condition,\u201d photos released by Russian state media showed the T-34 tanks to be operational. Apart from the distinctive Lao national roundels on the turrets, the vehicles otherwise look like they are direct from the frontlines of the Second World War.<\/p>\n Laos had been among the very last active operator of the T-34\/85 anywhere in the world, and the transfer of the tanks may have marked the end of the line for what had been one of the most innovative tanks developed prior to the Second World War.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a simple design that was praised at the time,\u201d David Willey, curator of The Tank Museum in Bovington, England, told this reporter at the time of the transfer. Willey added, \u201cFor Russia, it was the T-34 that was the symbol of World War II, just as it was the Spitfire fighter plane for Britain<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n It has been speculated that the Laotian tanks were actually Czechoslovakian-produced \u2014 but those were still a near-identical licensed copy. It is also doubtful even many tank buffs could tell the difference once the vehicles were refurbished.<\/p>\n Due to the vast number produced, hundreds \u2014 perhaps even thousands \u2014 of T-34 tanks remain today. Unlike so many other military weapons that disappeared, the T-34 is actually fairly common. Hundreds are known to be in military museums or serve as war materials.<\/p>\n Today, T-34 tanks do come up for private sale \u2014 with the weapons deactivated, of course \u2014 and depending on the condition are actually more \u201caffordable\u201d than many luxury automobiles. Yet, so many were sent overseas that Russia still had to turn to Laos to obtain the few not in private collections.<\/p>\n What is also notable is that the T-34 has become something of a popular culture legend, so much so that it is virtually impossible to pinpoint its first appearance in a movie. The tank could be seen in a number of Soviet propaganda films produced at the end of the war, but the basic size of the Soviet tank made it highly adaptable for Hollywood, where the basic chassis was modified to resemble the far less common German Tiger.<\/p>\n In films such as\u00a0The Battle of Neretva<\/em>,\u00a0Kelly\u2019s Heroes<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Saving Private Ryan<\/em>, surplus T-34 tanks were effectively modified to resemble Tiger I tanks.<\/p>\n The Soviet film\u00a0Skylark\u00a0<\/em>(1964) may not have been the first to include a T-34, but it was arguably the first time the tank was featured so prominently. In the largely forgotten film, a German anti-tank crew is seen being trained using a captured T-34 crewed by Soviet POW\u2019s. The POW\u2019s attempt an escape in one of the tanks, only to be killed by the Germans when the crew opts not to drive over a group of schoolchildren.<\/p>\n The 1980 film\u00a0The Chief Designer<\/em>\u00a0depicted the \u201corigin story\u201d of the T-34, retelling the tale of a secret 750 km long journey from Kharkiv to Moscow to convince the Soviet leadership to produce the tank. It also highlighted how Mikhail Illyich Koshkin led the design team to develop the T-34, and then died from the pneumonia that he contracted during the winter tests.<\/p>\n That basic plot was recycled for the 2018 Russian film\u00a0Tanks for Stalin<\/em>.<\/p>\n That same year, Russia also released\u00a0T-34<\/em>, which told the story of a World War II tank crew. A heavily fictionalized account of the war, it premiered at Comic-Con Russia 2018. It proved to be a box office blockbuster in Russia and went on to become the third highest-grossing Russian film of all time. It was nominated for a Golden Eagle Award \u2014 the Russian equivalent of the U.S. Academy Awards.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is hard to imagine that any military vehicle would get the same level of attention as the Soviet\u2019s T-34. Few non-history buffs are likely to be able to tell you what tank Brad Pitt commanded in\u00a0Fury,<\/em>\u00a0but the Russian people know and love their T-34.<\/p>\n Editor\u2019s Note: Please be sure to check out The Armory Life Forum, where you can comment about our daily articles, as well as just talk guns and gear. Click the \u201cGo To Forum Thread\u201d link below to jump in and discuss this article and much more!<\/em><\/p>\n Go to forum thread<\/a><\/p>\n
![\"t-34](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/t-34-tank-on-display-at-aberdeen.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>Development of the T-34<\/h2>\n
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<\/p>\nReturn to Russia<\/h2>\n
![\"t-34](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/t-34-tank-repairs.jpg.webp)
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\n<\/picture>A Legacy<\/h2>\n
![\"burning](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/burning-t-34-tank-in-wwii.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>![\"t-34](\"https:\/\/www.thearmorylife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/t-34-tank-bovington-tank-museum.jpg.webp)
\n<\/picture>Join the Discussion<\/span><\/h5>\n
Featured in this article<\/span><\/h5>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Red Army and the Second World War <\/h3>\n
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<\/p>\nThe Tank Museum <\/h3>\n
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