Sprocket The Cold War

Updates

10/12/2021

- Nerfed T-62's 115mm "Molot" Smooth bore to 1.00 shell size, 208mm penetration and 32 rounds of ammo.

- Buffed T-62's max spawning to 5 vehicles maximum from 4.

10/11/2021

- Added T-62 Obr. 1972 to guide and for download

- Fixed PBR 152 SL turret rotation speed, adjusted weapon elevation slightly, and slightly reduced ammo capacity due to space.

10/3/2021

- Updated Images for (again) revamped models of;

T-64A Mod-1

Object 568 Mod-168

T-64AV

T-72 Ural

T-72B

- Updated statistics of vehicles accordingly as of most recent update.

- Fixed lower plate of T-72 Ural from 59.7° back to 50.9°, T-72B stays the same for now

9/30/2021

- Fixed all vehicles after update and revamped all models (hopefully for the last time).

- Separated all previous vehicle models for separate download in a second folder.

- Update to guide images and stats soon.

9/29/2021

- Fixed the link for the google drive so everyone can access it now, thanks to edison.zhou20000 for letting me know.

- T-64A Mod-1: Original model renamed Object 556 prototype for separate download, replaced with revamped model. All vehicles have had turret rotation nerfed and gun elevation speed has been nerfed.

- T-64AV Mod-3: Model updated as of last patch. Weapon updated with larger shells, and higher penetration to 242mm with a 9.2 second reload. Reload buffed through crew skills in files.

- T-72 Ural: Very minor update to the model on the turret and lower plate as of current update, drastic increase in penetration from 220 to 242.7mm with a 12.2 second reload. Reload buffed through crew skills in files.

- T-72B: Reload buffed to sub-8.5 seconds. Reload buffed through crew skills in files.

- T-80: Updated weapon aesthetically. Increased accuracy as well and weapon stabilization/elevation rate. Other minor aesthetic changes to exterior model. Size updated to contain a much larger engine that better reflects the capabilities of the T-80's twin turbine engine, drastically increasing performance in all areas.]

Ol' Dependable

By the mid 1950's the soviet military and it's tank commanders came to the conclusion that the 100mm D10T rifled anti tank gun could not penetrate the front of most western vehicles such as the M48 Patton series and Centurion's, thus defaulting to the age old tactic of up gunning the T-55 with a newer 115mm smooth bore anti tank gun. However the T-55 would prove to be incapable of mounting this weapon properly (without extreme retrofits at the very least), thus the need for a new platform became clear. By 1960 a few designs were considered in the shape of the Obj 165, Obj 140, and Obj 166 respectively, and saw a model for each design developed for field testing, in these test vehicles would be put through standard practice and driven in extreme environments to test their durability in local and foreign terrain. By the end of the year the Obj. 165 had won these trials over the others and was officially designated MBT T-62, and underwent production beginning in 1961, through to 1975 until it was discontinued in production and later replaced in ranks with more modern MBT's such as the T-72 and T-64 tanks and their upgrades. However being replaced does not mean these vehicles were just tossed away, other than being sold for export many T-62's still serve in the armor reserves for the Russian government today, and as of 2021 multiple T-62 units have been reactivated for service. This tank has one of the longest service history's of any armored vehicle known to exist, and especially in such a large capacity today it proves that despite being outclassed by more modern vehicles it can still perform it's role dependably in most modern engagements, especially when those engagements take place against other vehicles from a similar era is itself.

The version represented here is the 1972 refit of the T-62, increasing the turret armor to 242mm from 212mm across the front for added protection at long range, aptly named T-62 Obr. 1972.

The T-64A Mod 1 1964

Arguably the true first of its kind, the modern Main Battle Tank (MBT). Designed to fit the criteria for Mediums and Heavies, these tanks were fast and agile while still utilizing significant firepower in the shape of a 125mm D-81T (2A46) smooth bore anti tank gun. The tank was a direct response to western designs such as the chieftan and M58 120mm smooth bore used by the US on such vehicles as the M103A1, and the HEAT (High Explosive Anti Tank) ammunition they could fire. The T-64 utilized a clever mix of different compostions on both the hull and turret in order to prevent the penetration of HEAT rounds while still maintaining good protection against standard armor piercing rounds used at the time.

In game the armor is modeled as best to reflect this with only up to 150mm on the upper and mid plates. With a slightly weaker 120mm lower plate, but with the significant angling (75.3 degrees upper, 50.9 degrees lower) of the vehicles frontal hull only the highest penetration guns in the game stand a chance against it at medium to short range. However the Turret only has up to 173mm of armor at the front, cheeks, and sides, so long range is where this excels. The weapon is also designed after the D-81T having as much practical thought put in as well as aesthetics, with 224.4mm of penetration and high accuracy, the only downside to the weapon is it's somewhat long reload time of just over 13 seconds. It has good mobility but a struggling engine uphill due to the somewhat high weight of 56.98 tons, means this tank can go 22.26mp/h (35.82km/h) over flat ground, however it takes a somewhat longer time to get to that speed, and can reverse at the same speed.

The T-64 168 "Obremeneniye"

"Obremeneniye", or "Encumbrance" is a Completely fictional vehicle just slightly weaker than a T-64A. With less armor than it's predecessor with one huge upgrade. A 168mm cannon capable of penetrating 247.7mm of armor, little to no dispersion. This is one of the highest penetration weapons I could make, although with three major drawbacks:

- Low ammunition capacity

- Long Reload. (Buffed through crew skills to 14.4 seconds)

- Horrible Weapon Elevation Rate

Despite this it is still a pretty good gun and if you don't like the modified T-64 base that comes with it then you can always save the gun and use it for another project of your own. The Vehicle serves as more of a tank destroyer than an MBT, with the limited armor it has it is only capable of taking so much fire before it goes down, longer reload means you will be vulnerable longer. The turret is very strong though and has a high speed automatic drive so it can engage targets hull down very efficiently given proper terrain with its limited gun depression.

A New E-R-A

As anti-tank weapons progressed and things such as anti-tank guided missles (ATGM) became more effective, the T-64's armor became lesser so. In order to keep the vehicle up to standard and in fighting capacity a change to it was needed. (Obviously other vehicles would later exist such as the T-72 Ural and T-80 taking different approaches to solving different and similar problems which I'm sure I'll get into more once those vehicles are introduced here). But the T-64's initial solution in 1969 was the Kontact-1 ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) addition kit (T-64 Mod 3 1969 in files). Was this ERA does is essentially provide the tank with a buffer to any shell attempting to make contact with the actual armor and detonates upon contact with that shell simply put. This is best representing in-game of course through fuel barrels, although not along the upper plate of the hull, as it is not needed there. The lower plate of the hull, rear/sides/cheeks of the turret are all layered with differing amounts of fuel barrel styled ERA plating to also ensure that when the barrels do detonate they do not obstruct the view of the gunner port, barrels underneath simply slide under the tank with ease.

The upper and mid plate are increased to 177mm of raw armor thickness to represent the 27mm ERA plating as best I could. along with a 24mm increase to the lower plate making it 144mm thick. No changes to the side but at 102mm (Upper Only) it still should provide adequate protection even against it's own gun at range and maintaining still reasonable speed and agility of the previous vehicle.

The Next Generation

By the early 70's and after the already needed upgrades to the previous T-64's protection it was clear that the Soviet Union needed to continue moving forward with it's armored program as quickly as possible. And by 1971 at least 2 tank designs based from the aging T-64 were brought to their attention, the T-72 and shortly later T-80, (and mind you design on these vehicles can be traced back to 1962 alongside the T-64), which would go under development during this time. In 1972 the first T-72 Ural's rolled out of the assembly yards, over 25,000 have been produced since and are still produced in retrofitted versions to this day.

In game this design represents a general upgrade over the T-64 Mod 1 1964 in armor, firepower, and mobility/speed, with the armor being more similar to that of the raw thickness of the T-64AV but better, at 180mm all across the upper plate, though holding a weaker 120mm lower plate. The true differences in this vehicle are in the engine and gun, with the 2A46M-5 smoothbore installed this increases accuracy dramatically from the previous weapon, and with standard penetration pushed up to 236.1mm of penetration. With a top speed of 22mp/h it is more than capable outpacing most other heavy vehicles as well has having a very well balanced transmission, allowing for better turning both in place, and on the move. Otherwise it is not that different from the T-64 the armor only really helps along the lower plate until the game allows for higher penetration weapons into the game. For now, I thought it would be nice to add this icon of a tank with a bit of a personal touch aesthetically.

Ok Now, Hear Me Out...

It's not a real tank at all, but It was fun to play and I made a special gun for a certain vehicle I may or may not be trying to make. This is a creation of my own, the PBR 152 Medium Assault Tank. As the name implies it uses a 152mm cannon, specifically the BL-10 152mm gun with 253.6mm of penetration and less than 8mm dispersion from the barrel at 300m. It can penetrate the upper plate in some areas of the Obj 556 and T-64A I have previously made... oh boy. It has a 25 second reload so beware, but the vehicle is reasonably armored with very well angled thin plates at around 67mm each on the hull, and a thick turret starting at 121mm to the front and all sloped. It is fairly agile but it's realy strength comes from its speed of upwards of 35km/h and downhill is a rush, even maintaining upwards up 20km/h uphill. You can even use the gun to steer! There are known issues with the engine over revving so keep that in mind, enjoy!

The idea behind the vehicle was that it was purely an export tank made by the Soviet Union to sell to places like china using slightly older tech but also keeping them well armed in case of a clash with NATO.

T-72 But Better

Just like it's older brother the T-64, the T-72 received an exterior armor package to increase protection from shaped charge ammunition in the early to mid 70's. Pretty much the same, if not the exact same package (Kontact-1 ERA kit), that the T-64 had applied to it was used here to protect the overall hull and turret of the vehicle, although in a different configuration. Otherwise the vehicle remains the same for the most part, although it did receive a much needed upgrade to it's severely outdated fire control system (FCS) that was used by the previous version (this was represented on previous models by the lamp on the gun mantle, meant to be an infrared sight).

For the model I added plenty of things that go boom for this. although I found they tend to stick more than I like so I will probably be adjusting this later in the future. The ERA covers almost the entire vehicle other than the rear and upper plate, this includes the sides with double rows of barrels lining through the side armor and on the lower plate. The Engine has also been buffed to a slight amount, but the transmission has been tweaked to allow this tank to actually reach its top speed of 22.91km/h forward and 22.81km/h backwards, with very high agility both stationary and on the move.

Not Quite The 80s You Were Expecting

The Object 167T, or T-80 MBT was the second tank in history to use a gas powered turbine engine as its primary source of propulsion, right behind the Strv 103B from Sweden. This vehicle in particular was tested as far back as 1965 with a GTD-3L 700HP (522kW) gas powered turbine engine prototype. This allowed the tank very high maneuverability and consistent speed over all terrain, and with a high power to weight ratio of 23.5 hp/ton the vehicle was extremely capable of achieving higher speeds than previous variants (Roughly 30mph to 50 mph on average depending on terrain). The T-80 entered service in 1976 and serves in multiple different nations armored forces to this day in many different variations.

In game the engine's capabilities are in comparison to that of the real vehicle, 23.5hp/ton, while still being capable of reaching 31.93mp/h on rough terrain and is extremely mobile with a 5 gear shift system, 1 revers gear, and its 1459hp engine with a high 3300 rev/s limit to help simulate the feel of a turbine engine (although it is of course still a bit rough and at times hard to turn). And as you have probably noticed, the entire design is revamped on this one, I wanted to try and make the tracks and hull more accurate to the real designs even if that means they have a more likely chance to be blown off by incoming fire. After upping the size, this vehicle model comes into a weight of 63 tons, a much more efficient turret drive of 12*/s and elevation steady at just over 10.5*/s the weapon handling is much more up to par for the speed of the vehicle, with decent penetration at 236.1mm on with a somewhat long 16 second reload as is standard with the higher caliber shells. Criticism is welcome on the tracks of this one, as it's kinda a test to see how they are liked. I know I don't get a lot of feedback, but if the other hull design was better let me know down below <3.

More T-80 variants are already being worked on, but require a lot more testing and refining before release. Thank you for visiting!

Downloads

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rlgUnsW6JAJYbjnkusujZmSrnmS6SRyC

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Just wanted to credit and thank SpitW on SprocketBuilds.com for his MBT-54A turret design, I was having trouble getting the turret on this to look right and that was a huge help just seeing it. Here's a link if you want to see his stuff as well: https://sprocketbuilds.com/downloads/a-pack-of-three-soviet-army-in-the-early-cold-war/

Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2604387844

The Cold War