T-34 (1941)

T-34 (1941)

T-34 (1940)

T-34 (1942)

T-34 (1941)

T-34 (1940)

T-34 (1942)

USSR

II Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
4.0	4.0	4.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:5 600

Purchase:22 000

This page is about the Russian medium tank T-34 (1941). For other uses, see T-34 (Family).

Description

The T-34 (1941) is a rank II Russian medium tank with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Driver's hatch, Machine gun mount)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	45 mm (60°) Front glacis 40 mm (1-73°) Machine gun ball mount 45 mm (60°) Driver's hatch 100 mm (5-35°) Welded glacis joint 45 mm (60°) Lower glacis	40 mm (40°) Top 45 mm Bottom	40 mm (49°) Top 40 mm (47°) Bottom	20 mm
Turret	45 mm (3-75°) Turret front 45 mm (2-78°) Gun mantlet	45 mm (30°)	45 mm (30°)	15 mm

Notes:

• Suspensions wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.

The T-34's armour, even though only 45 mm thick on the front, is angled at 60°, which increases its effective thickness and the ability to ricochet or bounce enemy shells. Never let your enemies see your sides, as they are thinner, less angled and your enemies can easily penetrate it. The turret is still 45 mm thick, but much less angled. If your enemy penetrates your turret with APHE shells, you're a goner. Always angle your armour.

The T-34 has a crew of 4 men packed tightly together, and one shot could incapacitate a few crew members. The ammunition is conveniently stored below the tank, making it difficult to detonate. If you carry a decreased ammunition load, preferably 15-30 shells, the enemy would have a hard time detonating your ammo. However, shrapnel from a HE shell shot below you can be dangerous, especially when you encounter a Ho-Ro, for example. The engine is the module most of your opponents will target. Parts and FPE should be researched to be able to survive the shots targeted at your engine. However, your quite low rate of fire (~9 sec reload stock) will give your enemies a second, final blow.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)		Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse	Stock	AoA	Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	55	8	28.1	0.15	775	954	27.53	33.71
Realistic	49	7			442	500	15.7	17.67

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm F-34					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	77	-5°/+30°	±180°	N/A	23.80	32.94	40.00	44.24	47.06	8.97	7.93	7.31	6.90
Realistic					14.88	17.50	21.25	23.50	25.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)	APHEBC	87	85	76	67	59	52
BR-350SP	APBC	102	100	91	81	72	64
BR-350B (MD-8 fuze)	APHEBC	94	92	83	73	65	57
OF-350M	HE	10	10	10	10	10	10
Sh-354T	Shrapnel	37	35	29	25	20	17

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)	APHEBC	662	6.3	1.2	14.0	150	48°	63°	71°
BR-350SP	APBC	655	6.78	N/A	N/A	N/A	48°	63°	71°
BR-350B (MD-8 fuze)	APHEBC	655	6.3	0.9	14.0	98.56	48°	63°	71°
OF-350M	HE	680	6.2	0.05	0.1	621	79°	80°	81°
Sh-354T	Shrapnel	680	6.2	0.5	8.0	85	62°	69°	73°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
D-350A	680	6.45	13	5	20	50

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-34 (1941)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
77	75 (+2)	69 (+8)	53 (+24)	37 (+39)	19 (+58)	1 (+26)	No

Notes:

• To go into battle with the flanks empty of shells, pack 69 (+8) shells (racks 1 & 2 depleted).
• As they are modeled by sets of 2, shells disappear from the rack only after you fire both shells in the set.

Machine guns

7.62 mm DT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,898 (63)	600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

T-34 1941 is one of the most well rounded medium battle tanks at its rank among it with the German Panzer IV ausf F.2 and United States Sherman tanks. The sloped armour, great acceleration with good speed and 76.2 mm cannon make it a force to be reckoned with especially against inexperienced players, meanwhile when facing experienced players, however, it can become scrap metal pretty fast. Compared to the 1940 version, the 1941 gets a better 76.2 mm cannon which greatly improves the penetration power but still keeps the 1940 model turret. At distance, the sloped armour is efficient at blocking shells from enemy tanks with relatively short and small-calibre cannons even some long barrel and high calibre guns can also have trouble penetrating on the sloped armour if used well. Even with its sloped armour advantages, a T-34 is a relatively easy tank to knock out specifically with a well-placed shot. With the crew operating in a compact space around the turret, which is located in the centre of the tank where it is a very limited space to operate in makes it an easy tank to knock out the crew with a single blow from a shell with a good amount of high explosive filling. Also, be mindful of the T-34's turret. It is a weak spot and can be easily penetrated by an enemy shell and will with ease knock out the tank and its crew.

Urban Combat

T-34's in urban combat are a lethal machine combined the sloped armour with its speed and manoeuvrability combined with the 76.2mm F-34 makes it excel in close-quarter combat against most enemy tanks it will face in battle. Its short barrel will do excellent against most enemy armour, with well-placed shots in close range battles. In urban (City) battles the T-34 is a great hit and run tank, offering great acceleration. At slow speed, it can also be highly lethal but advance with care. It takes a while for the barrel to stop shaking when going to halt from full speed, which is a drawback if directly facing an enemy tank, which can appear suddenly from around the street corners or sitting and covering other roads that exist in the city. It is recommended when advancing, use slow speed to reduce that shaking and which allows for better engagement to get that enemy to be knocked out.

Open Fields

Open fields are not the optimal combat situation for the T-34 1941 with its crew being relatively close to each other makes it prone to being a one-hit kill and an easy target for tanks like Pz IV F.2, StuG III F, Na-To and M10 GMC which can easily score a hit from far away. Utilize the acceleration, relative good speed and wide tracks to advance around on most terrain till a position where the gun can reliably penetrate enemy armour with a good well placed shot and knock the enemy threat out. Be aware of the surroundings there can be an enemy threat everywhere which can easily knock the T-34 from the side or a hit to the fragile turret.

Common opponents:

• Medium Tank M4, M4A2 (American): The T-34's 76 mm gun cannot penetrate the welded hull M4/M4A2 reliably from the front, while the 75 mm gun on the M4/M4A2 can penetrate the T-34's turret and disable or cripple it. They do have very weak lower side hull armour (only 38 mm) that can be overmatched by the 76 mm APHEBC round if exposed, and the flat areas on the turret can also be penetrated fairly reliably if they can be hit. Generally avoid head-on engagements, especially if the M4 is hull-down.

• Medium Tank M4A1, Sherman II (American/French, British): Similar to the M4/M4A2, except that the cast hull is weaker than the welded hull on the M4/M4A2, and can be penetrated frontally. Otherwise, the same advice applies.
• Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2, G, H, J (German): The Ausf. F2 variant is the first Panzer IV to mount a long-barreled 75 mm gun. This gun is one of the most lethal mounted on any tank within the T-34's BR range, and it is easily capable of penetrating the T-34 at most ranges. The Ausf. F2 has very weak armour, however, and is something of a glass cannon. The Ausf. G, H, and J have up-armoured hulls that are quite difficult to penetrate, but their turrets are as weak as the one on the F2. The Ausf. J, in particular, has manual turret traverse and is very vulnerable to being flanked. Avoid long-range duels with them.
• Chi-Nu II (Japanese): Essentially the Japanese counterpart to the German Panzer IV Ausf. F2.
• Churchill III, Churchill(e) (British, German): The 6-pounder gun on the Churchill will be hard-pressed to penetrate the sloped T-34 hull, but it can easily penetrate the turret and disable the turret crew. It is difficult to penetrate the frontal armour of the Churchill at long ranges. However, it is a slow, cumbersome heavy tank, and is easy to outflank and dispatch with shots to the side armour.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	BR-350SP
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	BR-350B (MD-8 fuze)
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine	Add-on Armor	Artillery Support	D-350A

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent post-penetration effect with the BR-350B, easily destroying most tanks it sees in one shot.
• Sloped hull armour provides good protection against small calibre / low-penetration shells (eg. 75 mm M3, 50 mm KwK39), and even large calibre guns when angled correctly.
• 49 km/h top speed allows it to change position quickly and outrun lots of other medium tanks.
• Nearly impossible to damage the transmission and immobilize it from the front.
• Very fast turret traverse, good for urban combat.

Cons:

• The 4 crew members are very close together making the T-34 (1941) easily disabled when penetrated from the front / side hull, or even the turret.
• -5° gun depression is below average, making it ineffective to combat in hills comparing to the M4 with -10° depression.
• Large fuel tanks scattered at the sides of the hull, tend to catch fire when hit.
• AP shells lack the penetration against more heavily armoured foes like the KV I C 756 (r) and the Pz.Kpfw. Churchill.
• It is difficult to place bushes on the upper front hull due to the obstruction of MG port and driver's optics.

History

Design

The T-34 Model 1941 was the direct successor of the T-34 Model 1940. It featured the exact same design, with a frontal sloped armour, a 2-man turret, a 500 HP engine and a 76 mm gun.

Development

Only minor modifications were implemented in the T-34 Model 1941. The main goal was to get rid of teething problems and improve manufacturability. It still had a cramped 2-man turret but it was better armoured: the vehicle gained 2 tons overall. It received a better radio equipment for commander tanks but the turret lost its periscope. It kept the initial engine but received better injection, air filter and a better gear box. A major change was the better 76 mm F-34 gun. The gun featuring a better performance was installed on new T-34 Model 1941 in place of the 76 mm L-11 at the initiative of Vasiliy Grabin. Those new tanks were then issued to platoon commanders who in return praised the new gun for its performance. This led the Soviet bureacratic institutions to approve the gun for production and integration on The T-34. Production started early 1941 in Kharkov. While only 400 T-34 Model 1940 were produced. a total of 3,111 T-34 Model 1941 were produced by Soviet factories before switching to the Model 1942.

Combat usage

The T-34 (1941) was the first T-34 to massively see combat. It was deployed on the Eastern front to counter the advance of German armour and was deemed a performant platform by Soviet troops. The lack of effectiveness of German 50 mm guns against the sloped armour of T-34s led to the development of new 75 and 88 mm guns to equip German tanks.

In-game description

The second T-34 model was developed in 1941. The main difference in the T-34 Mod. 1941 was the installation of the new 76 mm F-34 cannon with a 41.5 calibre barrel length. In addition, the shape of the cannon's recoil mechanism armour was changed, along with the method used to attach it. The muzzle velocity of its armour-piercing shell was somewhat higher than that of the L-11 cannon, amounting to 662 m/s. The weapon's armour penetration and gun depression were increased. Its practical rate of fire in combat conditions came to 3-5 shots per minute. Apart from that, the Mod. 1941 tanks were equipped with tracks with more pronounced track grousers.

In 1942, versions appeared with cast turrets and new, wider tracks. Shortages of rubber deliveries for manufacturing road wheel bands forced the development of fully metallic wheels. Throughout 1942, an attempt was made to strengthen the tank's armour by laying additional 20-25 mm plates in the turret and frontal hull. The final issue tanks had additional fuel tanks attached to the back of the hull, along with a large number of hand-rails on the turret and hull for ease of carrying tankborne infantry and servicing the vehicle's components.

All in all, a large number of changes were aimed first and foremost at simplifying production and increasing the T-34's manufacturing speed. Some of these tanks were equipped with ATO-41 flamethrowers. In 1943, a design was presented at factory No. 112 to improve the T-34's armour after the fashion of German tanks. Vehicles with reinforced turrets, hull and side add-on armour were tested on the front in August 1943. Tests in combat conditions showed that the tank's survivability had not significantly increased, so the design was discarded.

Setting up production in evacuated factories allowed the number of these vehicles in tank units to be significantly increased, and from 1942, the T-34 became the most prolific tank, with more produced than all other types of tanks combined.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the T-34 (1941) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

The T-34 Family - War Thunder Official Channel discusses the T-34 (1941) at 03:28.

T-34 1941 Tank Review - NUSensei

See also

• T-34 (Family)

External links

• [War Drawings] T-34/76 Variants