We've all seen countless videos of tanks being hit by various anti-tank weapons. But have you ever wondered what actually happens to the crew inside when that happens? That depends on what they're hit with and where. Some tanks give the crew higher chances of surviving than others. But sometimes the results are truly disturbing, especially for recovery teams.
How Russia Ended Up with the T-90
To understand the T-90, you need to understand the mess that came before it.
In the 1960s, the Soviet Union introduced the T-64, a main battle tank with features considered ahead of its time. A 125 millimeter smoothbore gun, an autoloader, composite armor, and an advanced fire control system. It was a shock to the world when it appeared. But it was a pain to produce and maintain due to its complexity and cost, so only a limited number were reserved for elite units.
Regular conscripts got the T-72. Same general layout and gun, but simplified for easier production and training. It was mass producible and cheap, intended for conscript units and kept ready in case another major conflict erupted where thousands of tanks would need to roll off the line fast.
Then came the T-80, an attempt to improve the T-64 concept and make it actually work. It introduced a gas turbine engine that gave it impressive speed, along with upgraded armor and tech. But the turbine burned too much fuel and was expensive to maintain, so the T-80 was also reserved for high priority units in smaller numbers.
By the mid-1980s, the Soviet army had three different tanks. Although they shared the same layout, they all needed unique parts, ammunition, and specifically trained crews. On top of that, exported T-72s met modern anti-tank weapons in other nations' hands and showed just how vulnerable they were, including that tendency to blow off their turret that everyone has seen by now.
So the Soviets wanted a single tank that combined the working elements of all three into one vehicle with standardized parts. Two paths were proposed. Object 188, a heavily upgraded T-72, and Object 187, a completely new design with radical changes. Although Object 187 was promising, it was a risky move in unstable times.
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| T-90 With its "Eyes" |
It inherited the classic T-72 design with its autoloader, three-man crew, and low profile. It was covered in Kontakt-5 explosive reactive armor and fitted with an infrared jamming system, laser warning receivers, and smoke grenade launchers to counter anti-tank guided missiles. Those were the cool-looking red eyes that made it look like a terminator.
Lessons Learned the Hard Way
Before moving forward, we have to mention what happened when Russian commanders ordered columns of T-72s and T-80s into the city of Grozny during the First Chechen War in 1994. RPG teams positioned across the ruined city on multiple floors ambushed and showered Russian tanks trapped in tight streets from all directions. Tank losses were horrific.
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| A blown off T-90 Turret |
The T-90 wasn't there for that embarrassment. But in 1999, the Second Chechen War erupted, and Russia sent some newly built T-90s to try their chances. Production had moved at a snail's pace and only about 150 tanks had entered service by 1998. After some heavy engagements, there were recorded instances of T-90s taking seven direct RPG hits and continuing to fight, which Russia naturally used for propaganda.
Western analysts claimed that Chechen fighters learned to defeat Kontakt-5 by repeatedly hitting the same spot with multiple RPG teams until the reactive armor blocks were stripped away. Tougher to destroy, yes. But far from invincible, especially when sent into cities without proper infantry support.
The T-90A later saw action in Syria in 2015, including a widely shared video of one surviving a direct TOW missile hit on its turret. But no one could have imagined what would come in Ukraine.
The Autoloader Problem
The core of the survivability issue is the autoloader. The T-90's rotating carousel sits under the turret floor and holds 22 rounds for the main gun, stored in two pieces with propellant charges and projectiles separated. Additional rounds that couldn't fit in the carousel were stored wherever there was space around the tank. In early models that meant about twenty more rounds, and only some of them sat in designated magazines with any real protection.
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| The T-90 Autoloader System |
When something hot and fast goes through the armor, those propellant charges are the biggest problem because they ignite easily. They create huge overpressure and heat that sets off a chain reaction, activating all other ammunition, most of which is high explosive. The result is a massive internal explosion that pops the twelve-ton turret high into the sky as if it were nothing. That's the jack-in-the-box effect, and it can happen in seconds or less. There is not much left of the crew to talk about after that. Perhaps at least their end was quick.
The T-90 tried to lower the chance of this by storing eight to ten additional rounds in a bustle with blowoff panels, separating some ammunition from the crew. But the main carousel with 22 ready rounds still sits right under them in the hull. Spall liners, extra armor around the carousel, and fire suppression systems were added, but at best they buy a couple of seconds for the crew to bail out. Crews sometimes tried to lower the risk by carrying only the 22 autoloader rounds and nothing extra, but that's not always possible for sustained fighting.
What Different Weapons Do to the Crew
RPGs in all shapes and forms are today's biggest concern for any tank. But other weapons create their own kind of damage.
There's a well-known video of a Russian T-90 being engaged by a Bradley fighting vehicle. On paper, the Bradley's 25 millimeter chain gun shouldn't do anything to a main battle tank's thick armor. But when it started hammering the T-90 with repeated hits, it damaged optics and controls. The turret started spinning uncontrollably, the tank crashed and got stuck, and the crew abandoned the vehicle. Even a small 25 millimeter gun can take out a T-90 if it hits the right external systems.
In tank-on-tank combat, the most common round is some sort of armor-piercing discarding sabot, a kinetic penetrator. Basically a long spear of very dense metal, usually tungsten or depleted uranium, relying on raw speed and energy. When these hit, they vaporize metal and throw a tight cone of superheated fragments into the turret in a blink. Sometimes the rod punches clean through and you get two neat holes while everything inside is destroyed. Sometimes it breaks up and creates multiple fragment cones. Sometimes it lodges and shreds everything in its path.
Depleted uranium rods are particularly nasty because they shear and maintain a cutting front, creating hot pyrophoric dust and lethal fragments. Even though these rounds carry no explosive filler, the inside of the tank looks like something detonated.
Even without full penetration, anti-tank weapons can create violent shock inside the turret that injures or kills the crew without the tank looking damaged from outside. Eardrums, eyes, and lungs are all sensitive to sudden pressure, and fragments can spall off the inner armor wall, showering the interior with razor sharp steel. Every hit makes plastics, insulation, and fluids burn into a cloud of poisonous smoke. A crew might look fine climbing out but that doesn't mean they walked away without injuries.
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| A Destroyed T-90 |
The Darkest Fate
The biggest fear of all tank crews is fire. An internal explosion is instant and final. But fire is something every tanker carries on their mind, because you'd be fully aware of what's happening to you in those last moments. Even if you survive being pulled out, the burns and scars can be worse than death.
Tankers have always feared fire because it is slow enough to let you understand every second of it. And sometimes living through those seconds is the crueler fate.
The T-90 is still out there fighting today. On paper it is still considered a good tank, maybe even the best Russia has. But it never solved the most important problem, the one that decides if the crew walks away or not. Every upgrade gave it better sights, better armor, and better engines, but the same old dangers remain inside.
Three crew members, a twelve-ton turret, and 22 rounds sitting right beneath them. The T-90 got better armor, better optics, and better engines with every upgrade. But the thing that actually kills crews was never truly fixed.
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