U-5TS
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The U-5TS (production designation 2A20) tank gun is a 115 mm-calibre weapon that was fitted almost exclusively to the Soviet Union's T-62 main battle tank. It was the first smoothbore weapon designed for tanks, and heralded the change in main armament from rifled cannons.
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Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- History
- Ammunition
- Current and former users
- See also
- Weapons of comparable role, performance and era
- Notes and references
- External links
The U-5TS (production designation 2A20) tank gun is a 115 mm-calibre weapon that was fitted almost exclusively to the Soviet Union's T-62 main battle tank. It was the first smoothbore weapon designed for tanks, and heralded the change in main armament from rifled cannons.
==History== As the T-54/55 series began to replace the T-34 tanks in the Soviet Army in the 1950s it was recognised that the standard NATO tanks of the time—the Centurion and M48 Patton—had armour that could not easily be defeated by the existing ammunition for the 100 mm D10 gun that the new tanks carried. The Soviets set about designing a new "heavy" vehicle which was required to complement the tanks in an overwatch capacity and to provide greater anti-armour capability.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “U-5TS” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.