T-72M Übergangsversion

East-German army designator for 23 late-production T-72Ms from Poland, fitted with the additional hull armour. Delivered in 1986.

The Übergangsversion was created when Poland, a major producer of T-72M tanks for Warsaw Pact countries, had a surplus of T-72M turrets but access to newer T-72M1 hulls. To fulfill a contract with East Germany, they combined these components, resulting in a unique sub-variant.

It is a slightly improved version of the T-72M, bridging the gap between the standard T-72M and the more advanced T-72M1.

Übergangsversion translates to "transitional version".This version is sometimes also called the T-72M Übergangsvariante or T-72M Übergangsserie.

The East German army designated these tanks as T-72M "Übergangsversion" to differentiate them from standard T-72M and T-72M1 models.

Key differences:

• additional 16mm high-hardness steel plate welded onto the upper glacis plate of the hull (like the T-72M1)
• standard T-72M turret without the composite armor inserts of the T-72M1
• hull had only four KMT (mine-clearing equipment) mounting points on the lower glacis, same as T-72N1