Russian desperation: Old T‑62 tanks fall short in Kharkiv assaults
Russians are desperately trying to overcome Ukrainian fortifications around the city of Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region. Their desperation was so great that they launched massive infantry assaults supported by T-62 tanks, resulting in hundreds of casualties. We explain whether the museum exhibit T-62 tanks are good for anything today.
In the region of Starytsya village, the Russians launched a massive assault repelled by the 42nd Independent Mechanized Brigade. The Russians reportedly lost up to 300 soldiers, an infantry fighting vehicle BMP-1, and four T-62 tanks (one damaged). The video below shows how Russian targets are being eliminated by artillery and FPV drones.
T-62 tanks - a useless machine that belongs in a museum
The T-62 tank was designed in the 1960s as an improved T-54/55 family version. The most important change was the introduction of a smoothbore 115 mm cannon and the strengthening of its armour with additional steel plates.
This steel armour provides resistance to fire from 30 mm automatic cannons, but any weapon with a shaped charge warhead capable of burning through several hundred millimetres of steel armour will easily destroy such relics. The situation looks a bit better for the T-62M/MW versions modernized in the 1980s.
The first variant received additional composite armor modules on the turret and hull, while the second had the added capability of using Kontakt-1 reactive armor modules. This locally strengthened the protection level to what the earliest versions of T-72 tanks offered.
Other changes include increasing the engine power to 830 horsepower and upgrading the fire control system with a laser rangefinder, enabling the firing of 9K116-2 Sheksna anti-tank guided missiles. However, it is worth noting that this still doesn't change much, as T-62 tanks are devoid of modern night vision and thermal sights.
Without them, the tank has minimal combat capabilities in poor weather conditions or at night. Moreover, its cannon cannot penetrate the armor of any modern tank and can at most be used to shell a given area with high-explosive shells. In this respect, Leopard 1A5 tanks present themselves better, which, despite having even more illusory armour, can effectively engage targets in difficult conditions over a distance of several kilometres.
