Head on shot of a T-72 M1 that features the extra layer of laminate armour on the front bow plate. This vehicle is housed in the Gunfire Museum at Brasschatt in Belgium.
T-64 DEVELOPMENT
The interweaving of history of Ukraine and Russia and their key roles in terms of tank production during Soviet times comes into play in an odd way here, as the T-72 was a spin off design or alternative as a result of design and teething issues with early T-64 development.
The T-64 tank produced in Ukraine and its updated variants are also now being used by Ukrainian forces in there heroic bid to defend their homeland.
The T-64 had been designed as a radical departure from all Red Army design experience of the past which emphasized simple robust and reliable vehicles which could quickly be mastered by conscript crews with the minimum of training. Out went the approach that produced the T-34 and T-54 series and in came an ultra-modern three-man vehicle with an advanced automatic loader featuring a carousel of various tank rounds and propellent charges. This auto loader placed the two part ammunition into the breach, which was then fired, with the empty casings then returned to the carousel. The crew later manually emptied these casings back at base over an hour or two, as explained to the author by Ukrainian T-64 tank crew commander.
A rear three quarter view of a former East German T-72 provided to Finland by the Federal Republic of Germany after unification. Of note are the Finnish army traffic lights added to this variant.
The T-64 featured an advanced 5TDF multi fuel engine and advanced laminate armour, a big departure from the simple steel armour of earlier days.