With this number, the T-34 tanks must have been much more established than common perception. Logically, it is only the latter comparison that is important if assessing relative combat performance.įrom June to December 1941, the Soviets either already had in service or placed in service, a total of at least 3 017 T-34s out of a manufactured total of 3 111.(3) This is not a small number even by later WWII standards. This is accomplished with statements along the lines that ‘T-34 and KV tanks were only available in small numbers’, and ‘the small number of available tanks were distributed amongst the Army in small packets’.(2) These statements are only true if the number of T-34s involved is measured relative to other Soviet tank types available during the second half of 1941, and not if measured against the number of German tanks available during the same period. Historically, the poor showing of the T-34 in 1941 has been entirely attributed to the general state of the Red Army’s mechanised forces in 1941, and the ‘small’ number of T-34s available.

There is little doubt that as an all round tank the T-34 was the most powerful medium tank in the world in 1941, with far reaching influences on future tank design. Taylor, Barbarossa to Berlin, Volume One, Spellmount Ltd, Staplehurst, UK, 2003, p. Fowler, Russian Tanks of WWII-Stalin’s Armoured Might, Ian Allan Publishing, London, 2002, p. T-34 and KV Tanks were Distributed Amongst the Army in Small Packets in 1941?Ĭonclusions Regarding the T-34’s Overall Performance as a ‘War Winner’ (1) Eg, T. T-34 and KV Tanks Were Only Available in Small Numbers in 1941? An objective look at the T-34’s record, without preconceptions, reveals questions which are hard to answer given the T-34’s apparent superiority. Some go as far as to claim the T-34 as “the finest tank of the twentieth century” and the T-34 “rendered the entire fleet of German tanks as effectively obsolete”.(1) However, if battle performance was (and indeed still is) the ultimate determinant of the effectiveness of any weapon system, then unlike some legends in WWII, the tactical combat record of the T-34 does not match up to its legendary status.

Its apparent superiority has become so entrenched in the psyche of post WWII authors that it is now assumed without question. The technical superiority of the T-34 in 1941 (and during WWII in general) has become the stuff of legend.

Main battle tank in WWII