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PT-91 Twardy III

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Description

After the succesful modernisation of the T-55 tanks (resulting in T-55AM Merida tanks) Polish engineers started to think about similar program aimed towards modernisation of the T-72 tanks. However, this was not seen as priority, since Poland and USSR were dicussing about possible purchase of newer T-72 versions or possibly T-80 tanks. That was until the fall of communism in Poland in 1989 and subsequent collapse of USSR. Poland was shifted in strange and difficult position, no longer a Soviet ally, but it also hasn't gained West's trust yet, so it couldn't buy Western equippment yet; the only way was modernisation of existing vehicles.

The first modernisation program was codenamed Wilk (Wolf), but it was halted shortly after it begun. At the same time, Ośrodek Badawczo-Rozwojowy Urządzeń Mechanicznych w Gliwicach (Gliwice Institute of Mechanical Appliances' Research and Developement; OBRUM) and Bumar-Łabędy Works have developed their own modernisation program - codenamed Twardy (pron. Tvar-deh; "Resilient").

The chief downsides of T-72M1, according to the analysis, were: low mobility; weak armour; insufficient gun accuracy due to the lack of modern fire control system and poor gun stabilisation; ineffective AP ammo; and lack of night observation systems. To counter those draws, OBRUM and Bumar-Łabędy came up with these solutions:
1. to improve mobility - installation of more powerful PZL-Wola S-12U 850 HP engine (later 1k HP S-1000 engine) instead of original 780 HP engine;
2. to improve armour protection - the armour itself was not changed due to the costs, but it was equipped with ERAWA reactive armour. This not only limited armour penetration of HEAT shells (by 50-70%) and APFSDS (by 30%), but also lowered tank's radar signature by 50% due to radar-absorbing cover of ERAWA. Moreover, OBRA warning system was installed, which launches smoke grenades to block laser aiming systems if such laser is detected.
3. to improve firepower - much like the armour, the gun could not be changed due to high costs, but more modern DRAWA FCS was installed; new anti-tank shells were developed; and night vision equippment was installed (mostly passive ones which do not rely on emission of infrared light)

The first batch of PT-91 tanks was introduced to 34th Armoured Cavalry Brigade (part of 11th A. C. Division) in January 1995. After testing first 20 vehicles, PT-91 tanks were issued to other armoured units of Polish Armed Forces. The last tanks were introduced in 2002; in total Polish army used ca. 233 PT-91 tanks.

Twardy is not a perfect tank. In comparision with Leopard or Abrams tank, it's rather outdated; they beat it in terms of mobility, firepower and armour protection. However in comparision with post-Soviet and Russian tanks, it's still a formidable enemy. Though developed from "low-cost" T-72M1, Twardy's performance make it at least equal to the T-80 tanks and superior to most export versions of T-72.
Image size
1839x1206px 1.25 MB
Make
OLYMPUS CORPORATION
Model
C8080WZ
Shutter Speed
10/20000 second
Aperture
F/2.4
Focal Length
7 mm
ISO Speed
100
Date Taken
Nov 30, 1999, 12:00:00 AM
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Comments6
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PanzerBob's avatar
Thanks for first off for all your great photos, including this one. Secondly for all the infomation on the Twardy, I was pleased that Twardy translated to Resilient as it suits the MBT. I've gamed with Twardy's and always did well with them. Thanks again....Bravo Zulu!!