The Tsar Mangal (, /ref> Tsar Mangal, lit: King's Grill) or Turtle Tank refers to Armored Fighting Vehicles that were fabricated from
T-62
The T-62 is a Soviet main battle tank that was first introduced in 1961. As a further development of the T-55 series, the T-62 retained many similar design elements of its predecessor including low profile and thick turret armour.
In contra ...
,
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 ...
tanks used by
Russian Forces
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Ground Forces, Navy, and Aerospace Forces—two independent combat ...
slat armor
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 ...
which cover the sides and rear of the host tank. The heavily modified armored fighting vehicles were spotted in action in early April 2024 in
Krasnohorivka
Krasnohorivka (, ; ) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. It is situated west of Donetsk. As of the 2001 Ukrainian census, 2001 census, it had a population of 16,714. The city has been under Donetsk People's ...
on the battlefield of 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 ...
mine-clearing
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...
rollers with electromagnetic mine detector/trawl (.)
Name
The main Russian term for these vehicles is Tsar Mangal, derived from the Russian slang " mangal" for anti-drone slat armor, in an analogy with other large weapons such as the
Tsar Cannon
The Tsar Cannon (, ''Tsar'-pushka'') is a large early modern period artillery piece (known as a ''bombarda'' in Russian) on display on the grounds of the Moscow Kremlin. It is a monument of Russian artillery casting art, cast in bronze in 1586 i ...
and
Tsar Bomba
The Tsar Bomba (code name: ''Ivan'' or ''Vanya''), also known by the alphanumerical designation "AN602", was a Thermonuclear weapon, thermonuclear aerial bomb, and by far the most powerful nuclear weapon ever created and tested. The Soviet phy ...
.
Most western sources denote it as the "turtle tank" for their unusual turtle shell appearance. Ukraine military also dubbed it a "mobile barn". Other monikers include ‘ blyatmobile’ (Блятьмобиль) and ‘assault garage’ (штурмовые гараж).Tsar Mangal: Return of the Turtle Tanks April 28, 2024
Effectiveness
Turtle tanks have suffered from a number of problems, with extensive footage of damaged turtle tanks appearing as they were increasingly utilized in combat roles.Is The Tide Turning Against The Turtle Tanks? /ref> The major drawbacks come mainly from its barnlike structure, including poor visibility and mobility, as well possessing a non-rotating turret. It reportedly serves well as a
demining
Demining or mine clearance is the process of removing land mines from an area. In military operations, the object is to rapidly clear a path through a minefield, and this is often done with devices such as mine plows and blast waves. By cont ...
vehicle during armoured assaults, but still can be damaged by mines and artillery. On 17th June, Ukrainian media sources claimed that the Ukrainian army had captured one of the AFVs along with its crew somewhere in the
Donetsk Oblast
Donetsk Oblast, also referred to as Donechchyna (, ), is an Oblasts of Ukraine, oblast in eastern Ukraine. It is Ukraine's most populous province, with around 4.1 million residents. Its capital city, administrative centre is Donetsk, though d ...
. The AFV was a T-62M with its ammunition removed and its turret fixed in place.
Loitering munition
A loitering munition, also known as a suicide drone, kamikaze drone, or exploding drone, is a weapon with a warhead that is typically designed to Loiter (aeronautics), loiter until a target is designated, then crash into it.Cope cage