The T-34 was the greatest tank of World War II

The Soviet T-34 was not the greatest tank of World War II, because the German Panzerkampfwagen V Panther was.For those of you who would like to see what these tanks looked like:This is the German Panther: ............This is the Soviet T-34: Now that we know what we're talking about. Let's progress, shall we?IntroWhen going about evaluating what makes a great tank, one must use a set criteria. The best criteria for evaluating tanks consist of design and performance. The German Panther embodied a balance of great firepower, tremendous armor protection, and dynamic mobility unmatched by any other tank of the period. The tank benefitted from superior design, and consequently, superior performance and a tenacious fighting prowess. The manufacturing efficiency of the factories producing the tanks says almost nothing about the actual tanks' abilities, so this should not be taken into account when deciding which tank was indeed greater than the other.C1: DesignThe German Panzer V Panther tank had quite definitely the most elegant design of any tank in World War II. It featured superior German engineering that was state-of-the-art for 1942, whereas the T-34 was lagging behind technologically as it was designed in 1937. [1] [2]a) ArmorWhile both tank designs featured the recent development of sloped armor, the armor of the German Panther was greater than the armor of the Soviet T-34 in relative thickness, density, and strength. The Pather's front armor was 80mm thick of strong, durable homogenous steel that was both welded and and interlocked for strength; the Soviet T-34 had only 45-47mm of front armor, making it more vulnerable to tank destroyers, bazookas, and tanks than the Panther. The Panther and T-34 had relatively the same weaknesses in other parts of the armor; however, with the Panther's superior speed, its weaknesses were less likely to be hit than the T-34's due to the superior mobility and maneuverability it offered. The Panther had 40mm more armor on its turret than the T-34.b) ArmamentWhile the Panzer V Panther was of only average caliber for its time, the it's main gun was a more powerful tank gun than the T-34's, because of its large propellant charge and very long barrel, which resulted in a very high muzzle velocity and superior armor-piercing characteristics. The Panther also featured two MG 34 machine guns specifically designed for use in armored combat vehicles that had an armored barrel sleeve.c) CabinThe cabin of the Panzer V Panther was clearly superior to the cabin of the T-34, which was described as suffering from an "unsatisfactory ergonomic layout" in which a "two-man turret-crew arrangement required the commander to aim and fire the gun, an arrangement common to most Soviet tanks of the day." This made the T-34 less successful in subsequent firing and tactical position-grabbing. The Panther made use of its increased space to allow for a much more efficient three-man turret crew that allowed for tactical and firing advantages.d) Engine The Panther featured a Maybach HL 210 P30 engine, V-12 gasoline engine which delivered 650 metric hp at 3,000 rpm and had three simple air filters, whereas the T-34 had a 12-cylinder diesel model v-2 at500 hp. So, the Panher had a better engine, which accounts for its greater speed than the T-34, 55 km/h compared to 53 km/h, respectively.I will address some more design aspects and how those affect the performance of the Panzer V Panther, and make it the greater WWII tank over the less-evolved Soviet model T-34.Thank you! :D[1] http://en.wikipedia.org...[2] http://en.wikipedia.org...;