One of the most recognizable and famous symbols of the Second World War is the Soviet-made T-34 tank. This model began to be mass-produced even before the start of the war - in 1940. As a result, she was recognized as the best tank of the Second World War. During its existence, many improvements were made, changes were made to the design, which were discovered by the army during the conduct of hostilities. If we compare the first models and subsequent ones, we can see one new detail. In later variations, a strip of steel welded to the hull appeared in front of the driver's hatch.
What was the function of the plank?
This detail appeared on the tank at the end of the spring of 1942, in May. It is called simply - a protective bar. The next question arises - from what did this bar protect. Starting from the beginning of the thirties of the last century, in the tank building industry around the world, traditional riveting and bolting of tank hull parts began to be replaced by welding. This type of connection was cheaper, stronger and faster.
In addition, riveted joints had another significant drawback. When the shell hit the tank, the bolts with rivets were knocked out by the shock wave, and they flew into the car. As a result, the crew was seriously injured. In welded structures, this drawback was completely absent, but the elements that greatly reduced the resistance of the armor to projectile impacts remained. This category included various hatches, but the tank could not do without them.
Where these hatches are located, the corresponding types of troops have always been carefully studied. In the T-34, one of these weak points was the driver's hatch, which was located in the bow of the vehicle on the front inclined armor plate. Although this hatch was made of cast armor and exceeded the front plate in thickness, it remained more susceptible to projectiles. Special processing, rolling this material did not pass.
It was in this place that the opponents tried to get. If the hatch made its way, the driver died (no options here). As a result, the tank remained immobilized, which means that the target was destroyed. It turned out to be done not so often, but even if the hatch did not break through, the car could be significantly damaged.
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The fragments, together with molten lead, fell inside through the slot, which was under the hatch cover, its lower part. In addition, often the hatch was left slightly ajar. The driver was seriously injured as a result.
To prevent all of the above, the engineers came up with a very simple solution that turned out to be effective. They began to weld a bar of steel. She took the hit. This design until the end of spring 1943. they began to protect the gap under the turret ring from fragments and other things. Later, it was introduced into the design of other armored vehicles of the USSR, which have similar design characteristics.
Continue reading on the topic how durable was the armor of the Soviet T-70 light tanks.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/311021/61088/