T-62 Totally Explained

Everything about The T-62 totally explained

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.

Development history

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. The tank was powered by V-36 diesel engine developed by engineer Artiemejev. The engine was placed on the bottom of the hull 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 Uralvagonzavodbuild 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.
   After he was 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.
   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 did so because designs that were based on already produced vehicles had higher of chance of acceptance. Because the Ob'yekt 140 turret had a diameter bigger than the T-55 turret by 249 mm it made redesigning the central part of the hull necessary. While at it, Kartsev also changed the arrangement of torsion beams which also necessary to keep the tank's weight balanced. The tank received a designation Ob'yekt 165 and in November 1958 three prototypes were built.
   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 was the armament of 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 maximal 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 wasn't as accurate as the D-10TS because of a lack of riffling. However the two times longer range of the gun and it's 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 a 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 however the GBTU was paying much more attention to Morozov's Ob'yekt 430 which was developed since early 1952. Morozov was supported by general Ustinov which was in charge of Soviet military industry at the time. He didn't seen 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. The new American tanks were armed with British 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7A1 tank gun like 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 meant that the NATO main battle tanks are superior to Soviet main battle tanks.

Description

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 firepower and muzzle velocity than the Western 90 mm and 105 mm tank guns of its time. 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.

Maneuverability

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). This is the same engine as the one used in the T-55. Because the T-62 weighs more than the T-55, it's 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.

Service history

   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.
   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. A small tank brigade consisting of two enlarged tank regiments, each equipped with 46 Tiran-6 tanks, was formed.
   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. It was the most powerful tank used during that conflict. During battles after the victory in the Cuito Cuanavale battle in 1988, they were used to stop and defeat the South African armoured forces equipped with Olifant main battle tanks which proved to be inferior to the T-62 in most respects. Then they were used during an offensive on the Namibian border. Currently nearly 300 T-62s are in service with Cuban armed forces, many in storage. They are modernized with additional armor, laser equipment and fire control systems. 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 appeared in large numbers. This modernized variant of T-62 had the BDD appliqué armour package specially designed to defeat shaped charges (for example RPGs). Many T-62s fell victim to Mujahideen attacks and, especially, antitank landmines like many Soviet AFVs sent there. Many also 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.

T-62 Obr.1967 - T-62 Obr.1960 with a slightly modified engine deck.

T-62 Obr.1972 - T-62 Obr.1967 with a DShK 1938/46 machine gun installed on the loader's hatch as well as new drive sprocket, RMSh tracks and improved fording attachment.
- T-62 Obr.1975 - T-62 Obr.1972 equipped with a KTD-1 or KTD-2 laser rangefinder in an armoured box over the main armament. It also has concealed bolts around the commander's cupola.
- T-62AG upgraded by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. It's fitted with the 5TDF 700hp diesel engine, a 125mm KBA-101 tank gun, new fire control equipment and enhanced armour protection. Combat weight is 39.5 tonnes, crew still consists of 4 men because there's no automatic loader. The upgrade package is aimed at the export market, since the Ukrainian army no longer uses the T-62.
- T-62 based heavy infantry fighting vehicle.
- T-62 based armoured recovery vehicle.
- T-62 based armoured bridge layer.

United States

T-62 modified in a number of ways including the replacement of the original diesel engine with a caterpillar diesel engine and fitting of US radios and antennae mounts. T-62 main battle tanks modified in such a way were used by the US Army for OpFor training.

- 100 Originally 200 were bought from North Korea.

- 75 since 2000, 150 in 1995 and 100 in 1990. Originally 280 were bought.

- 100 in service and 70 in storage. Before that there were 350 T-62 main battle tanks. Originally 900 were bought.

Polisario -

- 80, originally 200 were bought.

Iraq - 1,500 in 1990, 500 in 2002 and 19 in 2003 (All destroyed or scrapped).

- More than 20,000 were produced between July 1961 and 1975. There were 12,900 in 1985 and 11,300 in 1990. Passed on to successor states.

- 7

- 85, not used since 2000.

- The US Army used a number of T-62 main battle tanks for OpFor training.

Evaluation only operators

- 1 captured during the 1969 Sino-Soviet border clash by the PLA. It was used for study only.

- Evaluated it but didn't accept it.

Evaluation operators and exporters only

- Evaluated it but didn't accept it. Produced more than 1,500 between 1975 and 1978 for export.

Popular culture

T-62 main battle tank was featured in two RTS games: World in Conflict where it's labeled as the "USSR Medium Tank" and .

Further Information

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