Ok guys, to save everyone from banging on the poor Wiki, here's what you need to know about the T-34/85 from a HISTORICAL pespective. I have no clue about how it will perform in-game.
The shortcomings of the T-34/76 were realized in the first two years of the war, but further evolution of the tank was limited by the Soviets. This was because Comrade Stalin needed every T-34 at the front, and developing an improved version of the T-34/76 would draw production resources away from current models. It was decided that no major modifications would be made to the T-34/76 until at least 1942, when the German advance in to Russia could be stopped.
In January 1943, the Russians captured the first German Tiger I. Although the Russians were not overly worried about the Tiger I's appearance on the front (due to the low production numbers), it was noted that other tanks (namely the KV series) would have to continue to be developed to handle the Tigers.
When the German advance was halted and the Russians had sufficient numbers of T-34/76s, focus was directed to a new tank, the T-43, which started trials in March, 1943. The battle at Kursk, where the Russians faced Tigers and Panthers in numbers for the first time, caused the Russians to go into panic mode to find a quick solution to handling the German cats.
The resulting compromise was the up-gunning of the T-34/76 with a derivative of the T-43 turret fitting with an 85mm D5-T gun produced by the No. 9 Artillery plant in Sverdlovsk. The first 800 or so T-34/85 Model 1943 were equipped with the D5-T gun, and the remainder were fitted with the Zis-S-53 produced by Savin at Artillery Plant 92.
The changes made to the T-34/85 included the relocation of the radio set from the driver's position (in T-34/76s) to the commander's side of the turret wall.
T-34/85s were equipped with TSh-16 articulated telescopic site (see 'running wish list' thread in Wish List forum for an explanation of a telescopic site) replacing the T-34/76 TSh-15 site. This resulted in the relocation of the commander's cupola about 16 inches aft of the existing position on the T-34/76 (relative to the turret ring race). Aside from that, there were no other changes made to the existing T-34/76 Mod 42/43 hulls. Same engine, gearbox, armor thicknesses, degree of armor slope, etc.
T-34/85 versus the German Panther tank:
The T-34/85 did not reverse the technical advantage held by German armor, but it certainly matched it. The T-34/85 was more than a match for the Panzer IV Ausf J, the most commonly seen German AFV of the early 1944 period. The T-34/85 was far from equal to the Panther, especially in the early stages when the 85mm gun was using BR-365 ammunition. The only way a T-34/85 could kill a Panther is with a side or rear shot, or a lucky hit on the small vertical plate of the turret face. It could not penetrate the mantlet or glacis plate.
The Panther, however, could penetrate the glacis and mantlet of the T-34 at ranges of 1200m. Both tanks could achieve side penetration at ranges of 2500 meters. By the summer of 1944, the T-34/85 had BR-365P hyper-velocity rounds that finally allowed it to penetrate a Panther glacis at 500m.
Early versions of the T-34/85 had a manual traversing system, but late in 1944, an MB20V electric system was installed that increased the traverse speed. It was not accurate enough for gun-laying, which still had to be done manually by the gunner. The gunner used two systems, a MK-4 wide-angle telescoping site for finding the rough bearing of the target, and the TSh-16 site for aiming. This system used a focal-length ranging system based on the target window, identical to focal-length rangefinder today. The focal length of the site matched a pre-determined range distance, allowing rough ranges to be achieved within 25 meters.
Internal fuel capacity was reduced to 545 liters from 610 in the T-34/76, but provisions were made to carry another 270 liters in cylindrical tanks on the outside of the vehicle. Since the T-34 used a diesel engine, fire was not as serious a concern.
So...in the game, the T-34/85 should have the same armor, speed, gearbox, controls, etc. The additional crewman (a loader) should decrease the reload times over the T-34/76. Against the Tiger I, a T-34/85 will not be able to penetrate the front glacis or mantlet unless point-blank, 350 meters or less, and only with BR-365P rounds (which should be perked ammo). Side hull shots, turret shots and rear-end shots can be made with BR-365P rounds from 1500 meters or less. A T-34/85 cannot penetrate the front glacis of a King Tiger.
In the game, against a Sherman or Panzer IV or T-34/76, the T-34/85 should be able to achieve armor penetration at ranges in excess of 2000 meters, front, back, or side with BR-365P, and with conventional AP BP-365 at ranges below 1500 meters.
Any questions?
Jeff
