T-62

The initial requirements By the late 1950s, Soviet commanders realised that the T-55's 100 mm gun could not penetrate the frontal armour of newer Western tanks, such as the Centurion and M48 Patton, with standard armour-piercing shells. While 100 mm high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) ammunition could have done the job, they were much less accurate than APDS shells, and the relatively low flight velocity resulted in poorer accuracy if used on moving targets. It was decided to up-gun the T-55 with a 115 mm smoothbore gun, able to fire kinetic energy penetrator armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS) rounds. Trials showed that the T-55 was inherently unsuited to mount the larger weapon and work began on a new tank. The bigger gun required a bigger turret and turret ring to absorb the higher recoil. This in turn necessitated a larger hull, as the T-55 hull was simply too small to accept the new turret. The T-62 thus took shape, marking an evolutionary improvement on the T-55. Obiekt 140 After the delivery of the T-54 design, its lead designer Alexander Morozov turned his attention to a new design, the Obiekt 430. Obiekt 430 had a hull of welded rolled steel plates and a turret of cast and forged steel. The turret had three-layer armour with an overall thickness of 185 mm to 240 mm. It was armed with the new 100 mm D-54TS tank gun. During this period, simpler upgrades to the existing T-54 design were assigned to a young engineer, Leonid N. Kartsev, the head of the OKB-520 design bureau of Uralvagonzavod factory (UVZ) in Nizhny Tagil. He had already led the development of the relatively minor upgrades to the T-54 that produced the T-54A (Obiekt 137G) and T-54B (Obiekt 137G2). Kartsev and his design team started working on a new tank, called Obiekt 140 (this was also informally called the T-54M). The new tank had a torsion bar suspension with six road wheels made of aluminium. The turret was cast and armed with the same D-54TS tank gun and included the Molniya two-plane stabilization system. The tank carried 50 rounds and was powered by a V-36 diesel engine developed by engineer Artiemejev. The engine was placed on the bottom of the hull, a solution that reduced the height of the engine compartment. The Obiekt 140 weighed 37.6 tonnes. In 1957, Uralvagonzavod built two Obiekt 140 prototypes which were put on trials soon after. The Obiekt 140 would be more expensive in serial production. Object 166 While working on a new tank, Kartsev was looking for a more powerful tank gun. The 100 mm D-10T and D-54 tank guns had a fierce opponent in the form of the British L7A1 tank gun. The Soviets decided to "recaliber" the already existing 100 mm D-54TS tank gun. The modifications made to the gun included removing the rifling of the gun, reducing the profile of the bullet chamber, removing the muzzle brake, lengthening the gun tube, adding an automatic cartridge-case ejector, and adding a bore evacuator in the middle of the gun tube (as opposed to the D-54TS tank gun, which had a bore evacuator at the muzzle). The new 115 mm tank gun was designated U-5TS "Molot" Rapira. It was the first smoothbore tank gun to go into serial production where it received the designation 2A20. It was put in trials against the D-10TS tank gun, which armed the T-54B as well as some T-55 and T-55A medium tanks. These trials showed that the under-calibre projectiles fired from the U-5TS had a nearly 200 m/sec higher muzzle velocity. It became apparent that the maximum range of the new tank gun was almost double that of the D-10TS. The only serious drawback of the U-5TS tank gun was the fact that it was not as accurate as the D-10TS, because of the lack of rifling. However, the greater range of the gun and its extremely high muzzle velocity made the poor accuracy less of an issue. The new U-5TS smoothbore tank gun was fitted into the Ob'yekt 140 turret at the end of 1960. The new tank received the designation "Ob'yekt 166". In 1960, both Ob'yekt 165 and Ob'yekt 166 prototypes passed their trials. Uralvagonzavod was preparing to start serial production of the new tank, though the General Armoured Directorate (GBTU) was paying much more attention to Morozov's Ob'yekt 430, which was in development since early 1952. Morozov was supported by General Dmitry Ustinov, who was in charge of the Soviet military industry at the time. He did not see it as necessary to produce the new tank from Uralvagonzavod, but soon the situation changed dramatically with the appearance of a new American main battle tank, the M60. In 1961, Soviet military intelligence discovered that Britain was working on a new main battle tank armed with a 120 mm tank gun. Because of this, Marshal Vasily Chuikov, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army's Ground Forces, demanded an explanation of the "Kartsev's tanks" case. At a conference of GBTU and the Soviet ground forces committee, it became apparent that Morozov's Ob'yekt 430 tank was only 10% better than the serial T-55. Because of this, Morozov's project was deemed a complete failure. Though the representatives of Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau disclosed their work on the improved Ob'yekt 432 (which would ultimately become the T-64), Chuikov demanded that production of the Ob'yekt 166 medium tank be started immediately. The OKB-520 design bureau of Uralvagonzavod provided another design, the Ob'yekt 167, which was the Ob'yekt 166 with a new more powerful V-26 engine using a charger, developing 700 hp (522 kW). Two prototypes were built in the middle of 1961 and passed the trials. This time the GBTU decided not to wait for the new medium tank to pass trials, and sent the Ob'yekt 166 into mass production in July 1961. The Ob'yekt 165 also entered service in very small numbers, under the designation T-62A. == Design ==

The T-62 has a typical tank layout: driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the centre and engine compartment in the rear. The four-man crew consists of the commander, driver, gunner and loader. Although the T-62 is very similar to the T-55 and makes use of many of the same parts, there are some differences. These include the hull, which is a few centimetres longer and wider, the different road wheels, and differences in characteristic uneven gaps between road wheels. Unlike the T-54 and T-55 medium tanks, the gaps between the last three pairs of road wheels are larger than the rest. Armament The armament consists of the 115 mm U-5TS "Molot" (2A20) Rapira smoothbore tank gun with a two-axis "Meteor" stabiliser and 7.62 mm PKT coaxial general-purpose machine gun mounted on the right of the main gun. The 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun is mounted on the loader's hatch. It was optional until 1972 when all newly built tanks were fitted with the AA heavy machine gun. The tank carries 40 rounds for the main gun. 4 rounds are placed in the turret, and the rest are stored in the back of the fighting compartment and in the front of the hull, to the right of the driver. It carries 2,500 rounds for the coaxial machine gun. All of the vehicle's armament is mounted in or on the round cast egg-shaped turret from the Ob'yekt 140 prototype main battle tank, mounted over the third pair of road wheels. The T-62 was armed with the world's first smoothbore tank gun, giving it considerably greater muzzle velocity than the Western 90 mm and 105 mm tank guns of its time. It can fire BM-3 APFSDS-T, BK-4, BK-4M HEAT and OF-18 Frag-HE rounds. The 115 mm gun introduced the first successful APFSDS ammunition, albeit with a steel penetrator. A smoothbore gun allowed a significantly better performance (from 10% to 20%) over HEAT ammunition, which was considered the main ammunition type for fighting enemy armour at medium and long ranges. The gun can be elevated or depressed between −6° and +16°. It is reloaded manually and gets automatically reset to +3.5° of elevation after it is fired if the stabiliser is enabled. Empty cartridges are automatically ejected outside the vehicle through a small hatch in the rear of the turret. The gun has a range of effective fire of about 4 km during day conditions and 800 m at night (with the use of night vision equipment). This tank was fitted with a Meteor two-axis stabiliser, which allows the T-62 to aim and fire while moving. Tests of the Meteor conducted by the US army gave the T-62 a first hit probability of 70% for a moving target at 1000 meters with the tank moving up to 20 km/per hour. This gave the tank a good advantage in dynamic battlefields and breakthrough operations, especially in Central Europe where most of tank battles would take place under the 1500 meters range. Mobility The T-62 uses torsion bar suspension. It has five pairs of rubber-tired road wheels, a drive sprocket at the rear and an idler at the front on each side, with no return rollers. The first and last road wheels each have a hydraulic shock absorber. The tank is powered by the V-55 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm. This is the same engine as the one used in the T-55. The tank uses the same sights and vision devices as the T-55 except for the gunner, who received a new TSh-2B-41 sight which has x4 or x7 magnification. It is mounted coaxially with an optic rangefinder. Early models of the T-62 only filtered nuclear fallout, leaving the crew exposed to chemical or biological contaminants, as the air was not passed through a chemical filter. Late production models of the T-62 were fitted with a chemical filter. It takes 20 seconds for the T-62's turret to rotate through a full 360°, which is 5 seconds longer than the time needed by the US M60A1 Patton tank. The turret also cannot be traversed with the driver's hatch open. Although the tank commander may override the gunner and traverse the turret, he cannot fire the main gun from his position. To fire the 12.7 mm antiaircraft heavy machine gun, the loader must be partially exposed, making him vulnerable to suppressive fire, and he must leave his main gun loading duties unattended. Due to their vulnerability to fire, the auxiliary fuel drums were usually removed prior to combat, decreasing the operational range substantially. The T-62K command tank land navigation system requires a 15 minute warm-up, during which the vehicle cannot move without damaging the gyroscopic compass. The T-62 underperformed in export markets relative to the T-54/T-55 series. Namely due to the much more expensive export price of the T-62, being $300,000 to Egypt in 1972, whereas the T-55 cost only $200,000, alongside Egypt already having a logistics line for T-54/55 upkeep. This also caused Warsaw Pact nations to be swayed away from the purchase of the T-62 as they felt that the logistical and unit costs outweighed the benefits it could provide. Third, the T-62 was, according to Perrett, almost immediately surpassed on its introduction by the new Western MBTs, the Chieftain and M60. Finally, the T-62 could not keep up with the new Soviet BMP-1 – the principal infantry fighting vehicle that the T-62 was supposed to accompany. All of these factors combined to ensure that long-term investment in the T-62 was not viable and a new Soviet MBT had to be developed. == Production history ==

In July 1961, Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil, Malyshev Factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine and Omsk Factory No. 183 replaced part of their T-55 production with the T-62. The original plans were that the T-62 would be produced until Morozov's Ob'yekt 432 tank (which would become the T-64) was developed. T-62 production was maintained at Uralvagonzavod until 1973 when it was replaced on the production lines by the T-72. Until the end of production 20,000 T-62 tanks were produced by Uralvagonzavod. == Service history ==

Soviet Union 2023-24 Number 206 The T-62 entered service with the Soviet Army in July 1961. Because of the firepower of the new 115 mm gun, it was considered to be a formidable tank for the time, despite its drawbacks. War in Chechnya The Russian army and the Russian MVD forces used both T-62s and T-62Ms in combat in Chechnya. During the second war the 160th Guards Tank Regiment (5th Guards Tank Division, Siberian Military District) and the 93rd MVD Mechanized Tank Regiment each had 69 T-62 tanks. Some T-62s were used on train platforms. Up to 380 Russian tanks were used in 1999–2000, including about 150 T-62s. 2008 South Ossetia war T-62s of the Russian Ground Forces were deployed in the Russo-Georgian war. In one case a T-62M belonging to the Russian army was destroyed by a Georgian RPG in the streets of Tskhinvali. In this instance the rocket penetrated the turret of the T-62M, killing the driver and gunner. Russian MVD also used T-62s. Russo-Ukrainian war on display at the National Defence University of Ukraine, April 2024 Since May 2022, Russia has deployed T-62 tanks in Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russia had reactivated these tanks from storage depots in Siberia. By late May, T-62Ms and T-62MVs were transported by train to Ukraine, with additional reports indicating more T-62 tanks being sent towards Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih on June 5. In early June, T-62 tanks equipped with improvised slat armor, similar to that used on more modern Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks, were identified in Kherson Oblast. Later in June, the Head of North Ossetia–Alania, Sergey Menyaylo, announced that volunteers in the Alania Battalion had received a tank unit equipped with T-62 tanks. According to the Russian website Voennoe Obozrenie, these tanks were primarily intended to support infantry units and were not expected to engage Ukrainian tanks directly. In Kherson, Russian forces utilized T-62 tanks to provide artillery support. In October 2022, during a visit at the 103rd Armor Repair Plant, State Duma member Andrey Gurulyov declared that the Russian military would receive 800 T-62s in the following three years. These tanks would be refurbished and possibly upgraded before being sent to Ukraine. In February 2023, a Ukrainian mechanic stated that his shop was converting at least one captured T-62 into an armored recovery vehicle, remarking that "this old tank is no good for war." Also, in late February 2023, a T-62 was identified with its original TSh-2B-41 or TShSM-41U sight replaced by a 1PN96MT-02 analogue thermal gunner's sight. Ukraine is converting some T-62s into infantry fighting vehicles by fitting BMP-2 turrets to the hulls, armed with a 30mm 2A42 autocannon. On September 10, 2023, it was reported that Ukraine's 128th Mountain Assault Brigade converted a captured T-62 tank into a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) filled with 1.5 tons of explosives and drove it towards Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhia region. The tank hit a mine and exploded before it could reach the enemy positions. As of January 2026, Russia is visually confirmed to have suffered 327 T-62 losses (6 T-62 Obr. 1967, 2 T-62 Obr. 1972, 1 T-62 Obr. 1975, 154 T-62M, 62 T-62M Obr. 2022, 41 T-62MV, 10 T-62MV Obr. 2022 and 51 Unknown T-62). Foreign service in Kabul, April 2004 Angola The People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) began ordering T-62s from the Soviet Union in 1980 and received them by late 1985. Most of the tanks were delivered in the wake of Operation Askari, which saw multiple T-54s and T-55s knocked out by South African expeditionary forces using light anti-tank weapons and highly mobile Eland-90 and Ratel-90 armoured cars. As a result of the destruction and capture of Angolan T-54/55s during Operation Askari, the Soviet military mission in Angola committed to drastically accelerate the transfer of more sophisticated weaponry to FAPLA, including T-62s. A number of T-62s were lost during the 1986 campaign, with some being abandoned on the battlefield and others destroyed by UNITA insurgents or South African air strikes. The Israelis captured hundreds of these tanks from the Syrians in 1973, and put some of them into service as the Tiran-3. About 120 Tiran-3 were modernised and received the designation Tiran-6. Only a small number were converted because the new US-made M60 main battle tanks started arriving in Israel. In the Iran–Iraq War, Iraqi T-62s performed well against opposing Iranian tanks, such as M47s, M48s, M60A1s and Chieftains. In Operation Nasr, the biggest tank battle of the war, Iran lost 214 Chieftain and M60A1 tanks, while Iraq lost 45 T-62s. The remaining Iranian armour turned about and withdrew. Approximately 200 T-62s were lost in the entire war. During the Toyota War, a few T-62s were destroyed at medium range by MILAN anti-tank missiles mounted on Chadian technicals. According to French after-action reports released in March 1988, several were also knocked out by FANT Panhard AML-90 armoured cars with flank or rear shots. Cuba The first T-62s arrived in Cuba in 1976. Currently approximately 400 are in service with the Cuban armed forces and about 100 are in storage. Cuban T-62s were deployed to Angola during Havana's lengthy intervention in that country. Along with T-55s and T-54Bs, they were initially utilitised for defending strategic installations, such as Matala, the site of an important Angolan hydroelectric plant manned by Soviet engineers. The more ubiquitous T-55 was favoured for combat duty, and during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale only a single battalion of Cuban T-62s was situated near the fighting. while no Abrams or Challengers were lost to enemy fire. == Variants ==

Soviet Union . Note the "Drozd" system is missing on this tank. in Kabul, 2004 • ''' T-62A (Ob'yekt 165)''' – Predecessor of T-62. It was essentially a stretched T-55 chassis with a 2245 mm turret ring, a new suspension, and an Ob'yekt 140 turret modernised with the addition of a spent-cartridge ejector; tank gun equipped with the "Kometa" two-plane stabiliser. Only five entered service. • T-62 fitted with a box on the rear of the turret containing anti-aircraft missiles. Bulgaria • TV-62 – T-62 tank converted into an armoured recovery vehicle. • T-62MV "Obr. 2022" – Upgraded T-62MV. Uses the 1PN96MT-02 gunner's sight. Used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine • T-55AGM – Ukrainian T-54/T-55 modernization which can also be applied to T-62s. • '''''' – Upgraded by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. It is fitted with the 5TDF 700 hp diesel engine, a 125 mm KBA-101 tank gun, new fire control equipment and enhanced armour protection. The combat weight is 39.5 tonnes. The crew still consists of 4 men because there is no automatic loader. The upgrade package is aimed at the export market. • T-62 based heavy infantry fighting vehicle. • T-62 based armoured recovery vehicle. • T-62 based armoured bridge layer. Ukrainian volunteers installed a BMP-2 turret onto a captured T-62M, armour plates and Explosive Reactive Armour were bolted on the hull and turret, the program is meant to create a Heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle. United States • T-62 – This version is modified in a number of ways including the replacement of the original diesel engine with a Caterpillar diesel engine and fitting of US radios and antennae mounts. T-62 tanks modified in such a way were used by the US Army for opposing forces training. == Operators ==

Current operators • – 100 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1975 and 1976. 155 were ordered in 1979 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1979 and 1991 (the vehicles were probably previously in Soviet service). 750 were ordered in 1971 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1972 and 1975. • – 150 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1974. 400 were ordered in 1976 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1976 and 1978. 250 were ordered in 1978 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1978. In 2020, T-62Ms and T-62MVs were delivered by Russia to the Libyan National Army. • – 350 were ordered in 1970 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1971 and 1975. 150 ordered in 1974 from the Soviet Union were delivered between 1976 and 1978. – later it was found this was not true, as Russia reactivated numerous T-62s to resupply the Syrian Army. In 2022, Russia sent T-62 tanks to reinforce the Southern Ukraine offensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast during the 2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine; reportedly up to 600 T-62s were taken out of long-term storage. • − Around 30 supplied by Libya. Status uncertain • – 500 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1973 and 1974. 200 ordered in 1978 from Libya were delivered in 1979 as aid. 300 were ordered in 1982 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1982 and 1984 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). In 2018, the Russian Federation reactivated and field-tested T-62M and T-62MV tanks from war stores and transported them to Syria. T-62A, T-62 obr. 1972, T-62 obr. 1975, T-62K, T-62M, and T-62MV as of 2023 • Free Syrian Army – Limited use of captured government tanks • People's Defense Units (YPG) • – 7 T-62, T-62AV, and T-62AM as of 2023 • – 400 inherited from the Soviet Union. 85 in service in 1995, 1 in 1996, none in 2000. As of December 2024, Ukraine has captured 45 units of T-62 Obr.1967, T-62M and T-62MV from Russian army in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Several of these captured T-62s were modified to serve as armoured recovery vehicles or infantry fighting vehicles. • – 170 as of 2023 • – 70 as of 2023 • – 200 in 2005. • – Received a number from Ethiopia. • – 100 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1974 and 1975. 600 ordered in 1976 from the Soviet Union were delivered between 1977 and 1979. 2,150 were ordered in 1982 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1982 and 1989 (the vehicles were probably previously in Soviet service). 500 were estimated to be in service prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq • • – Between 70 and 100 in reserve or training vehicles as of 2005 The tanks were passed on to successor states. • Tigray Defense Forces − Surrendered to the Ethiopian forces in the aftermath of the Tigray War • − Used by OPFOR • – 16 ordered in 1979 from the Soviet Union were delivered in 1980 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). It was used for study only. • – Evaluated the tank, but did not accept it. == Combat history ==

• 1969: Sino-Soviet border conflict (Soviet Union) • 1973: Yom Kippur War (Egypt and Syria) • 1961–1991: Iraqi–Kurdish conflict (Iraq and Peshmerga) • 1961–1991: Eritrean War of Independence (Ethiopia and EPLF) • 1974–1991: Ethiopian Civil War (Ethiopia, EPLF and TPLF) • 1975–1991: Western Sahara War (Polisario) • 1975–2002: Angolan Civil War (Angola, Cuba and UNITA) • 1977–1978: Ogaden War (Cuba and Ethiopia) • 1978–1987: Chadian–Libyan conflict (Libya) • 1986–1987: Toyota War • 1979–1989: Soviet–Afghan War (Soviet Union and Afghanistan) • 1979–1989: Cambodian–Vietnamese War • 1980–1988: Iran–Iraq War (Iran and Iraq) • 1982–1983: Lebanese Civil War, Phase III • 1988–1993: Georgian Civil War • 1991–1992: War in South Ossetia • 1992–1993: War in Abkhazia • 1990–1991: Gulf War (Iraq) • 1992–1997: Tajikistani Civil War (Tajikistan) • 1994: Yemeni Civil War (1994) (Yemen and Southern separatist forces) • 1994–1996: First Chechen War (Russia) • 1998–2000: Eritrean–Ethiopian War (Eritrea and Ethiopia) • 1999–2009: Second Chechen War (Russia) • 2001–2021: War in Afghanistan (Afghan government and Taliban) • 2003–2011: Iraq War • 2003: Invasion of Iraq (Iraq) • 2008: Russo-Georgian War (Russia) • 2011: First Libyan Civil War (Gaddafi Government and anti-Gaddafi forces) • 2011–2024: Syrian Civil War (Syrian regime forces, ISIL, and rebels) • 2014–2020: Second Libyan Civil War (Libyan National Army and Government of National Accord) • 2014–present: Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) (Hadi-government forces and Houthis) • 2020–2022: Tigray War (Ethiopian government forces and Tigray Defense Forces) • 2022–present: Russo-Ukrainian War (Russian and Ukrainian forces) == See also ==