Direct proof of use
Iraqi T-62 use in the 1990 Gulf War is directly documented in U.S. Army campaign history and captured-vehicle records. The U.S. Army Center of Military History describes the 1st Marine Division's February 24, 1991 advance through Iraqi defensive lines and states that Marine M60A3 tanks, TOW-equipped HMMWVs, and artillery proved sufficient against Iraqi T-55 and T-62 tanks.
Museum and archival records independently support Iraqi T-62 presence in the conflict. The Tank Museum identifies its T-62 as a vehicle captured from Iraqi forces in the 1991 Gulf War and later sent to Britain for evaluation. A U.S. National Archives image record likewise describes a foreign-built T-62A main battle tank captured from Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm and displayed at the Marine Corps Air/Ground Museum.
Sources: U.S. Army War in the Persian Gulf, The Tank Museum T-62, NARA Desert Storm T-62A Image
Timeline
The Gulf War began on August 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, and Operation Desert Storm opened on January 17, 1991 after the Desert Shield buildup. The T-62-specific ground-combat reference appears during the coalition ground offensive, which began on February 24, 1991.
On that first day of the ground war, U.S. Army campaign history places Iraqi T-55 and T-62 tanks in the Marine sector as the 1st Marine Division breached berms, mine belts, and wire in southern Kuwait. Captured-vehicle records from The Tank Museum and the National Archives document Iraqi T-62 or T-62A vehicles taken from Iraqi forces during the war.
Sources: State Department Gulf War, U.S. Army War in the Persian Gulf, The Tank Museum T-62, NARA Desert Storm T-62A Image
Operational role
The sourced record places the T-62 on the Iraqi side as a legacy Soviet main battle tank used in defensive ground fighting during the coalition liberation of Kuwait. The U.S. Army account does not identify a specific Iraqi unit for the T-62 tanks in the Marine sector, but it does tie the type to Iraqi armored opposition encountered by the 1st Marine Division on February 24.
The documented role was armored defense and anti-armor opposition rather than a new wartime transfer. The Tank Museum's broader T-62 page identifies Iraq as a country of use and states that the type was used by Iraqi forces in the First and Second Gulf Wars; its captured Iraqi example and the National Archives T-62A record show how the conflict left captured Iraqi T-62-family vehicles in coalition hands after Operation Desert Storm.
Sources: U.S. Army War in the Persian Gulf, The Tank Museum T-62, NARA Desert Storm T-62A Image
