Encyclopedia of the Persian Gulf War

Page 273

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T-54 Main Battle Tank–Turkey

T-54 Main Battle Tank

Designed just after the end of World War II, the T-54 became one of the premier main battle tanks in the world of military hardware. By 1991, it was considered obsolete, replaced by the T-55, the T-62 and, the 1980s-era T-80, regarded as a near-equivalent of the U.S. M-1A1 Abrams Main Battle Tank. Still, the Iraqis had a considerable number, but their use (as well as how many were destroyed by the coalition forces) remains a secret.

With a crew of four, the T-54 has a combat weight of 36,000 kg (79,366 pounds), and a length of 6.45 meters (21.16 feet). Powered by a V-12 water-cooled diesel engine, the tank is implemented with a single 100 mm gun, two 7.62 mm machine guns, and a 12.7 mm antiaircraft machine gun. Different ammunition types used include AP-T (armor-piercing tracer), APC-T (armor-piercing capped tracer), HE (high explosive), HE-FRAG (high explosive fragmentation), and HVAPDS-T (high-velocity armor-piercing discarding sabot). The Iraqi variants of the tank include an additional 160 mm mortar and a T-54 with observation mast. The chassis of the T-54 is used as the base for the ZSU-57/2 “SPAAG” self-propelled antiaircraft gun.

References:

Foss, Christopher F., ed., Jane’s Armour and Artillery, 1992–93 (Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group, 1992), 77;

Foss, Christopher F., Jane’s Main Battle Tanks (London: Jane’s Publishing Group, 1986), 90, 94.

T-55 Main Battle Tank

The Iraqis had 1,600 of these tanks in their arsenal, enough to make them one of the leading land armies in the world.

The T-55 has long been a mainstay of the Soviet army and its client states for many years. Powered by a V-12 water-cooled diesel engine, the tank carries a crew of four, has a combat weight of 79,366 pounds (36,000 kg), and has a single 100 mm main gun and a single 7.62 mm machine gun.

References:

Foss, Christopher F., ed., Jane’s Armour and Artillery (Coulsdon, Surrey, UK: Jane’s Information Group, 1992), 34–36;

Foss, Christopher F., ed., Jane’s Main Battle Tanks (London: Jane’s Publishing Group, 1986), 94.

T-55 Main Battle Tank

A Soviet-built T-55, one of 1,600 in the Iraqi arsenal, lies burned out at the edge of an oilfield in Kuwait.

T-62 Main Battle Tank

Called “an inferior relative of the T-72 battle tank,” the Iraqis had 1,500 of these tanks in their arsenal. The tanks weigh 81,570 pounds (37,000 kg), have a speed of 31 mph (50 km/h), and are equipped with a 115 mm gun, their main armament.

References:

“Arms and the Men,” special pullout section from Newsweek, 18 February 1991;

U.S. Department of Defense, Soviet Military Power 1986 (Washington, DC: GPO, 1986), 66.

T-72 Main Battle Tank

The T-72 was Iraq’s main battle tank during the Persian Gulf War, but because it was outclassed by the American Abrams M-1 and M-1A1, as well as other coalition tanks, its full potential was not realized.

Deployed in many battles, the Soviet-made T-72 is an older model but is packed with power nonetheless. Said Army Major General Donn Starry, who was one of the developers of the Abrams tanks, “I wouldn’t sell it [the T-72] short.” Starry was quoted in the Washington Post as saying that, inside of a mile, the T-72 can be “a devastating piece of equipment.” Still, reports Orr Kelly, author of a 1989 work on the Abrams, in comparing the T-72 and the M-1, “They’re really two different generation tanks.” Armed with a 125 mm smoothbore gun, the T-72 is fitted with “reactive armor,” which comes off if hit during an attack and shields the occupants from

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