Tanks of Volgograd

Russian Tank Championships

Russian Armed Forces, Tank Biathlon championship, Prudboy training ground, Volgograd region, Southern MD, 3 April 2019 [1180]

Russian Tank Biathlon championship, Prudboy training ground, Volgograd region, Southern MD, 3 April 2019

Russian main battle tanks in the Tank Biathlon championship held at Prudboy training ground, Volgograd region, Southern Military District, in April 2019. According to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, the Prudboy range hosted three Southern MD pre-qualifiers for Tank Biathlon 2019, Suvorov Attack 2019 and Sniper Frontier 2019 to select the teams for the all-army contests in May 2019. A total of seven T-72B3 tank crews, nine BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicle crews  and more than 70 snipers of Southern MD formations and military units took part in the contest. More than 200 servicemen from the 8th, 49th, 58th combined arms armies, the Black Sea Fleet, the Caspian Flotilla, the 102nd Military Base, Special Purpose formations of the Southern MD and more than 40 pieces of military hardware were involved in the competitions.

The Commander of the Southern Military District, Colonel General Alexander Dvornikov, was at the Prudboy training ground, Volgograd region, to assess the performance of the tank crews within the district stage of the International Army Games 2019. Crews demonstrated their skills in operating the T-72B3 tank, competed in an individual race with combat shooting and overcoming obstacles.

Military Units Featured

8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army

The 8th Guards Order of Lenin Combined Arms Army is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered in Novocherkassk, Rostov Oblast, within Russia′s Southern Military District. It was reinstated in 2017 as a successor to the 8th Guards Army of the Soviet Union’s Red Army (later Soviet Army), which was formed during World War II and was disbanded in 1998 after being downsized into a corps. The Army includes Guards tank regiments.

49th Combined Arms Army

The 49th Combined Arms Army (Russian: 49-я общевойсковая армия) is a combined arms (field) army of the Russian Ground Forces, formed in 2010 and headquartered in Stavropol. Part of the Southern Military District, the army traces its heritage back to the Soviet Red Army’s 49th Army, formed in 1941 after the German invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II. The 49th Army served through the entire war and was disbanded postwar in the summer of 1945.

58th Combined Arms Army

The 58th Combined Arms Army (Russian: 58-я общевойсковая армия) is an army of the Russian Ground Forces, headquartered at Vladikavkaz, North Ossetia-Alania, within Russia’s Southern Military District. It was formed in 1941 as part of the Soviet Union’s Red Army and has been part of the Russian Army since 1995.

Military Equipment Featured

T-72B3 Main Battle Tank

The T-72 is a family of Soviet main battle tanks that first entered production in 1971.[7] About 20,000 T-72 tanks were built,[8] making it one of the most widely produced post-World War II tanks, second only to the T-54/55 family. The T-72A version introduced in 1979 is considered a second-generation main battle tank. It was widely exported and saw service in 40 countries and in numerous conflicts. The T-72B3 version introduced in 2010 is considered a third-generation main battle tank. The 44.5 tonne tank is armed with a 125mm 246M-5 smooth bore gun.

Photographer

Unknown. Copyright Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation. Used under licence.