Its slowness was a worse handicap in Russia than in France, because the distances were greater. We used to call the Tiger a 'furniture van' - though it was a good machine in the initial breakthrough. The Panther was on the right lines, as a prototype. That, I would say, is the most important lesson of the war in regard to tank design. ▲ Main Article ▲ Primary Sources (1 ) Hasso Manteuffel, commander of the 7th Panzer Division, was interviewed by Basil Liddell Hart after the war for his book The Other Side of the Hill (1948) In the opinion of many experts, the T-34 was the best designed tank of the war. A new five-speed gearbox was also installed.ĭuring the Second World War the Kharkov Tank Factory produced 40,000 T-34 tanks. The new turret was mounted with an 85mm gun and the armour thickness was increased to 110mm on the front and 90mm on the turret.

It was discovered that the turret on the KV-IC tank was better and this was now used on the T-34. Soviet tank commanders complained he turret was the most vulnerable part of the vehicle. The Soviets responded by improving the tank. The Germans attempted to develop anti-tank guns that could destroy the T-34. As the German Army threatened to overrun the Kharkov Tank Factory in the autumn of 1941, the factory was moved east and reassembled at Nizhni-Tagil. It was clear that the ability to produce large numbers of the T-34 would be vital if the Red Army was to prevent the Germans occupying the Soviet Union.

The existence of the T-34 was kept a secret and the German 17th Panzer Division was shocked to discover their shells bouncing off the tank's armour when it was used for the first time in June, 1941. Fitted with a powerful diesel engine, its main armament was a high-velocity 76mm gun. The T-34 was provided with sloped armour to deflect shells that was welded instead of riveted. The T-34 was accepted by the Red Army in December 1939 and by Operation Barbarossa 1,225 had been built. Instructions were given to design a tank that could be mass-produced and would be easy to maintain during battle. In 1937 the Kharkov Tank Factory in the Soviet Union began work on a new 'shellproof' tank.

Tank battle t-34