The T-34 was conceived as a universal medium tank to succeed the T-26 and BT light tanks after combat experience at Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol. The initial production T-34/76 was fielded in fairly small numbers at the start of Operation Barbarossa and despite the poor build quality and inexperienced Soviet command, the tank proved troublesome for the Germans to deal with. The sloped armor plates could effectively withstand shots from contemporary German tanks and it was practically immune to the German 37mm anti-tank guns (which Germans deridingly nicknamed the “tank door knocker"). Its 76 mm gun was more powerful than any of the main guns found on equivalent German tanks.
Despite its powerful gun and effective armour. The T-34/76 suffered from many design faults. The Christie suspension system and wide tracks theoretically gave it good cross country performance, but it still had issues dealing with muddy terrain. The overall poor mechanical reliability hindered the tank’s potential mobility and contributed to high field losses. The Christie suspension system also took up a lot of interior space and in combination with the sloped armour, the tank was very cramped and uncomfortable for its crew. The two person turret required the tank commander to operate the gun (normally done by a dedicated gunner) which inhibited their ability to effectively command the tank during battle and limited the gun's effective rate of fire. The lack of a turret ammo basket made the gun loader job more difficult and the gun sights were of also of low quality, further reducing the gun’s effectiveness. The turret lacked a commander’s cupola, which impaired visibility of the battlefield. Radio systems were either unreliable or non-existant which made communication difficult.
Although these issues were brought up, the Soviets prioritized improving production line efficiency over fixing design problems and thus iterative improvements over the T-34/76 were focused on lowering production costs. What the tank lacked in quality it would make up for in sheer quantity.
The T-34 was planned to be succeeded by the T-43 medium tank, which addressed many of the design flaws of the original T-34. However, the production line changes needed for the new tank would greatly reduce tank production and the plan was ultimately rejected. The T-34/85 was developed instead, taking features developed for the T-43 whilst sharing the same chassis as the T-34/76. This allowed for some design improvements without severely impacting production.
The T-34/85 differed from the T-34/76 in a few key areas. The turret was made larger to accommodate three personnel, allowing for a dedicated gunner and thus enabling the commander focus on commanding the tank. A proper cupola was also installed to give the commander better visibility. The larger turret would accommodate the more powerful 85 mm gun that could effectively fight the late war German tanks. A more powerful engine was installed to compensate for the tank’s heavier weight.
The T-34 would also form the basis of the SU series of assault guns, providing a low cost but powerful infantry support platform. Production did continue postwar, albeit in much more limited numbers. In all, over 80,000 T-34’s (of all variants) and over 10,000 SU assault guns were produced, making it the second most produced tank. It would be ultimately succeeded by the T-54/T-55 series, which would become the most produced tanks in history.
The T-34’s were exported to many nations and it saw action in many of the postwar conflicts, including but not limited to: the Chinese Civil War, the Korean War, the Arab-Israeli wars, the Vietnam War, the Angolan Civil War, and the Soviet-Afghan War. A handful of T-34’s are still kept as reserve forces or as training vehicles, most notably in North Korea, Cuba and Vietnam.
Tankies will defend this :meow-tankie:
https://hexbear.net/post/158599 check out this mega about a fellow comrades new game they made themselves and give it support
Resources for Organizing your workplace/community :sabo:
Resources for Palestine :palestine-heart:
Buy coffee and learn more about the Zapatistas in Chiapas here :EZLN:
Here are some resourses on Prison Abolition :brick-police:
Foundations of Leninism :USSR:
:lenin-shining: :unity: :kropotkin-shining:
Anarchism and Other Essays :ancom:
Remember, sort by new you :LIB:
Follow the Hexbear twitter account :comrade-birdie:
THEORY; it’s good for what ails you (all kinds of tendencies inside!) :RIchard-D-Wolff:
Come listen to music with your fellow Hexbears in Cy.tube :og-hex-bear:
Queer stuff? Come talk in the Queer version of the megathread ! :sicko-queer:
Monthly Neurodiverse Megathread and Monthly ND Venting Thread :Care-Comrade:
Join the fresh and beautiful batch of new comms:
!worldbuilding@hexbear.net :european-soviet:
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New mega up. I messed this part up and created a lot of duplicates :angery:
@aaaaaaadjsf @Abraxiel @Antilope @Alaskaball @AlexandairBabeuf @Arahnya @bbnh69420 @BrownGravy @budoguytenkaichi @buh @Bunhead @CARCOSA @CDommunist @Cherufe @ClathrateG @ClimateChangeAnxiety @clover @comi @communistfuckface @ComradeCmdrPiggy @ComradeEchidna @context @CopsDyingIsGood @crime @DashEightMate @DasKarlBarx @DeathToBritain @Dirt_Owl @Downanotherday @Eco @Edelgard @ella @el_principito @EmmaGoldman @FunkyStuff @GalaxyBrain @GarfieldOfficial @GoroAkechi @Grownbravy @inshallah2 @JamesConeZone @Kanna @Kaputnik @Koa_lala @LeftistJerrySeinfeld @Lenins2ndAccount @LeninWeave @Lil_Revolitionary @marxisthayaca @MaybeNickCage @MelaniaTrump @Melon @MeltyBloodPlayer @Mindfury @Ness @plantifa @PM_ME_YOUR_FOUCAULTS @PorkrollPosadist @PurrLure @Ram_The_Manparts @Redcuban1959 @REallyN @Rem @RoseColoredVoid @Sandinband @Shitbird @SorosFootSoldier @TheGhostOfTomJoad @TrollBoy @ultraviolet @viva_la_juche @WIIHAPPYFEW @Wmill @wtypstanaccount04 @Yanqui_UXO @Zoift
I messed this part up and created a lot of duplicates :angery:
I upvoted them anyways 👍
Really good megathread @ultraviolet dont worry about the duplicates :t34:
Nah, it's good, don't worry about it :rat-salute:
Work was absolute bedlam. We had a lightning Blizzard all afternoon so only the three of us who lived nearby came in. The snow then ended around 4:30 when it was forecast to go hard all night. Suddenly plans were no longer cancelled and there were power outages all over town so people couldn't cook. That led to a LOT of people wanting to buy pizzas. It was about even with how busy new years eve was but with 3 people working instead of 8. We were all doing three jobs at once, I had to run to the store cause we ran out of pepperoni and soaked my socks and it was 2 hours later that I could go change my socks (I live basically next door to my work but it was just too busy to pop out. I was doing dishes, rotating pizzas/watching the wood oven and running the order window. It was a lot physically but mentally it was nuts. Keeping chits straight and doing quality control and calling orders, washing dishes when they pile up, keeping a mental note on and checking the oven every theory seconds so pizzas didn't burn. It was tough.
It's coming around to the time I asserted during my interview that I would be getting a raise so I've been trying to be somewhat impressive for the last bit
Anyone else got that impending sense of doom (more than usual anyway, and beyond just covid/climate change ripping) regarding the state of the usa...? Maybe I'm naive since the government has ignored plenty of catastrophes in the recent past be it New Orleans from Katrina, Puerto Rico from Hurricane Maria, Flint, Texas last winter, I could go on forever... but I can't shake this feeling the past couple weeks that something is boiling under the surface. I just can't rationalize the complete abandonment by the federal government in dealing with covid the past couple months, worsening what was already probably the worst response globally by the dumbest president preceding Biden. Like wtf is next??? I knew Biden would be horrible, but this admin has been far worse than I even expected.
When a year-old :reddit-logo: account with a clearly randomly generated username and zero comment or post history makes its first ever post replying to your week-old comment about Ft Detrick buried 8 levels deep in its parent thread to call it Russian disinfo
That's some sus :fedposting:
Sometimes I catch myself walking too quickly at work. And I'm just like, "what, are you excited to reach that trash can? what the fuck is the rush" and deliberately slow myself down to the minimum possible walking speed. feels good sometimes.
The sweetest kitty came up to me while I was leaving for work today. My kid took him in and set him up with litter, food, and water. When I came home from work, I looked at missing pet posts on FB and found that his family is looking for him! I texted them and also posted pics of him on the Missing post, but they haven't gotten back to me yet and it's 1:30 am now. I hope I get to reunite the little guy with his parents tomorrow!
The education/teachers crisis is breaking the brains of /r/neoliberal and it would be great if it weren't infuriating.
They are quite literally mentally incapable of thinking of any solution in between "Make them go back to work in-person while sick" and "Back to 100% remote classes". The ideology places a mental block on any sort of alternative solution (HAZARD PAY, OFFER THEM GENEROUS HAZARD PAY)
Kinda funny how much chuds hate A People's History of the United States, because I've started on it and Zinn is kind of a lib. Equates the USA and USSR, for example. Still an alright book, good to pipeline libs further left I think.
Also, shit is probably for real about to hit the fan COVID wise in the USA. Half my store is missing due to being sick lol
I fear not the pig who has shat 10,000 balls once, but I fear the pig who has shat one ball 10,000 times
Schools pivoting to “anyone who is legally an adult is now eligible to be a substitute teacher” suggests that perhaps the quality of the student experience is not really what in-person advocates are concerned about.
[...]
In about two weeks Florida is going to send out the National Guard to press gang people into substitute teaching. This is a joke but also remember this tweet when it happens.
I installed a PSP emulator while I was drunk and now I don't know where it is on my PC :chickpea: