T-34/85

The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank which had a profound and lasting effect on the fields of tank tactics and design. When plans for an entirely new soviet tank fell through and the project was cancelled, the Soviet command made the decision to retool the factories to produce an improved version of the T-34. Its turret ring was enlarged, allowing a larger turret to be fitted and thus the larger 85 mm gun. The prototype T-43's turret design was hurriedly adapted by Vyacheslav Kerichev at the Krasnoye Sormovo Factory to fit the T-34. This was a larger three-man turret, with radio (previously in the hull). Now the tank commander needed only to command, leaving the operation of the gun to the gunner and the loader. The resulting new tank, the T-34/85, was seen as a compromise between advocates for the T-43 and others who wanted to continue to build as many 76 mm-armed T-34s as possible without interruption. The T-34-85 gave the Red Army a tank with better armour and mobility than the German Panzer IV tank and StuG III assault gun, though it could not match the armour or weapons of the Panther or Tiger tanks. However, its improved firepower made it much more effective against Panthers and Tigers than earlier models.