The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that entered production in 1961 as a direct successor to the T-55. While it shared much of its mobility and chassis design with the T-55, the T-62’s primary innovation was the introduction of the first smoothbore tank gun in service, the 115 mm U-5TS “Molot” (Hammer). This weapon was developed to counter the increasing armor protection of new NATO tanks like the American M60 Patton and the British Chieftain. The T-62 served as the backbone of the Soviet tank forces alongside the T-55 and was widely exported globally, seeing extensive combat in conflicts across the Middle East, Africa, and Asia.
Property
Typical Value (T-62)
作用
Main Battle Tank (MBT)
National Origin
Soviet Union (USSR)
制造商
Uralvagonzavod and others
Service Entry
1961
船员
4 (Commander, Gunner, Loader, Driver)
配置
Conventional, Turreted Medium Tank
Length (Gun Forward)
9.34 m (30 ft 8 in)
宽度
3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
高度
2.40 m (7 ft 10 in)
Combat Weight
40.0 tonnes (44.1 short tons)
Powerplant and Mobility
Engine: 1 x V-55V 12-cylinder water-cooled diesel engine.
Power Output: 580 hp (432 kW).
Maximum Speed (Road): 50 km/h (31 mph).
Suspension: Torsion bar suspension, retaining the robust, simple design of the T-54/55 series.
Key Feature: Like its predecessors, the T-62 had full NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) protection capability.
Armament and Armor
Primary Armament: 1 x 115 mm U-5TS smoothbore tank gun. This was the first smoothbore gun to equip a production tank, offering a higher muzzle velocity and better penetration with discarding sabot rounds.
Secondary Armament: 1 x 7.62 mm PKT coaxial machine gun; 1 x 12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft machine gun on the loader’s cupola (often replaced by the NSVT on later models).
Armor (Max): Approx. 242 mm (9.5 in) RHA equivalent on the turret front (cast armor), 102 mm on the glacis plate.
Drawback: The T-62 suffered from a long spent casing ejection time and a very slow rate of fire (4 rounds per minute) due to the difficult manual loading process of the large 115 mm rounds.