"T-43, Take One" Topic

"Factory #183 in Kharkov worked on the T-34M medium tank in the first half of 1941. This tank was supposed to replace the T-34 in the second half of 1941. The start of the Great Patriotic War forced the plans to modernize the T-34 to be corrected. Only a handful of components migrated to the production T-34 from the T-34M. The issue of modernization was revisited in the spring of 1942. Unlike the T-34M, the tank called T-43 was built in metal and its development continued for over a year. This article covers the work performed on the T-43 tank in 1942.

Factory #183 had bigger priorities than the T-34M after the evacuation to Nizhniy Tagil. Late 1941 and early 1942 was spent setting up production of the T-34. Individual elements from the T-34M migrated to the production tank. The modernization left its trace in the tracks, turret, gun mount, transmission access hatch, and several other elements. The factory still performed experimental work, but there was no major modernization planned anymore. This topic disappeared from the experimental plans of factory #183. Nevertheless, the topic of major modernization cropped up at least once more. Correspondence of the GABTU (Main Automotive and Armoured Vehicle Directorate of the Red Army) dated April 12th, 1942, proposes that factory #174 that was being transferred to Omsk should begin production of the T-34M. The T-34M's advantages included a lower mass, torsion bar suspension, wider turret with a commander's cupola, and larger fuel capacity. This proposal was not supported. Factory #174 did not have the capacity to produce the modernized tank.

Meanwhile, the situation with the modernization of the T-34 began to develop in a new direction. The capabilities of factory #183 in Nizhniy Tagil were different than those it had back in Kharkov. This difference had an impact on the look of the T-34 (for instance, the hexagonal turret was put into production in late 1941) and on the future work. This changed the course of work on the T-34's successor. The T-34M that nearly made it into production in late 1941 disappeared. Only the idea of a torsion bar suspension remained…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Didn't the U.S. have a T-43 also?

(?)….

Amicalement
Armand

Didn't the U.S. have a T-43 also?

No hyphen, but yes! The hyphen is how you can tell which is being referred to!