TTD

TTD

Olifant Mk.2

TTD

Olifant Mk.2

Britain

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.3	10.3	10.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:260 000

Purchase:710 000

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Description

The TTD is a rank VII British medium tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Ixwa Strike".

General info

Survivability and armour

Composite armour

Balanced protection against all types of ammunition

Smoke grenades

Creation of a smoke screen in front of the vehicle

ESS

Creation of a smoke screen in the direction of movement of the vehicle

Armourfront / side / back

Hull85 / 35 / 20

Turret55 / 30 / 55

Crew4 people

Visibility115 %

Describe armour protection. Note the most well protected and key weak areas. Appreciate the layout of modules as well as the number and location of crew members. Is the level of armour protection sufficient, is the placement of modules helpful for survival in combat? If necessary use a visual template to indicate the most secure and weak zones of the armour.

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	___ mm	___ mm Top ___ mm Bottom	___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Turret	___ - ___ mm Turret front ___ mm Gun mantlet	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm	___ - ___ mm
Cupola	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm	___ mm

Notes:

Mobility

Speedforward / back

AB80 / 35 km/h

RB and SB72 / 32 km/h

Number of gears8 forward

4 back

Weight58.3 t

Engine power

AB2 385 hp

RB and SB1 250 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB40.9 hp/t

RB and SB21.4 hp/t

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	80	35	58.3	1,937	2,385	33.22	40.91
Realistic	72	32		1,106	1,250	18.97	21.44

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 193 → 6 620

RB4 063 → 6 415

SB4 748 → 7 497

Total cost of modifications209 300

348 000

Talisman cost2 800

Crew training200 000

Experts710 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 080 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

150 / 200 / 250 %

232 / 232 / 232 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Suspension Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 310 Brake System Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 310 Filters Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Transmission Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 470 Engine Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 470	Improved Parts Research: 3 300 Cost: 17 000 350 Improved FPE Research: 3 000 Cost: 16 000 310 ESS Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Crew Replenishment Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Smoke grenade Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 470	Horizontal Drive Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 105mm_NATO_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Adjustment of Fire Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 310 NVD Research: 10 000 Cost: 16 000 310 Elevation Mechanism Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Laser rangefinder Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 350 Artillery Support Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 470 105mm_DM33_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 15 000 Cost: 23 000 470

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

Reduces the error and increases the maximum measurable distance of the rangefinder

Night vision device

Improves visibility by enhancing natural light or active illumination.

Thermal imager

Allows to see thermal radiation in the infrared range day and night

Main armament

105 mm GT-3 cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Ammunition54 rounds

First-order16 rounds

Reloadbasic crew → aces

8.7 → 6.7 s

Vertical guidance-10° / 20°

105 mm GT-3					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	54	-10°/+20°	±180°	Two-plane	34.3	47.4	57.6	63.7	67.8	8.71	7.70	7.10	6.70
Realistic					21.4	25.2	30.6	33.8	36.0

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
M152	HEATFS	400	400	400	400	400	400
M111	APFSDS	337	335	330	322	314	306
DM63	APFSDS	436	434	426	416	406	396

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
M152	HEATFS	1,173	10.5	0.05	0.1	1,270	65°	72°	77°
M111	APFSDS	1,455	3.79	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
DM63	APFSDS	1,455	4.3	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
54	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__ (+__)	__

Usage in battles

Describe the tactics of playing in the vehicle, the features of using vehicles in the team and advice on tactics. Refrain from creating a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view but instead give the reader food for thought. Describe the most dangerous enemies and give recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of the game in different modes (AB, RB, SB).

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good researchable APFSDS
• Decent top speed
• Good gun depression

Cons:

• No machine guns
• Underpowered engine gives it a slow acceleration
• Armour can't stop almost any shells, only less powerful shells and shells coming at weird angles will be stopped
• Relatively long reload time for the calibre of the gun
• Ammo racks detonations are frequent due to their positioning

History

Development

The TTD program began in the 1980’s when the South African Defense Force (SADF) determined a new indigenous main battle tank (MBT) was required. The main contractors were the Reumech Olifant Manufacturing Company (OMC) which built the hull and the Lyttleton Engineering Works (LEW) which designed the turret and supplied the main gun. Other contractors included KENTRON, integrators of Systems Technology (iST), Grinaker Electronics, Eloptro, Booyco Engineering, M-TEK, Prokura Diesel Services (PDS) which supplied the powerplant. The program was code named Loggim.

The budget of the program was cut in the 1990’s due to a lack of a need for a new tank after the South African Border War ended in 1989. In order to salvage what they could from the program, the SADF and Armaments Corporation of South Africa (ARMSCOR) intended to produce a demonstrator vehicle using the technologies developed during the Loggim program. The single demonstrator vehicle was completed in 1992 and named the Tank Technology Demonstrator or TTD for short.

But, South Africa held its first free democratic elections in the year of 1994 which caused the removal of sanctions against South Africa importing and exporting military equipment. The SADF was reorganized and renamed to South African National Defence Force (SANDF) in the same year. It became clear that with the lifting of sanctions the SANDF would be able to purchase foreign main battle tanks (MBTs) so the need for the TTD was called into question. It was thought that 282 tanks would be needed to replace the Olifant Mk1A and Mk1B, but the project was cancelled and the TTD demonstrator was donated to the South African Armour Museum between 1996 and 1997.

Design

Layout

The TTD had a conventional layout with a four man crew, a driver in the hull and the loader, commander, and gunner in the turret. The gunner’s station was located on the right side of the turret towards the front. He was provided with a GS60 sight with x3 and x8 magnification as well as an integrated laser rangefinder and a thermal imaging channel. An auxiliary mechanical sight was also provided as a backup. The loader was located on the left side of the turret and was provided a single periscope as well as his own hatch for entry and exit. The commander’s station was on the right side of the turret behind the gunner’s station. The commander received a low profile cupola with six periscopes for 360 degrees of viewing. The commander also had a CS60N panoramic sight which could rotate 360 degrees and provided day/night capabilities with a third generation image intensifier. The zoom options provided were x3 and x10. The driver’s station was located in the front center of the hull. Steering was by a yoke stick and other controls were provided by an analogue instrument panel. Three periscopes were provided for external viewing, with the ability to replace the central periscope with a passive night vision periscope. A hatch was provided in the roof as well as an escape hatch in the floor.

Mobility

Mobility was one of the important characteristics that was required from the TTD project, and as such it featured a new powerplant and suspension system compared to earlier South African tanks. The engine used was a V8 diesel engine producing 1234 horsepower at 1200 rpm. It could produce 4400 Nm of torque at 1500 rpm which resulted in a fast acceleration from 0 kilometers per hour to 30 kph in 5.1 seconds. The cooling system was a water-to-air type and measures were also taken to reduce the infrared (IR) signature of the vehicle. A management system was implemented to control engine power output compared to the temperature, preventing the engine from going above 48°C (118°F). The transmission used was an automatic 4F 2R cross-drive transmission with four forward gears and two reverse gears. In order to increase fuel efficiency, the engine was capable of switching from eight to four cylinders when not moving, and the TTD could also turn on the spot (pivot). The maximum attainable speed of the TTD was 71 kph on road and 35 kph off-road. The reverse speed was up to 32 kilometers per hour.

The suspension was of a torsion bar type with seven dual road wheels, a rear drive sprocket and a front idler, and four return rollers. The TTD had the ability to vary the amount of track links used in order to choose the track tension, with 102 to 112 track links. The brake system was capable of bringing the vehicle to a complete stop from 56 kilometers per hour in only 6.8 seconds. The TTD could maintain a ground pressure of 0.93 kg/cm2. It could climb a 60% gradient, a side slope of 30% and cross a 3.5 meter trench. The maximum fording depth of an unprepared TTD was 1.5 meters.

Logistics

The TTD was provided with a 1600 liter (422 gallon) fuel tank, allowing it to achieve a range of 400 kilometers on ideal terrain, 300 kilometers off-road, and 150 kilometers on sand. The vehicle was equipped with radios for effective command and control. A drinking water tank was fitted to provide the crew with 80 liters (20 gallons) of water; it could be accessed from the driver and loader’s stations. Also, the tank was fitted with a fume extractor to prevent noxious fumes from building up inside after firing the main gun.

Armament

The main gun was a 105 mm rifled GT3 gun produced by LEW as a license-built version of the British  Royal Ordnance L7. 54 105 mm projectiles were provided, with six in the turret basket, sixteen in a rotating carousel, and thirty-two in a rack to the left of the driver. The gun could fire APFSDS, HEAT, HESH, and HE ammunition types. It was planned to replace the 105 mm gun with a 120 mm smoothbore on production versions but it never entered production and a 120 mm gun was never fitted. The main gun has an elevation range of 10 degrees of depression and 20 degrees of elevation.

An electro-mechanical 48VDC gun drive was used along with a digital fire control system (FCS). The RS485 databus was used in the FCS to allow hunter-killer operation with the gunner and commander searching for targets independently and then fixing the gun onto the target either by the gunner’s controls or commander’s manual override. The turret could rotate 360 degrees in less than ten seconds while the gun could elevate at 34 degrees per second. Time from identification of a target to firing on the target was achieved at nine seconds. A muzzle reference system (MRS) was fitted.

Protection

The frontal armor of the TTD utilized composite structures in order to increase its effectiveness over plain steel armor. Both the upper glacis of the hull and turret front used composite armor which was claimed to protect against 125 mm APFSDS and HEAT rounds. The sides of the vehicle were protected against 23 mm rounds while the roof protected against 155 mm airburst rounds. The underside of the vehicle protected against anti-tank mines. A spall liner was fitted to the interior of the crew compartment to better protect the crew from shrapnel and fragments. Also, an automated fire suppression system was fitted in the crew compartment, as well as a second system in the engine compartment. The turret bustle ammunition stowage was also fitted with blowout panels to vent an ammunition detonation away from the crew compartment in the case ammunition was hit by enemy fire. A total of eight smoke grenade launchers were provided with a bank of four on each side of the turret, as well as an engine exhaust smoke system.

Olifant Mk1B Replacement

After the Loggim program and it’s TTD were cancelled the SANDF chose not to buy a foreign MBT either as there was no room in the budget. Instead, 26 of the Olifant tanks were upgraded to the Olifant Mk2 standard from 2000 to 2005.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• other literature.