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The T-62 was originally con ceived as acompanion weapon to the T-55, being essentially a T-55 up-gunned with the 2A20115mm cannon . Both the T-55 and the T-62 used the same wheels, track, engine,transmission, hatches and other fittings. The primary differences between the two vehicles were the T-62s leng thened hull and new turret design. The new UT-5 cannon could fire its BR-5 APFSDS steel round through approximately 300mmof armor at a range of 1000 metres. This was adequate to deal with the then perceivedthreat of such NATO tanks as the American M48 and later models of the BritishCenturion . The T-62 was meant to add long range firing capability to Soviettank regiments being placed alongside T-55s, but in the later years of itsdeployment it fulfilled much the same role as the T-55. Despite being introduced in 1960, the improved performance of its successor, the T-72, the T-62 still sees servicetoday in many of the worlds armies, the Arab nation s being the largestconsumers outside the Warsaw Pact. Egypt, Iraq, and Syria have beennotable users of the T-62. Israel has acquired a quantity of T-62s in clashes with its neighbours and has rebuilt them to IDF stand ards.
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