I'll defer to no less an Authoritative source than Janes... "the T-34 is
considered to be the best all-around tank of the Second World War and its
appearance on the battlefield led directly to the development of the German
Panther Tank."
>Even in the Korean War, the E8/76 Shermans
>could best it easily, and had a far better record for longevity. To take
>your logical assumption one step farther, the Israelis used modified
>Shermans to great effect as late as 1967, against far superior tanks -
>and T34s were long gone by then.
Never confuse the battle worthiness of equipment with the abilities of those
who operate the equipment. The T-34/85 in the hands of untrained soldiers
was formidable in WW II, Korea, Viet Nam, the Middle East and Angola.
> It doesn't fit with US Sherman design chronologically, the T34 was
designed in
>1937 and in production in 1939. The only design the Russians seem to have
>been helped with was the atom bomb using information supplied by Dr. Klaus
>Fuchs; but nobody knew at the time.
The T-34 was designed in 1939, as a variant of the A-30 and T-32, and had
heavier armor and a more powerful gun. The first two prototypes were
completed in January of 1940 and sent to Finland for testing. The first
production T-34 rolled off the line in September of 1940.
While I certainly agree that Western designers were not on site in the
development of the T-34, certainly Western technology was studied and
considered. You are right though.....the T-34 was not built in response to
the Sherman.
===
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