T 72
It is a further development of T-62 with some features of T-64A (to which it was a parallel design) and has been further developed as the T-90. Chronologically and in design terms it, belongs to the same generation of tanks as the US M60 Patton, German Leopard 1, and British Chieftain tank.
More recently, the T-72's reputation has suffered following poor combat performance against modern Western tanks such as the M1 Abrams and Challenger 1 during the first and second Persian Gulf wars. Its losses, however, may have been more a consequence of the fact that most Iraqi T-72 tanks were export models (T-72, T-72M, and T-72M1) using low-quality ammunition, manned by poorly-trained Iraqi tank crew members, and many were destroyed by well-coordinated artillery and air strikes rather than by enemy tanks.
Origin
The T-64 was one of the world's most advanced battle tanks when introduced, but early problems with its L60-derived engine, the roadwheels, and inaccuracy of its main gun prompted Soviet leadership to seek a low-tech alternative with similar performance, especially after the high unit costs and labour-intensive manufacture process of T-64 became obvious.
The tank was too expensive to equip all Soviet tank armies, let alone Warsaw Pact (WARPAC) allies.
An "economy" tank with the old design V-46 powerplant was developed from 1967 at the Uralvagonzavod Factory located in Nizhny Tagil. Chief engineer Leonid Kartsev created "Object 172", the initial design, but the prototype, marked "Object 172M", was refined and finished by Valeri Venediktov.
Field trials lasted from 1971 to 1973 and upon acceptance the Chelyabinsk Tank factory immediately ceased T-55 and T-62 production to retool for the new T-72 tank.
At least some technical documentation on the T-72 is known to have been passed to the CIA by the Polish Colonel Ryszard Kuklinski between 1971 and 1982.
Production history
Polish T-72 Main Battle Tanks.
JNA T-72M Main Battle Tank. Yugoslavia has purchased some 92 T-72s before it has started production of Yugoslav version, M-84.
The T-72 was the most common tank used by the Soviet Army from the 1970s to the collapse of the Soviet Union.
It was also exported to other Warsaw Pact countries, as well as Finland, India, Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yugoslavia, as well as being copied elsewhere, both with and without licenses.
Licenced versions of T-72 were made in Poland and Czechoslovakia, for WARPAC consumers. The Polish-made T-72G tanks also had thinner armour compared to Soviet Army standard (410mm for turret).
On the other hand, on the three occasions when Soviet clients using T-72s have met Western armies that possessed modern main battle tanks —Lebanon in 1982 (against the Israeli Merkava), Iraq in 1991 (against the U.S. After clashes in Lebanon in 1982, both the Israelis and the Syrians claimed their main tank's superiority.
In both the Gulf War and the Iraq War, the Iraqi tank units were heavily defeated, although this might have more to do with poor Iraqi crew training and full Allied air supremacy than with any deficiencies of the T-72 itself. The Iraqi T-72s were downgraded export versions that had not been significantly upgraded, and were firing inferior ammunition (often with steel penetrators and half-charges of propellant).
Design characteristics
The T-72 exhibits many design features shared with other tank designs of Soviet origin.
Some of these are viewed as deficiencies in a straight comparison to NATO tanks, but most are a product of the way these tanks were envisioned to be employed, based on the Soviets' practical experiences in World War II.
Weight
In this rear view, stowage bins and wading snorkel are visible on the turret, and a tow cable and ditching beam hang from the hull rear. The front-most tank (left) has the commander's windscreen erected.
The T-72 is extremely lightweight, at forty-one tonnes, and very small compared to Western main battle tanks.
Some of the roads and bridges in former Warsaw Pact countries were designed such that T-72s can travel along in formation, but NATO tanks could not pass at all, or just one-by-one, significantly reducing their mobility. The tracks run on large-diameter road wheels, which allows for easy identification of T-72 and descendants (the T-64/80 family has relatively small road wheels).
The snorkelling procedure is considered dangerous but is important for maintaining operational mobility.
Nuclear, biological, and chemical protection
The T-72 has a comprehensive nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) protection system. This tank has additional fuel drums on rear brackets.
Interior
Like all Soviet-legacy tanks, the T-72's design has traded off interior space in return for a very small silhouette and efficient use of armour, to the point of replacing the fourth crewman with a mechanical loader.
The smaller complement increases the crew's mental and physical exhaustion (although in service, the tank crew is supplemented by a mechanic who travels with the military support organization). It is believed the maximum thickness of 280 mm, the nose is about 80 mm and the glacis of the new laminated armour is 200 mm thick, which when inclined gives about 500-600 mm LOS thickness.
This means if the main compartment is penetrated, ammunition cook-off can occur, which is likely to kill the crew and blast the turret high into the air. American tank crews who faced Iraqi T-72s during the two Persian Gulf Wars referred to the tank as the "jack-in-the-box".
The July 1997 issue of Jane's International Defence Review confirmed that after the collapse of USSR, US and German analysts had a chance to examine Soviet made T-72 tanks equipped with Kontakt-5 ERA, and they proved impenetrable to most modern US and German tank projectiles; this sparked the development of more modern Western tank ammunition, such as the M829A2 and M829A3. While autoloading, the gunner can still aim because he has a vertically independent sight.
The T-72's low profile requires a correspondingly low turret roof, which blocks upward travel of the gun breech. However, the T-72 is fitted with an integral hydraulic bulldozer blade on the underside of the frontal glacis plate, which enables the T-72 to excavate and construct a defensive position that minimizes the need for gun depression.
Recent CIS export designs, intended to compete with Western tanks on the open market, have placed more emphasis on defence and crew survivability.
Also the weight of the T-72M4CZ grew by 4 tonnes, tank's commander tall cylindrical sight is similar to the one used in French Leclerc MBT. Czech Republic has upgraded 30 tanks to the T-72M4CZ standard.
VT-72M4 - Modernized VT-72 (BREM-72) ARV with T-72M4CZ upgrades including the power pack and communications upgrades.
ShKH 2000 "Zuzana" (Zuzanne) - A 155 mm (45 calibers) version (the first prototype of which was completed by ZTS in December 1992) of the Dana 152 mm self-propelled gun-howitzer installed on a modified T-72M1 chassis.
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
M-84AI - Armoured recovery vehicle created from the chassis of a M-84A.
In the late 1980s the tanks produced for the Czechoslovak army and for export as well were fitted with some improvements from the Soviet T-72A programme, including rubber side skirts (instead of "gill armour") and 902B "Tucha" smoke grenade launchers.
T-72M1 (Ob'yekt 172M-E5) - This export version of the T-72A was also build by Martin. An external difference with the Soviet original is the reduced number of KMT mounts on the lower glacis plate.
VT-72 (BRAM-72) (Vyprošt’ovací Tank) - Czechoslovak armoured recovery vehicle based on T-72 chassis.
VT-72B (BRAM-72B) - Czechoslovak ARV based on BREM-1 with dozer blade with prominent rams mounted on the front of the vehicle, hydraulic crane on the right side of vehicle and a large built-up superstructure at the front of the hull with a large tackle block in front of it.
Georgia
T-72 SIM-1 - New FALCON command and control system, GPS navigation system and new thermal device.