The Soviet Seven | Backbone of the Red Army

During the 1970s and 80s, the core of the Soviet Army was made up of seven combat vehicles. Used heavily not just by the Soviets themselves, but the nations of the Warsaw Pact, and allies across Africa and the Middle East as well, the "Soviet Seven" would become some of the most common AFVs in the world throughout the latter part of the Cold War.
In this video, I thought I'd do something a little different, and spend some time covering not just the vehicles themselves and their raw capabilities, but HOW they are actually used, and how they're organised within the armed forces that operate them. Let me know in the comments if this is a concept that interests you, and I'll see about doing some similar videos going over the core assets of some other countries' armed forces at different points in history, a sort of "primer" to the nation's AFV fleet.
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[@ArmorCast]

Aight troops. A quick addendum to a mistake made in this video, specifically on the 9K33 Osa SAM system. The guidance type used for the 9M33 missiles is not semi-active radar homing, but radio command guidance, which is similar but not the same. Unfortunately the main source I was referring back to when writing this video; fm-100-2-3 (linked in the description) goes into very little detail on the Osa's guidance system and it is not a detail I thought to do further research on during research. The statement I made on Osa's missiles being better-equipped to engage manoeuvring fixed-wing aircraft than Roland's SACLOS guidance system still rings true, so I've elected to make this correction rather than reupload the video and bother you all with double-notifications. Additional info for anyone interested - "Land Roll" radar of the 9K33 Osa (SA-8 Gecko): - armyrecognition.com/military-products/army/air-defense-systems/air-defense-vehicles/sa-8-gecko-russia-uk www.armedforces.co.uk/Europeandefence/edequipment/edmis/edmis5a18.htm Radio-command guidance system: - www.britannica.com/technology/rocket-and-missile-system/Tactical-guided-missiles#ref520851 - dbpedia.org/page/Command_guidance

[@pwrm8721]

I forgive you.

[@Cardinal8427]

There's kicking a dead horse and then there is reviving Koala's corpse every 7 months to make a new video

[@ArmorCast]

Ouch...

[@Cobra-King3]

​@@ArmorCastNow lets send you back to slumber with a Mission, the Mid-Cold War Monsters, T-55&62, M60, Chieftain & Leo-1

[@AremStefaniaK]

he's so dead this is the first time ive heard of him

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Not Even In Death Does Duty End!

[@AnimeSunglasses]

Venerable Dreadnought Brother Koala

[@ArmorCast]

Aight troops we fucking back

[@ansonellis443]

For what the 5th time You do this every year please stop can't you see you're hurting us.

[@paolocalzone7186]

Hell yeah

[@ietsbram]

Engagement

[@theemissary1313]

Welcome back, Koala

[@binman9236]

WE FUCKING BACK!!!!!!!!!!

[@osynlighetsmantel]

I love how you turned a poster meant to be read whilst on the barracks' toilets into a 40 min video

[@ArmorCast]

If "yammerin'" was an olympic sport... ... 😂

[@GUYISNOTNORMAL]

😂😂 NICE ONE SOVIET WEAPONS WERE ALWAYS GOOD LOOKING

[@gerdlunau8411]

@@GUYISNOTNORMAL Yes, after their Fiat-based Ladas sold worldwide like crazy into all continents for years on end, the Red Army hired Pininfarina to make these machines look good and sleek. Just the colour still needs a bit to desired. 🙂 Which is why I loved to drive my T-55 from 1983 to 1986 in the East-Germany army. When we drove these beasts out of the barracks through half of the city of Rostock, the girls loved to watch us. Any other car wasn't having any chances competing, all female eyes were on us oily comrades. If the girls smiled we lifted the food from the accelerator a bit so not to indulge their sexy summer dresses into a nasty black'n'blue Diesel fume plum. But if the girls did not wave enthusiastically enough, the right foot pressed down hard and the girl's lovely street café afternoon experience was utterly trashed. Nostrils, taste buds, make-up, perfume, coffee (spilled because of the rambling), cake, table cloth, dresses, haircuts, fancy sunglasses - all ruined. Until today there is no detergent on this planet to get these nice sparkling summer dresses back to their original colours. Again 🙂.. Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@AremStefaniaK]

i can imagine a miley cyrus poster in the next barracks toilet for the next video

[@le_floofy_sniper_ducko]

@@ArmorCast Yammer & Sickle? 😶‍🌫

[@tristandaries1129]

No one talks about the Shilka, 4 23mm autocannons that fire insanely fast, what’s not to love?

[@goforbroke4428]

The shilkas guns are 14.5mm

[@Faded._]

​@@goforbroke4428bro what

[@goforbroke4428]

@@Faded._forgot they weren’t 14.5. Give someone who’s on 3 hours of sleep driving busses for college rotc cadets a break.

[@taysondynastyemperor5124]

@goforbroke4428 No, they’re 23mm.

[@Faded._]

@@taysondynastyemperor5124 give him a break😭

[@Taurevanime]

Fun fact, the Mi-28 still has a passenger compartment in it, though it can only seat maybe 2 or 3 people at best. It is there mainly to allow for the helicopter to be able to pick up downed friendly helicopter pilots. Also we recently had footage from Russians using a door gunner on an Mi-35 Hind to shoot up a Ukrainian unmanned surface vehicle (kamikaze boat) on the Black Sea.

[@pashapasovski5860]

Mi24 dude😅

[@MRptwrench]

As a Cold War USMC 0311 (infantry, rifleman) vet I will state for the record the imposing Soviet doctrine regarding the BMPs. If TSHTF we didn't plan on seeing one or two BMPs at a time. They weren't going to be scouting vehicles MBT, and they weren't going to be alone. If we hit T-64 or 72 w/anti-tank weaps like the M47 Dragon or TOW we would expect to see a half dozen BMPs roll up quickly puffing smoke screen and rattling away with whatever gun was attached while a small squad of Soviets barreled out the back. They were applied in numbers. NATO doctrine during the 80s against Fulda Gap scenarios will reflect my statements. Oh, and we'd all be in MOPP gear. NBC/CBRN bullshit.

[@amerigo88]

NBC NoBody Cares. Until we did (Desert Storm)

[@dante666jt]

​@@amerigo88lmao

[@johnnyringo4463]

I was a seabee in iraq and we had a marine advisor deployed with us, he was an old marine Dragon crew member. He said you had to get within 500meters or something before firing. A t72 could rotate its turrent 180degrees, and fire on you before the dragon arrived. Granted it may have been a mutual kill, you wanted to live. Lol.

[@mupptastic]

Yay, our favourite Caledonian Marsupial has returned!

[@LordStarbeard]

*Koala, slowly wakes up to the sound of The Man who sold the world, hears the doctor say:* "Don't panic, you've been in a coma for nine years, it's time to get back and make another video"

[@ChromaHK]

_Oh no, not me. It was The Man Who Sold The World_

[@operatorblujayz9280]

Finaly Koala remembered the password to his account.

[@disbeafakename167]

It was "Password" all along...

[@ДокторЯдо]

In defense of T-72 ammunition storage in the carousel, it is protected by being located in the part of tank that was least likely to get hit... back when this tank was introduced.

[@QuicksilverVM]

the carousel itself never been the problem but the extra ammo wich was stored left ,right and behind the carousel, but the flieeing turrets are history with t90m

[@ДокторЯдо]

@@QuicksilverVM I know. There was some logic behind extra ammo everywhere as well; tanks were supposed to be used in large-scale conflicts. This measure relieved overall logistics and ensured tank units' combat readiness at the cost of worsening survivability of individual tanks.

[@EnderGhost119]

@@QuicksilverVM Any tank with ammo stowage in the hull is prone to turret tossing as well just due the explosive force pushing the turret upward. For example Leo 2s have been seen losing their turrets for this very reason.

[@sadfrog5787]

this is a lie​@@QuicksilverVM

[@uipph5892]

Still better than challenger 2 ammo storage

[@somerandomboibackup6086]

T-80UD my beloved

[@disbeafakename167]

I had the "Big Seven" poster on my wall growing up. Loved it. Wish i still had it

[@disbeafakename167]

Holy crap I looked it up and I can buy a new one! Oh hell yes this is going on my wall.

[@average7.62enjoyer]

i have those russian AK/SVD nomenclature posters in my gun room now i want that too

[@gerdlunau8411]

It is so sick and tiring to read from a certain bunch of commentors that Soviet armament designs were not made for quality and only for quantity. Certainly not every Soviet fighting vehicle was a masterpiece of engineering but a lot indeed were. I.e. when the T54/55 was introduced in the 1950s, he was superior to almost anything tank in the West. His excellent 100mm main gun, his new inventive perfectly working two axis gyro stabilisation allowing to shoot in full motion and hitting with the first round, the capability to drive through deep rivers within one or two hours preparation, his powerful endless torque providing Diesel engine and his new ABC (NBC) protection system forced many Western armies to have their existing fighting vehicles redesigned, upgraded or replaced. The tank with a minimum of maintenance was very reliable and fuel efficient and was operating under any climate conditions. Same can be said for the Kalashnikov submachine gun and the BTR-series, the later Diesel-powered URAL trucks who managed to get through virtually any terrain, the prize-winning UAZ van and minibus series, as well as the GAZ/UAZ jeeps. Most of the Soviet designed military equipment designs were truly thought through, the average conscript must be able to operate, maintain and even field-repair his equipment. Stunning was also the level of standardisation and simplification among all of these vehicles, machinery and armament. I cannot judge about the latest Russian military designs lately but it is dangerous to believe that Russia only has half-drunk and non-inventive engineers to offer. They know about mechanical and electronic designs much as their Western counterparts, especially in military and space industries. I know it better; I served from 1983 to 1986 as a T-55 commander and I am a German engineer. I also travelled the USSR and (later) Russia quite a bit, as I travelled in my jobs as an engineer extensively all continents for 30 years, including the US. The idea that only the West knows how to make high-quality products is not only arrogant, but plain wrong. Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@viethoangtruong54]

You were a tank commander of the NVA? My father was a Vietnamese military attaché who worked with the NVA combat engineers to learn about their combat doctrines and he always had a lot to talk about how professional and elite the NVA forces were, along with the Red Army of course.

[@gerdlunau8411]

@@viethoangtruong54 Yes, I was. The tank was aT-55A. I served in Rostock at the Baltic sea line from 1983-1986. Interestingly. And your Dad's efforts obviously paid off. The end of the Vietnam war was one of the very last pure military victories after 1945. I remember as a child collecting valuable trash like newspaper, empty bottles and veggie glasses etc. from the old folks and reselling it at the collection points. Instead of keeping it as pocket money we donated it so bicycles, school materials, medical supplies etc. could be bought and shipped to (then still North) Vietnam. My parents donated frequently blood. Solidarity with the socialist Vietnam was a very big thing not only for our socialist party leaders, indeed it was shared by almost anyone by heart across the population. But let's be happy this senseless war is over. In the meantime I have friends even in the US (Vietnam veterans) and no one of them looks back at it without at least very ambivalent feelings (they keep questioning themselves about any justification to be sent over there). Some served as B-52 pilots or river boat commanders. Some even regret to be there, of course because they also lost some army comrades. To young to fight and too young to die (this way). Anyhow, peace to Vietnam, might these tragic and decade long liberation wars of your country be the ever last one it had to endure. The prize was justified but the damage and losses horribly (high). I lived in Asia (1993-2003) for a long time and travelled the whole continent extensively, but unfortunately at the time had no reason to visit your country. Unfortunately I am mow too sick and old to travel, Vietnam was on my long list to visit..... Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@m16-a2]

This is all true. People are convinced that Russia magically lost their army and production capabilities after the dissolution of the USSR. Russia literally kept the USSR's ability to produce things. Not to mention, Russian Thermals in their tanks are a generation ahead of what the West offers. They also have hypersonic missiles, which the west cant produce due to failed testing, again and again. Their newest T90, T72B3M and T80BVM tanks are superior or on par with western designs. Russias war economy isnt for profit like in the US. 100K for a bag of bolts? Ok, nice job USA... Russia can produce 4 T90 for the price of an Abrams. Just an M1A2. Not even the SepV3 models. In which the US doesn't produce any tanks and just upgrades them. Russia is building 12 T90M (2024 model) a WEEK. Same with the T80BVM and T72B3M, its around 20 A WEEK. Your story is very interesting and I appreciate the fact that you shared it.

[@ArmorCast]

@@m16-a2 Most of this is rubbish. 1. A huge amount of the USSR's military tech was produced in Ukraine (Kharkiv) or Georgia (Tbilisi). 2. America has produced more M1 Abrams than Russia has T-80s and T-90s COMBINED. 3. The cost per T-90M is a little under half the M1A2 Abrams, not a quarter 4. Russian thermals are not a generation ahead of what the West offers... they are literally imported secondhand FROM the West. Russia's best thermographic optics (Catherine-FC) are imported from France. 5. The West has had hypersonic missiles for 70+ years... When talking about hypersonic CRUISE missiles like Kinzhal, the benefits were not considered worthwhile by most Western powers - to travel at such high speeds, hypersonic missiles have to travel at higher altitudes making them significantly easier to detect and therefore shoot down. Sea-skimming missiles and other subsonic cruise missiles that fly nap-of-the-earth, despite travelling at much lower velocities, actually give you LESS time to react, because you won't catch them on radar till they're right on top of you. 6. T-90 production numbers are frequently overstated by the Kremlin and UVZ because they count refurbished/repaired tanks and upgrades of older models to T-90M standard as "new tanks". In reality Russia produced just 44 T-90Ms in 2023, and had only produced 11 this year as of March 18th 7. The idea that T-90M, T-80BVM, or worst of all T-72B3M are "superior or on par with Western designs" is just laughable. Western tanks are undeniably superior in most regards, just as you'd expect for their increased costs.

[@m16-a2]

@@ArmorCast I wrote a whole reply but pressed cancel :c

[@maximilianodelrio]

Its crazy reading about the Soviet army and seeing not just how big it was but how it was pretty much 100% mechanized and fielded so many vehicles

[@dannyzero692]

Well the Soviets were very paranoid of another war after WW2 so they were certainly prepared. However they were not the first to fully mechanized, that title goes to the US in 1945. It was very big but it all came at a cost, the Soviet bankrupted themselves and the military budget taken up to 50% of the annual budget and 13% of GDP by 1984, for comparison the US only spent half what the Soviet did with their budget. The lesson here is that don't do an arms race with people whose entire motivation can be summed up with money.

[@shyntrax]

​@@dannyzero692The Soviets did not go bankrupt: The liberals located in the Russian _Socialist_ Republic succeeded in usurping the power of the social democrats in the _communist party._ The Soviet Union project was a *_political_* failure, affecting it negatively as it deteriorated, culminating in its illegal dissolution and the formations of the liberal republics succeeding the Soviet Union.

[@goforbroke4428]

@@dannyzero692the us army in 1945 wasn’t fully mechanized. It was fully motorized.

[@dannyzero692]

@@goforbroke4428 my fault, I mixed up the terminology.

[@rogerc6533]

The Soviets frankly had material, manpower, doctrinal and even the technological supremacy over the west since the Cold war began. The scales only tipped for Nato when the west pulled far ahead of the Soviets in the silicone and then internet revolution, giving them command and control, battlefield surveillance and precision strike capabilities that the Soviets had absolutely no answer to and would of seen all their advantages be nullified. Western supremacy however has ended with cheap drones, widespread adoption of the net and Russian/Chinese GPS alternatives giving even low tech poor armies operational and organisational capabilities that were previously exclusive to only the west. Once again, its is manpower and material supremacy that will win wars and the west has been caught with its pants down lacking in these regards.

[@thomashopkins20]

While the OSA(SA-8) may have some issues with complexities, many of those issues are less of a problem than they are stated to be. The OSA(SA-8) would always operate in a battery system of around 4 complexes, so if one goes down for maintenance or enemy fire there are others to back it up, so your air defense picture is not entirely disabled. The Kub(SA-6) with its single dislocated radar is quite vulnerable here since if I take out the one radar vehicle then the entire battery is rendered inoperable. Putting a hole in the IADs. Additionally, the mobility of the SA-8 would make it quite survivable, as shown in Serbia, in contrast to a towed HAWK battery, which, once located, an enemy has more than enough time to direct long-range fires onto the battery location before it can move.

[@dominuslogik484]

I think what you stated regarding the HAWK batteries is part of the main reason they were replaced. of course in most situations the HAWK would never be close enough to the front lines to be targeted by artillery as it has a range of 45-50 KM meanwhile the max range on most 152mm/155mm howitzers is about 18-24 KM maximum range so even if the hawk was "close" to the front it likely would still be greater than 24KM from any howitzers that would want to shoot it. really it makes little sense to compare the HAWK which is more on par with the old S125 or KUB systems which both had about half the effective range as the HAWK was somewhere between the S125 and S200 systems back at that time. in fact I am pretty sure the SA-8 was comparable to the Chaparral or some Stinger based air defense systems.

[@ArmorCast]

@@dominuslogik484 Chapparal and Stinger-based Linebacker or Avenger systems are more comparable to the Strela - true SHORAD systems. In the same boat you've got things like the German Ozelot or British Rapier, and these are all meant to accompany manoeuvre elements, just a couple hundred metres behind the combat zone. Then you've got your longer range strategic air defences like S-200 or Krug, the British Bloodhound, or the American Nike Hercules, and later on the S-300 and Patriot. These are generally operating in their own specialised detatched brigades/regiments, defending things like cities, transport hubs, air bases, divisional headquarters etcetera. Kub and Hawk sit in between - longer range than the SHORAD units of manoeuvre elements, but still serving in regular army divisions and expeditionary forces, defending things like command and control centres at the brigade or regiment level, bridges, etcetera. They're quite comparable to each other overall, and Italy's Aster 15 is also in this category along with China's HQ-6. Osa though... is quite unique. I compared it here to Roland, another TELAR system (Crotale is another option). It's meant for the same role that Hawk and SA-6 were - divisional air defence for the combat forces - it just goes about it a different way; sacrificing a lot of the range you'd expect from those kinds of systems in order to be significantly more mobile, for the sake of keeping pace with motorized divisions.

[@dominuslogik484]

@@ArmorCast that seems like a fair assessment, I particularly just took issue with the idea that the Osa was a superior system and using an example of utilizing howitzers to fire at a SAM system with double the range of even modern 152mm howitzer ammunition.

[@sgtdonkeyman]

most warsaw pact nations didn’t buy t62 because it was slower than bmp for inf unit. they kept old t55 and skipped to t72 for tank unit

[@kanestalin7246]

They didn't buy it because it wasn't significantly superior to the T55 while being more expensive

[@somedud1140]

@@kanestalin7246 But that's not true, T62 was huge leap forward! 115mm smoothbore cannon, combined with more modern ammo provided a lot more penetration over rifled 100mm, it also featured stabilizer. Just for comparison, M60 and leopards got their stabilizer a decade later.

[@kanestalin7246]

@@somedud1140 i have heard that some nations just didn't feel it was worth it

[@gerdlunau8411]

@@somedud1140 The T-55 already had a full two axis gyro stabilizer since the 1950s, allowing us to shoot in full speed motion, which was the most practised firing mode (besides firing from fixes position over open sights and by artillery tables indirectly firing mode as support artillery, as well as firing from during a quick stop while on motion). The electronics of the stabilizer system were still vacuum tube based (no transistors involved) but worked very precise and reliable. So in this regard the T-62 was not better than the T-55. I served as a T-55 commander in the East-German army 1983/86. Later I graduated as an electronics engineer from university. So you can trust my information. Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@ArmorCast]

@@somedud1140the 115mm APFSDS rounds were notoriously poor for armor penetration. On paper, they should be a big step up, but in practise they really weren’t, at least not until more modern shells developed much later. Most of the 115mm sabot rounds were steel, rather than tungsten or DU, and the Soviets had a lot of problems with the quality of their steel. There were some other issues with the 115mm rounds, and the gun too, all of which impacted penetration and reliability, and they often couldn’t even penetrate Israeli Centurions in Yom Kippur

[@T33K3SS3LCH3N]

9:45 one thing to say about the lack of effective firepower of the BMP is how difficult it is to hit even a stationary target with a low velocity gun. The slower the projectile, the higher the arc that you have to aim it at. The higher the arc, the more precise you have to aim to actually hit anywhere near the target. So plunging fire generally relies on big explosive warheads to achieve an effect on target without needing to hit them bang on. But direct fire weapons with low velocity projectiles, such as the British Challenger tanks with their HESH, rely on a great fire control system to work. That's why this combination of low velocity gun, lacking fire control system, and small-ish warhead is so weak and can easily turn out completely useless in some engagements.

[@average7.62enjoyer]

the fact they can carry a primitive TOW missile on them would of been a major threat though, we really feared the BRDM variant with the ATGMs on top theres whole training videos for tank crews here on youtube on dealing with soviet ATGM based vehicles

[@drunklorry3406]

BMP-1 were armed with a 73 mm cannon only because the anti-tank missile could not be fired closer than 600 metres. That 73 mm cannon was meant exactly to cover the distance the missile was useless at. When BMP-2 came out, the missiles were advanced enough to fire closer than 600 metres, and thus there was no longer any need in 73 mm cannon and it was replaced with 30 mm autocannon

[@burningsinner1132]

@@drunklorry3406 Not exactly true. 73mm cannon was meant for general vibe checks. You unload the troops, they scout, you pop OG-9 grenade in every place they don't like (That's why you get 10 times as many grenades over ATGM missiles) The vehicle is essentially a squad weapon assortment you don't need to carry, that's why usually defensive armanents can be used on offensive. BMP-1 tactics is greatly covered by "Nachalnaya voennaya podgotovka", Initial Military Training book for late middleschoolers. It's a great book overall and you should definitely pick it up if you expect to "get volunteered" into the fray. Granted, it doesn't cover thermals since it's old and constant Lenin quotes get old really fast, but it's both useful and a good history piece.

[@ODST_Parker]

Good to see you back in action! Great overview of Soviet vehicles that I've always loved after years of fighting them in video games. Eventually, I'd love to see more overviews for other military forces of the era, like Britain or Japan. JSDF equipment specifically has been fascinating to me ever since I started looking into it, after War Thunder made me more aware of all their badass vehicles and aircraft.

[@wacojones8062]

As a 19D4H scout trainer in the US Army reserve I have many books from the period that poster was printed. A lot of guess work on the intelligence side as the big Moscow parades would have the same vehicles passing by the review stands several times same with the flyovers. Sometimes different markings on the ground vehicles would be uncovered or covered to try to confuse the intelligence folks.

[@bigsmokeinlittlechina174]

I was just rewatching your videos when I saw this in my recommendations, lol.

[@drav8212]

OH MY GOD! SOUND THE ALARM, KOALA IS ALIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@thomasscaife6867]

Great to see you back! So looking forward to this topic!

[@000theUnforgiven000]

Super interesting content. Glad to have you back mate

[@drear20486]

21:45 74 Mi-24s were lost during the Afghan war, if they lost several hundred that would have been every Mi-24 they sent to Afghanistan 3x over, the impact of the stinger was more psychological than physical

[@ArmorCast]

Any source for that figure? I’ve seen plenty of conflicting ones. Best sources I can find put the numbers between 113, which is what the Soviet 40th army actually reported (though this may be including damaged but repairable hinds) and ~300, with some sources going even higher

[@stuglife5514]

@@ArmorCast Everything I can find on the 113 number is specifically referring to fixed wing aircraft, and helicopters losses at the 300 number. Did you get a little mixed up or am I just really lost?

[@ArmorCast]

@@stuglife5514I’ve certainly seen the 113 figure states to refer to Mi-24s alone, though it’s possible that source wasn’t credible or was being intentionally disingenuous. The Soviet-Afghan war is definitely not my area of expertise, so I’m not in much of a position to critique. Any good sources of info you’ve got though I’d love to see

[@jeffreym.keilen1095]

I was part of the OPFOR while stationed at Ft.Irwin,California in the mid 1980's. I totally enjoyed this vid. I even have a copy of that poster. Well done. Tanker Tough.

[@ArmorCast]

Always a pleasure to have veterans watching our videos mate 👍 What’s your MOS?

[@cjthebeesknees]

Absolutely booty spanking amount of tanks, artillery and mechanized vehicles.

[@SausageBausage]

Tank you for this video it felt like a History Channel Doc from the good ol days

[@norwegianwiking]

Ive tried to research the units of the Leningrad MD in the 70s and 80s, particularly the Kola region MRDs. Based on what little I've found so far, they seem to have had T55s as late as the mid-80s, and they used and still use MT-LBs instead of the BMP or BTR series as a more suitable arctic/winter warfare APC due to mobility issues in snow.

[@TBH-nu2so]

It might have been addressed in the video, but I’m guessing part of the reason why a lot of their vehicles like the Osa or the Hind had condensed roles/equipment vs. the West had to do with budget. The Soviets were never going to beat the West economically, but they still had to maintain an enormous military, so they had to find a way to build a bunch of vehicles for the same roles while cutting back on cost.

[@irishkiwi477]

My favourite yearly youtuber!

[@barryscott6222]

I have a fond spot for the 2S1. A bit of a sweet spot for infantry support.

[@TheLazyFinn]

Came looking for 2S1 fans! Being a driver for those things (and MT-LB chassis variants) I must say that they fill a niche that the big 155mm variants can't fill

[@M3PH11]

after 7 months and completely nuking his war thunder channel the prodigal son has returned. I'd have been here sooner but it's been so long even yt's algorithm forgot koala existed

[@ArmorCast]

Good to see you lad! Gonna be back to some War Thunder soon too I reckon, try and bring that channel back too

[@b0sscaner]

@@ArmorCast yes, please return to the WT channel.

[@echohunter4199]

I’m a retired US Army 11H/11B, I started my career in 1983 as an Anti-Armor Weapons Infantryman using the TOW missile system and it was the “Shilka” ZSU-23-4 that raised our pucker factor through the roof, if we saw one we’d kill it first, that thing is a lawnmower in ground mode. The Soviets aren’t that bright when it comes to tactics since they follow their battle doctrine to the letter so modifying their tactics mid engagement was unheard of while we trained to operate as small units if broken up by a flood of tanks. And that method of hordes of tanks is a tactic they rely in since they know we can’t take them all out fast enough and many will get through our lines. BMP’s are easy to kill but don’t waste a TOW missile on it unless necessary. All Soviet made tanks will blow their turrets into the air once hit due to them using a single retention ring system instead of a triple system as ours. If Russia wised up and modified their tactics to match ours, things would be different. They like to use a lot of indirect fire before they advance but if they improve their artillery systems and pinpoint aiming things would impact us badly. They function extremely poorly when operating at night.

[@raxit1337]

Love this video concept!

[@gianurwiler5098]

Thank you for your good research job, i have seen the whole video ^^

[@phoenixfire9176]

this was a refreshingly impartial look at soviet equipment

[@The_Fubar]

The Soviet Seven sounds like a USSR knock-off of The Boys series

[@kanestalin7246]

The Soviet seven came before

[@ico9750]

Weren't the T64B and the T80B considered a bit of an exotic, earmarked for the best troops of the USSR?

[@andrewstickley6681]

They got priority for them, but they weren’t considered exotic. The T-64 was originally meant to be the standard MBT of the Soviet Army, to slowly replace all other types. The T-72 was developed by a competing design bureau due to rivalry. The Soviets recognized that the T-72 was a solid, simple design, and much cheaper than the T-64, and eventually placed it into production to equip lower-priority units. By the mid-1980s the newer models of the T-72 basically eclipsed the T-64, but lost the simplicity and cost advantage in the process. Regardless, by then the T-80 was the top-tier tank. It wasn’t until after the collapse of the USSR that the Russians tried to standardized on the T-72/T-90 family as it was the only Soviet tank produced fully on Russian territory. Most T-72 in the Soviet era were in motor-rifle divisions, category B (low readiness units) and the far east. There weren’t any T-72s in the Group of Soviet Forces Germany, for example.

[@stortroopers]

USSR didn't lose "Hundreds" of Hinds in Afghanistan, they lost dozens, maybe 80 over 10 years. The Stinger's effect is overrated to a near mythical degree, it shot down relatively few aircraft compared to simple small arms fire. Its effect was much more doctrinal - from late '86 onwards pilots were instructed to fly as close to the ground as possible to avoid MANPADS detection, and air support capabilities were similarly affected, but not that many aircraft were shot down, particularly after '87. There's also a silly idea that goes around that the appearance of the Stinger was a factor in the Soviet pullout, but the decision to pull out had been made under Brezhnev and accelerated under Gorbachev before the Stinger had come into use.

[@ArmorCast]

Got a source for the number of Hinds lost? Best sources I can find put the number between 113 which is what the Soviet 40th army actually reported (though this may be counting damaged but repairable hinds), and ~300, with some sources going even higher

[@98based30]

Good video, no propaganda not hate just facts! Thank you!

[@Shogourth83]

Awesome video, really informative and pleasant to watch ! My old man was an Gazelle pilot for the French ALAT during the 80's, and showed me and my brother the big seven poster while we were kids, telling us how easy it'll be for him to open up the T72 like a metal can with a well placed HOT, yet how terrifying the prospect of meeting a shilka was to any pilot ! I am wondering, was the T72 actually garrisoned for Soviet units in Germany ? Or do they mainly stored T80s there ?

[@nightshade4873]

Soviet Seven sound like villains from G.I. Joe or a Japanese Tokusatsu series.

[@HobbiesGamesChillin]

Soviet seven sounds like a sick AF action movie Like seven Soviet spec ops fighting hundreds of baddies, not getting a scratch and when the movie ends they tell a crap dad joke as the Soviet anthem blares in the background kind of sick

[@yvc9]

A 10 was created to deal with this specifically. A flying can opener for all that armor.

[@ArmorCast]

A-10 was created mostly to deal with unarmored things like the BMP/BTR, as well as entrenched or fortified infantry positions, and exposed infantry. It's actually never been particularly good at dealing with enemy armor compared to its contemporaries such as the F-16, F-15E, F-111 or Apache

[@lokikinch]

Woke up to a Tsunami alert just to see Koala finally remembered his login lets gooo

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🤗⭐🙏🏆 Thank you for sharing this

[@mr.abrams8112]

Wheres the source for the 2002 Hull armor upgrade for the abrams, ive found plent of sources that they upgraded its side armor of hull, turret side and front but not the hull ?

[@robertsolomielke5134]

Great video, an I've seen many.

[@dantediorio-hn2qo]

At least he didn't glaze the soviet army's vehicles, he gave credit where credit is due

[@TheWizardGamez]

WOAH. An upload. I thought this channel was gone

[@thegecko6216]

Very nice thanks for the video Scotish tank man

[@gerdlunau8411]

I agree with you. Ex East-German tank man (T-55) Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@cnlbenmc]

At long last he returns!

[@Glitch_Online]

missed these. thanks

[@-Hardstyle-]

About time big dog!

[@denarte6986]

Mi-8 is the real workhorse. It’s way more survivable, easier to maintain and the amount of variants ranging from transport, EW, emergency, combat makes it a better heli. Now Russians use them to counter drones (the naval variant)

[@JT0133]

do some videos on singaporean made IFV's and APC's i think they'd be cool for you to breakdown

[@somerandofilipino6957]

1:37 - T-72 6:21 - BMP 10:55 - ZSU 23-4 13:58 - SA-8/9k33 19:07 - Mi 24 25:02 - 2S1 29:15 - 2S3

[@wifi_soldier5076]

Please do a video on french vehicles

[@duckman12569]

OSA, my beloved.

[@nickmiller21]

When I was in baor used to do recognition remember btr big trick rumble cos had wheels😮

[@TomAcker88]

could you do an in dept overview of the EBRC Jaguar?

[@RandyArmy]

Tunguska no longer services coz no one can operational

[@Banner_Bearer_of_Eternity]

Please correct the headline. The Red Army was renamed in 1946, and became Soviet Army. Since then ia was not the army of workers class, but the army of state - the Soviet Union.

[@theblacksun2355]

How many of those abbots did you have? 200? WOW, i'm already impressed 😂

[@mikehatton7908]

Damn, the dead awake 😂 good to see a new upload, will you be continuing "your favorite tank sucks"? Edit; liking the new longer edit, and the more informative approach. Hopefully keep the banter videos in the "your tank sucks" series and have a seperate series for the rivet counters among us? 😂

[@Panzershrek]

kola when are to coming back to the wt channel i miss your videos so much

[@therealspeedwagon1451]

The return of the king

[@cbennett88]

Unless I heard him wrong...6:59...the AT-3 Sagger mounted above the gun, IS NOT loaded "from inside the vehicle". Reloading is done manually by the crew through a hatch.

[@ArmorCast]

Yes... the gunner loads the missile while remaining inside the turret. Hence, the missile is reloaded... from inside the vehicle.

[@cbennett88]

@@ArmorCast I think you are missing my point. At least one of the crew must expose himself to reload it. Therefore, exposed (even if just from the waist up) to enemy fire and artillery shrapnel. In the heat of battle, with small arms fire and explosions, how "motivated" will that person be to do so? It is no different than any of the MG's (even if they are like the CROWs on the M-1) on the roof of many MBTs...they still require some member of the crew to "pop up" to reload. The way you have presented it, it gives the mistaken impression that the "crew member is under armor" while doing so.

[@ArmorCast]

@@cbennett88the gunner is not at all exposed out the turret to reload the missile on the BMP-1. He simply feeds it through the hatch above the gun. Check out this link, there’s a clip showing the BMP-1’s missile reloading process. As you can see, fully done while under armor www.reddit.com/r/Warthunder/comments/hyj28h/i_wish_bmp_1_had_this_reload_animation_in_game/

[@Dredgno]

A video has released after way too long

[@cakeofruits]

Great work, thanks!

[@mansuraliagaev4092]

OSAs are having a comeback, against drones this time.😮

[@Klovaneer]

Pretty good video with only one mistake i can think of - Strela-1 and 10, while sharing the name with Strela-2 MANPADS, use much heavier and capable missiles.

[@adamfrazer5150]

MGS:Peacewalker Real-Life showcase 🤘🍻

[@Stargazer80able]

The soviets had a very wide range of very capable machines and tools. Luckily they have never met in near peer action. Hopefully, they never will.

[@Cody38Super]

The Soviet seven - 1.Vodka 2.Cigarettes 3. Vodka 4. Vodka 5. Vodka 6. Vodka 7. More Vodka.

[@ArmorCast]

You forgot Ladas, and the good ol' fashioned gopnik hard bass

[@ivancho5854]

I had a friend who was in the British Army in the 80s. He loved it and his mortar (until he did a tour in NI). Anyway, he said that there was only one Soviet thing on the battlefield that really scared him - Hinds. Rockets, gun and worse troops. They had all the bases covered. Interesting video on Russian targerts. 👍 🇺🇦🇬🇧

[@ArmorCast]

Hind definitely brings that "fear factor", and as far as troops on the field are concerned, that's pretty well founded! I'm critical of the Hind from a design perspective, and comparing it strategically to its counterparts... doesn't make it any less threatening when it crests a hill lobbing 80mm rockets and 30mm cannon rounds at you!! There's even reported instances of Mi-24 pilots in the Soviet-Afghan war still buzzing over enemy forces after they'd run out of ammo, because the sight of a Hind alone was often enough to send them running!

[@lilbrothaaa]

Most important part starts in 25:03 !

[@fabreezethefaintinggoat5484]

thanks very clearly explained

[@craiglarge5925]

Back in 1980s the Soviet military was Planet Earths largest single consumer of petroleum.

[@colingray823]

BMP 1 looks heavily influenced by German WW2 engineering. It somewhat looks like a mix of the half track and puma types, only more modern looking.

[@zuzzolo3959]

Hello there. Could I know please where do you find the old footage? I am looking everywhere and I cant find anything

[@drunklorry3406]

Idk, whether you know it or you don't, but all Siviet and Russian self-propelled artillery is named after... Flowers. Yes, these are names of flowers in Russian :D

[@ArmorCast]

@@drunklorry3406 yup, Gvozdika, Fialka, Akatsiya, Tyulpan, Giatsint, Pion, even the brand new Malva and Lotos systems… though oddly enough not the 2S9 Nona, 2S19 Msta or 2S35 Koalitsiya What’s also funny is that the Acacia (Akatsiya) is not found naturally anywhere in the territory of the former Soviet Union at all… odd that they picked a completely foreign flower when naming the 2S3

[@drunklorry3406]

@@ArmorCast NONA is an abbreviation for "Новейшее орудие наземной артиллерии" or "The newest cannon of ground artillery". "Msta-S" (the river Msta) and "Koalitsiya" (Coalition) are indeed the odd ones out :)

[@chrisbacon3071]

Hey koala! Have you seen the news on the challenger 3 recently? It’s been to its to firing trials!

[@ArmorCast]

Seen some stuff, been more focused on the new Leopard 2 ARC and M1E3 developments though

[@chrisbacon3071]

@@ArmorCast that’s understandable 🤔

[@super_slav_6183]

My modern 7 would be' Ka 52, Lancet, t90m , Msta, Pantsir, su 24, btr 80a (not so sure about su24 and btr)

[@mcgherkinstudios]

Welcome back 👋

[@bluedragontoybash2463]

anybody know why osa "armor" looks corrugated like bob semple tank ?

[@DiggingForFacts]

Not sure, but maybe for rigidity's sake in its amphibious role. You see it in its conteporary amphibious transport, the PTS, too.

[@jannegrey593]

Remember how last time you promised (after Paladin) that the schedule will be tighter? I'm glad you're back, but honestly IDK when will be what and IDK if I would believe it. I'll watch the video later, I'm very busy today.

[@veronicalogotheti1162]

Thank you

[@stefantrajkovic7157]

8) BTR 9) GRAD ...

[@nate914]

What is the source for the Osa having semi-active guidance? I was under the impression the smaller side mounted radars are for tracking the missile for command guidance.

[@ArmorCast]

Has both as far as I’m aware, command guidance used mainly in bad weather and/or heavy ECM environments, that was pretty common for Soviet SAMs. Under the two CW radars you’ll see two little white protrusions, and THOSE are the radars for tracking the missiles for command guidance

[@nate914]

@@ArmorCast Let me rephrase my comment. I am 100% sure the Osa SAM system does not have semi-active guidance capabilities. It uses the central dish to track the target, the smaller dishes on either side of the central dish for fine tracking of the missile, the small circular antenna below them is for acquiring and coarse tracking of the missile immediately after launch, and the square object that is sometimes painted white is the transmitter to send commands to the missile. What is the source for the Osa having semi-active guidance?

[@ArmorCast]

@@nate914 I must admit, it's information I've just "known" for many years, so I hadn't actually looked to fact-check or verify it for a long time. I've had a much more thorough look in the last couple of days, and only turned up two sources stating SARH guidance for 9M33 missiles, neither of which I would consider "credible". It's possible I was originally getting it mixed up with SA-6 in the first place, or that I just confused radar command guidance with SARH and just never ended up being corrected on it and never thought to dig deeper into it (I did also find several sources referring to radio command guidance AS "semi-active"). Unfortunately the main source I was referring back to while making this video, fm-100-2-3 (linked in the video description) goes into very little detail on the guidance system beyond giving the frequency bands of the radars. It appears you're right. While several Soviet SAM systems DO make use of both semi-active guidance and radio command guidance, Osa is not one of them. I've pinned a correction in the comments. Thanks for drawing my attention to this 👍

[@lodickasvlajeckou]

Also what you got wrong is that not many BMP-1Ps were made because they were in production only for 4 years, but a lot of BMP-1s were upgraded to BMP-1P standart. You forgot to mention that when First bradleys came soviets also started producing BMP-2s. Also About the artilery, it is not about the vehicle itself how long it takes to fire but more it has to do with command structure, USSR relied more on preplanned artilery while US did not.

[@stilgar2007]

I remember as a kid, seeing a Hind in Rambo III and thinking "what in the seven hells is this monster?"

[@ivan5595]

Good weapons still used by many armies

[@thewise3551]

Well done men.

[@AveragePootis]

He lives

[@BabyGreen162]

Apparently Soviet armies in the GDR and Czechoslovakia didn't field the T-72 at all, since it was meant to upgrade the Pact tank units and equip Soviet reserve units based within the USSR.

[@Archer89201]

The main armored corps used the T-64 and the later T-80

[@gerdlunau8411]

The GDR employed plenty of T-72s, but upgraded the T-55s. About Czechoslovakia I cannot tell, but they had companies producing T-series tanks under license. Peace! from Dresden / Germany

[@BabyGreen162]

@@gerdlunau8411 I think all Warsaw Pact states except Romania bought the T-72 or produced it under license (Poland and CZSL). The Soviets themselves don't seem to have employed it in Central Europe though, focusing on the T-64 and T-80 as Archer 89201 pointed out.

[@rvanhees89]

Whenever I see a Hind, I think of Neil Ellis and I have to change my pants

[@disbeafakename167]

Scared or happy?

[@nzratel]

This was hot

[@rdallas81]

Uh

[@selmevias1383]

Comment for the algorithm god.