T-34 (1943) (China)
Contents
Description
The ␗T-34 (1943) is a rank III Chinese medium tank with a battle rating of 4.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
- Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Driver's hatch, Machine gun mount)
| Armour | Front | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 45 mm (61°) Front glacis 99 mm (5-35°) Welded glacis joint 45 mm (52°) Lower glacis 60 mm (1-73°) Machine gun ball mount 75 mm (60°) Driver's hatch |
40 mm (40°) Top 45 mm (0°) Lower |
40 mm (47-49°) Top 40 mm (47°) Bottom |
16 mm |
| Turret | 53 mm (3-58°) Turret front 45 mm (2-78°) Gun mantlet |
53 mm (21-22°) | 53 mm (18-20°) | 15 mm |
Notes:
- Suspensions wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick.
Hull armour
The 1943 model has a very similar hull armour profile to the 1941 model, relying on angling instead of sheer thickness for protection. There are two key differences: the machine gun ball mount has an increased thickness of 60 mm of armour (compared to 45 mm on earlier models), as does the driver's hatch (75 mm, compared to 45 mm on earlier models). The weak spots created by the driver's optics on earlier models have also been removed. The driver's hatch has the thickest armour on any part of the T-34 and can be quite resilient to enemy fire if hit.
It should be noted that due to the relatively thin plate thickness used (40–45 mm), the T-34's hull is vulnerable can be vulnerable to overmatching from 75 mm and larger guns.T
Turret armour
The new hexagonal turret features thicker armour than on the 1941 model. However, there are a few caveats:
- The angling is noticeably worse, and there are some relatively flat spots on the front that can be vulnerable to penetrations from even relatively weak guns at close ranges.
- The turret front, side, and rear armour is made of cast armour instead of rolled plate, which is slightly weaker.
Overall, the turret armour is not a significant improvement over the earlier models and is in some ways weaker.
Module/crew layout
The bulk of the T-34's main gun ammunition is carried low in the hull, making it relatively hard to detonate the ammunition of a T-34, especially if it is carrying a reduced ammunition load. However, the T-34's hull sides are spanned by relatively large fuel tanks; thus, side penetrations can cause the diesel fuel to catch fire.
The crew are seated in a quite compact manner inside the tank, and successful penetrations are likely to disable multiple crew members at once.
Mobility
| Game Mode | Mobility characteristics | Engine power (horsepower) | Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Speed | Weight | AoA Weight | Stock | Upgraded | Stock | Upgraded | |
| Arcade | 54 | 29.8 | 0.25 | 775 | ____ | 26.00 | __.__ |
| Realistic | 49 | 442 | ____ | 14.83 | __.__ | ||
Armaments
Main armament
Give the reader information about the characteristics of the main gun. Assess its effectiveness in a battle based on the reloading speed, ballistics and the power of shells. Do not forget about the flexibility of the fire, that is how quickly the cannon can be aimed at the target, open fire on it and aim at another enemy. Add a link to the main article on the gun: {{main|Name of the weapon}}. Describe in general terms the ammunition available for the main gun. Advise about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage.
Additional armament
Some tanks are armed with several guns in one or more turrets. Evaluate the additional weaponry and give advice on its use. Describe the ammunition available for additional weaponry. Give advice on about how to use them and how to fill the ammunition storage. If there is no additional weaponry remove this subsection.
Machine guns
Offensive and anti-aircraft machine guns not only allow you to fight some aircraft but also are effective against lightly armoured vehicles. Evaluate machine guns and give recommendations on its use.
Usage in battles
Like the previous T-34 models, the 1943 model excels at close to medium range fighting, utilizing its outstanding mobility for a medium tank to rapidly close the distance and relocate to attack from unexpected directions. The sloped hull armour has a good chance of ricocheting hastily aimed shots and helps increase the odds of the T-34 surviving when moving in to engage. The lethal BR-350B APHEBC round complements this playstyle, having about enough penetration to deal with the flanks of most enemies likely to be encountered; a single penetrating hit is usually fatal for the target. In close combat, the fast turret traverses and quick reload allow the T-34 to respond quickly towards changing situations, usually helping to ensure it will be the first to get its gun on the target.
Conversely, the T-34 fares poorly in long-range combat; both the BR-350B APHEBC and BR-350P APCR rounds have poor penetration at long ranges, and the BP-350A HEAT round is quite underwhelming as well.
Common opponents
Medium Tank M4, M4A2 (American): The T-34's 76 mm gun cannot penetrate the welded hull M4/M4A2 reliably from the front, while the 75 mm gun on the M4/M4A2 can penetrate the T-34's turret and disable or cripple it. They do have very weak lower side hull armour (only 38 mm) that can be overmatched by the 76 mm APHEBC round if exposed, and the flat areas on the turret can also be penetrated fairly reliably if they can be hit. Generally avoid head-on engagements, especially if the M4 is hull-down.
Medium Tank M4A1, Sherman II (American/French, British): Similar to the M4/M4A2, except that the cast hull is weaker than the welded hull on the M4/M4A2, and can be penetrated frontally. Otherwise, the same advice applies.
Assault Tank M4A3E2 (American/French): The 'Jumbo' is one of the most dangerous opponents the T-34 can face. It is completely immune to the 76 mm F-34 gun from the front, except for the hard-to-hit hull machine gun mount. It is relatively slow and unmanoeuvrable, however, and is very vulnerable to flanking attacks, as its side armour is thin. It also shares the same lower side hull weakness with the other M4 variants.
Pz.Kpfw. IV Ausf. F2, G, H, J (German): The Ausf. F2 variant is the first Panzer IV to mount a long-barreled 75 mm gun. This gun is one of the most lethal mounted on any tank within the T-34's BR range, and it is easily capable of penetrating the T-34 at most ranges. The Ausf. F2 has very weak armour, however, and is something of a glass cannon. The Ausf. G, H, and J have up-armoured hulls that are quite difficult to penetrate, but their turrets are as weak as the one on the F2. The Ausf. J, in particular, has manual turret traverse and is very vulnerable to being flanked. Avoid long-range duels with them.
Chi-Nu II (Japanese): Essentially the Japanese counterpart to the German Panzer IV Ausf. F2.
Churchill III, Churchill(e) (British, German): The 6-pounder gun on the Churchill will be hard-pressed to penetrate the sloped T-34 hull, but it can easily penetrate the turret and disable the turret crew. It is difficult to penetrate the frontal armour of the Churchill at long ranges. However, it is a slow, cumbersome heavy tank, and is easy to outflank and dispatch with shots to the side armour.
Churchill VII (British): The Churchill VII is virtually immune to the T-34 from the front, while it's 75 mm gun can penetrate the T-34's turret fairly easily. Even from the side, it has 95 mm of armour that cannot be penetrated by the BR-350B APHEBC round except at very close range, and even slight angling will render it all but immune. It is even slower than the Churchill III, however, and thus easy to avoid and outflank.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Excellent post-penetration effect with the BR-350B, easily one-shotting most tanks it sees
- Sloped hull armor provides good protection against small caliber / low-penetration shells, and even large caliber guns when angled correctly
- 49 km/h top speed allows it to change position quickly and outrun lots of other medium tanks
- The BR-350P APCR can effectively penetrate heavily armored targets at close range
- Nearly impossible to damage the transmission and immobilizing it from the front
- Good turret traverse
Cons:
- The 4 crews are so close making it easily one-shotted when penetrated from the front / side hull, or even the turret
- 5 degrees gun depression is below average
- Large fuel tanks scattered at the sides of the hull, tend to catch fire if being hit
History
For a full history of the development of the T-34 (1943), it is best to reference the article on the Soviet T-34 (1942) as this almost is identical. In Soviet official documents, little difference was made between the T-34 Model 1942 (German designation T-34/76C) and the T-34 Model 1943 (German designations T-34/76D, E and F); most of the differences between the models was due to them being produced at different facilities.
Despite its position in the Chinese tech tree, it has to be noted that the T-34 (1943) is not, in fact, a Chinese vehicle. All currently available sources indicate that the PLA never operated the F-34 armed version of the T-34, and the best available documents, compiled by Dr. Martin Andrew, indicate that 1837 T-34s were delivered by the Soviets to the PLA between 1950 and 1954, all of which were the T-34-85 variant.
However, the T-34 (1943) did see service in North Korea, with deliveries starting in 1949. Following the proclamation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea on September 9th 1948, North Korea's first armoured unit, the 105th Armored Battalion was established in October of 1948, increasing to regimental strength in May of 1949 before being rebaptised as the 105th Armored Brigade prior to the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950. Due to the lack of official North Korean sources on the subject, it is unclear how many T-34 (1943) saw service with the DPRK; evidence does exist that a number of them were committed to the original June 1950 assault on South Korea, with a number of knocked-out short-barrelled T-34s being photographed on the battlefield.
The nature of combat in Korea meant that tank losses were high for the DPRK, and out of 120 tanks reported on strength in June of 1950, nearly all had been lost by December that year. Replacements were delivered by the Soviet Union, all of these later deliveries covering the T-34-85 variant.
Following the end of the Korean War, a reconstruction program was started to bring the DPRK's army back to strength, with additional deliveries of T-34s arriving from the Soviet Union. Again the lack of reliable North Korean sources makes it impossible to work out what was delivered, but sources indicate that despite the delivery of T-34-85s, which remained the mainstay of the North Korean Army until it first received T-54/55s and Type 59 tanks in 1967, a number of older T-34-76s remained in service, either being rebuilds of recovered vehicles or, more likely, new deliveries from their Soviet allies. Most tellingly, a widely circulated still from a late 1960s North Korean propaganda film shows military manoeuvres involving at least two T-34-76s, both showing signs of modernisation such as T-34-85-type saddle fuel tanks and starfish roadwheels (first introduced 1969). As such, it can be surmised that at least some T-34 (1943)s remained in North Korean service into the 1970s in some sort of reserve or training capacity.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
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- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
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- topic on the official game forum;
- encyclopedia page on the tank;
- other literature.
| China medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| ZTZ59 | Type 59 · ZTZ59A · ZTZ59D1 |
| ZTZ69 | Type 69 · Type 69-IIa |
| ZTZ88/96 | ZTZ88A · ZTZ88B |
| ZTZ96 · ZTZ96A · ZTZ96A (P) | |
| ZTZ99 | ZTZ99-II · ZTZ99-III |
| ZTZ99A | ZTZ99A · WZ1001(E) LCT |
| Export series | MBT-2000 · VT4A1 |
| ROC | CM11 |
| Other | Т-34-85 Gai · Object 122MT "MC" |
| Bangladesh | T-69 II G |
| Japan | ␗Chi-Ha · ␗Chi-Ha Kai |
| Pakistan | Al-Khalid-I |
| USA | ␗M4A4 · ␗M4A4 (1st PTG) · ␗M4A1 (75) W · ␗M48A1 · ␗M60A3 TTS |
| USSR | ␗T-34 (1943) · ␗Т-34-85 (S-53) · T-34-85 No.215 · Т-62 №545 |
