Light Tank PT - 76

The PT-76 is a Light Amphibious Tank. It's Russian name PT (Plavajuschij Tank) is translated as Amphibious Tank. The PT-76 was developed between 1949 - 1951 under the leadership of Zh. Kotin. It was adopted on 16-th August 1952. It's serial production started since 1953 on Volgograd Tank Factory.

Overall there were built approximately 12 000 tanks including 2 000 for export. It was exported to all Warsaw Pact countries and also to a great number of Asian, African and Near Eastern countries.

The tanks PT-76 participated in battle(dashing) operations in Vietnam and in the India-Pakistan conflicts. On a sample PT-76 in Peoples Republic of China issue the a little bit changed tank. The tank is executed from welded armored sheets. Frontal sheets «63» thiner, than on PT-76. The suspension - torsional, 6 without rubber basic tracks, driving wheels - back. In Israel trophy PT-76 have armed American 90-mm gun new by a machine gun and control system of fire with a laser range finder and night gears.

Its main armament consists of a 76.2 mm D-56T series rifled tank gun which has an effective range of approximately 1,500 meters and a rate of fire of six to eight rounds per minute. This gun is 42 calibers long. The PT-76 carries 40 rounds for its gun. A typical ammunition load consists of 24 x OF-350 Frag-HE, 4 x subcaliber AP-T, 4 x AP-T and 8 x BK-350M HEAT rounds. The gun is mounted in an oval dish-type circular truncated cone turret with flat sloping sides which is mounted over the second, third, and fourth pair of road wheels. All PT-76s have a fume extractor for the main gun at the rear of the turret.

The 7.62 mm SGMT coaxial medium machine gun comes with 1,000 rounds. This weapon has a maximum effective range of 1,000 meters in daylight while the vehicle is stationary, 400 to 500 meters in daylight while the vehicle is on the move and 600 meters at night. Maximum range is 1,500 meters. It can be fired in 2 to 10 round bursts and has a practical rate of fire of 250 rounds per minute and a cyclic rate of fire of 650 rounds per minute.

Spesification:
Type : Amphibious Light tank
Place of origin :  Soviet Union
Designer : N. Shashmurin and Zh.Y. Kotin
Designed : 1949–51
Manufacturer : VTZ, Kirov Factory
Produced : 1953–69
Number built : Around 12,000
Weight : 14.6 tonnes
Length : 6.91 m (hull)
Width : 3.15 m
Height : 2.325 m
Crew : 3 (driver, commander, loader)
Armour : 20 mm
Primary armament : 76,2 mm D-56T rifled tank gun (40 rds.)
Secondary armament : 7.62 mm SGMT coax machine gun (1,000 rds.)
Engine : 6-cyl. diesel 240 hp (179 kW)
Power/weight : 16.4 hp/tonne
Suspension : torsion-bar
Ground clearance : 370 mm
Fuel capacity : 250 l
Operational range : 370–400 km, 480–510 km with external fuel
Speed : 44 km/h (27 mph), 10.2 km/h (6.3 mph) swimming