T-72 Tank
Introduction :
The Russians have always maintained a passion for a successful tank design ever since unveiling the war winning T-34 tank during World War 2.The T-72 main battle tank proved no
exception it was developed as a cheaper more reliable alternative to the T-64.
The
T-72 had the excellent speed for its class and inherent reliability that's
always required by the modern battlefield.
Some interesting facts Germans
estimated that the Soviet T-72 could penetrate the frontal armour of the early leopard
2 tanks at a range of 1,500 meters and frontal Armor of leopard 1 tanks at more
than 3000 meters.
When the Soviet T-72 tank would first be deployed Richard
Nixon was president of the United States, the F4 phantom was America's primary
fighter and the world's steel beasts had yet to discover a nemesis called the
wire-guided anti-tank missile by Western standards.
This tank had no night
vision capability which was a serious drawback when it comes to war.
Used In Wars :
The T-72
was never used in the Afghanistan war however it was employed by the Russian
army during fighting in the 1st and 2nd Chechnya wars and the russell chargin
war the T-72 has been used in other Wars like the Iran Iraq war, Lebanon
War, Ethiopian Somali border war, the Georgian Civil War and more .
Specifications :
Of its
design the T-72 is protected by composite armour at the time of its introduction
the T-72 could withstand any 105mm ammunition at ranges greater than 500
meters.
The front armour of the T-72 could not be penetrated by a contemporary
dragon or tow anti-tank guided missiles and side armour provided protection
against the Infantry Fighting Vehicles (OR IFV) and from the helicopter cannons.
Later production models would be fitted with side skirts.
The T-72 has an NBC
protection system its interior is lined with an anti-radiation liner which also
acts as a spall liner there's also an automatic fire extinguishing system and
the main battle tank was completed with a 125 mm smoothbore gun.
This gun fires
rounds at much higher muzzle velocity than the western 105 mm rifled guns and
is fitted with a new carousel type.
Autoloaders if required the gun can be
loaded manually, a total of 39 rounds are carried for the main gun with an
effective range of fire with APFSDS rounds about 2,000 to 3,000 meters.
During
the nighttime armour penetration is around 590 to 630 millimetres of rolled
homogeneous armour equivalent at 2,000 meters of range.
The T-72 is also powered
by a V 46 diesel engine which develops around 780 horsepower.
The T-72 features
a crew of three a mass weight of 46,000 kilograms it features 1 V 84 or v12
air-cooled multi diesel engine developing 840 horsepower with a maximum speed
of 42 miles per hour and a maximum range of 483 kilometres.
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