![]() The automatic ejection system requires six seconds to complete a cycle.” “Under certain conditions, the gun must be elevated before the loader can place a new round in the breech. “The ammunition is inconveniently stored for rapid loading,” according to the U.S. Where the crew of a Ukrainian T-64, Leopard 2 or M-1 can fire 10 or even 12 rounds a minute, a T-55 or T-62 crew might manage three or four rounds a minute. “The T-62's most significant weakness is its slow rate of fire,” the U.S. It also is possible to boost an older tank’s protection by bolting reactive armor blocks onto the hull and turret.īut there’s very little Russian industry can do to improve a T-55 or T-62’s main gun, internal layout or turret-hull integration. It’s possible to upgrade the optics in a T-55 or T-62 by swapping out the 70-year-old TSh 2-22 gunner’s sight for a 1PN96MT-02 analog sight that, while not as sophisticated as the state-of-the-art Sosna-U digital sight is, at least is new and reliable. In reality, it’s a short-term expedient-and a self-defeating one, at that. "The most interesting thing is that there are no crews in the unit who can operate these tanks," Kovalenko said.Īssigning new crews to old tanks might seem like a solution to this problem. Kovalenko noted Russia’s growing shortage of good tank crews when he tracked a batch of a dozen restored T-72s, T-80s and T-90s reaching a Russian army motorized unit near Svatove in eastern Ukraine. ![]() ![]() It’s possible thousands of experienced Russian tankers have died in the wider war replacing them might be as difficult as replacing their tanks is. After all, many of those 2,000 tanks they’ve lost in Ukraine took their crews with them when they blew up. Still, the Russians seem to appreciate the old tanks’ less demanding training requirement. Old, crude tech that might not last long in combat-and which might end up getting new tankers killed faster. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |