Best all round tank was probabl;y the T34, specifically the T34/85 with its improved firepower. As for giant tanks that could mix it with the Tiger then you are probably looking at the IS2, not so good as an all-rounder but virtually impregnable if you wanted a road blocked.
The best in term of won the war was T-34 because it was easy to produce, and it has good mobility, firepower, and protection. However, the strongest 1 on 1 Russian tank was IS-2. It is a heavy tank meant for dealing with German Tigers. I remember in one of the history shows, they talked about how a few German Tiger tanks rushed into a village after knocked out a few T-34, then they came face to face with a giant tank which they first thought was a captured King Tiger. It was actually an IS or IS-2 I couldn't remember. They did knock it out because it was a surprise attack and point blind range.
T-35 not because of its practicality (or its lack of practicality) but more because it sums up the russian mentality completely "whats better than a tank with one gun?" "a tank with two guns?" "pfft try three, and 6 machine guns" but if we are being sensible, then either T-34 or KV-1
KV 1[Kliment Voroshilov] was too heavy,lack of radio set, gun-sight was poor,mobility was poor too.Criticism was enough there which led to produce KV 1S[lighter one] in '43.It was[1] more expensive than T 34 too . It never able to penetrate the frontal armour of Tiger there. Its next variant KV 2 thus made for bunker-bluster.Again,its mobility was not satisfactory...
I think the T-34/85 was the best soviet tank, it's L/60 cannon could penetrate the side and even front armor of the tigers and panthers, whereas the t-26 and BT-5 were completely obsolete in every field of combat.
The other day I heard the deciding factor in Fall and Spring was the width of Soviet treads being far wider than the German tanks, enabling them to maneuver through MUD.
[quote="Interrogator#6, post: ....... the width of Soviet treads being far wider than the German tanks, enabling them to maneuver through MUD.[/quote] Yes, the Tigers had to cary two tracks, 20.5" for transportation and 28.0" for combat. It wasn't enough to remain rolling on overlapping wheels which carried a sheer tonnage, over a coolest muddy tarrain! As a reasult, it became an easy pray for Red Army what they loved to collect by early mornings, on its jammed wheels.
