T-55

Encyclopedia : T : T5 : T55 : T-55

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T-54/55
General characteristics
Crew	4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Length	6.45 m
Width	3.27 m
Height	2.40 m
Weight	36.6 tonnes
Armour and armament
Armour	100 mm (max.)
Main armament	100 mm D10T-series rifled gun
Secondary armament	7.62 mm SGMT coaxial machine gun, DShK 12.7 mm antiaircraft machine gun, 7.62 mm hull machine gun (T-54)
Mobility
Power plant	Model V-54 or V-55 12-cyl. 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel 520 hp (390 kW)
Suspension	torsion bar
Road speed	48/50 km/h
Power/weight	14 hp/tonne
Range	400/500 km, with drop tanks 600 km

The T-54 and T-55 tank series was the Soviet Union's front-line main battle tank from 1947 until 1962, and remains in service throughout the world to this day, especially by former client states of the Soviet Union. This is the most-produced tank series in history.

The T-54 and T-55 tanks are very similar and difficult to distinguish visually. Many T-54s were updated to T-55 standards. Soviet tanks were factory-overhauled every 7,000 km, and often given minor technology updates. Many states have added or modified tank equipment (India affixed fake fume extractors to its T-54s and T-55s, so that Indian gunners wouldn't confuse them with Pakistani Type 59s).

The T-54 can be distinguished by a dome-shaped ventilator on the turret front-right, and has a SGMT 7.62 mm machine gun mounted to fire through a tiny hole in the centre of the hull front, operated by the driver. Early T-54s lacked a gun fume extractor, had an undercut at the turret rear, and a distinctive "pig-snout" gun mantlet. The T-55's new turret has large D-shaped roof panels, visible from above.

Production history

The Soviet T-34 medium tank of 1940 was the tank with the best balance of firepower, protection, and mobility when it was first built. With evolutionary development, it continued to perform well throughout the Second World War, but the wartime requirement of producing tanks at an incredible rate had prevented its designers from incorporating the latest technologies. Finally, in 1943, the Morozov Design Bureau resurrected the pre-war T-34M development project and created the T-44 medium tank. Thanks to a space-efficient torsion-bar suspension, a novel transverse engine mount, and the removal of the hull machine-gunner's crew position, the T-44 performed at least as well as the T-34, with substantially better armour. But its turret, inspired by the T-34-85's, was still incapable of mounting more powerful armament than its predecessor's 85 mm tank gun. Only about 1,000 were ever built, while Morozov proceeded with further development.

A series of experiments on the T-44 hull led to the T-54 tank, mounting a 100 mm main gun. At the time it was better armed and armoured than its Western counterparts, the British Centurion and the American M26 Pershing. The T-54 replaced the T-44 in production from 1947 at Uralvagonzavod (UVZ) in Nizhny Tagil, and from 1948 at Kharkov Diesel Factory No. 75 (KhPZ).

Morozov was interested in proceeding with a new generation of main battle tanks, and after moving back from the Urals to Ukraine (the design bureau and factory had been evacuated from Kharkov (Kharkiv, Ukraine) to Nizhny Tagil during the German advance in 1942) began development which would lead to the T-64. The Kartsev design bureau at UVZ took over responsibility for the T-54, starting with the T-54A, which added gun stabilization and night-driving equipment.

In 1958, The T-54 was redesigned for the nuclear battlefield as the T-55, with a thicker turret casting, more powerful engine, and very basic NBC protection. The roof-top antiaircraft machine gun was dropped, because it was deemed worthless against high-performance jets (it would be reintroduced in the 1970s to deal with helicopters). The T-55 also had improved two-plane gun stabilization and added night-fighting equipment, and the T-54B also included these features. T-54 and T-55 tanks continued to be upgraded, refitted, and modernized into the 1990s.

Tens of thousands of T-55 tanks were manufactured in the Soviet Union between 1958 and 1979 in the Soviet Union. The tank was also produced in Poland, Czechoslovakia, and in China (as the Type 59), and Romania. In China, it was further developed as the Type 69, which is still manufactured for export today. The Type 79 is a version equipped with a 105 mm main gun.

A wide array of upgrades in different price ranges are provided by many manufacturers in different countries, intended to bring the T-54/55 up to the capabilities of newer tanks such as T-72s, at a lower cost. Upgrades include new engines, explosive reactive armour, new main armament such as 120 mm or 125 mm guns, active protection systems, and fire control systems with range-finders or thermal sights. These improvements make it a potent main battle tank (MBT) for the low-end budget, even to this day.

The T-54/55 is considered to be the single most common tank type in the world today.

Service history

The T-54/55 and the T-62 were the two most common tanks in Soviet inventory—in the mid-1970s the two types together comprised approximately 85% of the Soviet Army's tanks. The T-62 and T-55 are now mostly in reserve status; Russian active-duty units mainly use the T-64 and T-72, with a smaller number of T-80 and T-90 tanks in service (the T-90 in a few units only).

Israel captured over a thousand T-55s from Syria and Egypt in the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and kept many of them in service. They were upgraded with a 105 mm NATO-standard L7 or M68 main gun replacing the old Soviet 100 mm D10, and a General Motors diesel replacing the original Soviet diesel engine. The Israelis designated these Tiran-5 medium tanks, and they were used by reserve units until the early 1990s. Most of them were then sold to assorted Third World countries, some of them in Latin America, and the rest were heavily modified, converted into heavy armoured personnel carriers designated the IDF Achzarit.

China sold thousands of the Type 69 tanks to both Iran and Iraq during their war in the 1980s.

According to battle reports from the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Type 69-QMs were used by the Iraqi Army units defending Nasiriyah in March 2003, most of them being employed as artillery pillboxes. They were key players in the ambushes which decimated the U.S. 507th Army Maintenance Company and Marine's Charlie Company, Task Force Tarawa, before AH-1 Cobra helicopters wiped out the Iraqi tanks. Two Type-69 tanks destroyed at least four vehicles of the 507th, one of them rammed by one of the the tanks.[PDF] There is also a first hand account of about four Type-69s hidden behind some buildings, pounding the Marines' Charlie Company with indirect fire and disabling several AAVs (Amphibious Assault Vehicle).[link]

Although it is far from a state-of-the-art tank, it remains in service with nations which don't expect to participate in intensive armoured warfare, and as second-line equipment.

The T-54/55 has been employed by Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Central African Republic, China (Type 59), Congo (Type 59), Croatia, Cuba, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Finland, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Iran (Captured from Iraq), Iraq, Israel, North Korea (Type 59), Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan (Type 59), Peru, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Syria, Uruguay,Yemen, South Yemen, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Models

• T-54-1 or T-54 Model 1946 – Produced 1947–48. With streamlined turret and wide gun mantlet, similar to T-44, new V-54 engine, unstabilized D-10T 100 mm main gun, and two SG-43 machine guns in bins on the fenders. Possibly 1,200 manufactured, and demobilized in the mid-1960s.
• T-54-2 or T-54 Model 1949 – Produced 1949–52. With dome-shaped turret inspired by the IS-3 heavy tank's, similar to later T-54's but with a distinctive overhang at the rear, and hull machine gun replacing the fender bins.
• T-54 (originally known as T-54-3, or T-54 Model 1951) – Produced 1952–54. Adopted the familiar, fully egg-shaped turret and new TSh-2-22 telescopic gunner's sight.
• T-54A - Produced 1955–57, in Poland 1956–64, in Czechoslovakia 1958–66, and in China as the Type 59. Added STP-1 Gorizont vertical-plane gun stabilizer. Originally had a small muzzle counter-weight, which was later replaced with a fume extractor. Also introducted OPVT wading snorkel, TSh-2A-22 telescopic sight, TVN-1 infrared driver's periscope and IR headlight, new R-113 radio, multi-stage engine air filter and radiator controls.
• T-54B - Produced from 1959. With STP-2 Tsyklon 2-plane stabilization, Luna L-2 infrared searchlight and TPN-1-22-11 IR gunner's sight, OU-3 IR commander's searchlight.
• Obiekt 139, or T-54M - Testbed for new D-54T and D-54TS 100 mm smoothbore guns, Raduga and Molniya stabilization systems, which would later be used in the T-62. These were not completely successful, so further T-55 development continued to use the D-10 series guns.
• T-54 command tanks: T-54AK, T-54BK, T-54MK were command tanks corresponding to the main production models, with extra communications equipment. K-1 version had a second R-113 radio for company commanders, K-2 version had HTM-10 telescoping antenna mast, for battalion and regimental commanders, and regimental chiefs-of-staff.
• T-55 - Produced 1958–1962, in Poland 1958–64, in Czechoslovakia from 1958. New turret with floor, PAZ nuclear-blast protection and over-pressure NBC system, gamma ray detector, improved V-55 engine and power-assisted clutch, greater fuel and ammunition load, TDA exhaust smoke generator, deleted AA machine gun from loader's hatch. Early units had flush loader's hatch. "Starfish" road wheels replaced earlier "spider" style.
• T-55A - Produced 1963–1977, in Poland 1964–79. Anti-radiation protection (leading to visibly protruding turret hatches) and NBC filtration, dispensed with bow machine gun.
• T-55 command tanks: T-55K, T-55AK, T-55MK, etc. T-55K1, T-55K2 carried two R-123 or R-123M and an R-124 radio. T-55K3 carried R-130M, R-123M, R-124 radios and 10-metre antenna mast.
• T-62 – Produced from 1962. A major redesign, with longer hull, larger-diameter turret, and 115 mm smoothbore gun.

Modernization

• T-54M (mid-1960s) – Upgrade program to bring T-54s up to T-55 standard.
• T-54M (1977) – Additional upgrades, including OPVT snorkel and KTD-1 laser rangefinder.
• T-54AM (mid-1960s) – Further upgrades, including increased ammunition, new radios, new V-55 engine. Some received new RMSh track and drive sprocket developed for T-72 tank in late 1970s and early 1980s. Similar programs were carried out in other coutries (T-54Z, T-54AZ, T-54AMZ for Zusatzausrustung, 'additional equipment' in East Germany, T-54AR Rieka, 'river', with fording snorkel in Czechoslovakia).

T-55 tanks received 12.7 mm DShKM loader's anti-aircraft machine guns starting in (Model 1970, or sometimes T-55AM), and older tanks were retrofitted starting in 1972. Laser rangefinders were added to older tanks starting 1974.

• T-55M/T-55AM - Modernization of T-55 and T-55A with and new Volna fire control system, improved gun stabilization, V-55U engine, improved suspension and RMSh track, increased armour, anti-mine, anti-napalm and improved anti-radiation protection, and optional Bastion ATGM launcher. Visual differences include laser range-finder, side skirts, smoke grenade launchers, turret brow armour and glacis appliqué, and rear RPG screens (only used rarely in Afghanistan).
• T-55M-1/T-55AM-1 – The "-1" suffix was applied to later modified tanks which were fitted with the T-72's V-46 engine.
• T-55AD/T-55AMD/T-55AD1/T-55AMD1 - "D" refers to tanks with Drozd ('thrush') APS. Soviet Naval Infantry saved money by installing Drozd on a small number of tanks instead of opting for appliqué armour, or acquiring newer T-72s. About 250 were kept in stores for secrecy, but later switched to simpler reactive armour.
• T-55MV/T-55AMV/T-55MV-1/T-55AMV-1 - "V" for vzryvnoi ('explosive') designated tanks which carried explosive reactive armour (ERA) instead of brow armour. This was adopted by Soviet Naval Infantry first, and by the Russian Army after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
• T-55AM2 - T-55AM with "brow armour" but no new ATGM and fire control.
• T-55AM2PB - mostly made in USSR for East Germany, reactive armour and ATGM, most sold back to Russia in 1992, other T-55 tanks in Russian army upgraded to T-55AM2PB standards during the period 1992 to 2000.

Variants

• T-55 flame-thrower tank.
• MT-55A - Bridge-layer tank (tankoviy mostoukladchik).
• T-54-T Armoured recovery vehicle.
• VT-55A - Armoured recovery vehicle
• ZSU-57-2 - Self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG); significant changes from T-54 such as much thinner armour and one less road wheel, with a new turret

International derivatives

Israel

• IDF Achzarit - T-55 tank converted into IFV
• Tiran-5 - upgraded Israeli version built on tanks captured in 1967 and 1973, no longer in service in Israel but many were sold off.

China

• Type 59 - copy of T-55
• Type 69 - redesigned Type 59
• Type 79 - Type 69 with 105 mm gun

Iraq

• T-55 Enigma - T-55, Type-59, and Type-69 tanks used by Iraqi Brigade commanders had appliqué armour on turrets and hulls composed of several layers of spaced armour plates enclosed in steel boxes. Intended to, and in many cases successful at, defeating shaped charge warheads (one example is reported to have survived several hits from Milan missiles before being dispatched by a helicopter).
• T-55QM - had NATO-standard 105 mm L7 or M68 gun installed replacing the old 100 mm gun, along with a French laser range-finder, upgrades done in mid to late 1980s.
• T-55QM2 - T-55 upgraded by Soviet technicians with a Soviet 125 mm/L80 smoothbore gun and French laser range-finder, 1986-1991.
• Type 69-QM - Type 69 upgraded with NATO standard 105 mm gun and laser range-finder, 1984-1988.
• Type 69-QM2 - Type 69 upgraded with Warsaw Pact standard 125 mm/L80 smoothbore gun and laser rangefinder, 1986-1991.

Romania

• TR-580, TR-77, or M-77 - (1977-1991) unlicensed redesign with lengthened hull and smaller wheels
• TR-85 - heavily modified T-55 copy with new (but similar) turret, new suspension, and German engine, still in production

Serbia

• T-55H - highly modernized version with new fire control system and explosive reactive armor
• VIU-55 Munja - T-55 converted into IFV, similar to Israeli Achzarit

Slovenia

• M-55S1 - highly modified version with new FCS and armor

Combat history

• Hungarian Revolution, 1956
• Vietnam War, 1957–75
• Six-Day War, 1967
• Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968
• Indo-Pakistani War, 1971
• Yom Kippur War, 1973
• Rhodesian Bush War, 1970's
• Angolan Civil War, 1974–2002
• Soviet war in Afghanistan, 1979–89
• Iran-Iraq War 1980–88
• Persian Gulf War 1990–91
• Yugoslav wars 1991–1999
• First Chechen War, 1994–96
• First Congo War, 1996–97
• Second Congo War, 1998–2002
• Second Chechen War, 1999–2002
• United States war in Afghanistan, 2001
• Iraq War 2003

References

• Zaloga, Steven J. and Hugh Johnson (2004) T-54 and T-55 Main Battle Tanks 1944–2004. Oxford: Osprey. ISBN 1-84176-792-1.

See also

• List of tanks
• List of Soviet tanks
• T-64, T-80, T-84
• T-72, T-90, T-95
• Kharkiv Morozov Machine Building Design Bureau

 

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