T-34-85 Gai
Contents
| This page is about the Chinese medium tank T-34-85 Gai. For other versions, see T-34 (Family). |
Description
The Т-34-85 Gai is a rank IV Chinese medium tank with a battle rating of 5.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.91 "Night Vision".
Generally similar to the earlier T-34-85 (S-53), which itself is identical to the Soviet T-34-85, the Gai's gameplay should be very familiar to experienced players. It differentiates itself with a number of cosmetic differences, and more importantly, a roof-mounted 12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun. For the first time, T-34 drivers can enjoy the utility offered by a heavy machine gun similar to the ubiquitous M2 Browning featured on American tanks.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
- Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Cupola, Driver's hatch, Machine gun port)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 45 mm (60°) Front glacis 45 mm (60°) Lower glacis 75 mm (60°) Driver's hatch 65 mm (30°) Machine gun port |
45 mm (39-40°) Top 45 mm Bottom |
45 mm (47-49°) Top 45 mm (46°) Bottom |
20 mm |
| Turret | 90 mm (1-69°) Turret front 90 + 40 mm (8-61°) Gun mantlet |
75 mm (19-22°) Front 2/3rd 52 mm (13-19°) Rear 1/3rd |
52 mm (9°) | 20 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 90 mm | 20 mm |
Notes:
- The gun mantlet has 90 mm in front with additional small and thin 40 mm plates on the sides of the gun. See here.
- Suspensions wheels are 20 mm thick and tracks are 18 mm thick
The armor layout of the T-34-85 Gai is virtually identical to the T-34-85. The hull armor, while well angled, is very thin for its rank and can be penetrated by nearly any tank cannon. Creative use of angling can still lead to the occasional bounce. The 90 mm thick turret is also thin for its rank, but the good sloping on the sides can also lead to bounces with some luck.
The T-34-85 has very poor survivability due to the fact that all 5 crew members are packed close to each other. A hull penetration will likely knock out all of them. However, inexperienced players that face this tank will often shoot the lower hull part of the driver hatch, which is infamous for being surprisingly resilient.
Mobility
| Mobility characteristics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Weight (tons) | Add-on armour weight (tons) |
Max speed (km/h) |
| 32.2 | N/A | 61 (AB) |
| 55 (RB/SB) | ||
| Engine power (horsepower) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 775 | 954 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 442 | 500 |
| Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton) | ||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded |
| Arcade | 24.07 | 29.63 |
| Realistic/Simulator | 13.73 | 15.53 |
The T-34-85 Gai has excellent mobility for a medium tank, as expected of a T-34. It can reach high speeds both on and off road thanks to its wide tracks. The reverse speed is not exactly great, but it is significantly better than those of comparable Shermans, Panthers, and early T-34s (76 mm, 57 mm variants).
Armaments
Main armament
This is where the T-34-85 Gai excels. Like other 85 mm-armed T-34s, its AP rounds have large amounts of explosive filler and pretty nice penetration. Do keep in mind that you have a few different types of shells to choose from. The stock BR-365K APHE rounds have good penetration and a decent quantity of explosive filler. The unlockable BR-365A APHEBC rounds may appear to be a downgrade from the BR-365K at first, but they are deceptively powerful; excellent normalization modifiers make them far more effective against angled armor and the 164 grams of explosive filler (twice as much as the BR-365K) will guarantee the destruction of almost any target upon penetration. The BR-365P APCR rounds have the highest velocity and best flat penetration, but they are comparatively anemic in terms of post-penetration damage and are dreadful against angled armor. Lastly, the O-365 HE shell is only useful against very thinly armored targets and should generally be avoided, as the APHE/APHEBC rounds and heavy machine gun are generally sufficient for this task.
In general it is a good idea to carry mainly BR-365A shells, as the bit of extra flat penetration on the BR-365K does not really help in penetrating more targets, while the BR-365A's slope modifiers and extra explosive filler are very useful, especially when flanking. It may be a good idea to bring a few APCR shells for emergencies, but its power is limited - it cannot penetrate the turret of a Tiger II (H), for example.
| 85 mm ZiS-S-53 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capacity | Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
Stabilizer | ||
| 55 | -5°/+22° | ±180° | N/A | ||
| Turret rotation speed (°/s) | |||||
| Mode | Stock | Upgraded | Prior + Full crew |
Prior + Expert qualif. |
Prior + Ace qualif. |
| Arcade | 23.8 | 32.9 | ??.?? | ??.?? | ??.?? |
| Realistic | 14.9 | 17.5 | ??.?? | ??.?? | ??.?? |
| Reloading rate (seconds) | |||||
| Stock | Prior + Full crew |
Prior + Expert qualif. |
Prior + Ace qualif. | ||
| 9.6 | 8.5 | 7.9 | 7.7 | ||
Ammunition
| Penetration statistics | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||
| 10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||
| BR-365A | APHEBC | 135 | 133 | 125 | 115 | 106 | 97 |
| BR-365K | APHE | 147 | 143 | 126 | 107 | 90 | 77 |
| BR-365P | APCR | 193 | 187 | 154 | 120 | 94 | 74 |
| O-365K | HE | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Shell details | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Normalisation at 30° from horizontal |
Ricochet | ||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| BR-365A | APHEBC | 792 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 14.0 | 164 | +4.0° | 48° | ??° | 71° |
| BR-365K | APHE | 792 | 9.2 | 1.2 | 14.0 | 73.9 | -1.0° | 47° | 60° | 65° |
| BR-365P | APCR | 1,050 | 4.99 | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1.5° | 66° | 70° | 72° |
| O-365K | HE | 793 | 9.54 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 660 | +0.0° | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 | ?? (+??) | ?? (+??) | ?? (+??) | ?? (+??) | ?? (+??) | ?? (+??) | ?? |
Optics
| T-34-85 Gai Optics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Default magnification | Maximum magnification | |
| Main Gun optics | X3.8 | X4.0 |
| Comparable optics | ??? | |
Machine guns
| 12.7 mm DShK | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| mount | |||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) |
Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
| 200 (50) | 600 | -4°/+82° | ±180° |
| 7.62 mm DT | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| mount | |||
| Capacity (Belt capacity) |
Fire rate (shots/minute) |
Vertical guidance |
Horizontal guidance |
| 1,890 (63) | 600 | N/A | N/A |
Usage in battles
While the T-34-85 Gai is a fairly well-rounded tank, its poor armor and high speed mean that one should play it more like a light tank than a medium. The gun is very lethal but the penetration is not particularly good, so it is better to flank and go for side shots, which can instantly knock out all but the largest and most spacious opponents. During frontal engagements, Tiger Is should be shot in the flat portions of the hull (avoiding the driver's port), Panthers should be shot in the turret (in the less curved portion of the mantlet) or possibly in the lower glacis, and non-Jumbo Shermans can generally be shot anywhere. The Tiger II (P) is only vulnerable in a small portion of the turret cheeks and the Tiger II (H) is essentially frontally immune, so for these kinds of targets, circle around to get a good look at the hull sides and let the slope modifiers take care of the rest. Watch out for American tanks like the M4A3 (76) W and T25, as they have vertical stabilizers and can often shoot first if they are aware of you.
In AB, you should play this tank like any other T-34. Push because you have a pretty well-rounded tank and will generally be able to adapt to whatever situation that develops. The AB meta generally favors more heavily armed and armored tanks due to the presence of markers making flanking and ambushes more difficult, so play carefully and take advantage of your high mobility.
In RB, play this tank offensively yet carefully. Use your speed and keep up with your teammates, or alternatively play it like a light tank and go on long flanks. In RB, one will often encounter enemy flankers like the infamous M18 Hellcat or R3 T20 FA-HS; while the main gun is adequate for dispatching these soft targets, the heavy machine gun can also rip through them in a pinch, particularly from the sides. The machine gun can be especially helpful if one's tank is otherwise disabled due to a jammed turret ring, destroyed gun breech, etc. Diving aircraft expecting to strafe an innocuous T-34 can also be given a nasty surprise, though the DShK's small belt capacity makes this more difficult.
In SB, play this tank very cautiously because the optics aren't that good and most of the time you will face tanks from pretty far distances. Panthers generally have better optics than you so try to avoid encounters with Panthers or Tigers.
Modules
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I | Tracks | Parts | Horizontal Drive | BR-365A | |
| II | Suspension | Brake System | FPE | Adjustment of Fire | |
| III | Filters | Crew Replenishment | Elevation Mechanism | BR-365P | |
| IV | Transmission | Engine | Artillery Support | ||
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Top mounted heavy machine gun is useful against soft targets and perhaps incoming aircraft
- Good gun, acceptable penetration when used for flanking and high one-shot kill potential
- Has access to the BR-365P APCR round
- Good mobility
- 5 person crew
Cons:
- Armour is inadequate at its rank
- May have issues penetrating some targets frontally
- Heavy machine gun needs to reload frequently
- Fairly tall, top machine gun makes the tank even more noticeable
History
The Soviet Union sold numerous T-34-85 tanks along with other vehicles to the People's Republic of China in the early 1950s since the new nation had few and often obsolete tanks in its inventory after the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War. The T-34s saw limited deployments with the People's Liberation Army during the Korean War. The history of the tank afterwards has been the subject of debate; according to some sources the PRC attempted and possibly succeeded at creating a local copy of the T-34 under a "Type 58" designation, and according to others this was never a goal, no such tanks ever existed, and only efforts to maintain and repair the T-34s were carried out. Regardless the T-34s were soon superseded by the far superior Type 59, a licensed copy of the Soviet T-54A. However, stocks of T-34s remained in the PLA inventory for a long period of time before domestic tanks were available in sufficient quantity.
T-34s in Chinese service were often upgraded to a standard referred to by some as the "Type 58". The exact details and universality of these upgrades are also nebulous, but known characteristics include a new loader's cupola capable of mounting a heavy machine gun, hardpoints on the right turret cheek for stowing away said machine gun, and a modified hinge for the rear transmission cover. Other upgrades may have been carried out as well.
The vehicle represented in War Thunder also features a splashboard welded onto the upper glacis. The "Gai" in its designation (改) means "modified" in Chinese.
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
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- 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 |
