T-72B (1989)

This page is about the Soviet medium tank T-72B (1989). For other versions, see T-72 (Family).

T-72B (1989)

T-72B

Т-90А

T-72B (1989)

T-72B

Т-90А

USSR

VII Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
10.3	10.3	10.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:150 000

Purchase:830 000

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Description

The T-72B (1989) is a rank VII Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update "Raining Fire".

General info

Survivability and armour

ERA

Effective action against the cumulative ammunition

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

Self-entrenching equipment

Creation of ramparts and trenches in soft ground

Armourfront / side / back

Hull105 / 80 / 50

Turret180 / 160 / 65

Crew3 people

Visibility75 %

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

AB67 / 5 km/h

RB and SB60 / 5 km/h

Number of gears7 forward

1 back

Weight44.5 t

Engine power

AB1 603 hp

RB and SB840 hp

Power-to-weight ratio

AB36.0 hp/t

RB and SB18.9 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	67	5	44.5	1,302	1,603	29.26	36.02
Realistic	60	5		743	840	16.7	18.88

Modifications and economy

Repair costBasic → Reference

AB4 473 → 6 749

RB4 333 → 6 538

SB5 043 → 7 609

Total cost of modifications248 900

410 000

Talisman cost2 900

Crew training240 000

Experts830 000

Aces2 100

Research Aces1 140 000

Reward for battleAB / RB / SB

160 / 200 / 250 %

238 / 238 / 238 %

Modifications

Mobility	Protection	Firepower
Tracks Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 310 Suspension Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 340 Brake System Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 340 Filters Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 370 Transmission Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 490 Engine Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 490	Improved Parts Research: 3 300 Cost: 17 000 310 Dozer Blade Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 310 Improved FPE Research: 3 600 Cost: 19 000 340 Crew Replenishment Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 370 Smoke grenade Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 370 ESS Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 490	Horizontal Drive Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 310 125mm_ussr_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 11 000 Cost: 17 000 310 Adjustment of Fire Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 340 Laser rangefinder Research: 12 000 Cost: 19 000 340 Elevation Mechanism Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 370 125mm_ussr_ATGM_ammo_pack Research: 13 000 Cost: 20 000 370 Artillery Support Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 490 125mm_ussr_3BM42_APDS_FS_ammo_pack Research: 17 000 Cost: 26 000 490

Armaments

Laser rangefinder

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

Main armament

125 mm 2A46M cannon

Two-plane stabilizer

Reduces the swing of the gun in two planes while moving

Autoloader

Automatically feeds projectiles into the breech. The speed does not depend on the skills of the loader

Ammunition45 rounds

First-order22 rounds

Reload7.1 s

Vertical guidance-5° / 13°

125 mm 2A46M-1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	45	-6°/+13°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	7.10	7.10	7.10	7.10
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

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
3BK18M	HEATFS	550	550	550	550	550	550
3OF26	HE	42	42	42	42	42	42
3BM22	APFSDS	425	420	415	405	393	380
9M119	ATGM	700	700	700	700	700	700
3BM42	APFSDS	479	477	470	462	453	445

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%
3BK18M	HEATFS	905	19	0.05	0.1	2,790	65°	72°	77°
3OF26	HE	850	23	0	0.1	5,240	79°	80°	81°
3BM22	APFSDS	1,760	4.83	N/A	N/A	N/A	76°	77°	80°
9M119	ATGM	400	23.3	0.05	0.1	5,540	80°	82°	90°
3BM42	APFSDS	1,700	4.85	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	Visual discrepancy
45	41 (+3)	34 (+5)	22(+22)	0 (+44)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm NSVT machine gun

Ammunition300 rounds

Belt capacity60 rounds

Reload5.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

Vertical guidance-4° / 75°

7.62 mm PKT machine gun (coaxial)

Ammunition2 000 rounds

Belt capacity250 rounds

Reload8.0 s

Fire rate700 shots/min

12.7 mm NSVT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	300 (150)	700	-4°/+75°	±180°

7.62 mm PKT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,000 (250)	700	N/A	N/A

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:

• Powerful 125 mm 2A46M-1 gun with various shells, including APFSDS, HEAT-FS, HE, and tandem-charged ATGM
• Add-on Relikt and Kontakt ERA blocks significantly increases CE protection, and slightly for KE protection
• Low profile, is a small target compared to Western main battle tanks
• Laser rangefinder and high velocity APFSDS make sniping long distances easier
• Has both smoke grenade launchers and ESS
• With correct angling, upper frontal armour can deflect most rounds from counterpart tanks of other countries
• Autoloader continues working even if fighting a fire or replacing a crew member, and is low on the hull, making it more difficult to hit and detonate

Cons:

• Painful reverse speed of only -5 km/h, can very much get the player destroyed if not careful
• -6 degrees gun depression limits its ability to adapt different battlefield environments
• 7.1 seconds of reload is slower than the 5-second reload of some Western MBTs
• No ammo rack protection, anything that hits it usually leads to ammo detonation, destroying the vehicle instantly
• 3 closely packed crew members are easily knocked out
• Has 3 major weakspots: gun mantlet, driver's armour cutout, and lower front plate
• No thermal optics, only has night vision device

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

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

• [Devblog] New T-72 modifications: here come the top-of-the-line Russians!