TR-125/P-125 - Big plans that ended up in big failure

Surbaissemaxxing · February 9, 2025, 12:14am

Would you like to see this in-game?

Yes
No

0 voters

Suggestion No.54

G’day lads. I want to suggest a vehicle from Romania, where they attempted to make a fully indigenous T-72 with a better engine, which ended up making it longer, and ofc I’m talking about the TR-125, nowadays being called P-125 :) (I will still call it TR-125, aside from the end part of the history section)

Description:

Spoiler

The TR-125 (Tanc Românesc 125) is a main battle tank developed in Romania during the late 1980s. It was designed as a reverse-engineered version of the Soviet T-72 tank, but with Romanian-made components. It includes a crew of 3, a weight of approximately 50 tons, dimensions of length 7.9m, width 3.6m, and height 2.2m, a 125mm A555 smoothbore tank gun as the main armament, secondary armament consisting of a PKT 7.62mm coaxial machine gun and a DShK 12.7mm anti-aircraft machine gun on the commander’s ring-mount, an 8VSA3 diesel engine with 900hp (671kW), a power/weight ratio of 18hp/tonne (13.4 kW/tonne), and a torsion bar suspension with seven pairs of wheels (compared to the 6 found on normal T-72’s, which was done because the engine was too big) providing increased stability and mobility. The TR-125 project was initiated after Romania was denied a license to produce T-72 tanks locally by the Soviet Union. Between five and ten prototypes were built and tested, but the project was eventually canceled, and the prototypes were placed in storage.

History:

Spoiler

Around the late 1970s, Romania saw a problem; it needed to get better equipment for it’s own army, as T-55’s weren’t effective anymore like they were back then. So in 1978, Romania purchased 31 T-72 Ural-1 tanks from the Soviet Union. These tanks were integrated into an elite unit and also used to gain experience for Romania’s own tank development program. The T-72 tanks were kept under wraps and were first seen publicly during the December 1989 revolution. After the revolution, they served alongside other tanks in the Romanian military until their premature retirement in 2005. Today, one T-72 remains on display at the King Ferdinand National Military Museum in Bucharest.

(Above is a T-72 Ural-1 shown, and at the right side next to it is a TR-125)

Following the Soviet Union’s refusal to grant Romania a license to produce T-72 tanks locally, the TR-125 project was initiated. Romania decided to reverse-engineer the T-72 tank, leading to the development of the TR-125 between 1984 and 1991. The project involved various Romanian companies and research institutes, with the goal of creating a tank using domestic components. The TR-125 featured a 125 mm smoothbore tank gun, composite armor, and an 8VSA3 diesel engine with 900 hp, among other enhancements. Despite producing between five and ten prototypes that underwent testing, the project was eventually canceled, and the prototypes were placed in storage. The TR-125 is now known as P-125, meaning Prototype 125.

Armaments:

Spoiler

A555 125mm smoothbore cannon (~42 rounds)

1 12.7mm DShK roof mounted machine gun (~350 rounds)

1 7.62 PKT coaxial machine gun (~2300 rounds)

8 smoke grenades

Laser Warning System

8c5GFDi

98fbc8dc8f71e87ec9200e4c99f9eff1c91dde84_2_1000x750

Specifications:

Spoiler

The TR-125 has a length of 7.9m, a width of 3.6m and a height of 2.2m. It’s weight is approximately 48-50 tons. Due to it’s weight increase, it is equipped with an 8VSA3 diesel engine, producing 880-900hp, making it go up to 65km/h. It also gets a new transmission, so it might (hopefully) have better reverse speed. This also made the tank longer compared to a normal T-72, as it needed 7 roadwheels instead of 6. The TR-125 most likely has better armour too, as it was made with higher quality materials, because an extra 6.5-8.5 tons just going for the engine and extra length is a little doubtful.