"Tsar-Barbecue": a broken tank that has gained unhealthy popularity
Without handicraftsmen there is nowhere
The zone of a special military operation in Ukraine has long been turned into a training ground where artisans hone their skills and demonstrate remarkable abilities in modifying military equipment to modern realities. Therefore, various kinds of “visors” on tanks and other vehicles, additional screens for protection from projectiles, all-round “body kits” with dynamic protection units and other fruits of the gloomy field genius are already quite commonplace.
However, there is no limit to the breadth of thought and innovative ideas, as our craftsmen demonstrated by rolling out a monstrous-looking tank onto the battlefield, which immediately received nicknames in the style of “Tsar-Barbecue” and “Turtle”.
Yes, we are talking about that same T-72 with a gigantic hangar-like superstructure that appeared on the approaches to the village of Krasnogorovka, for which active battles are currently underway.
Its use was first discussed in the media on April 8, when a video shot by a Ukrainian drone. In these frames, a self-propelled “barn” equipped with a mine trawl was the first in a column of armored vehicles, providing it with passage and cover during the attack on the aforementioned town.
At the same time, by the way, reports appeared that the tank was destroyed by an artillery strike on the building in which it was located after the battle - allegedly due to a geolocation leaked by someone.
Nevertheless, just the other day a car, with a redesigned protective “hangar” design and a nest of jammers for drones, reappeared on the front. And in front-line reports published in Z-channels, it was mentioned as the main guarantee of success in the advancement of our assault groups in Krasnogorovka. Which, in general, is true, since the raids with the participation of the “Tsar Mangal” actually ended with the successful landing of attack aircraft and their subsequent advance deeper into the populated area.
"Tsar-Barbecue" with a new screen design and an electronic warfare system on the roof
"Brilliant Solution"
All this became the reason for absolutely fantastic conclusions that equipping a tank with such shielding “from head to toe” is an ingenious solution by craftsmen constantly adapting to the situation, suitable for widespread use. For example, the authors of the Telegram channel “Older the Edda” directly and unambiguously wrote the following:
...Once again I propose to use at the Parade not “unparalleled” equipment, but the equipment that is the workhorse of war. Tanks with bars, moto-legs and, of course, the best example of weapons (I’m not joking at all now), “Tsar-Grill”.
It seems that now, this fruit of someone’s harsh genius, is indeed the most combat-ready example of armored vehicles, fully meeting the realities of modern warfare. 3D wars, where any armored vehicles that appear are attacked by one to several dozen kamikaze drones and in which the weak points of the tank are an easily hit target.
“Tsar-Mangal” is a true genius!
It seems that now, this fruit of someone’s harsh genius, is indeed the most combat-ready example of armored vehicles, fully meeting the realities of modern warfare. 3D wars, where any armored vehicles that appear are attacked by one to several dozen kamikaze drones and in which the weak points of the tank are an easily hit target.
“Tsar-Mangal” is a true genius!
“Rybar” spoke less radically, but in approximately the same manner:
...In modern conditions, flexibility and the ability to adapt to new challenges become even more important. And the practice of the last two years has shown that private initiative plays a significant role in this - sometimes samples collected “on the knee” became the basis for industrial serial products.
So it may be that awkward monstrous designs on armored vehicles, Tsar tanks with a set of electronic warfare systems, or turrets with 12-gauge carbines will actually turn out to be excellent options for the realities of the Northern Military District.
So it may be that awkward monstrous designs on armored vehicles, Tsar tanks with a set of electronic warfare systems, or turrets with 12-gauge carbines will actually turn out to be excellent options for the realities of the Northern Military District.
Well, it’s really, really hard for the “armor” right now. As due to the total oversaturation of the battlefield with modern (and not very modern either) anti-tank weapons of the classical type - guided missiles, grenade launchers, mines, cluster munitions and so on. So it is in view of the terrifying spread of a new type of weapon in the form of drones, attacking equipment in the most vulnerable places.
Of course, all these circumstances require their own solutions: the installation of active protection systems, anti-drone means, and possibly a revision of the layout of tanks and other vehicles. However, while they are gone, artisans have to take the rap: cook “canopies,” install sections with grates, nets, and the like. Sometimes it turns out to be a masterpiece and functional, and sometimes it’s quite the opposite.
The same “Tsar-Grill”, if it is positioned as a super-tool that can radically increase the security of a tank, is exactly the opposite of this.
More problems than benefits
On the one hand, the admiration of military bloggers can be understood, and the practical value of the “hangar” is of some kind, but it is there. After all, it is made from scrap materials - it seems from corrugated sheeting from a fence or roof, and covers almost all vulnerable areas of the tank. Therefore, for “buzzers” with grenades strapped to their “fuselages,” the target is at least difficult to hit. And also for many grenade launchers and guided missiles - spaced armor.
On the other hand, this enthusiasm completely forgets the fact that equipping tanks with similar designs reduces their combat capabilities to almost zero. After all, if anyone has forgotten, one of the main qualities of a tank is the ability to maneuver fire due to the rotating turret. And, as you can see, with the “hangar” you can forget about it - all that the “embrasure” of this colossus will give is literally a couple of tens of degrees of rotation of the gun on the sides.
Here we can also add a critical reduction in the crew’s situational awareness, which is not very good for any tank even without walls blocking the entire view. And with them, there’s no point at all - look only forward and maximum back (if there is no wall behind). How tankers will find targets to hit, fully interact with other vehicles in the group and simply navigate the terrain is a big question.
At the same time, one cannot ignore the fact that a “hangar” of this type will complicate the crew’s exit from the tank and will turn its carrier, in the full sense of the word, into a clumsy turtle, unable to move normally in urban areas - at best, it will simply break the entire superstructure.
So, making a semi-blind self-propelled gun from a fully combat-ready tank, capable of hitting targets in different directions solely by turning the chassis in exchange for improved protection, is already something of a misuse of military property. Moreover, the very appearance of “Tsar-Grill”, oddly enough, is direct proof of this.
The fact is that the reason for the creation of this monster, which excited the public, was a banal breakdown of the T-72. According to sources, including the Lostarmour portal, after a shell hit the tank, the turret rotation mechanism completely failed, and it could no longer be repaired on site. It seems to drive, even shoot, but it was impossible to come into direct contact with the enemy on it. This is where the idea of equipping this vehicle with a “country house” (quote from a source) came up for the purpose of further use as a self-propelled gun.
Note that the inability to rotate the turret is also visible in all published videos, both without an electronic warfare station on the roof and with it - the tank’s gun was always turned slightly to the right and is in a stationary state.
Well, in general, the ingenuity worked as it should - they brought the tank into combat condition and used it as best it could. In the role of a sort of assault vehicle, walking at the head of battle formations and capable of making passages in minefields under enemy fire. And they used it quite successfully, but this is not a reason to make a wunderwaffe out of the Tsar-Grill - for fully operational machines, field inventors have more practical shielding methods that do not interfere with shooting and observation.
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