T-64

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T-64
T-64
Type	Main battle tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Specifications (T-64BV)
Weight	42.4 tonnes
Length	9.9 m [1]
Width	3.60 m
Height	2.2 m [2]
Crew	3 (commander, driver, gunner)
Armor	composite armour
Primary armament	125mm/L53.5 smoothbore gun (40 rounds) [4]
Secondary armament	7.62mm PKMT coaxial machine gun (3000 rounds), 12.7mm NSVT air-defence machine gun (500 rounds) [5]
Engine	5-cyl. multi-fuel diesel model 5DTF 750 hp [3]
Power/weight	17,85 hp/tonne [6]
Suspension	torsion bar
Operational range	500 km, 700 km with external tanks
Speed	75 km/h [7]

For the engine, see General Electric T64

The T-64 is a Soviet main battle tank, introduced in the late 1960s. It was used solely by the Soviet Army in its front-line divisions and was a more advanced counterpart to the famed T-72. Although the T-72 would see much wider use and generally more development, it was the T-64 that formed the basis of more modern Soviet tank designs like the T-80.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Development history 2.1 The initial requirement 2.2 Project 430 2.3 Project 432 3 Evolution 3.1 T-64A 3.2 T-64B 3.3 Modernisations in Ukraine 4 Service life 5 Limitations 6 Production history 7 Variants 8 Modernisations 9 Operators 9.1 Former Operators 10 T-64BV technical information 10.1 Dimensions 10.2 Crew 10.3 Propulsion 10.4 Performance 10.5 Armament 10.6 Equipment 10.7 Protection 11 See also 12 References 13 Sources 14 External links

[edit] Overview

It was designed in parallel to the T-72 series and is very similar in appearance. Unlike the T-72, it was originally used only by the Soviet Army and never exported. It was superior to the T-72 in most qualitative terms, until the introduction of the T-72B model in 1985. Both tanks armed elite and regular formations in Eastern Europe and elsewhere, the T-64A model being first deployed with East Germany's Group of Soviet Forces in Germany (GSFG) in 1976, and some time later in Hungary's Southern Group of Forces (SFG). By 1981 the improved T-64B began to be deployed in East Germany and later in Hungary. While it was believed that the T-64 was "only" reserved for elite units, it was also used by much lower "non-ready formations", for example, the Odessa Military District's 14th Army. The T-72 shared a similar destiny, being deployed on high readiness formation all across the Western Military District (the 120th Rogachev Guards Motorized Rifle Division in the Belarussian Military District and the 24th 'Iron' Motorized Rifle Division in the Carpathian Military District) and Eastern Europe (the Central Group of Forces in Czechoslovakia), but also on lower readiness formations in the Transbaikal and Central-Asia MD since late 1980s.

With the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, T-64 tanks remained in the arsenals of constituent republics. Currently, slightly less than 2,000 of the old Soviet inventory of T-64 tanks are in service with the military of Ukraine and about 4000 remain in service with the Russian Ground Forces. The T-64 design has been further developed as the T-80 and T-84.

Due to the T-64 reintroduction of a crew of 3 for the first time since the 1930s designs, the tank troops would joke that the designers had finally caught up with the song, the popular unofficial tanker's hymn of "Three tankers" written to commemorate the tank troops using BT-5 tanks which participated in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol.^[8]

[edit] Development history

[edit] The initial requirement

By the early 1960's, it had become painfully obvious to the Soviet military that they had fallen behind the West in terms of tank technology. Even the Soviets' best tank, the T-62, had proven itself a wasteful debacle that was obsolete almost as soon as production began. Recognizing that the T-55/T-62 lineage had finally exhausted its potential for improvement, the USSR embarked upon the development of an entirely new tank design that could defeat new Western tanks like the Chieftain and resist new Western antitank weapons. (Perrett 1987:42)

[edit] Project 430

Studies for the design of a new battle tank started as early as 1951. The KB-60M team was formed at the Kharkov construction bureau of the Kharkov transport machine-building factory No. 75 named for Malyshev (Russian: конструкторское бюро Харьковского завода транспортного машиностроения №75 им. Малышева) by engineers coming back from Nizhnyi Tagil, with A. A. Morozov at its head. A project named ob'yekt 430 gave birth to three prototypes which were tested in Kubinka in 1958.^[9] Those vehicles showed characteristics which were going to radically change the design of battle tanks on this side of the Iron Curtain. For the first time, an extremely compact opposed-cylinder engine was used : the 4TD, designed by the plant's engine design team. The transmission system comprised two lateral gears on each side of the engine. Those two innovations yielded a very short engine compartment with the opening located beneath the turret. The engine compartment volume was almost half that of the T-54. The cooling system was extracting and a new lightweight suspension was fitted, featuring hollow metallic wheels of a small diameter and caterpillar tracks with rubber joints.

The tank would keep a D-10TS 100 mm gun and frontal armour of 120 mm. As it did not present a clear superiority in terms of combat characteristics when compared to the T-55 which was entering active service, Morozov decided that production was not yet ready given the project's drawbacks. However, studies conducted on the ob'yekt 430U, featuring a 122 mm gun and 160 mm of armour, demonstrated that the tank had the potential to fit the firepower and armour of a heavy tank on a medium tank chassis. A new project was consequently started, ob'yekt 432.

[edit] Project 432

The gun fitted on this new tank was a powerful 115 mm D-68 (2A21). A potentially risky decision was taken to replace the human loader by an electro-hydraulic automatic system, which had not been done before. The crew was reduced to three, which allowed an important reduction in internal volume, and consequently in weight, from 36 tonnes (ob'yekt 430) to 30.5 tonnes. The height dropped by 76 mm.

However, the arrival of the British 105 mm L7 gun and the US M-68 variant of it, fitted respectively to the Centurion and M60 tanks, forced the team to undertake another audacious première, with the adoption of a composite armour. The recently created process was called K combination by Western armies: this protection consisted of an aluminium alloy layer between two high strength steel layers. As a consequence, the weight of the prototype rose eventually to 34 tonnes. But as the engine was now a 700 hp (515 kW) 5TDF (also locally designed), its mobility remained excellent, far superior to the active T-62. The ob'yekt 432 was ready in September 1962 and the production started in October 1963 in Kharkov plant. On December 30, 1966, it entered its service as the T-64.

[edit] Evolution

[edit] T-64A

Even as the first T-64s were rolling off the assembly lines, the design team was working on a new version which would allow it to keep firepower superiority, named ob'yekt 434. The brand new and very powerful 125 mm D-81T gun, from the Perm weapons factory, was fitted to the tank. This gun was merely a scaled-up version of the 115mm smoothbore cannon from the T-62. The larger size of the 125mm ammunition meant less could be carried inside the T-64, and with a fourth crewman loader taking up space as well, the tank would only have a 25-round capacity. This was unacceptably low for the Soviet designers, but strict dimensional parameters forbade them from enlarging the tank to increase interior space. The solution was to replace the human loader with a mechanical autoloader, cutting the crew to three and marking the first use of autoloaders in a Soviet MBT.(Perrett 1987:42) The 6ETs10 autoloader has 28 rounds and can fire 8 shots per minute; the stabiliser, a 2E23, was coupled to the new TPD-2-1 (1G15-1) sight. Night driving was also adapted with the new TPN-1-43A periscope which would benefit from the illumination of a powerful infrared L2G projector, fitted on the left side of the gun. The shielding was improved, with fibreglass replacing the aluminium alloy in the armour, and small spring-mounted plates fitted along the mudguards (known as the Gill skirt), to cover the top of the suspension and the side tanks. They were however extremely fragile and were often removed. Some small storage spaces were created along the turret, with a compartment on the right and three boxes on the front left. Schnorkels were mounted on the rear of the turret. A NBC protection system was fitted and the hatches were widened.

Prototypes were tested in 1966 and 1967 and, as production began after the six hundredth T-64, it entered service in the Soviet Army under the T-64A designation. Chief engineer Alexander Morozov was awarded the Lenin Prize for this model's success.

Designed for elite troops, the T-64A was constantly updated as available equipment was improved. After only three years in service, a first modernisation occurred, regarding :

• fire control, by replacing the sights with a TPD-2-49 and a TPN-1-49-23, and stabilisation by mounting a 2E26 system.
• the radio by mounting a R-123M
• night vision with a TBN-4PA for the driver and a TNP-165A for the tank leader. His battlepost was transformed by mounting a small stabilised turret with an anti-aircraft NSVT 12.7 mm x108 machine gun, electrically guided through an optical PZU-5 sight, and fed with 300 rounds. It could be used from within the tank so that the tank leader could avoid being exposed (as on previous tanks). The possibility of mounting a KMT-6 anti-mine system was also added.

A derived version appeared at the same time, designed for the commanding officer, and named T-64AK. It comprised a R-130M radio with a 10 m telescopic antenna which could be used only in a static position as it required shrouds, an artillery aiming circle PAB-2AM and TNA-3 navigation station, all of those could be supplied by an auxiliary gasoline-fired generator.

In 1976, the weapons system was improved by mounting a D-81TM (2A46-1), stabilised by a 2E28M2, supplied by an automatic 6ETs10M. The night sight is replaced by a TNPA-65 and the engine can accept different fuels, including diesel fuel, kerosene or gasoline. The production, first carried on the B variant, stopped in 1980.

But the majority of T-64A's were still modernised after 1981, by mounting a six smoke grenade-launcher 81mm 902A on each side of the gun, and by replacing the gill plates by a rubber skirt for a longer life. Some of them seem to have been fitted after 1985 with reactive bricks (as the T-64BV), or even with laser TPD-K1 telemeters instead of the TPD-2-49 (1981). Almost all T-64's were modernised into T-64R, between 1977 and 1981, by reorganising external storage and snorkels, similar to the T-64A.

[edit] T-64B

The design team was carrying on its work on new versions. Problems with the setup of the 5TDF engine occurred as the local production capacity was proven to be insufficient against a production done in three factories (Malyshev in Kharkov, Kirov in Leningrad and Uralvagonzavod).

From 1961, and alternative to the ob'yekt 432 was studied, with 12 V-cylinder V-45 engine : the ob'yekt 436. Three prototypes were tested in 1966 in the Chelyabinsk factory. The order to develop a model derived from the 434 with the same engine gave the ob'yekt 438, later renamed as ob'yekt 439. Four tanks of this type were built and tested in 1969, which showed the same mobility as the production version, but mass production was not started. They served however as a basis for the design of the T-72 engine compartment.

In the beginning of the 70's, the design team was trying to improve the tank further. The T-64A-2M study in 1973, with its more powerful engine and its reinforced turret, served as a basis for two projects :

• The ob'yekt 476 with a 6TD 1000 hp (735 kW) engine which served as a model for the T-80 combat compartment.
• The ob'yekt 447 which featured a new fire control with a laser telemeter, and which was able to fire missiles through the gun.

For the latter, the order was given to start its production under the name T-64B, as well as a derived version (which shared 95% of its components), the ob'yekt 437, without the missile guidance system for cost reasons. The latter was almost twice as much produced under the designation T-64B1. On September 3, 1976, the T-64B and the T-64B1 were declared good for the service, featuring the improved D-81Tm gun (2A46-2) with a 2E26M stabiliser, a 6ETs40 loader and a 1A33 fire control, including:

• a 1V517 ballistic calculator
• a 1G21 sight with laser telemetry
• a 1B11 cross-wind sensor.

Its ford capacity reaches 1.8 m without equipment. The T-64B had the ability to fire the new 9M112 "Kobra" radio-guided missile (NATO code "AT-8 Songster"). The vehicle then carries 8 missiles and 28 shells. The missile control system is mounted in front of the tank leader small turret and has many changes. The T-64B1 carries only 37 shells and has 2,000 7.62 mm rounds, against 1,250 for the T-64B.

They were modernised in 1981 by the replacement of the gun by a 2A46M1, the stabiliser by a 2E42, and the mounting of a 902A "Tucha-1" smoke grenade launcher in two groups of four, on each side of the gun. Two command versions are realised, very similar to the T-64AK: the T-64BK and the T-64B1K.

The decision, in October 1979, to start the production of the 6TD engine, and its great similarity with the 5TDF engine, allowed after some study to fit it in versions B and B1, but also A and AK, yielding the new models T-64AM, T-64AKM, T-64BM and T-64BAM, entering service in 1983.

The production ended in 1987 for all versions. The total production has reached almost 13,000.

[edit] Modernisations in Ukraine

After the dissolution of the USSR, Ukraine carried on the development of T-64 modernisations, as the original and main factory was in this country. Two programmes ended in 1999:

• The T-64BM2, with a 57DFM 850 hp (625 kW) engine, a new 1A43U fire control, a new 6ETs43 loader and the possibility to fire the 9M119 missile (NATO code "AT-11 Sniper").
• The T-64U which integrated on top the 1A45 fire control (from the T-80U and T-84), PNK-4SU and TKN-4S optics for the tank commander and PZU-7 for the AA machine gun. The tank leader is then able to drive the tank and to use the gun directly if needed. The tank is also known as BM "Bulat".

The two variants are also protected by "Kontakt-5" modular armour, able to resist to kinetic energy projectiles, as opposed to the first models which were efficient only against HEAT shaped-charge ammunition. Those two variants could also be remotorised with the 6TDF 1000 hp (735 kW) engine.

[edit] Service life

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The tank remained secret for a long time, the West often confusing it with the less-evolved T-72 tank. The T-64 was never exported, and has seen only limited combat experience—in the campaigns against Chechen separatists.

According to David Isby the T-64 first entered service in 1967 with the 41st Guards Tank Division in the Kiev Military District^[10], the suggestion being that this was prudent due to the proximity of the division to the factory, and significant teething problems during induction into service that required constant presence of factory support personnel with the division during acceptance and initial crew and service personnel training on the new type.

T-64s belonging to the 59th Guards Motor Rifle Division in Moldova deployed in combat in May 1992, this would be the first combat deployment of the T-64 tank. [2]

The USSR deployed it with its high-readiness units, independent tank regiments, and divisions based in the GDR and Hungary, and also in many lower-readiness units. In case of conflict with Western Europe in the 1970s or '80s, it would have been a great threat to Western tanks. Modernized, it remains very efficient, like the Ukrainian T-64U. It is reasonable to assume that it is as dangerous as the T-80 or the T-84.

The T-64 did not share many drawbacks with the T-72, even if it is often confused with it :

• The automatic loader, hydraulic and not electric, is much faster (loading cycle of 6 to 13 seconds) and more reliable, and less sensitive to jolting when running off-road. It also has a "sequence" fire mode which feeds the gun with shells of the same type in less than 5 seconds. It is also able, in the modern versions, to turn backwards to keep a good speed at the end of the load.
• driving seems much less exhausting for the crew, thanks to assisted controls and a more flexible suspension.
• The ammunition is transported at the lower point of the turret shaft, minimizing the risks of destruction by self-detonation.
• protection, excellent from the beginning and constantly updated, remains able to stop modern shells thanks to the reactive armor.
• The fire control on the B version is very modern.
• The tank leader's small turret has good sights, the AA machine gun can be operated from inside the turret; he can also control the gun sight in case of emergency.

[edit] Limitations

The T-64 suffers from two usual weaknesses of Soviet tanks:

• The maximum gun depression angle is limited to -6°, preventing it from using fire positions on hill crests (firing "hull-down"), a disadvantage in defensive situations.
• The crew compartments are very small, precluding tall crew members and demanding the use of external storage for equipment. The limited interior space also makes long missions tiring.

Additionally, the adoption of the autoloader was highly controversial for several reasons:

• Early versions of the autoloader lacked safety features and were dangerous to the tank crews (especially the gunner, who sits nearby): Limbs could be easily caught in the machinery, leading to horrible injuries and deaths. A sleeve unknowingly snagged on one of the autoloader's moving parts could also drag a crewman into the apparatus upon firing. Perrett 1987:42)
• The turret was poorly configured to allow the human crew to manually load the gun should the autoloader break. In such situations, rate of fire usually slowed to an abysmal one round per minute as the gunner fumbles with the awkward task of working around the broken machine to load the gun. Perrett 1987:42)
• While having smaller tank crews (three vs. the usual four) is advantageous since more tanks can theoretically be fielded using the same number of soldiers, there are also serious downsides. Tanks require frequent maintenance and refueling, and much of this is physically demanding work that several people must work together to accomplish. Most of the time, these duties are also performed at the end of a long day of operations, when everyone in the tank is exhausted. Having one less crewman for these tasks increases the strain on the remaining three men and increases the frequency of botched or skipped maintenance. This problem worsens if the tank's commander is also an officer who must often perform other duties such as higher-level meetings, leaving only two men to attend to the tank. Perrett 1987:42-43) All of this means that tanks with three-man crews are more likely to suffer from performance-degrading human exhaustion, and mechanical failures that take longer to fix and that keep the tank from reaching the battlefield. These problems are exacerbated during prolonged time periods of operations.
• The T-64 was criticized for being too mechanically complex, which resulted in a high breakdown rate.

[edit] Production history

The T-64 first entered production in 1967, shortly before the T-72. The T-64 was KMDB's high-technology offering, intended to replace the IS-3 and T-10 heavy tanks in independent tank battalions. Meanwhile, the T-72 was intended to supersede the T-55 and T-62 in equipping the bulk of Soviet tank and mechanized forces, and for export partners and east-bloc satellite states.

It introduced a new autoloader, which is still used on all T-64s currently in service, as well as all variants of the T-80 except the Ukrainian T-84-120. The T-64 prototypes had the same 115 mm smoothbore gun as the T-62, the ones put in full-scale production had the 125 mm gun.

While the T-64 was the superior tank, it was more expensive and physically complex, and was produced in smaller numbers. The T-72 is mechanically simpler and easier to service in the field, while it is not as well protected, and its manufacturing process is correspondingly simpler.

The T-64 was never common in Soviet service, except with those units stationed in East Germany. Only a few thousand T-64s were built, and none were exported. Many T-64s ended up in Russian and Ukrainian service after the breakup of the Soviet Union.

[edit] Variants

• Ob'yekt 430 (1957) - Prototype with D-10T 100mm gun, 120 mm armour, 4TPD 580 hp (427 kW) engine, 36 tonnes.
• Ob'yekt 430U - Project, equipped with a 122mm gun and 160 mm of armour.
• Ob'yekt 432 or T-64 (1961) - Prototype with a D-68 115mm gun, then initial production version with the same features, about 600 tanks produced.
  • Ob'yekt 432R or T-64R - Redesigned between 1977 and 1981 with external gear from the T-64A but still with the 115mm gun.
• Ob'yekt 434 or T-64A - With 125 mm gun, equipped with the Gill reinforced skirts, a modified sight and suspension on the fourth road wheel.
• T-64T (1963) - Experimental version with a GTD-3TL 700 hp (515 kW) gas turbine.
• Ob'yekt 436 - Alternative version for the object 432, with a V-45 engine, three built.
• Ob'yekt 438 and Ob'yekt 439 - 434's with a V-45 diesel engine.
• Ob'yekt 446 or T-64AK (1972) - Command version, with a R-130M radio and its 10m telescopic antenna, a TNA-3 navigation system. Without the AA machine gun, it carries 38 shells.
• Ob'yekt 447 - Prototype of the T-64B. Basically a T-64A fitted with the 9K112 "Kobra" system and a sight/range finder 1G21. This is the "T-64A" that is displayed in the Kiev museum.
• Ob'yekt 447A or T-64B (1976) - Fited with redesigned armour, 1A33 fire control system, 9K112-1 "Kobra" ATGM system (NATO code "AT-8 Songster"), TPN-1-49-23 sight, 2A46-2 gun, 2E26M stabiliser and 6ETs40 loader. Later B/BV models have more modern systems 1A33-1, TPN-3-49, 2E42 and a 2A46M-1 gun. From 1985 the T-64B was fitted with stronger glacis armour; older tanks were upgraded with a 16mm armour plate. Tanks, equipped with the 1,000 hp 6DT engine are known as T-64BM.
  • T-64BV - Features "Kontakt-1" reactive armour and "Tucha" 81mm smoke grenade launchers on the left of the turret.
  • Ob'yekt 447AM-2 or T-64BM2 - "Kontakt-5" reactive armour, rubber protection skirts, 1A43U fire control, 6ETs43 loader and able to fire the 9K119 missile (NATO code "AT-11A Sniper"), 5TDFM 850 hp (625 kW) engine.
  • Ob'yekt 447AM-1 or T-64U - Ukrainian modernisation, bringing the T-64B to the standard of the T-84. Fitted with "Kontakt-5" reactive armour, 9K120 "Refleks" missile (NATO code "AT-11 Sniper"), 1A45 "Irtysh" fire control, TKN-4S sight (commander), PZU-7 (sight for NSVT), TPN-4E "Buran-E" night vision, 6TDF 1000 hp (735 kW) engine. Nowadays this tank is known as BM "Bulat".
• Ob'yekt 437 or T-64B1 - Same as the B without the fire control system, carrying 37 shells. Tanks, equipped with the 1,000 hp 6DT engine are known as T-64B1M.
• Ob'yekt 446B or T-64BK and T-64B1K - Command versions, with an R-130M radio and its 10m telescopic antenna, a TNA-3 navigation system and AB-1P/30 APU. Without the NSVT machine gun they carry 28 shells.
• Ob'yekt 476 - Five prototypes with the 6TDF engine.
• Ob'yekt 447T or BREM-64 - Armoured recovery vehicle with a light 2.5t crane, dozer blade, tow bars, welding equipment etc. Only a small number was built.
• T-55-64 - Heavily upgraded T-55 with the complete hull and chassis of the T-64, fitted with "Kontakt-1" ERA. Prototype.
• BMPV-64^[11] - Heavy infantry fighting vehicle, based on the chassis of the T-64 but with a completely redesigned hull with a single entry hatch in the rear. Armament consists of a remote-controlled 30mm gun. Combat weight is 34.5 tons. The first prototype was ready in 2005.
• BTRV-64^[12] - Similar APC version.
• UMBP-64 - Modified version that will serve as the basis for several (planned) specialized vehicles, including a fire support vehicle, an ambulance and an air-defense vehicle.
• BMPT-K-64 - This variant is not tracked but has a new suspension with 4 axles, similar to the Soviet BTR series. The vehicle is powered by a 5TDF-A/700 engine and has a combat weight of 17.7 tons. It is fitted with a RCWS and can transport 3+8 men. Prototype only.
• T-80 and T-84 are further developments of the T-64.

[edit] Modernisations

• T-64
  • brought to the T-64R standard between 1977 and 1981, reorganisation of external equipment as on the T-64A.
• T-64A/AK
  • 1972 redesign, fire control improvement (TPD-2-49 and TPN-1-49-23), inclusion of the NSVT machine gun on an electrical turret, R-123M radio.
  • 1975 redesign, new 2E28M stabilisater, 6ETs10M loader, multi-fuel engine, 2A46-1 gun and TNPA-65 night vision.
  • 1981 redesign, two sets of six 902A smoke grenade launchers, rubber skirts on the suspension instead of the Gill protection.
  • 1983 T-64AM,T-64AKM, some tanks were equipped with the 6TDF engine during maintenance.

• T-64B/B1/BK/B1K
  • 1981 redesign, 2 sets of four 902B2 smoke grenade launchers, 2A26M1 gun.
  • 1983 T-64BM,T-64B1M,T-64BMK and T-64B1MK: some tanks were equipped with the 6TDF engine during maintenance.
  • 1985 T-64BV,T-64B1V,T-64BVK and T-64B1VK: with "Kontakt" reactive armour, smoke grenade launchers on the left of the turret.

• BM Bulat, T-64 modernization by the Malyshev Factory in Ukraine.[3] 17 were inducted into the Ukrainian army in 2005.

[edit] Operators

•  Russia - 4000, mostly in reserve. ^[13]
•  Ukraine - 2281, mostly modified ^[14]
•  Uzbekistan - 100 ^[15]

[edit] Former Operators

•  Soviet Union - Passed on to successor states.

[edit] T-64BV technical information

[edit] Dimensions

• Length (gun to the front): 9.295 m.
• Length (without the gun): 6.54 m.
• Breadth: 3.6 m.
• Height: 2.17 m.
• Weight: 42.4 t.

[edit] Crew

Three men:

• commander
• driver
• gunner

[edit] Propulsion

• Engine: 5DTF multi-fuel (diesel, kerosene and petrol) with 5 opposed cylinders, 13.6 litres cylinders. Developing 700 hp (515 kW) at 2,800 rpm, consumption of 170 to 200 litres per 100km.
• Transmission: two lateral gearboxes with seven forward and one backward gear.
• Three internal tanks for a 740 litres fuel capacity, two on the mudguards with 140 litres and two droppable 200 litres tanks on the aft end of the chassis.

[edit] Performance

• max. road speed: 60.5 km/h.
• max off-road speed: 35 km/h.
• power-to-weight ratio: 16.2 hp/t (11.9 W/kg).
• range: 500 km, 700 km with additional tanks.
• ground pressure: 0.9 kgf/cm² (88 kPa, 12.8 psi).
• able to ford in 1.8 m of water without preparation and 5 m with snorkels.
• crosses a 2.8 m wide trench.
• crosses a 0.8 m high obstacle.
• max. slope 30°.

[edit] Armament

• 125mm smoothbore 2A46M-1 gun (D-81TM) with carousel 6ETs40 loader, 28 shots, fire rate 8 shots per minute, 36 embedded shots (8 x 9M112M "Kobra" (NATO code "AT-8 Songster"), 28 shells). Available shells are all fin-stabilised:
  • anti-personnel (APERS) version of the 3UOF-36, 3OVF-22, with several perforating abilities.
  • armour-piercing shells (APFSDS) 3UBM-17 or 3UBM-19 or older ones with a suplementary charge giving them an initial speed of about 1800 m/s.
  • hollow charge shells, 3VUK-25 or 3UBK-21.

• coaxial machine gun 7.62mm PKT with 1,250 rounds.
• remote-controlled air-defence machine gun 12.7mm NSVT "Utyos" with 300 rounds.
• 4+4 (T-64B) or 6+6 (T-64A) 81mm smoke mortars 902B "Tucha-2".

[edit] Equipment

• The 1A33 fire control system, with:
  • Radio control of the 9K112 "Kobra" missiles (NATO code "AT-8 Songster") launched from the gun.
  • The 2E28M hydraulic stabiliser (vertical range -5°20' to +15°15')
  • The gunner day sight 1G42 with embedded laser telemeter.
  • The TPN-1-49-23 active IR night sight.
  • The L2G IR projector left of the gun for illumination.
  • The 1V517 ballistic calculator.
  • The 1B11 anenometric gauge.

• The tank commander's cupola is equipped with:
  • The PKN-4S combined day and night sight which allows a 360° vision and to fire the main weapons.
  • The PZU-6 AA sight.
  • The 2Z20 2-axis electrical stabiliser (vertical range -3° to +70°).

• The TPN-3-49 or TPN-4 and TVN-4 night vision for the driver.

• A R-173M radio.
• An NBC protection, with radiation detectors and global compartment overpressure.
• Two snorkels for crossing rivers with a depth up to 5m.
• A KMT-6 mine clearing plough can be fitted at the front.

[edit] Protection

• 3-layer composite armour (K formula), with a thickness between 450 and 20 mm:
  • front: 120 mm steel, 105 mm glass fibre, 40 mm steel.
  • sides: 80 mm steel.
  • front of the turret: 150 mm steel, 150 mm glass fibre, 40 mm steel
• lateral rubber skirts protecting the top of the suspension.
• Kontact-1 reactive bricks covering:
  • the front and the side of the turret
  • the glacis
  • the lateral skirts

[edit] See also

• List of tanks
• List of Soviet tanks
• T-90
• T-95
• 125 mm Smoothbore Rounds

[edit] References

[edit] Sources

• Isby, D.C., Ten million bayonets: inside the armies of the Soviet Union, Arms and Armour Press, London, 1988
• Perret, Bryan (1987). Soviet Armour Since 1945. London: Blandford Press. ISBN 0-7137-1735-1.
• Saenko, M., V. Chobitok (2002). Osnovnoj boevoj tank T-64, Moscow: Eksprint. ISBN 5-94038-022-0.
• Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (1998). “Why Three Tanks?” in Armor vol. 108, no. 4, p. 21. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center. ISSN 0004-2420. (PDF format)

[edit] External links

• Ukrspets on T-64 upgrades
• Kampfpanzer T-64 (German language)
• Morozovs page about the Bulat
• Morozovs page about the T-64

Soviet and post-Soviet armoured fighting vehicles after World War II
Tanks T-10 · T-54 · T-55 · PT-76 · T-62 · T-64 · T-72 · T-80 Russian: T-90 · Black Eagle · T-95 Ukrainian: T-72MP · T-80UD · T-84 Armoured personnel carriers Tracked BTR-50 · MT-LB Wheeled BTR-40 · BTR-152 · BTR-60 · BTR-70 · BTR-80 Russian: BTR-90 Ukrainian: BTR-3 · BTR-4 · BTR-94 Infantry fighting vehicles BMP-1 · BMP-2 · BMP-3 · BMD-1 · BMD-2 · BMD-3 Russian: BMD-4 · BMP-4 · BTR-T · BMP-T Armoured scout cars BRDM-1 · BRDM-2 Self-propelled artillery 2S1 Gvozdika · 2S3 Akatsiya · 2S4 Tyulpan · 2S5 Giatsint · 2S7 Pion · 2S9 Anona · 2S19 Msta · 2S23 Nona-SVK · 2S30 Iset · 2S31 Vena · ASU-57 · ASU-85 Multiple rocket launchers BM-14 · BM-21 Grad · BM-24 · BM-25 · BM-27 Uragan · TOS-1 · BM-30 Smerch Surface-to-surface missiles FROG-7 · 9K79 Tochka (SS-21 Scarab) · R-400 Oka (SS-23 Spider) Russian: Iskander (SS-26 Stone) Self-propelled anti-aircraft weapons Self-propelled anti-aircraft guns ZSU-57-2 · ZSU-23-4 · 2S6 Tunguska Self-propelled surface-to-air missile launchers 2K11 Krug (SA-4 Ganef) · 2K12 Kub (SA-6 Gainful) · 9K22 Tunguska (SA-19 Grison) · 9K31 Strela-1 (SA-9 Gaskin) · 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko) · 9K35 Strela-10 (SA-13 Gopher) · 9K37 Buk (SA-11 Gadfly) · 9K330 Tor (SA-15 Gauntlet) · S-300 (SA-10 Grumble) Russian: Pantsyr-S1 · 9K38 Buk-M1-2 (SA-17 Grizzly)
List of armoured fighting vehicles by country