TRADOC Bulletin 10: The Soviet Main Battle Tank: Capabilities and Limitations
Abstract
The Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact allies have built their armies around mechanized combined arms teams. The tanks in these forces consist of T-54, T-55, T-62, and T-72 models. A new tank, called the T-8O, is reportedly under development, however, little is known about its characteristics. The T-62 is the principal battle tank found in Soviet tank and motorized rifle divisions. It is an accurate, highly-lethal, weapon system generally comparable to the US M6O series tank. The purpose of this bulletin is to describe the Soviet main battle tank, and to explain: What it can do; Whit it cannot do; How it is used; How it is defeated. The material in this bulletin is based primarily on the T-62 model since it is the current "workhorse" of Soviet tank units. Because other Soviet medium tanks (T-54, T-55) are similar to the T-62, they are not discussed in this bulletin. Some information of the T-64 and T-72 tanks can be found in Appendix A. The countermeasures discussed in section VI are based on the combat results of recent Middle East wars and of tactical studies employed against forces which generally follow Soviet doctrine. Data in this bulletin are from the US Army Foreign Science Technology Center's (FSTC) official reports on the Yom Kippur War; the US Army Materiel Systems Analysis agency (AMSAA); and the 11th Combat Intelligence Company.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Feb 01, 1979
- Accession Number
- ADA392790
Entities
Organizations
- United States Army Training and Doctrine Command