The USSR's Hungriest Tank

Comparative trials of four Soviet tanks were conducted in the summer and fall of 1976 according to order of the Minister of Defense of the USSR D.F. Ustinov titled "On military trials of tanks" issued on July 20th, 1976. In September, a summary titled "Minutes of trials results" was composed. This article will discuss the contents of these documents.

Leopard Tracks

While the West seems to have had a very foggy idea of what Soviet tanks were like during the Cold War, Soviet tank designers enjoyed a more accurate picture of their competitors. For example, here is a very thorough analysis of the tracks of Leopard 1 and 2 tanks.

Fig. 1: Leopard-1 tank track

1 - track link, 2 - track pin, 3 - track tooth, 4 - spring ring. 5 - pad, 6 - rubber shock absorber, 7 - supporting plate, 8 - directing plate, 9 - rubber pad, 10 - bracket. A-A and B-B cutaways are turned.

Reactive Armour Testing

Reactive armour is good, of course, but it doesn't come as a free bonus. The damage it does to your own tank definitely makes it a "lesser of two evils" kind of situation. Here are some pictures from T-80U trials featuring this kind of armour.

T-80's side. The track guard with everything on top of it has been blown away by the explosion.

The front of the turret. The explosion tore off another reactive armour block, damaged some observation devices and the smoke grenade launchers.

Modern Tank Off-Road Trials

Odds are you've seen the Swedish cross-country tank trials of the Sherman, Panther, and Strv m/42 and read about various similar trials here and here. Now, watch the modern T-80U, Centurion, and S-Tank effortlessly (well, mostly) tear up the obstacles their ancestors could not dream of conquering.

Part 1: T-80U vs Centurion in fall conditions.

Part 2: T-80U vs Centurion vs S-Tank in winter conditions.

Read the summary report for these tests here.

Also, watch the T-72 complete a similar challenge.