Tiger Heat: German Panzers on the Eastern Front

T-34 – The T-34 was an advanced design for its day and was the result of continual upgrading and refinement of the less than successful BT-17. This upgrading produced two designs known as the A-20 and A-30. Both developments of the BT-1S. They were rejected in favour of the T-32 a cruiser tank with a more powerful gun and heavier armour. It appeared in 1939 and had most of the features of the T-34. The tan was designed by a group under the leadership of Mikhail Ilyich Koshkin. He was a sick man with less than two years to live, but embarked on upgrading the armour of the T-32. Tis became the T-34. The T-34 was a product of robust common sense and owed its existence to a team of men who could envisage a modern battlefield much more clearly than any of their western counterparts. The T-34 went into mass production in late 1940 as the T-34-76A. By the time of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, it was already well established. The long and fluid nature of the front meant that it was initially used as points of greatest danger, leaving older tanks to try to stem the German advance elsewhere. The T-34 was produced in many variants and was the second most widely produced tank of all time. The most widely produced was its successor the T-54/55. The T-34-85 appeared in 1943. It was an improved design model and was the version that after the battle of Kursk in 1943 would put German armour all the way back to Berlin. By 1945, the T-34 had replaced nearly every type of Soviet tank in production. After the Second World War, T-34s equipped the armies of many countries within the Soviet sphere of influence. In 1950 a full brigade of 120 T-34s spearheaded the North Korean attack on South Korea. In all, 39 countries used the T-34 and production finally ended in 1958. More recently the T-34 was used in conflicts in the former Yugoslavia and T-34s acquired by Cuba saw action in Angola. The T-34 had a top speed of 25 mph and a range of 268 miles on the road and 228 over rough terrain. It was powered by a V2 34 V12 diesel engine producing 550 hp. It weighed 31 tons.

PANZRKAMPFWAGEN V PANTHER – It was very clear by the end of 1941that Russian armour was outperforming German armour and this imbalance needed to be addressed. The T-34 has already proven itself and was more than a match for the Panzer IV. Two German companies – MAN and Daimler Benz were given the task of designing a more powerful tank. The MAN design was the one that was accepted in May 1942. By September 1942 a prototype was being tested, and the vehicle designated Panzerkampfwagen V Panther. It was ordered into immediate production. The battle was first used during the battle of Kursk in July 1943 and did not perform well. It was plagued with a number of problems. On July 10 out of 200 Panthers, only 38 were available as serviceable. Once these early teething problems were solved the Panther became a formidable tank. It was widely used in Normandy the preceding weeks after D-day as well as on the Eastern Front. The French continued to use the Panther for some time after World War Two as well. The Panther had a top speed of 34 mph, with a range of 110 miles. It was powered by a Maybach HL230P30 V12 petrol engine producing 700 hp. It weighed 45 tons.

PANZRKAMPFWAGEN VI TIGER – Although the Tiger was a very robust design with a 700bhp engine and an eight speed gearbox with four reverse gears. It still showed severe deficiencies under operational conditions. Its range was only 70 miles and even with the well thought out interleaving of the bogies in the torsion bar suspension to enhance mobility, it was incompatible with the fast moving Panzer divisions. This meant it was rejected by the German tank leaders, who preferred the more mobile, smaller tanks which could be manufactured in greater quantity. Despite this, the Tiger I could easily exchange shots with enemy tanks at long ranges. Its deep wading abilities was unique amongst German tanks. The tiger was originally named as the