Panther cannot be killed with .50 cal, a 20mm can disable it at close range though, it was meant to kill stuff at range.
In War thunder simulator mode the T34-85 in non-town environment get picked off with ease with any german 75mm up to 800 yeards providing you know where to shoot.
In towns the early T34-85 are really good due to fast revolving turrets and superior mobility, they share the same combat rating as the Panther D in War Thunder.
The better gun, late T34-85 have the same combat rating as the Panther A (faster gun traverse) in War Thunder.
A penetration is not a automatic kill, it is a degradion of its performance until it burns or ammo explode, with crew members wounded or worse.
Thats why the Germans always kept on shooting at a enemy disabled tanks until they burned.
The T34s in general are exceptionally bad compared with german tanks due to they are more cramped, and more of its crew/systems get affected by a penetration.
Not everything is good in WT, APCR ammunition suck in there, and some tanks are overpowered compared with it's peers, best examples are the late KV1 series, and early Tiger I that share the same battle rating as the Panther D.