T34

T34

T26E1-1

T32

T34

T26E1-1

T32

USA

IV Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
7.0	6.7	6.7

Class:

Heavy tank

Research:71 000

Purchase:210 000

Show in game

This page is about the heavy tank T34. For other uses, see T-34 (Family).

Description

The Heavy Tank T34 is a rank IV American heavy tank with a battle rating of 7.0 (AB) and 6.7 (RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.67 "Assault". A formidable heavy tank with thick armour and a heavy gun, the T34 presents a radically new tank design than any of its predecessors.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Cast homogeneous armour
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, Hull rear)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	102 mm (52-56°) Front Glacis 70.25 mm (26-59°) Bottom Glacis 102 mm (6-81°) Machine gun port	76.2 mm Front 51 mm Rear	51 mm (4°) Upper 51 mm (60°) Lower	38.1 mm
Turret	158.7 mm (18-31°) Turret front 203 mm (0-9°) Gun mantlet 305 mm (1-57°) Gun mantlet border	158.7 mm (3-42°)	101 + 102 mm (1-20°) Rear 102 mm (63-84°) Bottom of turret overhang	38.1 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	152.4 mm	38.1 mm

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
• Front belly armour is 25.4 mm thick while the rear is 13 mm.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armor weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
65.8	N/A	35 (AB)
		33 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	1,046	____
Realistic/Simulator	716	810
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	15.90	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	10.88	12.31

Armaments

Main armament

120 mm T53
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
34			-10°/+15°	±180°	N/A
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	19.42	26.88	__.__	__.__	38.40
Realistic	14.28	16.80	20.4	22.60	24.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
19.37	17.14	15.79	14.90

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
T14E3	AP	247	246	233	218	205	191
T17E1	APCR	324	319	293	258	229	201
M73	HE	28	28	28	28	28	28

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
T14E3	AP	944	23	N/A	N/A	N/A	-1°	48°	63°	71°
T17E1	APCR	1264	13	N/A	N/A	N/A	+1.5°	66°	70°	72°
M73	HE	944	23	0.1	0.1	2,380	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T34.

Full ammo	Ammo Part	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	7th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
34	Projectiles Propellants	33 (+1) 31 (+3)	28 (+6) 29 (+5)	23 (+11) 23 (+11)	21 (+13) 15 (+19)	13 (+21) 9 (+25)	7 (+27) 1 (+33)	1 (+33)	no

Turret empty: 23 (+11)

Machine guns

12.7 mm M2HB
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,000 (200)				576	-10°/+50°	±120°
Coaxial mount (x2)
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,200 (200)				576	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The T34 is a very strong tank and few tanks have the guns to take it out effectively from the battlefield. If you're fighting tanks of your own BR or lower, the German long 88 mm guns (whether it be PaK guns or KwK guns) will be able to contest your armour at close range if used well. This includes the Waffentrager, Tiger II (P) and (H) models, the Nashorn, the Ferdinand, and the Jagdpanthers. There is also the threat of the occasional Ru 251, which packs a 320 mm pen HEAT-FS shell. The Russians also have a few weaponry that can be used against the T34, be on the lookout for tanks which utilize the 100 mm, such as the T-44-100, SU-100P, or SU-100. These 100 mm shells will not struggle too much against your hull or turret, at least at close range. The same can be applied to the ISU variants. (The ASU-85) does get a HEATFS shell which defeats your armour most of the time, more on that below.) The tanks mentioned above can be dealt with against with relative ease at medium range with the 120 mm cannon. Another country which catches most people off guard is France. The AMX-50 and Lorraine 40t with their magazine systems will shred your armour given if they have the time to aim properly. Their shot rounds will break your gun breech quickly, but if you play well the T34's armour will hold up.

At long range, tanks with the long 88 mm guns will only be able to penetrate with the APCR at you, which in effect makes your upper hull armour very good, since APCR does not fare well against slopes. The turret face being very flat can put you at a disadvantage most of the time. Specific enemies worth noting when fighting the Germans at your BR are: Waffentrager, Tiger II (P) and (H) models, Nashorn, the Jagdpanthers, and even the Sturer Emil with its 230 mms of penetration with its monstrous 128 mm armament. Most of these tanks (except for the Emil) can fire APCR at you and penetrate if they are good shots and hit your gun shield. When engaging the Russians at long range, the ASU-85 will be your most dangerous enemy at your own BR. The HEATFS shell it packs penetrates 300 mm of armour, making your armour more often than not obsolete against it. One more tank you must be aware of that most people forget about is the Type-62. It gets the same gun as the T-44, but with better shells, utilizing a strong HEATFS round on a turreted, fast light tank.

When you're fighting at a maximum BR up-tier of 7.7 (which can happen quite frequently), your enemies as previously mentioned stay the same except for more prevalent Rank V vehicles like the Leopard 1A0. The Leopard I is everything you are not: fast, stealthy, good rate of fire and a punchy good gun at any range. With its DM13 APFSDS round that can penetrate 303 mm of armuor straight up, life is not easy against it. The round can still penetrate 257 mm of armour at 1,500 meters, which is still very easy against your turret shield. The Leopards also packs a DM12 HEATFS round which can tear through 400 mm of armour with ease with 1,173 m/s shell velocity. If at all possible, do not engage Leopards at long range without doing it smartly. Remember: They can penetrate you regardless of angling or range.

Another enemy at an uptier to worry about is the Object 120 "Taran". The Object 120 posses a shell that presents 405 mm of pen APFSDS with 1,710 m/s shell. The drawback of the Object is its lack of gun depression and armour that even .50 cal machine guns can destroy it. Almost all of the Taran users will choose that shell instead of the HEATFS it packs simply because of the shell velocity. The HEATFS shell in question can penetrate 480 mm of armour. A good rule of thumb when fighting these tanks: if you can avoid being hit, do so quickly; your armour will not save you.

Other enemies at 7.7 (or 7.3, or even 7.0) worth noting is the IS-3. It is almost impossible to injure it from the front, much less destroy it in one shot. The only shot you can make is the turret ring (which is tough sometimes) or the extremely small flat pieces of armour on the sides of the gun barrel on the turret: other than that, try to flank it. The Maus is also a significant threat to the T34 for much the same reason as the IS-3, but with a greater firepower due to its 128 mm armament. Trying to penetrate a Maus without the use of the APCR the T34 gets is a fool's folly: it can't be done against an angling Maus tank. The Tiger II (H) 10.5cm heavy tank is also able to contest you better than the Tiger II (P) and (H) simply because of the gun and power behind it, but not to a dangerously high degree like the Leopards. The Jagdtiger packs much the same gun with albeit slightly less armour and no turret, but it makes this tank no less dangerous. The Jadgpanzer 4-5 on the other hand is quite stealthy with the same gun and ammo as the RU 251, with albeit no turret but a better reload makes this tank good at contesting your armour at any range.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Great upper glacis armour
• Good gun mantlet armour
• Powerful 120 mm gun; essentially a pre-cursor to the M103
• Has three .50 caliber machine guns for shredding lightly armored vehicles or for warding off enemy aircraft
• Decently fast on level ground
• Good post-penetration damage for stock ammunition, given that it hits in the right spot

Cons:

• Long reload time
• Doesn't like to climb hills
• Gun mantlet can still be penetrated by 88 mm or 122 mm shells
• Side armor can be penetrated - apparently even when angled sharply
• High repair costs

History

Development

Projects for a dedicated heavy tank for the U.S. Armed Forces began in March 1944 as a response to the German heavy tanks that have been popping up in Europe. While the T26E3 tank, later known as the M26 Pershing was slated to be the next-generation American tank, it was still considered unsuitable against the even heavier Tiger II. A project to increase the armour and firepower commenced to counter this problem, the project titled Heavy Tank T29. Using design elements from the T26E3 with thicker armour and lengthened hull, the T29 also was equipped with the 105 mm Gun T5, a gun in development alongside the heavy assault tank T95. Other features included a 770 hp Ford GAC engine, armour thickness up to 279 mm effective, and a coincidence range-finder. The heavy armour and armament made the tank weigh about 64 tons, making it a close match to the Tiger II.

Though the T29 was monstrous itself, side projects involving the T29 crafted the Heavy Tank T30. Itself similar to the T29 in terms of armour, but featured a monstrous 155 mm Gun T7 with a more powerful engine and an extra crew member to facilitate loading the gun.

Effect in World War II

Throughout World War II, the T29 and the T30 stayed in development under priority "limited procurement". Eventually, the war in Europe ended in May 1945, but the small ordered stayed in hope it may be useful in the Japan invasion in Operation Downfall. That hope was smashed as well when Japan surrendered in September 1945, ending World War II. Even if an operation commenced that used these vehicle, the Army Ground Forces objected to the use of such heavy equipment due to the lack of adequate transporters. Further production was cancelled in the post-war demilitarization.

Post World War Effect

The heavy tank concept didn't die with the end of hostility and a final attempt was made to remake the T29 into a more modern, lethal weapon system. This produced the T34, which mounted a 120 mm gun based on the M1 anti-aircraft gun. The caliber made an adequate balance of firepower and loading ease between the 105 mm and the 155 mm used in the T29 and T30. In fact, the two T34 pilot models made were a converted T29 and T30. However, the demilitarization took down the T34 program as well, but the experience in this project help engineers in the development of the M103 heavy tank.

Today, there are a few T29s still in display across the United States, most of them residing in storage at Fort Benning, Georgia where they will be used as display in the future National Armor and Cavalry Museum.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] Heavy Tank T34: Commanding Respect

USA heavy tanks
M4 Jumbo	M4A3E2 · Cobra King · M4A3E2 (76) W
M6	M6A1 · T1E1 · T1E1 (90) · M6A2E1
T26	T26E1-1 · T26E5
T29/30/34	T29 · T30 · T34
T32	T32 · T32E1
M103	M103
Others	T14