T-62

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T-62
Specifications
Weight	40 tonnes
Length	6.63 m
Width	3.30 m
Height	2.40 m
Crew	4 (driver, gunner, loader, gunner)
Armour	153 mm
Primary armament	115 mm smoothbore gun U-5TS
Secondary armament	7.62 mm PKMT machine gun in coaxial mount
Engine	diesel model V-55 580 hp (463 kW)
Power/weight	14.5 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	450 km, 650 km with extra tanks
Speed	50 km/h

The T-62 Soviet main battle tank is a further development of the T-55. Its 115mm gun was the first smoothbore tank gun in use.

The T-62 was produced between 1961 and 1975. It became a standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, partly replacing the T-55, although that tank continued to be manufactured in the Soviet Union and elsewhere after T-62 production was halted. The T-54/55 and T-62 were later replaced in front-line service by the T-64 and T-72.

[edit] Production History

In 1952, the new D-54-T 100mm smoothbore tank gun started development. The Kartsev Design Bureau at the Uralvagonzavod factory (UVZ) in Nizhny Tagil mounted the gun on a prototype tank based on the T-54 in October 1954—this was called the Obyekt 139, or sometimes T-54M (not to be confused with the T-54M tank refurbishment program of the mid-1960s). The tank incorporated a new Raduga gun stabilizer, a 50-round ammunition capacity, 14.5-mm antiaircraft machine gun, V-54-6 engine, and new wheel design. Further prototypes followed: Obyekt 140 with Molniya stabilizer and D-54TS gun in September 1955, and Obyekt 165 and Obyekt 166 based on the improved T-55.^[1]

In January 1961, an Iranian officer defected with his new U.S. M60A1 tank, across the border into the Soviet Union. The M60's armour layout and British 105mm gun enraged the Soviet Chief of Armoured Forces, who ordered the new gun's calibre increased to 115 mm. The larger gun had to be mounted in a bigger turret ring, which in turn required a longer tank hull. Based on the new hull, the T-62 was approved in July 1961, and started production on July 1, 1962.^[2]

Uralvagonzavod and the Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine both replaced part of their T-55 production with the T-62. Production at UVZ ended in favour of the T-72 in 1971, and was replaced at Malyshev by the T-64 in 1967 (meanwhile, the T-55 continued production in Omsk until 1977).^[3]

Along with the T-55, the T-62 is one of the most common tanks in Russian inventory—the two types together once comprised approximately 85% of the Russian army's tanks. The T-62 and T-55 are now mostly used by Russian reserve units for a possible secondary mobilisation; the active-duty and primary mobilisation units mainly use the T-80 and T-72, with a smaller number of T-90 tanks in service in active units.

The T-62 was built in the Soviet Union and North Korea (including the upgraded Ch'onma-ho).

The T-62 is still in service with Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Algeria, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Mongolia, Russia, Syria, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.

[edit] Variants

T-62 (1961) - Obj.166 Base model. 2A20 gun with two plane "Meteor" stabiliser and +16/-6 deg elevation/depretion, 2245mm turret ring. TKN-3 TC day/night sight, TSh2B-41 gunner day sight with 3.5/7x magnification, TPN1-41-11 night sight. 40 rounds ammo load. PKT coax with 2500 rounds. V-55V engine with 580hp. 102mm@60deg glacis, 242mm max frontal turret. Since 1969. DShKM AAMG was installed. In 1975 KTD-1 LRF was installed. None of those versions got any separate designation.*

T-62A (1962). Obj.165 This is NOT a designation applied to a AAMG equipped T-62 but totaly diferent vehicle, armed with 100mm D-54TS gun, with "Kometa" two plane stabiliser.

T-62K (1964) - Obj.166K Additional R-112 radio, AB-1 APU. 36 x 115mm rounds, 1750 rounds for a coax PKT.

T-62K (1964) - Obj.166KN + TNA-2 navigation aids

T-62D (1983) - Obj.166D 1030M "Drozd" APS installed.

T-62D-1 (1983) - Obj.166D-1 With V-46-5M engine.

T-62M (1983) Obj.166M Deep modernisation of the T-62. Additional armor on glacis and turret, additional anti-mine protection for driver, 10mm reinforced rubber side skirts, 10mm anti-neutron-liner. Tracks from T-72, two additional amortisers on 1st roadwheels. KTD-2 LRF, TShSM-41U gunner's sight, "Meteor M1" stabiliser, BV-62 ballistic computer, 9K116-1 "Sheksna" guided missile unit. Gun thermal sleave, R-173 radio instead of R-123M and 620hp V-55U engine. 42 rounds of 115 ammo/missiles.

T-62M-1 - Obj.166M-1 With V-46-5M engine.

T-62M1 - Obj.166M1 No missile guidance.

T-62M1-1 - Obj.166M1-1 No missile guidance, V-46-5M engine.

T-62M1-2 - Obj.166M1-2 No missile guidance and no additional armor.

T-62M1-2-1 - Obj.166M1-2-1 No missile guidance, no additional armor, V-46-5M engine.

T-62MD (1983) Obj.166MD T-62M version with "Drozd" APS instead of additional turret armor.

T-62MD-1 - Obj.166MD-1 With V-46-5M engine

T-62MK - Obj.166MK Command version, no missile guidance, TNA-2 navigation aids, additional R-112 radio, AB-1 APU. Less main gun and coax ammo.

T-62MK-1 - Obj.166MK-1 With V-46-5M engine.

T-62MV (1985) - Obj.166MV K-1 era instead of additional armor.

T-62MV-1 - Obj.166MV-1 With V-46-5M engine

T-62M1V - Obj.166M1V No missile guidance

T-62M1V-1 - Obj.166M1V-1 No missile guidance, V-46-5M engine.

[edit] Combat History

A primary recognition feature of the T-62 is the progressively larger gap between sets of road wheels. The very similar T-54/55 has one wide gap between the first and second wheel.

The T-62 had the world's first smoothbore tank gun, giving considerably greater velocity and power than the Western 90 mm and 105 mm tank guns of the day. This 115 mm gun introduced the first successful APFSDS ammunition, albeit with a steel penetrator (often still fielded as well). A smoothbore gun also allowed for significantly better performance of HEAT ammunition, which was considered the main ammunition type to fight enemy armour at middle and long ranges. It also has mechanism for automatic unloading of empty cartridges.

By the standards of the time of its introduction, the T-62, with its powerful 115 mm smoothbore gun was quite fearsome and quite formidable despite its homogeneous steel armour. This was the first smoothbore gun fitted on any MBT.

During the Yom Kippur war the T-62 was an effective counter to Israeli Patton tanks with its new 105mm gun, but was unsuccessful when attacking heavily fortified positions. The Israelis captured several hundred of these tanks from the Syrians and Egyptians in 1973 and put some into service, the addition of a laser range-finder and a thermal imaging sight for the gunner, "Blazer" reactive armour tiles fitted to the front of the hull and the front and sides of the turret, and the Soviet engines replaced by General Motors diesel engines, as the Tiran-6 medium tank. These are used by reserve units. The Israelis have sold the rest to assorted countries, many in Latin America^{[citation needed]}.

In 1982, when Libya invaded Chad, armored units of Muammar Qaddafi's Pan-African Legion were resoundingly defeated by the army of Chad. Scores of T-62 tanks were destroyed by militiamen who had made technicals from Toyota pickup trucks, (most of them still in their civilian paint). The technicals were essentially makeshift tank destroyers, as the militiamen had mounted MILAN ATGM firing posts and welded tripod mounts for assorted recoilless rifles into the beds of the trucks. The Libyans retreated in disarray, leaving scores of wrecked and burning T-62 tanks behind. Granted, this is a likely scenario even for any modern MBT confronted by a force fielding well-armed technicals in a similar situation, or when the engaged force is unable to deal with an unexpected form of asymmetrical warfare.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Zaloga 2004, pp 11, 13.
2. ^ Zaloga 2004, p 13.
3. ^ Zaloga 2004, pp 13–14.

[edit] References

• Foss, Christopher F. (1987). Jane's AFV Recognition Handbook, pp 70–71. London: Jane's. ISBN 0-7106-0432-7.
• Zaloga, Steven J. and Hugh Johnson (2004). T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2004. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-792-1.

[edit] See also

• List of tanks
• List of Soviet tanks

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

T-62

• T-62 at Federation of American Scientists web site
• T-62 at Globalsecurity.org
• Cuban T-62