PT-76

History

The Soviet-era PT-76 amphibious light tank was developed shortly after World War II (1939-1945) and thus adopted many of the concepts observed during the Great War. The turret is equipped with a Soviet Army-standard D-56T 76.2mm main gun with -4 / +30 degrees of lateral movement, while capable of firing a standard set of projectiles - from High Explosive (HE) to AP-T (Armor Piercing). ) and HE-FRAG (Highly Explosive, Fragmentation) rounds.

For local defense, the vehicle carries a 7.62mm machine gun in a coaxial mount, while some models also benefit from an additional 12.7mm machine gun (HMG) for local air defense (DShKM-type weapon). Additional fuel tanks can also be mounted outside the fuselage to add about 68 miles (110 kilometers) of range.

As an amphibious vehicle, the PT-76 has an inherent ability to traverse water. Its auto parts are shared between the BTR-50 Armored Personnel Carrier (APC), the SA-6 "Gain" Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) system, and the ZSU-23-4 Flak (AA), and includes a torsion bar for off-road travel of the suspension system.

The PT-76's powerplant is also the same as the T-55 main battle tank (MBT) - a diesel-powered V-6 type unit.

Despite the positive attributes of the 14.5 ton PT-76, its three crew members (driver, commander and gunner) lacked NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection due to its considerable size, It also provides thin armor protection for front-line vehicles.

Total production of the PT-76, which reached over 12,000 units before the end, was built by VTZ and the Kirov plant in the USSR and dates back to 1951-1969. The last PT-76 entered service in 1967 and a modern new turret was developed to make the system relevant to the 1980s.

China eventually began producing a related form of the vehicle, named the "Type 63".

The PT-76 has an extensive combat history over the last century - from the Vietnam War (1955-1975) and the Indo-Pakistani War (1965) to the Second Chechen War (1999) and the Second Gulf War (2003) ). Operators range from Afghanistan and Angola to Vietnam and Yugoslavia.

Some operators still manage limited stocks of this aging vehicle.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

Armor

40 x 76. 2mm projectile.

1,000 x 7.62mm ammo.

500x12.7mm ammo.

Changes