T-34 tanks - USSR: books - history, variants and technology
A book on armoured vehicles from the Soviet Union? Here are books on the history, technology and deployment of the Russian T-34/76 and T-34/85 battle tanks.
T-34 - Russlands Standard-Panzer im Zweiten Weltkrieg
Er ist der meistgebaute Kampfpanzer während des Zweiten Weltkriegs. Als die Sowjetunion den T 34 gegen die Achsenmächte ab 1941 ins Feld führte, war er all ihren Panzern überlegen. Später, als die Deutschen mit Panther, Tiger und Königstiger Gleichwertiges entgegensetzen konnten, war immer noch seine schiere Zahl erdrückend. Auch nach dem Krieg wurden die Warschauer Pakt-Staaten mit weiterentwickelten T-34 ausgerüstet.
Wolfgang Fleischer beleuchtet den legendären russischen Kampfpanzer von allen Seiten: seine Konzeption, seine Entwicklung und Technik und nicht zuletzt seinen Einsatz im Grossen Vaterländischen Krieg.
Author:
Wolfgang Fleischer
Specs:
192 pages, 26.5 x 23 cm / 10.4 x 9.1 in, hardback
Illustrations:
280 b&w and colour photographs
Publisher:
Motorbuch Verlag (D, 2018)
T-34 - Russlands Standard-Panzer im Zweiten Weltkrieg
T-34 - An Illustrated History of Stalin's Greatest Tank
The T-34 was one of the most remarkable tanks of the Second World War. Although the Red Army suffered continual heavy tank losses, the rugged and reliable T-34 was an immense success story and was ultimately instrumental in turning the tide of the war.
This photographic history follows the story of this exceptional armoured vehicle from its disastrous first action during Operation Barbarossa to its miraculous defence of Moscow, its envelopment of the Axis forces at Stalingrad and victory at Kursk, and finally, the advance to the gates of Warsaw then on to Berlin.
Packed with a wealth of images, including rare archive photographs and photographs of surviving examples, this is an extraordinary record of both the tank and its personnel. The accompanying text features an in-depth technical evaluation outlining the differences in the myriad of models, including detailed plans of each type, alongside a gripping breakdown of the tank's entire operational history.
Author:
Wolfgang Fleischer
Specs:
209 pages, 25 x 16 x 2.5 cm / 9.8 x 6.3 x 0.98 in, hardback
Illustrations:
16 pages van drawings in colour, b&w profusely illustrated
Publisher:
Greenhill Books (GB, 2020)
T-34 - An Illustrated History of Stalin's Greatest Tank
T-34 Tank Manual (1940 to date) : An insight into the design, construction and operation (Haynes Military Manual)
The Soviet T-34 was the most produced tank of the Second World War and its revolutionary sloping armour became a major influence on future tank design. With its combination of heavy firepower, mobility and protection, the T-34 gave the Red Army a war-winning weapon with which to break the German Army on the Eastern Front.
A mainstay of the Soviet armoured divisions, it was widely exported after the war and in 2017 it remains in frontline service with many third world countries. Author Mark Healy combines a detailed technical examination of the T-34 with its legendary combat history.
Author:
Mark Healy
Specs:
160 pages, 27.5 x 21.5 x 1.4 cm / 10.8 x 8.5 x 0.55 in, hardback
Illustrations:
numerous b&w and colour photographs
Publisher:
Haynes Publishing (GB, 2017)
Series:
Haynes Military Manual
T-34 Tank Manual (1940 to date) : An insight into the design, construction and operation
T-34 - The Red Army's Legendary Medium Tank (Images of War)
It could be said that the T-34 was the tank that won the Second World War. In total 57,000 were produced between 1941 and 1945. Stalin's tank factories outstripped Hitler's by a factor of three to one, and production of the T-34 also exceeded that of the famed American M4 Sherman.
Not only did this output swamp German panzer production, the T-34 was a robust no frills war-winning design - easy to manufacture and reliable. Its sloping armour was innovative at the time and its wide tracks suited it to off-road warfare. Crucially it required little maintenance in comparison to German tanks, and its chassis was used as the basis for a range of assault guns, the SU-85, SU-100 and SU-122.
Anthony Tucker-Jones's photographic history of this exceptional armoured vehicle follows its story through the course of the war, from its combat debut against the Wehrmacht during Operation Barbarossa, through the Red Army's defeats and retreats of 1941 and 1942 to the tide-turning victories at Stalingrad and Kursk and on through the long, rapid Soviet advance across Ukraine and Byelorussia to Berlin.
As well as a range of rare archive photographs and photographs of a surviving example of the T-34, the book features specially commissioned colour illustrations.
Author:
Anthony Tucker-Jones
Specs:
160 pages, 24.5 x 19.5 x 2.1 cm / 9.7 x 7.7 x 0.83 in, paperback
Illustrations:
200 b&w and colour photographs, profile drawings in colour
Von Kleist, one of Hitler s best panzer leaders, described the T-34 as The finest tank in the world. There could have been no finer accolade from a commander whose panzer divisions experienced the full fury of its devastating attacks on the Eastern Front.
Without doubt, the T-34 was one of the best tanks of all time, and in this volume in the TankCraft series Robert Jackson tells its story. He describes its conception in the 1930s, its development during the Second World War, and its post-war deployment to over thirty countries within the Soviet sphere of influence.
His book is an excellent reference work for the modeller, providing details of available kits, together with artworks showing the colour schemes applied to the T-34 by its operators throughout the world. Photographs, many in colour, illustrate the T-34 in action and there is a section dealing with the range of armoured vehicles that were built using the T-34 chassis.
Author:
Robert Jackson
Specs:
64 pages, 30 x 21 x 0.7 cm / 11.8 x 8.25 x 0.28 in, paperback
Designing The T-34 - Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank
When the German army launched Operation Barbarossa - the invasion of the Soviet Union - on June 22, 1941, it was expecting to face and easily defeat outdated and obsolete tanks and for the most part it did, but it also received a nasty shock when it came up against the T-34.
With its powerful gun and sloped armour, the T-34 was more than a match for the best German tanks at that time and the Germans regarded it with awe. German Field Marshal von Kleist, who commanded the latter stages of Barbarossa, called it 'the finest tank in the world'.
Using original wartime documents author and historian Peter Samsonov, creator of the Tank Archives blog, explains how the Soviets came to develop what was arguably the war's most revolutionary tank design.
Author:
Peter Samsonov
Specs:
92 pages, 25 x 18.5 x 0.4 cm / 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.16 in, paperback
Illustrations:
profusely illustrated
Publisher:
Mortons Media Group (GB, 2019)
Designing The T-34 - Genesis of the Revolutionary Soviet Tank
T-34 on the Battlefield (2) (World War Two Photobook Series)
"T-34 on the battlefield 2" is Neil Stokes' second on this Russian tank for PeKo Publishing. 105 large-format black & white photos, primarily from private sources. Perfect for the model-maker! The book covers all types of T-34 tanks used in World War 2.
Author:
Neil Stokes
Specs:
112 pages, 22 x 30.5 x 1.3 cm / 8.7 x 12 x 0.51 in, hardback
The T-34 was the most influential tank design of World War 2. When first introduced into combat in the summer of 1941, it represented a revolutionary leap forward in tank design. Its firepower, armour protection and mobility were superior to that of any other medium tank of the period. This superiority did not last long. While the T-34 underwent a series of incremental improvements during 1943, it was being surpassed by new German tank designs, most notably the Panther.
This title traces the life of the original T-34 through all its difficulties to eventual success.
Contents: Design and Development - Operational History - The German reaction - the Panther - The Battle of the Factories - Universal Tank - Inside the T-34 - Variants.
Author:
Steven J. Zaloga
Specs:
48 pages, 24.5 x 18.5 x 0.5 cm / 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.2 in, paperback
Robert A Forczyk provides a riveting and intense description of the design and development of these two deadly opponents, the Panther and the T-34, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses and describing their tactics, weaponry and training. Moreover he gives an insight into the lives of the tank crews themselves, who were caught up in the largest land conflict of World War II, in some of the most important engagements in the history of warfare. Innovative digital artwork and first-person perspectives place the reader in the midst of a duel between the titans of the Soviet and German armed forced in a ruthless and relentless death match that would determine the war on the Eastern Front and, indeed, the fate of Nazi Germany.
Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and development - The Strategic Situation - Technical Specifications - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and analysis - Aftermath - Bibliography.
Author:
Robert Forczyk
Specs:
80 pages, 24.5 x 18.5 x 0.7 cm / 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.28 in, paperback
In the summer of 1944, the Red Army staged a massive armoured assault up the Karelian Isthmus with the intent of eliminating any remaining German and Finnish forces facing the Leningrad region. Most of the Soviet units sent into Finland were new to the region, moving mainly from the fighting in the Leningrad area. As a result, some had the latest types of Soviet equipment including the new T-34-85 tank, fielded alongside the older T-34-76.
Germany refused to sell the Finns new tanks without a reinforced military alliance, but in 1943 began selling them a few dozen StuG III assault guns. This made the StuG III battalion the most modern and powerful element of the Finnish armoured division, and it saw very extensive combat in the June-July summer battles. Featuring specially commissioned artwork and an array of archive photographs, this is the absorbing story of the parts played by Soviet and Finnish armour in the epic battles in Finland during June and July 1944.
Author:
Steven J. Zaloga
Specs:
80 pages, 25 x 18.5 x 0.6 cm / 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.24 in, paperback
The T-34-85 tank is one of those rare weapons that have remained in service for more than half a century. First introduced in 1944, it has seen combat in nearly every corner of the globe. Steven Zaloga and Jim Kinnear look at this long-serving tank at length. Although long obsolete in Europe, it has proven a reliable and potent weapon in many Third World conflicts, and is still in service with more than a dozen armies around the world.
Contents: Design and Development - Operational History - Variants - Late-War Production Improvements - Inside the T-34-85 - Post-War Modifications - Technical Support Variants - T-34-85 in Post-War Combat.
Author:
Steven J. Zaloga, Jim Kinnear
Specs:
48 pages, 25 x 18.5 x 0.3 cm / 9.8 x 7.3 x 0.12 in, paperback
T-34-85 After WW2 - Camouflage & Markings 1946-2016
The Russian T-34 was possibly the best medium tank of World War Two, and was a major influence on all subsequent tank designs. It served in huge numbers with the Soviet Army and its allies, and was also used by their enemies!
This book continues the story of the T-34-85, this time in post-war service. Information is included about post-war production in the USSR, and licensed versions made in Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia and Poland. A brief summary of the T-34's involvement in conflicts and active service up to 2016 is given.
The most important part of the book describes the camouflage and markings of T-34-85s in service around the world. There are more than 40 especially commissioned colour profiles, and over 150 black-and-white and colour photographs, many never previously published.
Author:
Przemyslaw Skulski
Specs:
160 pages, 29.5 x 21 cm / 11.6 x 8.25 in, paperback
Illustrations:
150 b&w and colour photographs, 40+ profile drawings in colour
Publisher:
MMP Books (PL, 2017)
T-34-85 After WW2 - Camouflage & Markings 1946-2016
The Soviet T-34 medium tank was one of the most famous and effective fighting vehicles of the Second World War. Along with the German Tiger and the American Sherman, it was a landmark in tank design that changed the course of the conflict.
Much has been written about the technical history of the tank and the vital part it played in the huge tank battles on the Eastern Front, but less has been said about the men who went to war in the T-34 - who lived, fought and sometimes died in these remarkable machines.
This pioneering book, which is based on extensive interviews with tank crews, records their experiences and offers a compelling inside view of armoured warfare in the mid-twentieth century.
Author:
Artem Drabkin, Oleg Sheremet
Specs:
224 pages, 24 x 16.5 x 2.1 cm / 9 x 6.5 x 0.83 in, hardback
A hotly-debated topic amongst tank buffs is of the relative merits of the Soviet and American tanks of World War II. Using recently revealed documents, Steven Zaloga sheds light on the crucial tank battles of the Korean War as the rival superpowers' finest tanks battled for supremacy. The Soviet-equipped North Korean Peoples Army initially dominated the battlefield with the seemingly unstoppable T34-85. As US tank battalions hastily arrived throughout the late summer and early autumn of 1950, the M26 Pershing took the fight to North Korea with increasing success.
Contents: Introduction - Design and development - Technical Specifications - The Combatants - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Conclusion - Further Reading.
Author:
Steven J. Zaloga
Specs:
80 pages, 24.5 x 18.5 x 0.5 cm / 9.7 x 7.3 x 0.2 in, paperback
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