T-62
Encyclopedia : T : T6 : T62 : T-62
| |
| T-62 | |
|---|---|
| General characteristics | |
| Crew | 4 (driver, gunner, loader, gunner) |
| Length | 6.63 m |
| Width | 3.52 m |
| Height | 2.4 m |
| Weight | 41.5 tonnes |
| Armour and armament | |
| Armour | 275 mm |
| Main armament | 115 mm smoothbore gun |
| Secondary armament | 7.62 mm PKMT machine gun in coaxial mount |
| Mobility | |
| Power plant | diesel 620 hp (463 kW) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Road speed | 45 km/h |
| Power/weight | 15 hp/tonne |
| Range | 450 km, with extra tanks 650 km |
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.
Production History
Tens of thousands of T-62 tanks were manufactured in the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1984. Along with the T-55, it 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-64 and T-72, with a smaller number of T-80 and T-90 tanks in service in the active units.The T-62 is still in service with Afghanistan, Angola, Algeria, Belarus, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, North Korea, Libya, Mongolia, Russia, Syria, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen.
Variants
- T-62 - early production version, had a 14.5 mm KPVT machine gun in coaxial mount instead of the more common SGMT 7.62 mm.
- T-62A - Added 12.7 mm anti-aircraft machine gun (which is often removed in the field) and changed coaxial machine gun to PKMT 7.62 mm. All T-62s in Soviet service were converted to these specifications before 1970.
- T-62K - Command tank with additional communications gear, recognizable by multiple radio antennas instead of just one.
- T-62M - added laser range-finder, reactive armour.
- T-62D - added capability to use AT-10 Basnya laser-guided antitank missile, which is fired through the gun tube.
- T-62MV - T-62D produced for export, most of which were given to North Korea and Syria as military aid.
- Tiran-6 (Israel) - T-62A captured from Syria in 1973 and upgraded with a laser range-finder, a gunner's thermal imaging sight, and a more powerful and reliable diesel power plant; the Tiran-6 tanks in Israeli service have also been fitted with "Blazer" reactive armour tiles.
Combat History
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.
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 balky, unreliable old Soviet diesel 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 Third World countries, many in Latin America.
In 1982, when Libya invaded Chad, armored units of Muammar Qaddafi's elite 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 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.
As the original T-62 is more than 40 years old, its obsolete 115 mm gun is understandably inadequate for combat against modern Western tanks. The T-62's armor is homogenous cast steel, incorporating neither spaced armor techniques nor composite armour, so a modern tank with a 120 or 125 mm tank gun can destroy it on the first round at any range at which it can be seen. It isn't especially well-protected against anti-tank missiles. However, upgraded variations of the T-62 such as the T-62MV and Tiran-6 are more suited to modern combat, fitted with modern reactive armour and more potent weapons such as anti-tank missile launchers.
See also: List of tanks, List of Soviet tanks.
External links
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