The T34/85 also featured an entirely new five-speed transmission, a new three-man turret design to house an additional crewmember, electric turret traversal to speed up gunnery response and a useful cupola for the tank commander. The T-34/85, therefore, came at a time when Soviet authorities were looking for a bigger tank gun option to contend with the German 75mm and 88mm offerings - two proven tank killers in their own right. In response, the Germans delivered their Panther and Tiger series tanks featuring bigger guns and more armor. The base T-34 mounted a capable 76mm main gun which proved effective against the Panzer III and Panzer IV series tanks fielded by the Germans in bulk up to this point in the war. However, things quickly changed when the Soviets unleashed their heavily armored and armed T-34 medium tanks alongside their KV-1 and KV-2 series heavy tanks. The Germans had invaded the Soviet Union in June of 1941 and the Panzer III and Panzer IV series had formed the backbone of their armored assaults up to now. The T-34/85 was essentially categorized as an 'up-gunned' version of the successful base T-34 medium tank designed and built in large numbers by the Soviet Union during World War 2.

Slovenia t-34 main battle tank