The T-72 tank is a Russian main battle tank which saw combat action in several armed conflicts during the Cold War and during the first decades that followed the fall of the Soviet Union, such as the Chechen Wars and the Syrian Civil War. Along its production history, it has been updated and improved several times, giving rise to different variants, such as the T-72A, T-72B, T-72M (export version), T-72B3, and the T-72B3M.
It was designed and developed by the State-run tractor vehicles manufacturer Uralvagonzavod in the mid 1960s during the Soviet Union era, as a replacement for the T-64, reducing the size of the hull and crew, but fitting it with a more powerful gun (a 125-mm 2A46m gun) and with an auto-loader. From the hull of the T-72 the BMPT Terminator 2 would be developed, being used as a tank support vehicle.
After the T-54/55, the T-72 was the second most widely manufactured tank in the Soviet Union arsenal as it is a lower cost basic tank. In order to reduce the production cost, Uralvagonzavod reduced the size of the hull and equipped its powerful gun with a horizontal ammunition auto-loader. It also features an infrared search light, which is located on the right side of gun barrel, rather than on the left side as was the case with the T-64. In its layout, the commander sits to the right, while the gunner sits to the left. Not only is it a low-cost tank, but it is also reliable, from a mechanical point of view. Today, the Russian Army has more than 4,500 T-72 tanks, which have been updated to fight against NATO tanks. Right now, they are being used in the Russian-Ukrainian War.
Specifications
Weight: 44 tons
Hull Length: 6.67 m
Width: 3.59 m
Height: 2.23 m
Armor: steel and reactive armor (Relikt explosive reactive armor on T-72B3 version)
Weapons: 125 mm gun; 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun; 12.7 mm machine gun on roof.
Power plant: V-12 diesel, 1,130 hp for T-72B3 and T-72SIM-1 variants.
Maximum speed: 60 km/h
Crew: 3
Number Built: 26,000
Below, frontal view of the the T-72B version in the 1970s
Below, the T-72B, which was the standard production model of this Soviet tank. Here, you can see it in a 1977 parade in the Red Square during the Cold War.
Below, the T-72B during a Warsaw Pact military exercise in 1977
Below, the T-72B3 equipped with reactive armor bricks
