The TR-125 () prototype
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 ...
is a redesigned
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 ...
made in
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
with Romanian components only. Number 125 in the designation stands for the 125 mm A555 smoothbore tank gun. It is now designated P-125 (P stands for Prototype).
History
In the late 1970s - early 1980s, Romania ordered 30
T-72M main battle tanks from the USSR. The Romanian government asked USSR for a license to build T-72 tanks locally. Rebuffed by the Soviet leaders, the communist government decided to reverse-engineer 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 ...
tank.
The tank was developed from 1984 to 1991. The turret and the loading mechanism were developed by ICSITEM research institute from Bucharest, while the chassis was designed by ACSIT–P 124 from the F.M.G.S. (FMGS stands for "Fabrica de Mașini Grele Speciale" - Special Heavy Equipment Factory) division of the "23rd August" (now known as FAUR) factory from Bucharest.
Between five and ten prototypes were made between 1987 and 1988 and tested until 1991. An order from the Romanian Army did not come however, and the project was later cancelled. The prototypes are kept in storage.
Description
The vehicle has a modified suspension with seven pairs of wheels, unlike the T-72 and most tanks based on it which have six.
[Gelbart, p.72] This allowed the hull to be stretched by 1 m and installation of a more powerful 850-900 HP
diesel engine
The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...
8VSA3, basically a variant of the engine mounted in TR-85. It used an old
DShK machine gun for anti-aircraft purposes and was fitted with extra armour. The 125mm A555 smoothbore tank gun was developed by Arsenal Reșița factory. As a result of these changes the tank's weight increased from 41.5 tonnes (T-72M) to around 50 tonnes.
Operators
* - The exact number varies according to the source: 3, 5 or 10 prototypes.
References and notes
;References
References
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External links
Brief history of tanks in Romanian ArmyOne of the very few active topics discussing TR-125 on the Romanian internetPolish page about T-72 based tanks including TR-125
{{Cold War tanks, style=wide
Main battle tanks of Romania
Main battle tanks of the Cold War
Romania–Soviet Union relations
T-72