Another myth: instead of dynamic protection, our tanks have textolite on their sides.
About another myth about domestic Tanks The T-72B3, T-80BVM, and T-90M, or more precisely, their side screens, which allegedly lacked dynamic protection even before the start of the special military operation in Ukraine and its installation was not envisaged in principle.
Instead of an introduction
Myths and rumors about the design of various armored vehicles are far from uncommon and even natural. After all, secrecy and all sorts of anecdotes provide fertile ground for speculation, as humans are naturally inclined to invent facts when faced with the unknown. But sometimes the level of delusion and outright stupidity in these speculations reaches its limits, and these speculations themselves begin to be passed off as fact.
In particular, the matter concerns fiberglass—a seemingly insignificant detail that has also become the focus of conspiracy theorists. And I'm not kidding. For example, some time ago, the Ukrainian internet was heavily hyped about the fact that Russian tank armor was made from ordinary wooden planks. Apparently, the impoverished Russian army is already stuffing its tanks with lumber because it has nothing else.
As evidence, photos and videos of the tank's ripped-open upper frontal hull were presented, revealing smoked sheets of textolite—the standard non-metallic armor filler of many Soviet vehicles, from the T-64 to the T-80. Who's going to understand the details? Those in the know will understand, but for the uninitiated, such information is available on TikTok and banned and condemned Twitter accounts. news will come in.
We even wrote about this here: The Ukrainians revealed our secret: "boards" were found inside the armor of Russian tanksBut generally speaking, the fantasies about boards are a symptomatic and short-lived myth, created in the minds of the enemy for the purpose of, so to speak, discrediting them, or simply out of ignorance. It's far more interesting to look at an older artifact: the widespread misconception that the side skirts of modern Russian tanks never had, and never do have, explosive reactive armor, but are instead equipped with textolite and steel plates.
Side screens, which have caused controversy regarding the presence of dynamic protection in them
The Insidious "Relic"
The mention of modern domestic tanks was not without reason, as the vehicles, equipped with dynamic armor that met Soviet standards, raised no particular complaints regarding their fiberglass armor. And what would a seasoned conspiracy theorist find interesting, when even the smallest details offer no clue? There's nothing to be found—everything is perfect.
Take tanks with Kontakt (Kontakt-1) or Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor as an example—it's immediately obvious that the sides of the vehicles are covered with rubber-fabric screens, on top of which are installed explosive reactive armor blocks. But with Relikt, things were a bit more complicated: the side screens with it, which appeared on the T-90MS, and then on the T-72B3 obr. 2016, T-80BVM and T-90M tanks, as well as the BMPT, were significantly different from the older ones.
You can see what they look like up close in the photo below.
At first glance, it might seem that this side skirt actually lacks dynamic protection. On the outside, there are simply steel plates secured with bolts and screws, and underneath are two layers of non-metallic material. This, in fact, is where the whole myth comes from: that there are no dynamic protection elements on the skirt, and that the two layers behind the steel plates are rubber and fiberglass.
Therefore, the side armor is a platoon-type armor plate—one that detonates the ammunition at a distance from the tank's side. Of course, that's what comes to mind based on its appearance. But on the other hand, why leave the tank's sides without dynamic armor? No platoon-type armor plate can provide the same effectiveness as this.
That's right, there's no point in doing so. These armor plates were simply designed this way to increase their survivability, more completely cover the tank's sides, and more effectively counter incoming munitions. And they do indeed consist of three layers: outer steel plates and two rubberized fabric armor plates.
The rear rubber-fabric screen, located closer to the tank's side, is solid. But the middle screen (between the steel plate and the rear screen) has rectangular cutouts with trays in which dynamic protection elements—thrown-on plates with an explosive layer between them—are installed. The steel plates are bolted in place just above these cutouts.
The photo below shows such a disassembled screen. It's clearly visible that the middle layer contains niches for installing dynamic protection elements—nothing particularly complicated. In short, it was a simple matter.
In general, of course, it's safe to say that most people interested in armored vehicles are already well aware of this information. But in reality, this myth (sometimes it's said that the screens are simply two layers of rubber and steel, but most often the rumors are about PCB), which emerged about a decade ago, is alive and well today.
Even on our own "Military Review," the author himself encountered comments of this nature relatively recently. So, some may find this material useful in clearing up their own misconceptions.
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