T-62
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T-62 at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Kiev
1975–1978 (Czechoslovakia)
–1980s (North Korea)
6,63 m hull only
242 mm turret front[3][1][2]
153 mm turret sides[3][1][2]
97 mm turret rear[3][1][2]
40 mm turret roof[3][1][2]
102 mm at 60° hull front[3][1][2]
79 mm hull upper sides[3][1][2]
15 mm hull lower sides[3][1][2]
46 mm at 0° hull rear[3][1][2]
20 mm hull bottom[3][1][2]
31 mm hull roof[3][1][2]
armament 115 mm U-5TS (2A20) smoothbore gun (40 rounds)[3]
armament 7.62 mm PKT coaxial general purpose machine gun (2500 rounds)
12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun (optional until T-62 Obr.1972)[4]
581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm
range 450 km on road (650 km with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks)
320 km cross-country (450 km with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks)[5]
40 km/h (cross country)
The T-62 is Soviet main battle tank, a further development of the T-55. Its 115 mm 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.
Contents
[edit] Development history
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[edit] The initial requirement
By the late 1950s, Soviet commanders realized that the T-55's 100mm gun was incapable of penetrating the frontal armor of newer Western tanks like the Centurion and M48 Patton with standard AP shells. While 100mm HEAT ammo could have accomplished the task, they were considerably more expensive and required more training of tank crews for proper use. It was then decided to simply up-gunning the T-55 with a 115mm smoothbore cannon, capable to fire APFSDS rounds. Experimental trials showed that the T-55 was inherently unsuited to mount the larger new cannon, and work therefore began on a new tank. The bigger gun required a bigger turret and turret ring to absorb the higher recoil. This in turn necessitated a larger hull, as well to bear the additional size and weight of the turret. The T-62 thus took shape, marking an evolutionary improvement upon the T-55. (Perrett 1987:38)
[edit] Ob'yekt 140
At the time when Morozov was working on his Ob'yekt 430 tank, a young engineer, Leonid N. Kartsev, was the head of the OKB-520 design bureau of Uralvagonzavod factory (UVZ) from Nizhny Tagil. He was responsible for T-54A (Ob'yekt 137G) and T-54B (Ob'yekt 137G2) modernizations of T-54 main battle tank. After the works on T-54M (Ob'yekt 139) modernization (not to be confused with later T-54M refurbishment program which brought the T-54 main battle tanks to T-55 standard) were abandoned he and his design team started working on a new tank, called Ob'yekt 140. The new tank had a suspension with six light roadwheels made of aluminium. The turret was cast and armed with 100 mm D-54TS tank gun with Molniya two-plane stabilization system. The tank carried 50 rounds for the gun and was powered by V-36 diesel engine developed by engineer Artiemejev. The engine was placed on the bottom of the hull, a solution which reduced the height of engine compartment. The Ob'yekt 140 weighted 37.6 tonnes.
Morozov's Ob'yekt 430 tank had a hull made out of welded rolled steel plates and a turret made out of cast and forged steel. The turret had three layer armour with an overall thickness of 185 mm to 240 mm. It was armed with the same D-54TS tank gun as Kartsev's Ob'yekt 140. In 1957 Uralvagonzavod built two Ob'yekt 140 prototypes which were put on trials soon after. The trials showed that because of complicated construction of many of tank's systems, Kartsev's tank would be expensive in serial production and hard to maintain.
Forced to abandon the Ob'yekt 140 project, he started working on yet another T-54 main battle tank modernization called the T-55 (Ob'yekt 155) in which he included one of the key features from Ob'yekt 140 tank: the upper fuel tanks were fitted with mounts for tank gun ammunition. This increased the ammunition load carried by the tank to 45 rounds.
[edit] Ob'yekt 165
In the end of 1958 Kartsev decided to modernize the Ob'yekt 140 turret. He fitted it with a cartridge-case ejector and mounted it onto a stretched T-55 chassis with a new suspension. He also considered that designs based on already produced vehicles had higher of chance of acceptance. The Ob'yekt 140 turret diameter, bigger than the T-55 turret by 249 mm, made redesigning the central part of the hull necessary. Kartsev also changed the arrangement of torsion beams, which was necessary to keep the tank's weight balanced. The tank received a designation Ob'yekt 165 and in November 1958 three prototypes were built.
[edit] Ob'yekt 166
While working on a new tank, Kartsev was looking for a more powerful tank gun. The 100 mm D-10T and D-54 tank guns had fierce enemy in a form of British L4A1 tank gun. The Soviets decided to "recaliber" the already existing 100 mm D-54TS tank gun. The modifications done to gun included removing the rifling of the gun, reducing the profile of the bullet chamber, removing the muzzle brake, lengthening the gun tube, adding an automatic cartridge-case ejector and adding the bore evacuator in middle of the gun tube (which differed it from D-45TS tank gun which had a bore evacuator in base of the gun tube). The new 115 mm tank gun was designated U-5TS "Molot" Rapira, which was the first Soviet 115 mm smoothbore tank gun. When it went into serial production it also received a designation 2A20. It was put on completive trials against the D-10TS tank gun, which armed the T-54B as well as some T-55 and T-55A main battle tanks. These trials showed that the undercaliber projectiles shoot out of the U-5TS had 700 km/h higher muzzle velocity. It also became apparent that the maximum range of the new tank gun was almost two times longer than the D-10TS one. The only serious drawback of the U-5TS tank gun was the fact that it was not as accurate as the D-10TS, because of a lack of rifling. However, the two times longer range of the gun and its extremely high muzzle velocity made the poor accuracy less of an issue.
The new 115 mm U-5TS "Molot" (2A20) Rapira smoothbore tank gun was fitted into the Ob'yekt 140 turret in the end of 1960. The new tank received the designation Ob'yekt 166. In 1960 both Ob'yekt 165 and Ob'yekt 166 prototypes passed the trials. The Uralvagonzavod was preparing to start a serial production of the new tank, though the GBTU was paying much more attention to Morozov's Ob'yekt 430 which was in development since early 1952. Morozov was supported by general Ustinov, who was in charge of Soviet military industry at the time. He did nt see it as necessary to produce the new tank from Uralvagonzavod but soon the situation changed dramatically with the appearance of a new American main battle tank, the M60. In January 1961, an Iranian officer defected with his new US-made M60A1 main battle tank across the border into the Soviet Union.[6] The new American tanks were armed with British 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7A1 tank gun, the same of the earlier British Centurion main battle tanks and the later German Leopard 1 main battle tanks. The M60's armour layout and L7A1 tank gun granted a superiority edge to the NATO main battle tanks over Soviet contemporary main battle tanks.[6] This situation caused great concern in the Soviet armoured forces. Also in 1961 the Soviet intelligence discovered that British were working on new a main battle tank armed with 120 mm tank gun. Because of this, general Czujkov demanded an explanation of "Kartsev's tanks" case. At a conference of GBTU and Soviet ground forces committee it became apparent that Morozov's Ob'yek 430 tank was only 10% better than the serial T-55. Because of this, Morozov's project was deemed a complete failure. The representatives of Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau said that works on a new tank, the Ob'yekt 432, had already started. However general Czujkov demanded the production of the Ob'yekt 166 main battle tank to be started immediately. The OKB-520 design bureau of Uralvagonzavod provided another design, the Ob'yekt 167, which was the Ob'yekt 166 with a new more powerful V-26 engine using a charger, developing 700 hp (522 kW). Two prototypes were built in the middle of 1961 and passed the trials. This time however the GBTU decided not to wait for the new main battle tank to pass the trials and send the Ob'yekt 166 into mass production in July 1961. The Ob'yekt 165 also entered service in very small numbers, under the a designation T-62A.[7]
[edit] Description
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The T-62 has a typical tank layout: driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the center and engine compartment in the rear. The four-man crew consists of the commander, driver, gunner and loader. Although the T-62 is very similar to the T-55 and makes use of many of the same parts, there are some differences. Those include the hull, which is a few centimeters longer and wider, the different road wheels, and differences in characteristic uneven gaps between roadwheels. Like the in the T-54 and T-55 main battle tanks there is a gap between the first and second pair of roadwheels. However there are also gaps between the second and the third pairs of roadwheels as well as the third and the forth pairs of roadwheels. The gap between the forth and the fifth pairs of roadwheels has been enlarged. (Perrett 1987:37-38)
[edit] Armament
The armament consists of the 115 mm U-5TS "Molot" (2A20) Rapira smoothbore tank gun with two-plane "Meteor" stabilizer and 7.62 mm PKT coaxial general purpose machine gun mounted on the right hand side of the main gun. The 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun is mounted on the loader's hatch. It was optional until 1972 when all newly built tanks were fitted with the AA HMG. The tank carries 40 rounds for the main gun (although only 4 are placed in the turret while the rest are stored in the back of the fighting compartment and in the front of the hull, on the right hand side of the driver) and 2500 rounds for the coaxial machine gun. All of vehicle's armament is mounted in or on the round cast egg-shaped turret from Ob'yekt 140 prototype main battle tank, mounted over the third pair of roadwheels. It takes more than 21 seconds for the T-62's turret to rotate through a full 360° which is longer than the time needed by US and NATO tanks of the time to do the same. The T-62 was armed with the world's first smoothbore tank gun, giving it considerably greater muzzle velocity than the Western 90 mm and 105 mm tank guns of its time.[citation needed] It can fire BM-6 APFSDS-T, BK-4 and BK-4M HEAT and OF-18 Frag-HE rounds. The 115 mm gun introduced the first successful APFSDS ammunition, albeit with a steel penetrator. A smoothbore gun also allowed a significantly better performance (from 10% to 20%) from HEAT ammunition, which was considered the main ammunition type for fighting enemy armour at medium and long ranges.[1][2] The gun can be elevated or depressed between -6° and +16°. The tank has no autoloader and has to be reloaded by hand. To reload the gun it first has to be elevated or depressed to +3.5°. Empty cartridges are automatically ejected outside the vehicle through a small hatch in the rear of the turret. The gun has range of fire of about 4 km during day conditions and 800 m (with the use of the night vision equipment) during night conditions. T-62's practical rate of fire is 4 round per minute while the vehicle is stationary and is lower when the vehicle is moving. The low rate of fire falls back behind the Western 105 mm tank guns. When the tank and the target are stationary, the U-5TS has almost the same accuracy as the American M60 Patton and the German Leopard 1 main battle tanks. However when the tank or the target are moving the accuracy becomes very poor due to the tank's poor stabilization system and the lack of the fire control system. Even the APFSDS-T rounds at a range of 700 meters are two times less accurate when the target is moving with a constant speed.[8][1][2][9]
[edit] Mobility
The T-62 uses torsion bar suspension. It has five pairs of rubber-tired roadwheels, drive sprocket at the rear and idler at the front on each side, with no return rollers. The first and last roadwheels have a hydraulic shock absorber. The tank is powered by the V-55 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel engine developing 581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm. This is the same engine as the one used in the T-55. Because the T-62 weighs more than the T-55, it is less maneuverable. Like the T-55, the T-62 has three external diesel fuel tanks on the right fender and a single auxiliary oil tank on the left fender. The tank carries 960 liters of fuel in its internal and external fuel tanks. Two optional 200-liter drum-type fuel tanks can be fitted on the rear of the vehicle for an increased operational range.[4][8]
[edit] Armour protection
The T-62 has 5% better armour on the front of the hull (102 mm at 60°) and 15% better armour on the front of the turret (242 mm) than the T-54/T-55. The turret armour is 153 mm thick on the sides, 97 mm thick on the rear and 40 mm thick on the roof. The hull armour is 79 mm thick on the upper sides, 46 mm at 0° thick on the rear and 20 mm thick on the bottom. Although the armour on the front of the hull is thicker than in the T-55, the lower side armour (15 mm) and the roof armour (31 mm) are actually thinner.[1][2]
[edit] Equipment
One of the many similarities between the T-54/T-55 and T-62 tanks is their ability to create a smokescreen by injecting vaporized diesel fuel into the exhaust system. Like the T-54 and T-55, the T-62 has an unditching beam mounted at the rear of the hull. Also the tank can be fitted with a thin snorkel for operational usage and a large diameter snorkel for training. The thin snorkel can be disassembled and carried in the back of the turret when not used. Located on the left hand side of top of the turret is the commander's cupola. The loader has a single piece hatch located on the right hand side of the turret and further back than the commander's cupola. The loader's hatch has a periscope vision block that can be used to view what's in the front and in the back of the vehicle. Commander's copula has four periscopes, two of which are located in the hatch cover while the other two are located in the forward part of the cupola. The driver has a single piece hatch located on the left hand side of the front of the vehicle and directly in the front of the left hand side of the turret.[8] The tank also uses the same sights and vision devices as the T-55 although the gunner received a new TSh-2B-41 sight which has x4 or x7 magnification. It is mounted coaxially with an optic rangefinder.[1][2] The gunner also has two periscope vision blocks, one of which is used in conjunction with the main searchlight mounted coaxially on the right hand side of the main armament. There also two other searchlights which are smaller. One of these searchlights is used by the commander and is mounted on his cupola. The tank also has two headlights on the right hand side of the front of the vehicle, one of which is infrared while the other one is white. There also curved hand rails around the turret which allow easier entry for the commander, as well as the gunner and the loader. They also help the infantry to mount and dismount the tank while performing a tank desant. The tank also has box-shaped radiation detector/actuator mounted on the right hand side of the turret, behind the compressed air tanks. While the T-62 did not feature an automatic loader (as would become characteristic of later Russian tanks), it had a unique "ejection port" built into the back of the turret, which would open as the main gun recoiled, ejecting spent shell casings outside. This was considered advantageous since the spent casings would otherwise clutter the floor of the tank and fill the interior with noxious burnt-propellant fumes. (Perrett 1987:38) There's a blower mounted in the rear of the turret, to the left of the spent cartridge ejection port.[8]
[edit] Limitations
The T-62 shares some of the T-55's limitations: cramped crew compartment, thin armour, crude gun control equipment (on most models), limited depression of the main gun and vulnerable fuel and ammunition storage areas. The automatic spent-cartridge ejection system can cause dangerous accumulations of carbon monoxide and possibly actual physical injury to the crew from spent cartridge cases ricocheting against the edge of a poorly aligned ejection port and rebounding into the crew compartment. Crew members often suffer blunt force injuries and burns from ejected cases bouncing around the interior of the tank. Later designs fitted a deflector behind the commander to protect him from this, but other crew members remain vulnerable. (Perrett 1987:38) Opening the ejection port under NBC conditions would also expose the crew to contamination.[5]
Each time the gun is fired, the tube must go into détente for cartridge ejection; the power traverse of the turret is inoperable during ejection and reloading operations. Since manual elevation and traverse are rather slow and not effective for tracking a moving target, rapid fire and second-hit capabilities are limited. The turret also cannot be traversed with the driver's hatch open. Although the tank commander may override the gunner and traverse the turret, he cannot fire the main gun from his position. He is unable to override the gunner in elevation of the main gun, causing target acquisition problems.[5]
To fire the 12.7 mm antiaircraft heavy machine gun, the loader must be partially exposed, making him vulnerable to suppressive fire, and he must also leave his main gun loading duties unattended.[5]
The T-62 never enjoyed the anticipated success for numerous reasons. First, the T-62 was more than twice as expensive as the T-55, and many Warsaw Pact nations passed on the new tank because they did not feel that the improvements inherent in it warranted the cost. Secondly, in 1968, a 100mm HVAPDS tank shell capable of piercing Western armor was developed. Use of this ammo made the T-55 gun almost as effective as the T-62's, undercutting the T-62's original selling point: A bigger, more powerful gun. Third, the T-62 was almost immediately rendered obsolete upon its introduction by new Western tanks like the Chieftain and M60, and it became depressingly clear to the Soviets that work had to begin on an even newer MBT to keep pace, even though the T-62 was brand new (this even newer Soviet tank would become the T-64). Finally, the T-62 was slow and could not keep up with the new Soviet BMP - the principal IFV which the T-62 was supposed to operate alongside. All of these factors combined to ensure that the T-62 enjoyed relatively low commercial success, and only briefly served in first line Soviet units before being relegated to training, to reserve status, or being exported to Third World clients. (Perrett 1987:41)
[edit] Production history
In July 1961, Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine and Omsk Factory No. 183 replaced part of their T-55 production with the T-62.[10][5] The original plans were that the T-62 would be produced until Morozov's Ob'yekt 432 tank was developed. The T-62 production was maintained at Uralvagonzavod until 1973 when it was replaced on the production lines by the T-72. Until the end of production 20,000 T-62 main battle tanks were produced by Uralvagonzavod.[7] The production in Soviet Union was stopped in 1975.
Czechoslovakia built more than 1,500 T-62 main battle tanks for export after the production ceased in Soviet Union in 1975 and it continued there until 1978.
North Korea produced T-62 under license until 1980s. In the early 1990s the North Korean Second Machine Industry Bureau designed a lighter copy of T-62 which is mass produced and is known locally as the Ch'Ånma-ho I (Ga).[11]
[edit] Models
[edit] Former Soviet Union
[edit] Austria
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[edit] Bulgaria
[edit] Egypt
[edit] France
[edit] Israel
[edit] North Korea
[edit] Ukraine
Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau is also offering three T-62 conversions:[18]
[edit] United States
[edit] Service history
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The T-62 entered service with the Soviet Army in July 1961. Because of the firepower of the new 115 mm gun, it was considered to be a formidable tank for the time, despite its drawbacks.[1][2] Along with the T-55, the T-62 was one of the most common tanks in the Soviet inventory. The two tanks together once comprised approximately 85% of the Soviet army's tanks. The T-62 and T-55 are now mostly used by Russian reserve units for a possible secondary mobilization while some are kept in storage. The active duty and primary mobilization units mainly use the T-80 and T-72, with a smaller number of T-90 tanks in service in active units.
The only other Warsaw Pact member to operate T-62s on a mass scale was Bulgaria. After the war in Afghanistan, Bulgaria received about 200 T-62 and T-62M from the Soviet Union in the 1980s. These were modified, but due to several problems, they were quickly withdrawn from service and some were sold to Angola and Yemen. Many were converted into TV-62 and TV-62M armoured recovery vehicles and their turrets were scrapped. The TV-62M is the standard armoured recovery vehicle of the Bulgarian Army.[11]
Both Poland and Czechoslovakia evaluated the vehicle but refused it for high price and low update value compared to the T-55.
The T-62 saw combat for the first time during 1969 Sino-Soviet border conflict during which one was captured by the People's Liberation Army. This tank was later studied and the information gathered from those studies was used for the development of Type 79 main battle tank.[12]
During the Yom Kippur war, the T-62 was an effective adversary for Israeli Patton and Centurion main battle tanks armed with 105 mm tank guns. The T-62 also had an advantage in its better night-fighting capability, but Syrian losses were heavy. The Israelis captured several hundred of these tanks from the Syrians in 1973, and put some of them into service as the Tiran-3. About 120 Tiran-3 were modernized and received the designation Tiran-6. Only a small number was converted because new US made M60 main battle tanks started arriving in Israel.[19] A small tank brigade consisting of two enlarged tank regiments, each equipped with 46 Tiran-6 tanks, was formed.[19] The Tiran-6 is used by reserve units. The Israelis have sold the rest to assorted countries, many in Latin America.[citation needed]
T-62s were also used during the Ethiopian Civil War.
T-62s were also used in the Iraq-Iran War. They were used by Iraqi Regular Army, but some vehicles probably fell into the hands of Iranians. Most of the T-62s in service with Iran are of North Korean production.[1][2]
In 1982, when Libya invaded Chad the T-62 tanks were faced with 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 onto the beds of the trucks.[20]
The first T-62s arrived in Cuba in 1976. In 1988 they were sent to Angola to fight the South Africans in the Angolan Civil War.
During the Soviet war in Afghanistan, the T-62 was a primary tank used by the Soviet army.[21] The Soviets used tanks pretty much in the same way as the US Army did in Vietnam, with many tanks in fire support bases. Towards the end of the war T-62Ms, using the BDD appliqué armor, appeared in large numbers. Numerous T-62s fell victim to Mujahideen attacks and, especially, antitank landmines, as did many Soviet AFVs sent there. Others fell into the hands of the Afghan Mujahideen after being left behind by withdrawing Soviet forces. Those vehicles as well as derelict ones restored to working order are now used Afghan National Army. Afghan army operates 170 T-62, T-62M and T-62M1 tanks.[11]
The Russian army has also used both T-62s and T-62Ms in combat in Chechnya. The T-62M is still being used for counterterrorism operations in this region.[12]
T-62s were used by Iraqi Army during First Persian Gulf War and Second Persian Gulf War.