Egyptian T-62's
The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank designed as a further development of the T-55 series. The T-62 features a larger 115mm smoothbore gun and thus also a larger turret and hull to accomadate the new gun. The armor and engine were also upgraded over the T-54/55. Altough an improvement over the T-55, the T-62 shares some of the T-55's limitations: a cramped crew compartment, crude gun control equipment, limited depression of the main gun and vulnerable fuel and ammunition storage areas.
The T-62 never fully replaced the T-55 for numerous reasons. First, the T-62 was more than twice the price of the T-55. Secondly, a 100 mm HVAPDS tank shell capable of piercing Western armor was developed. Use of this shell made the T-55 gun almost as effective as the T-62s. Third, the T-62 was immediately surpassed on its introduction by the new Western MBTs, the Chieftain and M-60. Finally, the T-62 could not keep up with the new Soviet BMP-1 the principal infantry fighting vehicle that the T-62 was supposed to accompany.
115mm BM-3 APFSDS Ammunition
The T-62 was the first production tank to feature a smoothbore gun that could fire new APFSDS (armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot) shells powerful enough to defeat the frontal armor of newer western tanks. It can also fire standard armor piercing, HEAT and Frag-HE rounds. The 115MM BM-3 APFSDS shell, fires armor piercing steel darts at very high velocities to penetrate tank armor. Improvements to APFSDS ammunition over the years include use of powerful propellants and hardened penetrators like tungsten and depleted uranium making modern APFSDS ammunition deadly. APFSDS ammunition is now standard on modern main battle tanks.
During the Yom Kippur war, the T-62 was an effective adversary for Israeli Patton and Centurion main battle tanks armed with 105 mm tank guns. The T-62 had an advantage in its better night-fighting capability, but losses were heavy. The Israelis captured hundreds of these tanks from the in 1973, and put some of them into service as the Tiran-3. Israel sent a number of captured T-62 tanks to the U.S. Army and Germany for examination purposes. The firing tests done on these tanks helped to develop new ammunition and the German 120 mm gun to be used in Leopard 2 and Abram tanks.
The Egyptian army received approx. 200 Soviet built T-62's between 1971-73. These tanks equipped Egypt's 15th and 25th armored Brigades which were each divided into 3 tank battalions. The new T-62's were the elite of the Arab armies and spearheaded the forces that crossed the Suez canal on October 6th and also on with the Syrians the Golan Heights. After crossing into Sinai, Egyptian forces advanced virtually unopposed. After three days, Israel had mobilized most of its forces. On Oct. 17th, 1973 Israel's 217th Armored Brigade ambushed 96 Egyptian T-62s in the largest tank battle on the Sinai front. The Egyptian armored force lost between 50-60 tanks in this engagement, others were damaged or abandoned after entering into mine fields laid by the Israelis during the war of attrition. In total the Egyptian 25th Armored Brigade lost 86 of it's original 96 tanks in 2 days of fighting.
Illness88 really out did himself with these new Egyptian T-62 textures, they are amazing. Plus he also created many more even more interesting T-62 textures for the Syrian and Iraqi armies that we will showcase in a later update!
