T-34/76 Medium Tank:

Fighting compartment:

RAC Tank Museum

Gun ammunition stowage, forward fighting compartment:

RAC Tank Museum

Driver's compartment:

RAC Tank Museum

USSR's T-34/76 Medium Tank
Warpics

Russia's T-34/76 Medium Tank

1/72 Models
Dragon Armor of T-34/76:
60151: 60216: 60218:

How to tell the differences between the different models of T-34s:

T-34 Model 1940
Note: These are not 100% certain rules, as there were variations from the factories and modifications made in the field.
Main armament mounted low in mantlet
Short L/11 main armament
Rounded front
One hatch , single periscope on left
T-34 Model 1941
Main armament mounted higher in mantlet
Rounded front
One hatch, 2 periscopes
Stowage box on right hand track guard
T-34 Model 1942
Main armament mounted higher in mantlet
Flat front
Dual hatches
Hull MG mounting
T-34 Model 1943

Engineer M. I. Koshkin^9,10 (died in September 1940)¹⁰ became chief designer at the Kharkov Locomotive Factory in November 1937. He started to build a wheel/track medium tank that had shell safe armor. It was designated the A-20. Work on it continued into 1938. Another project for a medium tanks was started. It was initially designated the A-32 and then later changed to T-32. It had a 76.2 mm gun whereas the A-20 had a 45 mm gun. The armor was also thicker.

In August 1938 the High War Council, let by People's Commissar for Defense, K. J. Voroshilov, discussed the A-20 and T-32. Many on the Council disliked the T-32. In July 1939, the Kharkov Locomotive Factory had completed the prototypes for the A-20 and T-32. They were both then tested and it was decided to go with the T-32. On December 19, 1939, the People's Commissariat for Defense released the T-32 to the Red Army. It was soon designated the T-34.

In February and March 1940, 2 of the first test models participated in a test drive from Kharkov to Moscow.⁹ The were shown to the Russian leadership on the cobblestone pavement at the Kremlin. They passed all tests and production was ordered.

Koshkin took ill and died in September 1940.⁹ His assistant, A. A. Morozov, finished the final design. A. A. Morozov did the transmission system, and N. A. Kucherenko and M. I. Tarshinov designed the hull and armor plating.⁹

The Kharkov factory ended production of the BT-7 and converted to T-34s. Series production started in July 1940.
The first vehicle was produced in June 1940 at Kharkov.⁹

Many of the early models were rushed to production and had mechanical defects. The War Department again examined the viability of the design. This resulted in a redesigning of the tank and was designated the T-34 M. On May 5, 1941, the Council of People's Commissars ordered 2,800 to be built in the coming year.

One of the first items to be changed was the main gun. Factory No. 92 in Gorki begin in July 1940 to design a new gun called the F-34. Early in 1941 it went into production. The development of the T-34 M hadn't continued so the gun was installed in the old-type T-34 in February 1941.

In June 1941 a cast turret was successfully developed. It was made in 2 halves and then welded together. The previous turret was rolled armor plates. There was an overhang at the rear where the Germans learned that they could place a Tellar mine to blow of the turret.⁹

Once the invasion of Russia occurred production was rushed and sometimes resulted in defects. With the immediate need of tanks to fight the Germans, the T-34 M project was stopped.

Other factories were located in Stalingrad and Leningrad.⁹ Many of the factories were relocated to Chelyabink behind the Ural mountains and was nicknamed Tankograd.⁹

There was no turret basket. The engine, which was same one as in the BT-7M, had the cooling radiators on the sides, a cooling fan in the center, and the transmission at the rear. Fuel was located in the angled portions of the hull side. Access was through a hatch in the front hull and a hatch in the turret roof that was hinged forward. The driver used brake levers that operated metal rods that went to the transmission in the rear. These were sometimes difficult to operate and drivers sometimes had a mallet to unstuck them. In cold weather the engines were assisted in starting by a couple of compressed air bottles at the feet of the driver.

There were two 7.62 mm DT MGs.⁹ V. A. Degtyarev was it's designer.⁹

Gun	Ammo Type	Weight	Muzzle Velocity	Penetration
76.2 mm Model 40, L/41.5¹¹	AP¹¹	14.3 lb¹¹	2,172'/sec¹¹	3"@0° at 100 yards¹¹

Most didn't have radios installed. At beginning of war the company commander's tank had a 71-TK-3 transmitter/receiver installed. In 1941 and 1942 this was replaced by the 71-TK-1 and in 1942 by the 9-R radio. These had a range of about 5 miles. Inside the tank a TPU-3 inter-phone system was used. The crew had a cloth helmet that contained the earphones and also had a throat mike.

The commander aimed the gun by a TOD-6 telescopic sight in the early production models. This was later replaced by the TMFD. General viewing was done by a PT-6 panoramic periscopic sight in early models and then by the PT-4-7 or PT-5 on later models.

The ammunition bins were covered with matting to prevent them being accidentally opened. Most of the MG ammo was stored in racks in the rear of the turret and some in the fighting compartment.

Some models were sent to fight in the Finno-Russian war, but they arrived too late to be put into combat.

In June 1941, there were 1,225 that had been produced. First put into battle against the Germans in June 1941 at Grondno in Belorussia.

After the initial losses to the Germans the T-34s were formed into independent tank battalions, brigades, and regiments. Tank regiments had 3 companies, one of which had T-34s. Tank brigades that were formed in December 1941 had one company composed of T-34s. The heavy tank company had KVs and the light company had T-26s.

From June to September 1942, the Stalingrad Tractor Factory was the main supplier of T-34s. The Kharkov Locomotive Factory were moved to the Uralmashzavod (Ural Machine Building Plant) in the Urals and merged with the Nishni Tagil auto factory. During 1942 the Ural Heavy Machinery Company in Sverdlovsk started to produce T-34s. The Ural-Kirov Tank Factory in Chelyabink was setup by the People's Commissariat for the Tank Industry to produce T-34s. It was later known as Tankograd. There were a total of 8 large tank factories, 6 factories produced hulls and turrets, and 3 produced engines.

In 1942 cast turrets and steel plates to help deflect shots between the turret and the hull were introduced. In the winter of 1942-43 a hexagonal turret was produced. In the summer of 1943 a cylindrical commander's cupola was installed.

The Red Army troops called it Prinadlezhit-Chetverki, which means "34."

T-34/76D:

Hexagonal turret and wider mantlet, plus external jettisonable fuel tanks. Thicker armor up to 70 mm. 30.9 tons. Two hatch covers in top of turret, that when open, led to it being nicknamed "Mickey Mouse" by German soldiers.

T-34/76E:

Cupola added to turret and all welded construction.

T-34/76F:

Cast turret with no cupola, 5 speed gear. Only 100 built as production switched to T-34/85.

OT-34 (31K)

ATO-41:

Hull MG was replaced by a flame-thrower. Based on the T-34/76B.

ATO-42 (OT-34 1943):

Hull MG was replaced by an AT-41 or ATO-42 flame-thrower. Based on the T-34/76D. Flame fuel was doubled to 100 liters of oil. Weighed 30.9 tons.

TT-34:

Turret replaced by a boom and winch to be used as tank recovery vehicle. Reached troops in 1944. 30 tons.

T-34-MTU:

Bridgelayer with rigid bridge that was deployed by pivoting about a roller attached to the front. Some had A or scissors type, wooden, or fascines.

T-34-PT34:

Mine rollers attached to front.

T-34-STU:

Had dozer blade attached to front.

	T-34/76
Crew	Commander/gun aimer (left-side), driver/mechanic (left-side), MG/radio operator (right-side), loader (right-side) 4^4,11, 5¹
Physical Characteristics
Weight	57,990 lb, 70,547 lb¹⁰ 32,000 kg¹⁰ 26.3 tons^4,5, 32 tons¹¹
Length w/gun	19' 5.25", 19.8'¹⁰, 19.9'¹¹, 24' 7" 5.93 m^4,5, 6 m¹⁰
Length w/o gun
Height	7.8'¹⁰, 7' 10", 8'¹¹, 8' 0.5" 2.4 m¹⁰, 2.46 m^4,5
Width	9.6'¹⁰, 9' 7", 9' 10", 10'¹¹ 2.9 m¹⁰, 3.02 m^4,5
Width over tracks
Ground clearance	1' 0.5", 15"¹¹ 0.38 m^4,5
Ground contact length	161"¹¹
Ground pressure	9.10 psi, 9 psi, 10 psi¹¹, 11.2 psi¹⁰ 0.64 (kg/cm²)^4,5, 0.8 (kg/cm²)¹⁰
Turret ring diameter
Armament
Main	76.2 mm L-11 L/30 or L/41 (F-34) 76.2 mm L/30 or L/41^4,5 76.2 mm⁷ 76.2 mm M1939¹⁰ 76.2 mm Model 1940, L/41.5¹¹
Secondary
MG	2: MGs^4,5 2: 7.62 mm DT MG, coaxial, hull^10,11
Side arms
Quantity
Main	76¹⁰, 77^4,5,11
Secondary
MG	2,898¹¹, 4,420^4,5, 4,725 (35 drums, 65 rounds/ea)
Side arms
Armor Thickness (mm)	18 - 60¹⁰ Front: 1.8"@60°¹¹ Side: 1.8"@40°¹¹
Hull Front, Upper	45^4,5
Hull Front, Lower	45
Hull Sides, Upper	45^4,5
Hull Sides, Lower	45
Hull Rear	40^4,5
Hull Top	20^4,5
Hull Bottom	15^4,5, 16
Turret Front	2.4"¹¹ 45^4,5 Mantlet: 2.4"¹¹
Turret Sides	2.5"@30°¹¹ 45^4,5
Turret Rear	40^4,5
Turret Top	16^4,5
Engine (Make / Model)	W-2^4,5 V-2-34¹⁰
Bore / stroke	4 cycle¹¹
Cooling	Water^4,5,10,11
Cylinders	12^4,5,10, V-12¹¹
Capacity
Net HP	500⁵ 500@1,800 rpm^4,10,11, 1,700 rpm⁵
Power to weight ratio	15.9 hp/ton¹⁰
Compression ratio	15:1¹¹
Transmission (Type)	Constant mesh spur gear¹¹ 4 forward, 1 reverse^4,5,11
Steering	Clutch brake¹¹
Steering ratio
Starter	Air and electric¹¹
Electrical system	25-volt and 12-volt¹¹
Ignition
Fuel (Type)	Diesel^4,5,10,11
Octane
Quantity	127 gallons, 147 gallons¹¹ 480 liters^4,5
Road consumption	1.9 mpg¹¹
Cross country consumption
Performance
Traverse	360° 26°/sec Hand and electric¹¹
Max speed	31 mph¹⁰, 33 mph¹¹, 34 mph 47 kph⁵, 50 kph¹⁰, 53.5 kph⁴
Cross country	12 mph¹¹, 24 mph¹⁰, 25 mph 39 kph¹⁰
Road radius	186 miles¹⁰, 280 miles¹¹ 300 km¹⁰, 455 km^4,5
Cross country radius	161 miles¹¹ 260 km^4,5
Turning radius	25' 4" 7.7 m^4,5
Elevation Limits	-3° to +30°
Fording depth	44"¹¹, 4' 6" 1.12 m^4,5
Trench crossing	8.1'¹⁰, 8' 2", 9.85'¹¹, 9' 8" 2.5 m¹⁰
Vertical obstacle	2' 4", 2' 7", 35"¹¹
Climbing ability	35° (70%) slope¹¹
Suspension (Type)	Christie^4,5,11, each wheel suspended in a movable arm against a coil spring located inside the hull¹¹
Wheels each side	5^4,5,10,11
Return rollers each side
Tracks (Type)	Dry pin¹¹
Length
Width	1' 7"¹⁰, 19.75"¹¹ 480 mm¹⁰, 560 mm^4,5
Diameter
Number of links	70¹¹
Pitch	7.25"¹¹
Tire tread	Rubber⁵, Steel
Track centers/tread	8'¹¹
Production	1940-45: 35,120 1940: 2,800, 117² 1941: 3,014^1,2, 12,520 1942: 12,553^1,2, 15,812 1943: 15,529¹, 3,500, 15,712² 1944: 2,995¹, 3,723² Kirov¹¹

Sources:

Russian Tanks of World War II Stalin's Armored Might, by Tim Bean & Will Fowler, 2002
Russian Tanks and Armored Vehicles 1917-1945, by Wolfgang Fleischer, 1999
The Encyclopedia of Tanks and Armored Fighting Vehicles - The Comprehensive Guide to Over 900 Armored Fighting Vehicles From 1915 to the Present Day, General Editor: Christopher F. Foss, 2002
Panzer Truppen The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1933-1942, Thomas L. Jentz, 1996
Panzer Truppen The Complete Guide to the Creation and Combat Employment of Germany's Tank Force 1943-1945, Thomas L. Jentz, 1996
Tanks of the World, 1915-1945, Peter Chamberlain, Chris Ellis, 1972
The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, Chris Bishop, 1998
Jane's World War II Tanks and Fighting Vehicles The Complete Guide, Leland Ness, 2002
Tanks of World War II, Duncan Crow, 1979
Battle Winning Tanks, Aircraft & Warships of World War II, David Miller, 2000
Tank Data, Aberdeen Proving Grounds Series, 1968?

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