Summary and Key Points: The T-90M Proryv, hailed by Vladimir Putin as the world’s premier main battle tank, faces an existential crisis on the Ukrainian front. -Despite Uralvagonzavod shifting to a 24-hour production cycle to output nearly 300 units annually, Russia is losing armor faster than it can be replaced. -Visually confirmed losses now exceed […]
Well, it makes sense for the loading mechanism they use and on paper it leads to a higher rate of fire due to the more accessible rounds.
However, when asking Ukrainian tank crews, who operate both Russian and Western style tanks, what they prefer, the answer is pretty much always western tanks. Better ergonomics is also a thing (Russian/Soviet tanks are notoriously cramped) but I guess the higher survivability even after a full penetration might be what tips the scales.
*the higher rate of fire can occur inside the tank occasionally
The thing is, you can design an autoloader in a way that protects the crew.
The survability of western tanks isn’t just about where the ammo is stored, but how it’s stored. Western tanks, both with and without autoloaders, place all the ammo at the back, either of the turret or the hill respectively. More importantly, the ammo is stored in a heavily armoured compartment, which has blow-out panels on the outside of the vehicle; the ammo detonates the panels collapse, allowing the force of the explosion to spread out from the tank.
The problem with the T90 design (which is really just an updated T72) is that the autoloader is attached to the bottom of the turret basket. This means there’s no possible way to vent the explosion outside, other than by going through the turret, and through the crew along the way.
Yes, you can. But they didn’t. Hence, why I said it makes sense in this specific case.
Yeah western tanks have their ammo stored in the turret bustle with blast panels and blast doors that save the crew in the case of ammo being hit (if the doors are closed and if the shell that hits ammo did not punctire said doors). They also often use propellant less susceptible to exploding if the ammo gets hit.
The russian tanks on the other side have a way smaller silhouette as well as being cramped to all hell which just compounds this issue.