Ò-34 Peak Performance
IN MILITARY STRATEGY
SECRECY WITH REGARD TO THE NEW ARMORED VEHICLE. As of the start of the Great Patriotic War (22 June 1941), the Red Army had more than one thousand Ò-34 tanks – the German political and military leadership had no reliable intelligence data on these numbers.
.
IN TACTICS
UTILIZATION FLEXIBILITY. Most successfully used in all types of warfare.
UNIQUENESS OF APPLICATION. The only medium tank to shoot down an enemy aircraft in flight. This was done by À.Ì. Fadin, Hero of Russia, in the Great Patriotic War.
.
IN COMBAT PROPERTIES AND TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS (among the tanks of the same type during WWII)
AN OPTIMAL COMBINATION OF FIREPOWER, SELF-PROTECTION AND MOBILITY.
THE MOST POWERFUL GUN ARMAMENT: 76.2-mm in the initially produced tank and 85-mm in the modernized version.
THE MOST RATIONAL FORM OF CANNON-PROOF ARMORED BODY.
THE FASTEST TANK: Vmax =55 km/h.
THE HIGHEST ENGINE ENDURANCE RANGE: 370–420 km.
THE HIGHEST FUEL-SAVING CAPACITY: thanks to special high-speed tank’s diesel engine.
THE HIGHEST TERRAIN CROSSING CAPACITY: thanks to wide caterpillar band.
.
IN PRODUCTION AND MAINTENANCE
THE MOST MASS-PRODUCED TANK IN THE WORLD: more than 58,000 Ò-34 tanks were released in the USSR in 1940-46.
THE MOST ADAPTABLE FOR SERIAL PRODUCTION at various plants, including enterprises that were initially not intended for the assembly of tanks.
THE WORLD’S FIRST TANK to be manufactured using the automatic submerged-arc welding process that provided a 10-fold increase in the welding performance.
THE MOST APT FOR FIELD MAINTENANCE (among the tanks of the same type).
.
IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
THE LARGEST NUMBER OF BOOKS were dedicated to T-34 among books on armored weaponry.
THE MOST FREQUENTLY MENTIONED ARMORED WEAPON in the scientific and technical literature.
.
IN THE DURATION OF USE
THE LONGEST PERIOD OF USE: IN USE IN THE ARMED FORCES OF THE USSR AND RUSSIA FROM JUNE 1940 TO SEPTEMBER 1997.
.
IN GEOGRAPHY
WAS IN USE IN THE ARMED FORCES OF 46 COUNTRIES.
THE FIRST MEDIUM TANK TO BE IN OPERATION EVERYWHERE FROM THE POLAR REGION TO SOUTH AFRICA AND ACROSS ALL TIME ZONES.
.
IN MILITARY AND PATRIOTIC UPBRINGING
THE MOST WIDELY USED EXAMPLE OF WEAPONRY IN THE STORIES ABOUT HEROIC DEEDS. For example, Ò-34-76 tank crew led by Senior Lieutenant D.F. Lavrinenko destroyed 52 enemy tanks within the period from 6 October to 18 December 1941; on 13 August 1944 Ò-34-85 tank crew led by Junior Lieutenant À.P. Oskin destroyed King Tiger heavy tank on the first day if its use by the nazis against the Soviet troops.
THE FAVORITE TANK of tankmen – veterans of the Great Patriotic War, the object of pride of their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
THE MOST WIDELY USED AS A MONUMENT TO THE VICTORY.
THE MOST WIDELY EXHIBITED WEAPON – it is represented in the expositions of military museums all over the world.
THE WORLD’S ONLY WEAPON to which a specialized museum is dedicated.
THE WEAPON MOST OFTEN DEPICTED on medals, diplomas, commemorative signs, letters of gratitude, coins, badges, postcards, envelopes, postage stamps, labels etc.
.
IN ARTS, CULTURE AND CREATIVE WORK (among weapons)
THE MOST WIDELY SHOWN IN DOCUMENTARY AND FEATURE FILMS.
THE MOST OFTEN DEPICTED ON PAINTINGS.
THE MOST OFTEN MENTIONED IN FICTION BOOKS, MASS MEDIA AND WEB PUBLICATIONS.
THE LARGEST NUMBER OF VERSES AND SONGS were dedicated to Ò-34.
THE MOST MASSIVELY RELEASED SCALE MODEL.
.
