T34 heavy tank

This article is about the American heavy tank. For the Soviet medium tank, see T-34. For other uses, see T34.

T34 heavy tank
The T34 heavy tank in the U.S. Army Armor & Cavalry Collection, 2021
Type	Heavy tank
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	Trials only
Used by	United States Army
Production history
Designed	1945-1948
No. built	2 prototypes
Specifications
Mass	158,512 lb (71.900 t) combat loaded
Length	37.5 ft (11.4 m) gun forward 25 ft (7.6 m) gun aft
Width	12.46 ft (3.80 m) over sand shields
Height	10.49 ft (3.20 m) over cupola
Crew	6 (driver, gunner, loader, assistant loader, commander, assistant driver)
Armor	hull front 102 mm (4.0 in) @ 54°=228 mm (9.0 in) Side 76 mm (3.0 in) Rear 51 mm (2.0 in) turret front 203–305 mm (8.0–12.0 in) Side 158 mm (6.2 in) Rear 204 mm (8.0 in)
Main armament	120 mm T53 L/60 rifled gun (34 rounds)
Secondary armament	2 x .50 in (12.7mm) M2HB AA (1,500 rounds), coaxial & pintle-mounted 1 x .30 in (7.6 mm) Browning M1919A4, bow (2,500 rounds)
Engine	1,649 cu in (27.02 L) Continental AV-1790-5A air-cooled 810 hp (600 kW) net at 2800 rpm
Power/weight	11.26 hp/t (8.40 kW/t)
Transmission	General Motors CD-850-1 crossdrive, three speeds (two forward, one reverse)
Suspension	torsion-bar
Fuel capacity	350 US gal (290 imp gal; 1,300 L)
Maximum speed	26 mph (42 km/h) (on road) 23 mph (37 km/h) (off-road)

The T34 heavy tank was an American design for a heavy tank. It evolved from the T29 heavy tank and T30 heavy tank in 1945, using the same chassis, but sporting a 120 mm (4.72 in) modified 120 mm gun M1 anti-aircraft gun. Extra armor plating was applied to the rear of the turret bustle as a counterweight for the heavier 120 mm T53 main gun. No production orders were placed for the T34, which was felt to be too heavy.

Development

In 1945, encounters with German heavy tanks and tank destroyers such as the Tiger II and Jagdtiger led to a new project to create a vehicle that could counter these new threats. The results were the T29, armed with a 105 mm gun, and the T30 armed with a 155 mm gun. Both were built around a lengthened version of the T26E3 chassis, and apart from the different use of guns and engines, they were originally almost identical.

Early in 1945 the Ordnance Department began work on turning the 120mm anti-aircraft gun into a tank gun. It soon became clear that this gun would have better armor piercing abilities than the high velocity 105mm gun of the T29 or the lower velocity 155mm gun of the T30, and in May 1945 the Ordnance Department recommended that two of the T30 pilots be armed with the 120mm gun instead, as the heavy tank T34.

The two pilot models of the T34 were not delivered until 1947, and they went for tests at Fort Knox and the Aberdeen Proving Ground. However, the 120mm gun was found to be problematic due to the powder gases which leaked into the turret. This problem was addressed by the installation of an aspirator type bore evacuator.

Despite solving the problems with the gun, the tank was deemed too heavy for the US Army and the Marine Corps requirements, so no production orders were placed. However, in 1948 a work began on lightened version of the design, the heavy tank T43, which later entered production as the M103 Heavy Tank.

Survivors

There is at least one surviving example on display in the National Armor and Cavalry Museum, Fort Moore, Georgia.

Bibliography

• Hunnicutt, R.P. (March 1, 1988). Firepower: A History of the American Heavy Tank. Presidio Pr. p. 94. ISBN 978-0891413042.