T-72 ΜΒΤ modernisation and variants #2

BOTH AZ-172 and AZ-184 can hold cartridges much longer than you have said.
It is just a fact.
There is nothing more to add, honestly.

Dot.

Russkie carried out a series of theoretical studies on how to increase the max ammo length, and they came - and patented - two different solutions.
The first was making the carousel mount smaller in diameter. They did that for T-72B when they needed extra space for 9M119 rocket.
Since then, they have presented at least two new electric servo systems, each of those being smaller.
The second was changes applied to the autoloader rack, yet I am not sure what kind of - I saw only the patent description and number, yet couldn't find the document. Probably it is still a secret.
But the side effect was the charge deck extraction mechanism that changed for T-72B3, and now it is the same or very similar as for T-90A. It is not for no reason, so my guess is that both changes were applied to the existing autoloaders without changing the carousel itself. Small and subtle changes were visible in each of the presented modifications, for example, it is hard to find when the ammo computer changed for the digital one from the disc driven.
There are multiple serious records that it was not the autoloader that caused the issues with longer and more powerful rounds, but the gun chamber and a barrel. I will just remind you that the difference between 2A26, 2A46, and 2A46-5 is 50 years of technology development. Those are principally new guns, even if look alike and are called alike.

Back on topic the longest rounds you are going to put in the autoloader are the APFSDS which have very very narrow front ends and full calibre bases, which makes me wonder if they could be angled up and to either the right or the left which would mean they could overlap other penetrators sticking though in the middle and actually go beyond the centre if needed...

The thing is valid only now, and that is a catch.
Till the 90s, APDS ammo was actually shorter than any other.
Much shorter in some cases.
For example the first projectiles of the 125mm caliber were just 425mm with 410 mm long penetrator - I guess that this is what galicje83 is addressing with Yugo production and M-84.
What is even more interesting, the penetrator size was ... decreasing in time. The proportions of cap, penetrator and the bodybuilding mass were changing.
For example, Vant, the 3BM32 uranium round, had a penetrator with only 380 mm width and the whole projectile was 480 mm only ...
While 3BK and 3OF rounds were 670-680 mm long for the very beginning.

As the longest round for T-72 family id 9M119 with 695 mm, we can easily consider that APDS round with penetrator of some 650-680mm length could easily fit.
And that is not bad.
Actually MUCH better than early 3BM48/Svinets and 3BM42M/44/Lekalo.



Those are two rounds made in Poland for Rh120 gun. The bottom one is newly developed, some 5 years ago only.

Currently, the production of T-90M has increased significantly, so Sosna-U is going to equip these tanks.

I remember when i was train first on T72M1 before i got in unit with M-84s...His FCS was junk compare to the FCS we have in M-84s wtich was all automated...

M-84 was a fine tank those days.
Sadly, no country of ripped apart Yugoslavia could produce the tanks after.
Gun and FCS was made in Slovenia if I remember - the factory was named Foton? Remember correctly?

There is some interesting thing behind that.

No matter what the western propaganda was trying to persuade the audience, the fact is that Soviet tanks presented unmatched survivability in the face of harsh and brutal battles.
Battles carried against phenomenally equipped and trained opponents.
We are talking about the first Chechen campaign.

Russian recruits representing a sad reality of dissolving Russia under drunken Yeltsin were facing determined defenders trained harsh & intensive by the Soviet army.
Operating the best AT weapon existing on the planet, and skilled in using it.

When Novichkov made the first attempt to summarize the effect of the armored warfare carried there, the outcome was as follows :

When he carried out his study the first phase of the conflict was over, leaving 62 Russian tanks knocked out.
Out of the number, 61 pcs were knocked out by hits avoiding the ERA covered parts.
The preferred Chechen tactics was engage a single tank with 5-6 rounds fired from the multiple directions by a dedicated AT teams.

The result was, that it took an average of SIX hits to destroy the tank.

The recordsmen of the 1st Chechen campaign received NINE hits with both ATGMs nad RPGs, yet withdrew from the fight with a living crew.

In the ongoing conflict with 404, for the last 9 years, we could witness multiple cases when Soviet breed tank, even of the older provenance, survived multiple hits and continued fighting.
In multiple cases when tanks are hit, the whole crew survives even the ammo ignition.
The same applies to the Syrian conflict, lots of cases when the crew evacuated itself even after the BK cooked off.

Now combine that with multiple "special reports" of how the Russie tanks are being involved without ERA coverage etc. Or Kontakt blocks replaced by rubber. Yeah, sure.

Again, as some more mythology was unleashed on you ...
Let me show the principles.



This is a T-72B type carousel hub. In theory, the same one as for T-72B3/2016.

But here you have the one from new T-72B3M (?)



See the central hub diameter difference?

Now let's follow ...

Look here.



Do you see?

The carousel rack is made exactly the size to match the opening.
What you see in the middle, is ammo memory. This unit registers the ammunition load, and allows the fastest way to load it after. And - in general - load the round you ask on the selection panel.

Here is the same unit for T-72B3/2016 :



Do you see the difference? It is much smaller, so the rack opening is nit much relevant anymore. It can host a longer ammo.

And one more :





A loading sequence for T-64/80 series.

As you see, there is not a single issue with round length considering the carousel. It can host double the size round easily.
What is a case, is a gun breach, that blocks the longer round to be loaded.

That is why the patents of 2005, 2007 and 2009 carried the rack construction, not a carousel itself.

There is a space enough to put your mother in law there ...

Not really.
The crew in each case is traumatized, and the tank is out of order.
They jump out of it on natural adrenaline.
Even a tank is a piece of engineering and it is only the question of where to kick.
That is why operating logistics is a matter.
Even a blown tank, can be used as a donor. Or as a base for a massive rebuilding - but that won't be carried by a field workshop for sure.
Anyway, you can make any vehicle run using two donors - that is a statistic.
As long as you control the battlefield and advance - almost no loss is permanent.

nd I was assured HATO was a mighty land power with thousands of modern combat ready tanks at their disposal, yet they offer their ally at best 100 tanks after a year of combat where their nazi ally lost thousands of tanks. wrote:

Over 180 old Leopard 1