i know this tank are crappy nowadays... but its simplicity and
robustnest makes it one of my favorite.
The T-55 and T-54 main battle tanks were the Soviet Union's
replacements for the World War II era T-34 tank. The T-54 and T-55
tanks are very similar in construction, but the T-55 lacks the
T-54's bow-mounted SMGT 7.62mm machine gun, which was in a ball
mount in the front of the hull, operated by the driver
Production history
The first T-54 succeeded the T-44 in production from 1947 as a
result of a WWII-project. At the time it was better armed and
armoured than its western counterparts, the Centurion and the M-46.
It was redesigned in 1958 as the T-55, with a new and thicker
turretcast. Production continued to 1981 in the Soviet Union. It
was also produced in Czechoslovakia, Poland and in China as the
Type 1959, later redesigned as the Type 1969; the Type 1969 is
still manufactured in China for export today. The Chinese sold
thousands to both sides in the war between Iran and Iraq during the
1980s.
Tens of thousands of T-55 tanks were manufactured in the Soviet
Union between 1958 and 1981. It and the T-62 were the two most
common tanks in Russian inventory - around 1975 the two types
together comprised approximately 85% of the Russian army's tanks.
The T-62 and T-55 now have mostly a reserve status; the 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).
The Israelis captured over a thousand of these tanks from the
Syrians and Egyptians in 1967 and 1973 and kept many of them in
service, upgraded with a 105mm/L68 NATO-standard main gun replacing
the old Soviet 100mm/D10 and the balky, unreliable Russian diesel
engine replaced by a more modern diesel engine manufactured by
General Motors, as the Tiran-5 medium tank. These were until around
1990 used by reserve units. The Israelis have sold most of them off
to assorted Third World countries, some of them in Latin America,
and heavily modified the rest, converting them into heavy armored
personnel carriers called IDF Achzarit.
Very common around the world, in many cases upgraded with a
NATO-standard 105mm/L68 gun replacing the old Russian 100mm/D10,
some sources say that the T-55 is the single most numerous type of
tank in military service around the world today. It is old, and
completely outdated, but remains the platform of choice for mainly
third world nations who find it fits nicely into their price range,
and the wide array of new and old, expensive and inexpensive
upgrade packages provided by a wide variety of manufacturers in
many countries (some including new engines, Kontakt-5 ERA, new main
armament including 120mm or 125mm guns, active protection suites,
laser rangefinders, thermal sights like the French AGAVA, and other
potential improvements) make it a potent MBT for the low-end budget
even to this day, despite the fact that it's completely outclassed
by every modern platform.
Variants
T-54
T-54M
T-55
T-55A
T-55AM (reactive armor)
T-55AM2PB (mostly made in USSR for East Germany, reactive armor and
ATGM, most sold back to Russia in 1992, other T-55 tanks in Russian
army upgraded to T-55AM2PB standards during 1992-2000)
T-55AMV (bulldozer blade or mine plow)
T-55 Enigma Iraq (T-55, Type-59, and Type-69 tanks used by Iraqi
Brigade commanders had applique armour on turrets and hulls
composed of steel filled with concrete. Intended to, and in many
cases successful at defeating shaped charge warheads (one example
is reported to have survived several hits form Milan missiles
before being dispatched by a helicopter).
T-55QM Iraq (had NATO-standard 105mm/L68 gun installed replacing
the old 100mm gun, along with a French laser rangefinder), upgrades
done in mid to late 1980s)
T-55QM2 Iraq (T-55 upgraded by Russian technicians with a Russian
125mm/L80 smoothbore gun and French laser rangefinder,
1986-1991)
Type 1959 China copy of T-55
Type 1969 China redesigned Type 1959
Type 1969-QM Iraq (Type 1969 upgraded with NATO standard 105mm gun
and laser rangefinder, 1984-198
Type 1969-QM2 Iraq (Type 1969 upgraded with Warsaw Pact standard
125mm/L80 smoothbore gun and laser rangefinder, 1986-1991)
TR-77 (unlicensed copy manufactured in Romania, 1977-1991, exported
very widely)
Tiran-5 (upgraded Israeli version built on tanks captured in 1967
and 1973, no longer in service in Israel but many were sold
off)
