T-44-100

T-44-100

T-44

T-54 (1947)

T-44-100

T-44

T-54 (1947)

USSR

V Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.0	7.0	7.0

Class:

Medium tank

Research:95 000

Purchase:270 000

Description

The T-44-100 is a rank V Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 7.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.57 "Battle March". It is a standard T-44, but with the stronger 100 mm D-10T gun, the same one as on the SU-100 and the T-54 tanks.

This is a fast, manoeuvrable with low profile tank that should be played as a brawler, flanker and ambusher. The tank's speed is quite good in Rank IV (compare with previous version T-34-85 and Panther variants) and its gun can compete with 88 mm gun of Tiger II (amount of explosive, shell velocity).

This tank isn't suitable for front-line roles because of the lack of armour and gun depression. Moreover, T-44-100 has a fast reverse speed, making it more of a "shoot-and-scoot" vehicle.

The armour isn't very thick, however, it does have the potential to bounce some shots.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	90 mm (64°) Front glacis 90 mm (44°) Lower glacis	75 + 6 mm	45 mm (19°) Upper 30 mm (73°) Lower	15 mm
Turret	120 mm (9-58°) Turret front 110 mm (7-63°) Gun mantlet	100 mm (12-21°)	75 mm (10°)	15 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	90 mm	15 mm

Notes:

• Suspensions wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
• There are tracks giving additional 18 mm of armour on the lower back of the turret.
• Spaced armour is put on the side that gives an additional 6 mm.
• Belly armour is 30 mm thick.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
33.5	N/A	67 (AB)
		60 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	806	992
Realistic/Simulator	460	520
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	24.06	29.60
Realistic/Simulator	13.70	15.50

Armaments

Main armament

100 mm D-10T
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
36			-3°/+18°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	23.80	32.94	__.__	__.__	47.06
Realistic	14.88	17.5	__.__	__.__	25.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
13.65	__.__	__.__	10.50

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-412	APHE	217	213	192	169	148	130
BR-412B	APHEBC	217	214	195	173	154	137
BR-412D	APCBC	239	236	223	207	192	178
BR-412P	APCR	251	250	217	169	114	99
OF-412	HE	20	20	19	19	19	19

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
BR-412	APHE	895	15.9	1.2	15	100.1	-1°	47°	60°	65°
BR-412B	APHEBC	895	15.9	1.2	15	100.1	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-412D	APCBC	887	15.9	1.2	15	93.94	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-412P	APCR	1050	8.0	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	66°	70°	72°
OF-412	HE	880	15.2	0.1	0.5	1,460	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Smoke characteristic
Ammunition	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Screen radius in m	Screen time in s	Screen hold time in s:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):
3D3	Smoke	880	15.6	20	5	25	272

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-44-100.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
36	34 (+2)	24 (+12)	21 (+15)	1 (+35)	no

Turret empty: 24 (+12)

Machine guns

12.7 mm DShK
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
250 (50)				600	-10°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm DT
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,890 (63)				600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

General Gameplay

The T-44-100 is a very versatile tank for its Battle Rating of 7.0. When fully upgraded, it's extremely mobile and decently fast, which allows it to go on flanks and set up ambushes to make full use of its 100 mm gun. This gun can penetrate many tanks frontally, although often you have to look for weak spots. Luckily, most of the time that you penetrate an enemy, it's a one-shot kill, due to the explosive nature of the available shells. Having said that, it's best to make your way behind the enemy lines throughout any game, and then clean them up for your team. Moreover, you have 3 crew members in the turret, and if an APHE shell penetrates anywhere, or someone penetrates the turret side, you are most likely dead in one shot, so protect your turret.

Arcade Battles

In Arcade, the T-44-100 can make use of many sniping positions on almost all maps (cliff edge on El Alamein comes to mind). The improved mobility and speed should be used to confuse the enemies and keep your position unknown (i.e. change cover often, move around the map carefully; if needed retreat to your spawn to repair and plan ahead). The mobility will also help you in any stand-offs because you can keep moving your hull and your turret randomly to increase the chances of enemy shells bouncing and hitting only your cannon barrel or track (allowing you to take your time and return fire).

Important Note: Don't over-angle your hull because side armour is not thick enough to block most shots. You will have to practice this yourself.

Rushing objective points is also a valid tactic in Arcade, although it's best to pick points with the most cover because you shouldn't get shot as stated previously. When there are enemies occupying the capture point, it's a good idea to avoid obvious routes and try to snipe the enemies from afar or flank them, because they will always have an advantage on you. If your tank is fully upgraded, you can try rushing in and causing panic, although there is no guarantee that you will survive through that (your team usually pushes in at that point, and most of the time you get the capture point in the end).

Lastly, just try to confuse your enemies by any means. Make it look like you are going around the left side, then when you can't see enemy tags - turn around and go around the right side; or you can try shooting machine guns into the distance by tapping the space bar, and some enemies may think that that was your shot (machine gun tracers are only marginally smaller than main gun tracers), and they will push out into your line of sight. There are many small strategies you can make use of in Arcade because your tank is so responsive - just try stuff!

Realistic Battles

The gameplay is slower in Realistic, and the T-44-100 will be outmatched by early Leopards and other fast vehicles (AUBL, M50 Ontos, Ru 251 etc) in terms of mobility. You should play with more caution, and your main strategies should be: ambushes, flanks and medium-range sniping. To begin with, ambushing is a very successful strategy, and it can be employed in almost every map. You should find a piece of cover around the middle of the map, and look over the main pathways that the enemy team is likely to take (e.g. rubble around B point on Stalingrad, or the passage from B to C on Tunisia, etc). Also, don't forget you can ambush enemy flankers - they will often over-extend, and if you expect that to happen you can set up anti-flank ambushes for them.

When flanking with the T-44-100, you need to be cautious of enemy flankers. Always look around, and try to cover your sides. If a capture point is being captured by the enemies, don't rush in, rather go from cover to cover and try to spot the enemy on the capture point first. That way you will have the advantage over them. If the capture point is in a hilly area, peak over the hill slightly sideways (don't go straight-on), because your side armour will be more angled than the lower plate, and also you are less likely to be one-shot if spotted.

Side Note: Peaking with your side does help with depression as well, but only on shallow hills, on steep hills, you will not be able to get a shot on target without exposing your whole tank. Also, don't try to do this when the enemy sees you, because this strategy needs time to be set-up.

Lastly, sniping will feel easier with the D-10T gun, and at Battle Rating 7.0 extremely fast rounds are uncommon, so you will stand a chance in most medium and long-range engagements. Make sure to use a rangefinder, and aim for hits, not for kills, because at long ranges luck plays a bigger role. After every 3-4 shots, try to change your position - it's best to move forward and find cover, but moving sideways will also help. This way enemies will not be able to explicitly focus fire on you.

Moving from T-44 to T-44-100

This section is for players who are experiencing the sudden jump from Battle Rating 6.3 to 7.0, because you will see many new enemies, and gameplay changes quite a bit. The biggest drawback you will experience is the lack of stabilizer, which makes it harder to play reactively (heavy tanks and tanks with stabilizers will be able to get their guns ready faster than you).

Don't try to penetrate everything up-front, even though the gun has improved significantly. Sure, you can hit some one-shots through weak spots on some enemies, but the amount of times you will bounce and be killed straight after is bigger. This might get annoying, and you will turn away from this wonderful machine - don't do that. Take your time to learn what enemies are easy to penetrate (British medium tanks, German Leopards and JPz 4-5, US M46s etc), and what tanks will take time and effort to outplay (Conqueror, Maus, T32, etc).

Overall, don't get a false sense of security and ability to handle everything, because quite the opposite happens - most tanks can easily penetrate you, while their armour is increased and can be awkward.

The Stock Grind

When grinding the first modifications, Arcade Battles might be more fun, because of faster-paced gameplay and the ability to see all threats. Now, it's a priority to research Parts and FPE, and it may also be a good idea to activate 3-5 universal vehicle back-ups to be able to respawn twice in one match (although it is probably a better idea to wait for the T-54 '47 to use them).

General tips for the stock grind are:

• When playing against German Leopards - you can penetrate them frontally, and there are many of them, so take advantage of this.
  • Most medium tanks you can penetrate through the turret ring, but it's a gamble sometimes.
  • If an enemy tries to angle, shoot at the front side that they're showing because it usually has negligible armour
• Play the objectives - they award points, and if you stay to defend them, you will be able to get some easy kills for those who try to get it back (by ambushing them).
  • You can also set up ambushes before the objective so that enemies will push past you and you can shoot their sides.
• Push with your teammates, but let them take the hits, then poke out and take a shot or two.

Specific Enemies Worth Noting

Against certain enemies, the recommended tactics are:

• Tiger II (P) and (H): shoot at turret cheeks (thin part so you should aim carefully), the lower glacis, there is a transmission (Warning: Only shoot this when the Tiger II is facing you directly). If successful in flanking the Tiger II, shoot the part below the turret a little bit.
• Panther F and Panther II: watch for their manoeuvre, shoot at turret cheek, hull (directly facing only) and lower glacis (directly facing only).
• Caernavron: Turret ring and its thin lower glacis (one shot and it will blow up). Hit the side turret as well to knock out the fighting crew.
• T29: The lower glacis and turret ring
• Leopard 1A0: shoot anywhere, but avoid getting hit
• Jagdpanther: Aim at the side of the gun and penetrate through the front glacis.
• Jagdtiger: Only shoot at lower glacis. Recommend to flank it due to its low speed.
• Maus: The turret cheek (only below 100m). Recommend to flank the tank and shoot at the lower side with APCR on the side and rear turret.
• Centurion Mk 3: Hull and lower glacis
• FV4202: Lower glacis and turret
• T-44 and T-44-100: Anywhere
• IS-2: Shoot at the flat part of the hull, one-shot guarantee.
• IS-2 (1944): Turret, lower glacis (which is not angled much)
• T26E1-1 "Super Pershing: Hull and lower glacis
• Tortoise: Never shoot the lower glacis, shoot the machine gun position (the upper left side), this can knock out at least 3 crews of it.
• T95: Commander cupola. Recommend to flank it due to its low speed.

Modules

The first modifications you should get are “Parts” and “FPE”. The best order for this is Parts → Horizontal Drive → FPE. After you get those, you can grind what you want. It’s recommended to get the modifications of the Category “Firepower” and “Protection” first. Because it's a medium tanks you should also get the modifications “Filters”, “Transmission” and “Engine” as fast as possible, to have better mobility.

You could do it like this: Parts → Horizontal Drive → FPE → BR-412B → BR-412D → Adjustment of Fire → Crew Replenishment → Filters → Elevation Mechanism → Transmission → Engine → Artillery Support → Brake System → Suspension → Tracks → BR-412P

Pros and cons

Pros

• Powerful 100 mm D-10T gun with good AP-rounds and a good one-shot-potential
• Introduces players to the 100 mm D-10T gun of the T-54 family
• 12.7mm DShK machine gun provides effective anti-aircraft defence and saves main gun ammo when facing soft targets like SPAA's
• Very manoeuvrable when fully upgraded, lots of power compared to the T-34-85 and the T-44. Good top speed, acceleration and reverse
• Low profile, so you won’t get spotted easily
• Good frontal armour. Quite many rounds bounce
• Side skirts provide spaced armour

Cons

• Only -3° of gun depression. So the T-44-100 favours only flat or hull down/ low lying positions
• Long reload time, even with an aced crew (as fast as a Panther II stock)
• Quite a weak turret armour. The turret cheeks are weak points
• 3 of 4 crewmen are in the turret, so it's easy to be one-shot
• Big ammo-rack next to your driver in the front

History

Development

The T-44 started development in the Autumn of 1943 at the Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183, with the objective of creating a tank that is superior to the T-34. The requirement was that it have the same mobility as the T-34, but with more armour on it. In November, chief designer A. A. Morozov presented the T-44's design and model, called Object 136 as a prototype. The first prototype was completed on January the next year and two more in February. The first two prototypes are armed with the 85 mm D-5T gun with the designation T-44-85, while the last had a 122 mm D-25-44T cannon similar to the one on the IS-2 tank (Though differing from one-piece ammunition and better muzzle brake) designated the T-44-122. Overall, the design allowed the T-44 to be much more protective in armour thickness when compared to the T-34 while remaining a lower profile. Trials with the first prototypes began in February 1944. The T-44 with the 122 mm gun was deemed impractical in the trials and was discontinued while the T-44 with the 85 mm gun went on to further development. Improvements and changes went into the design until it was accepted in November 1944, where it was placed into service of the Soviet Red Army. Production started in 1944 at Factory No. 75 and continued building until 1947 with about 1,823 units produced.

Despite the T-44's superiority over the T-34 tank, it used the same gun, the 85 mm ZiS-S-53, as its main armament. It was requested that a larger armament be placed onto the T-44 instead for increased firepower. Testing began at October 1944 for this upgrade at the Ural Tank Factory, with the T-44 armed with the 100 mm to be called the T-44B (or the T-44-100). Two prototypes were made for the T-44-100 in February 1945, one with a D-10TK gun and another with the LB-1 gun. The T-44-100, compared to the original T-44, had its turret ring diameter increased, thicker armour overall, and increased weight.

Test results

The T-44-100 trials in March and April resulted in the positive performance of the T-44-100. The performance the T-44B gave convinced the army that the design had potential and was to not instantly be put into production and instead wait for the entire tank design to be modernized before starting production. Thus, only two working prototypes were made before the entire tank design went into an overhaul. The resulting tank from this development was the T-54 main battle tank. This tank was accepted while all further development on the T-44 stopped.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

• 

  The T-44-100 unveiled to the world.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [wt:en/devblog/current/865/|[Devblog] Т-44-100: Maneuver and fire!]