The T-34 has been described as the most important weapon to help Russia win the war in the East. One location that produced the T-34 was the Stalingrad Tractor Plant (STZ), which became famous for its role in the brutal Battle of Stalingrad. STZ used blueprints provided by Factory No. 183 in Kharkov to produce the T-34, but it modified them slightly to suit locally available components. Given that 2022 marks the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, a decisive turning point in WWII, Dragon is releasing two new kits of the T-34/76 STZ Mod.1941 and Mod.1942 in 1/35 scale. Each kit is a 2-in-1 offering, meaning that slightly different configurations for each model year are possible. As to be expected, the models are simply bulging with detail. There are photo-etched parts to represent fine elements. A bonus alimunum gun barrel with rifling is also offered. The tank is shod in Magic Tracks that assemble quickly and easily. Eighty years on, with the restart of production, modelers are now able to assemble a Russian T-34/76 tank from the famous STZ factory!
The T-34 was a Soviet medium tank from the Second World War and the post-war period.
The first prototypes were built in 1937-1940, and serial production in the USSR was carried out in 1940-1957. About 84,000 vehicles of this type were built in its course, which makes the T-34 one of the most produced tanks in history! The drive was provided by a single engine V-2-34 with a power of 500 hp. The length of the car - in the T34 / 76 version - was 6.68 m, with a width of 3 meters. The armament consisted of a 76.2 mm F-34 gun and two 7.62 mm DT machineguns. The main armament in the T-34/85 version was the 85mm ZIS-S-53 gun.
The T-34 is undoubtedly one of the most famous tanks in the history of both World War II and military in general, representing a specific symbol of Soviet victory in the war with the Third Reich. The vehicle was developed for the needs of the Red Army as a successor to the so-called pursuit tanks from the BT series (BT-5 and BT-7), but also the T-26 tank. Work on the car started in 1937 in a special design office at the Steam Engine Factory in Kharkiv. Initially, the works were managed by Eng. Adolf Dik (he also made the first sketches of the new car), and after his arrest by the Soviet security authorities, Mikhail Koszkin managed the work. Initially, the vehicle was designated as A-20. However, a second prototype (A-32) was quickly built, with a main armament in the form of a 76.2 mm cannon and much thicker frontal armor. It was the latter prototype that was finally adopted for production. It can be assumed that when it was introduced into service, the TT-34 was a very successful tank in many respects. It was characterized - as in 1940 - with a very strong weapon, it had a well-profiled armor based on sloped armor plates, as well as very high mobility and off-road driving properties. The disadvantages include the very poor ergonomics of the car or the poor optics used in the first production batches. Despite these shortcomings, when the T-34 appeared on the Eastern Front, German troops were greatly surprised by it. The high overall rating of the T-34 and its combat values determined its mass production and making it the basic tank of the Red Army during the fights in 1942-1945. They also resulted in further improvements to the structure, e.g. in 1942 a new hexagonal tower appeared, improving the quality of work of crew members with the commander's cupola. The engine and gearbox were also improved. However, in 1944, the T-34/85 model was introduced into service, with a completely new three-man turret and the main armament in the form of an 85 mm cannon. The T-34 tank fought in virtually all major battles fought between the Red Army and the Wehrmacht on the Eastern Front in 1941-1945: starting at the Battle of Moscow, through the battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, Operation Bagration, and the capture of Berlin. After 1945, the T-34 tank was still in service, it was also widely exported outside the USSR to countries such as Czechoslovakia, Poland, East Germany, Hungary and Syria.