TAB-71

TAB-71
	A TAB-71 in Bucharest during the Romanian Revolution in 1989
General properties
crew	3 (commander, driver, gunner) + 8 men
length	7.22 m
width	2.83 m
height	2.7 m
Dimensions	11 tons
	Armor and armament
Armor	6 to 10 mm armor steel
Main armament	1 × oversized 14.5 mm MG KPWT with 500 cartridges
Secondary armament	1 × 7.62 mm MG PKT with 2000 cartridges
agility
drive	2 × Saviem -SR-225-V8 gasoline engine with water cooling, max. 3600 rpm ; 2 × 103 kW (2 × 140 PS )
suspension	Torsion bar suspension
Top speed	95 km / h
Power / weight	18.8 kW / t (25.5 PS / t)
Range	500 km

The TAB-71 is an 8 × 8 armored personnel carrier (original designation T ransportorul A mfibiu B lindat model 19 71 , German translation: Amphibious armored vehicle model 1971) from Romanian production, which was produced by the vehicle manufacturer Automecanica Moreni from 1970 to 1990. The TAB-71 is largely based on the Soviet BTR-60PB .

History of origin

The Socialist Republic of Romania had been licensed to manufacture the Soviet BTR-60P under license since 1962 , which initially resulted in the TAB-63 prototype . However, this model did not go into series production, instead efforts were made to obtain a license for the more modern BTR-60PB, which was finally approved by the USSR in 1970. The Romanian vehicle manufacturer Automecanica Moreni was commissioned with the production. In 1972 the TAB-71 was first spotted on parades . The successor is the TAB-77 .

technology

The TAB-71 is essentially based on the Soviet troop carrier BTR-60PB, but with two central modifications. On the one hand, more powerful engines were installed, namely two SR-225 V8 petrol engines with 140 hp each, which were bought in by the French commercial vehicle manufacturer Saviem , instead of the two Soviet GAZ-49B engines with 90 hp each that were fitted to the BTR-60 is. Due to the more powerful engines, the TAB-71 reaches a top speed of 95 km / h, that of the BTR-60 is 80 km / h. On the other hand, the turret was redesigned with the heavy 14.5 mm KPWT machine gun . The significantly increased elevation range from −5 ° to + 85 ° of the barrel weapon was significant. This enabled the on-board weapon to be used more effectively against air targets .

The two front pairs of wheels were used to steer on and off-road. A water jet drive was available in the rear for amphibious missions, using a propeller with a diameter of 60 cm to suck in water through an opening on the underside of the vehicle and bring it out of the tank at the rear. It was steered with two oars , which were aligned with the steering wheel by the driver. The maximum speed in the water was up to 10 km / h. Should the propeller fail, the rotating wheels could also propel the water to about 5 km / h. However, steering the vehicle turned out to be comparatively difficult. The armor made of welded armor steel plates with a maximum thickness of 10 mm protects against projectiles up to caliber 7.62 mm and shell fragments . As with the BTR-60, the two motors are located in the rear of the armored car. As a result, the crew can only exit the vehicle through the side and roof hatches, which means that they can get on and off without protection.

variants

A TAB-71M in 2007

TAB-71 : First production version.
TAB-71M : Improved variant with two Saviem 797-05 six-cylinder diesel engines , each with 130 HP and 5.491 l displacement. Since the two engines required more space than the predecessor petrol engine, the engine room had to be enlarged to the detriment of the interior space for the soldiers.
TAB-71AR ( AR : Aruncător de bombe ): The turret was removed and replaced by a round roof hatch for an 82 mm mortar with 100 projectiles. Two rectangular skylights were added on each side, one with a 7.62mm PKMS machine gun .
TERA-71L ( Tractor de evacuare și reparații auto ): Armored recovery version with crane, heavy-duty winches and additional repair equipment .

TAB-71A R1450 / 1451/1452 : command vehicle with additional radio equipment.

Users

Romania Romania : Several hundred are said to be still in the Romanian armed forces . The armored car was used as part of the SFOR- NATO protection force for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Moldova Republic Moldova : 161 TAB-71M were delivered from 1992 to 1995.
Yugoslavia Socialist Federal Republic Yugoslavia : In 1980/1981 40 TAB-71Ms were delivered for the Yugoslav police.