January 27, 1974 – KDT-1 Rangefinder:

– The KDT-1 laser rangefinder was adopted by the Soviet Army by Order No. 018 of the USSR Minister of Defense on January 27, 1974.

• The KDT-1 was installed on the T-55A by the Omsk Transport Machine-Building Design Bureau and on the T-62 by the Ural Transport Machine-Building Design Bureau, following decisions of the USSR Council of Ministers’ military-industrial commission in 1967 and 1968.

• Serial production of the T-55A with a laser rangefinder ran from 1974 to 1979.

• Installation of the KDT-1 on T-62 tanks began at Ministry of Defense repair plants in 1974.

• Initially, rangefinders were fitted to platoon commanders’ tanks, later also to line tanks.

• Firing trials showed distance measurement accuracy within 10 m at 100–4,000 m. Ammunition consumption to first hit decreased 4.5× from a halt and 2.3× on the move for HE-FRAG and HEAT rounds. For APFSDS, consumption was similar from a halt and 1.4× lower on the move.

@WheelsOfDefenseGlobal