![]() ![]() As a result when a T-34 was knocked out it was more likely the crew would be lost or badly injured than in a German tank. The escape hatch was difficult to open and get out of. It was also extremely cramped and the poor quality of the armour construction mean't when the armour was penetrated by a enemy shell the armour was prone to spalling. The gear shifts where extremely stiff requiring alot of effort to move, which resulted in driver fatigue. In addition the early T-34's where extremely unreliable, with around half of them breaking down. ![]() Needless to say given these flaws it no surprise German tank crews could fire 3 shots for every one shot the T-34's got off. The T-34 lack a turret basket meaning the commander had to turn himself when the turret moved while trying not to trip over spent ammunition. The T-34 had only a 3 man crew meaning the commander had to load the gun, which was is his other job of tracking targets more difficulty. The early T-34 had no radio's and the Germans noticed multiple T-34's would all fixate on a single target, that of the lead tank because of poor visibility and lack of communications. It didn't return fire because it couldn't see what was shooting at it. The story of a German 37mm gunner hitting a T-34 23 times before a lucky shot jammed the turret ring of the T-34 is often cited as proof of the amazing amour protection the T-34 had, but it also demonstrate how awful visibility was in the T-34 if the T-34 crew allowed the 37mm anti tank 23 shots at it without returning fire. The T-34 had several considerable disadvantages. Its true that when it first saw combat no German tank gun or anti tank gun could penetrate its frontal armour which was a considerable advantage but the Germans could penetrate it from the side and its not like every encounter with a T-34 was head on. The T-34/76 has an extremely overrated reputation. ![]()
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