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T-43 — The neglected brother of the T-34
The T-34 is to this day one of the most famous medium tanks of WW2 era and is still in use with multiple nations.However, as is with everything there were plans for a replacement. In the case of both the T-34 and KV-1 series, the rather unknown T-43 was initially supposed to replace it but simply didn’t improve enough over its intended predecessors.
History:
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The T-34 in its initial form was able to maintain its effectiveness and fear factor against the Axis powers all the way into early 1942 before the Germans rolled out with their new 75mm KwK 40 gun which could easily penetrate T-34’s at long ranges.
As the Soviet Main Directorate of Armored Forces began to worry, they increased the priority for a replacement tank and gave two tank-design bureaus the task to design a new “universal tank” which would combine the heavy armor of the KV-1 with the mobility of the T-34. On one hand there was the Chelyabinsk bureau with their KV-13 program, while on the other the Uralvagonzavod complex in Nizhny Tagil began developing its T-43 Medium Tank.
Uralvagonzavod included the Morozov Design Bureau into their work as they had plenty of experience with the T-34 and were just finishing their T-34M blueprint, but because of the German invasion into the USSR in 1941, the T-34M was abandoned. The T-43 received a low priority and the production of the T-34 became the new focuspoint.
According to a diary entry of People’s Commissar of Tank Production V.A. Malyshev, Stalin himself stated the following: “Let’s not make new tanks for now. Don’t distract the designers from the task of improving and modernizing existing tanks. Of course, all designers want to design a new tank, every designer seeks glory. We must wait. Let’s return to the new tanks in a month or two when the designers finished their work.”
In March 1943, the first prototype T-43 was completed. It appears similar to the T-34, but it had a new armor layout, new turret design, a space-efficient torsion bar suspension, removed the MG Port from the Hull and a new five-speed gearbox. The turret featured a three-man crew with commander’s cupola for all-round vision, allowing the commander to concentrate on commanding and observing rather than reloading the gun. Additionally to the new turret, the turret armor increased from 70mm to 90m, hull front from 47mm to 60mm along with the sides from 60mm to 75mm.
The 76.2mm gun was the same as on the T-34 and shared around 70% parts commonality.
However, as it was tested at Kubinka, it was revealed that the planned mobility of the T-34 standards were not met while its armor wasn’t enough to stop German 88mm rounds.
After the Battle of Kursk , the Soviets realized that the T-34’s biggest issue was the by then ineffective 76.2mm which struggled to deal with the heavier German tanks. The designers of the T-43 would fit the more effective 85mm gun onto their project, but it was eventually canceled by Stalin himself and gave way to the T-34-85, featuring the T-43s turret, as this ensured more tanks would be found on the battlefields while also increasing lethality.
The knowledge that was gained throughout the development of the T-43 was utilized in the design of the T-44, such as the torsion bar suspension and general crew layout. Another interesting note in history was the first encounter of the T-34-85 on the battlefield, as Germans misidentified it as the “T-43” based on flawed intelligence reports. None of the T-43s survive to this day as they have likely been scrapped during the war.
Specifications:
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Crew: 4
Length: 6.9m
Width: 3.0m
Height: 2.58m
Clearance: 0.45m
Armor:
Front: 75 mm
Hull Side: 60 mm
Bottom: 20 mm
Roof: 30 mm
Turret front: 90 mm
Armament:
Caliber: 76.2 mm F-34 M
Gun ammunition: 82
Machine Guns: 1 x 7.62mm DT
Mobility:
Engine: 12-Cylinder Diesel B-2-34
Power: 500 HP
Max. Speed: 51 km/h
Range: 240-318km (Disputes between multiple sources)
Suspension: Torsion Bar Suspension
Images:
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