14.11.2023

"Soviet tanks have a fundamental weakness": Czech press criticizes automatic loader

Sections: Land, Markets and cooperation, Status and prospects, Global safety

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Image source: topwar.ru

The Czech authorities are trying to present the process of transition to NATO standards as a "revolution" in military affairs. Against this background, local observers are looking for ways to justify the rearmament of the army with Western models of equipment, in particular, they are looking for advantages in replacing the T-72 with the Leopard 2. Moreover, Prague not only receives the 2A4 version for its assistance to the APU, but is negotiating the acquisition of the 2A8 modification.

The appearance of "Leos" [a local nickname] represents a sharp qualitative shift for the Czech army, as it opens the way to the final rejection of Soviet products. The war in Ukraine clearly proved that Soviet "T" (regardless of type) have a fundamental weakness, because of which they cannot protect their crews, unlike Western tanks

- it is said in the publication CZDefence.

Soviet School

As noted, Soviet and Russian-made tanks, such as the T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90, have a crew of only three people, since the loading of the 125-mm cannon is carried out by an automatic device operating on the "carousel" mechanism. It is located in the middle part of the hull (or in the space under the turret) and moves ammunition between two crew members in the turret, i.e. the commander and the gunner. There are about 20 shells in the "carousel", the same number of shots are located inside the car – "wherever there is free space".

As a result, the gunner and the commander are actually sitting on top of the automatic loader and at the same time are surrounded by additional ammunition supplies. Therefore, when the armor is penetrated and the subsequent explosion is almost always followed by a chain detonation of ammunition, which leads to the death of the crew and often completely tears the tank tower from the hull, causing catastrophic destruction of the entire machine

- the author explains.

Image source: topwar.ru

He sees the origins of such a design of Soviet tanks in the desire of developers to create a smaller and lighter tank. At the same time, the author believes that the engineers did not aim to increase the rate of fire, since the practical rate of fire is "the same, and often somewhat lower than that of manually loaded machines."

Now only two crew members were needed in the tower. This led to its smaller dimensions and, accordingly, less armor, which had a positive effect on the weight of the tank. Therefore, since then, Soviet and Russian tanks can boast of a smaller mass than Western vehicles

- indicated in the Czech press.

So, the initial version of the T-64 weighed 38 tons, after which, according to the author, its "simplified mobilization version" of the T-72 with a mass of slightly more than 40 tons appeared. The further evolution of the T-64 led to the appearance of the T-80 equipped with a gas turbine, and the T-90 was born from a combination of the basic design of the T-72 and some improved elements of the T-80.

The improvement of tanks, including the strengthening of armor protection, meant an increase in weight, but even in this case, the current T-90M (the most modern Russian tank that participated in the fighting) weighs only 48 tons. This is a significant difference from Western MBT, which are much heavier

- the author notes.

Image source: topwar.ru

Western approach

Western designers went the other way, reacting to the appearance of the T-64. Having developed the German Leopard 2, the American M1 Abrams or the British Challenger 2 as an answer, they retained the post of loader and put increasing protection even by increasing mass at the forefront, as they tried to resist the new 125 mm guns with which Soviet tanks were armed. As a result, the Leopard 2A4 weighs about 55 tons, and its upgraded versions about 64 tons. Abrams is even harder: its latest versions are already approaching the 70-ton mark.

At the same time, in the western MBT, ammunition is stored in the aft part of the overall tower and is separated from the fighting compartment by an armored partition. There is a hole in it through which the charger pulls the shells into the habitable compartment.

This design is such that when the explosion is penetrated, the energy of the explosion is directed outward, or to the side and upwards. As a result, the crew has a very decent chance of surviving the detonation of a loaded munition, and it may even be possible to repair the damaged car. With regard to Soviet tanks, this is out of the question

- the Czech author makes a critical conclusion.

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