Source:http://ftr.wot-news.com/2014/08/02/t-34-85m-upcoming-soviet-premium-tank/
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Hello everyone,
大家嚎， 

if you follow FTR, you already know that the Soviet tree will be not one, but two medium premium tanks richer. One is the tier 8 T-54 Mod.1945 and the other, recently unveiled, a tier 6 premium tank, the T-34-85M. The first one was already covered in an article, let’s have a look at the latter.
如果各位一直在读博客的话，你就会知道苏联树现在会再添新丁，还不是一个，是俩金币中坦。一个是8级的T-54 1945年版，以及最近才公布的6级金币车，T-34-85M。前面那辆早就说过了，我们来说说后者。 

Please note that this tank has nothing to do with the post-war T-34/85 modification, often referred to as “T-34/85M” as well.
请注意这辆坦克与战后的T-34/85改装版没有任何关系，那些车有时也会被叫做“T-34/85M” 

The history behind this vehicle is relatively simple. While the T-34 armor was quite good for its time, especially thanks to its sharp slope, on a battlefield swarming with Tigers and Panthers, sloped 45mm of armor just was not enough. Therefore, various Soviet tank designer teams were looking into ways, how to make the formidable T-34/85 even better. Some attempted to improve its firepower, others focused on the armor. This is the latter case.
这辆车背后的故事其实很简单。鉴于T-34的装甲有着斜面装甲的加成，在那个时候它的装甲以及是不错的了。但是在一个充满了虎式以及豹式的战场上，倾斜的45mm装甲板还是不够。于是许多苏联坦克设计团队都开始寻找把强大的T-34/85搞的更好的办法。部分试图增强火力，其他人就注重装甲。这里讨论的是后者。

Stalin himself has been asking about the possibility of armor upgrades to the T-34 hull, specifically to increase the frontal armor thickness to 60mm. At first, the answer was negative due to the excessive weight of such an upgrade, but in the beginning of 1944, based on this Stalin’s request, calculations were made in order to determine, whether there is a way to actually improve the armor. In February 1944, Factory No.183 recieved an order from the national comissar for tank industry to design a T-34-85 armor upgrade until March. The completion of this order was delayed, as the team was busy with other projects (specifically the improvement of the T-44 prototypes) as well as with the organizing of the T-34-85 mass production itself. Nevertheless, in May 1944, two prototypes of this improved vehicle were built.
斯大林本人是一直在问能否升级T-34的车身，特别是把正面装甲的厚度提高到60mm。一开始的回答是不行的，因为这样做会带来过多的重量提升。但是在1944年初，由于斯大林的要求，他们就开始了针对“究竟有没有办法可以增强装甲”的计算。在1944年2月，183号工厂收到了由坦克工业部的国家政委的命令，让他们在3月之前设计一辆T-34-85的装甲升级版。这个命令的完成日期被推后了，因为这个团队都在忙别的项目（尤其是对T-44原型车的改进），还有对自己的T-34-85的量产进行管理。总之呢，在1944年的5月，这个升级版的坦克的两辆原型车就被造了出来。

The first prototype had following changes:
第一辆原型车有以下改进： 

– upper front plate thicknes improved to 75mm
正面首上厚度增强到75mm

– the transmission gear ratios were changed
传动齿轮的比例改动了

– cast driver’s hatch thickness improved from 75mm to 100mm, DT machinegun shield thickness improved from 60mm to 90mm
浇铸的驾驶员舱盖的厚度从75mm上升到100mm，DT机枪炮盾的厚度从60mm上升到90mm

– drive sprocket diameter reduced to 530mm
主驱动链轮的直径缩小到530mm

– armor thickness of bottom and roof (engine cover) reduced from 20mm to 15mm, rear lower plate reduced from 45mm to 15mm
车身后半以及车顶（发动机盖）的厚度从20mm降低至15mm，车后面的首下厚度从45mm降低至15mm 

Second prototype (this is the one that will be in the game) had the same changes as the first one, but in addition, more improvements were made:
第二个原型车（游戏里就这个）的改动与第一个一样，但是额外增加了一些改进： 

– original six internal fuel tanks were replaced by two 190 liter fuel tanks in the rear of the vehicle, behind the transmission
原来的⑥各内部油箱现在变成了两个190升的油箱，而且油箱现在放在车身后部，在传动装置的后边

– the rear of the vehicle was reworked: lower rear plate was made 40mm taller and its thickness was reduced from 45mm to 30mm. The angle remained the same (45 degrees). From the sides, these rear fule tanks were protected by unsloped 45mm armor
车身的后半部分重制：后方首下变高了40mm，厚度从45mm变成了30mm。角度还是不变（45°）。侧面的话，车身后半部分的油箱现在是用未倾斜的45mm装甲板保护着的。 

Thanks to the reduction of the armored plates thickness, the weight of the tank remained roughly the same as the original T-34/85 (in fact, the first prototype was cca 100kg lighter). Here are the characteristics of the second prototype (in comparison with original T-34/85 in brackets).
要感谢被砍掉了厚度的装甲板，这辆坦克的重量和原来的T-34/85的重量差不多（其实第一量原型车比原车要轻100kg）以下是第二辆原型车的数据（括号内的是T-34/85的数据，作为对比） 

重量: 32,23 吨(32,25 tons)
长度(炮管向前): 8115mm (8115mm)
正面首上厚度: 75mm (45mm)
驾驶员舱盖厚度: 100mm (75mm)
背后上方装甲板: 45mm (45mm)
背后下发装甲板: 30mm (45mm)
车底: 15mm (20mm)
引擎板: 15mm (20mm)
炮塔: 常规T-34/85 (一样)
载弹量: 60 发(56)
极速: 52,6 km/h (54,5)

There were some small internal and mechanic changes as well. Both vehicles were tested from 24.5. to 10.6.1944 on Kubinka proving grounds and were compared to a mass-produced T-34/85. The test committee under colonel Muravich noted that the vehicle recieved better protection without worsening the tank dynamics and driving capabilities, but following flaws were found:
还有其他的小的内部以及机械改动。这两辆车都在库宾卡的试验场上从1944年的5月24日开始测试，测试持续到10月6日，还找来一辆量产的T-34/85作为对比。由Muravich将军领导的测试委员会发现这辆车在没有损失坦克机动性以及驾驶能力的情况下增加了防护能力，但是他们还是发现了以下问题： 

– the heavy DT machinegun shield reduces the durability of the shield, since its mount is stressed by the additional weight
变重的DT机关枪盾使盾的耐用性下降了，因为上面装了额外的重物

– the second prototype rear fuel tanks were vulnerable due to the unsloped 45mm armor
第二辆原型车的油箱很脆弱，因为防护只有一层未倾斜的45mm装甲

– reduced bottom thickness makes the vehicle more vulnerable to mines
车底盘的厚度降低使得车辆会更容易受到地雷的攻击

– the changes in the transmission gear ratios did not improve the tank characteristics at all
坦克传动齿轮的比例调整根本没有对坦克的数据带来正面影响

– the smaller drive sprocket was much less reliable than the old one, the entire suspension was far less reliable than on the serial T-34/85 in fact
变小了的主驱动链轮没有原来的耐用，而且整个悬挂系统比原来的T-34/85系列的耐用度要差得多

– while the rear fuel tanks of the second prototype reduced the risk of fire in the vehicle, this solution made the access to the transmission much harder (even for maintenance), in order to repair it, the entire fuel tank had to be removed. This was a huge problem connected to the relative unreliability of the vehicle in general, as the engine, including transmission, required maintenance often.
第二辆原型车的后置油箱方案的确是降低了车辆着火的可能，但是这个办法也让接触传动装置变得更加困难（就算是维护也是如此）如果要修的话，他们必须要移除整个油箱。这是个很大的问题，因为这辆车从各个角度来讲的耐用度都不高，而且发动机，包括传动装置都需要频繁的维护
 

The committee proposed some remedies to this situation and supported initially the mass production of this vehicle. In summer 1944, tests of the improved thickness frontal plate were conducted with the Panther gun. It turned out that the Panther could penetrate the 75mm sloped plate only at 650 meters or closer, a significant improvement. However, the vehicle was never to be produced en masse, because – also in Summer 1944 – tests of the new T-44 medium tanks were conducted. Some Soviet officers, even after seeing the T-44 results, sided with the T-34 improvements and requested the T-34 upgrades instead of the T-44 production. However, if was for naught, as shortly afterwards, the T-34-85M project was scrapped.
测试委员会提出了针对这种情况的一些解决方案，并且支持启动这辆车的量产计划。在1944年的夏天，关于增加了厚度的正面装甲板的测试现在开始启用豹式坦克（国服称黑豹坦克）的主炮了。他们发现豹式坦克只有在650m之内的距离才能够击穿75mm的倾斜装甲板，这是一个巨大的进步。然而，这辆车永远都没有投入量产，原因是—在1944年的夏天—对于新中坦T-44的测试也开始了。部分苏联的军官在看到了T-44的测试结果后，依然站在了T-34这一边，并且申请量产T-34升级版而不是T-44。然而这么做是毫无意义的，因为一段时间之后，T-34-85M的计划就被废除了。

Source:
参考书目：
Максим Коломиец (Maksim Kolomiec) – Т-44 и другие наследники «тридцатьчетверки» (T-44 and other descendants of the “thirty-four”)
Максим Коломиец (Maksim Kolomiec) – Т-44 и другие наследники «тридцатьчетверки» (“三十四”的晚辈们，T-44以及其他车辆)