MTU-72

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MTU-72
An MTU-72 with a desert camouflage pattern at the Russian Expo Arms show in 2013

An MTU-72 with a desert camouflage pattern at the Russian Expo Arms show in 2013
General properties
crew 2
length 11.64 m (with bridge)
6.90 m (without bridge)
width 3.46 m
height 3.38 m
Dimensions 40 tons
Armor and armament
Armor 20 mm RHA , cf. T-72B / M / M1
Main armament unarmed
Secondary armament unarmed
agility
drive V12- W-84 or W-84MS, 38.88 liter displacement
840 hp
suspension Torsion bar
Top speed 60 km / h
Power / weight
Range 500 km

The MTU-72 ( Russian МТУ-72 ; abbreviation of М ос т о у кладчик- 72 , in German: Bridge-laying vehicle -72 ; Object 632) is a bridge-laying tank of the Soviet Army and belongs to the group of combat support vehicles. It is based on the hull of the T-72 and, like the main battle tank, is or was manufactured by the Russian armaments factory Uralwagonsawod in Nizhny Tagil .

Development history

In 1974 the new bridge-laying tank MTU-72 was introduced into the Soviet Army to replace older bridge-laying tanks of the types MTU-12 and MTU-20 , which were necessary in the course of the mass introduction of the T-72 in 1972. The production figures remained low until the 1980s, but the vehicle is still offered by the manufacturer Uralwagonzavod. In 1992, an MTU-72 based on a converted T-72B would have cost 900,000 US dollars. Other Warsaw Pact states also developed bridge layers based on the T-72, which, however, were mostly in-house developments with different high-speed bridges, such as the NVA's BLP-72 . The successor is the MTU-90 , also manufactured by Uralwagonsawod, which was available in the 1990s and can be mass-produced.

technology

The rapid bridge rests on the T-72 chassis and has two foldable ends which are folded down hydraulically before laying. As a result, the bridge has a total length of 20.0 meters. In order to increase the stability when laying the bridge, there is a hydraulically lowerable blade on the front of the tub. The express bridge is then pushed over the maximum 18 meter wide obstacle. In order to reduce the mass of the high-speed bridge, the high-speed bridges were made of an aluminum alloy, which, in contrast to the high-speed bridge of the MTU-20, had a different composition and was therefore more durable. The fact that two rapid bridge segments could now be coupled represented a significant improvement over the previous versions. In this way, obstacles with a width of up to 35 meters can be overcome. The armor of the base vehicle largely corresponds to that of the T-72 model used, although the main battle tank versions T-72B, T-72M and T-72M1 have often been converted. As a result, the engine varies depending on which version of the W-2 diesel engine was installed. The standard equipment also includes communication systems (radio R-123M ), night vision devices, an automatic fire extinguishing system and full NBC protection . The crew can move the bridge without having to leave the vehicle.

Technical data of the rapid bridge
  • Mass of the bridge; 6.4 tons
  • Payload: 50 tons
  • Setup time: 3 to 6 minutes
  • Dismantling time: about 8 minutes
  • Width: 3.3 m
  • Total length: 20.0 m
  • Maximum width of the obstacle to be overcome: 18.0 m (when coupling two segments 30 to 35 m)

Web links

Commons : MTU-72  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MTU-72 - JSC Research and production corporation UralVagonZavod
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g www.arms-expo.ru: МТУ-72, танковый мостоукладчик
  3. ^ JSC Research and production corporation UralVagonZavod
  4. ^ Russell Phillips: Combat Engineering Equipment of the Warsaw Pact. Shilka Publishing, 2017.
  5. ^ A b Steven J. Zaloga: T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974-93. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013.