Osprey- T-72 Main Battle Tank

Book Specifics

Authors: James Kinnear and Stephen L. Sewell

Price: $40.00

ISBN 978-1-4728-7180-0

Hardcover, 320 pages with loads of color and black and white photos, technical drawings from manuals, and charts

What's Inside

This book continues a series of books written by these authors based on some of the key post-WWII Soviet main battle tanks that were designed and produced at the start of the Cold War and which in some cases are still in action today. The latest on the T-72 is particularly of interest considering it's role in the current war between Russia and Ukraine. The chapters are as follows:

• Introduction
• 1: The Concept of 'Wartime Mobilization'
• 2: Development of the T-72 Main Battle Tank
• 3: Description of the T-72 Tank and its Variants
• 4: Derivative Vehicles
• 5: Combat Use
• 6: Manual Extracts
• 7: Walkarounds
• 8: Foreign Production and Service
• 9: Ukrainian Post-Soviet Service and Variants
• 10: T-72 Tanks Preserved in Museums
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• Artwork
• Bibliography
• Index

A brief introduction gives way to a rather whirlwind evolutionary phase from WWII to the creation and progression of MBTs. Keeping track of the various Obiekts prototypes can be overwhelming (although charts in the appendices do help). By the late 1950s there were three dedicated tank design bureaus- the LKZ (Leningrad 'Kirov' Factory group), the KhZTM (Kharkov Transport Machinery Construction Factory), and the UVZ (Ural Railway Wagon Construction Factory). Suffice to say, the competition between theT-54/55 vs T-62 designs of the 1950s, were to develop into a new rivalry of the T-64 vs T-72 in the 1960's and 70's. The T-80 would also pop in to make things interesting and this chapter goes into detail with all of this.  Dmitriy Ustinov, serving as Defense Minister, was one of the most vocal opponents of the T-72, preferring his T-64 design.

Chapter 2 continues to go into detail about the three main contenders-- with the main difference being the powerplants- with power increasing from the T62 to the T-72 and again from the T-72 to the T-80. They were all armed with the same gun, cross turret rangefinders, and initially transmissions. Another big difference was that the Kharkov and Leningrad design used the same 28-round ammo mechanical loader, while the UVZ used the 22-round 'Zhelud' cassette-type auto loader. The range for the T-80 was nearly half that of its counterparts. Other advances of note in the chapter include the adoption of ERA and refinements to Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) protections after finding that armor operating in the Chernobyl disaster zone were not sufficiently protected. The chapter also addresses how world events like the fall of the Berlin Wall and the subsequent dissolving of the Soviet Union, as well as the Gulf War would impact development. These changes would then see a new variant- the T-72BU- be newly designated as the T-90.

Chapter 3 is hands-down the largest chapter of the book and contains an enormous reference base for describing the T-72 and its numerous variants- too many to list here- starting from the 1968 Obiekts and ending with ones being used today in Ukraine. Overall, there were sixty plus variants-- with a number of them not approved for production. It is interesting to note that many variations had just minimal changes-- sometimes something as miniscule as adding air conditioning to versions that were intended for shipments to other countries that were found in desert-like environs such as Iraq and Syria. 

Chapter 4 focuses on derivative vehicles that were set onto T-72 chassis. These include engineering vehicles, bridgelayers,  mine clearers, recovery vehicles, heavy armoured combat vehicles with auto cannons, rockets, mortars, missiles, artillery, flame throwers, and lasers, and an NBC recon vehicle.

Chapter 5 delves into the combat aspect of the tank-- giving brief accounts of the role the tanks played in each. A partial list of these engagements includes:

• The Iran-Iraq War 1980-88
• Operation Peace for Galilee 1982
• Ethiopian-Somali Border War 1982
• Sri Lankan Civil War 1987
• Operation Desert Storm 1991
• The Chechen Wars 1991-96 and 1999-2003
• Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003-11
• Libyan Civil War 2011
• Syrian Civil War 2011-Present
• Donetsk, Lugansk, and Crimea 2014-22
• Russo-Ukrainian Conflict 2022-Present

Chapter 6 provides manual extracts from original Soviet manuals for an early Soviet Obiekt-172M, a Soviet T-72A, and a Soviet T-72B. Mixed in among the photo scans of diagrams and black and white photos from the manuals are some color photos.

Chapter 7 provides Walk Arounds of the following examples with loads of color photos and no accompanying captions or text-

• T-72 No. 4152, produced at UVZ in Feb. 1978, rebuilt at BTRZ No. 143 in 1988
• T-72A built at UVZ in Nov. 1987, located at the Muzei Tekhniki, Arkhangelskoye, Moscow
• T-72A M-1983 UVZ production tank located at Partizanskaya Polyanna, Bryansk

Chapter 8 centers on T-72s that were released for Foreign Production and Service. Oftentimes, these tanks did not feature all of the refinements present on Soviet-based tanks until they were in service for years within the country. An example given was with MiG-29 fighter jets with 32 different radio frequencies that were sold to other countries with much less of them. This carried over to the tanks as well- but was reciprocal as mentioned before- some released had air conditioning provided for nations in desert environs.

Chapter 9 focuses on Ukrainian Post-Soviet Service and Variants. There were a lot of T-72s left in Ukraine after the break-up of the Soviet Union and so there was a push to rebuild them for sale abroad with different engines and modified fire control and sighting systems. Parts from T-80 designs were used to modify and upgrade these examples. Some of the offerings mentioned in the book among others are:

• T-72AM 'Banan'
• T-72AG
• T-72MP
• T-72-120
• T-72AMT
• BMT-72
• T-72UA1

Chapter 10 delves into T-72s preserved in museums. Most of these examples are the result of those captured post-Cold War and many samples received after the two Gulf Wars. Often, we see some displayed in Ukraine or Russia after having been captured or destroyed in the current conflict- not in museums per se but as public outside displays in town squares or parks. Those used as gate guardians tend to be pretty well maintained but prove a challenge to keep in good shape due to the weather. The chapter concludes with an elaborate chart listing some preserved museum and memorial examples by country.

After the conclusion, the book ends with a number of appendices addressing the following topics:

1. T-72 Production Numbers
2. Soviet/Russian Standardized Life Cycle for Armoured Vehicles
3. Obiekt-Numbers of the T-72 and Related Developmental Tanks 
4. Known Client Users of the T-72 Medium Tank
5. T-72- Foreign Production & Service including Warsaw Pact Inventory
6. Soviet/Russian Communications Systems and Development
7. Soviet Ballistic Sets and Tables
8. OPVT Underwater Tank Driving Equipment
9. Statistical Data for T-72 Models per UVZ (the Ural Railway Wagon Construction Plant) Data
10. T-72 Related System Designators
11. Summary of Main 'Obiekt-172M' Production Changes 1974-79
12. Glossary

A small section of Artwork includes 6 color profiles of more recent T-72 examples.

Conclusion

I have been enjoying this series of books on modern Russian armor by James Kinnear and Stephen "Cookie" Sewell. In ways, they serve for Russian armor much like the R. P. Hunnicutt books do for American armor. This volume is thorough and the subject is unique in its longevity. The T-72 lineage doesn't seem to have any end in sight as we continue to see modified versions and improvements that keep the tanks survivable and viable in current conflicts and probably for many years to come.

Highly Recommended for anyone interested in this Russian armor stalwart.

Thanks goes out to Osprey Publishing for this review sample.

Reviewed by Michael Reeves

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