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Neil_Baumgardner

I know lots of folks have been waiting for this one for sometime, I actually just ordered mine late last week Wink

I even got it for a 20%+ pre-order discount.

Well worth it. I've only given it a fairly brief perusal - it is 520 pages afterall! - but it appears to be a truly "Hunnicutt" class treatment of the T-34. Admittedly, I have heard that there are better Russian & Polish sources on the T-34, but this has to be the best T-34 in English that I know of. Significant discussion of development, introduction, combat use and basic variants. The book actually appears to start out sorta like Hunnicutt's Pershing (unlike the rest of his series), with discussion of combat use before delving into development, etc. It is very well illustrated - lots of B/W photos, both static & wartime, as well as 20 pages of color pictures & illustrations in the back). For modellers, it has no less than 70 pages of exterior & interior B&W detail shots. Some of the color pictures are also detail shots. Good number of line drawings as well, 55 pages worth in the back alone. There is even one page illustrating the 23 different kinds of road-wheels!

My only criticism is that the post-war treatment doesnt appear to be that great, and quickly focuses on Polish use. That includes info on Polish formations & the serials of Polish T-34s. No sections on post-war use by other countries - so dont look for the Egyptian T-34/100 in this book. Oh yeah, and like many books out of Eastern Europe, it unfortunately doesnt have an index.

But otherwise well worth it IMO and a must have for a complete Soviet AFV library...

Neil

Vivman · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jul 12, 2006 Posts: 34

Hi Neil,

Where did you buy it?

Neil_Baumgardner

Off EBay from Aberdeen Bookstore (actually in Colorado): cgi.ebay.com/T-34-MYTH...dZViewItem

Neil

Neil_Baumgardner

I read the first couple of chapters last night. Interestingly, the first two chapters (before getting into development) are focused on debunking the "T-34 myth" The authors make a fairly convincing argument that the Germans referred to all of the heavier Soviet tanks as T-34s, including the KV series - and that much of the engagements & superlative qualities referred to were actually the KV-1 or KV-2, and not the actual T-34.

That being said, I'm not completely convinced. They do mention the develop of the Panther, and note that it had several German design elements (developed before 1941) not found on the T-34. However, I'd note that the competitor Daimler Benz VK3002 design was almost a copy of the T-34 - so its pretty clear that by the spring of 1942 that the Germans (or at least the technical staffs in the rear areas) knew exactly what a T-34 was...

www.achtungpanzer.com/...tm#panther

Neil

geoffsteer · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 114

Hi Guys-
I have the book in my collection, grabbed it as soon as it arrived at my local hobby shop (Kieth's here in Toronto). I have only one complaint, and it is very minor, the photograph that shows the earlier location of the block that knocks the track pins back in place is so close in that I am not sure exactly where it actually is. The book has me taking all my T-34 kits off the shelf to compare with the plans. The Tamiya '43 hex turret is completely out. The Zvezda STZ turret looks pretty close and the Tamiya '42 cast turret is also close to the plans. A great book!
Geoff Steer [;-{/)

mike_Duplessis · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 236

Hah! I had never hear the 'Germans referred to all of the heavier Soviet tanks as T-34s' remark. But we can't be surprised since Every German tank seen by a G.I. was a Tiger and every SP gun seen by a Russian was a Ferdinand. Wink

Neil_Baumgardner

The book uses a lot of examples of German reports - where based on armor thickness, gun size, etc - they appear to really be referring to KVs when they say T-34. The crux of the book's argument is as follows:

"The Germans knew that the Soviets were using the 'T' system, but the 'special' vehicles were beyond their realm of knowledge. That is why they called the BT tanks 'Christie,' and why the KV was extremely rarely recognized correctly! Thus, very often the heavy tanks were identified as T-34s because the designation, especially with the passage of time, was the most popular. Exactly identifying the danger was less important than classifying it in the simplest manner. Tanks that had been designated in 1941 as heavy or modern, were later commonly identified by the Germans as T-34s. And that is where the 'T-34-phobia' originated."

Neil

Vivman · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jul 12, 2006 Posts: 34

I just got my copy yesterday and, yes, it is magnificant. I have only given it a cursory scan but my one little niggle is that it doesn't cover the Yugoslavian variant. Highly recommended however!!

Neil_Baumgardner

Yeah, it doesnt really cover any post-war variants.

Here's a more extensive review:
www.perthmilitarymodel.../arc01.htm

Neil

Maple_Leaf_Eh · ***Power User*** Offline Joined: Jan 24, 2006 Posts: 517

- Neil_Baumgardner

I read the first couple of chapters last night. Interestingly, the first two chapters (before getting into development) are focused on debunking the "T-34 myth" The authors make a fairly convincing argument that the Germans referred to all of the heavier Soviet tanks as T-34s, including the KV series - and that much of the engagements & superlative qualities referred to were actually the KV-1 or KV-2, and not the actual T-34.

Neil

The author is not exactly correct on that, as others are pointing out. In fits and starts, I've been reading a Wehrmacht general's wartime story. Even in the first summer campaigns through Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, past Leningrad and towards Moscow, he identified KVs as heavy tanks again and again. Maybe he knew what they were when he wrote after the war, but his troops certainly learned the hard way how to attack and kill the KVs.

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