"Which tanks were in use by subunits of 3SA in 1985?" Topic

If the Cold War had started I wouldn't be here…

Ah the joys of being in 2nd ACR (or 11th ACR probably).

Being in one of the border Armored Cavalry Regiments meant we weren't counting on being around when the shooting ended.

At least my unit gave a chance to show what it could do in Desert Storm at 73 Easting.

I was in E-12 in 1st platoon, so if I would have re-upped I would have been there, but was too burned out spending around 300 days a year in the field and the rest of the time getting ready to go out to the field. My ETS couldn't come soon enough…but I gave it everything I had while I was there. Too many of us depended on each other…

They kept the edge maintained a little too sharp at times and burned many of us out.

But there is no group of guys I would rather face a showdown with…

Thank you for your service, zaevor2000.

Hello, seneffe!

You probably confuse the T-80BV and T-80UD – T-80BV tanks was about 1700-2000, if not more (a total of 1990 in the GSVG was about 2260 T-80B and T-80BV). Here T-80UD was indeed about 600 machines.

Hi UsmanK,

No I'm not confused with the T80UD- that was a different variant- the'improved diesel' produced at Kharkov. You are quite right of course that there were only also very few T80UDs produced by 1990-1- only about 500- of which c350 were still at the Kharkov works not delivered to the army (I think lack of payment and uncertainty over who wanted them). If I understand correctly the T80UD only served with the Taman Division and some other units in the Moscow area in this period.

But concerning the T80BV- these were also only few in numbers- according to the CFE Treaty- there were 594 T80BV and 23 T80BVK command tanks West of the Urals in late 1990. Lots and lots of standard T80B of course. If there were more than BVs than that- maybe they were hidden from the CFE inspectors somehow- although given the detail of their inspections and the spirit of openness at that period- it seems unlikely.

Hello, seneffe!

In Kharkov, according to the Malyshev plant, is no more than 30 fully finished T-80UD (it apart and brought from training centers for repair) – almost all of them had time to put in troops. Another thing is that there is a large number of semi-finished products.
T-80BV different from the T-80B is only the presence of explosive reactive armor (and she, by the way, is not always set in peacetime). Everything else they have by 1987 was unificated. So to hide the real number of T-80BV pretty easy in principle. But it is, in principle, conspiracy theories, so we assume that these data of the Treaty.
In general, I agree with you – here I am big mistake.

Interesting thread on my favourite topic – GSFG / WGF.

UsmanK, am I correct in thinking that as the T-64 were being replaced in 3 OA by T-80 they were used to replace T-62 in some of the Independent Tank Regiments ?

Hello, Formerly 298TYR!

T-64, after they changed to T-80, went "on the storage" in the internal regions of the USSR (especially in Central Asia). For example, Uzbekistan is still in service are about 100 T-64, sent there from GSVG. In addition, part of the T-64 entered service of internal divisions.
Actually, in 1988 the T-64 in the individual regiments were only in the 6 th Brigade in Berlin and 43 th separate regimend in Wünsdorf (19 T-64). Well, and on repair factories.

Thanks for the reply UsmanK, interesting to note that. I think some of the Independent Regiments had T-64, maybe that was prior to 1988 and some may have gone from T-62 direct to T-80 ?

Hello, Formerly 298TYR!

Yes, part of the divisions (and regiments) went directly from T-62 to T-80 (about 1985-1986 years, if necessary – I can the exact date). Some regiments (if I remember correctly, 10 or 11) are sequentially switched from T-62 to T-64, and then on the T-80.

In general, the T-64 almost did not get into independent regiments – they basically tried to push apart by divisions. At the end of 1980s (with the exception of GSVG) T-64 were based mostly in Ukrainian SSR (at least 1500), Moldovan SSR (about 350), in Hungary (about 400-500, may be more) and Central Asia (Uzbek and Kazakh SSR, somewhere 2000, but here they were not part of any division and just quietly rusting).

Thanks for the reply UsmanK – did you serve in GSFG yourself by any chance ? I am looking for contacts with former soviet soldiers who can help with some questions I have. For example, do you know much about the organisation of Security Battalions – and 43 Independent Regiment in Wunsdorf ?

Hello, Formerly 298TYR!

No, I did not serve in Soviet army – I was born in 1992 after the collapse of the USSR . But I personally know very well several people who were there – for example, my professor of medieval history at the University served in GSVG. If anything, I can check with him, in which unit he served.

And on the 43rd regiment – that his organization:

43rd separate Order of the Red Star Regiment of protection and ensuring of GSVG Staff:

2 motorized infantry battalion (3 infantry company on the BTR-80 (3 platoon and air defense office, according to other sources not BTR-80 and BTR-60), 1 (other sources 2) tank company on the T-64)
1 anti-aircraft battery (2 platoon both with 4 ZU-23-2)
Material support company
Electrical company (engaged in the lighting staff, including during field visits)
Radiation-chemical detection company (since 1982 – a Company of chemical protection)
Commandant company
Repair company
Engineering sapper platoon
Communications platoon

And the T-72's,where were they? What units had them?

If we take as a basis handbook "The Soviet army during the Cold War" (Feskov, 2004), the following picture:

Motorized Infantry Division:
1 Guards. (Kaliningrad) – 66 T-72

2 Guards. (Choibalsan, Mongolia) – 77 T-72

3 Guards. (Klaipeda, Baltics) – 271 T-72
107 (Vilnius, Baltic States) – 189 T-72
144 Guards. (Tallinn, the Baltic States) – 187 T-72

9 (Maikop) – 133 T-72
19 (Vladikavkaz) – 187 T-72
42 Guards. (Shali) – 26 T-72

15 (Vanadzor, Transcaucasia) – 61 T-72
23 Guards. (Shamkhor, Transcaucasia) – 61 T-72
60 (Lankaran, Transcaucasia) – 124 T-72
100 Guards. (Tbilisi, Caucasus) – 32 T-72
127 (Leninakan, Transcaucasia) – 61 T-72
295 (Baku, the Caucasus) – 124 T-72

18 Guards. (Czechoslovakia) – 155 T-72
30 Guards (Czechoslovakia) – 130 T-72

50 Guards. (Brest, Byelorussian SSR) – 187 T-72
120 Guards. (Urechye, Byelorussian SSR) – 187 T-72

24 (Yavoriv, ​​Ukrainian SSR) – 202 T-72
51 Guards. (Vladimir-Volyn, Ukrainian SSR) – 186 T-72
97 Guards. (Slavuta, Ukrainian SSR) – 61 T-72

213 (Totsk) – 62 T-72

Tank Division:
1 (Kaliningrad) – 224 T-72
40 Guards. (Kaliningrad) – 299 T-72

6 Guards. (Grodno, Byelorussian SSR) – 229 T-72
37 Guards. (Zaslonovo, Byelorussian SSR) – 224 T-72
193 (Bobruisk, Byelorussian SSR) – 108 T-72

19 Guards. (Hungary) – 226 T-72

24 (Riga, the Baltic States) – 114 T-72

26 Guards. (Vladimir) – 28 T-72

30 Guards. (Novograd-Volyn, Ukrainian SSR) – 224 T-72
117 Guards. (Berdichev, Ukrainian SSR) – 95 T-72

Total:
Kaliningrad 589
Mongolia 77
Baltic 761
North Caucasus 346
Transcaucasia 463
Czechoslovakia 285
Belarus 935
Ukraine 768
RSFSR 90
Hungary 226
Total 4540

But this handbook does not have complete information – information on about half of the divisions (mainly Inner RSFSR and Central asia) it lacks.

Usmank – am I correct in thinking the last model of T-80 used in Western Group Of Forces in Germany would have been T-80BV ?

Hello, Formerly 298TYR!
Probably yes. I read some reports about T-80U in GSFG/WGF, but I think that's only errors.