T-54/T-55
T-54/55 | |
---|---|
Type |
|
Place of origin | Soviet Union |
Service history | |
In service | 1948–present |
Used by | See Operators |
Wars | See Combat History |
Production history | |
Designer |
|
Designed | 1945–1958 |
Manufacturer | |
Unit cost | US$200,000 (export price to Egypt, 1956–1972)[1] |
Produced |
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No. built | 96,500–100,000+ est., including:
|
Variants | synchromesh), 5 forward, 1 reverse gears |
Suspension | Torsion bar |
Ground clearance | 0.425 m (16.7 in) |
Fuel capacity | 580 L internal, 320 L external (less on early T54), 400 L jettisonable rear drums |
Operational range | 325 kilometres (202 mi), 610 kilometres (380 mi) with extra tanks (on unpaved roads) |
Maximum speed | 51 kilometres per hour (32 mph) |
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of
The T-54/55 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. Chinese version of the T-54A is Type 59.
During the Cold War, Soviet tanks never directly faced their NATO adversaries in combat in Europe. However, the T-54/55's first appearance in the West around the period of the 1950s (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 tank.[4]
Development history
Predecessors: T-34 and T-44
The Soviet
In 1943, the
By the time the T-44 was ready for production, the T-34 had also been modified to fit the same gun. Although the T-44 was superior in most other ways, by this time T-34 production was in full swing and the massive numbers of T-34s being built offset any advantage to smaller numbers of a superior design. The T-44 was produced in only small numbers, around 2,000 being completed during the war. Instead, the designers continued to use the design as the basis for further improved guns, experimenting with a 122 mm design, but later deciding a 100 mm gun was a better alternative.
Prototypes
This section needs additional citations for verification. (July 2009) |
Efforts to fit the 100 mm gun to the T-44 demonstrated that small changes to the design would greatly improve the combination. The main issue was a larger turret ring, which suggested slightly enlarging the hull. A prototype of the new design, about 40 centimetres (16 in) longer and only 10 cm wider, was completed in 1945. This model looked almost identical to the original T-44, albeit with a much larger gun.
Testing revealed several drawbacks that needed correcting and many alterations that had to be made to the vehicle's design. It was decided to begin serial production of the new vehicle and the vehicle officially entered service in April 1946. It would go into production in Nizhny Tagil in 1947 and Kharkiv in 1948.[6]
T-54
Production of the initial series of T-54s began slowly as 1,490 modifications were made. The Red Army received a tank that was superior to World War II designs and theoretically better than the newest tanks of potential opponents. The 100 mm gun fired BR-412 series full-calibre APHE ammunition, which had superior penetration ability when compared to the T-34 that it replaced.
The serial production version, designated T-54-1, differed from the second T-54 prototype. It had thicker hull armour (80 mm on the sides, 30 mm on the roof and 20 mm on the bottom).[
The fender machine guns were removed in favour of a single bow-mounted machine gun. The transmission was modernised and the track was widened to 580 mm. The T-54-2 entered production in 1949, at Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod). In 1951, a second modernization was made, designated T-54-3 (Ob'yekt 137Sh), which had a new turret without side undercuts, and the new TSh-2-22 telescopic gunner's sight instead of the TSh-20. The tank featured the TDA smoke generating system. A command version was built, the T-54K (komandirskiy), with a second R-113 radio.[7]
T-54A and T-54B
In the beginning of the 1950s, the personnel of the OKB-520 design bureau of the Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod) had been changed considerably. Morozov was replaced by Kolesnikow, who in turn was replaced by
The new tank received night vision equipment for the driver and was designated T-54A (Ob'yekt 137G). Originally, this had a small muzzle counter-weight, which was later replaced with a
The tank officially entered production in 1954 and service in 1955. It served as a basis for T-54AK command tank, with additional R-112 radio set (front line tanks were equipped with R-113 radio set), TNA-2 navigational device, ammunition load for the main gun decreased by 5 rounds and the AB-1-P/30 charging unit, which was produced in small numbers. In October 1954 a T-54A tank, designated as T-54M (Ob'yekt 139) served as a testbed for new D-54T and D-54TS 100 mm smoothbore guns and "Raduga" and "Molniya" stabilization systems, which were later used in the T-62. These were not completely successful, so further T-55 development continued to use the D-10 series guns. It was fitted with V-54-6 engine developing 581 hp (433 kW). It never went into production.[7]
A new version, based on T-54A, designated T-54B (Ob'yekt 137G2), was designed in 1955. It was fitted with a new 100 mm D-10T2S tank gun with STP-2 "Tsyklon" 2-plane stabilizer. It entered production in 1957. During the last four months of production, the new tanks were equipped with an L-2 "Luna" infrared searchlight, a TPN-1-22-11 IR gunner's sight, and an OU-3 IR commander's searchlight. Modern APFSDS ammunition was developed, dramatically enhancing the penetrative performance of the gun to keep it competitive with NATO armour developments. T-54B served as the basis for T-54BK command tank, which had exactly the same additional equipment as the T-54AK command tank.[7]
T-55
Trials with nuclear weapons showed that a T-54 could survive a 2–15 kt nuclear charge at a range of more than 300 metres (980 ft) from the epicentre, but the crew had a chance of surviving at a minimum of 700 metres (2,300 ft). It was decided to create an
The task of creating a basic PAZ (Protivoatomnaya Zashchita)
The tank was fitted with the new V-55 12-cylinder four-stroke one-chamber, 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581 hp (433 kW). Engine power was increased by raising 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, 300 litres (66 imp gal; 79 US gal) fuel tanks were added to the front of the hull, increasing the overall fuel capacity to 680 litres (150 imp gal; 180 US gal).
The ammunition load for the main gun was increased from 34 to 45, with 18 shells stored in so-called "wet containers" located in hull fuel tanks (the concept for which came from Kartsev's cancelled Ob'yekt 140). The ammunition load included high explosive-fragmentation and anti-tank rounds and designers also planned to introduce the BK5M high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) rounds which penetrated 390 millimetres (15 in) thick armour. The TPKU commander's vision device was replaced by either the TPKUB or TPKU-2B. The gunner received a TNP-165 vision device.
The loader's hatch-mounted 12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun was dropped, because it was deemed worthless against high-performance jets. The tank was supposed to be equipped with the "Rosa" fire protection system. The tank had a thicker turret casting and the improved two-plane gun stabilization system from the T-54B, and night vision fighting equipment. To balance the weight of the new equipment, the armour on the back of the hull was thinned slightly.
The T-55 was superior to the IS-2, IS-3 and T-10 heavy tanks in many respects, including the rate of fire of the gun (at least four compared to fewer than three rounds per minute). Despite somewhat thinner frontal turret armour (200 millimetres (7.9 in) instead of 250 millimetres (9.8 in)) it compared favourably with the IS-3, due to its improved antitank gun and better mobility. Heavy tanks soon fell from favour.
The old model of highly mobile medium tanks and heavily armoured heavy tanks was replaced by a new paradigm: the "main battle tank". Parallel developments in the West would produce similar results. Kartsev combined all the ongoing improvements being offered, or planned, on the T-54 into one design.[9] This became the Ob'yekt 155, and entered production at Uralvagonzavod 1 January 1958 as the T-55.[10] It was accepted for service with the Red Army on 8 May. It suffered a significant lapse in one area: there was no antiaircraft machine gun, which had been present on the T-54.[10]
After 1959, it served as a basis for the T-55K command tank which was equipped with an additional R-112 radio set, an AB-1-P/30 fuel powered accumulator charging unit, and TPN-1-22-11 night vision sight. All this additional equipment made it necessary to decrease the ammunition load for the main gun to 37 rounds and eliminate the bow machine gun. In the beginning of the 1960s, a T-55K was experimentally fitted with a Uran TV relay apparatus for battlefield surveillance. The tank was fitted with an external camera, the picture from which was relayed to a receiver in a BTR-50PU command vehicle. There was an observation camera mounted on a folding mast which was in turn mounted on a
In 1961, a T-55 tank was used to test the "Almaz" TV complex, which was supposed to replace the standard observation devices right after a nuclear explosion or while fording a body of water. There was a camera mounted on the hull for the driver and two cameras mounted on the turret, one for aiming and one for observation, and the picture from the cameras was relayed to two control screens. The tank had the front hull fuel tanks and bow machine gun removed. The commander was seated in the driver's usual position while the driver sat next to him.
The cameras allowed battlefield observation and firing during daytime at ranges between 1.5 and 2 kilometres (0.93 and 1.24 mi). Because of the low quality of the equipment, the trials gave negative results. In the beginning of the 1960s, the OKB-29 design bureau in Omsk was working on adapting the tank to use a GTD-3T gas turbine engine developing 700 hp (522 kW). One T-55 tank fitted with this gas turbine engine passed trials but was deemed unsatisfactory and the design did not go into production.
The Omsk OKB-29 group tested three experimental T-55 tanks (designated Ob'yekt 612) between 1962 and 1965 that were fitted with an automatic gearbox controlled by electro-hydraulic systems. The trials found that such gearboxes were prone to frequent breakdowns in tanks. At the same time the Ob'yekt 155ML, a T-55 fitted with a launcher for three 9M14 "Malyutka" (NATO code: AT-3 Sagger) ATGMs mounted on the rear of the turret, was tested. Along with standard tanks a flamethrower-armed version was designed (designated TO-55 (Ob'yekt 482)), which was produced until 1962. It was fitted with 460-litre tanks filled with flammable liquid instead of the frontal hull fuel tanks. The flamethrower replaced the coaxial machine gun. This was a much better way to mount a flamethrower than in the experimental Ob'yekt 483, based on the T-54 tank, where the flamethrower replaced the main gun. TO-55 flamethrower tanks were withdrawn from service in 1993.
T-55A
In 1961, development of improved NBC protection systems began. The goal was to protect the crew from fast neutrons; adequate protection against gamma radiation was provided by the thick armour and a PAZ basic NBC protection system.
The POV plasticized lead antiradiation lining was developed to provide the needed protection. It was installed in the interior, requiring the driver's hatch and the coamings over the turret hatches to be noticeably enlarged. This liner had the added benefit of protecting the crew from fragments of penetrated armour.
The tank was equipped with a full PAZ/FVU chemical filtration system. The coaxial 7.62 mm SGMT machine gun was replaced by a 7.62 mm PKT machine gun. The hull was lengthened from 6.04 m to 6.2 m. The hull machine gun was removed, making space for six more main gun rounds. These changes increased the weight of the vehicle to 38 tonnes.
The design work was done by OKB-520 design bureau of Uralvagonzavod under the leadership of Leonid N. Kartsev. The T-55A served as the basis for the T-55AK command tank.[7]
T-54/T-55 upgrades
In its long service life, the T-55 has been upgraded many times. Early T-55s were fitted with a new TSh-2B-32P sight. In 1959, some tanks received mountings for the PT-55 mine clearing system or the BTU/BTU-55 plough. In 1967, the improved 3BM-8 APDS round, which could penetrate 275 mm thick armour at a range of 2 km, was introduced. In 1970, new and old T-55 tanks had the loader's hatch modified to mount the 12.7 mm
During production, the T-55A was frequently modernised. In 1965, a new track was introduced that could be used for between 2,000 km and 3,000 km, which was twice the range of the old track. It needed a new drive sprocket, with 14 teeth instead of 13. Since 1974, T-55A tanks were equipped with a KTD-1 "Newa" rangefinder and a TSzS-32PM sight. All T-55A tanks were equipped with the TPN-1-22-11 night sight. The R-113 radio set was replaced by a R-123 radio set. Late production models had rubber side skirts and a driver's windshield for use during longer stints.
T-54 and T-55 tanks continued to be upgraded, refitted, and modernised into the 1990s. Advances in armour-piercing and high-explosive anti-tank (HEAT) shaped charge ammunition would improve the gun's antitank abilities in the 1960s and 1980s.
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 abilities of newer MBTs, at a lower cost. Upgrades include new engines,
One of these upgrade packages was a joint United States-China prototype designed and built by Cadillac Gage, now known as
Another prototype upgrade package was produced by Teledyne Continental Motors (now General Dynamics Land Systems) for the Egyptian Army and was known as the T-54E. After further modifications and trials it was sent into mass production and received the designation Ramses II.
As late as 2013, Ukrainian companies were reportedly developing T-55 main battle tank upgrades targeting the export market.[14] The Type 59 is still in production, in several variants.[15]
Description
The T-54 and T-55 have a cabin layout shared with many post-World War II tanks, with the fighting compartment in the front, engine compartment in the rear, and a dome-shaped
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are outwardly very similar and difficult to distinguish visually. Many T-54s were also updated to T-55 standards, so the distinction is often downplayed with the collective name T-54/55. Soviet tanks were factory-overhauled every 7,000 km and often given minor technology updates. Many states have added or modified the tank's equipment; India, for example, affixed fake fume extractors to its T-54s and T-55s so that its gunners would not confuse them with Pakistani Type 59s.[17]
The older T-54 can be distinguished from the T-55 by a dome-shaped ventilator on the front right of the turret and a driver-operated SGMT 7.62 mm machine gun mounted to fire through a tiny hole in the center of the hull's front. Early T-54s lacked a gun fume extractor, had an undercut at the turret's rear, and a distinctive "pig-snout" gun mantlet.
Advantages and drawbacks
The T-54/55 tanks are mechanically simple and robust. They are very simple to operate compared to Western tanks, and do not require a high level of training or education in their crewmen. The tanks have good mobility thanks to their relatively light weight (which permits easy transport by rail or flatbed truck and allows crossing of lighter bridges), wide tracks (which give lower ground pressure and hence good mobility on soft ground), a good cold-weather start-up system and a snorkel that allows river crossings.[citation needed]
By 1950s standards the T-54 was excellent, packing considerable firepower and armour protection in a reliable design whilst also being smaller and lighter than contemporary NATO designs. However at the time the T-54 lacked effective sub-calibre ammunition and was reliant on HEAT rounds for anti-tank ammunition until the 1960s. This and the fact that the T-54 had a simple fire-control system meant that the T-54 was inaccurate at longer ranges.[18]
The T-55 introduced the world's first first-generation protective suite to provide NBC protection. This was done due to Soviet researchers finding that the survivability of tanks and their crews against tactical nuclear weapons was poor.[19]
The low turret profile of the tanks prevents them from depressing their main guns by more than 5° since the breech would strike the ceiling when fired, which limits the ability to cover terrain by fire from a
Together, the T-54/55 tanks have been manufactured in the tens of thousands, and many still remain in reserve, or even in front-line use among lower-technology fighting forces. Abundance and age together make these tanks cheap and easy to purchase.[20]
Production history
Soviet Union
T-54-1 production was slow at first, as only 3 vehicles were built in 1946 and 22 in 1947. 285 T-54-1 tanks were built in 1948 by Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod); by then it had completely replaced T-44 production at Uralvagonzavod, and Kharkiv Diesel Factory No. 75 (KhPZ). Production was stopped because of a low level of production quality and frequent breakdowns. The T-54-2 entered production in 1949 at Uralvagonzavod, which produced 423 tanks by the end of 1950. It replaced the T-34 in production at the Omsk Factory No. 183 in 1950. In 1951, over 800 T-54-2 tanks were produced. The T-54-2 remained in production until 1952. The T-54A was produced between 1955 and 1957. The T-54B was produced between 1957 and April 1959. The T-55 was produced by Uralvagonzavod between 1958 and 1962. The T-55K command tank was produced from 1959. The TO-55 (Ob'yekt 482) flamethrower tank was produced until 1962.
Overall, 35,000 T-54-1, T-54-2, T-54 (T-54-3), T-54A, T-54B, T-54AK1, T-54AK2, T-54BK1 and T-54BK2 tanks were produced between 1946 and 1958 and 27,500 T-55, T-55A, T-55K1, T-55K2, T-55K3, T-55AK1, T-55AK2 and T-55AK3 tanks were produced between 1955 and 1981.
Polish People's Republic
Polish People's Republic produced 3,000 T-54, T-54A, T-54AD and T-54AM tanks between 1956 and 1964 and 7,000 T-55 (between 1964 and 1968), T-55L, T-55AD-1 and T-55AD-2 tanks (between 1968 and 1979).[citation needed]
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia produced 2,700 T-54A, T-54AM, T-54AK, T-54AMK tanks (between 1957 and 1966) and 8,300 T-55 and T-55A tanks (between 1964 and 1983; T-55A was probably produced since 1968). Most of them were for export.[citation needed]
Service history
Soviet Union and successors
The T-54/55 and the T-62 were the two most common tanks in Soviet inventory—in the mid-1970s the two tank types together comprised approximately 85% of the Soviet Army's tanks.[citation needed]
Soviet T-54 tanks served in combat during the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 and a few were successfully knocked out by the defending anti-Soviet Hungarian resistance-fighters and rebels using Molotov cocktails and several anti-tank guns.[21] The local anti-communist revolutionaries delivered one captured T-54A to the British Embassy in Budapest,[citation needed] the analyses and studies of which helped and spurred the development of the Royal Ordnance L7 105 mm tank gun.
At the initial stage of the war in Afghanistan in 1979–1980, about 800 Soviet tanks were used, consisting of 39 battalions, mainly armed with T-54s and T-55s. In 1979, only one T-55 tank was lost. Since the beginning of 1980, they began to be replaced by modern T-62 and T-64 tanks.[22]
In Russia, most of the T-62 and the T-55 were auctioned off in 2012, with all Russian active-duty military units mainly operating the T-72, the T-80 and the T-90. However, T-62s, T-55s and T-54s have seen combat in the 2022 Ukraine War after catastrophic Russian tank losses in failed early offensives depleted the inventory of more modern tanks.[23][24]
In Ukraine, in 1997 The Military Balance reported that Ukraine had 154 T-55 tanks,[25] but by 2014 the number was only 20, all in store.[26]
Middle East
During the 1967 Six-Day War, U.S.-supplied M48 Patton tanks, British Centurion tanks, and even upgraded World War II–era 75 mm M-50 and 105 mm armed M-51 Super Shermans faced T-55s. This mix of Israeli tanks, combined with superior planning of operations and superior airpower, proved to be more than capable of dealing with the T-54/T-55 series.[27]
During the
By the 1973
Israel captured many from Egypt in 1967, along with a few T-55s from Syria, and kept some of them in service. They were upgraded with a 105 mm NATO-standard L7 or M68, a US version of the L7, replacing the old Soviet 100 mm D-10, 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 these were then sold to assorted Third World countries, some of them in Latin America, and the rest were heavily modified, converted into the Achzarit heavy armoured personnel carrier.
In the Lebanese Civil War, on 10 June 1982, eight Israeli M48A3s, two M60A1s and at least three M113 APCs were lost in an ambush by Syrian T-55 tanks and BMP-1 APCs during the Battle of Sultan Yacoub.
The tank was heavily used during the
Many of Iraqi T-55s saw action during
Vietnam War
During the Vietnam War, the People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) and its proxy military force Liberation Army of South Vietnam (LASV) used T-54s, along with its Chinese-built copy (the Type 59), extensively against the South Vietnamese Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) and their allied US forces.
The PAVN/LASV and the ARVN engaged each other with tanks for the first time during
On Easter Sunday, 2 April 1972, the newly activated ARVN
On 9 April 1972, all three squadrons of the 20th Tank Regiment (57 M48 tanks) fought hard against enemy armour, firing upon PAVN tanks accompanied by large masses of infantry, again while occupying the strategically important high ground. This time, similarly, the Pattons opened fire at approximately 2800 meters. A few answering-shots from the T-54s fell short and the PAVN tanks began to scatter after suffering considerable losses and heavy casualties. By the end of the day, the 20th claimed destroy sixteen T-54s and captured one Type 59 at no loss to themselves.[47] (The PAVN confirmed six tank were destroyed[48])
PAVN armoured units equipped with the T-54 tank achieved one of their largest victories in April 1972 when the PAVN 203rd Armoured Regiment attacked the ARVN's 22nd Infantry Division based at Tân Cảnh Base Camp, which dominated a main route into the city of Kon Tum, located near the 17th Parallel. After a two-day-long intense artillery barrage, eighteen T-54 tanks attacked the camp at dawn from two different directions, thus breaking apart the ARVN unit into two and splitting up its forces, which quickly abandoned its positions and withdrew.[49][full citation needed] T-54 tank No. 377 had managed to destroy seven ARVN M41s before it was finally destroyed by M72 LAW anti-tank rocket launchers fielded by the South Vietnamese infantry.[50] The PAVN destroyed 18 M41 light tanks together with 31 M113 APCs and captured 17 M41s intact, while losing only two T-54 tanks and one PT-76 tank in the armoured skirmish.[51]
At the very end of the war on the 30 April 1975, a PAVN T-54 smashed through the main gate of the RVN Presidential Palace in the capital city of Saigon, accompanied by onrushing North Vietnamese troops, at the conclusion of North Vietnam's conquering of the South. This widely seen image has come to be regarded by many as perhaps the defining moment of the end of the bloody 20-year-long conflict in Vietnam, and the fall of Republic of Vietnam. During the war, PAVN tank units were involved in 211 battles, claimed 20,000+ enemy killed, destroyed more than 2,000 enemy tanks/APCs, 870 other military vehicles, and 3,500 enemy bunkers, and shot down 35 aircraft or helicopters, overwhelmingly using T-54s.[52] The PAVN lost an estimated 250 (1972 - 150, 1973-1975 - 100) T-54s during the war.[citation needed]
Following the Vietnam War, Vietnam's T-54/55s and Type 59s continued to see much combat activity against
Ogaden War
During the largest tank battle of the Ogaden War - the Battle of Jijiga (August–September 1977), 124 Somali tanks, mostly T-55s,[53] defeated 108 Ethiopian tanks, mainly M47 Pattons and M41 Walker Bulldogs.[54] The Ethiopians lost 43 tanks during the battle.[55]
Angola
T-54/T-55s began appearing in Southern Africa in the late 1970s, when many emerging Marxist states, particularly
During the
India and Pakistan
The Indian Army has used their T-54s and T-55s extensively in its conflicts with Pakistan between the 1970s to the 1980s. Pakistan also used some T-54As and Chinese Type 59 copies.[68]
At one point India added fake bore evacuators to its tanks, to enable them to be distinguished easily from Pakistan's tanks.
The first meeting of the T-55 with enemy tanks occurred in the area of Garibpur on 22 November 1971. Indian T-55 tanks (63 Cavalry) destroyed 3 Pakistani M24 Chaffee tanks (29 Cavalry) in the area.[69]
On 10–11 December, during the Battle of Nainakot, Indian T-55s (14 Cavalry Scinde Horse) in two battles destroyed 9 Pakistani M47/48 tanks (33 Cavalry), without any loss.[70]
At the end of the war, one of the last tank battles took place in the Naogaon area, a company of Pakistani Chaffee tanks attacked Indian T-55s, but lost 5 Chaffee tanks and was forced to retreat to Bogra.[73]
Russo-Ukrainian War
Footage from the Battle of Mariupol (May 2022) indicates that Ukrainian soldiers used a single T-54 which had previously been converted to a historical memorial at the Azovstal plant. The tank was removed from the pedestal, probably towed to its combat position and used by Ukrainian fighters for defence. According to the few existing pictures, the vehicle was heavily damaged in combat and abandoned.[75]
Ukrainian soldiers trained with 28
On 21–22 March 2023, photos and videos of a Russian military train with T-54s and T-54Bs appeared on social media,
As of April 2024 Russia is visually confirmed to have suffered 8 T-55 losses (two T-54-3M, one T-54B, two T-55A and three unknown T-54/55).[86]
An analysis of Russian armour tactics in Ukraine by the Royal United Services Institute claimed that Russian T-55s are not being deployed as front-line armour assets, but as assault guns attached to infantry formations.[87] This is due to ongoing shortages of Russian infantry fighting vehicle (IFV)s, which normally fulfil the role of providing organic fire support to infantry.[87] The T-55s' main armament range and optics are superior to those of many Russian IFVs such as the BMP-2, prompting Russian commanders to favour using them in the support of infantry engagements at longer standoff ranges, where they cannot be easily countered by Ukrainian man-portable anti-tank weapons.[87]
Other conflicts
T-54 tanks with at least limited success.
In Poland in 1983–83,
The T-55 was the most numerous tank of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA). It was the mainstay of armoured combat units during the Yugoslav Wars, where it proved vulnerable to infantry equipped with anti-tank rockets and weaponry and to misemployment in urban areas and unfriendly terrain. But there were too many of them in service for them to be replaced entirely. During the Battle of Vukovar, where the JNA grouped a large part of its tank force, a number were destroyed, almost exclusively by infantry-carried anti-tank weapons. The T-55 tank remained the most common tank in the armies of the various Yugoslavian successor states until recently and it was the most-used tank by all armies during the decades-long wars. T-55s were also used by Yugoslavia in the Kosovo War and in Macedonia (now North Macedonia) during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia, and by Russian peacekeepers after the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo. The Kosovo Liberation Army (National Liberation Army of Kosovo) captured a T-55 from the Macedonian Army during the battle of Raduša.[92]
The T-55 has been used by Ethiopia in the conflict with the Islamic Courts Union in Somalia and used by various warring factions in the Somali Civil War after the fall of the dictatorial Siad Barre regime in the 1990s.
China produced thousands of Type 59 tanks (based on the Soviet T-54A) for the
The
T-55 tanks have seen use on both sides of the
T-55s have been used by the
The T-55 has seen active combat service with the
Russia announced that several T-55 tanks used by
List of conflicts
- 1955–1975: Vietnam War (North Vietnam)
- 1956: Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (Soviet Union)
- 1961–1991: Iraqi–Kurdish conflict (Iraq and Peshmerga)
- 1961–1991: Eritrean War of Independence (Ethiopia and EPLF)
- 1966–1990: South African Border War (Angola)
- 1967: Six-Day War (Egypt and Syria)
- 1968: Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (Soviet Union and Poland)
- 1970: Black September (Syria)
- 1971: Indo-Pakistani War of 1971(India)
- 1973: Yom Kippur War (Egypt, Syria and Iraq)
- 1974-1975: Shatt al-Arab conflict (Iraq)
- 1974–1991: Ethiopian Civil War (Ethiopia, TPLF and EPLF)
- 1975–1990: Lebanese Civil War (Lebanese government forces and militias)
- 1975–1991: Western Sahara War (Morocco and Polisario)
- 1975–2002: Angolan Civil War (Angola and UNITA) * 1977-
- 1977–1978: Ogaden War (Ethiopia, Somalia and Cuba)
- 1978–1987: Chadian–Libyan conflict(Libya)
- 1986–1987: Toyota War
- 1978: Uganda–Tanzania War (Uganda and Libya)
- 1978–1989: Cambodian–Vietnamese War (Vietnam)
- 1979–1988: Soviet–Afghan War (Afghanistan and Soviet Union)
- 1979: Rhodesian Bush War (Rhodesia)
- 1980–1988: Iran–Iraq War (Iran and Iraq)
- 1982–1983: 1982 Lebanon War (Syria and PLO)
- 1983–2009: Sri Lankan Civil War (Sri Lankan government forces and LTTE)
- 1983–2005: Second Sudanese Civil War (Sudanese government forces and SPLA)
- 1989-1992: Hezb-I-Islami Gulbuddinand Afghanistan)
- 1989: Romanian Revolution(Romania)
- 1988–1993: Georgian Civil War
- 1991–1992: 1991–1992 South Ossetia War(Georgia)
- 1992–1993: War in Abkhazia (1992–1993) (Georgia and Abkhazia)
- 1991–1992:
- 1990–1991: Gulf War (Iraq)
- 1991–present: Somali Civil War
- 1991: 1991 Iraqi uprisings (Iraq, Peshmerga and Shiite rebels)
- 1991–1995: Yugoslav Wars (Yugoslavia)
- 1991: Ten-Day War (Yugoslavia)
- 1991–1995: Croatian War of Independence (Yugoslavia, Croatia and Republic of Serbian Krajina)
- 1992–1995: Bosnian War (Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska)
- 1994: UNPROFORforces)
- 1994: UNPROFORforces)
- 1994: Yemeni Civil War (1994) (Yemen and South Yemeni separatist forces)
- 1997: 1997 clashes in Cambodia(Cambodian government forces)
- 1998–1999: Kosovo War (Army of Yugoslavia)
- 1998–2000: Eritrean–Ethiopian War (Eritrea and Ethiopia)
- 1998: Guinea-Bissau Civil War
- 2001: 2001 insurgency in Macedonia
- 2001–2021: War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) (Northern alliance and Afghanistan)
- 2003–2020: War in Darfur (Sudanese government forces)
- 2003–2011: Iraq War
- 2003: Invasion of Iraq (Iraq)
- 2005–2010: Chadian Civil War (2005–2010) (Chadian government forces)
- 2006-2009: War in Somalia (2006–2009) (Ethiopia)
- 2008: Russo-Georgian War (Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
- 2011: Gaddafi Government and anti-Gaddafi forces)
- 2011–present: Syrian Civil War(Syrian government forces, ISIS and Rebels)
- 2011–2020: Sudanese conflict in South Kordofan and Blue Nile (Sudanese Government forces)
- 2012–2013: M23 rebellion (Democratic Republic of Congo and March 23 Movement)
- 2014–2017: War in Iraq (2013–2017) (Iraq and ISIS)
- 2014–present: Russo-Ukrainian War
- 2022–present: )
- 2014–2020: Second Libyan Civil War (Libyan National Army and Government of National Accord)
- 2015–present: Yemeni Civil War (2014–present)(Hadi-government forces and Houthis)
- 2020: 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (Azerbaijani Land Forces)
- 2020–2022: Tigray War (Ethiopian government forces and Tigray Defense Forces)
- 2023: 2023 Sudan conflict (Sudanese-government forces and Rapid Support Forces)
Operators and variants
The T-55 has been used worldwide by as many as 50 countries and quasi-armies. They have been subject to many improvements throughout their production history and afterward, and many are still in service today.
Modifications to the T-54/55 series over the years have changed almost every aspect of the vehicle. Initially, Soviet modifications included a better turret shape, improved NBC protection and an improved powerplant. Later, improved fire-control equipment and night-vision equipment was added.
Foreign improvements, both in Warsaw Pact nations and elsewhere, have further improved protection, powerplant, and firepower. T-54/55s have been re-armed with improved tank guns, AA machine guns, advanced armour arrays, and technologies, such as laser range finders and computerized fire control systems, that did not exist when the tank was first being built in the early days of the Cold War.
-
A Finnish T-55-based Marksman self-propelled anti-aircraft gun (SPAAG) vehicle, which is referred to locally as the ItPsv 90.
-
"Hurricane" firefighting vehicle, which uses the engine from a MiG-21 to blow water mist over a fire.
Museums with T-54/T-55 on display
- There is a T-55 captured from Iraqi forces during Operation Desert Storm at USS Alabama Battleship Park, Mobile Alabama.[97]
- There is a T-55 on outdoor display at the Fort Polk Museum, Fort Polk Louisiana, United States.[98]
- The Ontario Regiment Museum has an operational T-54.[99]
- There is a T-54 outside of K-W Surplus in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada[100]
- Museum of Military Technology "Gryf" in Gdynia, Poland offers rides in T-55A.[101]
- There is a T-54 at the Tank Museum in Thun, Switzerland.[102]
- The Musee des Blindes in Saumur, France has both an original T-54 and a T-54/55 upgrade.
- The American Armored Foundation (AAF) Tank Museum in Danville, VA, USA has an Iraqi T-55 tank captured during the Persian Gulf War.
- The Armored Corps Memorial Site and Museum at Latrun
- There is a T-54AM at the German Tank Museum in Munster, Germany.[103]
- One Czechoslovak made T-55A gifted by Germany after reunification in 1991 as OPFOR familiarization aid is on display at the Etimesgut Tank Museum in Ankara.[104]
There is a T-55 at the Australian Armour and Artillery Museum in Cairns, Australia
See also
- Al-Zarrar
- Ramses II tank
- T-54/T-55 operators and variants
- TR-85
- Type 59 tank
- Type 59G(BD) Durjoy
- Type-72Z Safir-74
Tanks of comparable role, performance and era
- Centurion tank– approximate British equivalent
- M48 Patton – approximate American equivalent
Citations
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- ^ Zaloga 2004, p. 14.
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- ^ Gelbart 1996, pp.75–78
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{{cite news}}
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General bibliography
- Cockburn, Andrew (1983). The Threat: Inside the Soviet Military Machine. New York: Random House. 3 May 1983 ISBN 0-394-52402-0.
- Dunstan, Simon (1982). Vietnam Tracks: Armor in Battle 1945–75. Osprey Publications. ISBN 0-89141-171-2.
- Foss, Christopher F., ed (2005). Jane's Armour and Artillery 2005–2006, 26th edition. 15 August 2005 ISBN 0-7106-2686-X.
- Gelbart, Marsh (1996). Tanks: Main Battle and Light Tanks. London: Brassey's. ISBN 1-85753-168-X.
- Starry, Gen. Donn A. (1989). Mounted Combat in Vietnam Archived 16 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Washington, D.C.: Vietnam Studies, Department of the Army. First printed in 1978-CMH Pub 90–17.
- Hunnicutt, R. P. Patton: A History of the American Main Battle Tank. ISBN 0-89141-230-1.
- Hunnicutt, R. P. Abrams: A History of the American Main Battle Tank. Volume 2. Presidio Press 1990.
- Hunnicutt, R. P. Sheridan: A History of the American Light Tank Volume 2; 1995, Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-462-2.
- ISBN 1-84176-792-1.
- ISBN 978-962-361-612-6.
- James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell and Andrey Aksenov, Soviet T-54 Main Battle Tank, General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2018. ISBN 978 1 4728 3330 3
- James Kinnear, Stephen Sewell and Andrey Aksenov, Soviet T-55 Main Battle Tank, General Military series, Osprey Publishing Ltd, Oxford 2019. ISBN 978 1 4728 3855 1
- Anthony Tucker-Jones, Images of War: T–54/55, The Soviet Army’s Cold War main battle tank – rare photographs from wartime archives, Pen & Sword Military, Barnsley 2017. ISBN 978 1 47389 109 8
- Krzysztof M. Gaj, Czołg T-55AM i pochodne (T-55AD-1M, T-55AD-2M, T-55AMS), Sowa Sp. z o.o., 2013, ISBN 978-83-936039-3-0