- Yes
- No
- History T-34-85 in Poland: As with any T-34 in European service, the history starts in WW2. T-34s first saw service with Polish regiments in the Soviet Union, where T-34 M1942, M1943, and T-34-85 M1943 and M1944 were used. I have found a picture of what appears to be a T-34 M1941 with the STZ upgrade, but can’t really confirm. Alas after the war, the Polish inventory was pretty lackluster, with some 300 T-34-85, and other vehicles like IS-2 and ISU-152. To remedy this in 1951 after some time of begging, Poland acquired the license to manufacture T-34-85s. Production started in 1952 and was ridden with issues: metal contamination, faulty W-2-34 engines, etc. Eventually it got sorted out and tanks were produced. In 1954-55 research began on modernization of the T-34-85 in Polish service, as it was starting to become heavily outdated, and additionally to keep up with the new T-54A being brought into PRL service. The goals and trial systems were: a new motor heater, improved air filters for W-2-34, self entrenchment device, night/fog viewing system, napalm protection, gun stabilization, and a range-finder. Unfortunately, some of the more war thunder relevant features like gun stabilizer and range-rinder would be cancelled. Alas, two sets of upgrades would be carried out, the T-34-85M1 and the T-34-85M2. The M1 focused more on general upgrade, whilst the M2 focused on fording and river crossing capability. The tanks officially were both designated “czołg średni T-34-85M”, and a manual was written for them in 1962. After a long service, they were retired in the mid 1980s. As a side note, they are often compared to Soviet M1960 and M1969, which both came much later and although are similar to the Polish programs, had slightly different focus.
Disclaimer: This suggestion is for the T-34-85M2 variant, used from the 1960s-80s. The official designation is T-34-85M, sorry for any confusion.
- T-34-85M1:
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Though of course modernization was carried out, with the first stage T-34-85M1 starting upgrades in 1958. T-34-85M1 included the engine motor for winter, improved engine air filters, the ability to use different fuel types on the engine, better steering system, enlarged fuel tanks increasing range, new sighting and observation devices (these there are little information on, assumedly would be 3.5-7x), increased ammunition stowage 56-57 shells and and 31-37 magazines of 7.62mm (2400 rounds). The increased stowage was put in the now vacant area of the hull machine gunner, who had been removed and his DTM machine was put in a fixed position and operated by the driver-mechanic. Lastly, the turret rotation speed was increased and radios were brought to modern R113 and R120 standard.
T-34-85M1, sometime between 1960-1980s due to turned checkerboard symbol, additionally this appears to be an upgraded M1945 variant due to the smoke and additional fuel canisters. This picture also shows it in a rare camouflage pattern.
- T-34-85M2:
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The T-34-85M2 improved on the M1 standard and this time heavily focused on river crossing capability. The T-34-85M2’s turret and hull were pneumatically sealed, and a pole for breathing was attached to the left side of the tank. In fording-mode the pole could be attached to the commander’s cupola or could be placed in position of the loader’s periscope. Additionally, over the gun mantlet a fabric cover was included, many museums removed this but you can still see the mountings for it. For underwater navigation, different compasses and gyroscopes were added. The tank was able to function up to 5m of full immersion. Additionally, an infrared reflector was added to the left side of the tank, by the daylight reflector, and the driver received the TWN-1a active night vision periscope. Lastly, the T-34-85M2 received many boxes for storage, above the right track and attached to the rear of the turret.
Interestingly, this image is likely from the 1968 Czechoslovak invasion, if you look closely you can see a white stripe on the hull, this was added to Warsaw pact vehicles for friendly identification.
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Visual Differences:
- Snorkel attached to the left side of the tank
- Infrared reflector by the daylight reflector, located on left-front of the tank
- Water-wading metal thing on hull, common to most Soviet tanks of the time. (Will become more clear in pictures.
- Fabric cover on the gun-mantlet
- Storage boxes above the right track and attached to the rear of the turret. Some boxes under snorkel on left track
- Various extra thinks for hull and turret sealing, like and extra ring around commander’s cupola and extra filters by the engine
- Radio antenna on turret, from new R-113 radio
- Various other small differences
- Specifications:
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Armament:
- Primary: 85mm ZIS-S-53 (57 shells)
- Secondary: 1x 7.62mm DTM coaxial, 1x 7.62mm DTM hull-arrested. (2400 rounds)
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Ammunition:
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BR-365P APCR (Reserve mod)
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O-356 HE (Reserve mod)
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BR-367 APCBC (Rank 1 mod)
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BR-367P APCR (Rank 3 mod)
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3BK-2M HEAT-FS (Rank 4 mod)
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Side note: can and did carry all previous types of ammunition, but due to its modernized nature and other stuff, in war thunder I would see this at a 6.0 or 6.3 BR with better ammunition, akin to US M-46 or Japanese ST-A1/2/3. For sure used BR-367, and Poland likely did have 3BK-2/7M from their ASU-85 purchase, if not just in general. Otherwise the HEAT ammo could be added for balance.
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Armor:
- Same as previous T-34-85s, 45mm on the hull and 90mm on the front turret. In war thunder all the added boxes and components such as the snorkel could add at best 5mm of structural protection, but this would only be on the sides in some parts and in reality akin to a +1mm armor bonus.
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Drive:
- Engine: 500hp W-2-34 @ 1800 rpm (some sources claim it is the 520hp W-2-34M, that is not true, it is the regular W-2-34. Possibly a M1946 T-34-85 upgraded to M2 standard could have that, but I don’t think M1946 T-34-85s were even in Polish service)
- Suspension: Christie suspension, Polish modernization was to have better shock absorbers, never actually implemented
- Max speed: 55 km/h
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Crew:
- Gunner
- Loader
- Driver-Mechanic (NVG)
- Commander
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Gadgets and Gizmos
- TWN-1a Driver’s night vision system
- Fording capability
- Unfortunately the modernization suffers in this aspect, but it still has good improvements that can be seen in-game like increased turret rotation speed
- Conclusion: In conclusion, the Polish T-34-85 upgrades were one of the most ambitious and standardized upgrades. While the German T-34-85M or Czech T-34-85 had some better features like better engine, the Polish upgrades in the end saw the service and proved themselves as the backbone of the PRL in the 40s and 50s, and as a strong secondary from the 60s to 80s.
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Sources:
- PRODUKCJA I MODERNIZACJA CZOŁGU T-34-85 W POLSCE
- T-34-85M - Polska modernizacja radzieckiego klasyka.
- Instrukcja techniczna wojsk pancernych. Czołg T-34-85M. Opis i użytkowanie, (1962)
- Początki przemysłu czołgowego w Polsce Ludowej (cz. 2)
- Czołg średni T-34-85
- Images:
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T-34-85M2 in museum, circled is the snorkel in its travel carry thing, additionally you can see the extra ring around the commander’s cupola.
Here you can see everything, extra boxes and snorkel, the daylight and infrared reflector, mantle cover, etc. Interestingly this one does not have commander ring.
Here is a T-34-85M2 in service, I would assume 1970s or early 80s. This picture shows the snorkel equipped. For some reason this version has its track guards removed, this is seen in some Polish T-34-85s for some reason. Notice the additional storage box on the rear of the turret and on sides of tracks.
In this photo you can easily see the new storage containers added on the right track and behind the turret.
