After the end of World War II, US President Harry Truman believed that the Soviet army could continue its offensive and conquer all of Europe. Measures were taken to build up military potential, in addition, the successful tests of the atomic bomb led to the start of a new war - the Cold War. The Soviet army during the Cold War was the best in the world. Its commanders and soldiers had vast combat experience behind them, an excellent school was worked out for training specialists in all branches of the military.
The increased military power of the USSR could not be ignored any longer, as it was before the Second World War. In response, the United States developed a plan for a preventive nuclear strike, which was to be delivered by thousands of long-range American bombers. The Soviet Union, although it already possessed nuclear weapons, still did not have such a large number of heavy aircraft to strike back. The solution was found, the Soviet army began to build up the "steel fist" - a huge number of tanks capable of fighting in radiation-contaminated areas, it was they who were supposed to walk across Europe with a steel skating rink in the event of a nuclear strike.
It takes decades to develop a strategic bomber, and a tank is created within two to three years. ATSince the post-war period, the country has accumulated a lot of experience in the mass production of tanks, the Soviet industry could stamp hundreds of them. An adequate response to the American bombing shower was to be a tank armada. The Soviet army began to be equipped with new T-55 tanks, they were able to fight even in contaminated areas. The ventilation system installed on the tank created excess pressure inside the vehicle, which tightly blocked the penetration of radioactive dust.
The next stage in the development of the tank forces of the USSR was the creation of the main tank T-64. This car was built from scratch. It used the latest developments of the time, including a laser rangefinder and an automatic loader. The frontal armor of the tank could not penetrate the guns of American and British vehicles of the same type. All subsequent tanks created in the USSR are, in essence, a deep modernization of the T-64.
There was a huge difference in the concept of the development of tanks in the USSR and the USA. If the Americans and European countries focused on increasing the thickness of the armor and improving the working conditions for the crew, then the Soviet army received the simplest vehicles, the production of which can be easily put on stream. For example, the pinnacle of American tank building M1A2 Abrams is so difficult to repair and maintain that the slightest breakdown leads to sending the tank to the rear, and on a Russian tank it is possible to repair almost any level of complexity in the field.
The USSR Ministry of Defense adopted various strategies, new types of troops and equipment appeared, aircraft and missiles were improved. However, the tank, as it was, remained a symbol of what the Soviet army was. The photo of the first main Soviet tank T-64 perfectly shows the power of the armed forces of the Soviet Union, and now Russia.
