PT-76

PT-76
PT-76
	PT-76 on display near the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, Kiev.
Type	Light tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Specifications
Mass	14.0 tonnes
Length	6.91 m
Width	3.15 m
Height	2.26 m
Crew	3
Armor	14 mm
Main; armament	76 mm gun
Secondary; armament	7.62 mm machinegun
Engine	V-6 diesel; 240 hp (177 kW)
Power/weight	17 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion-bar
Operational; range	260 km
Maximum speed	44 km/h

The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious tank which was introduced in early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armies. It was widely exported to other friendly states, like India, Iraq, North Korea and Vietnam — in all, over 25 countries used the PT-76. Its designation PT-76 (ПТ-76) is an abbreviation for the Russian Plavayushchy Tank (Плавающий Танк, swimming tank).

History

The PT-76 was developed in 1949-1951 under the leadership of Z.Y. Kotin, and officially adopted on 16 August 1952. The production started in 1953 at the Volgograd Tractor Factory. In 1958 an improved variant, PT-76B, was adopted and remained in production until 1963.

About 7,000 PT-76s were built during the vehicle's lifetime, of which about 2,000 were exported. Over 25 countries employed the vehicle, including Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, China, Congo, Cuba, Egypt, Finland, Guinea, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Laos, Madagascar, Mozambique, North Korea, Pakistan, Poland, Vietnam, and Yugoslavia.

The tank is still in active service in a number of countries. The Russian Army is reported to have used PT-76 units in the ongoing war in Chechnya, and the Indonesian Army used it on the Indonesian island of Ambon during civil unrest from 2000 onwards.

The People's Republic of China is still building Type 63 light tank, based on the PT-76, for its Army and Marine Units. The Type 63 has been exported to Pakistan, Sudan, Tanzania, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Combat history

The PT-76 was employed by North Vietnam several times during the Vietnam War. As part of the Battle of Khe Sanh (1968), during the Battle of Lang Vei twelve PT-76s were used in an assault against a US Special Forces camp. At least five were destroyed by Recoiless rifle fire and LAWs, but they were decisive in the successful assault.

At least five PT-76s were involved in the only tank-against-tank battle of the war prior to the US withdrawal, on March 3 1969 at Ben Het near the Laotian border, with two of them destroyed by US Army M48A3s of the 1st Battalion 69th Armor. [1].

The PT-76 saw action in the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1965 and 1971. The superior tactics and overwhelming numbers of the Indian Army enabled it to play a vital role in defeating the Pakistan Army during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

The tank also saw service in the Six Day War (1967), in the Yom Kippur War (1973), and in Angola (1975-1992?).

Description

Water jets exits are at the rear of the vehicle.

The PT-76 is amphibious, thanks to its flat, boat-shaped hull and ready to swim after merely erecting the trim vane on the bow. It is propelled in the water by two water jets, one in each side of the hull, with the jet exits at the rear of the tank. The rear exits have lids that can be fully or partially closed, redirecting the water stream to the forward-directed exits at the sides of the hull, thus enabling the vehicle to turn or float reverse.

The tank has a three-man crew, with the tank commander also acting as radio operator and gunner. It lagged behind other Soviet armoured fighting vehicles in that it had no night vision or NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) protection systems, which significantly reduced its effectiveness. It was later replaced by the BRM-1 reconnaissance variant of the BMP-1.

Variants

Four variants of the PT-76 exist with different main guns:

PT-76 Model 1: D-56T gun (multi-slotted muzzle brake).
PT-76 Model 2: D-56TM gun (double-baffle muzzle brake and bore evacuator).
PT-76 Model 3: D-56TM gun (double-baffle muzzle brake only).
PT-76B, or Model 4: a stabilized D-56TS gun.

PT-76M with improved amphibious features thanks to slightly larger displacement was developed for the Russian Navy Marines but was never adopted.

Polish PT-76 tanks have additional 12.7 mm machine gun and separate hatches for commander and loader.

The Chinese obtained a few PT-76s in 1950s and built a number of virtually identical vehicles in 1959-1960 under the designation Type 60. The PLA wasn't satisfied with the performance of the vehicle, which led to the development of the improved Type 63 tanks, with larger hull, four-man crew, Type 62-85TC rifled 85 mm gun in a dome turret and powered by the liquid cooled 400 hp 12150L2 diesel. Due to its weight - 18.4 tons - the tank is relatively slow, with maximum road speed about 36 km/h. In the 1970s Type 63 was fitted with an external laser rangefinder and infrared night visions equipment, in the early 1990s a variant with redesigned hull and a 105 mm rifled gun was developed and another variant - designated Type 63A - was introduced in 1997.

Nimda Group Ltd., Israel, developed an upgrade package for PT-76 which includes a 90 mm gun, a new fire control system and a 300 hp diesel engine [2].

Several other vehicles were based on the PT-76 chassis: