Academy 13554 1/35 Soviet Medium T-34-85 (Ural Tank Factory No. 183) Tank, Plastic Model Kit (A13554)

Contents

Model Specifications

• II. World War II Soviet medium tank
• 85 mm ZiS-S 53 main gun and DT machine gun
• Semi-linked pallets
• 8 different marking options
• Photo-etched parts included

The T-34 was a Soviet-made medium tank used in World War II and the post-war period. The first prototypes were produced between 1937 and 1940, and mass production in the USSR was carried out between 1940 and 1957. Approximately 84,000 units of this type of tank were produced, making the T-34 one of the most produced tanks in history! Propulsion was provided by a 500 horsepower single-cylinder V-2-34 engine. The length of the vehicle - in the T34/76 version - was 6.68 m and its width was 3 meters. Armament consisted of a 76.2 mm F-34 cannon and two 7.62 mm DT machine guns. In the T-34/85 version, the main armament was the 85 mm ZIS-S-53 gun.

The T-34 is undoubtedly both World War II. It is one of the most famous tanks of World War II and military history in general, representing a special symbol of the Soviet victory in the war with the Third Reich. The vehicle was developed for the needs of the Red Army as a successor to the BT series (BT-5 and BT-7) and the T-26 tank. Work on the vehicle began in 1937 in a special design office at the Steam Engine Factory in Kharkiv. Initially, work was led by Engineer Adolf Dik (he also made the first sketches of the new vehicle), and after his arrest by Soviet security authorities, work was directed by Mikhail Koszkin. Initially the vehicle was designated A-20. However, a second prototype (A-32), whose main armament was a 76.2 mm gun and much thicker frontal armor, was quickly produced. It was this second prototype that was eventually accepted for production. It can be assumed that when it entered service, the TT-34 was a very successful tank in many respects. As in 1940, it had a very powerful gun, good-profile armor based on inclined armor plates, as well as very high mobility and off-road driving characteristics. Disadvantages included the very poor ergonomics of the vehicle or the poor optics used in the first production batches. Despite these shortcomings, German troops were greatly impressed by the T-34 when it appeared on the Eastern Front. The T-34's high overall score and combat values ​​determined its mass production and its becoming the primary tank of the Red Army in the wars of 1942-1945. It also led to further improvements in structure; for example, a new hexagonal tower appeared in 1942, improving the quality of crew members' work with the commander's cupola. The engine and transmission have also been improved. However, in 1944, the T-34/85 model with an all-new three-man turret and an 85 mm gun as its main armament entered service. The T-34 tank took part in almost all major battles fought between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front between 1941 and 1945: from the Battle of Moscow to the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, Operation Bagration and the capture of Berlin. The T-34 tank remained in service after 1945 and was widely exported to countries outside the USSR, such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Syria.