The T-34-57, with the winter camouflage available by using it to defeat 190 other players or for 200  

The T-34-57 in War Thunder

The T-34-57 is a rank III Soviet medium tank with a BR of 4.7. Its top speed is 43 km/h (26.7 mph), which it can reach in 21 seconds on a flat surface. Its turret can complete a full 360° circle in 14.6 seconds, giving it traverse of 4.1° per second. Hull traverse is then 3.2° per second.

An X-Ray View of the T-34-57.

The hull armour is 45 mm (1.77’’) thick all around, with frontal armour being sloped under angle of 60° and upper side armour under angle of 50°. Lower frontal glacis is then sloped under 53°, and rear upper armour is sloped under 48°. Turret has the same armour thickness all around as the hull, with the oblique front reaching maximum armour angle of 64° and side and rear turret armour slope varying between 34-31°. Turret’s top is 15 mm (0.59’’) thick, while hull’s top’s thickness is 16mm (0.63’’).

The tank is armed with a long-barrelled ZiS-4 57mm (2.24’’) gun. With a fully trained loader, the gun’s reload speed is 6 seconds, giving it a rate of fire of 10 rounds per minute. At point blank range and depending on the angle of attack (AOA), the default APHEBC BR-471 armour piercing round can penetrate up to 121 mm or 4,76’’ (0° AOA), 109 mm or 4.29’’ (30° AOA), or 49 mm/1.93’’ (60° AOA) respectively. At the range of 2000 meters (6562 feet), these values then drop down to 68/61/28 mm (2.67/2.4/1.1’’). Improved APHE BR-217K round is able to penetrate up to 135/121/48 mm (5.3/4.76/1.86’’) of armour at point blank range, and 54/48/19 mm (2.13/1.89/0.75’’) at a range of 2000 meters (6562 feet).

Regarding gameplay, the gun on the T-34-57 has superior penetration compared to 76.2 mm (3’’) F-34 gun of the older T-34 models, but it has much lower after penetration effect due to smaller caliber. High muzzle velocity makes the long range aiming easier, but 57mm (2.24’’) round loses its penetration over distance quickly, rendering it useless against heavily armoured targets at the long range. There is also a premium version of the T-34-57 available in game for purchase! If you would like to find out more about the T-34-57 in War Thunder, you can view the full Vehicle Profile 'here'. 

The T-34-57 in History

The T-34 medium tank, a mainstay of the Soviet armoured forces during the whole Second World War, was introduced in September 1940. Initial armament consisted of 76.2 (3’’) L-11 gun. This weapon was however already perceived as unsatisfactory, and decision was made to improve the armament. At the same time, a new 57 mm (2.24’’) anti-tank gun, designated ZiS-2, was developed in factory No.92 in Gorky. This gun was able to pierce up to 112 mm (4.41’’) of armour at the range of 100 meters, making it a far superior to L-11. It was then decided to develop a tank version, which was named ZiS-4.

T-34-57 at the Sofrinsky range, July 1941.

In April 1941, the gun was mounted into a T-34 turret, and underwent extensive gunnery trials. Armour penetration capabilities were great, but aside from extremely short barrel lifespan and high production costs, the main disadvantage was the high explosive round. It was simply too small to be effective, and the 76.2 (3’’) F-34 gun had a lower penetration than ZiS-4, but its HE round was much more effective. The F-34 gun was then chosen as a standard armament of T-34 and KV-1 tanks, but due to demand for high performance anti tank guns, a small batch of T-34 tanks armed with ZiS-4 guns (designated T-34/57) was ordered to be used as tank hunters. The precise number of T-34/57 tanks manufactured is not known, but it is believed to be very low, as only 21 ZiS-4 guns were delivered before the No.92 factory was evacuated. If you would like to find out more about the T-34-57 in history, you can view the full Vehicle Profile 'here'. 

Would you like to find out more about the T-34-57? Be sure to view the War Thunder Wiki article, which can be found by clicking this link!

Author: Jan “RayPall” Kozák

With one of the upcoming Updates, we will include the
"No. 20 of the 21st Armored Brigade, USSR, 1941" in War Thunder:

Decal by Branislav "InkaL" Mirkov

Have you effectively used this Tank's abilities to engage your targets?
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