| T-62 | |
|---|---|
 A T-62 Main Battle Tank tank at the National Training Center at Fort Irwin | |
| Type | Medium tank (Warsaw Pact designation)[1] Main battle tank (NATO designation) |
| Place of origin | Soviet Union |
| Service history | |
| In service | 1961–present |
| Used by | See operators |
| Wars | See combat history |
| Production history | |
| Designer | OKB-520 design bureau |
| Manufacturer | Uralvagonzavod |
| Unit cost | US$300,000 (export price to Egypt, 1972)[2] |
| Produced | 1961–1975 (USSR) ~1980s (North Korea) |
| No. built | More than 22,700 |
| Specifications (T-62) | |
| Mass | 37 t (41 short tons; 36 long tons) |
| Length | 9.34 m (30 ft 8 in) with barrel in forward position 6.63 m (21 ft 9 in) hull only |
| Width | 3.30 m (10 ft 10 in) |
| Height | 2.40 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader) |
| Armour | Cast turret[3][4] 214 (242 after 1972) mm turret front[5][3][4] 153 mm turret sides[5][3][4] 97 mm turret rear[5][3][4] 40 mm turret roof[5][3][4] Hull 102 mm at 60° hull front[5][3][4] 79 mm hull upper sides[5][3][4] 15 mm hull lower sides[5][3][4] 46 mm at 0° hull rear[5][3][4] 20 mm hull bottom[5][3][4] 31 mm hull roof[5][3][4] |
Main armament | 115 mm U-5TS (2A20) smoothbore gun[6] |
Secondary 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)[7] |
| Engine | V-55V (based on the Kharkiv model V-2) 580 (later 620) hp. |
| Power/weight | 14.5 hp/tonne (10.8 kW/tonne) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
| Ground clearance | 425 mm (16.7 in)[7] |
| Fuel capacity | 960 L[7] 1360 L with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks[7] |
Operational range | 450 km (280 mi) on road (650 km (400 mi) with two 200 L (53 US gal; 44 imp gal) extra fuel tanks) 320 km (200 mi) cross-country (450 km (280 mi) with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks)[8] |
| Maximum speed | 50 km/h (31 mph) (road) 40 km/h (25 mph) (cross country) |
The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961.[9][a] As a further development of the T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armour.
In contrast with previous tanks, which were armed with rifled tank guns, the T-62 was the first production tank armed with a smoothbore tank gun which could fire APFSDS rounds at higher velocities (the U.S. prototype T95 medium tank was the first tank ever built with a smoothbore gun).[10]
While the T-62 became the standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, it did not fully replace the T-55 in export markets due to its higher manufacturing costs and maintenance requirements compared to its predecessor.
Although it was followed by later models in successor states of the Soviet Union, the T-62 remains in reserve in some countries formerly part of the USSR and in frontline use by other countries. Design features of the T-62 became standardized in subsequent Soviet and Russian mass-produced tanks.
- ^ Glantz 2012, p. 186.
- ^ Efrat, Moshe (1983). "The Economics of Soviet Arms Transfers to the Third World. A Case Study: Egypt". Soviet Studies. 35 (4): 437–456. doi:10.1080/09668138308411496. ISSN 0038-5859. JSTOR 151253.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cite error: The named reference
softlandwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Cite error: The named reference
Czołgi Światawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e f g h i j "T62". Pancerni.pl (in Polish). Archived from the original on 13 August 2007. Retrieved 14 October 2007.[self-published source]
- ^ "115mm U-5TS". Weapon Systems. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference
Pancerni 2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
Fosswas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Zaloga 2009, p. 15.
- ^ Gao, Charlie (6 April 2019). "Meet the T-95 Tank: The Super Weapon America Never Built". The National Interest. Retrieved 23 March 2023.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).