The main combat tank T-80 UD "Birch" is a multipurpose armored combat vehicle that combines high maneuverability and mobility, good security and great firepower. The tank is designed to break through the enemy defenses in field conditions, to combat the enemy’s armored mobile fire weapons, to destroy the enemy firing points in the offensive zone of the troops.
History of creation and features of mass production
By the beginning of the 1980s, the Soviet tank-building industry was considered one of the most advanced in the world. Engineers and designers managed to put into practice the most daring engineering solutions. One of these developments is considered to be the T-80UD tank — a combat vehicle in which the power plant is represented by a gas turbine engine.
The prototype of the new machine was the T-80 tank, which entered service with the tank units of the USSR Armed Forces in 1976. In the design of the new Soviet tank, Soviet engineers tried to take into account all the flaws in the design of the T-64B tank. This concerned the power plant and the new layout, which involved reducing the number of crew members to 3 people. However, the technical characteristics of the new T-80 tank, declared by the designers, were far from implementation. Subsequently, it was decided to make significant changes in the design of the machine by upgrading the basic components and components.
Works moved in two directions. In Omsk, the T-80U tank was manufactured at the Omsktransmash plant. At the Kharkov plant of heavy engineering (HZTM) them. Malysheva worked on the creation of the T-80UD tank (object 478B). In the field testing of new machines came in 1983, which showed the correctness of design ideas. The best tank was recognized by Kharkov tank builders, which was adopted by the Soviet Army in 1985 under the name of the main battle tank T-80UD. In the period from 1985 to 1991, about 500 cars were produced on the HZTM.
The main tactical and technical characteristics of the MBT tank T-80UD
- Crew - 3 people.
- Combat weight - 46 tons.
- The length of the machine is 9.72 m, the width is 3.75 m, the height is 2.3 m, the ground clearance is 450 mm.
- Armament: 125-mm gun (loading separately-sleeve, direct shot range - 2100 m, armor penetration (90 degrees): at a distance of 1000 m - 300 mm, at a distance of 2000 m - 250 mm, ammunition - 45 shots); 7.62-mm machine gun (ammunition - 1,250 rounds); 12.7-mm machine gun (ammunition - 450 rounds).
- The main types of ammunition: sub-caliber armor-piercing, cumulative, high-explosive fragmentation projectiles.
- Armor thickness: multi-layered, equivalent to 700 mm.
- Gas turbine engine, power 1000 hp
- Maximum speed on the highway - 60 km / h.
- Cruising on the highway - 560 km.
- Overcoming obstacles: wall - 1 m, ditch - 2.85 m.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the T-80UD tank, produced at the Kharkov Heavy Machine-Building Plant, became the main battle tank of the Ukrainian army. The machine was exported to Pakistan and continues to be in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine today. The experience of the combat use of this machine - the fighting in the east of Ukraine in 2014-2018.
Tank photo
