Product Description

The Soviet T-80 Standard Tank was the last tank fielded before the Soviet collapse, and the most controversial. Despite having the most sophisticated fire controls and multi-layer armor ever fielded on a Soviet tank, its turbine power plant (rather than a conventional diesel) remained a source of considerable trouble throughout its career. Steven J Zaloga charts the little-known history of the T-80, covering the initial construction, through the development to the subsequent variants, the T-84 and Russia's enigmatic Black Eagle Tank. Accompanying detailed cut-away artwork illustrates the unusual design features that made the T-80 so controversial.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #266708 in Books
• Published on: 2009-02-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

Customer Reviews

T-80 STANDARD TANK - AVG BOOK
i HAVE BOUGHT MOST OF ZALOGA'S EARLIER WORKS AND FOUND THEM TO BE EXCELLENT - ESP THE T-72 IN THE SAME SERIES .

HOWEVER - I FIND THIS A BIT BELOW PAR

FIRST -THE MARGINS ON THE LEFT INNER SIDE AND RIGHT INNER SIDE ARE REALLY CRAMPED - ONE HAS TO REALLY STRETCH THE BOOK TO READ - REALLY POOR PUBLISHING

NEXT THE HISTORY AND ORIGINS ARE WELL COVERED AND ZALOGA ATTEMPTS TO COVER THE VARIOUS VERSIONS T-80 B , BV,D & T-80 U - AND THIS IS WHERE THE BOOK FALLS FLAT

THERE IS NO SECTION CALLED INSIDE THE T-80 TANK UNLIKE THE T-72.

- THE BASIC TECHNICAL DESCRIPTIONS OF THE T-80 ARE COMPLETELY OMITTED - ALTHOUGH THERE ARE SECTIONS ON REACTIVE ARMOR , DIESEL POWER PLANT (WHY NOT ON THE BASIC GAS TURBINE ??) , POTTED SECTIONS ON ANTI-TANK MISSILE - NOTHING ON THE MAIN 125 mm GUN - LOOKS LIKE THE PUBLISHER COMPLETELY CUT-OFF THE INTERESTING TECHNICAL BITS.

HOWEVER THE TEXT AND COLOR PHOTOS ARE GOOD - OBVIOUSLY ZALOGA HAS A HUGE AMOUNT TO TELL AND HAS VAST INFORMATION AND OSPREY SAW FIT TO SQUEEZE IN THE BASICS IN 48 PAGES

WHY CANT OSPREY INCREASE CERTAIN TITLE TO BEYOND 48 IN THE VANGUARD SERIES - FORTRESS SERIES IS 60 PAGES AND SOMETIMES THERE ISNT ENOUGH TO COVER = LOGIC BEATS ME

FEEL OSPREY WILL BE BETTER SERVED TO CHANGE THEIR PRINTING AND ALSO LOOK AT PUBLISHING THIS AS TWO PARTS - SECOND PART CAN ALSO COVER MORE OF THE TECHNICAL DESCRIPTIONS OMITTED AND FOREIGN OPERATORS LIKE PAKISTAN , CYPRUS AND KOREA .

I would highly recommend THE Main Battle Tank T80 by Mikhail Baryatinskiy PUBLISHED BY MIDLAND COUNTIES (IAN ALLAN, UK) volume is thicker (81 pages) and offers excellent colored photos of the T80 and better technical descriptions and diagrams AND AVAILABLE ON AMAZON.CO.UK.

Thin but worth it
I am sure 30 years ago it would have been a highly classified and very much sought after document in the 'West'. And although this is a thin publication it contains some useful information both for anyone interested and scale modellers alike.