T-43 tank

Infobox Weapon
name= T-43 Tank


caption=T-43 tank prototype
origin=Soviet Union
type= Medium tank
is_vehicle=yes
crew= 4
length= 8.10 m
width= 3.00 m
height= 2.58 m
weight= 34 tonnes
armour= 16–90 mm
primary_armament= 76.2mm F-34 tank gun
secondary_armament= 2 × 7.62mm DT Machine Guns
engine= V-2-34 diesel
engine_power= 500 hp (373 kW)
suspension= torsion-bar
speed= 50 km/h
pw_ratio= 15 hp/tonne
vehicle_range= 300 km

The Soviet T-43 medium tank was a prototype developed during the Second World War as a possible replacement for both the T-34 medium tank and KV-1 heavy tank. The project's aim was to build a medium tank with heavier armour, but it turned out that what was needed to counter German advances in tank technology was better armament, and the T-43 was cancelled in favour of a more heavily-armed T-34-85.

Production history

The T-34 medium tank was the mainstay of Soviet mechanized forces in World War II, produced in huge numbers. In May 1942, Soviet forces started encountering German tanks armed with the new long 75mm KwK 40 gun which could easily penetrate a T-34 at long range.

In June 1942, the Soviet Main Directorate of Armoured Forces (GABTU) issued a requirement to two tank-design bureaus to compete in designing a "universal tank", which would combine the heavy armour of heavy tanks with the mobility of the T-34 medium tank. The SKB-2 heavy tank design bureau in Chelyabinsk started the KV-13 program, which was later canceled. The Uralvagonzavod complex in Nizhny Tagil developed the T-43. Uralvagonzavod included the Morozov Design Bureau that had been responsible for the T-34, and was able to draw on its work on the advanced T-34M project, which had been cancelled in 1941, when Germany invaded the USSR. The project was given a low priority while resources were focussed on increasing production of the T-34, and the first prototype T-43 was finally completed in March 1943.

The T-43 was generally similar to the T-34, but it had a new armour layout and turret design. It had a space-efficient Torsion beam suspension instead of the T-34's Christie type and a new five-speed gearbox. It also had a three-man turret, with commander's cupola for all-round vision, a major improvement on the T-34's two-man turret which required the tank commander to aim and fire the main gun. Compared to the T-34 Model 1943 with hexagonal turret, the T-43's turret armour was increased from 70 mm to 90 mm, hull from 47 mm front and 60 mm sides to 75 mm. It retained the same 76.2mm F-34 tank gun and, for ease of production, shared at least seventy percent of its parts interchangeably with the T-34. But testing at Kubinka showed that the heavier T-43 couldn't match the T-34's mobility, while its armour was still not heavy enough to stop the German 88mm gun.

After the Battle of Kursk, Soviet planners realized that the T-34's biggest drawback was the ineffectiveness of its 76.2mm gun against the frontal armour of the new German Tiger and Panther tanks. What was needed was a more effective gun rather than heavier armour. The T-43 turret was adapted to mount a more effective 85mm gun, and to fit on the T-34 tank hull. The T-43 project was cancelled, and the new T-34-85 was put into production instead.

The decision to improve on an existing design rather than commit to a major retooling of the factories was characteristic of Soviet philosophy which held production as paramount. While Germany—with double the industrial resources of the Soviet Union—suffered a string of production and logistical difficulties to achieve technical superiority, the Soviets—maximizing productivity—accepted a compromise by significantly improving their main tank, but not matching the new German Panther. The result was that while in May 1944 the Wehrmacht only had 304 Panthers operating on the Eastern Front, the Soviets were producing T-34-85 tanks at a rate of 1,200 per month.

When the T-34-85 first appeared in combat, German intelligence initially misidentified it as the "T-43", based on reports about Soviet tank research.

References

* Chamberlain, Peter and Chris Ellis (1972). "Tanks of the World: 1915-1945". Cassell & Co. ISBN 0-304-36141-0.
* Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (2006). [http://www.morozov.com.ua/eng/body/tanks/t-43.php?menu=history5.php "T-43 Medium Tank"] , at morozov.com.ua. URL accessed on October 5, 2006.
* Russian Battlefield (1998). [http://www.battlefield.ru/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=50 "T-34-85: Development History"] , at "The Russian Battlefield". URL accessed on October 5, 2006.
* Zaloga, Steven J. and James Grandsen (1984). "Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles of World War Two", pp 165, 169. London: Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-606-8.
* Zaloga, Steven J. and Jim Kinnear (1996). "T-34-85 Medium Tank 1944–94", pp 3–4, 7, 8. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-535-7.
* Zaloga, Steven J., Jim Kinnear, Andrey Aksenov, and Aleksandr Koshchavtsev (1997). "Soviet Tanks in Combat 1941–1945: The T-28, T-34, T-34-85 and T-44 Medium Tanks", pp 5, 29. Hong Kong: Concord Publications. ISBN 962-361-615-5.
* Zaloga, Steven J. and Peter Sarson (1994). "T-34 Medium Tank 1941–45", pp 24, 33, 38–9. Oxford: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 1-85532-382-6.

External links

* [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/ussr/tanks-medium/t-43.asp "T-43 Medium Tanks"] at [http://www.wwiivehicles.com/index.htm WWIIVehicles.com]