[fl][i]The bad prestations of the Egyptian and Syrian tanks T-54 during the Six Day

War constituted an unpleasant surprise, equally in Moscow, Cairo and Damascus. If

the Soviet Union wanted to

continue supporting the Arab regimes, they would need a better material, leaving
apart a better training. And a better material would be soon available in the form
of the new main battle tank T-

62.[/span][/span][p]
The program of the T-62 started in the late 1950s as the successor of the T-54/55.
The tank entered production in 1961 and it was seen in public for the first time in
the parade of the 1st May

1965, which means that, probably, it had been delivered to the first-line units in
1963-64. In general terms, its appearance derived from the T-54/55, with the same
type of turret of low and bowl-

shaped profile and without mantlet, and with Christie suspension, albeit the wheels
were spaced differently to the former model. It also had a wider and longer hull,
totally built by welding and

with the thickness of the front face being 100 millimeters. The turret was made in
cast steel, with a thickness varying from 170 millimeters in its front face to 60
millimeters in the rear face.

The driver was placed in the fore left area of the hull and the other three crew
members in the turret, the commander and gunner to the left and the loader to the
right. The engine and transmission

were placed in the rear part of the hull. The suspension was of the type torsion
bar, with five road wheels, a fore idler and a rear drive sprocket. The new tank
had some more thickness in the

frontal armor: up to 214 millimeters in the front of the turret, which increased
its weight slightly. Despite of that the prestations of the T-62 matched the ones
of the T-54/55, thanks to its

slightly more powerful engine V-2-62; like its predecessors and successors, this
tank used external fuel tanks to increase its operational range, which the driver
could jettison if a combat were

about to start.[p]
[aimg96]high_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-55_and_t-62_tanks.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/
tanks_soviet_union/t-55_and_t-62_tanks.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]The T-62 (lower picture) in comparison with the T-55.[/span][p]
The superior weight of the T-62 was due also to the completely new and much more
powerful cannon. This was the first main battle tank fitted with a smoothbore
cannon, in this case an U-5TS of

caliber 115 millimeters, for which a range of ammunition was developed, including
an anti-personnel breaking projectile, a subcalibrated fin-stabilized projectile
and a shaped-charge projectile.

The shaped-charge projectile was effective against armor of up to 430 millimeters

within its operational range, while the kinetic-energy projectile, which exited the
muzzle at the tremendous speed of

1680 meters/second, could perforate an armor of 330 millimeters at a distance of

1000 meters, having an effective range of 1600 meters. According to Israeli
sources, the capacity of perforation of

this projectile went from 300 to 1000 meters. The load is manually done and once
the shot is effectuated, the barrel returns automatically to a preset position in
which the case is ejected through

a duct that exits it via a small hatch in the rear part of the turret, a system
that could look as unreliable. Average rate of fire would be about four shots per
minute and the cannon was

stabilized in both axes. Since the new cannon, of 55 calibers, was longer than the
former one of 110 millimeters, the space inside the turret was reduced even more.
The size of the cannon limited

as well the amount of ammunition on hand to only four shots [fs][1][/span], with
other 36 projectiles being stored in the hull; and it also caused the new tank to
share with the T-54/55 a too limited

capability for lowering the cannon below the horizontal, with all the tactical
disadvantages that this supposes (elevation sector was between +17 and -4 degrees).
The tactical capability of the

tank was even more restricted by a fire-control system which was not so reliable as
its American counterpart, albeit such defect was later corrected, by mounting a
system with laser rangefinder and

a digital ballistic calculator.[p]

[fs][i][1] The bad placement of the ammunition on hand in the T-62 demanded notable
conditions from the loader, who had to be small, strong and
left-handed.[/span][/span][p]
[aimg96]high_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-
62_main_battle_tank_cutaway.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-
62_main_battle_tank_cutaway.jpg[/aimg96][p]
The NBC (Nuclear-Bacteriological-Chemical) protection was standard and a snorkel
could be installed on the loader's hatch for deep fording of up to 5.5 meters. Like
the T-55, the T-62 could produce

smoke curtains by injecting pulverized gasoil inside the exhaust ducts. The
infrared systems included headlights for night driving, a projector installed co-
axially with the cannon, moving together

with this one, and a smaller projector in the commander's hatch. The T-62 suffered
a series of modifications in time. The T-62A had improved fire-control and infrared
systems, a turret of new

profile which improved internal space and the DShK anti-aircraft machine gun
mounted in the loader's hatch, which was not present in the original model. The T-
62M improved the tracks with an

increased expectative of duration. Among the variants there was a command tank,
with better communication and navigation systems; there was a flamethrower tank in
which the flamethrower cannon did

not replace the main cannon, but was installed instead of the 7.62 millimeters co-
axial machine gun; and it was developed also an armored recovery vehicle. The T-62
remained in production during

long time, like the T-54/55. In the Soviet Union it was produced until 1975, when
about 20000 units had been made; another 1500 were produced in Czechoslovakia
between 1973 and 1978. This tank was

also produced in North Korea, where an unknown number of exemplars was produced for
that country and other Communist clients in its sphere of influence. A quarter
century after its introduction,

the T-62 was still in service in first line with the Soviet Union and many of its
satellite countries. The T-62 has been used in combat by Syrians, Egyptians and
Iraqis. Albeit it was not so

sophisticated as western models, it demonstrated to be quite tough and reliable.

Other countries using this tank were Afghanistan, Algeria, Bulgaria, North Korea,
Cuba, India, Israel (many

exemplars captured) and Libya.[p]

[aimg96]high_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-
62_main_battle_tank_photo_01.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-
62_main_battle_tank_photo_01.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]Tanks T-62 fording a river with their snorkels. This device allows to cross
rivers without the assistance of bridgelaying vehicles, but its deployment requires
a time-consuming operation. Are

clearly visible as well the small hatch from where the 115 millimeters cases are
ejected and the external fuel tanks.[/span][p]
[aimg96]high_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-
62_main_battle_tank_photo_01.jpg[*aimg96]low_res/tanks_soviet_union/t-
62_main_battle_tank_photo_01.jpg[/aimg96][br]
[fs]A T-62 tank advancing through the hell of artillery explosions. Like most tanks
of its time, it was prepared to intervene in areas of nuclear, bacteriological or
chemical war.[/span][p]
[box]
Crew: 4[p]
Armament: One U-5TS 115-millimeter cannon; one PKT 7.62 millimeters co-axial
machine gun; one DShK 12.7-millimeter machine gun in the loader's hatch (not
installed in the original model)[p]
Ammunitions: 40 for 115-millimeter cannon; 2500 for 7.62-millimeter machine gun[p]
Armor: 15-214 millimeters overall; 100 millimeters in the front face of hull; 214
millimeters in the front face of the turret (increased to 242 millimeters from
1972)[p]
Length (total): 9.33 meters[p]
Length (hull): 6.63 meters[p]
Width: 3.35 meters[p]
Height: 2.40 meters[p]
Weight: 37.5 tonnes[p]
Ground pressure: 0.72 kilograms/square centimeter[p]
Engine: Diesel V-2-62 with 12 cylinders, water-cooled and with a maximum power of
580 horsepower at 2000 revolutions per minute[p]
Power/weight ratio: 15.45 horsepower/tonne[p]
Maximum speed (in road): 45-50 kilometers/hour[p]
Maximum operational range (in road): 450 kilometers[p]
Maximum surmountable trench: 2.8 meters[p]
Maximum surmountable step: 0.8 meters[p]
Maximum surmountable slope: 60 percent[p]
Maximum fording: 1.4 meters unprepared and 5.5 meters with snorkel[p]
[/div][p]