V72097 SOVIET MEDIUM TANK T-44

The T-44 is a Soviet medium tank from World War II and the post-war period. The first prototypes of this vehicle were built in 1943-1944, and serial production lasted from 1944 to 1947. About 1,830 vehicles of this type were created in its course. The weight of the tank in the basic version was up to 31.8 tons. The drive was provided by a single W-44 diesel engine with a power of up to 500 HP. The armament of the vehicle consisted of an 85mm ZIS-S-53 gun and two 7.62mm DTM machine guns. The T-44 tank was developed as a very far-reaching development of the T-34 by a team of designers and engineers led by Alexander Morozov - perhaps one of the best designers of armored weapons of that time in the USSR. While working on the T-44, a lot of experience gained from the operation of the T-34 vehicles in the line, as well as from the combat experience of 1941-1943 / 1944, was used. The T-44 vehicle was a significant improvement over the T-34. First of all, it uses a completely new hull, suspension and engine. The latter was positioned transversely, not longitudinally, which was almost a revolutionary solution and made it possible to reduce the overall dimensions of the car, especially its hull. The crew was also reduced to 4 people. The armor and maneuverability of the car were also significantly improved. It is worth noting that in the 1960s, the already produced T-44s underwent modernization and received the designation T-44M after its completion. In general, one may be tempted to say that the T-44 had a significant impact on the Soviet tanks of the first post-war generation, i.e. the T-54 and T-55.