jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher) (08/21/90)
From: jfb@ihlpm.att.com (Joseph F Baugher)
In view of all the discussions and speculations about Iraqi main battle tanks,
here is a summary of what I dug up in various places on the strengths and
weaknesses of the various tanks which are currently in service in the Iraqi
military. It is somewhat fragmentary and incomplete. I would appreciate
hearing from anyone who could flesh out some of the details given here.
T-54/55
The first prototype of this Soviet design appeared in 1946. It was used
extensively by Arab forces in both the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel.
It also served with the North Vietnamese during the Vietnam War, and
saw service with India during various conflicts with Pakistan. It has
also seen action in the Angolan civil conflict. So this is a veteran
tank which has seen a lot of action and there should be quite a bit of
data available about its strengths and weaknesses.
The engine is mounted transversely in the rear of the hull. There is a
torsion bar suspension system consisting of five single rubber-tired road
wheels. The drive sprocket is in the rear and the idler is at the front.
The main turret gun is a 100-mm rifled cannon. There are two secondary
7.62 mm machine guns, one to the right of the main gun and one in the
center of the glacis plate. In addition, there is a 12.7 mm antiaircraft
gun mounted on top of the turret. Infrared night vision equipment can
be carried.
Specs for T-54:
Armor: 20mm-170 mm. Height (without AA gun) 7 ft 10 in.
Combat weight:79,400 lbs. Engine: 520 hp 12-cyl diesel
Road speed: 28 mph. Range (without external tanks):280 mi.
The T-55 is basically similar to the T-54 except for a few details.
The T-55 has a compressed air starting system, a 580 hp diesel engine,
a rotating turret floor, plus increased ammunition capacity. Unlike
the T-54, the T-55 has no 12.7 mm antiaircraft gun on top of the turret
(although this gun has been fitted to some later versions). The primary
gun is stabilized in both planes, making it possible to fire accurately
while the tank is in motion.
The T-54 is a well armed and armored tank, and is simple to operate and
maintain. The silhouette is rather lower than that of equivalent
Western tanks. This has the advantage of presenting a smaller target
for enemy gunners to hit. However, in the desert fighting in Sinai in
the Yom Kippur war of 1973, the low silhouette of the T-54 actually
placed it at a disadvantage vis a vis its Israeli M-60 adversaries.
The T-54 was so low that it made it difficult for gunners to see targets
which were located behind even gentle rises. To make things even worse,
the main gun could not be depressed in order to fire at a target which
was situated slightly lower than the T-54 in elevation. The relatively
simple optical fire control and sighting system that is fitted to the
T-54 limits the effective range of the main armament. In addition, the
rate of fire of the main gun is low (only 4 rounds/min). Finally, the
externally-mounted fuel tanks on the rear are extremely vulnerable to
even relatively small-arms fire. I also remember reading somewhere
(not sure where) that the tank's engine was prone to overheating in hot
desert conditions, forcing the crew to keep the rear hatch open and
leaving the tank extremely vulnerable to even small-arms fire.
Some British companies have fitted some T-54 tanks with a more modern
105 mm cannon with a more rapid rate of fire (10 rounds/min). The
first customer for this retrofit package was to be Egypt, but I don't
know if Iraq has acquired any of these updated T-54s.
The Iraqis are believed to have approximately 1200 tanks of the T-54/55
series.
T-62
The T-62 is a developed version of the T-54 that features a longer and
wider hull, a broader turret, and a longer and fatter gun barrel with
a fume extractor near the muzzle. The main armament is a 115-mm smooth-
bore gun which has a maximum rate of fire of 4 rounds per minute when
at a standstill. There is a 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in the turret
coaxial with the main gun.
The main gun is provided with a stabilizer which stablizes the gun in
both elevation and traverse, making it possible to fire the gun when
the tank is in motion.
The gun can fire a sabot round which has a set of fins which unfold
to stabilize the round in flight once it leaves the barrel. According
to Israeli reports, the round can penetrate 12 inches of armor at a
range of 1000 yards.
The T-62 can be distinguished from the earler T-54 by the absence of a
distinct gap between the first and second road wheels.
The gun is manually loaded, but once it is fired the gun automatically
returns to a set angle in order to eject the empty cartridge case from
the breech. This seems to be an unreliable system, prone to frequent
jams.
The tank can carry infrared searchlights and infrared driving lights,
making the T-62 capable of engaging targets at night.
Specs for the T-62:
Armor: 20mm-170 mm. Height (without AA gun) 7 ft 10 in.
Combat weight:88,200 lbs. Engine: 580 hp 12-cyl diesel
Road speed: 28 mph. Range (without external tanks):280 mi.
The T-62 has similar weakness as does the T-54. During action in Syrian
and Egyptian service during the Yom Kippur War, its main drawbacks were
its slow rate of fire and the limited depression of the main gun.
The gun and its fire control system proved no match for the Israeli
M-60s.
The Iraqis have approximately 1000 T-62 tanks in service.
T-72
This appears to be the most modern Soviet tank in the Iraqi inventory.
The main armament is a 125-mm smooth-bore gun with a thermal sleeve and
bore evacuator. Like the T-64, the T-72 is provided with an automatic
loader which enables a rate of fire of 8 rounds per minute to be
achieved. However, there are reports that this automatic loader has
proven quite unreliable in service, sometimes even loading the gunner
rather than the shell into the breech! The main gun is stablized, which
enables the tank to shoot while on the move with a reasonable chance of
scoring a hit. There is a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in the
turret, and a 12.7 mm flexible anti-aircraft gun mounted on the
commander's cupola.
The smooth bore gun can fire fin-stabilized sabot rounds, high explosive,
and HEAT rounds. The effective range of the fin-stabilized round is
believed to be up to 3000 yards. The fire control system is believed
to include a laser rangefinder. This distinguishes it from earlier
Soviet tanks, which were equipped only with optical fire control
systems.
The main improvement of the T-72 over the T-62 are in greater firepower
and improved mobility, although there are reports that the T-72 has
improved armor of the Chobham variety.
[Note: Is there anyone who knows what Chobham armor is? I think that
it is a British-devised system of multilayered composite/metal armor,
which is claimed to be much more difficult to penetrate than
conventional armor. ]
The T-74 (sometimes known as the T-80) is similar to the T-72, except
that heavier armor is applied to the front and to the top (to protect
against air attacks). I don't think that the T-74 has been exported
outside the Warsaw Pact, so I suspect that Iraq does not have any of
these.
The Iraqi forces currently operate approximately 600 T-72 tanks. These
tanks are probably the most formidable threat that would be faced in
any tank battles that might take place in the deserts of Saudi Arabia.
Specs for T-72:
Armor: ??????. Height (without AA gun) 7 ft 5 in.
Combat weight:90,400 lbs. Engine: 780 hp diesel
Road speed: 50 mph. Range (without external tanks):310 mi.
Type 59
The Type 59 is a Chinese-built version of the Soviet T-54 tank. It is
basically similar to its Soviet parent, but it lacks any stabilization
for the main 100-mm gun. Some of the later versions have been fitted
with infrared searchlights and perhaps even laser rangefinders. Some
have been seen with a 105-mm rifled gun mounted.
The Iraqis are believed to have 400-500 examples of this Chinese tank.
Specs for Type 59:
Armor:203mm-20mm Height: 7 ft 5 in.
Weight: 79,500 pounds Engine: 520 hp V-12 diesel
Road Speed: 30 mph Range: 250 miles (internal fuel
Type 69
The Type 69 is a more advanced version of the Chinese Type 59. In overall
configuration, the Type 69 is almost identical to the Soviet T-55.
The main armament is a 100-mm cannon with a fume extractor on the barrel.
A 12.7 mm antiaircraft machine gun is mounted on top of the turret.
This gun is stabilized in both elevation and traverse. There is a
coaxial 7.62 mm gun, plus a 7.62 mm gun mounted in the hull. Some
Chinese Type 69 tanks have been seen fitted with a Western-designed
105-mm rifled cannon, but I don't think that any of this version have
been supplied to Iraq.
The Iraqis are believed to have approximately 200 examples of this
Chinese tank.
Specs for Type 69 :
Armor:203mm-20mm Height: 7 feet 5 in.
Weight: 81,750 pounds Engine: 580 hp V-12 diesel
Road Speed: 30 mph Range: 250 miles (internal fuel
M-77
The M-77 is a Rumanian-built version of the Soviet T-55 tank. It
differs from the T-55 primarily in having six road wheels rather
than 5. It is equipped with a new, improved 12.7 mm antiaircraft
gun, as well as improved cooling for the engine.
The Iraqis have 50-200 of these Rumanian-built tanks
Miscellaneous
During the Iran-Iraq war, significant numbers of Iranian M60A1,
M47M, M48, Chieftan, and Soviet-built T-series tanks were captured.
It is uncertain how many of these tanks have entered service with the
Iraqi army. Some of the captured Chieftans were passed on to Jordan.
However, Kuwait was armed with 70 Vickers Mk 1 and 165 Chieftan
main battle tanks purchased from Britain. Presumably, some of these
were captured by Iraq and will perhaps be incorporated into their
Army.
Sources:
Jane's Main Battle Tanks, Christopher F. Foss
An Illustrated Guide to Modern Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Ray Bonds
Joe Baugher *************************************
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