Soviet Tank Guns: The T-64/T-72
The T-64 entered service in 1973, with the T-72 entering service in 1975. While the two tanks are technically similar and operational identical, they are two distinct vehicles. It is believed that the tanks were developed in parallel by two separate design bureaux. The dating of the material in FM-100 does not cover the vehicles captured during Desert Storm, the following information reflects what was known to NATO during the 1980s...
Main Gun: 125mm smoothbore, believed to be a development of the U-5TS
Rate of Fire: 4rpm
Rate of Fire (manual): 2rpm
Effective Range:
HVAPCFSDS = 2,000m
HEAT = 1,200m
Frag-HE = 1,500m
Ammunition Types:
HVAPCFSDS
HEAT
Frag-HE
Ammunition Load:
40 rounds (28 rounds carried in the auto-loader); broken down as
12 HVAPCFSDS, 6 HEAT, 22 Frag-HE
Hit Probability
ammunition 500m 1000m 1500m 2000m
HVAPCFSDS 98% 94% 80% 60%
Armor Penetration
ammunition 500m 1000m 1500m 2000m
HVAPCFSDS 450mm 425mm 400mm 375mm
HEAT 475mm at all ranges
|