After the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943, panic began to spread in the ranks of Soviet tank units. They had met the German Panther for the first time on the field of battle, and the mighty Tiger I was being encountered in increasing numbers. The Soviets desperately needed a tank with a longer arm so-to-speak, and the solution offered up by a crash development program was a T-34 with a larger turret and a larger gun. This new tank was known as the T-34/85, which featured an 85mm anti-tank gun (derived from an anti-aircraft gun of the same caliber) mounted in a larger three-man turret. This more powerful tank entered service from March 1944 onwards and it was an immediate hit since it could now stand toe-to-toe with the more powerful tanks being fielded by the Wehrmacht.

There were two main production families of the T-34, each with sub variants. The identification of T-34 variants can be complicated. Turret castings, superficial details, and equipment differed between factories; new features were added in the middle of production runs, or retrofitted to older tanks; damaged tanks were rebuilt, sometimes with the addition of newer-model equipment and even new turrets.

The Red Army never had a consistent policy for naming the T-34. Since at least the 1980s, however, many academic sources (notably, AFV expert Steven Zaloga) have used Soviet-style nomenclature: T-34 for the models armed with 76.2 mm guns, and T-34-85 for models armed with 85 mm guns, with minor models distinguished by year, as T-34 Model 1940. Some Russian historians use different names: they refer to the first T-34 as the T-34 Model 1939 instead of 1940, all T-34s with the original turret and F-34 gun as Model 1941 instead of Models 1941 and 1942, and the hexagonal-turret T-34 as Model 1942 instead of 1943.

German military intelligence in World War II referred to the two main production families as T-34/76 and T-34/85, with subvariants receiving letter designations such as T-34/76A - this nomenclature has been widely used in the West, especially in popular literature. When the German Wehrmacht used captured T-34s, it designated them Panzerkampfwagen T-34(r), where the "r" stood for russisch ("Russian"). The Finns referred to the T-34 as the Sotka after the common goldeneye, because the side silhouette of the tank resembled a swimming waterfowl. The T-34-85 was called pitkaputkinen Sotka ("long-barreled Sotka")

This particular 1:32 scale weathered replica of a Russian T-34/85 model 1944 medium tank was attached to the 55th Guards Tank Brigade, 7th Guards Tank Corps, then deployed to Berlin, Germany, during 1945. Comes with removable Model V-2 diesel-fueled 12-cylinder engine. Now in stock!

Dimensions:
Length: 9-1/2-inches
Width: 3-1/4-inches

Release Date: November 2019

Historical Account: "Death Throes" - By April 1st, 1945, the rampaging Red Army had reached the outskirts of Berlin. Knowing full well that Berlin would be heavily defended, Russian commanders decided to delay their attack by two weeks in order to build up their strength before making a final attack. Meanwhile, the Western Allies had planned to drop paratroops near Berlin to take the capital, but decided against it. Eisenhower saw no need to suffer heavy casualties taking a city that would fall within the Soviet sphere of influence once the war was over.

Adolf Hitler, who never thought Berliners supported him the way he imagined, decided to remain in the city. Some think he stayed to punish the city for its lack of support in the early days of Nazism; more likely there was nowhere else for him to go once the Allies had begun closing in.

The offensive began with a tremendous barrage of artillery, which included 'Stalin's Organs' - ground-launched rockets known for their hideous shrieking noise. On April 16th, the First and Second Belorussian Fronts, in conjunction with the First Ukrainian Front, attacked, striking from the north, west and south. By April 24th, the three army groups had completely encircled the city and began infiltrating the city proper. The next day, the Fifth Guards Tank Army linked up with the US First Army at Torgau, Germany on the River Elbe. On April 20th, Hitler ordered the Twelfth Army facing the Americans and the Ninth Army to break into Berlin to relieve the siege. Neither force was able to penetrate the Soviet defenses so the Berliners were on their own.

Although Berlin's fate was sealed, the resistance continued. Fighting was heavy, with house-to-house battles oftentimes devolving into savage hand-to-hand combat. By battle's end, the Soviets had lost 305,000 dead; Germans casualties amounted to 325,000, including many civilians. On April 30th, Adolf Hitler married his mistress Eva Braun, took cyanide, then shot himself, refusing to be taken alive by the Allied powers. Berlin surrendered three days later on May 2nd and with it came the end of the Third Reich.