T-64B

T-64B

T-64A (1971)

T-80B

T-64B

T-64A (1971)

T-80B

USSR

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
9.7	9.7	9.7

Class:

Medium tank

Research:110 000

Purchase:620 000

Description

The T-64B is a Rank VI Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 9.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.77 "Advancing Storm". In Update 1.79 "Project X", the vehicle gained the modification to equip "Kontakt-1" ERA blocks, transforming the variant into a T-64BV.

The T-64 "Bravo" is a fearsome opponent on the battlefield that improves on the infamy of its older brother, the T-64 "Alpha". Its triple-layer composite armour is capable of shrugging off hits from most of the other top rank cannons, however its lacklustre engine power can prove a little underwhelming in the face of the turbine engines and hugely powerful turbo diesels the vehicles it competes against sport. The 125mm 2A46M-1 "Sprut" cannon comes with ammunition perfectly capable of perforating almost all forms of armour on the battlefield, regardless of operating range. The low profile of the Bravo allows it to avoid detection and utilize forms of cover that other tanks cannot hide behind. The T-64B can be differentiated from the T-64A by the lack of the side extrusion panels, however is visually extremely similar to the T-80B and it's often hard to differentiate, especially when the armour package is applied. The T-64B gains a pintle-mounted machine gun which can prove useful as a deterrent against CAS and some light vehicles.

With the "Kontakt-1" ERA upgrade, the tank's appearance drastically changes. The ERA is fitted in a "pike" or triangular prism shape. The hull is also different as its covered with ERA and thee distinctive triangle at the front is gone. There is also an extra armour plate on the lower plate.

General info

Survivability and armour

Armour type:

• Composite armour (Hull front, Turret front)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
• Armour radiation material (Roof)

Armour	Front (Slope angle)	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	60* mm (68°) Front glacis 80 mm (62°) Lower glacis	85 mm Front 70 mm Rear <br. 20 mm (33°) Bottom	20 mm (4-54°) Top 45 mm Center 20 mm (21-57°) Bottom	30 + 30 mm Front 20 mm Engine deck
Turret	50-330 mm (0-80°)	65-140* mm (12-29°)	65 + 30 mm (0-65°)	45-140 + 30 mm
Armour	Sides	Roof
Cupola	45 mm	40 + 30 mm
Composite armour*	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	403 mm Kinetic 476 mm Chemical	N/A	N/A	N/A
Turret	Angles +0-0°: 440 mm Kinetic 500 mm Chemical Angles +30-30°: 400 mm Kinetic 450 mm Chemical	200 mm Kinetic 220 mm Chemical	N/A	N/A

Notes:

• Suspension wheels are 20 mm thick, torsion bars are 10 mm thick, and tracks are 30 mm thick.
• Belly armour is 20 mm thick.
• A 5 mm RHA plate separates the engine from the crew compartment
• A log providing 100 mm thickness in wood is mounted on the rear.
• The snorkel tube on the turret rear provide 4 mm of structural steel.
• Hull composite armour configuration is 60 mm RHA + 35 mm Textolite + 30 mm RHA + 35 mm Textolite + 45 mm RHA.
• Turret composite armour configuration is 130-140 mm CHA + 150 mm Ultra porcelain + 100-110 mm CHA.
• Turret side composite armour configuration is 90 mm CHA + 80 mm Ultra porcelain + 60 mm CHA.

To fight the T-64B:

• Disable the gun. Gun mantle is very weak against top tier shells so it will be destroyed. Even if a shell can penetrate the composite armour, make sure the T-64B can not hit you back as it will penetrate most vehicles it can face.
• The drivers port does not contain composite armour. Rounds with 200 mm of penetration can penetrate effectively, almost guaranteed kill. However at long ranges this is a very small target so try and hit the T-64B's gun.
• Lower plate is a very big weak spot as there is no composite armour there. Any top tier shell will penetrate at close to medium range. However at long ranges the lower plate is a very small target so try and disable the T-64B's gun.
• Vehicles such as the Type-90 or Ariete C1 are capable of punching straight through the hull composite armour.
• Fighting the T-64BV (T-64B with "Kontakt-1" ERA) is a different situation. With the ERA, protection against chemical is 850mm and above meaning it can stop the HOT missile and DM12 HEAT-FS. If you have an auto-cannon fire at the ERA to destroy it. Once it is gone you the value will drop to 500mm against chemical rounds. In some cases, a if a projectile with lots of explosive hits the breach or the ERA on turret, some shrapnel will deflect downwards into the ammunition, destroying the tank even though the projectile was stopped. However, the provides minimal protection against kinetic rounds

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)		Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse	Stock	AoA	Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	68	5	39	1.1	1085	1,336	27.82	33.32
Realistic	61	5			619	700	15.87	17.46

Armaments

Main armament

125 mm 2A46M-1
Capacity			Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance	Stabilizer
36			-6°/+14°	±180°	Two-plane
Turret rotation speed (°/s)
Mode	Stock	Upgraded	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
Arcade	22.8	__.__	__.__	__.__	__.__
Realistic	14.28	16.80	20.4	22.60	24.00
Reloading rate (seconds)
Stock	Prior + Full crew	Prior + Expert qualif.	Prior + Ace qualif.
7.10	7.10	7.10	7.10

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration in mm @ 0° Angle of Attack
		10m	100m	500m	1000m	1500m	2000m
3BM15	APFSDS	440	430	420	410	405	400
3BM22	APFSDS	425	420	415	405	393	380
3BK18M	HEATFS	550	550	550	550	550	550
3OF26	HE	47	47	47	47	47	47
9M112	ATGM	650	650	650	650	650	650

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity in m/s	Projectile Mass in kg	Fuse delay in m:	Fuse sensitivity in mm:	Explosive Mass in g (TNT equivalent):	Normalization At 30° from horizontal:	Ricochet:
								0%	50%	100%
3BM15	APFSDS	1,780	3.88	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	76°	77°	78°
3BM22	APFSDS	1,760	4.83	N/A	N/A	N/A	°	76°	77°	78°
3BK18M	HEATFS	905	19	0.0	0.1	2,790	°	65°	72°	75°
3OF26	HE	850	23	0.1	0.5	5,780	+0°	79°	80°	81°
9M112	ATGM	400	27.5	0.0	0.01	3,600	+0°	80°	82°	90°

Ammo racks

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	Visual discrepancy
36	35 (+1)	28 (+8)	1 (+35)	no

Only First Stage:28-20

Machine guns

12.7 mm NSVT
Pintle mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
300 (150)				700	-10°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm PKT
Coaxial mount
Capacity (Belt capacity)				Fire rate (shots/minute)	Vertical guidance	Horizontal guidance
1,250 (250)				700	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The T-64B performs optimally as a sniper or support tank, utilising the low profile and long-range weapon performance. While the armour of the T-64B was good for it's time, many later vehicles can fairly reliably penetrate the UFP, even through the composite armour. The gun performs well, with a good variety of ammunition, an autoloader for reliable reload times (even when a crew member is knocked, or putting out fires) and extremely high round velocity for long-range ease of use.

The T-64B can be used as a brawling tank but positioning is key - wherever possible, the LFP should not be exposed, and due to the abysmally low reverse speed, there's usually no escape from a sticky situation. Play carefully in close quarters environments, letting targets move into your gunsights rather than vice versa.

Keep in mind that the vehicle is relatively slow, so you'll often be one of the last into battle. This gives you an opportunity to exploit known intel - where your teammates have been shot/destroyed from, primarily - which can be used to position, ready for pushing enemy tanks.

T-64BV

One of the later upgrades available to the T-64B is the 'additional protection' upgrade, which covers the frontal hull and turret with "Kontakt-1" ERA. This adds a huge amount of protection to the vehicle specifically against chemical rounds. While it's uncommon to see top rank MBTs use HEAT rounds, it can prove useful when facing IFVs/ATGM carriers, or in many cases, helicopters with ATGMs. The weight increase is often well worth the benefits of the BV upgrade.

Top-rank Adversaries

M1/IPM1/M1A1 Abrams: The Abrams series of vehicles are significantly faster than the T-64B, and will almost always get into position before you're able to. The best way to combat them is to catch them while they're pushing. Be careful with shot placement, however, because of the nature of the Abrams vehicles it's often very hard to guarantee a one-shot vehicle knockout - if necessary, disable the vehicle's gunner/weapon first. Protip: When you have a clear shot on the back of an Abrams' turret, try to place it through the ammunition - this often results in ammo detonation and the vehicle's destruction.

Leopard 2K: The Leopard 2K has negligible armour and can often be destroyed with a well placed shot almost anywhere - beware the highly angled surfaces, however, which will bounce shots you may not expect it to. Watch out for the Leo's mobility, though - it can flank quickly and the L/44 120mm can be deadly.

Leopard 2A4/2A5: The Leopard 2A4/2A5 are similar vehicles to face, although the 2A5 can prove significantly harder to kill. Both vehicles are reasonably mobile, especially compared to the T-64. The best option for both vehicles is to try to get a side shot - but if this isn't possible, try for a round through the lower plate. Where this isn't possible, try destroy the gun directly or place a shot through the turret ring - but avoid the turret cheeks on these vehicles, as they're near impenetrable.

Challenger Mk.2/Mk.3/2: These vehicles can be extremely hard to destroy when they're in a hull-down position - their turret cheeks are extremely well protected and the mantlet is small and hard to place a round through. If you're forced to engage one at long range, it's best to try your best to land a shot in the mantlet or the lower half of the turret cheeks, which are slightly weaker. When a Challenger is exposed, however, simply place a shell through the massive LFP and reap the rewards.

Leclerc: The Leclerc isn't anything special - the easiest way to disable it is through the huge gun mantlet, and from there putting shots into the LFP/turret ring/mantlet as necessary.

C1 Ariete/PSO: The C1is reasonably easy to destroy - it has a reasonably vulnerable hull, although the turret can be slightly harder to deal with. However, it has the highest-penetration kinetic round available in the game, and can penetrate almost anywhere on your vehicle. Avoid being a target, because due to the compact nature of the T-64 and spread out ammunition, if a C1 penetrates you, there's a pretty good chance you're a goner.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Stock-friendly grind. Very good stock APFSDS shell.
• Ability to mount the Kontakt-1 Explosive Reactive Armour package which enhances first-hit protection against chemical munitions.
• Upgraded armour allows it to shrug off hits from many top-rank cannons.
• Lower profile compared to other MBTs, allows the user to utilize cover and tactics that other players cannot use.
• Upgraded 125mm cannon inherited from the previous model.
• Upgraded loadout of ammunition allows it to engage at any distance or playstyle that the user prefers.
• 9M112 "Kobra" ATGM capable of penetrating 650mm of armour. Also fastest ATGM in the game.
• Replaces the "oil barrel" smoke grenades with two sets of four-barelled 81mm smoke grenade launchers.
• The high muzzle velocity on the T-64B's APFSDS rounds make it an excellent sniper.

Cons:

• Bad gun depression.
• Horrible reverse speed (-4km/h).
• HEAT-FS shell requires skill against its contemporaries' armour, simply pointing and firing it will not guarantee a penetration.
• If the tank's hull is penetrated from almost any angle there is a high risk of ammunition detonation thanks to the spread-out nature of the autoloader.
• Angling the tank causes the weak side armour to be exposed.
• Maximum of five 9M112 "Kobra" ATGMs allowed in tank.
• Gun elevation/depression speed is very slow compared to other MBT's (2.5 degrees per second).
• Hull armour can be extremely easily penetrated by a variety of enemy vehicles.

History

Development

The T-64B or Object 447 was an improvement to the currently existing T-64A and T-72A. The T-64B model was now fitted with a better laser range finder along with improved fire control systems. In addition, it had the 2A46M-1 cannon (aka the D-81TM gun) with a 2E26M stabilizer, 6ETs40 autoloader, 1A33 FCS (fire control system) comprising a ballistic calculator, and a sight with laser telemetry and cross-wind sensor. The ATGMs were eight 9M112 “Kobra” (radio-guided, NATO “AT-8 Songster”). The turret armour had a new design consisting of ceramic balls designed to absorb or reduce chemical munitions. However the T-64B still had the unreliable and complicated 5TDF engine. Designers added a more powerful engine which led to the T-72B and T-80 series.

Combat usage

Although there is no hard evidence, some sources saw the T-64B saw action in Afghanistan in the 80's. This could have been for testing but there are no official records. Russia had 4,000 T-64Bs, but 2,000 were put out of service in 2000 and used for scrap. The T-64B and BV-1 model is currently used by The Democratic Republic of Congo. 50 were purchased from Ukraine in 2014. The T-64B saw heavy action in the 2014 Ukraine Civil War and Invasion of Crimea. 17 confirmed T-64B's were destroyed, including the "Bulat" model. Ukraine is now upgrading there there fleet of T-64B's to a more modernized version called the T-64BM "Bulat"

Media

Images

• 

  The T-64B (1984) in War Thunder with Winter Camoflage
• 

  The T-64BV with the "Kontakt-1" ERA in the garage.

Videos

The Shooting Range #90 - Metal Beasts section at 00:26 discusses the T-64B.

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] T-64B: When Good Is Not Good Enough
• [Devblog] T-64BV: Defence Reaction