PT-76

History

After World War II the Soviet Army revived the light tank for reconnaissance, and it wanted one that could swim ^[2]. Several designs were tried from 1947, and the winner, Object 740, was designed by N. Shashmurin at the VNII-100 institute in Leningrad under the supervision of Zh. Kotin of the Kirov Plant ^[1][6]. A prototype was built at the Kirov Plant in 1950, and the tank was adopted on 6 August 1951 as the PT-76, a name meaning floating tank with a 76 mm gun ^[1][2]. Some sources give 1952 for service entry, and the tank was first shown in public at the Victory Day parade on 9 May 1952 ^[5][6].

Production ran at the Stalingrad Tractor Factory, later the Volgograd Tractor Plant, until the late 1960s ^[1][5][6]. The improved PT-76B added a stabilized gun, NBC protection and more fuel ^[1][6]. Production figures vary widely: several sources say about 12,000, while two US museums give about 5,000, of which about 2,000 were exported ^[2][3][5][6]. The chassis also became the basis for the BTR-50 armored personnel carrier, the ZSU-23-4 antiaircraft vehicle, the ASU-85 airborne assault gun and the 2K12 Kub missile launcher, and China developed its Type 63 amphibious tank from the design ^[3][5].

Service and combat

The PT-76 served with Soviet reconnaissance units and naval infantry and was exported to some 25 countries, including India, Indonesia, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and North Vietnam ^[2][3][5]. North Vietnamese PT-76s overran the US Special Forces camp at Lang Vei in February 1968 ^[1][3]. At Ben Het on 3 March 1969, PT-76s met US M48 Patton tanks in what is described as the only tank battle between North Vietnamese and US Army forces in the war; one PT-76 hit an M48, killing two of its crew, and at least one PT-76 was destroyed ^[1][3]. At Ben Het again in May 1972, US helicopter crews destroyed three PT-76s with TOW missiles, and these tanks are described as the TOW's first combat victims ^[1][3].

In the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War, at Garibpur, an Indian battalion supported by 14 PT-76s destroyed eight Pakistani M24 Chaffee tanks and captured three, losing two PT-76s ^[1]. It also fought in Arab-Israeli wars and in Angola ^[1][6].

Design and how it works

The PT-76 has a boat-shaped welded steel hull with thin armor of about 5 to 20 mm, enough against small-arms fire but not heavier weapons ^[1][4][6]. It weighs 14.6 t (16.1 short tons), carries a crew of three and mounts a 76.2 mm D-56T rifled gun and a coaxial 7.62 mm machine gun ^[1][4][5]. A V-6 six-cylinder diesel of 240 hp gives a road speed of 27 mph (44 km/h) and a range of about 230 to 250 miles (370 to 400 km) ^[2][4][5].

In water the tank is driven by two water jets, with intakes above the rear road wheels and outlets at the back, which also let the driver steer and reverse while afloat ^[1][6]. Before swimming, the crew raises a trim vane at the front ^[1]. Water speed is about 6 mph (10.2 km/h), with a swimming range of about 100 km (62 miles) ^[3][4].

Legacy

Light amphibious tanks lost favor in the Soviet Army from the mid-1960s as the amphibious BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle, in production from 1965, took over much of the PT-76's role ^[6]. India retired its PT-76s in 2009, and Russia retired the type around 2010, although stored tanks were reportedly brought back into use after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine ^[1][6]. Vietnam, North Korea and Indonesia still listed sizable numbers in 2023, and examples are displayed at museums in the United States, South Africa, Israel and Russia ^[1][2][3][4].

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