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The OT-62 TOPAS is a series of amphibious tracked armoured personnel carriers developed jointly by the
Polish People's Republic The Polish People's Republic (1952–1989), formerly the Republic of Poland (1947–1952), and also often simply known as Poland, was a country in Central Europe that existed as the predecessor of the modern-day democratic Republic of Poland. ...
and
Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''ÄŒesko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...
(
ČSSR The Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, (Czech and Slovak: ''Československá socialistická republika'', ČSSR) known from 1948 to 1960 as the Czechoslovak Republic (''Československá republika)'', Fourth Czechoslovak Republic, or simply Czech ...
). OT-62 stands for ''Obrněný Transportér vzor 62'' – "armoured personnel carrier model 62". TOPAS stands for ''Transportér Obrněný Pásový'' – "tracked armoured personnel carrier".


Development

In the late 1950s Czechoslovakia bought a license to produce
BTR-50 The BTR-50 (BTR stands for ''Bronetransporter'' (), literally "armored transporter") is a Soviet Union, Soviet tracked Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armored personnel carrier (APC) based on the PT-76 light tank chassis. The BTR-50 was developed ...
s from the
Soviet Union 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 ...
. The received documentation was used to develop a new tracked armoured personnel carrier for Czechoslovak army and
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the World War II, Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the History of Poland (1945 ...
(LWP). The work started in 1958 and the first prototype was completed in 1962. After it passed the trials it was accepted and received the name TOPAS. Because the standard TOPAS vehicle used by the LWP (Polish People's Army) was unarmed, the design bureau of Wojskowa Akademia Techniczna (WAT) (Military Technical Academy) designed a variant armed with a new turret placed centrally on top of the superstructure. Another TOPAS variant was designed by Wojskowy Instytut Techniki Pancernej i Samochodowej (Military Institute of Armour and Car Technology). The new variant received the designation WPT-TOPAS and was a technical support vehicle.


Description

Like the BTR-50PK, the OT-62 TOPAS has a flat, boat-shaped hull and has a superstructure in the front of the vehicle. The hull of the OT-62 TOPAS is made of all-welded rolled steel with the crew compartment at the front, troop compartment in the center and the engine compartment at the rear. It can transport up to sixteen fully equipped infantrymen who sit on benches which run across the full width of the troop compartment. Their primary way of mounting and dismounting the APC is by climbing over the sides of the hull and going through two rectangular roof hatches. However, OT-62 TOPAS has side hatches in the sides of the superstructure, making for a good alternative to the rectangular roof hatches; thus it does not have the protection issue of BTR-50 APC in which the passengers did not have any kind of alternative route in and out. The driver sits in the center of the front of the hull and has three vision blocks and periscopes located at the top of the sloping glacis plate. During night operations the center periscope is switched for the TVN-28 night vision device, which gives the driver a clear vision up to 60 meters. The driver also has a small hatch that opens upwards and, while it can not be used for the driver to leave the vehicle, it can be opened in relatively safe areas for extra vision. When in combat the hatch is closed and the driver can use a vision block for a limited vision. Under the driver's seat is an emergency hatch which can be used by all crew members. The commander who sits on the left side of the front of the vehicle has three vision blocks, periscopes in a projecting bay, and a cupola with vision block on its basis facing forward. It is located on top of projecting bay, opens forward, and can be locked vertically. It also has two projecting bays like the BTR-50PU command vehicle instead of the one in BTR-50 APCs. However, the bays are different in shape. The second projecting bay also has three vision blocks and periscopes. On top of the second projecting bay is a cupola which replaces the additional rectangular roof hatch from the BTR-50PK. The torsion bar suspension consists of six evenly spaced large rubber-tired road wheels with the drive sprocket at the rear and the idler at the front. The road wheels are hollow to ensure additional amphibious abilities. Usage of hollow road wheels increased APC's buoyancy by 30%. There are no track-return rollers. The first and last road wheels have a hydraulic shock absorber and the steel tracks with a single pin have 96 chain links each when new. There is a small, thin, horizontal skirt over each track. OT-62 has the PV-6 6-cylinder, inline diesel engine developing at 1,800 rpm. The engine gives it a road speed of with a cruising range of . The vehicle can cross high vertical obstacles and wide trenches and climb 40° gradients. OT-62 TOPAS is amphibious thanks to its flat, boat-shaped hull which is watertight and ensures minimal resistance when APC is afloat, It can swim after switching on the two electric bilge pumps, erecting the trim vane which improves the stability and displacement of the vehicle in water and prevents the water from flooding the bow of the APC, and switching the driver's periscope for a swimming periscope that enables the driver to see over the trim vane. There is also a manual bilge pump for emergency use. The bilge pumps keep the APC afloat even if it is hit, is damaged, or leaks. In water it is propelled by two hydrojets, one in each side of the hull, with the entrance under the hull and exits at the rear of the hull. There are additional assistant water-jet entrances in both sides of the hull over the last road wheels. The rear exits have lids that can be fully or partially closed, redirecting the water stream to the forward-directed exits at the sides of the hull, thus enabling the vehicle to turn or float in reverse. For example: to go left, the left water-jet is covered; to go right, the right water-jet is covered; and to make a 180° turn, the left water-jet sucks in water and the right water-jet pushes it out. This system was designed by N. Konowalow., and is the same system as in the PT-76 amphibious light tank. The vehicle has a low freeboard of 15 cm to 20 cm; however, it can compensate for this by using the snorkel, the mount for which is located on the right side of the front of the engine deck. The vehicle is equipped with an IR driving light and an IR searchlight. The searchlight was removed from the right side of the front of the superstructure, as the area there was used for the second projecting bay. It was instead fitted on the commander's cupola. It also has two mounts for shovels on either side of the front of the vehicle as well as two mounts for pickaxes on the left side of the superstructure. A stowage bucket is placed centrally in the front of the engine deck.


Service history

The OT-62 entered in service with the Czechoslovak Army in 1964, and with the Polish Army in 1966 as the TOPAS-2AP. The OT-62 was exported to Bulgaria, and a number of third world countries including Angola, Egypt, India, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, and Sudan.
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
received at least 10 WPT-TOPAS
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 in 1970. Along with BTR-50, the OT-62 TOPAS were used by Egypt and
Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...
in the
Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states, primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...
(1967). Some vehicles were captured and commissioned by the
Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...
. Both sides used BTR-50 and OT-62 TOPAS APCs during
War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...
(1968–1970). 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 ...
(1973) the BTR-50 and OT-62 TOPAS APCs were also employed by both sides. Some of the Israeli BTR-50 and OT-62 TOPAS were later transferred to the
South Lebanon Army The South Lebanon Army or South Lebanese Army (SLA; , ), also known as the Lahad Army () or as the De Facto Forces (DFF), was a Christianity in Lebanon, Christian-dominated militia in Lebanon. It was founded by Lebanese military officer Saad H ...
. Morocco used ex-Egyptian OT-62 during
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 ...
. Moroccan armed forces lost 13 of them after a battle in Lebuirat on 24 August 1979. OT-62 TOPAS also saw service with the Iraqi army during First Persian Gulf War and 2003 Invasion of Iraq.


Variants


Former Czechoslovakia

*OT-62 (OT-62 stands for ''Obrněný Transportér vzor 62'' – "Armoured Personnel Carrier model 62") – a series of BTR-50 copies developed jointly by Poland and Czechoslovakia. They are similar to BTR-50PK but have side hatches in the hull sides, a stronger PV-6 engine with power of , and two projecting bays like the BTR-50PU. **OT-62A (OT-62 stands for ''Obrněný Transportér vzor 62'' – "Armoured Personnel Carrier model 62") (1962) – Basic APC variant. The model used by the
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the World War II, Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the History of Poland (1945 ...
is called TOPAS (see Poland section for details). ***OT-62B (OT-62 stands for ''ObrnÄ›ný Transportér vzor 62'' – "Armoured Personnel Carrier model 62") – APC variant fitted with a small turret on top of the second projecting bay replacing the cupola that was there. It is armed with the 7.62 mm Vz. 59T general purpose machine gun and the 82 mm T-21 " Tarasnice" recoilless gun on an external mount. The rate of fire of the 82 mm T-21 "Tarasnice" recoilless gun depends on how fast can the loader can reload it. To reload the recoilless gun the loader must exit the vehicle first exposing himself to enemy fire. The vehicle carriers 12 rounds for the 82 mm T-21 "Tarasnice" recoilless gun. The model used by the
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the World War II, Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the History of Poland (1945 ...
is called TOPAS-2A (see Poland section for details). ****OT-62 R-2 R-105 – OT-62B converted into a signals and command vehicle with additional radios. The vehicle retains its small mg turret on top of the second projecting bay; however, it does not have the 82 mm T-21 "Tarasnice" recoilless gun on an external mount. The vehicle has four additional radios, R-113, R-112, R-105U and R-105d. It also has a generator and a stowage box on the left side of the engine dec
Photos
ref name="JED The Military Equipment Directory"/> ****OT-62 R-2 R-108 – OT-62B converted into a signals and command vehicle with additional radios. The vehicle retains its small mg turret on top of the second projecting bay; however, it does not have the 82 mm T-21 "Tarasnice" recoilless gun on an external mount. It also has a generator and a stowage box on the left side of the engine deck. ****OT-62 R-2M – OT-62B converted into a signals and command vehicle with additional radios. The model used by the
Ludowe Wojsko Polskie The Polish People's Army (, ; LWP) was the second formation of the Polish Armed Forces in the East during the latter stages of the World War II, Second World War (1943–1945), and subsequently the armed forces of the History of Poland (1945 ...
is called TOPAS R-2M (see Poland section for details). ***OT-62D (OT-62 stands for ''ObrnÄ›ný Transportér vzor 62'' – "Armoured Personnel Carrier model 62") – OT-62 carrying the 82 mm Bzk vzor 59 recoilless gun on the rear deck. It also retains original armament in turret (T-21 RR and UK vz. 59 MG). ***OT-62A converted into an armoured ambulance. **DTP-62 (DTP-62 stands for ''Dílna Technické Pomoci – 62'') – OT-62 converted into a technical support vehicle. **OT-62 R-3MT – OT-62A converted into a signals and command vehicle with additional radios. It has a generator and two stowage boxes on the engine deck. It also has a collapsible radio mast as well as two dome shaped ventilators on top of the superstructure. The cupola on top of the second projecting bay was moved to the center of the front of the roof of the superstructur
Photos
ref name="JED The Military Equipment Directory"/> **OT-62 R-4MT – OT-62A converted into a signals and command vehicle with additional radios. It has a generator and two stowage boxes on the engine deck. The hatch in the right side of the superstructure has been removed.


Poland

*TOPAS (''transporter opancerzony Å›redni = medium APC'') – Basic APC variant. Some were fitted with a locater light between the two cupolas on top of two projecting bays (these were most probably used by Coast Defense units). The model used by CSLA is called OT-62A (see Czechoslovakia section for details). **TOPAS-2AP – Polish upgrade with a WAT turret placed centrally on the superstructure. It is armed with a 14.5 mm KPVT heavy machine gun and 7.62 mm SGMT coaxial medium machine gun. The same turret can be found on the SKOT-2AP. Later the 7.62 mm SGMT medium machine gun was replaced by the 7.62 mm PKT general purpose machine gun. Because of the turret the top rectangular roof hatches were moved to the sides of the top of the superstructure. The turret was operated by a gunner which therefore increased the number of crew members from two to three. Because the turret takes some space from the troop compartment, the number of fully equipped soldiers transported has decreased from sixteen to twelve. The turret increases the weight of the vehicle to 15.1 tonnes, and 16 tonnes when loaded with combat equipment. The TOPAS-2AP was also used by Polish mortar crews. Each vehicle can carry two 82 mm mortar squads, each squad with a crew of four and an 82 mm mortar. **WPT-TOPAS (WPT stands for ''Wóz Pogotowia Technicznego'' – "Technical Support Vehicle") – TOPAS converted into a technical support vehicle which was intended to evacuate damaged TOPAS APCs and PT-76 amphibious light tanks from the battlefield, especially the ones trapped by water obstacles with their amphibious ability broken. It was also intended to repair these vehicles in field conditions and bring medical help to the wounded crew members. Its equipment included a winch with a maximum capacity of 2.5 tonnes, 600 m of cable used to pull out trapped vehicles, a manual crane with a maximum capacity of 1 tonne and capability to be fitted in different parts of the vehicle, stowage boxes with tools, devices and equipment used to repair damaged vehicles in field conditions, a welding set, pontoon, and equipment for divers. The vehicle is armed with a single PK general purpose machine gun mounted on the right side of the cupola with large v-shaped shield around it. **TOPAS R-3M – TOPAS converted into a signals and command vehicle with additional radios.


India

*FRT TOPAS (FRT stands for ''Forward Repair Team vehicle'') – TOPAS-2A converted into a technical support vehicle.


Iraq

*OT-62A - fitted with the slab-sided turret from the Brazilian
EE-9 Cascavel The EE-9 ''Cascavel'' (, translated to ''Rattlesnake'') is a six-wheeled Brazilian armoured car developed primarily for reconnaissance. It was engineered by Engesa in 1970 as a replacement for Brazil's aging fleet of M8 Greyhounds. The vehicl ...
armoured car. It was intended to be used for fire support.


Israel

*OT-62A TOPAS - fitted with two machine gun mounts, each in front of a hatch on top of both cupolas.


Operators


Current

* − 250 OT-62A delivered by Czechoslovakia between 1966 and 1968. 200 OT-62 as of 2024, modernized by Ukraine in 2010 * − 25 OT-62A delivered in 1968 by Czechoslovakia. Unknown number in service as of 2024


Former

* − 50 OT-62A delivered by Czechoslovakia in 1976 * − 35 OT-62A delivered by Czechoslovakia in 1971 * – Passed on to successor states * * − 10 WPT-TOPAS delivered in 1970 * − 300 OT-62A delivered by Czechoslovakia between 1969 and 1972 * − 100 OT-62A delivered by Czechoslovakia between 1968 and 1969 * − Some captured vehicles during the Six-Day War and Yom Kippur war were pressed into service * − 50 OT-62A delivered by Czechoslovakia in 1971 * * – 600, produced locally. Used by Army and Marines *


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links


JED
{{Tatra models Command vehicles Armoured personnel carriers of the Cold War Armoured personnel carriers of Czechoslovakia Armoured personnel carriers of Poland Czechoslovakia–Soviet Union relations Amphibious armoured personnel carriers Czechoslovakia–Poland relations Military vehicles introduced in the 1960s Tracked armoured personnel carriers Tracked amphibious vehicles