Yes they did have T-34s in 1941. Early models though. They are T-34/76 model 1940 and T-34/76 model 1941 T-34/76 model 1940 T-34/76 model 1941 [/b]
It is different, too. The Model 1940 was armed with the L-11 76.2 mm gun, which was considerably shorter than the subsequent F-34 76.2 mm main gun of the 1941 and later models.
Tiger: That painting of the T-34/76(1941) sure looks familiar... It's the cover-art on the box of Dragons' 1/35 armour kit of this subject. I'm just getting started on mine... The T-34 Medium and KV-1(76) were nasty surprises when the Germans first encountered them on the battlefield. One needed nerves of steel to take-on a KV-1 with a MkIII panzer, that's for sure. Tim
That is for sure, on one occasion the German advance had to be stopped because of 1 KV-1. They had to wait several days for the Stukas get a clear day and take it out.
That famous occasion involved a KV-2, not a KV-1, and it was taken out by the old 88mm AA gun, not by Stukas. Unless there was yet another such incident. However, the KV-1's armour wasn't any thicker than that of the Matilda II, so the Germans should have been prepared.
The panzers didn't want to get near a KV2 with it's 152mm gun. Any type of ammunition used by the gunner could penetrate a panzer during 1941.