Russian tanks have been exploding in combat since the start of the war in Ukraine, and the West has discovered a critical vulnerability in Russian tanks. The cause of the explosions comes down to two reasons, and they are both related to the flawed Soviet approach to tank design. The T-72 and T-80 tanks were developed to fight against Western tanks in a nuclear battlefield in a NATO vs Warsaw Pact showdown to the death. The winner would inherit an irradiated world, and the future of the global wasteland could only be one of two things: a capitalist utopia with a McDonald's in every Super Mutant camp, or a communist worker's paradise, where you and all your Ghoul friends would own the means of production.
In the inevitable struggle for the fate of all humanity, both sides knew that it would come down to a slugfest between their mightiest tanks. The West took a technological approach to tank design while the Soviet Union took a different, far less intelligent approach. With eastern Europe giving every citizen the option of either queueing up for the most basic necessities or serving in the army, the Soviet bloc fielded a terrifyingly massive army that the West simply couldn't match.
To neutralize the Soviet numbers, the West decided to double down on technology and pack its tanks with as many fancy sensors, the most sophisticated armor, ultrasmart firing computers, and even tea kettles. This resulted in some of the most legendary tanks ever built, names you recognize today like the M1 Abrams, the British Challenger, and the German Leopard. The Soviets, however, took an altogether different approach.
Rather than field technologically comparable tanks, the Soviets focused on making as many tanks as possible. Thousands upon thousands of tanks, because to the Soviet Union, there wasn't a problem in the world that couldn't be solved with the application of judicious levels of tanks and armored personnel carriers. The Soviets were forced to make many cheap tanks, as they were typically several steps behind the West in the development of different key technologies. Thus the Stalin adage of “quantity is a quality all its own” was adopted, and when asked how many tanks he wanted, each Soviet premier simply kept answering, “yes.”
The Soviet Union was almost entirely expendable by design, and thus, crew survivability was not a priority. Russia's notoriously poor logistics aren't just a modern accident, it's basically baked into the post-Soviet military. The Soviet military also suffered from bad logistics, and to this day, Russian forces still haven't palletized their supplies, meaning instead of using forklifts to move large amounts of conveniently packaged supplies around, they do it pretty much by hand in boxes. In the Soviet playbook, they figured they were going to take massive losses anyway, so why bother keeping units resupplied. Private conscripts and their mates would fight until they were either dead, out of ammo, or both, and if they managed to limp back to friendly lines, then great - they could do it all again tomorrow.
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| Western tanks included blowout panels for the tank's onboard store ammo |
Thus, when some Soviet engineer pointed out a critical design flaw in Soviet tanks that would end with the crew dead or exploded into orbit, he was promptly ignored. In order to protect the crew, Western tanks included blowout panels for the tank's onboard store ammo. That way, in case of a direct hit to the vulnerable ammo storage, the resulting explosion would be funneled via the blowout panel harmlessly out of the tank. Designers were happy, crews were happy, and nobody got turned into an involuntary astronaut.
The Soviets saw the design of blowout panels and said, “hold my potato vodka.” Not only did they decide not to include blowout panels, but they then basically did everything they could to turn every single Soviet tank crew into volunteer cosmonauts.
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| Look at this image, and you will understand what happens to the crew when a Russian tank is fired. |
As mentioned earlier, the Soviets chose to focus on quantity over quality when it came to their tanks. They produced thousands of tanks, but they didn't necessarily put a lot of thought into the design. One of the most significant design flaws in Soviet tanks was the lack of blowout panels. These panels are essential safety features that prevent the tank from exploding when the ammunition is hit.
Without blowout panels, a single hit to the ammo storage of a Soviet tank could cause the tank to explode, killing the entire crew. In some cases, the explosion was so powerful that it launched the tank turret into the air. This is the reason why Russian tanks keep doing this - they don't have blowout panels to prevent the tank from exploding.
The lack of blowout panels is a significant design flaw, but it's not the only one. The placement of the ammo storage in Soviet tanks is another problem. In Western tanks, the ammo storage is usually located in the hull, away from the crew. In Soviet tanks, the ammo storage is often located near the crew, making it more vulnerable to enemy fire.
Another problem with Soviet tank design is the lack of attention to crew survivability. In Western tanks, crew survivability is a priority. The tank is designed to protect the crew, with features like a compartmentalized hull that allows the crew to escape if the tank is hit.
In Soviet tanks, crew survivability was not a priority. The tank was seen as expendable, and the crew was expected to fight to the death. The lack of concern for crew survivability is evident in the design of Soviet tanks, which often lacked features like escape hatches.
The design flaws in Soviet tanks were a result of the Soviet Union's focus on quantity over quality. The Soviet Union produced thousands of tanks, but many of them were poorly designed and lacked essential safety features. The lack of blowout panels, the placement of the ammo storage, and the lack of concern for crew survivability were all significant design flaws that made Soviet tanks vulnerable in battle.
Video: Why Russian tanks keep exploding
In conclusion, the reason why Russian tanks keep blowing their tops comes down to two reasons - the lack of blowout panels and the poor design of Soviet tanks. The Soviet Union focused on quantity over quality when it came to tank production, which resulted in poorly designed tanks that lacked essential safety features. While the Soviet Union produced thousands of tanks, many of them were vulnerable in battle and put the crew at risk. The lack of concern for crew survivability and the poor design of Soviet tanks continue to be a problem for Russian tanks today.