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T-64 Tank - Design

Like the T-34, the T-64 incorporated major changes from its predecessors. With its vastly improved armor, larger main gun, and new flat, opposed piston five-cylinder diesel engine, the T-64 was clearly in a class by itself. The T-64 and the T-72 medium tanks are similar in general appearance. However, there are several design differences between the two tanks. Both retain the low silhouette of earlier T-54/55/62 tanks. Both have a live track with six evenly-spaced road wheels, drive sprocket at the rear, and idler wheel at the front. The driver's hatch is centrally located at the top of a sharply sloped upper glacis, which has four steel ribs and a V-shaped water and debris deflector. The low-rounded turret is centered on the hull. The commander's cupola is located on the right side of the turret, and the gunner's hatch is on the left side.

Although the Soviets had been working on new and innovative steel-ceramic composite armor since 1940, it was not until 1967 that this new armor made its appearance. The T-64 was the first tank in the world to be fielded fitted with multi-layer laminate and composite armor. Composite armor is basically a type of armor plate incorporating different materials in its design. The theory was that by combining both metallic and non-metallic materials, the armor presented multiple and varying materials for an incoming round to penetrate. The intent of this new armor was to maximize the protection provided against HEAT warheads, while at least maintaining the same level of protection provided by conventional steel armor against other types of weapons.

Tank turrets were cast incorporating an internal "cavity" on both sides of the main gun at the turret front. These cavities could then be filled with a ceramic material to create the desired metallic/non-metallic combination. When production of the turret was completed, the sealed cavities in the frontal armor were not visible to any external examination. From a distance, the T-64's composite armored turret appeared basically the same as the standard all steel cast turrets used on earlier MBTs.

Several sources agree that, in order to limit the tank's weight originally to 38 tons, the inherently heavy composite armor was limited to the front of the turret. The use of a cast turret design as opposed to the slab-sided welded construction of more modern composite armor equipped tanks, does not in any way rule out the use of composite armor. According to Weapons and Tactics of the Soviet Army: Fully Revised Edition, "the turret is reported to be cast with a frontal cavity that could accommodate a variety of fills, most probably alternating layers of ceramic or other material with steel."

In 1985, the Japanese magazine TANK also published a drawing of a sectioned view of a modern Soviet tank turret. The drawing included large squares or boxes (not to be confused with reactive armor) placed inside the turret frontal armor on either side of the main gun. It is interesting to note that the shape of the turret fronts of the different variants of the T-64 has undergone a subtle reshaping and redesign since the tank was originally fielded. It seems very likely that as the T-64 evolved, the tank's original turret composite armor was increased and modified to counter more powerful threats.

As far as the T-64's glacis armor is concerned, all available sources agree that it consists of some kind of laminate armor. Like the composite armor used to protect the turret, the laminate armor used on the glacis is a combination of metallic and non-metallic materials. The difference with laminate armor is that the materials used are in the form of different layers set up like a sandwich. Since the hull of the tank is made up of welded armor plates, the Soviets were able to simply lay one layer of a given material on top of the other until the desired level of protection was reached. Once the design was set, these lternating layers were bonded together to form the laminate armor glacis. The concept was very similar to that used with automobile windshield safety-glass.

According to Soviet Tanks and Combat Vehicles. 1946 to the Present, "the hull glacis plate incorporated a layer of ceramic armor beneath the initial layer of conventional steel armor." International Defense Review, also published a copyrighted drawing of a sectioned view of the Soviet T-80 and T-64B glacis armor in February 1987. This drawing clearly shows the laminate armor to consist of an outer layer of steel, a middle layer of glass-fiber, and an inner of layer of steel. The actual thickness of this composite armor array is given as 200mm.

Integrated fuel cells and stowage containers give a streamlined appearance to the fenders. A toothed shovel/ dozer blade is located at the front of the hull, beneath the glacis, and there are attachment points beneath the blade for the KMT-6 mine clearing plow. Early models sometimes mounted four detachable track protection plates on the front half of each side, while later versions have been observed with detachable full-length standoff skirting.

The T-64 is fitted with the 2A46 D-81TM Rapira-3 125mm main gun. The 125-mm main gun has a four-section removable thermal shield, with two sections in front of and two sections to the rear of the mid-tube bore evacuator. It was the largest main gun mounted on any tank in the world, and its destructive power is impressive. After its original use on the T-64 the 125mm main gun was also used on the T-72 series and T-80 series tanks. There are, however, some reports of dispersion problems with the gun's ammunition. These problems were probably caused by poor quality control of the production of the initial batches of ammunition. The gun's maximum effective range is somewhere between 1500 and 2,000 meters. For engagements beyond this range, the T-64B can fire the AT-8 ATGM interchangeably with the conventional High Velocity, Armor Piercing, Fin Stabilized, Discarding Sabot (HVAPFSDS), High Explosive, Antitank, Fin Stabilized (HEAT-FS), and Fragmentation, High Explosive (FRAG-HE) ammunition.

The gun is fed by a "Korzina" (basket) autoloader that allows the vehicle crew to be reduced to three men, and enables the tank to fire six to eight rounds per minute. Since the Iran-Iraq War and Operation Desert Storm, a drawback of this main gun has been identified. According to the Iraqis, the 125mm main gun had a barrel-life of only about 120 rounds.

The secondary armament of the T-64 consists of a coaxial 7.62mm PKT machinegun and a 12.7mm NSVT antiaircraft machinegun. A 7.62-mm coaxial machine gun is mounted to the right of the mantlet. The T-64 series and the singular T-80U are the only Soviet tanks that can fire their commander's NSVT machineguns while the tank is fully buttoned-up.

Another dramatic change in the T-64 was a modern fire control system, based upon the TPD-2 coincidence rangefinder. It gave the T-64 a long range capability that previously had been reserved for Soviet heavy tanks. It is very likely that the deployment of a tank with the capabilities of the T-64 convinced the Soviets that the highly regarded heavy tanks were no longer required. Accurate, long range fire could now be provided by a premium tank. This capability evolved still further as the T-64 was fitted with a laser rangefinder.

Like the vastly improved firepower and innovative armor, the T-64's engine was also truly innovative. The 5TDF flat, five-cylinder, horizontally opposed, 750-hp diesel engine has been the subject of heated speculation since the tank went into production. There have been reports that this engine, and its associated transmission, were plagued by problems and subject to frequent breakdowns. These problems were reported to be so severe that the T-64's initial deployment, with the 100th Guards and the 41st Guards, was dictated by the units' proximity to the T-64 tank plant at Kharkov. These problems, like the other reported deficiencies, most likely refer to the Base Model of the tank and have been exaggerated over the years. However serious those automotive problems actually were, they were not severe enough to stop the production and forward deployment of the T-64.

The infamous two-stroke 5TDF was first attempt to create something new, equipped with two crankshafts and counter-moving pistons. In fact, the only advantage of the product was its high overall power - otherwise it was a crude motor. Which nevertheless was put into production. Not least due to the authority of the development team from Kharkov. Theoretically, there was nothing criminal in the 5TDF scheme - it just required more time and resources for improvement. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the presence of two more tank engines (V-46 (ancestor of the V-2) and GTD-1000) did not allow the 5TDF to be brought to fruition. Like the T-64 itself, which turned out to be a real tank of extreme parameters, completely unsuitable for wartime.

Suffice it to say that the mastered production of the 5TDF tank engine, the most complex for its time, was mastered in Kharkov at a single plant. In the event of war, a massive missile strike on the workshops of the Kharkov Transport Engineering Plant would be enough to stop the production of the T-64 forever. But work on the Kharkov engine was not completed and eventually resulted in the six-cylinder product 6TD and the deep modernization of 5TDFM. We must pay tribute: it was possible to bring the engines to an acceptable level of readiness for the series - the Ukrainian Armed Forces quite successfully fought with tanks with such power plants.

Those features peculiar to the T-64 are as follows:

• The T-64 has six small, stamped road wheels and four track return rollers. It has a 12-tooth drive sprocket and double-pin track.
• The gunner's IR searchlight is mounted to the left of the main gun. The newly-designed 12.7-mm NSVT antiaircraft machine gun on the commander's cupola has a fixed mount and can be fired buttoned up. Several large external ammunition stowage boxes normally are attached to the sides of the turret. A long snorkel is stowed on the rear edge of the turret, and a second snorkel with an elbow for attachment to the engine exhaust is stowed inside the first.
• The T-64 has a smaller engine compartment than the T-72, and the radiator grill is located near the turret.
• The T-64K command variant has an additional whip antenna and a 10-meter antenna mast which can be erected in the center of the turret using guy wires. It employs the same TNA-3 land navigation system found in the T-62K command tank and mounts no antiaircraft machine gun.

CAPABILITIES:

• The T-64 has greater mobility than the T-62. The 5-cylinder, opposed-piston, diesel engine has an estimated output of 700 to 750 hp. Although the engine is smaller than that of the T-72, the lighter (38 mt) T-64 is believed to have approximately the same road speed and cruising range as the T-72. Two 200-liter auxiliary fuel drums can be fitted on the rear of the hull.
• The T-64 has better armor protection than the T-62. The T-64 was the first tank in the world to be equipped with complex multilayer combined protection. It consisted of armor steel, anti-cumulative jet-extinguishing and special anti-radiation materials. Along with this, Soviet specialists strengthened the protection of the nose assembly, elements near the driver's hatch, sides, and increased the angles of inclination of the front hull plates. The vehicle received a low silhouette characteristic of modern domestic tanks, which naturally increased its survivability.The hull and turret are of cast and welded steel armor incorporating both conventional steel armor and ceramic inserts, called Combination K, which provide superior protection against HEAT attack. Besides having greatly increased frontal armor protection due to the use of improved layered armor, the T-64 can also attach track protection plates or full-length skirts. Low- flash fuel storage also offers protection to the sides. The front-mounted shovel enables the tank to dig itself in within a few minutes and also increases the armor protection of the lower hull front when it is folded upwards.
• Besides the PAZ radiation detection system and an antiradiation liner, the T-64 also has a collective NBC filtration and overpressure system.
• The T-64 has the same integral smoke generating capability as earlier T-54/55/62 tanks, and variants have the same type of turret-mounted smoke grenade projectors as have been observed on the T-72 and T-80.
• The main armament comprises a 125mm smooth bore gun which power-elevates from -6º to +14º in a powered turret capable of traversing throughout 360º. The 125-mm smoothbore main gun fires a hypervelocity, armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding-sabot (HVAPFSDS) round believed to have a muzzle velocity of over 1,750 meters per second and an effective range of at least 2,000 meters. The 40-round basic load would typically include 12 HVAPFSDS rounds, 6 HEAT rounds, and 22 HE rounds. The cartridges are semi-combustible with stub-cases. An automatic loader allows the crew to be reduced to three (commander, gunner, and driver), and an automatic spent-cartridge ejection system similar to that of the T-62 is employed.
• The 125-mm gun also fires the AT-8 Songster ATGM, and normally carries six AT-8 Songsters plus 36 rounds (projectile and charge) of 125-mm ammunition.
• The Kharkov machine became the world's first tank with an automatic loader. This device housed 30 ammunition, the remaining ten shells were in a non-mechanized stowage and were intended for quick replenishment of the conveyor. The presence of an automatic loader made it possible to significantly reduce the volume of the fighting compartment of the tank and remove the loader from the crew. Now there were three people in the MBT: the commander, the gunner and the driver. The automatic loader, similar to that installed in the T-72, which delivers eight rounds a minute.
• The commander is capable of operating all weapons in the tank from his position. The T-64 has an improved, integrated fire control system. It probably has an onboard computer, and some variants may have a laser rangefinder.