T-72B "object 184" is an improved modification of the T-72A tank, mass production began in 1984.

The vehicle was equipped with hinged dynamic protection, a V-84-1 (V-84M) diesel engine with a power of 840 hp, and a 9K120 Svir guided weapon system with laser-guided missiles at the target.

Already at the time of its creation, the T-72B turned out to be outdated in terms of the fire control complex (1A40-1).

There was no automated control system on it at all. The T-72B lagged behind both the foreign Leopard-2 and Abrams tanks and the domestic T-80BV, T-64BV, T-80U and T-80UD.

The tank protection was developed taking into account the tests in the USSR of the Israeli BPS M111, which pierced the upper frontal part of the T-72A tank. The design abandoned fiberglass, replacing it with a design from a set of steel plates. Later, the so-called. "semi-active" armor with "reflective" sheets.

The mobility of the tank also increased very slightly (from 760 hp on the T-72A to 840 hp)

In general, the growth of the tank's performance in terms of protection against BPS was 20% compared to the T-72AV, engine power - 10%. Due to restrictions on the growth of the mass of the tank and the lack of a modern engine, the weak potential of the design bureau itself, the improvement of the T-72A tank was very slow. As a result, in the mid-80s, an obsolete tank entered service. The main achievement of the new modification of the T-72 was a guided weapon system.

The complex was an effective and simple missile armament tank, which in terms of characteristics was comparable to the Cobra, but in terms of design and operation it was much simpler.

Layout

The tank has a classic overall layout with a crew of three and a transverse engine. The layout completely repeats the one adopted on the T-72, T-72A tanks, which was borrowed from the T-64.

Frame. Front right view: 1 - upper nasal leaf; 2 - booms for the installation of DZ containers; 3 - headlight guard bracket; 4 - front towing hook; 5 - lower nasal leaf; 6 - balancer bracket.

Frame. Rear view on the left: 1 - protective turret bar; 2 - caterpillar strip chipper; 3 - outlet pipe; 4 - brackets and stops for laying cables; 5 - beam with exit blinds; 6 - barrel mounting bracket; 7 - bracket for fastening the spare parts box to trawls and PSK cassettes; 8 - log mounting bracket; 9- mounts for spare tracks; 10 - fan hatch cover; 11 - fodder leaf; 12 - towing hook; 13 - case of emergency socket and marker lamp; 14 - chipper of the caterpillar fingers; 15 - gearbox housing; 16 - emphasis of the balancer; 17 - support roller bracket; 18 - hydraulic shock absorber bracket; 19 - guide wheel crank bracket.

Tower: 1 - commander's cupola; 2 - overhead; 3 - roof; 4 - housing for installing a gunner's observation device; 5 - flange for mounting the sight 1K13-49; 6 - tubes for electrical wires;

7, 25 - headlight mounting brackets; 8 - protective head of the rangefinder sight; 9, 15, 18, 27 - mounting hooks; 10 - strap; 11 - arc cheeks; 12, 13 - groove for attaching the outer protective cover of the gun; 14 - bracket searchlight L-4A; 16-clamp for fastening the box with ammunition for the NSV machine gun; 17, 19, 22, 24 - brackets for fastening OPVT boxes; 20 - antenna mounting flange; 21,

26 - copiers; 23 — hatch ejection and removal of the pallet; 28 - mounting bracket launchers smoke grenades; 29 - gunner's hatch; a - a hole for the rear suspension of the sight-rangefinder; b - boring under the trunnion; in - the embrasure of the PKT machine gun; g - a hole for installing a landing socket.

Firepower

The main armament is a 125 mm 2A46M smoothbore gun-launcher. The design of the gun makes it possible to replace the barrel in the field without dismantling it from the turret. To improve the accuracy of shooting, the cylinders of the two recoil brakes are fixed symmetrically with respect to the bore in the upper right and lower left corners of the breech.

Tank gun 2A46M: 1 - thermal protective cover; 2 - trunk; 3 - cradle; 4 - shutter; 5 - fence; 6 - lifting mechanism; 7 - brake of sliding parts; 8 - knurler; 9 - strap; 10 - screw; 11 - wire; 12 - compensating weight; B - gap 8-13 mm; B - gap 8-12 mm.

Shooting is carried out with separate-sleeve loading shots with armor-piercing sub-caliber, cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation shells and shots with a guided missile that has a cumulative warhead.

The automatic loader is similar to that used on the T-72, the mechanized ammunition load is 22 shots.

This is less than

and is located in a very vulnerable place for mines, which, when detonated, will disable the tank without the possibility of recovery

Location of nodes A3: 1 - rammer; 2 - cassette lifting mechanism; 3 - ejection hatch; 4 - trap; 5 - ejection hatch drive; 6 - drive to the catcher; 7 - hand drive handle to the stopper VT; 8 - electromagnetic stopper VT; 9 - flooring BT; 10 - roller; 11 - frame; 12 - support roller; 13 - top shoulder strap; 14 - lower shoulder strap; 15 - glass; 16-cassette; 17-capture; 18 - pallet stop; 19 - frame; 20 - electromagnetic catcher stopper; 21 - cable.

The cyclogram characterizes the process of a full cycle of automatic loading of a tank gun.

It can be seen from the cyclogram that in order to reduce the duration of the cycle, and, consequently, to increase the technical rate of fire, the action of some mechanisms is partially or completely combined in time. For example, bringing the gun to the loading angle, its locking and rotation of the BT.

It can be seen from the diagram that full cycle loading and firing when turning the BT on two cassettes lasts< 8 с.

If the next shots are on the loading line, then the technical rate of fire will be higher, since in this case the full cycle of loading and firing without turning the BT will be > 7 s.

Ammunition for the gun is 45 rounds and is stacked as follows: 22 rounds in the rotating conveyor of the automatic loader, 23 - in non-mechanized stacking.

In VT, shots by type can be stacked in any ratio. In non-mechanized stacking, shots are stacked regardless of their type, with the exception of places specifically specified. As the ammunition load from the BT is used, the crew replenishes the VT with shots from the ammunition racks, if the situation allows, or manually loads the gun directly from the ammunition racks.

Shots posted:

5 shells in the turret, of which: 2 - on the rotating floor behind the commander's seat, 1 - armor-piercing sub-caliber on the rotating floor behind the cannon and 2 - armor-piercing sub-caliber in the niche of the tower behind the gunner's seat;

18 shells in the hull, of which: 3 - high-explosive fragmentation or cumulative - in the front tank-rack, 4 - in laying on the MTO partition on the starboard side, 4 - in laying on the MTO partition on the port side, 3 - on the left side behind the gunner's seat , 1 - armor-piercing sub-caliber behind the AB rack, 3 - on the left side behind the AB rack;

4 charges in the tower, of which: 1 - in front of the commander's seat, 2 - behind the commander's seat, 1 - in front of the gunner's seat;

19 charges in the case, of which: 1 - at the front tank rack on the starboard side, 3 - in the front tank rack, 12 - in the middle tank rack near the MTO partition and 3 - behind the AB rack.

Ammunition for the PKT machine gun is 2000 rounds (8 belts of 250 rounds each).

The ammunition load for the AKMS-74 assault rifle is 300 rounds, 120 of which are loaded into four magazines of 30 rounds each and placed in a regular bag. 180 rounds are in a box on the starboard side of the turret outside. F-1 hand grenades (10 pcs.) Are stacked in five bags. The ammunition load of the NSV-12.7 anti-aircraft machine gun is 300 rounds.

Ammunition layout: 1- charge; 2 - projectile; 3 - box with cartridges for the PKT machine gun; 4 - cartridges for the AKMS-74 assault rifle; 5 - bag with hand grenades F-1; 6 - boxes for 120 cartridges for the NSV-12.7 machine gun; 7 - placement of cartridges in a box for cartridges and clothing - 180 pieces; 8 - bandolier with cartridges for a signal pistol

A 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun and a 12.7 mm NSVT anti-aircraft machine gun (with manual control from the tank commander) are used as auxiliary weapons. Anti-aircraft machine gun does not have a remote control, the tank commander is forced to get out of the tank to the waist to use it, putting himself in danger.

Anti-aircraft machine gun installation: 1 - NSV-12.7 machine gun; 2 - balancing mechanism; 3 - cradle; 4 - tape collector; 5 - sight box; 6 - handlemachine gun platoon; 7 - pins; 8 - fork; 9 - machine gun fastening pin; 10 - recoil damping spring; 11 - toothed sector of the cradle; 12 - clamping screw of the hatch socket; 13 - fixing boltplugs in the socket; 14 magazine for cartridges; 15 - vertical guidance handle; 16 - machine gun release lever; 17 - handle stopper; 18 - cable; 19 - machine gun release key; 20 - horizontal guidance handle; 21 - cradle stopper; 22 - stopper of the middle shoulder strap; 23 - flywheel brake key.

Sighting system 1А40-1

On the T-72B tank, the 1A40-1 sighting system is installed, the basis of which is the TPD-K1 laser rangefinder sight used on the T-72A tanks, with a field of view stabilized in a vertical plane.

1 - sight-rangefinder (control device); 2 - blockindications; 3 - range input block; 4 - electric unit; 5 -power unit; 6- protective glass; 7 - plate (nomograms); 8 - a single set of spare parts and accessories; 9 -desiccant; 10 - correction potentiometer; eleven -parallelogram mechanism.

The sighting system includes a ballistic corrector, which automatically introduces corrections for the temperature of the charge and air, Atmosphere pressure, the angular velocity of the target and the tank, the speed of the tank and other shooting conditions, which increases the probability of hitting the first shot. However, the ballistic corrector does not take into account all the changing firing conditions, as happens when there is an automated control system with a ballistic computer in the tank, because takes into account only the total correction, which is entered into it manually before the start of firing, calculated from the nomograms fixed on the breech of the gun by the tank commander.

Shooting at night is carried out using the 1K13-49 combined sight, which can operate in active or passive mode.

Target detection at night in passive mode (with ENO 0.005 LK) is provided at a distance of at least 500 m, in active mode when the target is illuminated by an infrared searchlight - up to 1200 m.

Searchlight L-4A: 1 - base; 2 - bracket; 3 - landing nest; 4 - trunnion; 5 - adjustable traction; 6 - traction unregulated; 7 - bonk; 8 - axis; 9 - slip clutch; 10, 12 - lock nuts; 11 - adjusting bolt; 13 - set screw; 14 - bolt; 15 - back cover; 16 - front frame; 17 - screw; 18 - protective cover; 19, 21 - screws; 20 - jumper; 22 - DK lamp with L-250; 23 - cartridge; 24 - IR filter; 25 - pressure ring; 26 - captive bolt; 27 - mirror parabolic reflector.

Sight-guidance device 1K13-49

Hull armor

The upper part of the T-72B hull of the first modifications consisted of spaced obstacles made of steel of increased hardness. Later, a more complex booking option was used using "reflective sheets" on the principle of functioning similar to the package used in the tank turret. The equivalent resistance of passive armor has increased compared to the T-72A from 360 to 490 mm.

Photo of assembly of T-72S hulls in Iran. The VLD filler package is visible.

Starting in 1988, the VLD and the tower were reinforced with the Kontakt-V DZ complex, which provides protection not only from cumulative PTS, but also from BPS.

On board the T-72, the DZ containers were installed directly on rubber-fabric screens. This negatively affected its operation, the DZ containers on the side screens fell off during operation, the screens deformed.

Vulnerable areas

The dimensions of the turret armor of the T-72B tank have increased compared to the T-72A due to the installation of a massive filler. This led to an increase in the weakened zones of the tower roof.

Schemes of weakened zones of the main armor of the frontal projection of the T-72B: 1 - weakened zone during the shelling of 100-mm BPS BM-8; 2 - weakened zone during the shelling of 125-mm BPS BM-26

The resistance of weakened zones is much lower than the resistance of the main armor parts, so they are penetrated from long distances and with a large margin of armor penetration, which leads to severe, often irreversible damage to the combat vehicle. As shown by shelling tests on the hull and turret of the T-72B tank, carried out with BM-26 shells with armor penetration of 200 mm of steel armor of medium hardness at an angle of 60 ° from a distance of 2 km and BM-22 with armor penetration of 170 mm / 60 ° from 2 km, weakened zones made their way from a distance:
Driver zone (along the middle line of the weakened zone) - 1,700 m.
Tower roof - 3,700 m.
Commander's hatch - 3,900 m.
The zone weakened by the trunnions of the gun is 1,650 m.

The gun embrasure is protected only from the B-32 armor-piercing bullet of 12.7 mm caliber from a distance of 100 m.

Dynamic protection

The increase in resistance to cumulative ammunition was achieved by installing a hinged dynamic protection complex. The tank has 227 containers, of which 61 are on the hull, 70 on the turret and 96 on the side screens.

Moreover, the containers are installed directly on the tower without giving them an angle that ensures the most efficient operation of the remote sensing.

It is known that the effectiveness of the impact on the cumulative jet of the dynamic protection device depends significantly on the angle of impact of the cumulative jet with the container. At meeting angles (the angle is measured from the normal to the surface of the container) of 60...70 degrees, the greatest efficiency of the movement of the metal plates of the container on the cumulative jet is achieved.

At meeting angles close to the normal to the surface of the container, the device loses most of its effectiveness and, as a rule, cannot protect the main armor barrier from a cumulative jet. As a result of this, the effectiveness of the remote sensing system installed on the tower was significantly reduced.

Built-in universal remote control "Contact-5"

Since 1988, built-in dynamic protection has been used on serial T-72B tanks.Tanks equipped with the built-in dynamic protection "Contact-5" according to the Research Institute of Steel provide protection against the M829 armor-piercing sub-caliber projectile.

Installation of dynamic protection on the tower: 1, 2 - blocks; 3, 4, 12, 16 - covers; 5 - bolt M8; 6 - bolt M16; 7 - bonk; 8 - M12 bolt; 9 - gasket; 10 - element of dynamic protection; 11 - body; 13 - bulletproof bar; 14 - axis; 15 - cotter pin.

Installation of dynamic protection on the bow sheet of the tank: 1, 2,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 - sections of dynamic protection; 9, 10 - covers; 11 - element;

12 - pallet; 13 - nut, 14 - screw; 15 - rubber stop; 16, 20 - cork; 17 - spring washer; 18 - bolt; 19 - laying

Installation of dynamic protection on board: 1 - screens; 2 - side shields; 3 - loop; 4 - pallet; 5 - armor cover; 5th element; 7 - cork;

8 - bolt; 9 - torsion bar; 10 - stopper axis; 11 - bracket; 12 - spring cotter pin; 13 - bar; 14 - axis.

Mobility

The tank is equipped with the V-84-1 engine, which is a modernization of the previously used V-46-6 engine. Both motors are interchangeable in installation.

The B-84-1 engine is distinguished by increased power, additional inertial boost due to the division of each intake manifold into two sections and a piston configuration.

The V-84-1 engine is multi-fuel, the main fuel is diesel. The engine also runs on T-1, T-2 and TS-1 fuels, low-octane gasoline.

The engine is installed in the power compartment of the tank perpendicular to its longitudinal axis on a foundation welded to the bottom. The engine legs are attached to the foundation with eight bolts and nuts. The first left bolt and nut are extended. Gaskets of various thicknesses can be installed under the paws, with the help of which the toe of the engine crankshaft is centered with the guitar's drive gear.

The launch is carried out using an electric starter, an air start system, as well as from an external current source or from a tug. For an emergency start of a cold engine in winter, there is an intake air heating system.

The mechanical planetary transmission consists of an input gearbox, two final gearboxes and two final gearboxes.

The suspension system uses an individual torsion bar suspension with hydraulic shock absorbers of lever-blade type on 1, 2 and 6 suspension units of each side. The track roller discs are made of aluminum alloy. The track rollers have external rubber coating, and the supporting rollers have internal shock absorption. To protect the caterpillar from dropping when the tank turns, restrictive disks are welded on the drive wheels.

The total capacity of the fuel system with two and two barrels with a capacity of 275 liters. is 1750 liters. The capacity of the internal fuel tanks is 705 liters.

Fuel supply system: 1 -right bow tank; 2,4 - filling necks; 3, 6, 7, 11, 14 - external tanks; 5 - front tank rack; eight -heater fuel pump; 9 - fuel filterheater; 10 - valve for shutting off external tanks; 12 -expansion tank; 13 - float valve; 15 - adapter for connecting barrels; 16 - equipment for connecting barrels; 17 - barrels; 18 - nozzle; 19 - high pressure pipeline; 20 - pipeline of the combined drain of fuel from the injectors; 21 - fuel pump NK-12M; 22 - fine fuel filter; 23 - fuel priming pump NTP-46; 24 - medium tank rack; 25 - coarse fuel filter; 26 - left bow tank; 27 - manual fuel priming pump; 28-fuel priming pump BCN-1; 29 - fuel distribution valve; 30 - drain fitting; 31 - air release valve; 32, 36 - hoses; 33 - fitting; 34 - sludge drain hose; 35 - tee; 37 - fuel meter

Means of communication

The tank is equipped with underwater driving equipment that allows it to overcome water obstacles up to five meters deep and about 1000 meters wide. The tank uses the Abzats communication complex, which includes the R-173 VHF radio station, the R-173P radio receiver, the antenna filter unit and the laryngophone amplifier. The radio station operates in the frequency range of 30-76 MHz and has a memory device that allows you to prepare ten communication frequencies in advance. It provides a communication range of at least 20 km both on the spot and on the move over medium rough terrain.

The performance characteristics of the T-72B

T-72 "Ural" - the most massive Soviet main battle tank of the second generation. Adopted in Soviet army August 7, 1973
Below is given short review features of Russian modifications of the T-72 tank, produced by UralVagonZavod, prepared on the pikabu.ru forum by the blogger zhuravkofff, for which many thanks to him.
Abbreviations used: NKDZ (Mounted Set of Dynamic Protection), VDZ (Built-in Dynamic Protection), VLD (Upper Frontal Part), NLD (Lower Frontal Part), TPN (Night Tank Sight), OPTV (Double Tank Driving Equipment).

T-72A

T-72B (sample 1984), T-72B
adopted in 1984

(T-72B mod. 1989)

T-72BM (photo by V. Kuzmin,)

serial rms()

In addition to the above:

T-72B3 is a major overhaul with a budget upgrade of previously produced vehicles.
In Alabino, at the training ground of the training complex of the Tamanskaya division, the latest modification of the “seventy-two” was demonstrated - the T-72B3 tank, outwardly distinguished by the latest Sosna-U multi-channel gunner's sight and the absence of the L-4A Luna IR searchlight next to the gun mask. Compared to the T-72B3 of the first series, the tower in place of the L-4A "Luna" IR searchlight is covered with VDZ "Contact-5" units.
The tank received a new 125-mm 2A46M-5 cannon, a new VHF radio station R-168-25U-2 "Akveduk", new fire-fighting equipment (PPO) and a new multi-channel gunner's sight (PNM) "Sosna-U". The sight has 4 channels: optical, thermal imaging, laser rangefinder channel and anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) control channel. PNM "Sosna-U" is installed instead of the standard sight-guidance device 1K-13-49. The old gunner's sight 1A40-1 was left in its original place as a spare.


Place of installation of PNM "Sosna-U" in the T-72B3 tank
()

The commander received the TKN-3MK device with the Double system, which provides the commander with the ability to fire. The T-72B3 tank has built-in dynamic protection (VDZ) "Kontakt-5", and not the new DZ "Relikt", which protects the tank from modern tandem ammunition; the tank did not receive a closed anti-aircraft machine gun installation (ZPU) - an open, manually operated ZPU remained. Instead of the 1000-horsepower V-92S2 engine, which is installed on the T-90A (Object 188A) and on the modernized T-72BA (Object 184A), the overhauled V-84-1 with 840 hp remained on the T-72B3. Therefore, the mobility characteristics did not increase. The tank is not equipped with GLONASS/GPS receivers.

T-72B3 at the Alabino training ground, August 2013 (

The T-72 tank is a reliable, unpretentious and efficient combat vehicle. In terms of prevalence, it is second only to the legendary T-55. But today, machines serving in different parts of the world are outdated both morally and physically. In addition, one should not lose sight of the fact that the T-72 was originally created as a single machine for use in a variety of climatic conditions- from the Arctic to the tropics. And, from the point of view of common sense, it is difficult to understand why the tires of road wheels are frost-resistant rubber (by the way - very expensive), but there is no air conditioning on the machines sent to Africa.

The need for air conditioning is a requirement that affects the combat capability of the vehicle in a much more high degree than is commonly believed. For example, according to an Indian military report, the French-made Catherine thermal imaging system installed in the tank was not able to “work adequately” in tropical conditions and gave numerous failures. During the tests, it was found that when the temperature inside the tank reached + 50 ... 55 ° C, a “blurring” of the image in the sight was noted. Moreover, this can often lead to irreversible damage to the equipment: on the Russian T-90S delivered to India, due to the lack of an air conditioner, about 80 thermal imagers failed and became unusable during four years of operation. The lack of an effective air conditioning system causes an increase in the temperature inside the tank to +60°C and above, which not only leads to failure of the electronic components of the equipment, but also makes it physiologically impossible for the crew to work.

Over the forty years that have passed since the creation of the T-72, the requirements for dynamics have increased significantly modern tank, and, consequently, to its power-to-weight ratio. In addition, as a result of a series of upgrades, the weight of the vehicle has increased significantly - from 40 tons on the T-72 Ural (object 172M of the 1975 model of the year) to 48 tons on the Czech T-72M4CZ. Moreover, the process of increasing the mass of the tank continues. Given these factors, the continued use of the B-46-6 engine, which is on most of the exported T-72s, seems to be an anachronism - while maintaining the existing power plant, achieving the required dynamic characteristics of the machine is impossible.

The already limited motor resource of a tank engine is often spent to power the electrical systems and electrical consumers of the tank, in conditions when it is not in motion. Moreover, at the same time, a significant part of the transportable fuel supply is produced. In the modern world “tank fashion”, this problem was solved by using an auxiliary power unit (APU) with a power significantly less than the power of a tank engine, but quite sufficient to power the main consumers of electricity. However, in the MTO of the serial "seventy-two" there is simply no place to install the aforementioned unit.

Having comprehended the above, it is necessary to conclude that the modern modification of the T-72 tank should have an engine greater than 780 hp. power, but, at the same time, quite compact and providing the possibility of placing the APU machine and part of the air conditioner units in the reserved space.

The specialists of the State Enterprise "Kharkov Armored Repair Plant" in cooperation with KhKBD implemented a project to modernize the chassis of the T-72B tank (object 184) by creating a new engine-transmission compartment and equipping it with the necessary equipment. R & D was carried out, the sample was modernized.

The experimental machine is undergoing life tests. As a replacement for the "old man" B-46-6, the well-known 5TDF engine was proposed, or rather, its new modification, 5TDFMA-1, developed by the HKBD. The power of the new version of the engine is 1050 hp.

Scheme for upgrading the engine compartment of the T-72 tank by installing a 5TDFMA-1 engine with a fan cooling system (the power unit is shown in brown, the air conditioner unit in purple).

The "highlight" of the engines of the 5TDF / 6TD family is their ability to maintain power when the temperature rises. environment up to +55°С. Moreover, for engines of this type, operation at high temperatures is a regular mode. For example, the recommended operating temperature of the coolant (coolant) for 5TDF is 80-90 ° C, the permissible temperature is up to + 115 ° C, for a short time (no more than 1 hour) the permissible temperature is up to + 125 ° C.

For example: the performance of the modified engine cooling system is increased by 37% with a decrease in energy costs (power losses) per fan by 24%. Achieved 6% fuel economy.

The created design of the MTO is more compact and allows you to place in the engine compartment part of the air conditioner components and the auxiliary power unit EA-10 with a capacity of 10 kW.

In addition, an increase in the specific power of the machine made it possible to increase its security by installing a built-in dynamic protection of the tower, similar to that used in the Bulat BM.

T-72 tank with 5TDFMA-1 engine: main differences from the serial T-72B tank

♦ 1050 hp engine

♦ Cumulative dynamic defense of the Knife-type turret

♦ Fighting compartment air conditioner

♦ Auxiliary power unit

♦ Transmission with increased efficiency.

Tactical and technical characteristics of the T-72B tank (object 184) with the 5TDFMA-1 engine

Structural changes of the T-72B tank (object 184) with the 5TDFMA-1 engine

During the implementation of the project to modernize the chassis of the T-72 tank, by creating a new engine compartment, the aft armor plate of the hull was slightly altered, the air intake path in the MTO roof was changed, exhaust gases were removed to the port side, new engine mounts were made, the design of the air cleaner and flue, the fan drive is provided by a direct drive from the engine. The use of a new scheme of the power plant and transmission made it possible to abandon the step-up gearbox - the guitar, thereby reducing the mass of the tank, simplifying the kinematic scheme, and, as a result, increasing the efficiency of the power unit (motor-transmission installation) as a whole. A set of design measures made it possible to increase the performance of the modified engine cooling system by 37% while reducing energy costs (power losses) per fan by 24%, while achieving 6% fuel savings.

The proposed design of the MTO is more compact and allows you to place in the engine compartment part of the components of the air conditioner and the auxiliary power unit EA-10 with a capacity of 10 kW.

An increase in the specific power of the machine made it possible to increase its security by installing a built-in dynamic protection of the tower, similar to that used in the Bulat BM.

Tank T-72

T-72 - the main battle tank (MBT), began mass production at a plant in Nizhny Tagil in 1972. For 5 years the tank was classified for foreign countries and only in 1977 it was shown to the French Minister of Defense.

In the West, it was believed that the next tank was just an improvement on the T-64, but in fact the T-72 is a completely different combat vehicle, unlike the T-64.

T-72 has powerful armor. The turret has an armor thickness of 27 cm, the forehead of the hull is 22 cm.

Rectangular armor plates are placed on the hull, which protect hydraulic shock absorbers at a firing angle of up to 60 °. The fuel tank also has a protective skirt.

A scraper for digging a trench can be attached to the nose of the tank. The IR illuminator is mounted on the right side of the main gun, the T-64 has it on the left side.

The undercarriage uses a torsion bar suspension system, which is traditional for Soviet tanks.

The T-72 has six road wheels on each side, which are slightly larger than those used on the T-64. Like the T-64, the T-72 is driven by a rear rotary sprocket.

The 7.62 mm PKT machine gun is paired with a cannon and can fire automatically. A 12.7 mm DShKM machine gun is placed on the turret, but it can only be used from an open hatch, which makes the machine gunner a target for snipers.

The turret is equipped with a 125 mm 2A46 smoothbore gun, which is also used on the T-64. Shells are fed from a carousel-type automatic loader.

Ammunition 39 shots. Ammunition in the loading carousel is located on two levels, the powder charge is lower, the shells are higher.

The gun is stabilized, which allows the tank to fire while moving on the road or over rough terrain.

Booking

T-72 has a package of full nuclear and biological-chemical protection. Inside the tank there is a sheathing made of lead materials to protect against radiation and neutron pulses.

In 1982, during the invasion of Lebanon by the Israeli army, Merkava tanks, using a 105 mm cannon and rockets, destroyed a large number of T-72S tanks operated by the Syrian tank forces.

After that, an extensive upgrade program was carried out to improve armor efficiency and survivability.

During the period the tanks were in service, 17,000 copies of the T-72 tank were produced for the USSR and Russia, as well as about 13,000 for other countries of the world.

T-72 was delivered to 15 countries of Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It was produced in Czechoslovakia, India, Poland and Yugoslavia.
In 1984, the most modern modification of the T-72B tank was released. This tank was distinguished by a completely different armor protection system, namely multi-layered.

Engine

The T-72 tank is unique in its multi-fuel engine. On the various models tank - various engine modifications were installed. So the first tanks were equipped with a 12-cylinder V-engine B-46, which developed a power of 780 hp.
The T-72B was equipped with the V-84-1 engine, which developed 840 horsepower.
The engine was able to run on diesel fuel, low-octane gasoline, as well as on kerosene.

Technical characteristics of the T-72 tank: