📌 T55 Main Battle Tank, IWM Duxford.
The Soviet T-54 and T-55 Tanks are a series of Main Battle Tanks introduced in the years following World War Two. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945, from the late 1950's, the T-54 eventually became the Main Tank for Armoured Units of the Soviet Army, Armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and many others. T-54's and T-55's have been involved in many of the world's Armed Conflicts since their introduction in last half of the 20th century.
The T-54 / T-55 series is the most-produced Tank in history, estimated production numbers for the series range from 96,500 to 100,000. They were replaced by the T-62, T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 Tanks in the Soviet and Russian Armies, but remain in use by up to 50 other Armies worldwide, some having received sophisticated retrofitting.
During the Cold War, Soviet Tanks never directly faced their NATO adversaries in combat in Europe, however, the T-54 / T-55's first appearance in the West around the period of the 1950's (then the beginning of the Cold War) spurred the United Kingdom to develop a new Tank Gun, the Royal Ordnance L7, and the United States to develop the M60 Patton.
Trials with Nuclear Weapons showed that a T-54 could survive a 2 to 15 kt Nuclear Charge at a range of more than 980ft from the epicentre, but the Crew had a chance of surviving at a minimum of 2,300ft. It was decided to create an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) Protection System which would start working 0.3 seconds after detecting gamma radiation.
The task of creating a basic PAZ (Protivoatomnaya Zashchita) NBC Protection System offering protection against the blast of a Nuclear Weapon and (radioactive) particulate filtration, but not against external gamma radiation or gas, was given to the KB-60 design bureau in Kharkiv and was completed in 1956. The documentation was sent to Uralvagonzavod. It was decided to increase the Tank's battle capabilities by changing the it's construction and introducing new production technologies. Many of those changes were initially tested on the T-54M (Ob'yekt 139)
The Tank was fitted with the new V-55 12-cylinder four-stroke one-chamber, 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581hp, greater engine power was accomplished by increasing the pressure of the fuel delivery and charging degree. The designers planned to introduce a heating system for the engine compartment and MC-1 diesel fuel filter. The engine was to be started pneumatically with the use of an AK-150S charger and an electric starter. This eliminated the need for the Tank to carry a tank filled with air. To allow easier access during maintenance and repairs, it was decided to change hatches over the engine compartment. To increase the operational range, 66 Imperial gallon fuel tanks were added to the front of the hull, increasing the overall fuel capacity to 150 Imperial gallons.
▪︎Type: T-54 – Medium Tank / T-55 – Main Battle Tank
▪︎Place of Origin: Soviet Union
▪︎In Service: 1947 to present
▪︎Designer: KMDB (T-54) / OKB-520 (T-54A and later)
▪︎Designed: 1945 to 1958
▪︎Manufacturer: KhPZ, UVZ (Soviet Union) / Bumar-Łabędy (Poland) / ZTS Martin (Czechoslovakia)
▪︎Unit Cost: US$200,000 (export price to Egypt, 1956 to 1972)
▪︎Produced: 1946 to 1981 (Soviet Union) / 1956 to 1979 (Poland) / 1957 to 1983 (Czechoslovakia)
▪︎Number Built: 96,500 to 100,000+ est, inculding: 35,000 T-54 and 27,500 T-55 (by Soviet) / 13,000 Type-59/69/79 (by China) / 11,000 T-54/55 (by Czechslovakia) / 10,000 T-54/55 (by Poland)
▪︎Mass: 36 tonnes (T-55)
▪︎Length: 29ft 6in (with Gun forward) / Width: 11ft 0.5in / Height: 7ft 10in
▪︎Crew: 4
▪︎Armour: 205mm Turret front / 130mm Turret sides / 60mm Turret rear / 30mm Turret roof / 120mm Hull front at 60° (100mm after 1949) / 79mm Hull upper sides / 20mm Hull lower sides / 60mm at 0° Hull rear / 20mm Hull bottom / 33 to 16mm Hull roof
▪︎Main Armament: D-10T 100mm Rifled Gun (43 rounds)
▪︎Secondary Armament: 7.62mm SGMT Coaxial Machine Gun (12.7mm DShK Heavy Machine Gun)
▪︎Powerplant: Model V-55 (V-54) V-12 water-cooled. 38.88 litre diesel 500hp up to 800hp (later versions)
▪︎Power / Weight: 14.6hp / tonne
▪︎Transmission: Mechanical (synchromesh) 5 forward, 1 reverse gears
▪︎Suspension: Torsion bar
▪︎Ground Clearance: 1ft 4.7in
▪︎Fuel Capacity: 127.5 gallons internal / 70.3 gallons external (less on early T54) 87.9 gallons jettisonable rear drums
▪︎Maximum Speed: 31.6mph.
📌 T55 Main Battle Tank, IWM Duxford.
The Soviet T-54 and T-55 Tanks are a series of Main Battle Tanks introduced in the years following World War Two. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945, from the late 1950's, the T-54 eventually became the Main Tank for Armoured Units of the Soviet Army, Armies of the Warsaw Pact countries, and many others. T-54's and T-55's have been involved in many of the world's Armed Conflicts since their introduction in last half of the 20th century.
The T-54 / T-55 series is the most-produced Tank in history, estimated production numbers for the series range from 96,500 to 100,000. They were replaced by the T-62, T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 Tanks in the Soviet and Russian Armies, but remain in use by up to 50 other Armies worldwide, some having received sophisticated retrofitting.
During the Cold War, Soviet Tanks never directly faced their NATO adversaries in combat in Europe, however, the T-54 / T-55's first appearance in the West around the period of the 1950's (then the beginning of the Cold War) spurred the United Kingdom to develop a new Tank Gun, the Royal Ordnance L7, and the United States to develop the M60 Patton.
Trials with Nuclear Weapons showed that a T-54 could survive a 2 to 15 kt Nuclear Charge at a range of more than 980ft from the epicentre, but the Crew had a chance of surviving at a minimum of 2,300ft. It was decided to create an NBC (Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical) Protection System which would start working 0.3 seconds after detecting gamma radiation.
The task of creating a basic PAZ (Protivoatomnaya Zashchita) NBC Protection System offering protection against the blast of a Nuclear Weapon and (radioactive) particulate filtration, but not against external gamma radiation or gas, was given to the KB-60 design bureau in Kharkiv and was completed in 1956. The documentation was sent to Uralvagonzavod. It was decided to increase the Tank's battle capabilities by changing the it's construction and introducing new production technologies. Many of those changes were initially tested on the T-54M (Ob'yekt 139)
The Tank was fitted with the new V-55 12-cylinder four-stroke one-chamber, 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581hp, greater engine power was accomplished by increasing the pressure of the fuel delivery and charging degree. The designers planned to introduce a heating system for the engine compartment and MC-1 diesel fuel filter. The engine was to be started pneumatically with the use of an AK-150S charger and an electric starter. This eliminated the need for the Tank to carry a tank filled with air. To allow easier access during maintenance and repairs, it was decided to change hatches over the engine compartment. To increase the operational range, 66 Imperial gallon fuel tanks were added to the front of the hull, increasing the overall fuel capacity to 150 Imperial gallons.
▪︎Type: T-54 – Medium Tank / T-55 – Main Battle Tank
▪︎Place of Origin: Soviet Union
▪︎In Service: 1947 to present
▪︎Designer: KMDB (T-54) / OKB-520 (T-54A and later)
▪︎Designed: 1945 to 1958
▪︎Manufacturer: KhPZ, UVZ (Soviet Union) / Bumar-Łabędy (Poland) / ZTS Martin (Czechoslovakia)
▪︎Unit Cost: US$200,000 (export price to Egypt, 1956 to 1972)
▪︎Produced: 1946 to 1981 (Soviet Union) / 1956 to 1979 (Poland) / 1957 to 1983 (Czechoslovakia)
▪︎Number Built: 96,500 to 100,000+ est, inculding: 35,000 T-54 and 27,500 T-55 (by Soviet) / 13,000 Type-59/69/79 (by China) / 11,000 T-54/55 (by Czechslovakia) / 10,000 T-54/55 (by Poland)
▪︎Mass: 36 tonnes (T-55)
▪︎Length: 29ft 6in (with Gun forward) / Width: 11ft 0.5in / Height: 7ft 10in
▪︎Crew: 4
▪︎Armour: 205mm Turret front / 130mm Turret sides / 60mm Turret rear / 30mm Turret roof / 120mm Hull front at 60° (100mm after 1949) / 79mm Hull upper sides / 20mm Hull lower sides / 60mm at 0° Hull rear / 20mm Hull bottom / 33 to 16mm Hull roof
▪︎Main Armament: D-10T 100mm Rifled Gun (43 rounds)
▪︎Secondary Armament: 7.62mm SGMT Coaxial Machine Gun (12.7mm DShK Heavy Machine Gun)
▪︎Powerplant: Model V-55 (V-54) V-12 water-cooled. 38.88 litre diesel 500hp up to 800hp (later versions)
▪︎Power / Weight: 14.6hp / tonne
▪︎Transmission: Mechanical (synchromesh) 5 forward, 1 reverse gears
▪︎Suspension: Torsion bar
▪︎Ground Clearance: 1ft 4.7in
▪︎Fuel Capacity: 127.5 gallons internal / 70.3 gallons external (less on early T54) 87.9 gallons jettisonable rear drums
▪︎Maximum Speed: 31.6mph.