Model 1940 (German designation: T-34/76A) – This was a production model built in 1940, armed with a L-11 76.2 mm tank gun; it had a welded or cast two-man turret. Due to a shortage of new V-2 diesel engines, the initial production run from the Gorky factory was equipped with the BT tank’s MT-17 gasoline-powered engine and an inferior transmission and clutch (Zheltov 2001:40–42).

Saumur museum of armored vehicles

The T-34 medium tank is one of the most-produced and longest-lived tanks of all time.

Identification of T-34 variants can be complicated. Turret castings, superficial details, and equipment differed between factories; new features were added in the middle of production runs, or retrofitted to older tanks; damaged tanks were rebuilt, sometimes with the addition of newer-model equipment and even new turrets. Some tanks had appliqué armor made of scrap steel of varying thickness welded onto the hull and turret; these tanks are called s ekranami (“with screens”), although this was never an official designation for any T-34 variant.

Read more: Tanks and fighting vehicles with Andrew Pantele ...