I think the Russian creators of the game let their pride make the T34s a lot more robust than they actually were, that's understandable I guess.
I'm guessing you haven't tried out zeewolf's updates/fixes and new stuff? That's one of the things he fixed, maybe give it a go -
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=159525
In my opinion it makes the game so much better, and the fixes are game-wide, not just limited to the extra mission.