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T-34/76 UTZ (1943)

Description

T-34 built by F.E. Dzerzhinsky Ural Tank Factory #183 (UTZ) in Spring 1943. These tanks had distinct hexagon cast turrets with sharp bilges, mixed cast (with internal dampeners) and rubber-coated wheels, and external fuel tanks at the rear. Rubber-coated wheels were introduced for better cushioning, but because of the rubber shortage in the USSR, they were mixed with older type wheels.

The tank design has been simplified by reducing the number of different types of armour sheets, so sides, rear, bottom, roof and bottom above tracks armour thickness increased - 40 mm armour sheets were replaced by 45 mm ones and 13-16 mm sheets by 20 mm ones. The new cast turret also was 5-11% more durable depending on the hit angle.

In addition, the tanks made during this time usually had the new 5-gear gearbox installed for more effective acceleration and cross-country capacity. Main gun ammo has been increased to 100 rounds.

Unladen weight: ~30000 kg.
Length: 6.6 m.
Width: 3.0 m.
Height: 2.5 m.
Clearance: 400 mm.

Engine: V-2 diesel.
Maximum power: 500 HP at 1800 RPM.
Maximum RPM: 1900 RPM.
5 speed gearbox.

Maximum road speed:
1-st gear: 7.4 kph.
2-nd: 15.9 kph.
3-rd: 22.4 kph.
4-th: 34.1 kph.
5-th: 54.0 kph.
Reverse: 8.4 kph.

Maximum offroad speed: 31 kph.

Fluids:
Internal fuel tanks capacity: 460 l.
Engine oil system capacity: 80 l.
Summer engine coolant: 95 l. of water
Winter engine coolant: 95 l. of 50% ethylene-glycol
Endurance range: 300 km.
Maximum oil consumption: 9 l/h.

Hull armour:
Front: 45 mm.
Sides: 45 mm rolled armour.
Rear: 45 mm rolled armour.
Roof: 20 mm rolled armour.
Bottom: 20 mm rolled armour.
Bottom above tracks: 20 mm rolled armour.

Turret armour:
Front: 56 mm cast armour.
Sides: 56 mm cast armour.
Rear: 56 mm cast armour.
Roof: 56 mm cast armour.
Gun mantlet: 45 mm rolled armour.

Main gun: rifled, 76.2 mm F-34.
Barrel length: 41.6.
Elevation: +25°..-5°.
Ammo: up to 100 rounds.
Usable rate of fire: 8 rounds per minute.
Turret drive: electric, 14 seconds per rotation.

Gun ammunition:
BR-350B armour piercing high explosive (APHE): 6.5 kg, 660 m/s, 72 mm at 500 m.
BR-350BSP armor piercing solid (AP): 6.6 kg, 660 m/s, 73 mm at 500 m.
BR-354P armour piercing composite rigid (APCR): 3.02 kg, 950 m/s, 129 mm point blank.
OF-350 high explosive (HE): 6.2 kg, 680 m/s, 710 g. explosives.

Machineguns: 7.62 mm Degtyarev (DT).
Bullet mass: 9.8 g.
Muzzle velocity: 840 m/s.
Armour pentration at 100 m: 11 mm.
Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute.
Coaxial: 29 mags, 63 rounds per each (1827 rounds).
Bow: +-12°/+16°..-6°, 23 mags, 63 rounds per each (1449 rounds).

Gunsights:
TMFD-7 gunner scope-sight, field of view 15°.
PT4-7 gunner panoramic periscopic sight, field of view 26°.

Radio equipment:
VHF 9-RM transceiver.
3 intercom terminals.

Modifications

High-Explosive Shells
OF-350

Good against soft, unarmoured or lightly armoured targets.

Mass 6.2 kg, explosives mass 710 g.
Direct hit armour penetration 20 mm, effective damage distance for light vehicles 3 m.

When fired from a F-34 / ZiS-5 gun:
Muzzle velocity: 680 m/s.
500 m: velocity: 616 m/s, drop -3.0 m.
1000 m: velocity: 558 m/s, drop -12.5 m.
2000 m: velocity: 468 m/s, drop -56.7 m.

8 all-steel wheels
Four additional internally sprung wheels (8 in total) due to shortage of rubber.

Armour Piercing Shells
BR-350BSP

Solid armour piercing shells without explosive filling.
Good against spaced armour plates, but cause less damage inside a target than more advanced APHE.

Mass: 6.6 kg.

When fired from a F-34 / ZiS-5 gun:
Muzzle velocity 660 m/s, armour penetration at point blank range 87 mm.
500 m: armour penetration 73 mm, velocity 585 m/s, drop -3.2 m.
1000 m: armour penetration 62 mm, velocity 524 m/s, drop -13.6 m.
2000 m: armour penetration 47 mm, velocity 429 m/s, drop -63.5 m.

Armour Piercing High Explosive Shells
BR-350B

Shells armed with bursting charge warhead.
Good against armoured targets. In case of penetration do more damage inside the target than solid AP shells, but HE filling can detonate prematurely (for instance, when used against spaced armour plates).

Mass 6.5 kg, explosives mass 119 g.

When fired from a F-34 / ZiS-5 gun:
Muzzle velocity 660 m/s, armour penetration at point blank range 86 mm.
500 m: armour penetration 72 mm, velocity 584 m/s, drop -3.2 m.
1000 m: armour penetration 61 mm, velocity 522 m/s, drop -13.6 m.
2000 m: armour penetration 46 mm, velocity 427 m/s, drop -64.0 m.

Sub-Caliber Armour Piercing Shells
BR-354P

Shells armed with sub-caliber armour-piercing projectile.

Good against heavily armoured targets at short ranges: being much lighter than ordinary rounds, they have much higher muzzle velocity and armour penetration at close distances. However, because of the lower mass their velocity quickly diminishes with distance and they are worse than ordinary rounds at higher distances.

The penetrator is held in the barrel by a spool looking sabot. While reducing the round mass for increased muzzle velocity, this makes it lose velocity even more quickly because of the air drag.

Mass: 3.02 kg, penetrator calibre 28 mm.

When fired from a F-34 / ZiS-5 gun:
Muzzle velocity 950 m/s, armour penetration at point blank range 129 mm.
500 m: armour penetration 90 mm, velocity 741 m/s, drop -1.7 m.
1000 m: armour penetration 60 mm, velocity: 558 m/s, drop -8.0 m.
2000 m: armour penetration 24 mm, velocity: 295 m/s, drop -53.3 m.

6 all-steel wheels
Two additional internally sprung wheels (6 in total) due to shortage of rubber.

Removed Fuel Tanks
The external rear-mounted fuel tanks oftenly were removed.