| TR-125 | |
|---|---|
| File:Tr-125 3.JPG TR-125 | |
| Type | Main battle tank |
| Place of origin |  Romania
|
| Service history | |
| Used by | Romania |
| Wars | none |
| Production history | |
| Number built | 3 or 5 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight | 50 tonnes |
| Length | 7.9 m |
| Width | 3.6 m |
| Height | 2.2 m |
| Crew | 3 (commander, driver and gunner) |
| Armor | Composite armour 570 mm (22.4 in) front of the turret |
| Primary armament |
125 mm A555 smoothbore tank gun |
| Secondary armament |
PKMT 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun, DShK 12.7 mm AA machine gun on commander's ring-mount |
| Engine | 8VSA3 diesel 900 hp (671 kW) |
| Power/weight | 18 hp/tonne (13.4 kW/tonne) |
| Suspension | torsion bar |
The TR-125 (TR-125 stands for "Tanc Romanesc 125" - Romanian Tank 125) main battle tank is the redesigned T-72 made in Romania made of Romanian components only. Number 125 in the designation stands for the 125 mm A555 smoothbore tank gun. It is now designated P-125.
History
In the late 1970s - early 1980s, the USSR supplied Romania with 30 T-72 main battle tanks. Mass production was also planned and because Romania has a tradition of producing only weapons that are made of domestic made components therefore works on a such a variant were started in mid 1980's. Three (five according to other sources) prototypes were made and tested.
Description
The vehicle has a modified suspension with seven pairs of wheels, unlike the T-72 and most tanks based on it which have six. This allowed the hull to be stretched by 1 m and installation of a more powerful 850-900 HP diesel engine 8VSA3, basically a variant of the engine mounted in TR-85. It used an old DShK machine gun for anti-aircraft purposes and was fitted with extra armour. As a result of these changes the tank's weight increased from 41.5 tonnes (T-72M) to around 50 tonnes.
Operators
Romania - 3 or 5 prototypes
Gallery
External links
- Brief history of tanks in Romanian Army
- One of the very few active topics discussing TR-125 on the Romanian internet
- Polish page about T-72 based tanks including TR-125
- Word document presumably containing the response given by the Romanian MoD - Armaments Department to an inquiry concerning TR-125
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