T-34 85 – WalkAround

When the T-43 was cancelled, the Soviet command made the difficult decision to retool the factories to produce a new model of T-34 with a turret ring enlarged from 1,425 mm (56 in) to 1,600 mm (63 in), allowing a larger turret to be fitted. The T-43’s turret design was hurriedly adapted by V. Kerichev at the Krasnoye Sormovo Factory to fit the T-34. The resulting new T-34-85 tank had a much better gun and finally, a three-man turret with radio (which had previously been in the hull). Now the commander needed only to command the tank, leaving the operation of the gun to the gunner and the loader. Although a T-34-85 var stadig ikke en kamp for en Panter, at den forbedrede ildkraft gjort det langt mere effektive end før. Beslutningen om at forbedre det eksisterende design i stedet for værktøj op til en ny lov, at den Sovjetiske fremstilling tanke i disse tal, at forskellen i kapacitet kan anses for ubetydelige. I Maj 1944, Værnemagten havde kun 304 Panthers, der opererer på den Østlige Front, mens de Sovjetiske styrker havde øget T-34-85 produktion til 1.200 tanke per måned.

Kilde: T-34 85 på Wikipedia