T-72A

T-72A

T-62M-1

T-72B

T-72A

T-62M-1

T-72B

USSR

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.3	9.3	9.3

Class:

Medium tank

Research:220 000

Purchase:620 000

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Description

The T-72A is a Rank VI Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 9.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.85 "Supersonic".

General info

Survivability and armour

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.

Mobility

Mobility characteristic
Weight (tons)	Add-on Armour weight (tons)	Max speed (km/h)
41.0	0.9	67 (AB)
		60 (RB/SB)
Engine power (horsepower)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	1,209	_,___
Realistic/Simulator	690	___
Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	28.49	__.__
Realistic/Simulator	16.83	__.__

Armaments

Main armament

125 mm 2A46M
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
44			-6°/+13°	±180°	Two-plane
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	19.0	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	11.9	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
7.10	7.10	7.10	7.10

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 90°
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
3BM9	APFSDS	321	317	303	285	268	249
3BM15	APFSDS	440	430	420	410	405	400
3BM12	APFSDS	383	378	367	351	339	327
3BK12M	HEATFS	440	440	440	440	440	440
3OF26	HE	47	47	47	47	47	47

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
3BM9	APFSDS	1,800	3.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	72°	73°	75°
3BM15	APFSDS	1,780	3.88	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	76°	77°	78°
3BM12	APFSDS	1,800	3.6	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	76°	77°	78°
3BK12M	HEATFS	905	19	0.0	0.1	2,790	+0°	65°	72°	75°
3OF26	HE	850	23	0.1	0.5	5,780	+0°	79°	80°	81°

Machine guns

12.7 mm NSVT
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
300 (150)				700	-10°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm PKT
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,250 (250)				700	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The T-72A play-style is near identical to the T-64A (and with that, soviet MBTs from here on). One of the key differences between the two vehicles is the T-72A stronger armor. Although on X-ray the T-64A's armor is thicker, the T-72A's is sloped by an extra degree. The Quartz Core composed turret will also bounce a great deal of shots and can even eat up some of the strongest ATGMs. In terms of armament the T-72A boasts the very powerful and accurate 2A46M that Soviet high tier tankers will quickly become familiar and fall in love with. Make sure to research the 3BM15 Sabot rounds as soon as you can (After Parts and FPE of course), as the stock round has mediocre penetration for a sabot.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Mounts the same powerful 125mm 2A46 gun as on the T-64 and T-80
• Low profile
• Able to deflect most rounds from counterpart tanks of other countries if angled effectively due to its thick frontal armor
• Very accurate gun due to the high muzzle velocity of the APFSDS rounds, making this tank an effective long-range sniper

Cons:

• Ammo racks all around the center of the hull interior; can be easily detonated
• Slow reverse speed and traverse speed
• 3-man crew makes tank able to be knocked out easier
• Gun depression inadequate for most hull-down situations, e.g. sniping from a hill
• Not very good stock APFSDS shell with around only 320mm of penetration at close ranges

History

Development of the T-72 began shortly after the production of the T-64 highlighted several problems which negatively impacted production rates. Among these problems was an unreliable engine, which couldn’t be produced at the high rates needed for a smooth production of the T-64 to take place.

In response, the Uralvagonzavod plant began working on a modified version of the T-64, which would use a more reliable and readily available engine, in order to provide the army with a tank fit for mass-production. Apart from this, changes were also made to the armor layout, in order to simplify production and decrease costs. This work resulted in the creation of the Object 172.

Development of the Object 172 continued, and after some trials, the vehicle entered service with the Soviet Army in August 1973, receiving its official designation T-72. Shortly afterwards, the vehicle was permitted for mass production, following the issuing of an official decree in 1974.

The T-72 was also heavily exported to and produced by nations of the Warsaw Pact as well as other countries worldwide, although these vehicles received certain downgrades compared to native Soviet models. Despite this, the T-72 quickly became one of the most widely used tanks in the world, participating in more conflicts than a single devblog could ever cover.

Since production began in 1974, over 20,000 T-72 tanks were built across several modifications in the Soviet Union/Russia alone, with production of more modern variants still ongoing today, even in other countries as well.

- From Devblog

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as 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] T-72A: The Globetrotter