Design Overview & Tactical Role
The T-64 was the most technologically revolutionary tank of the Cold War. Conceived by master designer Aleksandr Morozov, it pioneered composite armor ('Combination K' with corundum ceramic balls), an electromechanical carousel autoloader that reduced the crew to 3, and an ultra-compact 5TDF opposed-piston engine. Its 125 mm smoothbore gun set the global standard for Eastern bloc armor for the next 60 years.
Combat History & Battle Records
Kept top-secret by the Soviet military and never exported during the Cold War, the T-64 was reserved exclusively for frontline elite units stationed in East Germany. Following the collapse of the USSR, the modernized T-64BV and T-64BM Bulat became the primary armored shield of the Ukrainian Ground Forces.
Related Armored Vehicles (Cold War)
Cold War
1948
Cold War
1961
Cold War
1973
Cold War
1985