Now that I have some Dragon T-34s I can see clearly how the Christie suspension works. But they provide only four springs per side and it seems each attaches to a single road wheel station. So how is the no.1 wheel suspended?

Yep, the first axle had a very stiff short spring and the rest had more typical "Christie" springs but instead of sloping they were nearly vertical. And all of them were on the inside of the hull, unlike British tanks where they kept Christie's double-wall design that sandwiched the springs between the hull wall and an outer armour plate.

Hope this helps!

Tom

I guessed it had to be something like that.

So ... that would make the front end stiffer than the rest. And, compared with having Christie springs on all five stations, I suppose it would give a harsher ride over uneven ground, but less porpoising, especially going into dips. Possibly?

I would think so. Unfortunately the tank crews tended to be the last concern in Soviet tank design.

Also given the design of the tank, I don't think there was room for a shock tower at the first road wheel...