Quote:
Originally posted by T. A. Gardner:
QUOTE]While the T-34 was in some ways a superior vehicle, the Sherman in overall performance outdid it. [/QB]
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While Soviet units did use the Sherman T-34s far outnumbered them. The USSR produced more tanks than any nation during the war.
The T-34 and the Sherman do share some characteristics mainly they were both easy to produce, and maintain, but the T-34 was far better in combat, because it had sloped armor, a better gun(the first T-34s were equipped with 76mm guns later models were equipped with 88mm guns), the T-34 had a wider track which allowed for better cross country performance, another major advantage of the T-34 is that it used a deisel engine opposed to the gasoline engines of the Shermans.
In the western front 1 Tiger was lost to every 3 Shermans, and in the eastern front 1 Tiger was lost to every 4 T-34s. This statistic is misleading because most Tigers on the western front were lost due to air or artillery attack, mechanical failures, or running out of fuel or ammunition.
Two tanks that don't recieve as much credit as they should are two soviet heavy tanks KV-1 used in the early part of the war, and the IS-3 used in the later part of the war.
[ 28. September 2003, 08:12 PM: Message edited by: reddog2k ]