What are the side plates installed on Soviet Tanks? | TANK TECH FAIL!
4,976The time in which the T-64 was developed, was also the time where anti-tank warfare was rapidly advancing. This included the widespread use and adoption of shaped charge warheads, most notably HEAT(High Explosive Anti Tank) Rounds.
These shells would hit the target, and then an extremely hot jet of molten metal would essentially punch it’s way through the armour at extremely high velocities. These rounds could penetrate a huge amount of RHA(Rolled Homogeneous Armour) and had the added benefit of not losing armour penetration over distance as the shell did not rely as much on Kinetic energy as traditional Armor Piercing Rounds.
The “skirts” on the T-64 were designed to help protect against this.
These were a form of sacrificial armour. These were designed to be hit by a shaped charge round in the hopes that it would detonate early so that the actual tank was not affected. In theory, the molten jet would disperse after hitting the skirt, and would lose most of their armour penetration by the time they actually hit the tank. This concept took its roots from the Spaced armour that tanks from WW2 used to protect against Anti-tank rifles and early HEAT rounds.
The side plates were primarily made out resin-impregnated fabric that were reinforced by thin sheets of steel. They would fold against the tank when travelling and would be flipped out in combat. In combat however, these plates were noted for being fragile and they were often removed by the crews.
The gill skirts were placed on the T-64 in an attempt to add extra protection from shaped charge warheads, which were extremely widespread use at the time.
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