55,000 T-34s destroyed is not exactly what could be called a low amount of combat losses.
The Sherman had better crew survival rates than the T-34 by a long shot, plus sponson ammo stowage was removed in newer Shermans, so the burn rates were far lower as well. 70-80% with the T-34 compared to 20-30% with the wet Shermans. And even the non-wet Shermans had about the same burn rates of the T-34
No and no. Everyone already knew the advantages of sloped armor very early on in armored design. It was just not always incorporated because it is slightly more difficult to weld than a flat plate. Plus, the Mark 1 had slopped armor as well, so it wasn’t pioneered by the T-34. And guns worse then long 88 could 100% go through. The upper front plate and turret were only 60 millimeters and 120 millimeters of RHA equivalency respectively. The Panther’s gun, just as an example, could penetrate 138 millimeters at 100 meters.
If the fuel tank is breached, that vehicle is unusable. Fuel leaking into the fighting compartment would be catastrophic, even if not on fire. It would be a combat loss even if the crew survives, as it would be impossible to work in a vehicle with those fumes inside. And an APHE round detonating in the fuel tank would most likely breach the fuel tanks and do exactly what I just said.
Germany would not have taken the Soviet Union, even without the T-34. They simply did not have the logistical capabilities to supply a military that far from their homeland.
Yeah, no. First of all, the U.S. has received several T-34s during the war that were sent for testing at Aberdeen, (which preformed very poorly) so there would be no need to pay off scientists and engineers. Secondly, the T-34 was not some type of pseudo MBT. When you compare the T-34 to the T-54, the similarities are not exactly clear. The T-54 has a very different hull, different engine, transmission, very different turret. It’s pretty much bigger gun, more armor, better engine. If saying “I want a tank that is a jack of all trades tank” and it having the same second number meaning as it, that means it is a MBT? By that logic, I can say that the M26 Pershing is a Pseudo MBT because that turned into the M46, which turned into the M47, which turned into the M48, which turned into the M60. So I can now call the M26 a pseudo MBT? Speaking of those MBTs, the T-34 did not influence NATO armor designs. After World War 2, NATO armor designs massively evolved. The U.S. perused the Patton series, which did not take any provable influence from the T-34, Great Britain perused the Centurion, which actually was ready before the war ended, but got there too late to see combat, and Germany perused the Leopard 1, which prioritized mobility. And all of these took negligible influences from the T-34.
So to round it up, the T-34 had a bad combat record with bad crew survivability, did not have a revolutionary new armor that made it impervious except for the very best the opposition had, the fuel tanks were not some kind of ERA that could absorb incoming fire, was not a Pseudo MBT, and the T-34 did not influence NATO tank designs to a notable amount, if at all.