Nearly 8,000 tanks fought, I am afraid that it will never appear again, in 1943 in the Soviet Union's Battle of Kursk, the two sides more than 1.5 million troops, including more than 5,000 tanks of the Soviet Union, more than 2,000 tanks against Germany.
In more than a month, the two sides almost finished fighting these guys, the most important one in the Soviet tank was the T-34, and the strongest in the German tank was the Tiger and Leopard.
So how can the T-34 defeat the Tiger and Panther tanks that are more powerful than it?
Talk about the T-34 tank, secretly installed in 1940, the structure is simple and practical, equivalent to 70 mm of homogeneous steel plate, in 1941 and the German army, the main German III, IV tanks, can not be penetrated, T-34 frontal armor.
The T-34 is equipped with 76 millimeter armor-piercing bullets that can penetrate 69 mm homogeneous steel plates, 1000 meters away, can penetrate 61 mm steel plates, and no model can withstand such a powerful firepower.
There is also a famous 12-cylinder 39-liter V-2 diesel engine specially developed for the T-34, which has a power of 500 horsepower, making it a road top speed of 55 km / h, plus two auxiliary fuel tanks, the travel can reach 540 km.
And his tracks are nearly 50 centimeters wide, much wider than the German tanks, so the T-34 has a super-strong, large-depth attack tactical ability, and on the icy battlefield of the Eastern Front, he is still free to ride on the ice field one meter deep in the snow.
Between the three elements of the tank: firepower, mobility, and protection, the T-34 had a perfect balance until the appearance of the Tiger tank in 1942, the heavy armor, plus the 88 gun was installed, and no car in the Soviet tanks in active service could pose a frontal threat to the Tiger tank at a normal combat distance.
Therefore, after the appearance of the Tiger, the T-34 produced later was quickly converted into an 85 mm caliber gun, although the firepower was enhanced, but in the Kursk tank battle, the normal distance was still impossible, and it could only rely on speed, maneuverability and absolute numerical superiority to rush to the face to engage.
In the history of mankind, the biggest tank battle, only to achieve victory, the bright sword in the ding Wei's graduation thesis said that the steel torrent of the northern neighbor is our biggest threat, just look at the number.
Since the 50s at the end of World War II, the Soviet Union has produced a total of T-34 series, more than 84,000 tanks, so is Ding Wei right?