Credit
Bob Adams from George, South Africa · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Resized · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Source ↗ · Modified
FORCETALLY
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At a glance
Measured figures
Gun forward
Single sourceHull
Single sourceConfiguration
| Specification | Olifant (tank) | T-80 |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Main battle tank[source] | Main battle tank[source] |
| Place of origin | United Kingdom South Africa[source] | Soviet Union[source] |
| In service | 1976–present[source] | 1976–present[source] |
| Wars | South African Border War : Operation Moduler Operation Packer[source] | August Coup 1993 Russian constitutional crisis First Chechen War Yemeni Civil War Russo-Ukrainian War 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Russo-Ukrainian war (2022–present) Wagner Group rebellion |
Hull only 24 ft 9.5 in (7.557 m) With gun forward 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)[source]
Gun forward T-80B
Single sourceLength
Single sourceT-80U
Single sourceT-80U Hull T-80B
Single sourceGun forward: 9.9 m (32 ft 6 in) T-80B, 9.654 m (31 ft 8.1 in) T-80U Hull: 7.4 m (24 ft 3 in) T-80B, 7 m (23 ft 0 in) T-80U[source]
Without side plates
Single sourceWith side plates
Single source11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) with side plates 10 ft 9 in (3.28 m) without side plates[source]
T-80B T-80U
Single sourceWidth
Single source3.4 m (11 ft 2 in) T-80B 3.603 m (11 ft 9.9 in) T-80U
Maximum; Mk.1
Single sourceMaximum; Mk.1A, Mk.1B, Mk.2
Single source21.5 mph (34.6 km/h) (Mk.1) 35 mph (56 km/h) (Mk.1A, Mk.1B, Mk.2)[source]
Maximum; Cross-country
Single sourceMaximum; T-80U
Single sourceFact file: The Olifant main battle tank · Cross-country
Single sourceFact file: The Olifant main battle tank · road
Single source350km (road), 200km (cross country).[source]
Operational; road, with external tanks
Single sourceOperational; road, without external tanks
Single sourceMk.2
Single sourceRolls-Royce Meteor 4B (Mk.1) V-12 air-cooled Continental AV1790 turbo diesel engine (others) at 2550rpm (Meteor) others up to
Single sourceRolls-Royce Meteor 4B (Mk.1) V-12 air-cooled Continental AV1790 turbo diesel engine (others) 650 hp (480 kW) at 2550rpm (Meteor) others up to 1,040 hp (780 kW) (Mk.2)[source]
SG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD T-80B
Single sourceT‑80U
Single sourceBars compare reported quantities only. A larger figure does not make a system better; configurations and test conditions differ.
| Developed from | Centurion (tank)[source] | — |
|---|
| Developed into | The Olifant led to the TTD also known as The Loggim program (TTD Program)[source] | — |
|---|
| No. built | 224[source] | 5,500+[source] |
|---|
| Armour | 51–152 mm (2.0–6.0 in)[source] | T-80B – Hull 440–450 mm vs APFSDS 500–575 mm vs HEAT , Turret 500 mm vs APFSDS 650 mm vs HEAT T-80U – Hull & turret with Kontakt-5 780 mm vs APFSDS 1,320 mm vs HEAT[source] |
|---|
| Main armament | Ordnance QF 20 pounder 84 mm " GT-1 " (Mk.1) 105 mm L7 rifled gun " GT-3 " (others)[source] | Smoothbore 125 mm 2A46-2 gun , 36 rounds and 4 9M112 Kobra ATGMs (T-80B) 2A46M-1 with 45 rounds and 6 9M119 Refleks ATGMs (T-80U)[source] |
|---|
| Secondary armament | Co-axial machine gun .30 cal[source] | 7.62 mm PKT coax MG , 12.7 mm NSVT or DShK or PKT antiaircraft MG[source] |
|---|
| Transmission | 5-speed Merrit-Brown Z51R Mk. F gearbox (Mk.1) automatic gearbox (Mk.1A, Mk.1B, Mk.2)[source] | Manual, 5 forward gears, 1 reverse T-80B, 4 forward, 1 reverse T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Suspension | Modified Horstmann (Mk.1 and Mk.1A) Torsion Bar (Mk.1B and Mk.2)[source] | Torsion bar[source] |
|---|
| Ground clearance | 1 ft 8 in (0.51 m)[source] | 0.38 m (1.2 ft) T-80B, 0.446 m (1.46 ft) T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Manufacturer | Olifant Manufacturing Company[source]Olifant Mk.1 · original Centurion refurbishment programme | LKZ and Omsk Transmash , Russia Malyshev Factory , Ukraine[source] |
|---|
| Used by | South Africa[source]Current operator explicitly identified by the equipment service role | See Operators[source] |
|---|
| Designer | — | Nikolay Popov , LKZ (T-80) KMDB (T-80UD)[source] |
|---|
| Designed | — | 1967–1975[source] |
|---|
| Unit cost | — | US$3 million[source] |
|---|
| Produced | — | 1975–2001 (T-80) 1987–present (T-80UD)[source] |
|---|
| Variants | — | Engineering & recovery, mobile bridge, mine-plough with KMT-6 plough-type system and KMT-7 roller-type system.[source] |
|---|
| Power/weight | — | 23.5 hp (17.6 kW) / tonne T-80B 27.2 hp (20.3 kW) / tonne T-80U[source] |
|---|
| Fuel capacity | — | 1,100 litres (240 imp gal) (internal) 740 litres (160 imp gal) (external)[source] |
|---|
| Reported operators | — |
|
|---|
70 km/h (43 mph) (T-80U) 48 km/h (30 mph) (cross country)[source]
335 km (208 mi) (road, without external tanks) 415 km (258 mi) (road, with external tanks)[source]
SG-1000 gas turbine T-80B, GTD-1250 turbine T-80U, or one of 3 diesel T‑80UD 1,000 hp T-80B, 1,250 hp T‑80U[source]