T-35

T-35

T-35

USSR

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.3	1.3	1.3

Class:

PREMIUM

Heavy tank

Purchase:2 100

Description

The T-35 is a premium rank I Russian heavy tank with a battle rating of 1.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.43. The T-35 has the distinction in-game as the vehicle with the most crew members (10 total). While the armour may not provide great protection against enemies even at Rank I, the large crew count makes up in part for the tank's survivability in combat.

The T-35 is large. It has five turrets on top, but only three should be taken into consideration: the one in the middle, the one front right from the middle, and the one bottom left from middle, all due to their armaments being able to destroy tanks. However, don't be deceived by its size - the T-35's armour is barely more than 30 mm thick. Even with a standard Rank I gun, you may be able to penetrate its armour.

Despite the huge ammo reserve for the secondary turrets, the total ammo is split between the two turrets. This means that if one 45 mm cannon fires more than the other, it will run out and be unable to fire until resupplied.

The T-35 is the largest tank among the Rank I vehicles. With a multi-turreted platform of two 45 mm cannons and one 76.2 mm cannon, the tank can combat enemies at an almost 360° angle. However, the armour is quite thin for a vehicle of its size so one should not play this vehicle like a typical heavy tank later down the rank. The speed is decent for a vehicle of its size, however, so it is possible to catch the enemies off guard by attacking from an area they least expect.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	30 mm (20°) Front plate 24 mm (77°) Front glacis 30 mm (18-63°) Lower glacis	11 + 23 mm	10 mm (20-77°) Top 20 mm (12-63°) Bottom	10 mm
Main Turret	20 mm Turret front 20 mm (0-7°) Gun mantlet	20 mm	21 mm	15 mm
Secondary Turret	17 mm (0-84°) Turret front 17 mm (1-32°) Gun mantlet	25 mm (0-1°)	15 mm	10 mm
Machine gun Turret	22 mm (1°)	23 mm (0-1°)	10 mm	10 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 15 mm thick, bogies are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 20 mm thick.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	30	5	52	646	954	12.42	18.35
Realistic	28	4		442	500	8.5	9.62

Armaments

Main armament

76 mm KT-28
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
96			-5°/+25°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	13.40	18.50	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	13.40	15.80	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
5.2	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
SH-353	Shrapnel	27	25	21	19	16	12
BR-350A	APHEBC	37	37	33	30	27	24
OF-350M	HE	11	11	11	11	11	11

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%
SH-353	Shrapnel	381	6.2	0.5	8.0	85	+0°	62°	69°	73°
BR-350A	APHEBC	370	6.3	0.15	10.0	155	+4°	48°	63°	71°
OF-350M	HE	387	6.2	0.05	0.1	710	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-35.

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	8th rack empty	9th rack empty	10th rack empty	11th rack empty	12th rack empty	13th rack empty	14th rack empty	15th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
96	87 (+9)	77 (+19)	72 (+24)	67 (+29)	57 (+39)	46 (+50)	41 (+55)	33 (+63)	25 (+71)	21 (+75)	18 (+78)	13 (+83)	10 (+86)	6 (+90)	1 (+95)	Yes

Side walls empty: 46 (+50)

Additional armament

45 mm 20-K
Front right turret mount
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
113			-8°/+32°	-50°/+132°	N/A
Rear left turret mount
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
113			-8°/+32°	-48°/+117°	N/A
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert Qualif.	Prior + Ace Qualif.
3.80	__.__	__.__	__.__

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
BR-240	APHEBC	69	68	59	50	42	35
BR-240SP	AP	73	71	62	52	44	37

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-240	APHEBC	760	1.4	1.2	15	32.3	+4°	48°	63°	71°
BR-240SP	AP	757	1.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	47°	60°	65°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
226	115 (+111)	2 (+224)	no

Rear turret empty: 115 (+111)

Machine guns

7.62 mm DT
Main Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,260 (63)				600	±15°	±15°
Turret coaxial mount (x2)
Capacity (Belt capacity each)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
2,520 (63)				600	N/A	N/A
Front left turret mount
Capacity (Belt capacity each)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,260 (63)				600	±15°	-130°/+10°
Rear right turret mount
Capacity (Belt capacity each)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,260 (63)				600	±15°	-140°/+20°

Usage in battles

The T-35 is nothing short of a behemoth, being able to take more penetrating hits than any tank at 1.3 with his large crew. Although possessing a relatively heavy armament, the lack of armour for its size and speed really limits its playstyle.

Stay with your team

Staying with your team ensures it isn't as easy for enemy tanks to take you out, this is most easily achieved if playing with friends who you have direct communication to. However, do not overextend, as if your teammates die you're a sitting duck, especially if you were daring enough to be in the middle of the battlefield.

Stay behind cover

Probably the most obvious way to play, taking cover and avoiding large and open terrain means you have the best chance of survival. This tactic may not be viable most of the time, it all depends on which maps you play.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	Horizontal Drive	BR-240SP
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	Adjustment of Fire	BR-350A (MD-5 fuze)
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Elevation Mechanism
IV	Transmission	Engine		Artillery Support
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• KT-28 cannon destroys anything it penetrates with a single hit
• No less than three cannons available for use
• Can have guns pointed towards the front and rear at the same time
• High rate of fire with all weapons
• Large ammunition capacity
• Large frame can often absorb more modular/crew damage than most other tanks
• Crew of 10 makes it an almost impossible target to completely destroy without an experienced player at the wheel
• Slowness and heaviness means that firing on the move is not a problem

Cons:

• Slow and with poor manoeuvrability
• Largest target currently among the ground forces
• Poorly armoured despite the size
• Complex armour structure creates many shot traps
• Possible to run out of ammo for one secondary turret if it is used too long
• Very long, can get stuck into difficult situations in close quarters
• Gun is mounted high and with poor gun depression
• Ammo racks are strewn all over the centre compartment when carrying large amounts
• Due to its large size its a easy picking if outflanked or attacked by aircraft, especially by fighter bombers
• The main 76mm gun has a short barrel, meaning its shells have very low muzzle velocity and poor penetration (370 m/s and 37mm penetration for stock shell)
• The roof is only 14 to 20mm thick, heavy machine guns can easily cut trough

History

Development

The T-35 concept began from the OKMO design bureau of the Bolshevik Factory in 1930 when work began on a heavy tank. Two teams were made for two competing designs, one was headed by German engineer Grotte and the other was headed by N. Tsiets. Grotte worked on a 100-ton four-turreted TG-5 tank, armed with a 107 mm naval gun, using pneumatic servo-controls and suspension, but this was cancelled. N. Tsiets worked on a design that may be inspired by the British tank design Vickers A1E1 Independent, which is a multi-turret tank using one main turret with a gun and smaller one's housing machine guns. This tank may also be the inspiration for the Soviet T-28 medium tank.

The development was completed with a prototype by July 1932. The prototype was about 35 tons, had a 76.2 mm main gun and four smaller turrets around it, two with a 37 mm gun and two with machine guns. There were many defects with the transmission design and the design was considered too complex for the manufacturing process, plus it was expensive. Work stopped for a simpler prototype to be produced. This simpler version had a new engine, gearbox, and an improved transmission over the previous prototype. Standardization on the turrets between the prototype and that on the T-28 medium tank was utilized so the small machine gun turret is the same between the two designs, the main gun turret was also nearly identical, but the one on the T-28 has a rear-facing machine gun. The design was approved for production on August 11, 1933, and was produced at the Kharkov Locomotive Factory with about 20 units produced.

The tank was upgraded again from experiences of the two prototypes, the chassis was made longer, the hull redesigned, and 45 mm gun turrets from the BT-5 light tanks used instead of a 37 mm gun. This was designated the T-35 Model 1935 and started production in 1935 and had 35 units built by 1938, with small improvements made throughout its production life. A final redesign made in 1938 had new turrets with sloping armour installed and modified side skirts for protecting the idler wheel, six of these Model 1938s were produced. The total production run from 1933 to 1938 produced a total of 61 T-35s for the Soviet Union, its high cost being the deciding factor that ended its production. A variant produced from the chassis was a self-propelled artillery mount called the SU-14, but only two were made and never reached production stages.

Design

The T-35 is the only five-turreted tank to ever enter production. The main turret in the centre and mounted high is equipped with a 76 mm KT-28 cannon, two secondary turrets mounted front right and back left had a 45 mm 20-K gun, and two more secondary turrets on the front left and back right had a 7.62 mm machine gun. Despite being a rather large tank, the interior was quite constricted for its crew. The crew of 11-12 men were crammed together and this directly affected their combat efficiency. The crew layout was a compartment for the driver, each machine gun turret had one man, two men in the turret with 45 mm guns, and three men in the main turret. It was typical for a couple of crewmen to serve outside the tank. A senior driver was responsible for the transmission and running gear. While a mechanic overlooked and took care of the engine. Construction of the T-35s armour was a mix of welds and rivets. The tank was powered by a 12-Cylinder Mikulin M-17M engine generating nearly 500 hp and was considered underpowered. The design had many reliability issues and even flaws, such as the main turret able to render escape hatches on the smaller turrets unable to be opened due to its gun mount.

Combat usage

The T-35 was issued to the 5th Separate Heavy Tank Brigade in Moscow and was involved in parades through the Red Square from 1935 until 1940. The T-35 was there to impress spectators as well as foreign observers rather than as a fighting piece. In June 1940, the T-35 was subjected to either be withdrawn from front-line duties, be converted into self-propelled artillery, or be sent to military academies for future studies. It was decided to keep them for combat purposes and the T-35s were issued to the 67th and 68th Tank Regiments in the 34th Tank Division in the 8th Mechanized Corps in the Kiev Special Military District. The T-35 then saw action against the German forces when Operation Barbarossa was commenced. Though the tanks actual combat history is not very well documented, the tank regiments they were assigned to report a loss of 90% of the vehicles, more to mechanical failures than to enemy combat. These broken down tanks were subsequently destroyed by their crews to avoid capture. The last reported use of these tanks was during the Battle of Moscow, where two T-35s were deployed and its performance went unrecorded. One such vehicle was captured by the Germans and sent to the Kummersdorf military proving grounds for evaluations. This captured T-35 may or may not be the same one the German used during the Battle of Berlin in April 1945.

The T-35 was once mistaken for taking part in the Winter War against Finland, this is due to the deployment of the SMK, T-100s, and KV-1s prototypes into the battle as combat testing. The SMK was disabled by the Finnish and was documented in photographs, which the German intelligence designated it as the T-35C, despite being not anyway related to the T-35 tank.

Survivors

Today, only one T-35 is left not only in an intact state, but still in running condition. This tank is held in the Kubinka Tank Museum at Moscow and only survived because it was used as a training facility rather than combat use. Kubinka also holds the second prototype of the aforementioned SU-14 self-propelled artillery gun.

In-game description

This tank came into service in 1933 and was mass-produced between 1933 and 1939. In total, around 60 of them were made. The vehicle had a classic layout: the driver's compartment was located in the front, the fighting compartment in the middle and the engine compartment in the rear. Its armament was installed in five turrets on two tiers. A 76.2 mm KT-28 cannon and a 7.62 mm DT machine gun were installed in the central rotating turret. Two 45 mm 20K Mod. 1932 cannons were diagonally mounted on the lower tier and could fire to the forward right and forward left. Two machine guns were also diagonally mounted next to the cannon turrets. The undercarriage was protected by add-on armour plates.

Between 1933 and 1939, numerous changes were introduced to the vehicle's basic structure. The 1935 model was longer and received a new turret with a 76.2 mm L-10 cannon. The hull sides were equipped with new add-on armour. The tank's mass grew to 55 tonnes, while the crew complement was reduced to 9. In 1938, turrets with sloping armour were installed on the last six tanks owing to the increased power of anti-tank artillery.

Most of these heavy tanks were lost in battle in the summer and autumn of 1941, mostly due to mechanical failures. Two T-35s were used in the Battle of Moscow. The tank was used in combat for the last time at the end of April 1945, when the Germans used a captured T-35 during the defence of Berlin.

This vehicle's firepower surpassed that of any other contemporary tank in the world. However, this complicated its structural system. The tank's traction and dynamic properties were insufficient, which was particularly noticeable when it turned. All these flaws in combination prevented the heavy tank from completing the tasks set before it. The high number of turrets resulted in the commander being unable to effectively control firing. The tank's weak armour meant that it was vulnerable to artillery, and its low mobility and huge size made it a perfect target.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the T-35 from live.warthunder.com.

Images

• 

  All the turrets shown on the T-35. The main turret is at centre, the secondary turrets with cannons are on the top left and bottom right, and the machine gun turrets are on the top right and bottom left.

Videos

Multi-turreted Tanks discusses the T-35 at 4:56 - War Thunder Official Channel

A unique exhibit of the T-35A tank - Kubinka Tank Museum

See also

Vehicles equipped with the same guns

• 76 mm: T-26-4
• 45 mm: T-26 (Family)

Other vehicles of similar configuration and role

• Nb.Fz.
• Independent
• Ro-Go

External links

• Official War Thunder article: T-35: Release announcement
• Official War Thunder forum article: [Vehicle Profile] T-35: The Land Battleship