TR-125

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TR-125

TR-125
Type Main battle tank
Place of origin  Romania
Service history
Used by Romania
Wars none
Production history
Number built 3 or 5
Specifications
Weight 50 tonnes
Length 7.9 m
Width 3.6 m
Height 2.2 m
Crew 3 (commander, driver and gunner)
Armor Composite armour 570 mm (22.4 in) front of the turret
Main
armament
 125 mm A555 smoothbore tank gun
Secondary
armament
 PKMT 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, DShK 12.7 mm AA machine gun on commander's ring-mount
Engine 8VSA3 diesel
900 hp (671 kW)
Power/weight 18 hp/tonne (13.4 kW/tonne)
Suspension torsion bar

The TR-125 (TR-125 stands for "Tanc Românesc 125" - Romanian Tank 125) main battle tank is the redesigned T-72 made in Romania with Romanian components only. Number 125 in the designation stands for the 125 mm A555 smoothbore tank gun. It is now designated P-125 (P stands for Prototype).

History

In the late 1970s - early 1980s, Romania ordered 30 T-72M main battle tanks from the USSR. The Romanian government asked USSR for a license to build T-72 tanks locally.[1] Rebuffed by the Soviet leaders, the communist government decided to reverse-engineer the T-72 tank.

The tank was developed from 1984 to 1991. The turret and the loading mechanism were developed by ICSITEM research institute from Bucharest, while the chassis was designed by ACSIT–P 124 from the F.M.G.S. (FMGS stands for "Fabrica de Mașini Grele Speciale" - Special Heavy Equipment Factory) division of the "23rd August" (now known as FAUR) factory from Bucharest.

Three prototypes were made between 1987 and 1988 and tested until 1991.[2] An order from the Romanian Army did not come however, and the project was later canceled. The prototypes are kept in storage.

Description

The vehicle has a modified suspension with seven pairs of wheels, unlike the T-72 and most tanks based on it which have six.[3][4] This allowed the hull to be stretched by 1 m and installation of a more powerful 850-900 HP diesel engine 8VSA3, basically a variant of the engine mounted in TR-85. It used an old DShK machine gun for anti-aircraft purposes and was fitted with extra armour. The 125mm A555 smoothbore tank gun was developed by Arsenal Reșița factory. As a result of these changes the tank's weight increased from 41.5 tonnes (T-72M) to around 50 tonnes.

Operators

  •  Romania - The exact number varies according to the source: 3, 5 or 10 prototypes.

See also

  • TR-2000 - successor of the TR-125 project, a proposed design from the late 1990s which was canceled due to budgetary restraints.

References and notes

References
  1. ↑ Ceausescu and the Soviet Military Licenses (in Romanian, from Jurnalul.ro)
  2. ↑ Caravan, p. 291
  3. ↑ Zaloga, p. 17
  4. ↑ Gelbart, p.72

References

  • Caravan, Alexandru (2010). "Tancul Românesc - O istorie (History of the Romanian Tank)" (in Romanian). Statul Major al Forțelor Terestre (Romanian Land Forces Staff). 
  • Gelbart, Marsh (1996). Tanks main battle and light tanks. Brassey's UK Ltd. ISBN 1-85753-168-X. 
  • Zaloga, Steven J (1993), T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974-93, Osprey, ISBN 1-85532-338-9 

External links

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