T-64. T-72, T-80 Go!

[William]

In light of some of the discussions in other threads about Soviet tanks, an interesting article on the design history of Soviet tanks since just before WWII can be found at: http://knox-www.army.mil/center/ocoa/ArmorMag/ja98/4sewell98.pdf

It's an article from the US Army's Armor magazine. I found it to be a very enlightening read.

William

 

[Uncle Bob]

T-72 - T-80 - T-90 - T-95

http://armor.vif2.ru/

 

[FlightCommanderSolitude]

Durn! Now I wish I had my Bow Wow Wow CD with me!

 

[Tzeentch]

Of course the article sort of ignores the other issues for having three fielded tanks (which isn't particularly odd as it wasn't so long ago we had at least two MBTs: M60 and M1).

-- The T-64 proved to be a very expensive tank to produce and was considered state-of-the-art at the time). It was never offered for export. It is no longer in service with Russian main-line units but the Ukraine has a number of upgrade projects for theirs.
-- The T-72 was more of a "budget" tank using some commonality with the T-64 but also with an eye to export. Proved incredibly popular as anyone can attest.
-- The T-80 was more a replacement for the T-64 then "yet another tank". At least that's what the designer's of the tank claim. It was built specifically to fight a war in Europe in a blitzkrieg style campaign where it could use its high road speed and ability to run off automobile gas for best effect.