Busting Myths on T-72 tank!

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T-72 has been in service for almost 50 years, and is still in service all around the world. So it is not uncommon to find some myths surrounding this vehicle. In this video, I will try to bust some of the more common myths surrounding this vehicle.

[MrChainsawAardvark]

I think some of the rumors actually pre-date the T-72 itself. Short crew member requirements were an artifact of from either IS-3 or T-62 tanks where you had 122mm/115mm shells in small spaces. Arm-eating auto-loaders may have originated with the initial operating problems of the T-64, which would have been presumably rectified when the T-72 got fielded. "A great tank for robotic dwarves, but a poor tank for humans" was a rather memorable description of the T-62 from an old book I read.

[WildBillCox]

A nation's AFVs reflect its armored doctrine. T72 suited Soviet doctrine at the time, just as M60 suited the USA. As a US veteran with a good friend who served in the M60A3 in Germany I can assert that the NATO tankers facing Soviet tanks in Europe did not think the T72 was a toothless tiger. My impression is that the opposition felt much the same way.

[exharkhun]

About the chopping of of arms, the Chieftain has told a story about how the Ambrams automatic ammunition blast door almost chopped his hand off. It's meant to be opened and closed by the loader between every reload but crews would rig it to achieve higher fire rates, but of course this lead to dangerous situations.

[mihailo]

The myth that crewmen for russian tanks must be short comes from the T-55, which really did require the gunner and commander to be 170cm (which was average at the time when it was designed) or below, since the legroom was very limited. But in T-64 and all later tanks the turret is much more spacious. I know in person one man who is 190cm+ who served as a commander in an M84, and he said that only the driver needs to be short

[tanksalot]

gunner definitely was not keeping his eyes on the target, fucking off 125mm rounds whilst looking at his mate 😂

[shrektheogre]

The onion tank is the best tank of them all with addition layers of protection

[shawnwilliams]

On a perception view …

*What many people don’t acknowledge are the KEY differences between domestic & export, base series & modernized*

*Another issue for the uninformed is recognizing how well the T72(export) performed against other 2nd generation tanks during the IRAN/IRAQ conflict, where MBT’s like the British Chieftain were outmatched. This is one of the main reasons why the U.S/U.K celebrated with such conviction after the 72’s defeat during the Gulf wars. The T72 was a feared tank up to that point.*

*Understanding that even a base model export 72 was an overmatch for the Chieftain gives a better idea of how good it was against what was considered at the time one of the best MBT’s in the Western Forces*

[carpathianhussar]

I'm a Hungarian T-72 gunner, I'm 184cm and I fit in the gunner position quite comfortably.

[henryatkinson]

A word on the height thing: I have a family member who was a T-72 and later T-80 commander, and he was about 190cm tall. Soviet Union and later Russian Federation.

[ΝικολαςΧελιδωνης]

My uncle was a Soviet army officer and he also served a t 72 commander. He is about 1, 80 meters tall rather well built.He told me that he was comfortable inside the tan.As for the performance of the t 72 in iraq, i noticed that in most photgraphs the hits the tanks received were from the side, so it probably would not make a huge difference if the Iraqi army had better tanks .

[scratchyass]

I wouldn't be surprised if the "arm eater" myth was spread during training, just as an old wives tail to scare recruits into being careful, staying on task, in their stations, "no passing around cigarettes or beer in the middle of firing drills! The auto loader will eat your arm young man!"

[ser_OLDC]

I like how people with one brain cell comment about the Russian tanks in the war of Ukraine, the thing that they are being destroyed by infantry AT weapons like many people know those weapons against tanks are excellent and since the ww2 they have been proven effective. We could say the same about the M1 in Yemen has been destroyed many times by these weapons or the Leopard 2 in Siria. Is the same story once again, but for these people is so difficult to understand

[Jonas-ghmy]

About the hight of Leopard 2 Crew, i am 1, 87m and a gunner/loader and fit "well". You are allowed to be 1, 90m for all positions in the tank. An optimal hight however would be anything below 1, 80m.

[ausaskar]

The "autoloader eats your arm" meme appears to originate from the BMP-1's autoloader.

[FLERS]

Ivan: comrade commander we need air support.
Igor: private load up the jet fuel. WE ARE THE AIR SUPPORT.

[hex]

If I remember correctly, the myth about Soviet Autoloaders taking off body parts like arms came from an incident inside a BMP-1 when a crew member was injured by the autoloading mechanism. Although im not sure of the extent of the injury.

[Del_S]

About the Iraqi T-72s, I wonder if maybe there might have been an element of "Everything's A Tiger" in play? Iraq had plenty T-55s around, plus Chinese made 59s and 69s. Surely a few of them got accidental upgrades in reports as being a more modern tank.

[muneirovalibas]

The main problem, as the video did point out, with the "poor" performance" of the Iraqi T-72 tanks was the obsolete Steel Penetrator rounds.
I've read reports a long time ago, (dont ask me for sources i've lost them, its over a decade ago) that American and allied tanks were hit multiple times by T-72s. This prove the Iraqi tank crews knew what they were doing, they just dont have the proper rounds to do real damage at all.
There was one incident where a lone Iraqi T-72 were duelling with an APACHE in a built up environment, scuttling from cover to cover to fire shots. Thats obviously almost impossible to do, the tank lost eventually but just show the Iraqi tank crews were undderated.

[michaelhowell]

The rumor for the height requirements probably comes from the fact the T-72 is so squat and the US has a six foot limit with waivers. I'm just shy of 6-3 and I have to get a waiver to be a 19K.

[kamilszadkowski]

I guess it could also be mentioned that those T-72M produced in Czechoslovakia and Poland although lacking all the bells and whistles of the newer versions produced in the USSR were considered to be of better baseline quality than the Soviet produced T-72s.