Now we know why Russia wanted T-54s

[sarisataka]

Russian "Kamikaze" Tank Carrying 6 Tons of TNT Blows Up in Epic Fireball

The moment a tank packed with explosives and sent by Russian forces to Ukraine's front lines blowing up before it reached its target has been captured on video.

The clip possibly indicates a new Russian tactic in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, whereby old tanks are loaded with explosives and sent towards Ukrainian battlefield positions before being detonated remotely.

The footage was initially shared on the Telegram account of Russian military blogger Romanov, who said the vehicle had been carrying six tons of explosives

Open-source experts said that it was a converted T-54/55 tank that was produced after the Second World War. The incident has been geolocated to Marinka in the Donetsk oblast, which has seen heavy fighting since the start of Kyiv's counteroffensive this month.

https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-russia-tank-kamikaze-tnt-blows-1807858

[captain queeg]

1. Wow, the ruskies keep devolving. Remember the "Goliath"tanks the Nazis came up with during WWII?

Small tracked vehicles, much like a mini-tank they loaded with explosives to send against the allies. They had less than a ton of explosives and were fairly primitive, generally controlled via a wire, so the pilot was pretty close. They proved pretty ineffective once everyone knew what they were they just blasted them before they could get near.

[Otto_Harper]

2. I expect the same fate for these IEDs

The reports I have seen indicate that it was taken out with a common RPG. Nothing sophisticated or expensive. The armor of this 70 year old antiquity is unable to deal with even low-cost modern and common weapons. Perhaps the appearance gives the Ruzzians some comfort, but, they may as well be using truck bombs now that the Ukrainians know what to look out for.

[captain queeg]

3. Yep. That's what I was thinking. Cheap RPGs, no use wasting the expensive stuff.

[brewens]

4. Exactly. Most of them won't get anywhere near their targets and now the Ukrainians know

what they are up to. It's gonna be pretty easy to spot them and take them out in the rear areas, so have fun loading and gassing those baby's up!

[Emrys]

5. Well, that's 6 tons of explosives the Russians can't use to harm anyone any more.

The explosion in the video I saw when it was blown up at a distance was quite impressive, and I hope the Ukrainian troops it was aimed at didn't suffer serious injury.

It just means they'll need to take them out at longer distance. If there's an element of radio control of the detonation, I wonder if the Ukrainians can hack that?

[Aristus]

6. Russia ruins everything, man.

Can't leave those damned T-54/55's alone.

They really should all just be in museums. A lot of tank enthusiasts like me have a great deal of affection for the tough old T55 series. Just leave them in peace.