History, Development, and Use
of the T-34/85 Medium Tank

 

This section will cover the history, development, and use of the T-34/85 medium tank. In this section you will find where the tank has been used, when it was designed, its limitations and abilities, and how the vehicle functions.

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Brief Operational History

The T-34 family was derived from the earlier BT-7 series.  T-34's were originally armed with a 76mm main gun, but in 1943 changes were required.  They came in the form of a larger turret taken from KV-85 and a larger main gun, the D-5T anti-aircraft gun.

Even with these modifications the T-34/85 was still very easy to produce.  The engine and transmission were very accessible and easy to work on  The Christie suspension that the tank possessed was known for its proven reliability.  Its wide tracks were purposefully designed to enable the tank to travel over both snow and mud.  Extra fuel drums could be strapped to the rear deck of the tank to increase the range.

Wartime Production Figures
1943 100
1944 11,000
1945 18,330

Total

 29,430

All of these advances made the T-34/85 a superior vehicle to the newly developed German Panther, a tank that was originally designed to combat the T-34/76.  When this is combined with its ability to be mass produced it is easy to see why it has been called one of the best tanks of the Second World War.

After the Great Patriotic war the T-34/85 continued to be produced.  In fact it was produced as late as 1964 with over 40,000 examples being made over its service lifetime.   Attempts to produce a replacement vehicle were not initially successful.  The T-44 tank that was offered found itself outpaced by the technology of the time and T-55 proved to be much better.

Even so, the T-34/85 was exported to many Warsaw Pact nations in the late-40's and 1950's in an effort  bolster the armies of allied Communist nations.  It served with many African nations well into the 1970's and probably even later before being replaced by more modern machines.  The latest confirmed use of the T-34/85 was in during the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.  After the Soviets established their new regime they gave a number of the tanks to the DRA (Communist Afghan) army.  These were all operated by Afghan government troops, and many fell victim to attacks by the Mujahideen.  It is not known if any survived the war.

  

Tactical Use and Limitations

The T-34/85 was the most produced tank of the Great Patriotic war.  It filled the role of main battle tank where it would punch holes in the German line.  The tank's 85mm gun was very powerful and could engage enemy armor at long distances.  Very few medium tanks were able to stand up to it, and even the German Panther was at a disadvantage against it.  They were also used to ferry infantrymen into battle.  Many photos of PPSh-41 wielding troops riding on the back of the tanks exist.

 

Deployment Chronology

Here you can see what vehicles the T-34/85 replaced and what vehicles eventually replaced it.  It was originally superceded by the T-44 tank, but large numbers were still in service by the time the T-54/55 medium tank was developed.  The T-54/55 series ultimately ended up replacing the T-34/85 in front line service.  You can find out more about each vehicle by clicking on the links below.

The T-34/85 replaced... T-34/85 Medium Tank The T-34/85 was replaced by...
T-34/76 Medium Tank T-44 Medium Tank
T-54/55 Medium Tank

 

Sources Cited

Here are some of the most informative sources that we have used in compiling this information for you.  We hope you can find them as useful as we have.