War Thunder - The T-34

You could fill whole libraries with what's been written about Soviet Russias' war-winning tank. It wasn't just one of the best, if not the best tank in the world when it was introduced, but it was also a symbol of what a unified society could achieve in the face of adversity.

System Specs: Core i7 4820-K 3.7Ghz i7 CPU, 16GB DDR3 RAM, 3GB nVidia GTX780 Ti GPU, running at 1920x1080 resolution

[Padsoldier]

Jingles, I'm curious, have you ever been approached by a history teacher / professor and asked to help with getting students interested in things or tell a story like this? It probably has something to do with the gameplay in the background as well but I find your presentation really good - I can usually remember some of what I hear from you in these videos, you're doing a great job, keep at it!

[warhawk]

Actually the T-54 was the most mass produced tank in history. T-34 did hold that record before hand though

[IFear_Naught]

If you asked someone to name the 3 most iconic tanks of WWII, it would have to be the Sherman, the Tiger, and the T-34.

[outrageousgriot]

Jingles - great video, my friend.

One of the greatest things I've observed is how high of a regard Red Army veterans and those who fought alongside them held the T-34 tank.  I've seen a Czechoslovakian T-34 WW2 veteran who partook in the Czechoslovakian/Soviet assault on Ostrawa tear up at a T-34 monument and say "upon receiving this tank our commander said to cherish this tank, because it was built by children... and we did just that."

[laurenforsyth]

Jingles, you do know he was in a T34-57.

[cy]

Once again Jingles, you give us a clear, concise and accurate posting on the history of a major player in the game.  The T-34 series. Outstanding man! Thanks very much and, needless to say, we always want more like this.

[itzwazme]

Excuse me! in the earlier stages of operation Barbarossa almost every tank was a T-26 or a BT series. The T-34's and KV-1's were very rarely used in the first months of the war.

[yuunjac]

Watching this video twice... This is probably the best kind of video that I enjoy out from the usual game related videos from Jingles. More of these kind of video please. I love this!!

[soundslave]

It's worth noting that Russian losses in Operation Barbarossa were also down to German air superiority. Those German radios allowed them to call in air support and the Russians had almost no fighters to counter them.

[Duskstrider]

Really love these history lessons :) Makes it far more intresting with some gameplay in the background while listening to the information about the tank and not as boring reading a wiki page or something like that :) Keep it up and thank you for doing em :)

[micahqgecko]

Let's be honest, the t-34 was not as good as everyone claims it to be. In terms of battle efficiency, the singular kv tanks were achieving way more than whole company of t-34s in 1941 and 1942. One of the main problems with the t-34 was it was a deathtrap and crammed. Funny enough, for the armor they had, they were relatively easy to knock out by infantry because the tank had such poor visibility and therefore had trouble locating infantry sneaking up and dropping shaped charges on it. Also, t-34s could be knocked out by 5cm guns even if they didn't penetrate the armor. This is due to a combination of the hardness of the armor as well as the poor quality of the steel used. Spalling was likely to occur after enough hits and this resulted in the crew getting sliced to pieces. The suspension was pretty shit, and the tank had a tough time on hilly terrain, meaning they used open fields and roads when they could, thus making them easier targets for other tanks and aircraft. Also, by June of 1942, the germans were using the 75 mm KwK 40, and this gun was better in every regard to the t-34's gun. Essentially, the t-34 had so many issues which lead to a 7:1 loss ratio, meaning 7 t-34s lost to every german tank. By 1943, most issues had been ironed out in the t-34, but by this stage the germans had vastly upgraded their armored forces. We like to think of russian tanks rushing through shell fire to surround and take out tiger tanks, but most of the time the saving grace for the red army was not their t-34s, but rather the Il-2. I take nothing away from the ferocity in which the red army soldiers fought to protect their homeland, and the bravery of the tank drivers, but when it comes down to it, the t-34 was not the best tank in the world, nor was it even close. Maybe it is because of the increased nationalism of the red army soldiers who gained pride in their tanks and this spread to give the t-34 more credit than was necessary, but if the t-34 had been used by the americans rather than the sherman, then it would not be nearly as loved. The reason for this might have to do with anyone questioning red army tactics was shot, while americans love to complain about things, but truth be told, I just think that there is no way anyone can honestly say this tank deserves the title of the best tank in the world.

[KiiroGaming]

Love the history lessons Jingles! I've always had a huge fascination in WWII tanks and tank crews and you certainly can make them interesting to listen to rather than reading book after book that takes it's time getting to the point.

[MrNobodyAid]

Holy crap.... That 60fps is amazing...

[scogro]

The T-34 was my favourite tank of WW2 and my favourite tank of all time. I'm so happy to see such a detailed video about the tank pop up in my inbox, thank you Jingles.

[ItsShane]

Thats just great Jingles...now because you decided to do only 60fps videos..I am no longer able to watch any of those videos in either 1080p or even 720p! Why do you have to do these 60fps videos persé? because its the latest thing/rage? Just stick with 1080p with 50fps please..those video are perfect and sharp..never had any problems watching them in 1080p!!

[deathlyhope]

You did a really good job on this one Jingles. I don't normally comment but i think you have a knack for these history videos, keep giving us the good stuff.

[threeshrikes]

Jingles, I could listen to your voice all day.

[TheThanimal]

I really truely enjoy these mini-documentary style of video Jingles. I absolutely love them. Keep doing them as time permits :) I love all your other stuff but I find this videos so informative.

[MyKiller]

Jinges i absolutely love the fact that you reply to a lot of your comments! Do you try your best to answer as many as you can? Or do you just answer ones that you think need an answer..?

[AtemiRaven]

I really, really like this style of video:
You've always really been good at studying up on shit, and explaining and ranting about it.
And this video is pretty much entirely that, a history lesson with an exceptionally pleasent voice, and a great personality behind it.