{"id":55754,"date":"2024-05-06T23:37:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T21:37:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=55754"},"modified":"2025-05-06T00:20:43","modified_gmt":"2025-05-05T22:20:43","slug":"the-drawbacks-of-the-russian-turtle-tank-a-t-72-with-a-metal-shell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/05\/06\/the-drawbacks-of-the-russian-turtle-tank-a-t-72-with-a-metal-shell\/","title":{"rendered":"The drawbacks of the Russian 'turtle tank', a T-72 with a metal shell"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Russian invasion of Ukraine is seeing the re-emergence of forms of warfare straight out of the World War I.<\/p>\n

Ukraine vs Afghanistan: the military losses of the USSR in ten years and those of Russia in two<\/a><\/rel>
\nReality vs propaganda: the problems of the Russian tank T-14 Armata and its deployment in Ukraine<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n

In addition to continuing the trench fighting, in April something very curious was seen in the Krasnoj\u00f3rivka (Donetsk) area<\/strong>, which looks more like the tanks of the First World War than the current tanks. The Telegram channel Warriors Ukrainian<\/a> spread this image of the vehicle in question <\/strong>, captured by a Ukrainian drone:<\/p>\n

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There was no Russian armored vehicle with this strange appearance<\/strong>, which is very reminiscent of the German A7V Sturmpanzerwagen<\/a> from the First World War.<\/p>\n

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The invasion of Ukraine is causing a headache for the Russian armored forces. By two years after the invasion, the Russians had already lost 2,754 tanks and 5,140 armored personnel carriers<\/a>, colossal figures, especially if we take into account that In 10 years in Afghanistan, the USSR lost 147 tanks and 1,314 armored transports<\/strong>. The reason for these high losses in Ukraine is mainly due to portable anti-tank missiles and drones, which allow artillery fire to be directed with great precision. These images that we see here, published by AndreiBtvt<\/a>, show some curious solutions that the Russians sought to better protect their tanks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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These improvised solutions may offer some protection against suicide drones<\/strong> or drones that drop mortar shells, but they are useless against anti-tank missiles, artillery fire, and tank fire. Ukrainians. These improvisations are explained, to a large extent<\/strong>, due to the fiasco of the modern T-14 Armada tank<\/a> (which has not even appeared on the Ukrainian front due to its engine problems) and the destruction of the T-90M<\/a>, the most modern Russian tank that has appeared on the front in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

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The Russian solution to this problem has consisted of adding a shell made of armored plants to its tanks<\/strong>, as we can see in this other photo published by AndreiBtvt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The following images were posted by Special Kherson Cat<\/a> on April 25 and shows what that that metal shell hides: a T-72 tank<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Ukrainian forces know these vehicles as \"turtle tanks\"<\/strong> due to their appearance. The Russians know them as \"Tsar-Barbecue\"<\/a> or simply as \"barbecues.\" Obviously, this additional protection creates some problems. In addition to reducing visibility for the tank crew and reducing the angle of movement of its main gun<\/strong>, which makes these T-72s even more vulnerable vehicles than they already were, the shell adds considerable additional weight<\/strong>for which the tank engine is not prepared. This video from @Teoyaomiquu<\/a> seems to suggest that these \"turtle tanks\" They would be used to remove mines leading armored columns:<\/strong><\/p>\n

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this thing is huge. If it's role is purely plow the mines, it can work. However it's clear that it can't aim properly.<\/p>\n

The tracks are still very vulnerable. however the FPVs are really hard to aim into the tracks, because of high chances of losing control over the drone at the\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/JdIfLlPGzX<\/a><\/p>\n

— \u2719 Constantine \u2719 (@Teoyaomiquu) May 5, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n