In 1941 and into 1942, the sight of knocked out Soviet tanks was a fairly common sight. This demolished T-34 was struck at least twice in the rear, one shot breaking the right track and a hit into the engine compartment. The penetration blew apart the back of the tank, rending the rear and deck armor. The tank was also set ablaze by the strike and this can be seen in the scorched remains of the rear hull and along the turret where the paint shows the evidence of the now died out fire. If one looks carefully, smoke is still issuing from the wreckage.
When the T-34 was first encountered by the Germans in combat during the invasion of the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), starting on June 22, 1941, the tank came as a nasty surprise. In part, this was due to the belief in the higher levels of German command that the Soviets were incapable of fielding a modern tank. This notion was strengthened by the fact that the Soviet tank forces were equipped primarily with tanks that were adapted from foreign tank designs from the late 1920s and early 1930s. For example, the Soviet T-26 light tank was derived from the British Vickers 6-ton tank (whose design started in 1928) and the BT fast tank from the American M1931 tank. These tanks made up the bulk of Soviet tank forces in 1941 but Soviet tank designers knew that these tank designs were on borrowed time. As a side, it should be noted that the Soviets deployed three new heavy tanks in their war with Finland during the Winter War which occurred from November 30, 1939 to March 13, 1940. These new heavy tanks, the SMK, T-100, and KV-1, were reported to the Germans by the Finnish. In particular, the Finns told the Germans that the KV-1 was a formidable foe due to its thick armor. However, this appeared to have little effect on the German command's opinion of Soviet armor.
The Soviets, though, as far back as 1937, began work on a replacement for the BT series of tanks. What resulted was the A-20 which utilized a diesel fuel engine (less flammable) but more importantly, used sloped armor derived from experimental BT projects (such as the BT-IS). By sloping the armor, it increases the effectiveness of the armor both by shot deflection potential as well as increasing the relative thickness of the armor based on the angle of the plate. Lessons learned from the Soviet skirmishes with the Japanese in Manchuria in 1938 saw the A-20 prototype joined by a newer, improved tank designated the A-32. More heavily armored and armed, the A-32 went against the A-20 in trials and it was the A-32 that came out the victor. Approval for production was granted for the A-32 as the T-34. Deliveries of the new T-34 medium tank began in 1940.
Many consider the T-34 tank the best medium tank of World War Two and on paper, the T-34 did combine armor protection, mobility, and firepower very well. However, the T-34, when it first appeared in Soviet units in 1940 and then in battle in the summer of 1941, had many flaws that blunted the impact of the new tank. Mechanically, the T-34 had problems. Initial low production quality saw the expected life span of the engines diminished. In addition, the gearbox and transmission was also prone to breaking. The latter saw some crews strapping a replacement transmission onto the engine deck of their tanks on the chance their unit's supply train had no spares if difficulties arose. Only into 1943 could the factories guaranty a service life of at least 100 hours. Another issue was the poor deployment of the T-34 in combat and the crews that were, as a whole, little trained on the T-34. By consequence, these two factors squandered the capability of the tank. It was not long before German troops in the field got over their initial reactions to the new tank and simply adjusted tactics to deal with them effectively. Nevertheless, the T-34 became the de facto Soviet medium tank of World War Two and later models, such as the T-34-85, continue to see service in the world today.
Returning to the destroyed tank here, it is notable for the cross-hatch camouflage pattern seen on the turret. The tank is likely a T-34 Model 1941 built by the STZ Factory if judging by the bolted rear plate on the turret. This same tank was designated by the Germans as the T-34/76B. Many sources attribute the cross-hatch camouflage to select units, such as the 11th. Tank Brigade or the 1st. Guards Tank Brigade. This, however, would be incorrect. The reason is because the camouflage, consisting of white wash over the tank's base dark green paint, was applied at the factory and not by units in the field. Thus, any unit that was shipped replacement tanks (or equipped with them from the outset) from the factory would receive them with the camouflage already applied. It does appear, however, that this particular camouflage pattern appeared in the winter of 1941 disappeared after the winter of 1942. As a note, this same style of camouflage was also applied to other equipment, such as trucks and even artillery, and was not exclusive to armor.
Primary Source:
Michulec, Robert and Zientarzewski, Mirosław T-34: Mythical Weapon (Mississauga, Ontario: Air Connection, 2007)
