T-54/T-55
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet main battle tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945. From the late 1950s, 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-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts since their introduction in the second half of the 20th century.
| T-54/55 | |
|---|---|
A T-55 tank on display at the Imperial War Museum | |
| 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) |
| Produced |
|
| No. built | 96,500–100,000+ est., including:
|
| Variants | See Operators and variants section below |
| Specifications (T-55) | |
| Mass | 36 metric tons (35.4 long tons; 39.7 short tons) |
| Length | 9.00 m (29 ft 6 in) with gun forward |
| Width | 3.37 m (11 ft 1 in) |
| Height | 2.40 m (7 ft 10 in) |
| Crew | 4 |
| Armour |
|
Main armament | D-10T 100 mm rifled gun (43 rounds) |
Secondary armament | 7.62 mm SGMT coaxial machine gun, (12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun) |
| Engine | Model V-55(V-54) V-12 water-cooled. 38.88 litre diesel 500 horsepower (373 kW) up to 800 horsepower (600 kW) (late versions) |
| Power/weight | 14.6 horsepower per metric ton (10.9 kW/t) |
| Transmission | Mechanical (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-54/55 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-54/55'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.