T 72 How Some Russian Tanks In Ukraine Are Doomed To A Jack In The Box Defect Is Condemned

The sight of Russian tank turrets exploding and lying in ruins along Ukrainian roads suggests a tank design problem known as the “jack-in-the-box” defect. The error is related to the way many Russian tanks hold and load ammunition. In these tanks, including the T-72, the Soviet vehicle design widely used in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, all the shells are mounted in a ring inside the turret. When an enemy shot hits the right spot, the ammunition ring can quickly “cook” and trigger a chain reaction, ejecting the turret from the chariot hull with a deadly blow. Sitting in a powder magazine: Fatal defect of the T-72 tank Other tanks on the modern battlefield generally store their ammunition away from the crew, behind armored walls. The ammunition of the Russian main T-72 tank is located in a carousel type automatic loader just below the main turret and the crew members. If a piercing blow to the tank’s relatively thin side shield triggers one of these rounds, the explosion can trigger a chain reaction, killing the crew and destroying the tank. M1 Abrams (United States) Sources: “M1 Abrams vs. T-72 Ural ”from Stephen Zaloga (Osprey Publishing, 2009); “Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank 1979–1998” by Uwe Schnellbacher and Michael Jerchel (Osprey Publishing, 1998); Federation of American Scientists WILLIAM NEFF / The WASHINGTON POST Sitting in a powder magazine: Fatal defect of the T-72 tank Other tanks on the modern battlefield generally store their ammunition away from the crew, behind armored walls. The ammunition of the Russian main T-72 tank is located in a carousel type automatic loader just below the main turret and the crew members. If a piercing blow to the tank’s relatively thin side shield triggers one of these rounds, the explosion can trigger a chain reaction, killing the crew and destroying the tank. M1 Abrams (United States) Sources: “M1 Abrams vs. T-72 Ural ”by Stephen Zaloga (Osprey Publishing, 2009); “Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank 1979–1998” by Uwe Schnellbacher and Michael Jerchel (Osprey Publishing, 1998). Federation of American Scientists WILLIAM NEFF / The WASHINGTON POST Sitting in a gunpowder depot: The fatal flaw of the T-72 tank Other tanks on the modern battlefield generally store their ammunition away from the crew, behind armored walls. The ammunition of the Russian main T-72 tank is located in a carousel type automatic loader just below the main turret and the crew members. If a piercing blow to the tank’s relatively thin side shield triggers one of these rounds, the explosion may begin. a chain reaction, killing the crew and destroying the tank. M1 Abrams (United States) Sources: “M1 Abrams vs. T-72 Ural ”by Stephen Zaloga (Osprey Publishing, 2009); “Leopard 2 Main Battle Tank 1979-1998” by Uwe Schnellbacher and Michael Jerchel (Osprey Publishing, 1998); Federation of American Scientists WILLIAM NEFF / The WASHINGTON POST In Ukraine, damaged Russian tanks are the newest roadside attraction “For a Russian crew, if the ammunition depot is hit, everyone is dead,” said Robert E. Hamilton, a professor at the U.S. Army Military College, adding that the force of the blast could “instantly evaporate” the crew. “All these rounds – around 40, depending on whether they carry a full load or not – will end and everyone will die.” British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace estimated this week that Russia had lost at least 530 tanks – destroyed or captured – since invading Ukraine in February. What you need to know about the role that Javelin anti-tank missiles could play in Ukraine’s fight against Russia “What we are seeing now is that the Ukrainians are taking advantage of the tank defect,” said Samuel Benedet, a consultant at the Center for Naval Analysis, a non-profit research institute funded by the Federation. Ukraine’s western allies have provided anti-tank weapons on a large scale. Ukraine also uses Russian-made T-72 variants that have the same problem. But the Russian invasion was based on large-scale tank development, and Ukraine was able to counterattack better than expected. The flaw speaks to a wider gap in approaches between Western troops and Russia’s military, analysts say. Why Russia abandoned the civil war in Kyiv and turned to big battles in the east “American tanks have long prioritized crew survival in a way that Russian tanks did not have,” Hamilton said. “It’s really just a difference in the design of the ammunition storage room and a difference in the prioritization.” Ammunition in most western tanks can be stored under the turret floor, protected by the heavy hull – or at the rear of the turret, Hamilton said. While a turret-mounted ammunition depot is potentially vulnerable to impact, built-in features can prevent the same level of beheading destruction seen in the case of the T-72. Even the first versions of the American M1 Abrams tanks in the 1980s were equipped with hard launchers that separated the crew from stored ammunition. These tanks have a crew of four, including a loader that opens the ballistic door manually. These were designed to be stronger than the upper armor, so that if the ammunition was cooked, the explosion would be directed upwards through the detonation panels, instead of into the crew compartment, Hamilton said. On the battlefield, Ukraine uses Soviet-era weapons against Russia On the other hand, Russian tanks are based on mechanical automatic loaders, allowing them to be manned by a group of three people. The design of Russian tanks prioritizes fire rate, firepower, low profile, speed and maneuverability over overall survival, Hamilton said. Russian tanks tend to be lighter and simpler and have thinner, less advanced armor than Western tanks. The design vulnerability was probably “just cheaper and lighter,” Hamilton said. The newest Russian models were released after the T-72, which was built in the 1970s by the Soviet Union. One of them, the T-14 Armata, has been described as an evolving game that has changed the battlefield since it debuted in a military parade in 2015. But the Armats have not yet seen much use outside of parades. The newer versions of the T-72 came with more tank protection, Bendett said, but the principle was the same: a crew of three with a lower profile and round shells inside the turret. Understanding the weapons that have caught the world’s attention since the Russian invasion of Ukraine For the U.S. military, Hamilton said, “If the tank is destroyed and the crew survives, you can build another tank faster than you can train another crew.” For Russia, “people are as expendable as the machine,” he said. “The Russians have known this for 31 years – you have to say they just chose not to do it.” Claire Parker contributed to this report.