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Hello !
Today, I’d like to suggest the addition of a rather obscure tank belonging to a triad of tanks, the B2 series of Soviet main tanks. This tank in particular is the T-80B2. Now, if you’re wondering where the T-80B1 is, it didn’t exist. The T-80 lobby having won the favours of the Soviet leadership, a B1 version of the T-80, a “nerfed” version of the tank, was not deemed acceptable.
In game, the main differences between this tank and the tech tree T-80B would be the lack of thermals and an improved ATGM, as well as a lack of Kontakt-1, which could make this tank a menace at a lower BR.
History
Spoiler
It is no secret that most (not all) Soviet engineers were quite fond of having gun-launched anti-tank guided missiles. As much as a lot of funds were allocated to multiple KBs to develop state-of-the-art missile systems, the path taken was arduous to say the least.
While development of the Malyutka missile was ongoing, the idea of installing it on tanks soon came to be and came to fruition in the form of various prototypes later on. However, the missile was considered a bit unwieldy to use from inside a tank and it was decided, under OKR “Гвоздь” (“Nail”), that a gun-launched missile should be developed for the 434 tank. 2 years later, on December 28th, 1966, the name of the project shifted to “Кобра” (“Cobra”).
Development of the Kobra system and missile was quite successful. By 1967, KB Tochmash had managed to fix most of the design issues and produced a test batch of missiles.
By 1968, more than a hundred missiles had been fired to fine tune the system.
However, when 1969 came around and the T-64A was accepted into service, the Kobra system was missing from the documents : it had failed tests. During some trials, out of 21 shots, only 3 9M112s hit the target. The failures were attributed to the unreliability of the missile itself and the antenna’s rangefinder.
It was not until 1974 that Kobra managed to get decent results.
On September 3rd, 1976, the “T-64A with special gun-launched armament” was accepted into service as T-64B. 2 years later, the T-80B using the Kobra system also entered service. Now, only the T-72 was missing a GLATGM.
As for the T-72, UKBTM obviously knew what the other design bureaus were doing and Kobra was also considered. However, it was not until the late 1970s that UVZ started to realise that equipping the T-72 with a missile was an urgent matter as KhKBM and SKB-2 had taken the lead. In 1977, work was completed on the 179 tank, a T-72A equipped with Ob’ FCS and Kobra. This was followed by the creation of the “Кобра-У” (“Cobra-U”) universal system that could be used by the T-64B as well as newer variants of the T-72.
Those plans were pretty much destroyed by the appearance of Tula’s KBP’s Svir system, that was in fact better than Kobra in most regards. Most importantly, Svir had a faster time to “ready up” and could be left on for longer periods of time. This wasn’t the end for a Kobra-fied T-72 as UKBTM developed the T-72B2 in that time frame as a stop gap in case the Svir system had troubles being delivered. However, Kobra being considered obsolete, it was eventually decided not to produce the T-72B2 at all and keep the T-72B1 in production.
From then on, Tula’s KBP would become the go-to choice for missile systems in the USSR. But, where is this T-80B2 I talked about ?
While the Kobra system itself went under few changes, most improvements were made to the missile itself. In 1977, trials began on the 9M112M and 9M112M2 missiles. Respectively, those would bring 20% and 40% better penetration compared to the base 9M112. In 1979, the 9M112M entered service. The biggest improvement yet would come in 1983 in the form of the 9M124, bringing 80% better penetration to the table, though it is unknown if it actually entered service.
On October 10th, 1978, work on the 9K117 “Агона” (“Agon”) system was officially accepted and launched. It was, for all intents and purposes, a heavily upgraded 9K112 system. Specific versions of the T-80B and T-64B would be made for the state trials that began on December 15th, 1982.
In 1984, work began on a new missile named 9M128 “Зенит” (“Zenith”, no it didn’t mean antiair in this case). Technical documents are ready by 1985 and, in 1986, state trials of the missile began. On May 28th, 1985, the T-80B2 was accepted into service.
9M128 could penetrate up to 650 mm of RHA after ERA since it had a tandem warhead. The whole missile weighed 26,7 kg and went to speeds of up to 350 m/s, giving it flight characteristics very similar to the earlier Kobra missiles. In total, 10 tanks were built with the Agona system.
In 1987, head engineer of the KB Tochmash, Nudelman, left his job and with him left the Agona system. In the end, KBP’s Svir and Refleks won and became the mainstay of the T-72s and T-80s.
Specifications
Crew : 3
- Driver
- Commander
- Gunner
Armament
- One 125 mm gun 2A46M-1
Ammo
Spoiler
3BM42
3OF26
3BK18M
9M128 (see history section for details)
Sights : 1G42 (x3.9 - x9)
Elevation : +15°/-5°
Dimensions
- Weight : 43 t
- Length : 6.88 m
- Width : 3.52 m
- Height : 2.19 m
Mobility
- Engine : GTD-1000TF (1100 hp)
- Top speed : 70 km/h / -11 km/h
- Transmission : 5 forward / 1 reverse
Armor
Exactly the same as the in-game T-80B without Kontakt-1. As can be seen, the tank obviously featured the 30 mm add-on plate
Sources
- Техника и Вооружение 2019-10
- Gur Khan attacks!: "Кобра" для Т-72
- Комплекс управляемого танкового вооружения 9К112 "Кобра"
- Бронетанковый календарь: Солянкин А., Желтов И., Попов Д.
