T-34 tank through the eyes of American experts

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Soviet T-34 is considered a masterpiece of world tank building. In its design, technical solutions were used that were far ahead of their time, used by developers of armored vehicles to this day. All the more interesting are the comments made by engineers from the United States, who had the opportunity in 1943 to get acquainted with this machine at a military base in Aberdeen, Maryland, where it was delivered from Murmansk by a transport ship. They were interested to know in what parameters the American Sherman tank, which was mass-produced at that time, was superior to the T-34, including for Lend-Lease deliveries to the USSR.

First of all, engineers from the United States, according to reports published in our time, paid attention, oddly enough, to minor details. In the conditions of super-mass production of the war years, the quality of execution of individual components and metallurgical materials, unfortunately, left much to be desired. The comments concerned the durability of the transmission of the T-34 tank, the direction of its exhaustnozzles that create a lot of dust, insufficient waterproofing of the hull, low level of comfort for the crew.

The allies had a peculiar understanding of the nature of hostilities against Germany. Preparing for a landing in Europe, American military experts assumed a rather calm and planned military operation, in which tanks would play only an auxiliary role, operating approximately according to the same tactical scheme as in Africa.

However, there were also sensible remarks regarding the quality of welds and the T-34 air filtration system, the insufficiently efficient operation of which reduced the engine life. This also showed some naivety of American specialists, who greatly overestimate the life expectancy of equipment, both Soviet and German, in conditions of intense hostilities. As a rule, combat vehicles did not have time to wear out, and there was no time to think about the convenience for tankers, as well as about the dust raised by tank columns.

Subsequently, Soviet engineers improved the air filters. The V-shaped 400-horsepower V-2-34 diesel engine made of aluminum, installed on the T-34, remained underestimated. It was also a masterpiece, and none of the Western countries - both allies and opponents of the USSR - could create something like this for many more years.

The report of the Aberdeen group says nothing about the revolutionary layout. The rear location of the drive rollers creates a huge advantage in lowering the profile of the tank and reduces ita lot, but it took Western experts a few more years to be convinced of this.

All-steel caterpillars in the USSR were forced to be produced due to a shortage of rubber, but this technical solution turned out to be optimal.

Christie's spring suspension is an American invention, not at all appreciated in the USA either in the twenties or after studying the experience of its practical application in the USSR. But the Soviet tanks T-34, BT-7, BT-5 are equipped with just such a depreciation system.

A US research team pointed out flaws in welded joints at a time when the US industry was making tanks with riveted hulls.

Indicating a short power reserve, tank builders from the United States somehow forgot that the Sherman has even less. In other words, due to their own snobbery, American engineers received little useful information from the technology they received. A copy delivered from the USSR was used as a target and destroyed. But the results of their research were used by Soviet specialists to further improve our military equipment. It was only after the war, in 1946, that the Americans realized that in order to win, they had to learn a lot from the Russians, including how to build tanks, starting a campaign to rearm their ground forces.