PT-76

PT-76
Type	Amphibious Light tank
Place of origin	Soviet Union
Service history
In service	6 August 1951 – present
Production history
Designer	N. Shashmurin and Zh.Y. Kotin
Designed	1949–1951
Manufacturer	VTZ, Kirov Factory
Produced	1951–1969
No. built	Around 12,000
Specifications (PT-76 model 1)
Weight	14.6 tonnes
Length	7.63 m (gun forward) 6.91 m (hull)
Width	3.15 m
Height	2.325 m
Crew	3 (driver, commander/gunner,loader)
Armour	RHAe: 25 mm (turret front) 20 mm (turret sides) 13 mm (turret rear) 8 mm (turret top) 14mm (hull sides) 7 mm (hull rear)
Main armament	76.2 mm D-56T rifled tank gun (40 rds.)
Secondary armament	7.62 mm SGMT coax machine gun (1,000 rds.)
Engine	V-6 Type diesel, straight-six engine 240 hp (176 kW)
Power/weight	16.4 hp (12.1 kW) / tonne
Suspension	torsion-bar
Ground clearance	370 mm
Fuel capacity	250 l
Operational range	370–400 km, 480–510 km with external fuel
Speed	44 km/h (27 mph), 10.2 km/h (6.3 mph) swimming

The PT-76 is a Soviet amphibious light tank that was introduced in the early 1950s and soon became the standard reconnaissance tank of the Soviet Army and the other Warsaw Pact armed forces. It was widely exported to other friendly states, like India, Iraq, Syria, North Korea and North Vietnam. Overall, some 25 countries used the PT-76.

The tank's full name is Swimming Tank–76 (Плавающий Танк, Plavayushchiy Tank, or ПТ-76). 76 stands for the caliber of the main armament: the 76.2 mm D-56T series rifled tank gun.

The PT-76 is used in the reconnaissance and fire-support roles. Its chassis served as the basis for a number of other vehicle designs, many of them amphibious, including the BTR-50 armored personnel carrier, the ZSU-23-4 self-propelled antiaircraft gun, the ASU-85 airborne self-propelled gun and the 2K12 Kub anti-aircraft missile launch vehicle.

After World War II, the concept of light tanks was resurrected in the USSR. They were to be used in reconnaissance units and therefore an amphibious ability was essential. The requirements stated that the vehicle should be able to cross water obstacles with little preparation. Many prototypes of such light tanks were built in the late 1940s. The most successful was "obyekt 740" (object 740) designed by the engineer N. Shashmurin working at the VNII-100 institute in Leningrad (a research institute of Chelyabinsk Tank Factory ChTZ) in 1949-1950, under an initial supervision of Josef Kotin from Kirov Plant. The vehicle was successful because it had a simple design, good navigational traits and a good cross country capability. At the time, its water-jet design was innovative.