Heavy Tank T34
This page is about American T34 heavy tank. If you are looking for Soviet T-34 medium tank, see T-34
Contents
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General info
The Heavy Tank T34 is a Rank IV American heavy tank with a battle rating of 6.7. It was introduced in Update 1.67 "Assault". A formidable heavy tank with thick armour and a heavy gun, the T34 presents a radically new tank design than any of its predecessors.
The main purpose, usage and tactics recommendations
General play style
Vehicle characteristics
Tactics
Specific enemies worth noting
The T34 is a very strong tank and few tanks have the guns to take it out effectively from the battlefield. If you're fighting tanks of your own BR or lower, the German long 88 mm guns (whether it be PaK guns or KwK guns) will be able to contest your armour at close range if used well. This includes the Waffentrager, Tiger II (P) and (H) models, the Nashorn, the Ferdinand, and the Jagdpanthers. There is also the threat of the occasional Ru 251, which packs a 320 mm pen HEAT-FS shell. The Russians also have a few weaponry that can be used against the T34, be on the lookout for tanks which utilize the 100 mm, such as the T-44-100, SU-100P, or SU-100. These 100 mm shells will not struggle too much against your hull or turret, at least at close range. The same can be applied to the ISU variants. (The ASU-85) does get a HEATFS shell which defeats your armour most of the time, more on that below.) The tanks mentioned above can be dealt with against with relative ease at medium range with the 120 mm cannon. Another country which catches most people off guard is France. The AMX-50 and Lorraine 40t with their magazine systems will shred your armour given if they have the time to aim properly. Their shot rounds will break your gun breech quickly, but if you play well the T34's armour will hold up.
At long range, tanks with the long 88 mm guns will only be able to penetrate with the APCR at you, which in effect makes your upper hull armour very good, since APCR does not fare well against slopes. The turret face being very flat can put you at a disadvantage most of the time. Specific enemies worth noting when fighting the Germans at your BR are: Waffentrager, Tiger II (P) and (H) models, Nashorn, the Jagdpanthers, and even the Sturer Emil with its 230 mms of penetration with its monstrous 128 mm armament. Most of these tanks (except for the Emil) can fire APCR at you and penetrate if they are good shots and hit your gun shield. When engaging the Russians at long range, the ASU-85 will be your most dangerous enemy at your own BR. The HEATFS shell it packs penetrates 300 mm of armour, making your armour more often than not obsolete against it. One more tank you must be aware of that most people forget about is the Type-62. It gets the same gun as the T-44, but with better shells, utilizing a strong HEATFS round on a turreted, fast light tank.
When you're fighting at a maximum BR up-tier of 7.7 (which can happen quite frequently), your enemies as previously mentioned stay the same except for more prevalent Rank V vehicles like the Leopard 1A0. The Leopard I is everything you are not: fast, stealthy, good rate of fire and a punchy good gun at any range. With its DM13 APFSDS round that can penetrate 303 mm of armuor straight up, life is not easy against it. The round can still penetrate 257 mm of armour at 1,500 meters, which is still very easy against your turret shield. The Leopards also packs a DM12 HEATFS round which can tear through 400 mm of armour with ease with 1,173 m/s shell velocity. If at all possible, do not engage Leopards at long range without doing it smartly. Remember: They can penetrate you regardless of angling or range.
Another enemy at an uptier to worry about is the Object 120 "Taran". The Object 120 posses a shell that presents 405 mm of pen APFSDS with 1,710 m/s shell. The drawback of the Object is its lack of gun depression and armour that even .50 cal machine guns can destroy it. Almost all of the Taran users will choose that shell instead of the HEATFS it packs simply because of the shell velocity. The HEATFS shell in question can penetrate 480 mm of armour. A good rule of thumb when fighting these tanks: if you can avoid being hit, do so quickly; your armour will not save you.
Other enemies at 7.7 (or 7.3, or even 7.0) worth noting is the IS-3. It is almost impossible to injure it from the front, much less kill it in one shot. The only shot you can make is the turret ring (which is tough sometimes) or the extremely small flat pieces of armour on the sides of the gun barrel on the turret: other than that, try to flank it. The Maus is also a significant threat to the T34 for much the same reason as the IS-3, but with a greater firepower due to its 128 mm armament. Trying to kill a Maus without the use of the APCR the T34 gets is a fool's folly: it can't be done against an angling Maus tank. The Tiger II (H) 10.5cm heavy tank is also able to contest you better than the Tiger II (P) and (H) simply because of the gun and power behind it, but not to a dangerously high degree like the Leopards. The Jagdtiger packs much the same gun with albeit slightly less armour and no turret, but it makes this tank no less dangerous. The Jadgpanzer 4-5 on the other hand is quite stealthy with the same gun and ammo as the RU 251, with albeit no turret but a better reload makes this tank good at contesting your armour at any range.
Counter-tactics
Pros and cons
Pros:
- High-power 120mm gun with access to APCR rounds.
- Gun is pretty accurate when stock.
- Has U.S. standard gun depression: -10°.
- Heavily armoured turret with 203 mm thick mantlet combined with 20 mm spall shield.
- Good overall frontal hull glacis armour with spare tracks to protect it from first strike.
- Very easy stock grind.
- Center lower glacis can bounce shots if angled correctly (59° constructional armour slope + hull angling)
- Wide tracks can absorb enemy shells if lucky.
- Rear mounted transmission, very low risk of fires.
- Explosive-resistant propellant rack.
- Very hard to distinguish from the T29 in certain game modes.
- Very good top armour, can resist most aircraft guns.
- The tank is large, and the crew is spread out, allowing some to survive penetration, allowing you to survive hits that would normally be fatal to other tanks.
- 3x .50 cal machine guns are perfect for lightly armoured vehicles & disrupting enemy's gun scope.
- 3x .50 cal machine guns can destroy tank tracks with sustained firing.
- The stock AP shell produces a ridiculous amount of spalling, enough to one-shot any tank that the shell can penetrate.
Cons:
- Relatively big size, easy to identify on contact (although comparable to King Tiger by overall size).
- Does not have the feared reputation of the T29 (Though this can be used to your advantage).
- APCR shells are only marginally more effective than the ones on the T29.
- No shells with explosive fillers.
- Penetration through the lower glacis is often lethal.
- The gun is frequently damaged by enemy fire due to large size.
- No armour at in gun optics, a straight hole into into the internals.
- Hull MG port is another weakspot.
- Has U.S. standard side armour thickness (76 mm), using the hull armour to deflect shots is not recommended.
- Lightly armoured lower glacis for its BR, Tiger I can penetrate it by shooting at the side end of its glacis.
- Storing additional ammo will store the propellant in the turret, will explode violently if penetrated. Take no more than 20 rounds into battle.
- Contrary to popular beliefs, the 2x coaxial .50 cal machine guns are not supported as anti-aircraft weapon.
- Gun breech is destroyed extremely often as many tanks could easily penetrate the gun mantlet.
- Vertical gun movement is very slow; if your gun is pointing up or down when you meet an enemy tank, odds are they will shoot first before you can bring your gun up or down.
Specifications
Armaments
1 x 120 mm Gun T53 (34 rounds)
1 x 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun (1,000 rounds)
2 x 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun (2,400 rounds)
Main armament
- Ammunition Capacity: 34 Shells
- Gun Depression: -10°
- Gun Elevation: 15°
- Turret Rotation Speed: 10.71°/s (Stock), 14.8°/s (Upgraded), 18°/s (Prior + Full Crew), 19.9°/s (Prior + Expert Qualif.), 21.2°/s (Prior + Ace Qualif.)
- Reloading Rate: 19.37s (Stock), 17.14s (Full Crew), 15.79s (Prior + Expert Qualif.), 14.9s (Prior + Ace Qualif.)
Ammunition
| Ammunition | Penetration in mm @ | Type of warhead |
Velocity in m/s |
Projectile Mass in kg |
Fuse delay in m: | Fuse sensitivity in mm: | Explosive Mass in TNT equivalent in g: |
Normalization At 30° from horizontal: | Ricochet: | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10m | 100m | 500m | 1000m | 1500m | 2000m | 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||
| T14E3 | 247 | 246 | 233 | 218 | 205 | 191 | AP | 944 | 23 | N/A | N/A | N/A | -1° | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| T17E1 | 324 | 319 | 293 | 258 | 229 | 201 | APCR | 1264 | 13 | N/A | N/A | N/A | +1.5° | 66° | 70° | 72° |
| M73 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | HE | 944 | 23 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 2,380 | +0° | 79° | 80° | 81° |
Ammo racks
| Full ammo |
Ammo Part |
1st rack empty |
2nd rack empty |
3rd rack empty |
4th rack empty |
5th rack empty |
6th rack empty |
7th rack empty |
Recommendations | Visual discrepancy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Projectiles Propellants |
33 (+1) 31 (+3) |
28 (+6) 29 (+5) |
23 (+11) 23 (+11) |
21 (+13) 15 (+19) |
13 (+21) 9 (+25) |
7 (+27) 1 (+33) |
1 (+33) |
Turret empty: 23 (+11) | no |
Secondary armaments
1 x 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun (pintle-mount)
2 x 12.7 mm M2HB heavy machine gun (dual-coaxial)
Crew
- Commander
- Gunner
- Loader (x2)
- Driver
- Assistant driver
Total: 6 crew members
Armour
Armour type:
- Cast homogeneous armour
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull sides, Hull rear)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 102 mm (52-56°) Front Glacis 70.25 mm (26-59°) Bottom Glacis 102 mm (6-81°) Machine gun port |
76.2 mm Front 51 mm Rear |
51 mm (4°) Upper 51 mm (60°) Lower |
38.1 mm |
| Turret | 158.7 mm (18-31°) Turret front 203 mm (0-9°) Gun mantlet 305 mm (1-57°) Gun mantlet border |
158.7 mm (3-42°) | 101 + 102 mm (1-20°) Rear 102 mm (63-84°) Bottom of turret overhang |
38.1 mm |
| Armour | Sides | Roof | ||
| Cupola | 152.4 mm | 38.1 mm |
Notes:
- Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick while tracks are 30 mm thick.
- Front belly armour is 25.4 mm thick while the rear is 13 mm.
Engine & mobility
Max Speed: 35 km/h
Stock
- Engine Power: 1046 hp @ 2800 rpm
- Power-to-Weight Ratio: 15.90 hp/ton
- Maximum Inclination: 40°
Upgraded
- Engine Power: ____ hp @ 2800 rpm
- Power-to-Weight Ratio: __.__ hp/ton
- Maximum Inclination: __°
Modules and improvements
| Tier | Mobility | Protection | Firepower |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | 
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| II |  
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|
 
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| III | 
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| IV |  
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Recommendation:
History of creation and combat usage
Development
Projects for a dedicated heavy tank for the U.S. Armed Forces began in March 1944 as a response to the German heavy tanks that have been popping up in Europe. While the T26E3 tank, later known as the M26 Pershing was slated to be the next-generation American tank, it was still considered unsuitable against the even heavier Tiger II. A project to increase the armour and firepower commenced to counter this problem, the project titled Heavy Tank T29. Using design elements from the T26E3 with thicker armour and lengthened hull, the T29 also was equipped with the 105 mm Gun T5, a gun in development alongside the heavy assault tank T95. Other features included a 770 hp Ford GAC engine, armour thickness up to 279 mm effective, and a coincidence range-finder. The heavy armour and armament made the tank weigh about 64 tons, making it a close match to the Tiger II.
Though the T29 was monstrous itself, side projects involving the T29 crafted the Heavy Tank T30. Itself similar to the T29 in terms of armour, but featured a monstrous 155 mm Gun T7 with a more powerful engine and an extra crew member to facilitate loading the gun.
Effect in World War II
Throughout World War II, the T29 and the T30 stayed in development under priority "limited procurement". Eventually, the war in Europe ended in May 1945, but the small ordered stayed in hope it may be useful in the Japan invasion in Operation Downfall. That hope was smashed as well when Japan surrendered in September 1945, ending World War II. Even if an operation commenced that used these vehicle, the Army Ground Forces objected to the use of such heavy equipment due to the lack of adequate transporters. Further production was cancelled in the post-war demilitarization.
Post World War Effect
The heavy tank concept didn't die with the end of hostility and a final attempt was made to remake the T29 into a more modern, lethal weapon system. This produced the Heavy Tank T34, which mounted a 120 mm gun based on the M1 anti-aircraft gun. The caliber made an adequate balance of firepower and loading ease between the 105 mm and the 155 mm used in the T29 and T30. In fact, the two T34 pilot models made were a converted T29 and T30. However, the demilitarization took down the T34 program as well, but the experience in this project help engineers in the development of the M103 heavy tank.
Today, there are a few T29s still in display across the United States, most of them residing in storage at Fort Benning, Georgia where they will be used as display in the future National Armor and Cavalry Museum.
Screenshots and fan art
Skins and camouflages for the SM.79 series from live.warthunder.com.
Additional information (links)
[Devblog] Heavy Tank T34: Commanding Respect
References
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[expand] American Tanks [expand]
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 T34
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| Nation | USA |
| Type | Heavy tank |
| Rank | 4 |
| Battle Rating | 6.7
|
Metric✓ Imperial
| Characteristics | |
| Weight | 65,800 kg
|
| Number of Crew | 6 |
| Hull armour thickness | 102/76.2/51/38.1 mm
|
| Statistics | |
| Engine power (stock) | 1,046 hp
|
| Engine power (upgraded) | ___ hp
|
| HP/ton ratio (stock) | 15.90 |
| HP/ton ratio (Upgraded) | __.__ |
| Max speed | 35 km/h |
| Main Weapon | |
| 1 x 120 mm T53 | Cannon |
| Ammo stowage | 34 rounds |
| Vertical guidance | -10°/15° |
| Secondary Weapon | |
| 2 x 12.7 mm M2HB | Heavy machine gun |
| Ammo stowage | 2,400 rounds |
| Mount | Coaxial |
| 1 x 12.7 mm M2HB | Heavy machine gun |
| Ammo stowage | 1,000 rounds |
| Mount | Pintle mount |
| Vertical guidance | -10°/50° |
| Horizontal guidance | -120°/120° |
| Economy | |
| Required RP | 95,000 RP |
| Vehicle cost | 260,000 SL |
| Crew training cost | 75,000 SL |
| Max repair cost* | 9,250 SL
|
| Free repair time (Stock) | 7d
|
| Free repair time (Upgraded) | 2d 08h
|
