T-62M
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The T-62 is a
Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...
that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the
T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...
series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armour. In contrast with previous tanks, which were armed with
rifled Rifling is the term for helical grooves machined into the internal surface of a firearms's barrel for imparting a spin to a projectile to improve its aerodynamic stability and accuracy. It is also the term (as a verb) for creating such groove ...
tank guns, the T-62 was the first production tank armed with a
smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...
tank gun A tank gun is the main armament of a tank. Modern tank guns are high-velocity, large-caliber artilleries capable of firing kinetic energy penetrators, high-explosive anti-tank, and cannon-launched guided projectiles. Anti-aircraft guns can also ...
which could fire APFSDS rounds at higher velocities (the U.S. prototype
T95 medium tank The T95 was an American prototype medium tank developed from 1955 to 1959. These tanks used many advanced or unusual features, such as siliceous-cored armor, new transmissions, and OPTAR fire-control systems. The OPTAR incorporated an electro-op ...
was the first tank ever built with a smoothbore gun). While the T-62 became the standard tank in the Soviet arsenal, it did not fully replace the T-55 in export markets due to its higher manufacturing costs and maintenance requirements compared to its predecessor. Although it was followed by later models in successor states of the Soviet Union, the T-62 remains in reserve in some countries formerly part of the USSR and in frontline use by other countries. Design features of the T-62 became standardized in subsequent Soviet and Russian mass-produced tanks.


Development history


The initial requirements

By the late 1950s, Soviet commanders realised that the
T-55 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...
's 100 mm gun could not penetrate the frontal armour of newer Western tanks, such as the
Centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...
and
M48 Patton The M48 Patton is an American first-generation main battle tank (MBT) introduced in February 1952, being designated as the 90mm Gun M48, armored, full-tracked, combat vehicle of the medium-gun tank class. It was designed as a replacement for ...
, with standard armour-piercing shells. While 100 mm
high-explosive anti-tank High-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) is the effect of a shaped charge explosive that uses the Munroe effect to penetrate heavy armor. The warhead functions by having an explosive charge collapse a metal liner inside the warhead into a high-velocity ...
(HEAT) ammunition could have done the job, they were much less accurate than APDS shells, and the relatively low flight velocity resulted in poorer accuracy if used on moving targets. It was decided to up-gun the T-55 with a 115 mm
smoothbore A smoothbore weapon is one that has a barrel without rifling. Smoothbores range from handheld firearms to powerful tank guns and large artillery mortars. Some examples of smoothbore weapons are muskets, blunderbusses, and flintlock pistols. ...
gun, able to fire
kinetic energy penetrator A kinetic energy penetrator (KEP), also known as long-rod penetrator (LRP), is a type of ammunition designed to penetrate vehicle armour using a flechette-like, high- sectional density projectile. Like a bullet or kinetic energy weapon, this ty ...
armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds a ...
(APFSDS) rounds. Trials showed that the T-55 was inherently unsuited to mount the larger weapon and work began on a new tank. The bigger gun required a bigger turret and turret ring to absorb the higher recoil. This in turn necessitated a larger hull, as the T-55 hull was simply too small to accept the new turret. The T-62 thus took shape, marking an evolutionary improvement on the T-55.


Obiekt 140

After the delivery of the T-54 design, its lead designer Alexander Morozov turned his attention to a new design, the Obiekt 430. Obiekt 430 had a hull of welded rolled steel plates and a turret of cast and forged steel. The turret had three-layer armour with an overall thickness of 185 mm to 240 mm. It was armed with the new 100 mm D-54TS tank gun. During this period, simpler upgrades to the existing T-54 design were assigned to a young engineer,
Leonid N. Kartsev Leonid Nikolaevich Kartsev (July 21, 1922 – April 13, 2013) was a Soviet major general. From 1953 to 1969 he was chief designer of the Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) tank design bureau in Nizhny Tagil, in Russia. He was responsible for the development of ...
, the head of the OKB-520 design bureau of
Uralvagonzavod UralVagonZavod () is a Russian machine-building company located in Nizhny Tagil, Russia. It is one of the largest scientific and industrial complexes in Russia and the largest main battle tank manufacturer in the world. Etymology The name ''У ...
factory (UVZ) in
Nizhny Tagil Nizhny Tagil ( rus, Нижний Тагил, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj tɐˈgʲil) is a classification of inhabited localities in Russia, city in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Russia, located east of the Boundaries between the continents#Asia and Europe, boundary ...
. He had already led the development of the relatively minor upgrades to the T-54 that produced the T-54A (Obiekt 137G) and T-54B (Obiekt 137G2). Kartsev and his design team started working on a new tank, called Obiekt 140 (this was also informally called the T-54M). The new tank had a
torsion bar A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end ...
suspension with six road wheels made of aluminium. The turret was cast and armed with the same D-54TS tank gun and included the Molniya two-plane stabilization system. The tank carried 50 rounds and was powered by a V-36 diesel engine developed by engineer Artiemejev. The engine was placed on the bottom of the hull, a solution that reduced the height of the engine compartment. The Obiekt 140 weighed 37.6 tonnes. In 1957, Uralvagonzavod built two Obiekt 140 prototypes which were put on trials soon after. The Obiekt 140 would be more expensive in serial production. Forced to abandon the Obiekt 140, Kartsev started working on yet another T-54 modernisation called the Obiekt 155. This design was more similar to the original T-54, but incorporated one useful feature from the Obiekt 140; the upper fuel tanks were fitted with mounts for tank gun ammunition. This increased the ammunition load carried by the tank to 45 rounds.


T-62A (Object 165)

At the end of 1958, Kartsev decided to modernise the Ob'yekt 140 turret. He fitted it with a cartridge-case ejector and mounted it onto a stretched T-55 chassis. He also considered that designs based on already produced vehicles had a higher chance of acceptance. The Ob'yekt 140 turret diameter, bigger than the T-55 turret by 249 mm, made redesigning the central part of the hull necessary. Kartsev changed the arrangement of the torsion beams, which was necessary to keep the tank's weight balanced. The tank received the designation "Ob'yekt 165" and in November 1958 three prototypes were built. In January 1962, the Ob'yekt 165 was accepted for service under the name T-62A. In the same year, Factory #183 produced five tanks that were put into experimental service.Domestic Armored Vehicles 1945–1965


Object 166

While working on a new tank, Kartsev was looking for a more powerful tank gun. The 100 mm D-10T and D-54 tank guns had a fierce opponent in the form of the British L7A1 tank gun. The Soviets decided to "recaliber" the already existing 100 mm D-54TS tank gun. The modifications made to the gun included removing the rifling of the gun, reducing the profile of the bullet chamber, removing the muzzle brake, lengthening the gun tube, adding an automatic cartridge-case ejector, and adding a
bore evacuator A bore evacuator or fume extractor is a device which removes lingering gases and airborne residues from the barrel of an armored fighting vehicle's gun after firing, particularly in tanks and self-propelled guns. By creating a pressure differ ...
in the middle of the gun tube (as opposed to the D-54TS tank gun, which had a bore evacuator at the muzzle). The new 115 mm tank gun was designated
U-5TS The U-5TS (production designation 2A20) tank gun is a 115 mm-calibre weapon that was fitted almost exclusively to the Soviet Union's T-62 main battle tank. It was the first smoothbore weapon designed for tanks, and heralded the change in main ...
"Molot" Rapira. It was the first smoothbore tank gun to go into serial production where it received the designation 2A20. It was put in trials against the D-10TS tank gun, which armed the T-54B as well as some T-55 and T-55A medium tanks. These trials showed that the under-calibre projectiles fired from the U-5TS had a nearly 200 m/sec higher muzzle velocity. It became apparent that the maximum range of the new tank gun was almost double that of the D-10TS. The only serious drawback of the U-5TS tank gun was the fact that it was not as accurate as the D-10TS, because of the lack of rifling. However, the greater range of the gun and its extremely high muzzle velocity made the poor accuracy less of an issue. The new U-5TS smoothbore tank gun was fitted into the Ob'yekt 140 turret at the end of 1960. The new tank received the designation "Ob'yekt 166". In 1960, both Ob'yekt 165 and Ob'yekt 166 prototypes passed their trials. Uralvagonzavod was preparing to start serial production of the new tank, though the General Armoured Directorate (GBTU) was paying much more attention to Morozov's Ob'yekt 430, which was in development since early 1952. Morozov was supported by General
Dmitry Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Soviet politician and a Marshal of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee secretary in charge of the Soviet military–industrial comple ...
, who was in charge of the Soviet military industry at the time. He did not see it as necessary to produce the new tank from Uralvagonzavod, but soon the situation changed dramatically with the appearance of a new American main battle tank, the M60. In 1961,
Soviet military intelligence Main Intelligence Directorate ( rus, Главное разведывательное управление, Glavnoye razvedyvatel'noye upravleniye, ˈglavnəjə rɐzˈvʲɛdɨvətʲɪlʲnəjə ʊprɐˈvlʲenʲɪjə), abbreviated GRU ( rus, ГР ...
discovered that Britain was working on a new main battle tank armed with a 120 mm tank gun. Because of this, Marshal
Vasily Chuikov Vasily Ivanovich Chuikov (, ;  – 18 March 1982) was a Soviet military commander and Marshal of the Soviet Union. He is best known for commanding the 62nd Army which saw heavy combat during the Battle of Stalingrad in the Second World War ...
, Commander-in-Chief of the Soviet Army's Ground Forces, demanded an explanation of the "Kartsev's tanks" case. At a conference of GBTU and the Soviet ground forces committee, it became apparent that Morozov's Ob'yekt 430 tank was only 10% better than the serial T-55. Because of this, Morozov's project was deemed a complete failure. Though the representatives of Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau disclosed their work on the improved Ob'yekt 432 (which would ultimately become the
T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Alexander Morozov. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while the T-62 supported i ...
), Chuikov demanded that production of the Ob'yekt 166 medium tank be started immediately. The OKB-520 design bureau of Uralvagonzavod provided another design, the Ob'yekt 167, which was the Ob'yekt 166 with a new more powerful V-26 engine using a charger, developing 700 hp (522 kW). Two prototypes were built in the middle of 1961 and passed the trials. This time the GBTU decided not to wait for the new medium tank to pass trials, and sent the Ob'yekt 166 into mass production in July 1961. The Ob'yekt 165 also entered service in very small numbers, under the designation T-62A.''Czołgi Świata'' ("World's Tanks" or "Tanks Of The World") magazine, issue 20


Design

The T-62 has a typical tank layout: driver's compartment at the front, fighting compartment in the centre and engine compartment in the rear. The four-man crew consists of the commander, driver, gunner and loader. Although the T-62 is very similar to the T-55 and makes use of many of the same parts, there are some differences. These include the hull, which is a few centimetres longer and wider, the different road wheels, and differences in characteristic uneven gaps between road wheels. Unlike the T-54 and T-55 medium tanks, the gaps between the last three pairs of road wheels are larger than the rest.


Armament

The armament consists of the 115 mm U-5TS "Molot" (2A20) Rapira smoothbore tank gun with a two-axis "Meteor" stabiliser and 7.62 mm PKT
coaxial In geometry, coaxial means that several three-dimensional linear or planar forms share a common axis. The two-dimensional analog is ''concentric''. Common examples: A coaxial cable has a wire conductor in the centre (D), a circumferential ou ...
general-purpose machine gun mounted on the right of the main gun. The 12.7 mm
DShK The DShK M1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for ) is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtya ...
1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun is mounted on the loader's hatch. It was optional until 1972 when all newly built tanks were fitted with the AA heavy machine gun. The tank carries 40 rounds for the main gun. 4 rounds are placed in the turret, and the rest are stored in the back of the fighting compartment and in the front of the hull, to the right of the driver. It carries 2,500 rounds for the coaxial machine gun. All of the vehicle's armament is mounted in or on the round cast egg-shaped turret from the Ob'yekt 140 prototype main battle tank, mounted over the third pair of road wheels. The T-62 was armed with the world's first smoothbore tank gun, giving it considerably greater muzzle velocity than the Western 90 mm and 105 mm tank guns of its time. It can fire BM-3
APFSDS Armour-piercing fin-stabilized discarding sabot (APFSDS), long dart penetrator, or simply dart ammunition is a type of kinetic energy penetrator ammunition used to attack modern vehicle armour. As an armament for main battle tanks, it succeeds arm ...
-T, BK-4, BK-4M HEAT and OF-18 Frag-HE rounds. The 115 mm gun introduced the first successful APFSDS ammunition, albeit with a steel penetrator. A smoothbore gun allowed a significantly better performance (from 10% to 20%) over HEAT ammunition, which was considered the main ammunition type for fighting enemy armour at medium and long ranges. The gun can be elevated or depressed between −6° and +16°. It is reloaded manually and gets automatically reset to +3.5° of elevation after it is fired if the stabiliser is enabled. Empty cartridges are automatically ejected outside the vehicle through a small hatch in the rear of the turret. The gun has a range of effective fire of about 4 km during day conditions and 800 m at night (with the use of night vision equipment). This tank was fitted with a Meteor two-axis stabiliser, which allows the T-62 to aim and fire while moving. Tests of the Meteor conducted by the US army gave the T-62 a first hit probability of 70% for a moving target at 1000 meters with the tank moving up to 20 km/per hour. This gave the tank a good advantage in dynamic battlefields and breakthrough operations, especially in Central Europe where most of tank battles would take place under the 1500 meters range.Baryatinskiy 2013, pp. 231-232


Mobility

The T-62 uses
torsion bar suspension A torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension, is any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight-bearing spring. One end of a long metal bar is attached firmly to the vehicle chassis; the opposite end ...
. It has five pairs of rubber-tired road wheels, a drive sprocket at the rear and an idler at the front on each side, with no return rollers. The first and last road wheels each have a hydraulic shock absorber. The tank is powered by the V-55 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581 hp (433 kW) at 2,000 rpm. This is the same engine as the one used in the T-55. Because the T-62 weighs more than the T-55, it is less manoeuvrable. Like the T-55, the T-62 has three external diesel fuel tanks on the right fender and a single auxiliary oil tank on the left fender. The tank carries 960 litres of fuel in its internal and external fuel tanks. Two optional 200-litre drum-type fuel tanks can be fitted on the rear of the vehicle for an increased operational range.


Armour

The T-62 has 5% thicker armour on the front of the hull (102 mm at 60°) and 15% thicker armour on the front of the turret (242 mm) than the T-54/T-55. The turret armour is 153 mm thick on the sides, 97 mm thick on the rear and 40 mm thick on the roof. The hull armour is 79 mm thick on the upper sides, 46 mm thick at 0° on the rear and 20 mm thick on the bottom. Although the armour on the front of the hull is thicker than in the T-55, the lower side armour (15 mm) and the roof armour (31 mm) are actually thinner.


Equipment

One of the many similarities between the T-54/T-55 and T-62 tanks is their ability to create a
smoke screen A smoke screen is smoke released to mask the movement or location of military units such as infantry, tanks, aircraft, or ships. Smoke screens are commonly deployed either by a canister (such as a grenade) or generated by a vehicle (such as ...
by injecting diesel fuel into the exhaust system. Like the T-54 and T-55, the T-62 has an
unditching beam __NOTOC__ An unditching beam is a device that is used to aid in the recovery of armoured fighting vehicles when they become bogged or "ditched". The device is a beam that is attached to the continuous tracks that provides additional traction for ...
mounted at the rear of the hull. The tank can be fitted with a thin snorkel for operational usage and a large diameter snorkel for training. The thin snorkel can be disassembled and carried in the back of the turret when not used. The commander's cupola is located on the left of the top of the turret. The loader has a single-piece hatch located on the right side of the turret and further back than the commander's cupola. The loader's hatch has a periscope vision block that can be used to view the areas in front of and behind the vehicle. The commander's cupola has four periscopes, two are located in the hatch cover while the other two are located in the forward part of the cupola. The driver has a single piece hatch located on the left front of the vehicle, directly in front of the left side of the turret. The tank uses the same sights and vision devices as the T-55 except for the gunner, who received a new TSh-2B-41 sight which has x4 or x7 magnification. It is mounted coaxially with an optic rangefinder. The gunner has two periscope vision blocks, one of which is used in conjunction with the main searchlight mounted coaxially on the right side of the main armament. There are two other smaller searchlights. One of these is used by the commander and is mounted on his cupola. The tank has two headlights on the right front of the vehicle, one of which is infrared while the other one is white. Curved handrails around the turret allow easier entry for the commander, the gunner, and the loader. They also help the infantry to mount and dismount the tank while performing a
tank desant Tank desant (, ''tankovyy desant'') is a military combined arms tactic where infantry soldiers ride into an attack on tanks, then dismount to fight on foot in the final phase of the assault. Note that this differs from infantry troops merely rid ...
. The tank has a box-shaped radiation detector/actuator mounted on the right-hand side of the turret, behind the compressed air tanks. While the T-62 did not feature an automatic loader (as would become characteristic of later Soviet tanks), it had a unique "ejection port" built into the back of the turret, which would open as the main gun recoiled, ejecting spent shell casings outside. This was considered advantageous since the spent casings would otherwise clutter the floor of the tank and fill the interior with noxious burnt-propellant fumes. There is a blower mounted in the rear of the turret, to the left of the spent cartridge ejection port.


Limitations

The T-62 shares some of the T-55's limitations: a cramped crew compartment, limited depression of the main gun and vulnerable fuel and ammunition storage areas. Opening the ejection port under NBC (nuclear, biological, or chemical) conditions would potentially expose the crew to contamination. Early models of the T-62 only filtered nuclear fallout, leaving the crew exposed to chemical or biological contaminants, as the air was not passed through a chemical filter. Late production models of the T-62 were fitted with a chemical filter. Each time the gun is fired, the tube must go into detent for cartridge ejection; though the system can be deactivated making this unnecessary or in case of facing an NBC environment. The T-62 maximum average rate of fire is limited to 8 rounds per minute, which falls behind the capabilities of Western 105 mm gun equipped tanks. It takes 20 seconds for the T-62's turret to rotate through a full 360°, which is 5 seconds longer than the time needed by the US M60A1 Patton tank. The turret also cannot be traversed with the driver's hatch open. Although the tank commander may override the gunner and traverse the turret, he cannot fire the main gun from his position. The US Army considered the T-62's gun more accurate than that of the M60A1 within 1500 meters, but less accurate at greater ranges. To fire the 12.7 mm antiaircraft heavy machine gun, the loader must be partially exposed, making him vulnerable to suppressive fire, and he must leave his main gun loading duties unattended. Due to their vulnerability to fire, the auxiliary fuel drums were usually removed prior to combat, decreasing the operational range substantially. The T-62K command tank land navigation system requires a 15 minute warm-up, during which the vehicle cannot move without damaging the gyroscopic compass. The T-62 underperformed in export markets relative to the T-54/T-55 series. Namely due to the much more expensive export price of the T-62, being $300,000 to Egypt in 1972, whereas the T-55 cost only $200,000, alongside Egypt already having a logistics line for T-54/55 upkeep. This also caused
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
nations to be swayed away from the purchase of the T-62 as they felt that the logistical and unit costs outweighed the benefits it could provide. Third, the T-62 was, according to Perrett, almost immediately surpassed on its introduction by the new Western MBTs, the
Chieftain A tribal chief, chieftain, or headman is a leader of a tribe, tribal society or chiefdom. Tribal societies There is no definition for "tribe". The concept of tribe is a broadly applied concept, based on tribal concepts of societies of weste ...
and M60. Finally, the T-62 could not keep up with the new Soviet
BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet Union, Soviet Amphibious vehicle, amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st ...
– the principal infantry fighting vehicle that the T-62 was supposed to accompany. All of these factors combined to ensure that long-term investment in the T-62 was not viable and a new Soviet MBT had to be developed.


Production history

In July 1961, Uralvagonzavod in Nizhny Tagil,
Malyshev Factory The Malyshev Factory (; abbreviated ), formerly the Kharkov Locomotive Factory (, ), is a state-owned manufacturer of heavy equipment in Kharkiv, Ukraine. It was named after the Soviet politician Vyacheslav Malyshev. The factory is part of the s ...
in
Kharkiv Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.
, Ukraine and Omsk Factory No. 183 replaced part of their T-55 production with the T-62. The original plans were that the T-62 would be produced until Morozov's Ob'yekt 432 tank was developed. T-62 production was maintained at Uralvagonzavod until 1973 when it was replaced on the production lines by the T-72. Until the end of production 20,000 T-62 tanks were produced by Uralvagonzavod. Production in the Soviet Union was stopped in 1975. North Korea produced the T-62 under licence until the 1980s. In the early 1990s, the North Korean Second Machine Industry Bureau designed a lighter copy of the T-62 which is mass-produced and is known locally as the
Ch'ŏnma-ho The Ch'ŏnma ( Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마; Hanja: 天馬 meaning 'Pegasus'), often inaccurately referred to as Chonma-Ho, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 ( ...
I (Ga).


Service history


Soviet Union

2023-24 Number 206 The T-62 entered service with the Soviet Army in July 1961. Because of the firepower of the new 115 mm gun, it was considered to be a formidable tank for the time, despite its drawbacks. Along with the T-55, the T-62 was one of the most common tanks in the Soviet inventory. The two tanks together once comprised approximately 85% of the Soviet army's tanks. Later in the 1970s, the T-62 was rendered obsolete and was put into reserve service. The
T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...
and
T-80 The T-80 is a main battle tank (MBT) that was designed and manufactured in the former Soviet Union and manufactured in Russia. The T-80 is based on the T-64, while incorporating features from the later T-72 and changing the engine to a gas turbi ...
later succeeded it.


Sino-Soviet border conflict

The T-62 saw combat for the first time during the 1969
Sino–Soviet border conflict The Sino-Soviet border conflict, also known as the Sino-Soviet crisis, was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought th ...
during which one was disabled and captured by the
People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
. The T-62 (No. 545) was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade fired from a Type-56 (Chinese copy of
RPG-2 The RPG-2 ( Russian: РПГ-2, Ручной противотанковый гранатомёт, ''Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot''; English: "hand-held antitank grenade launcher") is a man-portable, shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon that was de ...
) RPG launcher on the morning of 15 March 1969 during a PLA counterattack. The RPG penetrated the left side of the hull, killing the driver. This tank was later studied and the information gathered from those studies was used for the development of the Type 69 main battle tank.


Soviet–Afghan War

During the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
, the T-62 was a primary tank used by the Soviet army. The Soviets used tanks in several ways, with the use of many in fire support bases, while others were employed for convoy protection or as infantry support. Towards the end of the war T-62Ms, using the BDD appliqué armour, appeared in large numbers. According to US sources, nearly 325 T-62s fell victim to Mujahideen attacks, especially from anti-tank mines and RPGs, although this number is directly contradicted by Soviet sources, which show far fewer losses. Others fell into the hands of the Afghan Mujahideen after they were left behind by withdrawing Soviet forces. The USSR officially confirmed the loss of 147 T-62 and T-55 tanks during the war.


Russia

The T-62 and T-55 are now mostly used by Russian reserve units for a possible secondary mobilization while some are kept in storage. The active duty and primary mobilization units mainly use the T-80, T-72 and
T-64 The T-64 is a Soviet tank manufactured in Kharkiv, and designed by Alexander Morozov. The tank was introduced in the early 1960s. It was a more advanced counterpart to the T-62: the T-64 served in tank divisions, while the T-62 supported i ...
, with a smaller number of
T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank developed from, and designed to replace the T-72. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard p ...
tanks in service in active units. They were retired from active combat service after the 2008
Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...
to be put in storage to be reactivated in case of war. During the
Vostok 2018 Vostok 2018 () was a large-scale Russian military exercise, held from 11 to 17 September 2018, throughout Siberia and the Russian Far East in the Eastern Military District. The exercise involved units from the Army, Air Force and Navy. Chin ...
military exercise, multiple T-62M and T-62MVs were reactivated from storage and mobilised, in an effort to assess how quickly Russian forces could be readied for a major conflict.


War in Chechnya

The Russian army and the Russian MVD forces used both T-62s and T-62Ms in combat in
Chechnya Chechnya, officially the Chechen Republic, is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. It is situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, between the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. The republic forms a part of the North Caucasian Federa ...
. During the second war the 160th Guards Tank Regiment (
5th Guards Tank Division The 5th Guards Tank Division was an armored division of the Soviet Ground Forces and Russian Ground Forces, active from 1945 to 2009, in two different formations. First Formation The 5th Guards "Stalingradsko-Kievskaya Order of Lenin Red Banne ...
,
Siberian Military District The Siberian Military District was a Military district of the Russian Ground Forces. The district was originally formed as a military district of the Russian Empire in 1864. In 1924 it was reformed in the Red Army. After the end of World War II the ...
) and the 93rd MVD Mechanized Tank Regiment each had 69 T-62 tanks. Some T-62s were used on train platforms. Up to 380 Russian tanks were used in 1999–2000, including about 150 T-62s.


2008 South Ossetia war

T-62s of the Russian Ground Forces were deployed in the Russo-Georgian war. In one case a T-62M belonging to the Russian army was destroyed by a Georgian
RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...
in the streets of Tskhinvali. In this instance the rocket penetrated the turret of the T-62M, killing the driver and gunner. Russian MVD also used T-62s.


Russo-Ukrainian war

Since May 2022, Russia has deployed T-62 tanks in Ukraine. Ukrainian intelligence reported that Russia had reactivated these tanks from storage depots in
Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...
. By late May, T-62Ms and T-62MVs were transported by train to Ukraine, with additional reports indicating more T-62 tanks being sent towards
Mykolaiv Mykolaiv ( ), also known as Nikolaev ( ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and a hromada (municipality) in southern Ukraine. Mykolaiv is the Administrative centre, administrative center of Mykolaiv Raion (Raions of Ukraine, district) and Myk ...
and
Kryvyi Rih Kryvyi Rih ( ; , ), also known as Krivoy Rog ( ), is a city in central Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kryvyi Rih Raion and its subordinate Kryvyi Rih urban hromada in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The city is part of the Kryvyi Rih Metropo ...
on June 5. In early June, T-62 tanks equipped with improvised slat armor, similar to that used on more modern Russian T-72 and T-80 tanks, were identified in
Kherson Oblast Kherson Oblast (, ; ), also known as Khersonshchyna (, ), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank ...
. Later in June, the Head of
North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...
,
Sergey Menyaylo Sergey Ivanovich Menyaylo (Russian: Сергей Иванович Меняйло; born 22 August 1960) is a Russian military figure and statesman. He has been Head of the Republic of North Ossetia since 9 April 2021. Deputy commander of the B ...
, announced that volunteers in the Alania Battalion had received a tank unit equipped with T-62 tanks. According to the Russian website Voennoe Obozrenie, these tanks were primarily intended to support infantry units and were not expected to engage Ukrainian tanks directly. In Kherson, Russian forces utilized T-62 tanks to provide artillery support. In October 2022, during a visit at the 103rd Armor Repair Plant,
State Duma The State Duma is the lower house of the Federal Assembly (Russia), Federal Assembly of Russia, with the upper house being the Federation Council (Russia), Federation Council. It was established by the Constitution of Russia, Constitution of t ...
member
Andrey Gurulyov Andrey Viktorovich Gurulyov (; born 16 October 1967) is a Russian politician and former army officer who is currently a member of the State Duma for the United Russia faction since 21 September 2021, and a former deputy Commander of the Southe ...
declared that the Russian military would receive 800 T-62s in the following three years. These tanks would be refurbished and possibly upgraded before being sent to Ukraine. In February 2023, a Ukrainian mechanic stated that his shop was converting at least one captured T-62 into an armored recovery vehicle, remarking that "this old tank is no good for war." Also, in late February 2023, a T-62 was identified with its original TSh-2B-41 or TShSM-41U sight replaced by a 1PN96MT-02 analogue thermal gunner's sight. Ukraine is converting some T-62s into infantry fighting vehicles by fitting BMP-2 turrets to the hulls, armed with a 30mm 2A42 autocannon. On September 10, 2023, it was reported that Ukraine's
128th Mountain Assault Brigade The 128th Mountain Assault Brigade is a formation of the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The full title of the brigade is 128th Mountain Assault Brigade "Zakarpattia Oblast, Zakarpattia", (). It is the second oldest serving formation of the UGF, bei ...
converted a captured T-62 tank into a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) filled with 1.5 tons of explosives and drove it towards Russian positions in the Zaporizhzhia region. The tank hit a mine and exploded before it could reach the enemy positions. As of February 2025, Russia is visually confirmed to have suffered 248 T-62 losses (5 T-62 Obr. 1967, 2 T-62 Obr. 1972, 128 T-62M, 36 T-62M Obr. 2022, 35 T-62MV, 9 T-62MV Obr. 2022 and 33 Unknown T-62).


Foreign service


Angola

The
People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola The People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola () or FAPLA was originally the armed wing of the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) but later (1975–1991) became Angola's official armed forces when the MPLA took control o ...
(FAPLA) began ordering T-62s from the Soviet Union in 1980 and received them by late 1985. Most of the tanks were delivered in the wake of
Operation Askari Operation Askari was a military operation during 1983 in Angola by the South African Defence Force (SADF) during the South African Border War. Background Operation Askari, launched on 6 December 1983, was the SADF's sixth large-scale cross- ...
, which saw multiple T-54s and T-55s knocked out by
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
n expeditionary forces using light anti-tank weapons and highly mobile Eland-90 and Ratel-90 armoured cars. As a result of the destruction and capture of Angolan T-54/55s during Operation Askari, the Soviet military mission in Angola committed to drastically accelerate the transfer of more sophisticated weaponry to FAPLA, including T-62s. According to the
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...
, FAPLA had received 175 second-hand T-62s from Soviet reserve stocks by the end of 1985. South African intelligence reported that no more than 30 were in active service between late 1985 and 1986, possibly because most of the FAPLA crews were still being trained. FAPLA deployed its T-62s for the first time during Operation Second Congress, a failed 1986 offensive against the
National Union for the Total Independence of Angola The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( MPLA) and the National Lib ...
(UNITA) near
Mavinga Mavinga is a municipality in Angola, and the capital of Cuando Province since that province's creation in 2024. It is one of the three municipalities in Angola whose inhabitants are predominantly Mbunda. The municipality had a population of 27, ...
. A number of T-62s were lost during the 1986 campaign, with some being abandoned on the battlefield and others destroyed by UNITA insurgents or South African air strikes. FAPLA T-62s were present during the initial phase of
Operation Saluting October Operation Saluting October (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Operação Saludando Octubre'', alternatively translated as Operation Salute to October) was an offensive carried out by the People's Armed Forces of Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) agai ...
, a similar offensive undertaken the following year, but did not see action in the ensuing 1987-88
Battle of Cuito Cuanavale The Battle of Cuito Cuanavale was fought intermittently between 14 August 1987 and 23 March 1988, south and east of Cuito Cuanavale, Angola, by the People's Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and Cuba against South Africa an ...
. FAPLA ordered another 135 T-62s from the Soviet Union to replace tank losses in 1987. Another 24 were purchased from Bulgaria and taken into service by the new
Angolan Armed Forces The Angolan Armed Forces () or FAA is the military of Angola. The FAA consist of the Angolan Army (), the Angolan Navy () and the National Air Force of Angola (). Reported total manpower in 2021 was about 107,000. The FAA is headed by the C ...
in 1993.


Bulgaria

The only other Warsaw Pact member to operate T-62s on a mass scale was
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
which bought 250 T-62s, which were delivered between 1970 and 1974. After the war in Afghanistan, Bulgaria received a number of T-62s from the Soviet Union in the 1980s. These were modified, but due to several problems were quickly withdrawn from service; some were sold to Angola and Yemen. Many were converted into TV-62 and TV-62M armoured recovery vehicles, their turrets being scrapped. The TV-62M is the standard armoured recovery vehicle of the Bulgarian Army.


Other Warsaw Pact members

Both Poland and Czechoslovakia evaluated the vehicle but refused it because of the high price and low update value compared to the T-55.


Israel

Before 1973, Israeli intelligence confirmed T-62 tanks had arrived in Egypt. In response, Israeli commandos raided Egyptian positions in order to capture the tanks and analyze them. During the
Yom Kippur war The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
, the T-62 was an effective adversary for Israeli Patton and
Centurion In the Roman army during classical antiquity, a centurion (; , . ; , or ), was a commander, nominally of a century (), a military unit originally consisting of 100 legionaries. The size of the century changed over time; from the 1st century BC ...
main battle tanks armed with 105 mm tank guns. The T-62 had an advantage in its better night-fighting capability, but Syrian losses were heavy. The Israelis captured hundreds of these tanks from the Syrians in 1973, and put some of them into service as the Tiran-3. About 120 Tiran-3 were modernised and received the designation Tiran-6. Only a small number were converted because the new US-made M60 main battle tanks started arriving in Israel. A small tank brigade consisting of two enlarged tank regiments, each equipped with 46 Tiran-6 tanks, was formed. The Tiran-6 is used by reserve units. The Israelis have sold the rest to assorted countries. Israel sent a number of captured T-62 tanks to the U.S. Army and Germany for examination purposes.


Iraq

In 1974, the Iraqi Army acquired 100 T-62s and 600 more in 1976, which were delivered through to 1979. In 1982 a further 2,150 were ordered, which were delivered through to 1989. These tanks saw service in the
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars, rebellions and disputes between the Kurds and the central authority of Iraq starting in the 20th century shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Some put the marki ...
from 1974 to 1991. In the
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
, Iraqi T-62s performed well against opposing Iranian tanks, such as M47s, M48s, M60A1s and Chieftains. In Operation Nasr, the biggest tank battle of the war, Iran lost 214 Chieftain and M60A1 tanks, while Iraq lost 45 T-62s. The remaining Iranian armour turned about and withdrew. Approximately 200 T-62s were lost in the entire war.


Libya

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...
n T-62s were first deployed against the
Chadian National Armed Forces The Chadian National Armed Forces (, FANT) was the army of the central government of Chad from January 1983, when the President Hissène Habré's forces, in first place his personal Armed Forces of the North (FAN), were merged. Consisting of about ...
(FANT) in the
Aouzou Strip The Aouzou Strip (; , ) is a strip of land in northern Chad that lies along the Chad–Libya border, border with Libya, extending south to a depth of about 100 kilometers into Chad's Borkou, Ennedi Ouest, Ennedi Est, and Tibesti regions for an a ...
around September 1986. The tanks also formed an integral part of a brigade-sized, combined arms task force ordered to drive Chadian troops loyal to the
Transitional Government of National Unity Transitional Government of National Unity may refer to: * Transitional Government of National Unity (Chad), a government in Chad between 1979 and 1982 * Transitional Government of National Unity (Namibia), a government in South West Africa (Namibia ...
(GUNT) from the
Tibesti Mountains The Tibesti Mountains are a mountain range in the central Sahara, primarily located in the extreme north of Chad, with a small portion located in southern Libya. The highest peak in the range, Emi Koussi, lies to the south at a height of and i ...
the following December. Pollack, Kenneth (2004).'' Arabs at War: Military Effectiveness, 1948–1991''.
University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...
. pp. 389-391
During the
Toyota War The Toyota War (, ), also known as the Great Toyota War, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Chad–Libya border, was the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan War. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks, primarily the Toyo ...
, a few T-62s were destroyed at medium range by
MILAN Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
anti-tank missiles mounted on Chadian
technicals Technicals may refer to: * Technical (vehicle), an improvised fighting vehicle often used in civil conflict * TECHNICALS, a clothing brand owned by Blacks Leisure Group See also * Technical (disambiguation) Technical may refer to: * Technical ...
.
African Defence Journal, Issues 78–88
'. The Journal, 1987, Collected Issues 78–88. pp. 205–208.
According to French after-action reports released in March 1988, several were also knocked out by FANT
Panhard AML The Panhard AML (''automitrailleuse légère'', or "light armoured car") is an armoured car with reconnaissance capability. Designed by Panhard on a lightly armoured 4×4 chassis, it weighs an estimated 5.5 tonnes, and is thus suitable for airbo ...
-90 armoured cars with flank or rear shots.


Cuba

The first T-62s arrived in Cuba in 1976. Currently approximately 400 are in service with the Cuban armed forces and about 100 are in storage. They are modernised to the T-62M standard with additional armour, laser equipment and fire control systems. A Cuban armoured brigade with T-62s saw action against the
Somali National Army The Somali National Army () are the ground forces component of the Somali Armed Forces. Since Somali independence in 1960, the Army fought to expand and increase Somalia's sphere of influence throughout the Horn of Africa counter to Ethiopia' ...
during the
Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...
in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
. Cuban T-62s were deployed to
Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...
during Havana's lengthy intervention in that country. Along with T-55s and T-54Bs, they were initially utilitised for defending strategic installations, such as Matala, the site of an important Angolan hydroelectric plant manned by Soviet engineers. The more ubiquitous T-55 was favoured for combat duty, and during the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale only a single battalion of Cuban T-62s was situated near the fighting. Circumstances changed in March 1988, when Cuba began marshalling a combined arms division to carry out a flanking manoeuvre towards the
South-West Africa South West Africa was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990. Renamed ''Namibia'' by the United Nations in 1968, it became independent under this name on 21 March 1990. South West Africa bordered Angola ( a Portu ...
n (Namibian) border. It included a brigade with at least 40 T-62s. The Cuban tanks clashed with defending South African armoured units at Cuamato and again at
Calueque Calueque is a town next to a dam and pumping station of the same name on the Kunene River in the Kunene Province of southern Angola. The water project is linked to Ruacana, away in Namibia, where the Ruacana Power Station is. This dam is one of ...
without sustaining any known losses.


Gulf War

Iraqi-operated T-62s were badly outperformed by the American
M1 Abrams The M1 Abrams () is a third-generation American main battle tank designed by Chrysler Defense (now General Dynamics Land Systems) and named for General Creighton Abrams. Conceived for modern armored ground warfare, it is one of the heavies ...
, M2/M3 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and the British
Challenger 1 The FV4030/4 Challenger 1 is a British main battle tank (MBT) used by the British Army from 1983 to 2001, when it was superseded by the Challenger 2. The majority of the Challenger 1 fleet was subsequently sold to Jordan where it remain ...
tanks in the 1990–1991
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
. The lack of high powered optics, thermal sights and ballistic computers of Iraqi tanks compared to their adversaries made the T-62 and other Iraqi armoured fighting vehicles extremely vulnerable and unable to retaliate against Coalition vehicles. The Iraqi 3rd Armoured Division alone lost about a hundred T-62 tanks, while no Abrams or Challengers were lost to enemy fire.


Variants


Soviet Union

* T-62A (Ob'yekt 165) – Predecessor of T-62. It was essentially a stretched T-55 chassis with a 2245 mm turret ring, a new suspension, and an Ob'yekt 140 turret modernised with the addition of a spent-cartridge ejector; tank gun equipped with the "Kometa" two-plane stabiliser. Only five entered service. ** T-62 Obr. 1960 (Ob'yekt 166) – Original production model equipped with the 115 mm U-5TS "Molot" (2A20) Rapira smoothbore tank gun with a "Meteor" two-plane stabiliser. It has a TKN-3 commander's day/night sight, TSh-2B-41 gunner day sight with 3.5/7x magnification and TPN1–41–11 night sight. It carries 40 rounds for the main gun and 2500 rounds for the PKT coaxial general-purpose machine gun. The V-55V engine produces 581 hp (433 kW). It has a commander's cupola welded to turret. *** (Ob'yekt 166K) (K stands for ''komandirskaya'' command" (1964) – T-62 command variant. It is fitted with an R-112 (or R-130) radio, an AB-1 APU and an antenna base on top of the turret. The ammunition load was decreased to 36 for the main gun and 1,750 rounds for the coaxial general-purpose machine gun. It was mainly used by company and battalion commanders. **** T-62KN (Ob'yekt 166KN) – T-62K fitted with additional TNA-2 navigation aids. *** Ob'yekt 167 – T-62 fitted with a V-26 engine which with a use of charger develops 700 hp (522 kW). It has a 9M14 Malyutka (NATO: AT-3 Sagger) ATGM launcher on the rear of turret and a new chassis with return rollers and smaller road wheels. Not produced. Only two prototypes were made. **** Ob'yekt 167T – Ob'yekt 167 fitted with a GTD-3T gas turbine engine. *** T-62 Obr. 1967 – T-62 Obr.1960 with a slightly modified engine deck and an OPVT
deep wading Deep wading or deep fording is a technique used by some heavy semi-amphibious vehicles to traverse water that is several metres deep - the vehicle drives on the riverbed/lakebed/seabed and uses screens or a pipe (a snorkel) that reaches above the ...
system **** T-62 Obr. 1972 – T-62 Obr.1967 with a
DShK The DShK M1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for ) is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtya ...
1938/46 machine gun installed on the loader's hatch. The tank is fitted with an improved fording attachment. It is sometimes incorrectly called T-62A and T-62M. ***** T-62 Obr. 1975 – T-62 Obr.1972 equipped with a KTD-1 or KTD-2 laser rangefinder in an armoured box over the main armament. It has concealed bolts around the commander's cupola. ****** T-62D (Ob'yekt 166D) (D stands for ''Drozd''
hrush Hranush () or Hrush (short version) is an Armenian feminine given name that may refer to *Hrush Achemyan (born 1987), born Hranush Alexis Achemyan, Armenian-American make-up artist *Hranush Arshagyan (1887–1905), Ottoman Armenian poet *Hranush Ha ...
(1983) – T-62 Obr.1975 equipped with KAZ 1030M "Drozd" active protection system (APS), BDD appliqué armour on the
glacis A glacis (, ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More generally, a glaci ...
plate only and new V-55U diesel engine. ******* T-62D-1 (Objekt 166D-1) – T-62D fitted with a new V-46–5M diesel engine. ****** (Ob'yekt 166M) (1983) – Extensive modernization of the T-62 with protection and mobility improvements and the "Volna" fire control system. It is fitted with a BDD appliqué armour package, an additional belly armour plate for anti-mine protection, 10 mm thick reinforced rubber side skirts and 10 mm thick anti-neutron liner. The BDD appliqué armour package brings the frontal armour to nearly equivalent to the early T-64A and T-72 Ural and consists of an appliqué plate on the glacis and two horseshoe shaped blocks fitted to the front of the turret. This armour should be proof against all 84mm and 90mm tank gun rounds at all ranges, 105mm APDS and HEAT, 84mm and 106mm recoilless rifle HEAT rounds and many 1st generation anti-tank missiles as well as the M72A3 LAW and RPG-7. The handrails around the turret have been removed to make space for the BDD appliqué armour. Fastenings for four spare track chain links have been added on the side of the turret. The tank is fitted with RhKM tracks from the T-72 main battle tank and two additional shock absorbers on the first pair of road wheels. The "Volna" fire control system was improved by fitting the KTD-2 (or KTD-1) laser rangefinder in an armoured box over the main armament. There is a new TShSM-41U gunner's sight, new commander's sight, "Meteor-M1" stabiliser, BV-62 ballistic computer and 9K116-2 "Sheksna" (NATO: AT-10 Stabber) guided missile unit with 1K13-BOM sight (it is both a night sight and ATGM launcher sight but cannot be used for both functions simultaneously) which allows the tank to fire 9M117 Bastion ATGMs through its gun tube. The tank was fitted with a gun thermal sleeve, new radios, the R-173 radio set instead of R-123M and a new V-55U diesel engine developing 620 hp (462 kW). The ammunition load was increased by two rounds. Some are fitted with two clusters of four smoke grenade launchers each on the right rear of the turret. US intelligence saw T-62M tanks for the first time during the
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
and they gave it the designation T-62E. There are a number of sub-variants of the T-62M, depending on how much of the modernization package the vehicle has installed. ******* T-62M-1 (Ob'yekt 166M-1) – T-62M fitted with a V-46–5M diesel engine. ******* T-62M1 (Ob'yekt 166M1) – T-62M fitted with a revised frontal armour layout on the hull and a normal night sight. It does not have ATGM capability. ******** T-62M1–1 (Ob'yekt 166M1–1) – T-62M1 fitted with the V-46–5M diesel engine. ******** T-62M1–2 (Ob'yekt 166M1–2) – T-62M1 without belly armour or the BDD armour package. ********* T-62M1–2–1 (Ob'yekt 166M1–2–1) – T-62M1–2 fitted with the V-46–5M diesel engine. ******* T-62MD (Ob'yekt 166MD) (D stands for ''Drozd'' thrush" – T-62M fitted with KAZ 1030M "Drozd" active protection system (APS). ******** T-62MD-1 (Ob'yekt 166MD-1) – T-62MD fitted with V-46–5M diesel engine. ******* T-62MK (Ob'yekt 166MK) (K stands for ''komandirskaya'' command" – T-62M command variant. It does not have ATGM capability but has TNA-2 navigation aids, additional R-112 and R-113 radio sets and an AB-1 auxiliary engine to power the additional radios. The tank has a lower ammunition load for both the main gun and the coaxial general-purpose machine gun. ******** T-62MK-1 (Ob'yekt 166MK-1) – T-62MK fitted with the V-46–5M diesel engine. ******* T-62MV (Ob'yekt 166MV) (1985) (V stands for ''vzryvnoi'' – explosive" – Fitted with "Kontakt-1"
explosive reactive armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants include ...
(ERA) on the sides of the hull, the glacis plate, and in the front of the turret (where it replaces the BDD appliqué armour). ******** T-62MV-1 (Ob'yekt 166MV-1) – T-62MV fitted with the V-46–5M diesel engine. ******** T-62M1V (Ob'yekt 166M1V) – T-62MV without ATGM capability. ********* T-62M1V-1 (Ob'yekt 166M1V-1) – T-62M1V fitted with a V-46–5M diesel engine. ***** T-62 (Ob'yekt 169) – T-62 fitted with smoke dischargers at turret front. *** T-62 fitted with a box on the rear of the turret containing anti-aircraft missiles. *** T-62 fitted with the ZET-1 (ZET stands for ''Zaschtschita Ekrannaja Tankowaja'') vehicle protection system. The system was developed in 1964 and was specially designed to protect the tank's front and sides up to an angle of 25° against shaped-charge projectiles with of a maximum caliber of 115 mm. It consisted of a stretchable screen with net structure centered on the vehicle's main armament and lateral flipper-type sideskirts. It was intended for T-54, T-55 and T-62 tanks. The diameter of the screens was different for each tank type. The individual screen sections could be replaced in two minutes. While it was successful in wide open spaces, it was an impractical in wooded areas. Because of that the development was not heavily used, although the flipper-type sideskirts were later used in the initial T-72 models. *** T-62 experimentally fitted with a "Zhelud" autoloader. *** T-62/122 – T-62 based combat engineering vehicle rearmed with 122 mm howitzer. *** T-62/160 – T-62 based combat engineer vehicle fitted with BTU and armed with a shortened 160 mm mortar. *** T-67 – T-62 armed with a 125 mm tank gun and fitted with a drive train from the T-72 main battle tank. *** – T-62 converted into a flamethrower tank. The flamethrower has an effective range of 100 meters and is mounted coaxially with the 115 mm gun. *** (Ob'yekt 150) – T-62 converted into a tank destroyer (''istrebitel' tankov''). It was developed between 1957 and 1962. It utilised the chassis and the hull of the T-62 tank and was fitted with a new low 'flattened dome' turret with a stabilised 2K8
ATGM An anti-tank guided missile (ATGM), anti-tank missile, anti-tank guided weapon (ATGW) or anti-armor guided weapon is a guided missile primarily designed to hit and destroy heavily armored military vehicles. ATGMs range in size from shoulder ...
system instead of the tank gun. The IT-1 was the only one of several "rocket tank" ('raketniy tank') designs that actually entered service. It could launch radio-guided semi-automatic PTUR 3M7 "Drakon" ATGMs with a range between 300 m and 3,300 m. It carried 15 PTUR 3M7 "Drakon" ATGMs on board (3 in reserve and 12 in the autoloader). The ATGM was launched from an arm rising through the roof of the turret. The secondary armament consisted of a 7.62 mm PKT general-purpose machine gun for which it carried 2,000 rounds. The turret was fitted with T2-PD and UPN-S day/night sights. About 60 IT-1 tank destroyers were built between 1968 and 1970 by various companies including 20 built by the Uralvagonzavod factory in 1970. Only two battalions operated them, one with artillery personnel and one with tank personnel, with one battalion in Belarus MD and the other one in the Carpathian MD. The units were disbanded after the withdrawal of the IT-1 and all the vehicles were converted to
armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...
s (ARVs). **** (T after IT-1 stands for ''tyagach'' tractor" – After the withdrawal of the IT-1 from front-line service many of the vehicles were partially converted to ARVs. The only differences from the standard IT-1 was that the turret was fixed in position after all the ATGM gear was removed. They were not very successful and were soon converted into the BTS-4V armoured recovery vehicles. *** (BTS stands for ''bronirovannij tyagach, srednij'' medium armoured tractor" – Conversion of T-62 main battle tanks and IT-1 tank destroyers into a turretless ARV. They are similar to the much more common
T-54 The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.Steven Zaloga, T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2 ...
-based BTS-4. The vehicle was fitted with a stowage basket, a hoist and a small folding crane with a capacity of 3 tonnes, a winch, and a snorkel. It is also known as BTS-4U. **** BTS-4V1 – Conversion of approximatively 35 pre-production T-62 main battle tanks into ARVs. *** BTS-4V2 – Partial conversion of 20 T-62 main battle tanks damaged by fire into an armoured recovery vehicle. The turret was replaced by a dome-shaped fixed superstructure. There is a single hatch on top of the superstructure fitted with a 12.7 mm
DShK The DShK M1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for ) is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtya ...
1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun. It was limited to basic towing operations and most were disposed of by giving them away as foreign aid. They were also known as BTS-4VZ. *** Impuls-2M – Decommissioned T-62 tank converted into a fire fighting vehicle fitted with a 50-round launch system for flame-retarding projectiles on a rotatable mount in the turret ring and a dozer blade on the front.


Algeria

* BMPT-62 (sometimes called Algerian Terminator in reference to the
BMPT Terminator The BMPT "Terminator" ( – Tank Support Fighting Vehicle) is an armored fighting vehicle (AFV), designed and manufactured by the Russian company Uralvagonzavod. This vehicle was designed for supporting tanks and other AFVs in urban areas. The ...
) – A fire support vehicle developed from leftover T-62 tanks and Berezhok turrets. The vehicle was presented at the 60th anniversary parade of Algeria’s independence.


Bulgaria

* TV-62 – T-62 tank converted into an armoured recovery vehicle. * T-62 modification. * TV-62M – T-62M tank converted into an armoured recovery vehicle. This vehicle is composed of a T-62M hull with a modified T-55 or T-55A turret which was cut in half; the upper part was bolted onto the hull in the 6 o'clock position. There is a large winch and a snorkel mounted on the rear of the hull. * TP-62 – fire fighting vehicle, for the first time presented during the Hemus 2008 defense equipment trade show. Used in the putting out of the Vitosha 2012 fire.


Egypt

* T-62 modernization made by NORICUM. The modernization includes a replacement of the 115 mm tank gun with a 105 mm Royal Ordnance L7 tank gun. The Egyptian Army evaluated the vehicle and incorporated its upgrades in its RO-115 Mark I modernization. ** : developed in the early 1980s. While retaining the Soviet 115 mm gun, more powerful ammunition allows engaging a target at greater range. Some main guns were replaced with the Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm gun as offered by the Austrian firm NORICUM. Other modifications included a British diesel engine developing 750 hp (559 kW), a two-plane stabiliser, ballistic computer, laser rangefinder in an armoured box over the main armament, a cluster of six smoke grenade launchers on the right side of the turret, a fire control system from BMP-3 IFV and additional armour including reactive armour. The upgrades resulted in an increase of weight to 43 tons. ** : Mid 1990s Egyptian refurbishment and modernization program. The tanks were fitted with a license-built German MTU engine developing 880 hp (656 kW). The tanks are armed with a license-built 105 mm M68 tank gun, an Italian fire control system with ballistics computer, infrared vision device, laser rangefinder, gun stabiliser, additional armour including reactive armour, armoured side skirts, modernised suspension and six smoke grenade launchers on each side of the turret. It has an upgraded NBC (nuclear, biological, and chemical) protection system. The T-62E Mark II carries two Egyptian-made two-round anti-tank missile launchers or two 2-round launchers for 80 mm D-3000 smoke rockets on an encroachment extension, or a box-type launcher holding two Sakr smoke missiles on each side of the turret. The upgrade did not change the weight of the tank, which remained at 45 tons. ** : T-62 tank upgrade developed in 2004. This upgrade arms the tank with the 120 mm M-393 tank gun developed by FSUE. The gun is 5.30 m long and weighs 2.6 tonnes. It can be elevated or depressed between −7° and +15°. The tank has a new license-built German MTU engine developing 890 hp (664 kW) and additional armour, including reactive armour and armoured side skirts. The upgrades resulted in a weight increase to 46.5 tons. This upgrade was completed by the end of 2008.


France

* T-62 modernization made by
GIAT KNDS France (formerly known as Nexter, GIAT Industries or ''Groupement des Industries de l'Armée de Terre'', Army Industries Group) is a French government-owned weapons manufacturer, based in Versailles. The company was wholly government-owned ...
. The modernization includes a replacement of the 115 mm tank gun with a 120 mm smoothbore tank gun, the same as the one used in the
AMX 40 The AMX-40 was a French main battle tank developed by GIAT during the latter stages of the Cold War as an export tank to replace the earlier AMX-32. Designed to be an inexpensive tank orientated towards militaries with smaller defence budgets, t ...
prototype main battle tank. No orders were placed for this unit.


Israel

Israel captured a small number of Syrian T-62s and made limited adaptions for Israeli service, including US-made radio equipment. The Tiran 6 was not as extensively modified as the Tirans 4 and 5. It is reputed that some Tiran-6s were fitted with "Blazer"
reactive armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants include ...
tiles on the glacis and turret, but that remains to be proven by photographic evidence. A large open stowage bin was fitted to the turret rear, where stowed gear could, unfortunately, obstruct the hatch for the automatic cartridge case ejection system, with a lidded bin on the right of the turret. These bins were similar to those fitted on Tirans 4 and 5. The original 115 mm gun was retained, making IDF dependent on captured ammunition. The commander's 12.7 mm
DShK The DShK M1938 (Cyrillic: ДШК, for ) is a Soviet heavy machine gun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machine gun. The DShK's name is derived from its original designer, Vasily Degtya ...
1938/46 antiaircraft heavy machine gun was replaced by an M1919 Browning 7.62mm machine gun, with a mount for a second Browning on the loader's hatch. An M2 Browning 12.7mm machine gun could be mounted on the mantlet of the main gun as a ranging gun. Tiran 6 was apparently only deployed operationally during the
1982 Lebanon War The 1982 Lebanon War, also called the Second Israeli invasion of Lebanon, began on 6 June 1982, when Israel invaded southern Lebanon. The invasion followed a series of attacks and counter-attacks between the Palestine Liberation Organization ...
and was withdrawn from service shortly afterwards as the arrival of further stocks of M60 and M60A1 from the US made it unnecessary to use the T-62.


North Korea

*
Ch'ŏnma-ho The Ch'ŏnma ( Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마; Hanja: 天馬 meaning 'Pegasus'), often inaccurately referred to as Chonma-Ho, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 ( ...
I (Ga) – This is a lighter and thinner armoured copy of the T-62. Based on general trends and photography of armed forces parades, it is clear that North Korea has made considerable modifications to the basic Soviet and Chinese designs in its own production. * Ch'ŏnma-ho II – designation for an imported T-62. * Ch'ŏnma-ho III – A simple progressive upgrade of the Ch’onma-ho 2, with a thermal sleeve for the main gun and armoured track skirts added. It is possible, but considered unlikely, that lugs for ERA have been added since its introduction; if they are present, they would be most likely found on the glacis and turret sides. A night vision upgrade. * Ch'ŏnma-ho IV – Greatly upgraded armour protection, including composite armour on the glacis and turret front, and appliqué or thickened armour elsewhere. Even the appliqué and/or thickened armour appears to be more advanced than earlier models, and does not appear to have gained a huge amount of weight. A ballistic computer was added to the fire control suite, and the fire control suite has been integrated into a complete system rather than being a patchwork of upgrades. Gun stabilization has been improved. Radios are improved, and the suspension beefed up. The new engine is a 750-horsepower model which can lay a thick, oily smoke screen by injecting diesel fuel into its exhaust. Lugs for ERA (similar to the Russian Kontakt-3 ERA) were added to turret sides, and lugs on the armoured track skirts and on the glacis. Lugs for a relatively small amount of ERA bricks on the turret front; the ERA on the turret front would only protect 40% of hits to the turret front. On side of the turret, clusters of four smoke grenade launchers; at the rear of the turret another cluster of four smoke grenade launchers, firing backwards instead of forward. * Ch'ŏnma-ho V – Armour upgrades derived partially from the T-90S and T-72S, as well as a better ballistic computer and the addition of the aforementioned thermal imagers. Upgraded main gun – a copy of the
2A46 125 mm gun The 2A46 (also called D-81TM) is a 125 mm/L48 smoothbore cannon of Soviet origin used in several main battle tanks. It was designed by OKB-9 (Artillery Plant No. 9) in Yekaterinburg. Description It was developed by the Spetstekhnika Design ...
. Some sources also claim an autoloader was installed; however, this statement is questionable since the Pokpung'ho (another T-62-based tank with the
2A46 125 mm gun The 2A46 (also called D-81TM) is a 125 mm/L48 smoothbore cannon of Soviet origin used in several main battle tanks. It was designed by OKB-9 (Artillery Plant No. 9) in Yekaterinburg. Description It was developed by the Spetstekhnika Design ...
) was confirmed to have a manual loader. The fire control system was replaced with one matching the new main gun, and the spent shell ejection system was dispensed with. Used wider tracks.


Russia

*T-62M "Obr. 2021" – Upgraded T-62M. Kontakt-1 ERA bricks and
slat armour Slat armor (or slat armour in British English), also known as bar armor, cage armor, and standoff armor, is a type of vehicle armor designed to protect against high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) attacks, as used by anti-tank guided missiles (ATG ...
were added to the sides. A more modern 1PN96MT-02 gunner's sight replaced the older TPN-1 sights. * T-62MV "Obr. 2022" – Upgraded T-62MV. Uses the 1PN96MT-02 gunner's sight. Used in the
Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
.


Ukraine

*
T-55AGM The T-55AGM is a Ukrainian modernization of the T-54/T-55 medium tank developed by the Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau (KMDB). Although the T-54/T-55 series are over 70 years old, a significant number of vehicles still remain in s ...
– Ukrainian T-54/T-55 modernization which can also be applied to T-62s. * – Upgraded by Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau. It is fitted with the 5TDF 700 hp diesel engine, a 125 mm KBA-101 tank gun, new fire control equipment and enhanced armour protection. The combat weight is 39.5 tonnes. The crew still consists of 4 men because there is no automatic loader. The upgrade package is aimed at the export market. Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau is offering three T-62 conversions: * T-62 based heavy infantry fighting vehicle. * T-62 based armoured recovery vehicle. * T-62 based armoured bridge layer. Ukrainian volunteers installed a
BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle f theinfantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...
turret onto a captured T-62M, armour plates and
Explosive Reactive Armour Reactive armour is a type of vehicle armour used in protecting vehicles, especially modern tanks, against shaped charges and hardened kinetic energy penetrators. The most common type is ''explosive reactive armour'' (ERA), but variants include ...
were bolted on the hull and turret, the program is meant to create a Heavy
Infantry Fighting Vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
.


United States

* T-62 – This version is modified in a number of ways including the replacement of the original diesel engine with a Caterpillar diesel engine and fitting of US radios and antennae mounts. T-62 tanks modified in such a way were used by the US Army for
opposing force An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR or OpFor) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some ai ...
s training.


Operators


Current operators

* – 100 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1975 and 1976. 155 were ordered in 1979 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1979 and 1991 (the vehicles were probably previously in Soviet service). Unknown number of T-62Ms in service as of 2023 * – 330 delivered between 1977 and 1979. 290 in service as of 2023 * – 175 were ordered in 1980 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1981 and 1985 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 35 were ordered in 1987 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1987. 100 were ordered in 1987 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1987 and 1988 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 24 were ordered in 1993 from Bulgaria and delivered in 1993 (the vehicles were previously in Bulgarian service). 30 were ordered in 1993 from Russia and delivered between 1993 and 1994 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet and then Russian service; some could be T-55s). 50 in service as of 2023 * – 200 were ordered in 1976 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1976 and 1983 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 200 were ordered in 1984 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1984 and 1988. 400 in service in 2005. Operates an unknown number of T-62s as of 2023. They are modernised to the T-62M standard * – 200 in service and 300 in storage as of 2025.Military balance 2025 750 were ordered in 1971 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1972 and 1975. * – 20 were ordered in 1977 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1977 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 50 were ordered in 1980 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1980 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 70 in service as of 2005. Unknown number in service as of 2023 * – 65 were ordered in 1981 from Libya and received in 1981 as aid (the vehicles were previously in Libyan service). 100 were ordered in 1982 from Syria and delivered in 1982 (the vehicles were previously in Syrian service). Iran ordered 150 Ch'ŏnma-hos in 1981 from North Korea and they were delivered between 1982 and 1985. At least 75 in service as of 2023 * – 186
Peshmerga The Peshmerga () are the internal security forces of Kurdistan Region. According to the Constitution of Iraq, regional governments are responsible for "the establishment and organization of the internal security forces for the region such as p ...
Forces. * – 150 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1974. 400 were ordered in 1976 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1976 and 1978. 250 were ordered in 1978 from the Soviet Union and delivered in 1978. At the peak there were approximately 900 T-62s in service. Before the fall of the
Gaddafi regime Muammar Gaddafi became the '' de facto'' leader of Libya on 1 September 1969 after leading a group of young Libyan Army officers against King Idris I in a bloodless coup d'état. When Idris was in Turkey for medical treatment, the Revolutio ...
, 100 were in service and 70 were stored. In 2020, T-62Ms and T-62MVs were delivered by Russia to the
Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; , ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii''), also known as the Libyan Arab Army (LAA; , ''al-Jaysh al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii'') or the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF; ), is a component of Libyan Armed Forces, Libya's mil ...
. * – 350 were ordered in 1970 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1971 and 1975. 150 ordered in 1974 from the Soviet Union were delivered between 1976 and 1978. North Korea also produced more than 1,200 Ch'ŏnma-hos. 1,800 T-62s and Ch'ŏnma-hos in 2005. Unknown number of T-62 and Ch'ŏnma-hos in service as of 2023 * – 600 T-62M/MV in active service, 1082 T-62 in store. At least 2,000 were inherited from the Soviet Union. 761 were in active service in 1995. 191 were in active service and 1,929 in storage as of 2000. During 2013 all the tanks of the model and its modifications were allegedly scrapped – later it was found this was not true, as Russia reactivated numerous T-62s to resupply the Syrian Army. In 2022, Russia sent T-62 tanks to reinforce the
Southern Ukraine offensive The southern front of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an ongoing theatre of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. The Russian military invaded Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine from Russian-occupie ...
in
Zaporizhzhia Oblast Zaporizhzhia Oblast (), commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is the city of Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of , and has a population of The oblast is an import ...
during the
2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...
; reportedly up to 600 T-62s were taken out of long-term storage. * − Around 30 supplied by Libya. Status uncertain * – 500 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1973 and 1974. 200 ordered in 1978 from Libya were delivered in 1979 as aid. 300 were ordered in 1982 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1982 and 1984 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). 1,000 T-62s were in service as of 2005. In 2018, the Russian Federation reactivated and field-tested T-62M and T-62MV tanks from war stores and transported them to Syria. T-62A, T-62 obr. 1972, T-62 obr. 1975, T-62K, T-62M, and T-62MV as of 2023 *
Free Syrian Army The Free Syrian Army (FSA; ) is a Big tent, big-tent coalition of decentralized Syrian opposition (2011–2024), Syrian opposition rebel groups in the Syrian civil war founded on 29 July 2011 by Colonel Riad al-Asaad and six officers who defe ...
– Limited use of captured government tanks *
People's Defense Units The People's Defense Units (YPG), also called People's Protection Units, is a libertarian socialist US-backed Kurdish militant group in Syria and the primary component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The YPG mostly consists of K ...
(YPG) * – 7 T-62, T-62AV, and T-62AM as of 2023 * – 400 inherited from the Soviet Union. 85 in service in 1995, 1 in 1996, none in 2000. As of December 2024, Ukraine has captured 45 units of T-62 Obr.1967, T-62M and T-62MV from Russian army in the
Russo-Ukrainian war The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
. Several of these captured T-62s were modified to serve as
armoured recovery vehicle An armoured recovery vehicle (ARV) is typically a powerful tank or armoured personnel carrier (APC) chassis modified for use during combat for military vehicle recovery (towing) or repair of battle-damaged, stuck, and/or inoperable armoured f ...
s or
infantry fighting vehicle An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle and armoured personnel carrier used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct fire, direct-fire suppo ...
s. * – 170 as of 2023 * – 70 as of 2023 * – 200 in 2005. Unknown number as of 2023


Former operators

* – 170 were in service in 1995 * – 250 were ordered in 1969 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1970 and 1974. 150 T-62M received in 1988 from the Soviet Union, they were soon withdrawn from service and converted into ARVs under the designation TV-62M, these were used as late as 2005 * – Received a number from Ethiopia.defenceindia.com
* – 100 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1974 and 1975. 600 ordered in 1976 from the Soviet Union were delivered between 1977 and 1979. 2,150 were ordered in 1982 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1982 and 1989 (the vehicles were probably previously in Soviet service). 1,000 in service in 1989. 500 were estimated to be in service prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq * * – Between 70 and 100 in reserve or training vehicles as of 2005 * − 280 as of 2005 * – 100 were ordered in 1973 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1973 and 1975 * – More than 20,000 were produced between July 1961 and 1975. 8,500 in service in 1991. The tanks were passed on to successor states. *
Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defence Forces (TDF; ), colloquially called the ''Tigray Army'' (), is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enf ...
− Surrendered to the Ethiopian forces in the aftermath of the Tigray War * − Used by
OPFOR An opposing force (alternatively enemy force, abbreviated OPFOR or OpFor) is a military unit tasked with representing an enemy, usually for training purposes in war game scenarios. The related concept of aggressor squadron is used by some air ...
* – 16 ordered in 1979 from the Soviet Union were delivered in 1980 (the vehicles were previously in Soviet service). * – 50 were ordered from the Soviet Union in 1979 and received in 1979 as aid. Another 100 were ordered in 1980 from the Soviet Union and delivered between 1981 and 1982. 120 more ordered in 1986 from the Soviet Union were delivered in 1986. All the vehicles of the last batch were previously in Soviet service. * Southern Yemeni separatists – 56 were ordered in 1994 from Bulgaria and delivered in 1994, and saw service in the Yemeni Civil War of 1994 (the vehicles were previously in Bulgarian service; they were bought for $20 million).


Evaluation-only operators

* – A Soviet T-62 was captured by the PLA during the 1969 Sino-Soviet border clash along the Ussuri river. It was used for study only. * – Evaluated the tank, but did not accept it.


Combat history

* 1969:
Sino-Soviet border conflict The Sino-Soviet border conflict, also known as the Sino-Soviet crisis, was a seven-month undeclared military conflict between the Soviet Union and China in 1969, following the Sino-Soviet split. The most serious border clash, which brought th ...
(Soviet Union) * 1973:
Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...
(Egypt and Syria) * 1961–1991:
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict The Iraqi–Kurdish conflict consists of a series of wars, rebellions and disputes between the Kurds and the central authority of Iraq starting in the 20th century shortly after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Some put the marki ...
(Iraq and Peshmerga) * 1961–1991:
Eritrean War of Independence The Eritrean War of Independence was an War, armed conflict and insurgency aimed at achieving self-determination and independence for Eritrea from Ethiopian rule. Starting in 1961, Eritrean insurgents engaged in guerrilla warfare to liberate ...
(Ethiopia and
EPLF The Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), colloquially known as Shabia, was an armed Marxist–Leninist organization that fought for the independence of Eritrea from Ethiopia. It emerged in 1973 as a far-left to left-wing nationalist group ...
) * 1974–1991:
Ethiopian Civil War The Ethiopian Civil War was a civil war in Ethiopia and present-day Eritrea, fought between the Ethiopian military junta known as the Derg and Ethiopian-Eritrean anti-government rebels from 12 September 1974 to 28 May 1991. The Derg overthre ...
(Ethiopia, EPLF and
TPLF The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF; ), also known as the Tigrayan People's Liberation Front, is a left-wing ethnic nationalist, paramilitary group, and the former ruling party of Ethiopia. It was classified as a terrorist organization ...
) * 1975–1991:
Western Sahara War The Western Sahara War (, , ) was an armed conflict between the Sahrawi indigenous Polisario Front and Morocco from 1975 to 1991 (and Mauritania from 1975 to 1979), being the most significant phase of the Western Sahara conflict. The confl ...
(Polisario) * 1975–2002:
Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...
(Angola, Cuba and
UNITA The National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (, abbr. UNITA) is the second-largest political party in Angola. Founded in 1966, UNITA fought alongside the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and the National Liberat ...
) * 1977–1978:
Ogaden War The Ogaden War, also known as the Ethio-Somali War (, ), was a military conflict between Somali Democratic Republic, Somalia and derg, Ethiopia fought from July 1977 to March 1978 over control of the sovereignty of the Ogaden region. Somalia ...
(Cuba and Ethiopia) * 1978–1987: Chadian–Libyan conflict (Libya) ** 1986–1987:
Toyota War The Toyota War (, ), also known as the Great Toyota War, which took place in 1987 in Northern Chad and on the Chad–Libya border, was the last phase of the Chadian–Libyan War. It takes its name from the Toyota pickup trucks, primarily the Toyo ...
* 1979–1989:
Soviet–Afghan War The Soviet–Afghan War took place in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan from December 1979 to February 1989. Marking the beginning of the 46-year-long Afghan conflict, it saw the Soviet Union and the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic o ...
(Soviet Union and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
) *1979–1989:
Cambodian–Vietnamese War The Cambodian–Vietnamese War was an armed conflict between Democratic Kampuchea, controlled by Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, and the Vietnam, Socialist Republic of Vietnam. It began in December 1978, with a Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia which to ...
* 1980–1988:
Iran–Iraq War The Iran–Iraq War, also known as the First Gulf War, was an armed conflict between Iran and Iraq that lasted from September 1980 to August 1988. Active hostilities began with the Iraqi invasion of Iran and lasted for nearly eight years, unti ...
(Iran and Iraq) * 1982–1983:
Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...
, Phase III * 1988–1993:
Georgian Civil War The Georgian Civil War ( ka, საქართველოს სამოქალაქო ომი, ''sakartvelos samokalako omi'') lasted from 1991 to 1993 in the South Caucasian country of Georgia. It began in December 1991 with the c ...
** 1991–1992: War in South Ossetia ** 1992–1993:
War in Abkhazia War in Abkhazia may refer to: *War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) The War in Abkhazia was fought between Georgian government and paramilitary forces, and a coalition of Abkhaz separatist forces and North Caucasian militants between 1992 and 1993 ...
* 1990–1991:
Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
(Iraq) * 1992–1997:
Tajikistani Civil War The Tajikistani Civil War,, group=pron also known as the Tajik Civil War, began in May 1992 and ended in June 1997. Regional groups from the Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan rose up against the newly formed government of Preside ...
(Tajikistan) * 1994:
Yemeni Civil War (1994) The Yemeni civil war (), also known as the Summer War of 1994 (), was a civil war fought between the two Yemeni forces of the pro-union northern and the socialist separatist southern Yemeni states and their supporters. The war resulted in the ...
(Yemen and Southern separatist forces) * 1994–1996:
First Chechen War The First Chechen War, also referred to as the First Russo-Chechen War, was a struggle for independence waged by the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria against the invading Russia, Russian Federation from 1994 to 1996. After a mutually agreed on treaty ...
(Russia) * 1998–2000:
Eritrean–Ethiopian War The Eritrean–Ethiopian War, also known as the Badme War, was a major armed conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that took place from May 6, 1998 to June 18, 2000. After 1993 Eritrean independence referendum, Eritrea gained independence from E ...
(Eritrea and Ethiopia) * 1999–2009:
Second Chechen War Names The Second Chechen War is also known as the Second Chechen Campaign () or the Second Russian Invasion of Chechnya from the Chechens, Chechen insurgents' point of view.Федеральный закон № 5-ФЗ от 12 января 19 ...
(Russia) * 2001–2021:
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC), the conquest of Afghanistan by the Macedonian Empire * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan, a series of campaigns in ...
(Afghan government and
Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...
) * 2003–2011:
Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...
** 2003:
Invasion of Iraq An invasion is a military offensive of combatants of one geopolitical entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory controlled by another similar entity, often involving acts of aggression. Generally, invasions have objectives ...
(Iraq) * 2008:
Russo-Georgian War The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...
(Russia) * 2011:
First Libyan Civil War The Libyan civil war, also known as the First Libyan Civil War and Libyan Revolution, was an armed conflict in 2011 in the North African country of Libya that was fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and rebel groups that were ...
( Gaddafi Government and
anti-Gaddafi forces The anti-Gaddafi forces, also known as the Libyan opposition or Libyan rebels, were Libyan groups that opposed and militarily defeated the government of Muammar Gaddafi during the First Libyan Civil War in 2011, killing him in the process. The A ...
) * 2011–present: Syrian Civil War (Syrian regime forces, ISIL, and rebels) * 2014–2020:
Second Libyan Civil War The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...
(
Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; , ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii''), also known as the Libyan Arab Army (LAA; , ''al-Jaysh al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii'') or the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF; ), is a component of Libyan Armed Forces, Libya's mil ...
and
Government of National Accord The Government of National Accord (GNA; ) was an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a United Nations–led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endors ...
) * 2014–present:
Yemeni Civil War (2014–present) Yemeni civil war may refer to several conflicts which have taken place in Yemen: * North Yemen civil war, 1962–1970 * South Yemen civil war The South Yemeni crisis, colloquially referred to in Yemen as the events of '86, was a failed coup d ...
(Hadi-government forces and Houthis) * 2020–2022: Tigray War (Ethiopian government forces and
Tigray Defense Forces The Tigray Defence Forces (TDF; ), colloquially called the ''Tigray Army'' (), is a paramilitary group located in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. It was founded by former generals of the Ethiopian Military in 2020 to combat federal forces enf ...
) * 2022–present:
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...
(
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
and Ukrainian forces)


See also

* List of tanks *
List of Soviet tanks Below is a list of tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles of the Russian empire, Soviet Union, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine. Imperial Russia, World War I Armored tractors *Gulkevich's armored tractor *F. Blinov armored tractor *Wa ...
*
Chonma-ho The Ch'ŏnma (Chosŏn'gŭl: 천마; Hanja: 天馬 meaning 'Pegasus'), often inaccurately referred to as Chonma-Ho, is one of North Korea's secretive indigenous main battle tank designs. The tank is also known by the name of 천리마 전차 ( ...
*
Type 69 tank The Type 69 () and Type 79 () are Chinese first generation main battle tanks. Both were developments of the Type 59 medium tank (a locally produced Soviet T-54A) with technologies derived from the T-62. They were the first indigenously devel ...


Tanks of comparable role, performance and era

*
AMX-30 The AMX-30 is a French main battle tank designed by Ateliers de construction d'Issy-les-Moulineaux (AMX, then Nexter, GIAT) and first delivered to the French Army in August 1966. The first five tanks were issued to the 501st ''Régiment de Chars ...
– French main battle tank * Centurion Mk. 6 - British main battle tank *
Leopard 1 The Kampfpanzer Leopard, subsequently Leopard 1 following the introduction of the successive Leopard 2, is a main battle tank designed by Porsche and manufactured by Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Krauss-Maffei in West Germany, first entering service ...
– German main battle tank *
M60 Patton The M60 is an American List of main battle tanks by generation#Second, second-generation main battle tank (MBT). It was officially standardized as the Tank, Combat, Full Tracked: 105-mm Gun, M60 in March 1959. Although developed from the M48 Pa ...
– US main battle tank *
Stridsvagn 103 The Stridsvagn 103 (Strv 103), also known as the Alternative S and S-tank, is a Sweden, Swedish Cold War, Cold War-era main battle tank, designed and manufactured in Sweden. "Strv" is the Swedish military abbreviation of ''stridsvagn'', Swedish f ...
– Swedish main battle tank *
Type 74 Type 74 may refer to: Weaponry * Type 74 tank, Japanese main battle tank * Type 74 105 mm self-propelled howitzer, Japanese self propelled howitzer * Type 74 anti-aircraft gun, Chinese twin barreled upgrade of M1939 anti air gun {{disamb ...
– Japanese main battle tank *
Panzer 61 The Panzer 61 was a Switzerland, Swiss Cold War era medium tank later reclassified as a List of main battle tanks by generation, second-generation main battle tank. The tank had a weight of 36.5 tons and was powered by a 630 hp diesel engine, ...
- Swiss main battle tank


Notes


References


Bibliography

* * * * * * * * *


External links


T-62 at Federation of American Scientists web site


{{Cold War tanks, style=wide Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s Cold War tanks of the Soviet Union Main battle tanks of the Soviet Union Main battle tanks of the Cold War Uralvagonzavod products