Soviet tank T-34/76: photos and interesting facts

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the T-34 tank was produced in two versions. Issued in a small amount of T-34/5 armed with artillery ZiS-4. The T-34/76 tank was an average and large-scale tank with an F-34 gun. By the middle of the war, he became the main Soviet model. The rise of the T-34/76 tank, which took place in July 2016 in the Voronezh region, helps remind the current generation of its importance and legend. In many respects it was thanks to this machine that the Red Army managed to break the backbone of the German enemy. In this article we will consider interesting facts about it.

Production

In 1941 they made a famous modification at three plants: in Kharkov, Stalingrad and at Krasniy Sormovo in Gorky. At the beginning of the war, on June 25, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR adopted a decree according to which Soviet industry was to significantly increase the production of tanks.

In fact, a new production system was being created. The leading role in it was assigned to the plant No. 183 in Kharkov and its design bureau. The military assumed that other industrial facilities that had produced the T-34/76 tank and made changes to its design would consult with this enterprise. In practice, everything turned out differently. The turmoil of the war, the evacuation of the Kharkov plant in Nizhny Tagil and other circumstances led to the fact that only the tactical and technical characteristics of the model remained unchanged. In other details, the products of different factories could differ slightly. The name of the modification, however, was common. Number 76 was taken because of the characteristic 76-mm gun.

Appearance in the Army

Military time made it somewhat simpler and modernize production in accordance with changed market conditions. In September 1941, after the fever of the first months of the war, the tank T-34-76 began to massively enter the army. The least of all this military equipment was in the northwestern theater of operations.

Firstly, this theater for a long time was only secondary (the main events unfolded in the Moscow direction). Secondly, the Leningrad Front was isolated from the rest of the USSR. The dispatch of tanks to the blocked city on the Neva was extremely difficult. As a result, the Lenfront park basically consisted not of mass T-34/76, but of light T-26 and heavy KV ("Klim Voroshilov").

From tractors to tanks

By October 1, there were 566 tanks on the Western Front (65 of which were T-34/76). As can be seen from these figures, the proportion of the modification has so far remained insignificant. Most of all, the T-34/76 tank was produced and produced in 1943, when it became the most massive and recognizable Soviet tank. Toward the end of the war he was replaced by the following modification - T-34/85.

In the fall of 1941, the main producer of tanks was the Stalingrad plant. In the pre-war time, it was created as a tractor. In the course of Stalin's industrialization, several such enterprises appeared, and all of them were built with an eye on a possible armed conflict. If in the peacetime of the Stalingrad plant produced tractors, then after the attack of Germany, he, thanks to the peculiarities of production, was quickly re-qualified as a tank officer. In place of agricultural machinery came military equipment.

Test in winter

For the first time, the T-34/76 declared itself as a universal tank in the autumn of 1941. In those days the Germans were all eager for Moscow. In the Wehrmacht hoped for a blitzkrieg and threw in battle more and more new reserves. Soviet troops retreated to the capital. The fighting was already 80 kilometers from Moscow. In the meantime, very early (in October) snow fell and snow appeared. Under these conditions, light tanks T-60 and T-40S lost the ability to maneuver. Heavy models suffered from deficiencies in their gearbox and transmission. As a result, at the most decisive stage of the war it was decided to make the main tank T-34/76. By weight, this machine was considered average.

For its time, the Soviet T-34/76 tank of the 1941 model was an effective and high-quality equipment. Particular pride of the designers was caused by the diesel engine V-2. The anti-ballistic armor (the most important protective element of the tank) fulfilled all the tasks assigned to it and reliably protected the crew of 4 people. Artemisfactory F-34 was characterized by high-speed shooting, which allows to quickly deal with the enemy. It was these three characteristics that bothered specialists in the first place. The remaining features of the tank changed at the very last.

Heroes-tankers

Tankmen who fought on the T-34/76, glorified themselves with so many exploits that it is simply impossible to list them. Here are just some examples of the bravery of the crews during the battle for Moscow. Sergeant Kaforin continued to fire on the enemy, even when all his comrades were killed and the tank was hit. The next day he moved to another car, destroyed two platoons of infantry, a machine gun nest and an enemy command post. The last time Sergeant Kaforin was shot in the village of Kozlovo. He shot back until he was burned with the tank.

Similarly, the crews of Lieutenant Timerbaev and the political instructor Mamontov fought in vehicles engulfed in fire. The commander of the tank company, Captain Vasilyev, was wounded, but continued to fire. He miraculously managed to get out of the car a few minutes before the explosion. Later Vasiliev received the deserved title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Also, the Red Army men of the 28th Tank Brigade were particularly persistent.

The defense of Moscow

The Armored Forces played an exceptionally important role in disrupting the decisive German offensive against Moscow. They acted in ambushes, intercepted and defended the most important routes to the capital, keeping roads up to the approach of reinforcements. At the same time, the command often did not know how to handle tanks. The inexperience and misunderstanding of the realities of modern technology affected, while the personnel of the Red Army, on the contrary, struck the enemy with their courage and perseverance.

During this period, the group most effective was the group consisting of five tank brigades (TPR): 1st Guards, 27, 28, 23 and 33 TWR. They obeyed the 16th Army and covered the Volokolamsk direction. Strikes against the Germans were mainly caused by ambushes. A case that occurred on November 16 in the suburb of Sychy near Moscow is indicative. Soviet troops took up defense in the village. The tanks disappeared in ambush. Soon the enemy tried to establish control over the Syc. 80 German tanks were crushed by detachments of Red Army infantry and a motorized infantry brigade. At the most crucial moment, Soviet vehicles appeared from the ambush , which restored the status quo. In the battle almost all the German tanks and two more infantry companies were destroyed.

Model of 1943

The main battles of 1943 took place in the area of the South Russian steppes, where there was room for maneuvering military operations and using a large mass of equipment. It was then that the main Soviet tank was the T-34/76. The model ceased to be produced in Stalingrad. Instead, its production was moved to Omsk, Chelyabinsk and Sverdlovsk.

By the middle of the war, the next (albeit insignificant) modernization of the T-34/76 was completed. There were stamped and hexagonal towers, a new gearbox was introduced. Each design bureau puzzled over how to increase the gross production of the machine, while maintaining the quality of its operation. In fact, on the eve of the Battle of Kursk, the T-34/76 tank of the 1943 model remained an insignificant modification of its predecessor, which appeared at the beginning of the war.

disadvantages

Meanwhile, during the military operations during the counterattack of the Red Army, significant design miscalculations began to manifest, which differed the Soviet tank T-34/76. Its quality began to yield to German competitors shortly after the defeat of the Wehrmacht at Stalingrad. The Reich realized that it was time for the country to prepare for a prolonged total war (and not a blitzkrieg). Due to deterioration in the well-being of the population, even more resources began to flow into military budgets. There were new modifications of German technology.

The primary problem for the T-34/76 was the insufficient maneuverability of the tank. Without it, the model became extremely vulnerable. The reason for the flaw was the insufficient speed of the transmission control. Already the T-34/76 tank of the 1942 model had a 4-speed gearbox, while foreign cars were 5-6-speed. In addition, the Soviet gearboxes were difficult to work with. From the driver mechanic, many skills and forces were required in order to cope with it, while German tankmen did not know about such inconveniences.

New opponents

Preparing for the most important Kursk battle, the Soviet command counted on the fact that the domestic tanks will cope with the new German models without any serious, revolutionary changes in their design. This confidence was reinforced by the new podkalibernye armor-piercing ammunition, which appeared in the arsenal of the Red Army in April 1943. However, by then the T-34/76 had regularly played dueling with their main opponents in the face of the German "Panther".

The Kursk arch finally dispelled the illusions of the Kremlin. The newest "Tigers", "Ferdinand" and "Panther" were much better than Soviet technology, behind them for two or three years. It seems that such a difference is insignificant. In fact, during the war, technical progress in the army gained tremendous speed, because of which even the smallest backlog from the enemy could become fatal.

Work on bugs

All of the above problems of the T-34/76 tank were the most serious challenge for Soviet designers. Work on the bugs began immediately. The first in the production of new gearboxes was the plant in Sverdlovsk. There were new 5-speed transmission, and the previous 4-speed upgraded. In production began to use improved wear-resistant steel. Also, experts tested a new transmission design (bearings, transmission nodes, etc. were updated). Sverdlovsk team of inventors managed to introduce into production the servo-drive of the main clutch, which considerably facilitated the work of the driver-mechanic.

The upgraded undercarriage was another improvement, which acquired an updated T-34/76 tank. Photo of cars from different series may not look different, but the main difference was in the internal device. The wheels of the track rollers and the sloth were strengthened, the reliability of the construction was increased, etc. In addition, all the tanks began to pass additional factory tests.

Again in business

In July 1943, for the first time, the improvements that the T-34/76 tank had undergone over the last few months began to affect. Interesting facts left behind the famous battle of Prokhorovka. The 5th Guards Tank Army has accomplished an unprecedented march-throw.

For three days of the corps with a minimum loss in personnel passed about 350 kilometers. Quite unexpectedly for the Germans these compounds imposed a battle and thwarted the Germans' attack. The enemy lost about a quarter of their tanks.

End of operation

Another serious test for Soviet technology was the Belarusian offensive of 1944. Earlier here, as in north-western Russia, there were news of the finding of drowned military vehicles in the marshes . Including several times the tank was hoisted T-34/76.

In Belarus, technology had to move along sandy and unpaved roads not of the highest quality, or even through forests and swamps. At the same time, time for technical maintenance was sorely lacking. Contrary to the difficulties, the new T-34/76 transmission coped with its task and sustained a voyage of 1,000 kilometers (50-70 kilometers per day).

After the Belarusian operation, this model finally gave way to the next, the 85th modification. The last surviving T-34/76 tank was discovered at the bottom of the Don River in the Voronezh Region. It was raised to the surface in July 2016. The find will be exhibited in the museum.