Shells and Steel

Hello everyone. I am announcing that no new posts will be made on this account starting from now on. For archival reasons, I've decided not to delete the account, but no new activity will appear. Thank you for following me over the years.

During tank design, it is common for some generic components to be reused in newer tanks, such as bolts, hooks and other rudimentary assemblies. A few such components have been reused in the blueprints from the T-34 all the way to the T-90. #tanks

Photos of Russian army tanks (T-72B3, T-80U, T-90A) which were involved in hostilities against Ukraine. 2014 - 2016 period. #UkraineRussianWar

@JustAGuy1250 The T-72B turret has a very big and distinct cut under each turret cheek, while T-72A does not. Additionally, the T-72B has a different array of smoke grenades than the T-72A.

@shellsandsteel How do you externally recognise T-72A from Bs when they're all upgraded like that?

Over the past few months, Russia started modernizing T-72A tanks. It's planned to modernize hundreds of T-72As (plus BMPT production), while upgrades of T-72B fell to only a few dozen per year. There is a very big shortage of upgrade-worthy T-72Bs. #ukraine #russia #tanks

@RudyTheROP @Pansarvarnslav1 It uses 2A73 LP-83 "Zaraysk". Both designations refer to the same gun. Another example of this is naming: 2B8 LP-40, a 240mm mortar on the 2S4 Tyulpan.

@Pansarvarnslav1 It's not LP83. There's no info / evidence it's L083. So it might be 2A73, LP83 etc

Just a small comparision of sizes (152mm cannon for 477A NOTA with it's ammunition and T-64BV) *Please note that it's not 100% accurate

@gustiiz31 They probably turned your render into an AI photo in order to try to avoid any potential copyright claims, if they exist at all. Either way, it's strange and disrespectful.

The usage of domestic thermal imagers has been confirmed from the recovered wreckage of destroyed Russian IFVs on the Ukrainian frontlines. 5/5

Starting in 2018, Russia started mounting the domestic 1TPP1-T thermal imager on the BMP-2M as a replacement for the Matis-STD. As for BMP-3 and BMD-4M, the "Tetsa" thermal imager was chosen, a domestic analogue of the Thales Catherine-FC. 4/5

🧵Most people know that the French company Thales sold thermal imagers to Russia, but there was a second French company involved as well. Safran (formerly Sagem) sold various types of thermal imagers to Russia ⬇️ 1/5 #tanks

A strange BMP hull seen being used during BMP-2M production in Tula, sometime around 2018. The hull front received a straight vertical cut, making it flat instead of angled like on the original. I don't know the exact reason, but it's quite a strange choice. #tanks