pmaitra
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Here is something that I found, not exactly about T-90 but about T-34, the best tank in WWII:The Japanese and Chinese have an eerily common system of designating their tanks. Both use "Type" as designations rather than specific names or some alphabet followed by some digit like T-90 etc. Wonder why is that...
The Type-10 looks awesome though!
1944. After the Soviets encountered the new Tigers tanks in the latter half of 1942 and Panther tanks in the summer of 1943, it became evident that the 76.2 mm gun was no longer adequate in dealing with the threat they posed. The Soviets had been working on a design that year that was to replace the T-34 and the KV-1 heavy tank. This was the T-43. It shared about 70% of it's parts with the T-34 but about 8 tons heavier. The T-43 still fielded the 76.2 mm gun. After testing against the T-34 in the spring of 1943 it was revealed that the heavier tank offered far less mobility than the T-34. Although the T-43 had heavier armor, it was still not adequate enough to counter the German 88 mm gun fielded by the Tiger. It was decided to scrap the T-43. The turret was retained and a modified anti-aircraft gun, the D-5T 85 mm was adapted to fit in it. This larger turret was fitted to the T-34. This finally gave the T-34 a three man turret. Now the firing of the gun was in the hands of the loader and gunner. Freeing the commander to lead his tank without the the additional tasks he was called on to do before. Although still generally inferior to the Panther, the Soviets fielded so many T-34s that the Panther's technical superiority was negated by sheer numbers. The T-34-85 model 1943 began it's production run in early 1944. The T-34-85 model 1944 followed in the spring of 1944. The main difference between the two was the latter received a ZiS-S-53 85 mm gun. A simpler gun to produce than the D-5T. The Model 1944 also had the radio moved from the hull to the turret. The designations T34/76 and T34/85 were the nomenclatures given to the tanks by the Germans. Minor modifications had the nomenclature followed by letters such as T34/76A. This system was adopted by the West. Soviets used a model year after the main nomenclature such as the T-34-76 model 1940 and so on.
Source: The T-34: A True Soviet Icon - Fun Facts, Questions, Answers, Information