The T-62 medium tank has a fully tracked, five road-wheeled chassis. The chassis has close spaces between the three front road wheels and large gaps separating the third, fourth and fifth road wheels. The drive sprocket is at the rear and the idler is at the front; there are no track return rollers. The rounded turret, mounted over the third road wheel, is more smoothly cast and more nearly egg-shaped than that of the T-54/55 series. The commander’s cupola on the left is cast with the turret. The loader’s hatch on the right is also farther forward. The 115-mm smoothbore main gun has a longer and thinner tube than the 100-mm main gun of the T-54/55. Its bore evacuator is about two-thirds of the way up the gun tube from the turret. There is also a 7.62-mm coaxial machine-gun. The T-62M also mounts a 12.7-mm antiaircraft DShK machine-gun at the loader’s hatch position. A gunner’s IR searchlight is mounted on the right, above the main gun. A smaller IR searchlight is mounted over on the commander’s cupola. The driver’s hatch is in front of the turret on the left side of the flat, low-silhouetted hull. Like the T-55, the T-62 has a 580-hp, V-12, water-cooled diesel engine. This engine gives the T-62 a cruising range of 280 kilometers cross-country; 450 kilometers on paved roads, with integral fuel cells; and 400 kilometers cross-country, or 650 kilometers on paved roads, with two 200-liter auxiliary fuel tanks. The tank also shares the snorkeling and smoke screen-generating capabilities of the T-54/55 series. It has the same PAZ radiation detection system as the T-55. Some T-62’s may have been retrofitted with full NBC collective protection systems (air filtration and overpressure). Most models have the same IR night sight and driving equipment and the same fire control equipment as the T-54/55. Some T-62s, however, have received a passive night sight. This replaces the gunner’s active IR sight. A laser rangefinder may now replace the stadiametric reticle rangefinder. The most significant improvement over the T-54/55 tanks, however, is the 115-mm smoothbore main gun. It fires hypervelocity, armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding sabot (HVAPFSDS) round with a muzzle velocity of 1,615 meters per second. The penetrator flies in a very flat trajectory, and is extremely accurate out to 1600 meters. The normal 40-round basic load typically includes 12 HVAPFSDS, 6 HEAT, and 22 HE-Frag rounds. The T-62 also has an automatic shell ejector system. The recoil of the main gun activates this system, which ejects the spent shell casings through a port in the rear of the turret. The T-62 has the standard 7.62-mm PKT coaxial machine-gun with a range of 1,000 meters. The T-62M also mounts a 12.7-mm antiaircraft DShK machine-gun. The DShK has a range of 1,500 meters against ground targets and a slant range of 1,000 meters against aircraft. The T-62A also has a stabilized main gun; it enables the gunner to track and fire on the move with improved accuracy.