picture 170158

Still relatively new into service as of 1968 was the T-62 main battle tank. Based on a stretched chassis and the same powerplant as the T-54/55 family but armed with a new 115mm U-5TS smoothbore gun, it eventually saw widespread use in tank formations. Deployed only by Soviet Army units during Operation Danube, in the longer term it did not prove to be an outstanding success and was subsequently replaced by the T-64/T-72/T-80 series. This example belonged to a tank unit deployed in the Prague area: it was painted in dark olive green overall, and – in addition to the usual turret number – wore vertical identification stripes in white. (Artwork by David Bocquelet)