"Engineering Analysis of the T34/85 Tank"

[Scherf]

All 450-odd pages of it:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/230672358/ENGINEERING-ANALYSIS-OF-THE-RUSSIAN-T34-85-TANK


Even has a few sentences blanked out to enhance secrecy.

 


Is stronk tank. 

[DaveBB]

I liked the part "There were many gaps in the armor, allowing bullets or shell fragments to enter".  Gaps in the armor? Wow.

[Oldman731]

I liked the part "There were many gaps in the armor, allowing bullets or shell fragments to enter".  Gaps in the armor? Wow.

I may have seen this tank back when it was at the Aberdeen tank museum (since moved to Fort Lee, VA).  I remember you could literally put your arm up inside the gap between the outer turret armor slab  (on the left side of the turret, IIRC) and the inner shell (or whatever the technical term was).  Wouldn't matter under most conditions, but could be a problem if a stranger got uncomfortably close.

Great source, thanks for posting it.

- oldman

[MiloMorai]

can you be more specific Oldman?

Nice Scherf.

There is also a report on a T-34 and a KV-1 out there that were given to the Americans during WW2.

[Oldman731]

can you be more specific Oldman?

Regrettably, no.  The visit would have been sometime around 1970.  I have a mental image, but viewing photos of T-34 and KV-1 (Aberdeen had one of those, too) I can't tell where the gap was located.

- oldman

[dirtdart]

I have a sweet picture of me in a 34/85 somewhere. Looked tight to me at the time.

[Chalenge]

The problem with the T-34s armor was similar to the same problems the Germans had with the Panther, only in reverse. The Russians at first did not know how to make adequate armor, but with the help of Allies and experimentation (and additional metallic ores) improved greatly. It also made a huge difference, during some months of the war, as to which factory was making the tank. The examples the Americans received were very early for the -85 and were from a period where Stalin was pushing for numbers over quality. This led to situations where tanks were fielded without ammunition, radios, or even more than a single crewman. It also led to victory.

[MiloMorai]

Another report,
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/011426.pdf

[Oldman731]

Another report,
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/011426.pdf

Thanks for that!  I'm wondering if the gap I recall in the tank was because they'd taken a piece for testing (see pp. 2-3).

I also like the conclusion:

"Detailed attention to aesthetic appearances is costly, time consuming, and, throughout the history of man, is not known to have won a single war."

- oldman

[MiloMorai]

Thanks for that!  I'm wondering if the gap I recall in the tank was because they'd taken a piece for testing (see pp. 2-3).

I also like the conclusion:

"Detailed attention to aesthetic appearances is costly, time consuming, and, throughout the history of man, is not known to have won a single war."

- oldman

That would appear to be the reason. The turret was cast with no extra armour added.

[Mister Fork]

That would appear to be the reason. The turret was cast with no extra armour added.

...and it looked burly and durable.  But it probably couldn't take a single Panzer. A single 88 hit would of knocked out the tank back into next year.

But if the crews thought it looked like to take a few knocks, they would of thought it could've at least tangle with the best of them fearlessly.  I wonder how many crews were killed with this delusion?

[BaDkaRmA158Th]

Would not the temperature of the metal also have a effect on how strong or weak it was?


I imagine a tank in freezing would be more brittle while a tank baking in the summer/desert sun would be more..soft.



?

[MiloMorai]

...and it looked burly and durable.  But it probably couldn't take a single Panzer. A single 88 hit would of knocked out the tank back into next year.

But if the crews thought it looked like to take a few knocks, they would of thought it could've at least tangle with the best of them fearlessly.  I wonder how many crews were killed with this delusion?

How many tanks could survive an 88 hit?

[Mister Fork]

Would not the temperature of the metal also have a effect on how strong or weak it was?


I imagine a tank in freezing would be more brittle while a tank baking in the summer/desert sun would be more..soft.



?

Depends on the quality of the metal and imperfections.  And it has to be bloody cold for metal to start getting brittle.  And it has to be like middle arctic/antarctic weather temperatures for it to be brittle for a long time. 

However, zipperheads (military nickname for tankers) will become non-operative due to weather before you have to start worrying about the metal fatigue due to environmental temperatures.  Either too cold or too hot to work.

[Mister Fork]

How many tanks could survive an 88 hit?

none. And the results were barely humane if you ever received a hit
- I cannot imagine what happend inside this Sherman.