T-62

T-62
A T-62 tank at a public exhibit of the Russian Ground Forces, 2015.
Type	Medium Tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1961–present
Wars	Cold war
Production history
Designer	OKB-520 design bureau
Manufacturer	Uralvagonzavod
Produced	1961–1975 (USSR) 1975–1978 (Czechoslovakia) ~1980s (North Korea)
No. built	More than 22,700
Specifications (T-62)
Weight	37 t (41 short tons; 36 long tons)
Length	9.34 m (30 ft 8 in) with barrel in forward position 6.63 m (21 ft 9 in) hull only
Width	3.30 m (10 ft 10 in)
Height	2.40 m (7 ft 10 in)
Crew	4 (commander, driver, gunner, loader)
Armor	Cast turret 214 (242 after 1972) mm turret front 153 mm turret sides 97 mm turret rear 40 mm turret roof 102 mm at 60° hull front 79 mm hull upper sides 15 mm hull lower sides 46 mm at 0° hull rear 20 mm hull bottom 31 mm hull roof
Main armament	115 mm U-5TS (2A20) smoothbore gun (40 rounds)
Secondary armament	7.62 mm PKT coaxial general-purpose machine gun (2500 rounds) 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun (optional until T-62 Obr.1972)
Engine	V-55 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel 581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm
Power/weight	14.5 hp/tonne (10.8 kW/tonne)
Suspension	torsion bar
Ground clearance	425 mm (16.7 in)
Fuel capacity	960 l 1360 l with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks
Operational range	450 km (280 mi) on road (650 km (400 mi) with two 200 l (53 US gal; 44 imp gal) extra fuel tanks) 320 km (200 mi) cross-country (450 km (280 mi) with two 200-liter extra fuel tanks)
Speed	50 km/h (31 mph) (road) 40 km/h (25 mph) (cross country)

The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced 1961. As a further development of the T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armor. In contrast previous tanks, which were armed with rifled tank guns, the T-62 was the first tank armed with a smoothbore tank gun that could fire APFSDS rounds at higher velocities. While the T-62 became the standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, it did not fully replace the T-55 in export markets due to its higher manufacturing costs and maintenance requirements compared to its predecessor. Although T-62 was replaced in the Russia and successor states of the Soviet Union, it is still used in some countries and its design features became standardized in subsequent Soviet and Russian mass-produced tanks.

By the late 1950s, Soviet commanders realized that the T-55's 100 mm gun was incapable of penetrating the frontal armor of newer Western tanks, such as the Centurion and M48 Patton, with standard armor-piercing shells. While 100 mm HEAT ammo could have accomplished the task, they were much less accurate than APDS shells, and the relatively low flight velocity resulted in poorer accuracy if used on moving targets. It was decided to up-gun the T-55 with a 115 mm smoothbore cannon, capable of firing APFSDS rounds. Experimental trials showed that the T-55 was inherently unsuited to mount the larger new cannon, and work therefore began on a new tank. The bigger gun required a bigger turret and turret ring to absorb the higher recoil. This in turn necessitated a larger hull, as the T-55 hull was simply too small to accept the new turret. The T-62 thus took shape, marking an evolutionary improvement upon the T-55.