TR-85 (Tanc Romanesc Model 85)

History

From 1944 to 1958, the Soviet army maintained a strong presence in Romania, arguably a trophy, as Romania sided with Hitler's Germany during WWII. Thus, the political and military influence of the Soviet Union is very evident in this oil-rich country strategically located on the Black Sea. Over time, the Romanian Army added the T-54/T-55 Main Battle Tank (MBT) to its inventory, and the series became the most produced MBT in history, with an estimated total of between 86,000 and 100,000 units, operators in the world. Although Soviet troops eventually left Romanian territory to cement their commitments, the Romanian government continued to maintain ties with the communist world powers and signed a contract with Soviet authorities to purchase 850 T-55 prototypes.

The vehicles were delivered from 1970 to 1977. The Romanian Army's T-55 is known as the T-55Am and consists of three different sub-variants.

Unknown at the time, this purchase laid the foundation for a local Romanian tank factory that would later form the basis of modern tank production capabilities, culminating in the "TR-85" main battle tank (MBT).

The Romanian direction became more self-sufficient in its military, which led to the development of a custom modernization of the T-55 in 1974. The requirements were simple: a 40-ton tracked armored vehicle with a powerful 100mm main gun, powered by an 800hp German-made diesel engine (same as the Leopard 1 MBT). The direction of modifying existing main battle tanks instead of designing, developing and manufacturing completely new designs was only to take advantage of the then limited Romanian heavy industry and reduce procurement costs. The development of the new tank started in 1974 and ended in 1980 with the production of the main battle tank "TR-77".

However, arranging to buy a West German powerplant proved problematic (Romania was on the other side of the "fence" between democracy and communism), so the T-55's original 500 hp V-55 diesel engine was replaced. The TR-77's main changes compared to the T-55 also include a longer fuselage and an additional pair of (smaller) wheels on each track side to manage operating weight.

Despite the arrival of the TR-77 design, Romanian engineers continued its development and eventually managed to create an in-house brand new 800 hp diesel based on the expected German engine. This engine then formed a new tank initiative, which became the "TR-85", with an improved suspension and turret.

The TR-85 was adopted in 1985, entered service with the Romanian Army in 1986 and is still in service today (2013).

The TR-85 is a 55-ton combat system that is largely traditional in form and function. Its T-55 roots are recognizable to the trained eye, though great care has been taken to fully modernize the design (the biggest difference being the addition of a wheel next to a track and an entirely new turret shape). The vehicle has a barrel length of 32.7 feet, a width of 11.3 feet, and a height of 10 feet to the top of the tower. Like the T-55, the TR-85 had a crew of four, including the driver in the left forward fuselage and the commander, gunner and loader in the turret. The thickness of the armor protection on the turret fairing is 320 mm and the thickness of the armor protection on the hull is 200 mm.

The extra 20mm of armor can be addressed with additional Explosive Reactive Armor (ERA) blocks.

In 1994, Romania began to modernize its TR-85 production line, mainly due to the country's accession to NATO (29 1991 allowing dozens of countries to regain their individuality). This gave birth to the name TR-85M1 "Bison", which is still today (2013) the standard main battle tank of the modern Romanian army - albeit in limited numbers compared to the original TR-85 production. The Bison relies on an A308 towed 100mm main gun (based on the M1977 anti-tank artillery system) and 41 standard NATO rounds. The fume hood is installed near the muzzle.

The main gun can use its armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarded cartridge case (APFSDS) projectiles to hit targets up to 1 km away and penetrate armor up to 450 mm thick. Secondary armament remains a coaxial 7.62mm PKT anti-tank machine gun and a 12.7mm DShK series anti-aircraft machine gun mounted on top of the turret. Smoke and flare ejectors flank the turret and play an important role in vehicle and crew defense. The turret is well slanted, and the tank maintains the T-55's low profile, in line with Soviet Cold War tank design principles.

The modern TR-85 has a local fire control system (FCS), infrared night vision, laser rangefinder and laser warning receiver.

The TR-85 is powered by an 8-cylinder turbo diesel engine, model 8VS-A2T2M, producing 860 hp at 2,300 rpm - the power unit is conventionally mounted at the rear of the fuselage (the TR-85 lacks the left side of the hull , which was common on Soviet tanks at the time). This gives the vehicle a top speed of 37 mph and a range of up to 250 miles. The vehicle is suspended by a torsion bar system with eight telescopic hydrogen shock absorbers, providing the chassis with the necessary support for off-road mobility.

The sprocket system consists of six pairs of wheels on one side of the fuselage, with the drive sprocket at the rear and the chain idler at the front. Two orbital deflection rollers are used. Modernized TR-85 models have side armor skirts that hide most of the track details.

The TR-85 series of tanks were produced from 1986 to 1990. The TR-85M1 was built from 1999 to 2009. The TER-85 is an Armored Rescue Vehicle (ARV) variant of the original TR-85 chassis. The DMT-85M1 is a Combat Engineering Vehicle (CEV) based on the TR-85M1 chassis, without primary armament.

The TR-85M2 is an MBT prototype equipped with an Italian 1,200 hp Iveco diesel tested in 2002.

TR-85 tanks were used for security missions during the Romanian Revolution of 1989, as part of demonstrations by several Warsaw Pact units before the official fall of the Soviet Empire in 1991. The revolution, which lasted from December 16 to December 27, saw the end of communist Romania, whose leader Nicolae (and wife Elena) Ceausescu was executed for his role.

The riots left 1,104 dead and 3,352 injured.

As of this writing (2013), the TR-85 and its variants are only in service with the Romanian army. Nearly 250 MBTs of the first series TR-85 are in service, supplemented by about 54 of the new series TR-85M1.

Specification

Basic

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Performance

for everyone else in our database)

Armor

41 x 100mm projectile.

750x12.7mm ammo.

4,500x7.62mm ammo.

10 x Smoke Grenade

Changes