In recent years, most Western countries have experienced great difficulties in the development and production of new battle tanks that would be equal or even superior to the tanks produced at factories in the Warsaw Pact countries. The principle was and still remains the same - to make a new vehicle, which would be significantly superior to the previous tank. However, this is financially expensive and time consuming. Western countries are increasingly seeking to implement joint projects to try to lower the final cost of production, but to date all of these projects have failed, leading to further delays. To date, only one joint project can be called active, the French and the Germans are trying to design a tank for the 90s, although the current signs indicate that it may be doomed to failure. As a result, individual countries are going to independently implement projects and produce more expensive vehicles in sufficient quantities in order to achieve at least some balance with the huge number of modern tanks deployed by the Soviets and their Warsaw Pact allies.
The Soviet Union has not yet joined the "disposable society" and as such has a different point of view. The old material part is almost completely preserved. Efficient and proven components in one project are for the most part carried over to the next generation of machines. The motto of Soviet industry is simplicity, efficiency and quantity. Therefore, the design of Soviet tanks was both evolutionary and tends to remain so even with the advent of the T-80 tank.
The history of development
This trend began during World War II with the introduction of the T-34 tank. It was a very simple basic machine, capable, however, of performing all the tasks of machines in this category. This light tank was cheap to manufacture and easy to operate. Crew training was minimal and the Soviet army had no difficulty in finding the crew members needed to control the huge number of vehicles produced. In the tank-to-tank battle, they did not match the capabilities of the heavier and more advanced German vehicles, but the Germans quickly realized that when their tanks ran out, the enemy still had a certain number of T-34 tanks. The modified T-34 tank, designated T-34/85, entered service in 1944 and, although withdrawn from service by the Soviet army in the 1960s, remained in the Vietnamese army until 1973. The successor to the T-34 tank entered production also in 1944. It was a modified T-34/85, designated T-44. The appearance of the turret remained almost unchanged, but the Christie-type suspension was replaced by a torsion bar suspension and, accordingly, the hull became lower. Later, unsuccessful attempts were made to install a 100-mm D-10 cannon in the T-44 tank turret. The solution, in the end, was found by installing a modified turret with a D-10 cannon on an elongated T-44 hull, resulting in a new machine, designated T-54.
This tank was produced in huge numbers, six variants were developed, before the T-55 tank appeared, which was first shown in Moscow in November 1961. Subsequently, three more variants of the T-55 tank were made. The only main difference between the T-54 tank and the T-55 version is the installation of the B-55 engine with increased power. Subsequently, all T-54 tanks were modified to the T-55 standard, which led to the fact that vehicles of this type in the West received the designation T-54/55. However, this tank was unpopular in many countries to which it was sold. In his book Modern Soviet Armored Vehicles, Stephen Zaloga cites the case of Romania, which “had such serious problems with T-54 tanks that several West German companies had to be invited to participate in a competition in order to completely redesign existing vehicles that received a new suspension, tracks, wheels, engine and other components."
T-62
This same basic design was then used in the production of the T-62, first shown in 1965. The main difference was the increase in the caliber of the main gun, instead of the 100-mm D-10T cannon, the 115-mm U-5TS (2A20) smoothbore gun was installed. Many components of the T-55 were transferred to the T-62 tank and it is clear that this was the beginning of a new trend in the production of tanks: limited production of prototypes, the manufacture of several variants, the determination of the optimal combination of systems and then the deployment of a new tank in which all subsystems were expanded tests, often in combat conditions, without the costs characteristic of Western countries for conducting evaluative tests practically with the destruction of prototypes.
In its recent test drive of the T-62 tank, our magazine found out that it was really basic in its design and manufacture. The external components did not give any sense of completeness and were for the most part rather flimsy. This is in line with the Soviet design philosophy that external components are of lesser importance and will be the first to be sacrificed in battle. Therefore, it is not worth spending time, money and effort on the production of the final product. However, the tank was designed with the maximum use of the terrain in mind. The small, rounded turret offers maximum protection against ricocheting hits, and the hull with Christie suspension and no top idlers has a low squat configuration. This provides a low projection of the tank and makes it very difficult to detect when the tank is in a semi-closed position. But there is also a downside to the coin, this arrangement makes the work of the crew in the tank very uncomfortable. Inside the tower, space is extremely limited. The gunner, seated to the left and below the commander, has little room to work. Indeed, the commander and gunner jobs, taken together, are hardly more than the commander’s alone in most western tanks. The loader on the right side of the turret has more space, but nevertheless it is extremely difficult for a left-hander to work.
The driver's seat is located on the left side. Its seat can be adjusted to drive with its head out (normal position) or with the hatch closed while the tower is in operation.
Usually the T-62 tank is started using compressed air with a minimum pressure of 50 kg / cm2. In our tests, however, the tank had to start "from the pusher", since there was insufficient pressure in the cylinders with air. The driver checks the operation of the systems and then starts the engine, after making sure that the oil pressure in the engine is within 6-7 kg / cm2. If air starting fails, an electric starter can be used.
As a rule, on most tanks, first gear is intended for emergency situations. To start driving, select the second gear and use the manual throttle to set the speed to 550-600 rpm. At this point, the driver of a Western-made tank warmly thanks the designers for the invention of the automatic transmission. The T-62 tank has a gearbox without synchronizers, and to change gear, the driver must press the clutch pedal twice. Shifting from second to third was a bit tricky, but when it came to shifting into fourth gear, our driver found that the lever needed to be moved across the width of the curtain and that the shifting was extremely tight. There is no doubt that this feature was the reason for the rumors. that the drivers of the T-62 tank carry a sledgehammer with them, with the help of which they move the lever to the desired position. One user informed us. that during the course of training in driving a T-62 tank in the American army, the clutch is changed at least twice.
The steering is carried out by means of two levers. They have three positions. When they are fully extended forward, all rated power is transferred to the drive wheels (sprockets). To turn, one of the levers must be moved to the first position. If both levers are in the first position, then a downshift is engaged and the tank slows down. From this position, a turn with a smaller radius can be made by pulling the lever further forward to the second position. The second position actually slows down the tracks and you need to pay attention to the fact that one of the levers is not moved to the second position if the tank is driving in fourth or fifth gear, as the resulting turn may be too steep. (It is far from the fact that the tank will drop the track in these circumstances, since a correctly tensioned track, that is, when it hangs 60-80 mm above the first road roller, is guided along the entire length by internal guides, running along the top and bottom of each road roller.) at first it seemed strange to the driver that he should move both levers completely to the first position before starting the turn, which occurs by moving one of them to the second position. During the turn, more acceleration was also required to maintain speed, which in turn led to the release of a cloud of black smoke.
We were unable to test the effectiveness of the hydropneumatic clutch in the T-62 tank. because the compressed air cylinders were charged while driving. This clutch engages after pulling away when the driver moves the lever mounted on the clutch pedal with his foot. It seems that the use of this clutch does not make shifting easier, but reduces wear.
Thus, maneuverability is not one of the strengths of the T-62. Driving is tiring and the ride is relatively uncomfortable.
The T-62 tank is lightly armored and passive protection is mostly provided by its low projection. Active protection is provided to some extent by the thermal smoke equipment of the engine. It consumes 10 liters of fuel per minute and creates a smoke screen with a length of 250-400 meters and a duration of up to 4 minutes, depending on the strength of the wind. When this system is working, the driver must be in gear no higher than third, and must also take his foot off the gas pedal to avoid stalling the engine due to lack of fuel.
In the event of actions in the zone of contamination with weapons of mass destruction, the PAZ system protects the crew from radioactive dust sa by filtering the air and a slight overpressure. It is automatically switched on by the RBZ-1 gamma radiation sensor.
The machine is equipped with a 12-cylinder V-55V engine with a maximum output power of 430 kW at 2000 rpm, allowing a maximum speed of 80 km / h. When driving over rough terrain, fuel consumption is between 300 and 330 liters per 100 km. It is reduced to 190-210 liters when driving on the road. With full fuel tanks, the T-62 can travel from 320 to 450 km. The power reserve is increased to 450-650 km with the installation of two disposable fuel tanks at the rear of the car.
The maximum range of the 115-mm U-5TS cannon is limited by the aiming range of the TSh2B-41U gunner's sight and is 4800 meters when firing a high-explosive fragmentation projectile, although it is unlikely.that this extreme range will ever be used unless the tank is in a stationary firing position (typical Soviet tactics): Consequently, the theoretical maximum range of actual fire on a tank is 2,000 meters, although experience in the Middle East shows that this figure is closer to 1,600 meters. The ammunition load is 40 unitary rounds with subcaliber, armor-piercing, cumulative high-explosive fragmentation projectiles. They are stacked in open racks around the tower and hull; and experience has shown that even a glancing impact of a projectile at a small meeting angle can cause detonation of ammunition. Of these, 20 are placed in the rack stacking at the engine compartment bulkhead, 8 each in two rack tanks on the right side of the control compartment, one each in the clamp stowage at the bottom of the sides of the fighting compartment and two more - in the clamp stowage on the starboard side towers. Also, the tank accommodates up to 2500 7.62 mm cartridges for the GKT coaxial machine gun. The T62A variant is additionally armed with a 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun with a cartridge box for 500 rounds mounted on the loader's turret.
T-64 and T-72
Even before the first T-62 tank was shown to the public, it became known in the West that a new Soviet tank had been developed under the designation M1970. According to some sources, this project was never produced, but serial production of the tank began in the late 60s. It was very different from all previous Soviet tanks, it had a new chassis and a new turret armed with a 125 mm cannon. The appearance of this tank made analysts in the West think hard. A new dimension was added to the definition of “threat,” and calls were made in the corridors of power from Bonn to Washington for more powerful and more secure tanks to combat this new vehicle.
For the next few years, Western military organizations gave this tank the designation T-72, but something like a shock happened when a second new vehicle was shown in Moscow in 1977. At first glance, the second vehicle could pass for a new version of the T-72, but closer analysis revealed significant differences between the two tanks. This served as the impetus for a change in the western indices and the earlier vehicle received the designation T-64.
The main differences between the T-64 and T-72 are in the engine and chassis. The photographs show that the location of the exhaust grilles at the rear of the machine is different, indicating that a different engine may have been installed. It is possible that the T-64 has a diesel engine with a maximum output power of 560 kW and a specific power of 15 kW / t. According to our sources, this horizontally opposed five-cylinder engine differs from traditional tank engines. On the contrary, the T-72 tank has a V-64 engine, a variant of the V-55 diesel engine of the T-62 tank, but with increased power. It develops a power of 580 kW at 3000 rpm, which entails a specific power of 14 kW / t.
The T-64 tank has six small, stamped twin road wheels per side and a torsion bar suspension. The double-pin steel track is supported by four carrier rollers. The undercarriage of the T-72 tank includes six large cast twin road wheels per side and also a torsion bar suspension. The single-pin steel track is supported by just three carrier rollers. The turret modifications are minimal and consist in the transfer of an infrared searchlight, in the T-64 it was to the left of the main gun, in the T-72 it was installed to the right of the gun. Another anti-aircraft machine gun is also installed. The T-72 tank has a new 12.7 mm machine gun on an open turret mount behind the commander's cupola. It is possible to fire from it, like on a T-62 tank, only with an open hatch. On the T-64, an anti-aircraft machine gun is also mounted on the commander's cupola, but apparently it is remotely controlled.
The main and twin armament is identical for both tanks. The 125-mm smooth-bore gun can fire with armor-piercing subcaliber, cumulative and high-explosive fragmentation projectiles. The muzzle velocity exceeds 1600 m / s for armor-piercing and 905 and 850 m / s for cumulative and high-explosive fragmentation projectiles, respectively. Paired 7.62 mm PKT machine gun, the same as on the T-62 tank, is installed coaxially to the right of the cannon. Apparently the commander is responsible for the operation of the coaxial machine gun. The autoloader fires shots at the cannon, although the systems of the two tanks differ in how they work. In the T-72 tank, charges and shells are stacked in cells for one shot, the charge is above the shell. A carousel with 40 such cells is installed on the floor of the tower. Different types of projectiles do not fit in a specific order because the computer tracks the position of each shot. After the commander chooses the type of shot he wants to shoot, the computer indicates the position of the nearest one and the rotating carousel turns until the cell is under the loading mechanism. The barrel rises to the initial vertical angle of 4 °, then the cell is pulled up until the projectile touches the back of the breech. The pivot arm sends it into the barrel and the cell is then lowered slightly, allowing the charge to be sent in the same way. The loading mechanism of the T-64 is apparently more complex. The projectile is stored vertically next to the charge, which means that the projectile must be turned before ramming and the charge sent after it.
Some analysts believe the T-64 was built as an intermediate solution, somewhere between the T-62 and T-72. Recent observations may lead to this contradictory conclusion and it is possible that the T-72 is the next model after the T-62, and the T-64 is just a step away from the evolutionary chain.
The first images confirming the existence of the T-64 tank appeared in the West in the early 1970s, although it could have been deployed even earlier. Since then, the T-64 tank entered service with the Soviet army in large numbers. According to some estimates, in 1979 over 2,000 of these tanks were deployed to the GSVG. On the contrary, many photographs of the T-72 tank have been released. For some reason, the T-72 tank is often put on public display. For example, it was shown during the visit of the French Minister of Defense to Moscow in 1977, where he and his retinue were shown a T-72 tank, although they were not allowed to look inside. The T-72 was also exported to countries outside the Warsaw Pact. Our sources state that the current selling price of the T-72 is approximately $ 2 million. Photos of the T-72 with the new turret were also published, showing that the backup stadiometric rangefinder has been removed. This purely Soviet-style publication suggests that another tank, possibly a deeply modified version of the T-64, should become the standard Soviet battle tank. It has been suggested that the original T-64 tank is experiencing many operational problems and this is carefully hidden from prying eyes. These problems were named: poor accuracy of the powerful smoothbore gun; tendency to drop tracks; and among other things, the catastrophic unreliability of the engine, which also smokes mercilessly. Criticism of the T-64 tank hints that initially they wanted to make it the main battle tank of the Soviets, but its characteristics and reliability turned out to be so poor that the modernized T-55 tanks and subsequently the export T-72 tanks had to be openly operated instead of the T-64. Apparently, the T-64 tanks in the GSVG are only training tanks, and their more advanced followers are already kept secretly at the front lines.
T-80
More than 10 years have passed since the adoption of the T-64 tank, while it is known that the new Soviet tank already exists today. What is this tank? In the West, due to the lack of more reliable information, he received the designation T-80.
The T-80 is armed with a high-pressure 125mm main cannon that fires advanced types of ammunition, including a depleted uranium-core BOPS. According to some reports, the tank weighs about 48.5 tons and may have a hydropneumatic suspension. In the Soviet Union, experiments were carried out to install gas turbine engines. For testing, two experimental T-80 vehicles were manufactured, one with a gas turbine engine, and the second with a diesel engine of increased power, similar to the engine installed on the T-64 tank. It is unlikely, however, that the turbocharged engine will become the standard engine of the T-80 tank.
The most significant change is the addition of composite armor to the hull and turret, which explains the increased mass and gives the vehicle the box shape of modern NATO tanks. This armor can either be very similar to the British Chobham armor, samples of which came to Russia from the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, or it can be a special multi-layer armor of the Soviet design, from such armor, for example, the front front plates of T-64/72 tanks are made. According to the descriptions, the T-80 tank is similar to the T-64 or T-72 with additional armor, and this is most likely true, especially considering the appearance of the T-72 with a new turret.
The study of the evolutionary scheme shows that it is quite possible that the hull of one machine, in this case the T-64, was taken, and a new tower (or a deeply modernized T-72 tower) was installed on it, resulting in a new tank. It is also likely that the T-64 hull received new small road wheels and an engine. The T-72 engine is unlikely to fit into its engine-transmission compartment, and as a result, a further increase in power in order to cope with the extra weight of the T-80 tank will be impossible.
The drawing of the T-80 tank, according to those who saw the photographs of the real vehicle, is very similar to the original. We pay special attention to small road wheels, most likely from the T-64, and the absence of protective side screens. The main armament is a new 125-mm high-pressure cannon, which is a further development of the guns of the T-64 and T-72 tanks, capable of firing with improved ammunition. The absence of an infrared illuminator hints at the use of night sights with enhanced image brightness or thermal imaging. Another interesting element is the two groups of smoke grenade launchers. Until recently, all Soviet tanks used thermal smoke equipment to set up a smoke screen. However, T-64 tanks in the GSVG were seen with smoke grenade launchers. It is possible that these T-64s are equipped with new engines that are not compatible with thermal smoke equipment, and the same engine is installed in the T-80 tank.
Evolution Benefits
The main goal of the designers of Soviet tanks, apparently, is the design and production of tanks as quickly and cheaply as possible without reducing the number of tanks in service. An evolutionary concept allowed them to realize this and also provided other benefits. First of all, a certain level of standardization is always maintained, as a result of which time and effort is not wasted on the complete retraining of crews from one type of vehicle to another. The Soviet army has on its balance sheet many tanks that are used as training vehicles. Thus, the risk of damage to the main models is eliminated and at the same time the high qualification of the crews, training in the skills that are necessary for the operation of tanks are maintained. The concept also provides designers with the ability to thoroughly test components and accept or reject them for successful generation machines.
The last innovative Soviet tank was the T-64 and therefore there is no reason to believe that the T-80 is also completely innovative; rumor has it that its successor is already in production.
