T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974-93 (New Vanguard) [Paperback]

Steven Zaloga (Author), Peter Sarson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 30, 1993 | Series: New Vanguard (Book 6)

The Russian T-72 Ural tank is the most widely-deployed main battle tank of the current generation. Used by the armies of the former Warsaw pact and Soviet Union, it has also been exported in large numbers to many of the states in the Middle East. This book reveals the previously secret history behind the tank. Steven J Zaloga examines the conditions under which the T-72 was designed and produced. Technical aspects of the weapon are also discussed, including its EDZ reactive armour which, when it first appeared in December 1984, gave NATO a nasty shock.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

The unrivalled illustrated reference on fighting vehicles, transport and artillery through the ages. Each volume is illustrated throughout, making these books uniquely accessible to history enthusiasts of all ages.

About the Author

Steven J. Zaloga was born in 1952, received his BA in history from Union College, and his MA from Columbia University. He has published numerous books and articles dealing with modern military technology, especially armoured vehicle development. His main area of interest is military affairs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in the Second World War, and he has also written extensively on American armoured forces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (September 30, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1855323389
• ISBN-13: 978-1855323384
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 0.1 x 9.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,504,515 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Steven Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm. His professional specialization is the commercial and technological aspects of the international trade in missiles, precision guided munitions, and unmanned aerial vehicles. He also serves as an adjunct staff member with the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank.

Mr. Zaloga has published numerous books and articles on military technology and military history. His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He has been a special correspondent for "Jane's Intelligence Review" and is on the executive board of the "Journal of Slavic Military Studies". From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/director for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series "Firepower" that aired on The Discovery Channel in the US.

Mr. Zaloga was born in 1952 and received his BA in history from Union College, Schenectady, NY. He received an MA in history from Columbia University specializing in modern East European history, and did graduate research and language study at Uniwersitet Jagiellonski in Krakow, Poland.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars First Uncensored View of the T-72, April 23, 2002

By 

Gerald P. Owens (Pompano Beach, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974-93 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

Steve Zaloga is one of the leading scholars on Russian and Warsaw Pact armor, and this book was one of the first to take advantage of the new information that became available after the fall of the Soviet Union. It traces the development of the weapon and its deployment by Russia, its allies, and the third world customers who bought the export versions. Zaloga also reveals the Soviet designations for the various subtypes. The Russian obsession with secrecy meant that many spurious designations appeared in NATO manuals on the subject, and the author finally clears up the actual designations of the variant models. The T-72's poor performance in combat is examined and the reasons are discussed, and it is compared to its design rivals, the T-64 and the T-80. There is a nice selection of pictures of all subtypes, and a color center section by artist Peter Sarson shows the markings and camouflage of the vehicle. This title is aimed at model builders, wargamers and those with a casual interest in military technology, but the format is too limited for the dedicated historian or defense analyst.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars T-72 Main Battle Tank, May 5, 2009

By 

V. N. Gour (India) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: T-72 Main Battle Tank 1974-93 (New Vanguard) (Paperback)

Positives:Book is strong on details and Gulf War-I experience. Excellent photos and colour plates and a cut out too. Data is reliable, accurate and comprehensive. Easy to read. Wish it had more of...:I wish it had more information on (i) performance in the field,(ii) reliability (iii)experience in the hands of other major armies such as the Indian Army, Russian Army etc instead of being limited to the debacle of the Gulf War where the capabilities of the T-72 were overshadowed by the overwhelming combined arms force of the Allies and the weak training and morale of the Iraqis. Given the paucity of data on Russian equipment this is overall the best book I have read on the T-72