![]() ![]() Had the Red Army's tactical-technical requirements been precisely fulfilled, the design would have been considerably inferior in armor, firepower and mobility and would have resembled contemporary British cruiser tanks. This engine, the V-2, had been the standard powerplant of Soviet medium tanks since then, having been used (in improved form) through the 1990s on the T-72 tank.Īlthough Soviet histories of tank design have portrayed the T-34 as emerging from Red Army requirements, in fact, it was more the result of innovative ideas of the design bureau that were not initially supported by either the Red Army or the military industry. Once again, this made both tanks the best armed of all contemporary tanks.įinally, the wartime experiences convinced the Soviets of the vulnerability of gasoline engines on tanks, leading them to adopt a new diesel engine. Anticipating foreign improvements, the new tanks leap-frogged forward in armament, going from a 45mm gun to a 76mm gun. Secondly, the fighting convinced the Soviets of the soundness of equipping their tanks with a good dual-purpose gun of superior performance to the opposition. This prompted the Soviets to adopt "shell proof armor" on both tanks, so that when production started in 1940, they were unquestionably the best armored tanks in the world. It made clear that the existing levels of armor protection, little changed since the Great War, were completely inadequate when faced with contemporary tank and antitank guns. These tank battles, although small scale compared later with the Great Patriotic War fighting, had important technological lessons for the Soviet tank designers. It had benefited greatly from Soviet experiences in tank warfare in Spain in 1937 to 1938 and against the Japanese in 1938 to 1939. The T-34 was intended to replace the BT cavalry tank. The most technically significant elements of the 1941 tank force were two new designs, the T-34 medium tank and the KV heavy tank. ![]()
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