The Horrors of T-72 Crews

Video Description

The Horrors of T-72 Crews This video breaks down the T-72 from the inside out and explains why it became one of the most widespread tanks in history, and also why it gained such a grim reputation in modern wars. It starts with the Soviet design logic after World War II, the move from the T-54 and T-55 toward the high-tech T-64, and why the Soviet Army wanted a simpler, cheaper “mobilization” tank that could be produced in huge numbers and operated by regular conscript crews. That compromise produced Object 172 and the T-72, built around a 125 millimeter smoothbore gun and an autoloader that reduced the crew to three and kept the whole vehicle low, compact, and relatively fast for its weight. From there, the video explains what the T-72’s layout really means in combat. You will see how the carousel autoloader works, why two-piece ammunition shaped the internal arrangement, and why storing propellant charges and additional rounds around the crew created a serious vulnerability once the armor was penetrated. It also covers the tank’s strengths and limits, from mobility and low silhouette to cramped crew conditions, weak reverse speed, and the specialized features like deep-water fording and NBC sealing that exist in theory but are rarely practical in real fighting. Then it follows the T-72 through its combat record, from early export use in the Middle East to the Iran–Iraq War, then into the urban disaster of Grozny in 1994–1995 where close-range RPG tactics, top and side shots, and trapped columns produced catastrophic losses and forced changes in Russian doctrine. Finally, it brings the story into the modern battlefield. It covers explosive reactive armor upgrades, why tandem-charge warheads reduced the value of earlier protection, and how modern anti-tank guided missiles and top-attack weapons changed the survivability math again. It also looks at the new threat that has defined recent fighting, drones, and the improvised countermeasures crews try to add when active protection and layered air defense are not available. A complete overview of the T-72’s design trade-offs, battlefield performance, and why its strengths as a mass-produced tank are inseparable from the risks its crew faces in close-range urban combat and in modern anti-tank environments. Chapters: 00:00 – T-72 reputation and “turret toss” 02:30 – Why the Soviets built the T-72 03:07 – Autoloader, crew layout, and the big weakness 08:20 – Combat record: Lebanon to Grozny 12:14 – Modern threats: ATGMs, drones, Ukraine