2A26 (125 mm)

The 125 mm 2A26 on the T-64A (1971) gun mantlet.

Description

The 125 mm 2A26 is a Soviet tank cannon used exclusively on the T-64A in-game, the 2A26 gives a sign on what is to come with the 125 mm ammunition with the Soviet tech tree.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• T-64A (1971)

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

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
3BK12M	HEATFS	440	440	440	440	440	440
3OF19	HE	35	35	35	35	35	35
3OF26	HE	42	42	42	42	42	42
3BM9	APFSDS	321	317	303	285	268	249
3BM15	APFSDS	440	430	420	410	405	400
3BM22	APFSDS	425	420	415	405	393	380

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (kg)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
3BK12M	HEATFS	905	19	0.05	0.1	2.06	65°	72°	77°
3OF19	HE	850	23.2	0.3	0.1	3.15	79°	80°	81°
3OF26	HE	850	23	0.3	0.1	5.24	79°	80°	81°
3BM9	APFSDS	1,800	3.6	-	-	-	72°	76°	78°
3BM15	APFSDS	1,780	3.88	-	-	-	76°	77°	80°
3BM22	APFSDS	1,760	4.83	-	-	-	76°	77°	80°

Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

Cons:

History

In the 1960s, as the 115 mm U-5TS was beginning to see service in the T-62 tank to counter the newest NATO tanks such as the American M60 and British Chieftain tanks, Alexandr Morozov's design bureau at the Kharkov Malyshev tank plant was ordered to integrate the 115 mm cannon into their new tank program, known at the time as Object 430. The integration of the 115 cannon, modified to utilize two-piece ammunition to fit within the Object 430 design, was designated the 115 mm D-68 gun, or GAU designation 2A21 (the tank itself was designated Object 432 with this 115 mm cannon). Despite this upgrade, Morozov's team decided the 115 mm was not lethal enough to engage the NATO tanks outside of their threat envelope, with also the fear that the 115 mm D-68 was not sufficient against the Chieftain particularly. Morozov looked into options for a stronger armament for their tank, which would be adopted as the T-64 with the 115 mm D-68 as an interim on 30 December 1966.

Three guns would be developed as possible options for the T-64, two smoothbore 125 mm guns named D-81 and D-85, and a rifled 122 mm D-83 gun. The D-83 was quickly abandoned, and the D-85 was deemed too complicated and expensive. This left the smoothbore 125 mm D-81 gun as the sole contender. The 125 mm D-81 began development as far back as 1961 as a more lethal gun over the T-62's 115 mm gun, aiming to have a muzzle velocity of up to 1,800 m/s. OKB-9 began drafting and designing the gun that would become the 125 mm D-81, GAU designation 2A26. The gun itself was derived from the 115 mm U-5TS, which OKB-9 also developed, with similarities in breech construction and recoil mechanism.

The 126 mm 2A26 guns were tested in Object 434 prototype tanks in 1966. The Object 434 would be approved for Soviet service in May 1968 as the T-64A, first delivered in January 1969. Following troop trials, the 2A26 was improved based on complaints such as low barrel life with the 2A26M in 1969. A further improvement in the 2A26M2 adapted the gun to fire with the T-72's autoloader.

The 2A26 gun was further modernized in 1970 into the 125 mm 2A46 model, which implemented newer production methods to the barrel for increased barrel life and implemented a hydraulic recoil buffer fluid expansion compensator mechanism.

Media

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See also

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• reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
• references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

References

Citations

Bibliography

• Iron Drapes. 2015. "T-72: Part 1" Tankograd. Last modified May 01, 2015. Website (Archive)
• Fofanov, Vasiliy. n.d. "120MM AND 125MM MAIN GUNS". Accessed August 9, 2022. Website (Archive)
• Zaloga, Steven J. 2015. T-64 Battle Tank: The Cold War's Most Secret Tank. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing. Kindle.