T-72B (1989)

This page is about the Soviet medium tank T-72B (1989). For other versions, see T-72 (Family).

T-72B (1989)

T-72B (1989)

Description

The T-72B (1989) is a rank Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in Update "Raining Fire".

General info

Survivability and armour

While being the same tank as the T-72B, the T-72B (1989) has CONTACT-5 ERA instead of CONTACT-1 ERA, making it able to withstand greater kinetic energy damage (APFSDS, APDS, etc) while keeping its capability against chemical energy (HEAT-FS, ATGM, etc). It should be notted that, depending on the caliber and round, the ERA plates can be "multi-hit". However, this is not something that should be expected most of the time

Armour type:

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	60 mm (60°)	80 mm Top 20 mm Bottom	40 mm	20 - 30 mm
Turret	Variable thickness armor Turret front 220-600 mm Gun mantlet	240 - 118 mm	60 - 115 mm	45 mm
Cupola	100 mm (variable angles)	100 mm	100 mm	40 mm

Notes:

• ERA plates are 13mm thick

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade				1,302			__.__
Realistic				743			__.__

The T-72B (1989) is a slow and sluggish tank which has poor acceleration and handling. It has really poor reverse speed as well as hull traverse. However, it has a powerful engine which makes it capable of pulling and pushing enemy tanks as well as move through rough terrain with ease. It does not have enough horsepower to climb over steep elevations. Speed wise, it has a decent top speed (~60-70km/h) which under specific situations it is able to be reached.

Armaments

Main armament

The T-72A has the powerful 2A46M 125mm smoothbore cannon. It has a powerful selection of rounds, each with different uses and similarities between same types.

125 mm 2A46M-1					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	45	-6°/+13°	±180°	Two-plane	22.8	31.6	38.4	42.5	45.2	7.10	7.10	7.10	7.10
Realistic					14.3	16.8	20.4	22.6	24.0

Ammunition

• 3BK18M: this is the starting ammunition which can be seen as poor when in frontal engagements against modern MBT's. However, the decent explosive filler as well as not loosing penetration over distances makes it a decent round for sniping. However, the speed in said round is not fast and will be hard to aim at long distances. It is able to hullbreak light armored vehicles such as SPAA
• 3BM22: this is a tier I tungsten core APFSDS which has the second highest muzzle velocity seen in Russian darts. However, the weight as well as penetration make it unreliable when facing top tier MBT's frontally.
• 9M119: this is a tier 3 SACLOS ATGM which is seen already in T-72B. It is also seen in later T-72 models. It has decent penetration and flight speed, making it reliable for taking helicopters and sniping enemies which the use of dart can be more difficult.
• 3BM42: this is a tier 4 APFSDS which has differer ballistic performance than 3BM22. While it has more penetration power and greater mass, it has reduced speed (1760 m/s vs 1700 m/s).

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
3BK18M	HEATFS	550	550	550	550	550	550
3OF26	HE	42	42	42	42	42	42
3BM22	APFSDS	425	420	415	405	393	380
9M119	ATGM	700	700	700	700	700	700
3BM42	APFSDS	479	477	470	462	453	445

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
3BK18M	HEATFS	905	19	0.05	0.1	2,790	65°	72°	77°
3OF26	HE	850	23	0	0.1	5,240	79°	80°	81°
3BM22	APFSDS	1,760	4.83	N/A	N/A	N/A	76°	77°	80°
9M119	ATGM	400	23.3	0.05	0.1	5,540	80°	82°	90°
3BM42	APFSDS	1,700	4.85	N/A	N/A	N/A	78°	80°	81°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
45	41 (+3)	34 (+5)	22(+22)	0 (+44)	No

Machine guns

12.7 mm NSVT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	300 (150)	700	-4°/+75°	±180°

7.62 mm PKT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	2,000 (250)	700	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The T-72B play-style is near identical to the T-64B (and with that, Soviet MBTs from here on). One of the key differences between the two vehicles is the T-72B's stronger armour. Thanks to access to Laser Rangefinder, the T-72B is able to be a hulldown sniper as the high muzzle velocity of the dart and access to ATGM make it easier. However, it should be notted it has no access to thermals or a high magnifiyng zoom (8x only).

List of enemies notes (all of the tanks at the battle-rating with access to APFSDS will be able to penetrate your hull frontally post ERA effects):

• XM-1/XM-1: despite having thin composite armor, the 3BK12M is not recommended to be used with them
• Leopard A1A1: killable by all anti-tank munitions.
• AMX-30B2/AMX-30B2 BRENUS: killable by all anti-tank munition. DM23/33 have enough armor penetration to penetrate T-72 driver frontal plates
• Leopard 2K: killable by all anti-tank munition with exception of turret manlet when using 3BK12M
• AMX-32:killable by all anti-tank munition
• AMX-40: killable by all anti-tank munition with exception of turret manlet and lower frontal plate when using 3BK12M
• Strv 103: killable by all anti-tank munition. Depending on the hull angling, HEAT-FS might ricochet. APFSDS is recommended to be used when facing it frontally always.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Powerful 125 mm 2A46M-1 gun with various shells, including APFSDS, HEAT-FS, HE, ATGM
• Kontakt-5 ERA blocks significantly increases CE protection, and slightly for KE protection
• Low profile, is a small target compared to Western main battle tanks
• Laser rangefinder and high velocity APFSDS make sniping long distances easier
• Has both smoke grenade launchers and ESS
• With correct angling, upper frontal armour can deflect most rounds from counterpart tanks of other countries
• Autoloader continues working even if fighting a fire or replacing a crew member, and is low on the hull, making it more difficult to hit and detonate

Cons:

• Painful reverse speed of only -5 km/h, can very much get the player destroyed if not careful
• -6 degrees gun depression limits its ability to adapt different battlefield environments
• 7.1 seconds of reload is slower than the 5-second reload of some Western MBTs
• No ammo rack protection, anything that hits it usually leads to ammo detonation, destroying the vehicle instantly
• 3 closely packed crew members are easily knocked out
• Has 3 major weakspots: gun mantlet, driver's armour cutout, and lower front plate
• No thermal optics, only has night vision device

History

Main article: History of the T-72B

Thanks to the increased combat seen in Middle East and threatening NATO powers, Uralzavodvagon decided to upgrade their previous T-72B tanks with CONTACT-1 (K1) ERA to CONTACT-5 (K5) ERA. It was also fitted with a new Fire Control System.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

• [Devblog] New T-72 modifications: here come the top-of-the-line Russians!