Assembled model 1/35 Soviet medium tank T-34/85 Mod. 1944 Dragon D6066 The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank of the Second World War and post-war era. The first prototypes were created in 1937-1940, and serial production in the USSR continued in 1940-1957. During this period, about 84,000 machines of this type were created, which makes the T-34 one of the most frequently produced tanks in history! Power was provided by one V-2-34 engine with a capacity of 500 hp. The length of the car - in the T34/76 version - was 6.68 m, with a width of 3 meters. Armament consisted of a 76.2-mm F-34 gun and two 7.62-mm DT machine guns. In the T-34/85 version, the main weapon was the ZIS-S-53 85-mm gun. The T-34 is undoubtedly one of the most famous tanks in the history of both the Second World War and the army as a whole, which is a kind of symbol of the Soviet victory in the war against the Third Reich. The car was developed for the needs of the Red Army, as a successor to the so-called Pursuit Tanks of the BT series (BT-5 and BT-7), as well as the T-26 tank. Work on the machine began in 1937 in a special design bureau at the Kharkiv locomotive factory. At first, the work was managed by Eng. Adolf Dick (he also made the first sketches of the new car), and after his arrest by the Soviet security authorities, Mykhailo Koshkin managed the work. Initially, the car had the A-20 marking. However, a second prototype (A-32) was quickly created, which had a main armament of 76.2 mm cannon and significantly thicker frontal armor. It was this second prototype that was finally accepted for production. It can be assumed that at the time of adoption, the TT-34 was a very successful tank in many respects. It was characterized - for 1940 - by very strong armament, well-formed armor based on inclined armor plates, as well as very high mobility and off-road driving qualities. The disadvantages include the very poor ergonomics of the car and the poor optics used in the first serial batches. Despite these shortcomings, when the T-34 appeared on the Eastern Front, the German troops were greatly surprised by it. The high overall rating of the T-34 and its combat qualities determined its mass production and made it the main tank of the Red Army during the hostilities of 1942-1945. They also led to further improvements in the design, for example, in 1942, a new hexagonal tower appeared, which increased the quality of work of the crew with the commander's turret. The engine and gearbox were also improved. However, in 1944, the T-34/85 model was adopted, which had a completely new three-person turret and main armament in the form of an 85-mm gun. The T-34 tank took part in almost all major battles between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in 1941-1945: starting from the Battle of Moscow, through the Battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, Operation Bagration, and ending with the capture of Berlin. After 1945, the T-34 tank was still in service and was also widely exported outside the USSR to countries such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, GDR, Hungary and Syria.
