T-10 tank

For other uses, see T10 (disambiguation).

T-10 Heavy Tank
T-10M at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War
Type	Heavy tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	1953–late 1970s
Used by	Soviet Union
Wars	Six Day War, Yom Kippur War
Production history
Designer	Zhozef Kotin
Designed	1948–52
Manufacturer	Factory 185, Factory 174
Produced	1953–66
Specifications
Mass	52 tonnes
Length	7.41 m, 9.87 m over gun
Width	3.56 m
Height	2.43 m
Crew	4
Armour	250 mm
Main armament	122 mm D-25TA
Secondary armament	2 × 12.7 mm DShKM machine guns
Engine	39-l 12-cyl. diesel model V-2-IS 700 hp (522 kW)
Power/weight	13 hp/tonne
Suspension	torsion-bar
Operational range	250 km
Maximum speed	42 km/h

The T-10 (also known as Object 730) was a Soviet heavy tank of the Cold War, the final development of the KV and IS tank series. During development, it was called IS-8 and IS-9. It was accepted into production in 1952 as the IS-10 (Iosif Stalin, Russian form of Joseph Stalin), but due to the political climate in the wake of Stalin's death in 1953, it was renamed T-10. The biggest differences from its direct ancestor, the IS-3, were a longer hull, seven pairs of road wheels instead of six, a larger turret mounting a new gun with fume extractor, an improved diesel engine, and increased armour. General performance was similar, although the T-10 could carry more ammunition.

T-10s (like the IS tanks they replaced) were deployed in independent tank regiments belonging to armies, and independent tank battalions belonging to divisions. These independent tank units could be attached to mechanized units, to support infantry operations and perform breakthroughs.

Demise of Soviet heavy tanks

The mobile nature of armoured warfare in World War II had demonstrated the drawbacks of the slow heavy tanks. In the final push towards Berlin, mechanized divisions had become widely split up as heavy tanks lagged behind the mobile T-34s. The Soviets continued to produce heavy tanks for a few years as part of the Cold War arms race (compare the heavier U.S. M103 and British Conqueror), but the more flexible T-54 and T-62 medium tanks already had armour and armament comparable to the T-10's.

In the 1960s, the Soviets embraced the main battle tank (MBT) concept, by replacing heavy tanks with mobile medium tanks. In the late 1960s, the independent tank battalions with heavy tanks were re-equipped with the higher-technology T-64s, and later, the very fast T-80, while regular tank and mechanized units fielded the more basic T-55s and T-72s. T-10 production was stopped in 1966, and heavy tank projects were cancelled, such as the auto-loaded, 130 mm-armed Obiekt 770.

Antitank guided missiles (ATGMs) started to be deployed widely during this period, and would become an effective replacement for the heavy tanks' long-range firepower. The Soviets made use of them first on BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles, and later on the T-64 and other MBTs. Eventually, light, sophisticated reactive armour was used to give the MBTs a further edge in protection without slowing them down.

According to Bryan Perret, "the engagements of the Six-Day War, especially that at Rafah, merely emphasised what the Soviet Army already knew, namely that the heavy tank had its day".

Production history

The T-10 served with the Soviet Union but was not known to have been provided to Warsaw Pact nations, though Soviet heavy tank regiments stationed in those countries may have been equipped with them. T-10Ms were "in the unhappy position" of simultaneous production by two factories (Kirov as Object 272 and Chelyabinsk as Object 734) "with incompatible parts". Not until 1962 was Kirov's version standardized upon.

The T-10 is known to have been exported to Egypt and Syria. It was used in combat during the Yom Kippur War, where it normally provided long-range fire support to the T-55/T-62 tanks, with little success. Heavy tanks were withdrawn from Soviet front-line service by 1967, and completely removed from service in 1993. Many of the tank chassis were converted to missile vehicles.

It is estimated that some 6,000 Soviet heavy tanks were built after the end of World War II, including IS-2s, IS-3s, and T-10s.

Models

• T-10 - (1952)
• T-10A - (1956) modification, adding a single-plane gun stabilizer.
• T-10B - (1957) adding a 2-plane gun stabilizer.
• T-10M - (1957) improved version with longer M-62-T2 L/46 gun with five-baffle muzzle brake, 2-plane gun stabilizer, machine guns replaced with 14.5 mm KPVT (a better ballistic match for the new main gun), infrared night vision equipment, NBC protection. Overall length is 10.29 m.
  • 1963 - T-10M is equipped with OPVT deep-wading snorkel.
  • 1967 - T-10M is supplied with APDS and HEAT ammunition.

T-10A in Kaharlyk Ukrainian

Operators

• Soviet Union
• Egypt
• South Ossetia^{[citation needed]}
• Syria

References

• Miller, David, The Illustrated Directory of Tanks of the World (Zenith Imprint Press, 2000) ISBN 0-7603-0892-6
• Perret, Bryan, Soviet Armour Since 1945, London:Blandford Press (1987), ISBN 0-7137-1735-1
• Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’, Why Three Tanks?, Armor, vol. 108, n 4 (July–August 1998), Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center
• Sewell, Stephen ‘Cookie’ (2002). “Red Star – White Elephant?” in Armor (July–August 2002), pp 26–32. Fort Knox, KY: US Army Armor Center
• Tucker, Spencer, Tanks: An Illustrated History of Their Impact, ABC-CLIO (2004), ISBN 1-57607-995-3, ISBN 978-1-57607-995-9

External links

• Last Heavy Tanks of the USSR - Heavy tanks and prototypes from IS-4 through T-10, at battlefield.ru.