Ukraine war
Expert explains why the turret of Russian tanks is so often blown off
Destroyed Russian tanks keep turning up in Ukraine. Particularly striking: the blown-off tower.
© Maximilian Clarke/ / Picture Alliance
It is a frequently seen image in the Ukraine war: Destroyed Russian tanks stand by the side of the road, and the turret with its cannon has often been partially or completely blown off. A former soldier explains why the tower is so endangered.
The Russian army has lost a surprising amount of material in recent weeks. This includes a number of tanks. What is particularly striking about the destroyed tanks: often not only are exposed parts, such as the tracks, badly damaged, but also the turret is partially or completely torn off from the substructure. Apparently, the connection between the body and the turret is a particularly vulnerable part. A former soldier who served in the infantry for 20 years explains why.
Russian Tanks Destroyed: Expert Explains Why We’re Seeing So Many
On YouTube, Ryan McBeth explains the difference between Russian and US tank models: While US tanks like the M1 Abrams would load their gun manually, the frequently used Soviet-Russian models T-72 and T-80 are so-called autoloaders, i.e. load that Gun automatic.
This allows the Russian tanks to be significantly smaller, which also makes them harder to hit as a target. However, the construction also has a major disadvantage: The autoloader is built right under the turret. Now, when an enemy gun hits the tank and turret, a large amount of explosive material is installed under the turret, which can unleash a tremendous force in one fell swoop.
NLAW: Anti-tank weapon is particularly effective against Russian tanks
In addition, the “Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons” (NLAW, Swedish production, sourced from the UK) used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces have a special mode that allows them to target tanks from the top of the turret – exactly where they have a vulnerability through the autoloader.
So the impression that the turret of Soviet tanks blew off very often is not wrong. In fact, the explosive detonation is not caused by enemy Ukrainian shells, but is due to the design of the tank itself.