T-72B

T-72B

T-72A

T-72B (1989)

T-72B

T-72A

T-72B (1989)

USSR

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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This page is about the Soviet medium tank T-72B. For the other version, see T-72A.

Description

The T-72B is a rank VII Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 10.3 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.97 "Viking Fury".

General info

Survivability and armour

The T-72B is an up-armoured and up-gunned version of the T-72A. Although this does not protect the "weak spots" that most Soviet tanks have (weak lower front plate, driver optics ect). The T-72B has more armour on the upper plate of the hull, that provides around 500mm to 900mm of armour protection.

Mobility

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

Armaments

Main armament

The T-72B is armed with the same 125 mm cannon found in the T-80B, with its 3BM42 "Mango" round proving competitive against other Rank VII offerings. As with previous Russian MBTs, the main gun is auto-loaded, so the loss of a crew member does not affect the loading times and the 7.1-second loading speed is competitive when compared to the 120 mm guns on the Leopard 2A5 and M1A2 Abrams. One notable perk of the auto-loader mechanism is that the gun will be reloaded even if the gunner is knocked out, if you're fighting a fire, or repairing. It does however also come with the drawbacks of a reload time that cannot be improved, the large ammo carousel concentric with the turret, and the chance of a single penetrating shot detonating the ammo racks. Another thing to note, since update 1.97 if the tank's battery runs out of power, the auto loader will not function and the cannon will need to be manually loaded, which is a much slower process.

As with the T-80B and T-64B, the T-72B can launch missiles out of its gun. Unlike the previous two vehicles though, it gets the upgraded 9M119 which has 700 mm of penetration compared to the previous ATGM's 650 mm penetration. These ATGM's can prove useful for shooting over hills to hit a hiding enemy or to engage helicopters or low-flying aircraft.

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°/+14°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	26.9	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
3BM22	APFSDS	425	420	415	405	393	380
3BM42	APFSDS	479	477	470	462	453	445
3BK18M	HEATFS	550	550	550	550	550	550
3OF26	HE	42	42	42	42	42	42
9M119	ATGM	700	700	700	700	700	700

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%
3BM22	APFSDS	1,760	4.83	N/A	N/A	N/A	76°	77°	80°
3BM42	APFSDS	1,700	4.85	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°
3BK18M	HEATFS	905	19.0	N/A	0.1	2,790	65°	72°	77°
3OF26	HE	850	23.0	0.1	0.1	5,240	79°	80°	81°
9M119	ATGM	400	23.3	N/A	0.01	3,600	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

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

Machine guns

The T-72B has access to a coaxial PKT 7.76 mm machine gun and a 12.7 mm NSVT anti-aircraft machine gun, which is mounted above the commander's hatch. The PKT is rarely useful in top tier matches, but the NSVT can be quite useful. The NSVT has 29 mm of penetration, allowing it to damage some light vehicles like IFVs and enemy SPAA. Additionally it is useful to engage enemy helicopters when they come close. Machine guns can also be used to try and shoot down enemy ATGMs, but this is unreliable. They can also be used to shoot the ground in front of the tank for a quick smoke screen of sorts, confusing the enemy and blocking their view for a clean shot.

12.7 mm NSVT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	300 (150)	700	-10°/+60°	±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).

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection		Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts		Horizontal Drive	3BM22
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	NVD	Adjustment of Fire	Laser rangefinder
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	Smoke grenade	Elevation Mechanism	9M119
IV	Transmission	Engine	ESS		Artillery Support	3BM42

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Excellent armour protection
• CONTACT-1 ERA coverage to front and sides
• Powerful main armament with autoloader, 3BM42 round, and laser rangefinder
• Good stock round 3BM22
• Barrel launched ATGMs
• ESS and smoke grenades

Cons:

• Lack of suitable reverse speed (-4 km/h)
• Lack of thermals at rank VI
• Lack of survivability (Small crew count and cramped interior, large ammo rack)
• Inadequate gun depression

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

The Shooting Range #192 - Metal Beasts section at 00:32 discusses the T-72B.

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-72B: Necessary Improvements