Talk:T-44

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[edit] Recognition

On the picture it looks like a T34/76. The difference between the '85 and '76 is that the barrel on the '85 is stuck through a box protruding trough the turret glacis(?). The '76 turret glacis looks like it is crimped on the barrel. Just like the T44.

I know that in at least one book the two T34 models are mixed up. As a result there might also be the odd television program mixup.

The original 76.2mm-armed T-34 was built with many subtle variations of the turret design, from different factories and design revisions; some are angular, others more streamlined or curvaceous, but I think they all have the box shape on the mantlet. The T34/85 had a new, larger turret design with more rear overhang, although its easiest recognition feature is the long 85mm gun. The T-44 had another brand-new turret, very similar to the T-34/85's but still bigger. The T-44's hull and suspension are identical to the T-54/55's; look for the driver's hatch on the top of the hull instead of the front, and a gap between first and second road wheels. The T-34 has sloped rear armour with two exhaust pipes on it, while the T-44's is square and its exhaust port is on the left side of the hull. —Michael Z. 2005-09-23 17:50 Z

Congratulations with the article! I was getting so vexed with the T-44 not being covered I was actually on the brink of writing one myself :o).--MWAK 15:15, 25 September 2005 (UTC)

I've had this one vaguely in mind for a long time, too. I just realized that I had enough info at hand to write a stub, and with a little more research time (or was that a lot of time?), filled it in quite a bit. After writing the response above, I decided I might as well add that to the article; recognition comes up a lot, and it's always seemed like something missing from WP AFV articles. Thanks for the note. —Michael Z. 2005-09-25 16:00 Z

Yes, recognition is always a severe problem; I've even removed some M-60 pictures from the Leopard 2 article! (with the wrong name in WikiCommons) :o) Have you ever seen those old World War 2 Photo Albums by Bruce Quarry? They contained an incredible number of mistaken identities. I've added some production numbers from Zaloga's T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944-2004.--MWAK 06:57, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Use against Japan in Operation August Storm?

It seems likely that the T-44 was used in Manchuria in August 1945 in the Operation August Storm. The image on the page seems to show tanks which are not the T-34.

-- Petri Krohn 03:21, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

They are T-34's (look at the hull hatches). The turret of the first vehicle just looks strange because it has been retouched by someone incorrectly :o).--MWAK 11:23, 30 September 2005 (UTC)

I noticed that too; what appears to be a big square hatch cover over the glacis. Wish I had a better scan of the photo to look at. It looks like they might have stowage or camouflage on top of the turrets, giving them a bloated look. The fenders are flat and square like a T-34's, but that's not a conclusive identification feature. —Michael Z. 2005-09-30 15:46 Z

And the famous gap between the first and second road wheel is lacking...--MWAK 10:51, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Quite right. I would say these are definitely T-34s. —Michael Z. 2005-10-1 20:20 Z