Service History
OT-62 TOPAS entered production and service with Czechoslovak army in 1963 and shortly after it also entered service with Ludowe Wojsko Polskie (LWP) in early 1960s. As an amphibious vehicle based on PT-76 which was already in use, the TOPAS APC along with improved TOPAS-2AP was used by the Coast Defense units including the 7th Lusatian Landing Division (officially known as 7th Coast Defense Division). It was also exported to yet another Warsaw pact member, Bulgaria and several other countries around the world including Angola, Egypt, India, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Morocco, Sudan and Syria.
Along BTR-50, the OT-62 TOPAS were used by Egypt and Syria in the Six-Day War (1967). Some vehicles were captured and commissioned by the Israel Defense Forces. Both sides used BTR-50 and OT-62 TOPAS APCs during War of Attrition (1968–1970). During the Yom Kippur War (1973) the BTR-50 and OT-62 TOPAS APCs were also employed by both sides. Some of the Israeli BTR-50 and OT-62 TOPAS were later transferred to the South Lebanon Army.
OT-62 TOPAS also saw service with Iraqi army during First Persian Gulf War and 2003 Invasion of Iraq.
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