World War II Wiki
This article is about the American heavy tank prototype. Were you looking for the Soviet T-34 tank?
Heavy Tank T34
Production Information
Nội Dung Chính
Type
Heavy Tank
Technical Specifications
Armor
- otherwise identical to the T29, ~102 mm max on the hull, ~203 mm max on the gun mantlet.
Armament
- Main: 120 mm T53 rifled gun
Crew
6
Usage
Affiliation
United States of America[Source]
The Heavy Tank T34 was a heavy tank design developed by the United States during World War II. The design was a derivative of the T29 and T30 Heavy Tanks.
Description
The T34 was designed in parallel with the similar T29 and T30 heavy tank projects. The T34 was supposed to provide a compromise between the two tanks, and accordingly, the T34 featured a modified version of the 120 mm M1 anti-aircraft gun that was in service with the United States at the time, designated the T53. This gun could fire an armor-piercing projectile with up to 287 mm of penetration vs RHA at point-blank range with an inital velocity of 944 m/s. The T34 was given the highest priority out of the three, because it provided a balance in firepower between both the T29 & T30, a specification that was heavily stressed due to the belief that these vehicles would see service in Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of mainland Japan. This never happened, and the T34 never got out of development due to the political climate after the wars end. Despite this, the project provided engineers with valuable experience that would in particular come in handy during the development of the post-war M103 heavy tank.
