T-54/55 operators and variants

Main article: T-54/55
T-54/55

US Army recognition poster
Type Main battle tank
Place of origin Soviet Union
Service history
In service 1947–present
Production history
Designer Morozov (T-54),
OKB-520 (T-54A and later)
Designed 1945
Manufacturer KhPZ, UVZ (USSR),
Bumar-Łabędy (Pol.),
ZTS Martin (Czech.)
Produced 1946–81 (USSR)
1956–79 (Pol.)
1957–83 (Czech.)
Number built 86,000–100,000 est.

The T-54/55 tank series is the most widely used tank in the world and it has seen service in over 50 countries. It also served as the platform for a wide variety of specialty armored vehicles.[1][2]

List of operators

T-54/55 operators in blue, former operators in red

Current operators

Former operators

Evaluation-only operators

Models and variants

T-54-1 in Verkhnyaya Pyshma war museum in Russia.

Models

T-54

T-54 at the Parola Tank Museum in Parola, Finland.
Ex-Polish T-54A at the Panzermuseum Thun in Thun, Switzerland.

T-55

T-55 at the Imperial War Museum North, UK.
T-55A on the Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow, Russia.

Modernization

T-55A (left) and T-55AM2B (right)

The T-55AM2B has turret brow armour, laser rangefinder over the main gun, rubber side skirts, and thicker front hull armour than the T-55A. Panzermuseum Munster

T-54

Schematic of a T-55A fitted with a laser rangefinder over the main gun.

T-55

"Drozd" active protection system on a T-55AMD "Drozd" in Kubinka Tank Museum.

Early on during the production T-55s were fitted with the TSh-2B-32P sight. Starting in 1970 T-55s were being armed at Uralwagonzavod 12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 or KPVT loader's anti-aircraft heavy machine guns. These tanks were known as Model 1970, or sometimes T-55AM. KTD-1 or KTD-2 laser rangefinders and R-123 or R-123M radio sets were fitted to older tanks starting in 1974 (Model 1974).[96][100] At the same time efforts were made to modernize and prolong the life of the drive train.[96]

Experimental vehicles

Table of tank models

Characteristics of the T-54/55 models
T-54-1
(Ob'yekt 137)
T-54-2
(Ob'yekt 137R)
T-54-3
(Ob'yekt 137Sh)
T-54A
(Ob'yekt 137G)
T-54B
(Ob'yekt 137G2)
T-55
(Ob'yekt 155)
T-55A
(Ob'yekt 155A)
Weight
(tonnes)
? ? 39.7[97] ? ? 39.7[97] ?
Crew 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
Main gun 100 mm LB-1 rifled tank gun 100 mm D-10T rifled tank gun 100 mm D-10TG rifled tank gun 100 mm D-10T2S rifled tank gun 100 mm D-10T2G or D-10T2 rifled tank gun
Machine gun(s) 7.62 mm SGMT medium coaxial
7.62 mm SGMT medium bow mounted
2 × 7.62 mm SG-43 fender mounted
12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy
7.62 mm SGMT medium coaxial
7.62 mm SGMT medium bow mounted
12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy
7.62 mm PKT tank coaxial
7.62 mm SGMT medium bow mounted
12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 anti-aircraft heavy (added during routine maintenance since 1972)
7.62 mm PKT tank coaxial
12.7 mm DShK 1938/46 anti-aircraft heavy (added to the newly produced tanks since 1970, added to the old T-55A tanks during routine maintenance since 1972)
Engine V-54 12-cylinder 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel developing 523 hp (390 kW) V-55 12-cylinder 4-stroke one-chamber 38.88 liter water-cooled diesel developing 581 hp (433 kW)
Speed ? ? 48 km/h (30 mph) on road[97] ? ? 6.85 km/h in 1st gear[101]
14.66 km/h in 2nd gear[101]
20.21 km/h in 3rd gear[101]
28.99 km/h in 4th gear[101]
55 km/h (34 mph) in 5th gear[97]
6.85 km/h in reverse gear[101]
on road
?
Operational range ? ? 401 km (249 mi)
600 km (370 mi) with extra tanks
? ? 501 km (311 mi)
600 km (370 mi) with extra tanks
?
Fuel capacity 215 US gal (810 L) 254 US gal (960 L)[97]
Polish ZSU-57-2 SPAAG in Lubuskie Muzeum Wojskowe

Variants

Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun

Armoured Recovery Vehicle

MTU-12 bridgelayer at the Military-historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Bridge-layer

MTU-20 bridgelayer at the Yad la-Shiryon Museum in Latrun, West Bank

Combat engineering

IMR combat engineering vehicle

Mine clearing

Flamethrowers

Russian BTR-T.

Armoured personnel carrier

Self-propelled gun

SU-122-54, Krasnodar museum

SU-122-54 (Ob'yekt 600) (Samokhodnaya Ustanovka) - Self-propelled 122mm gun, based on the T-54A and sometimes known as IT-122. Between 1955 and 1957, 77 vehicles were built with minor differences between production lots (different commander's cupola etc.). The SU-122-54 had a modified chassis, with small spaces between the first, second and fourth pair of wheels and a large gap between the third, similar to the T-62's and a superstructure, built into the hull, housing the 122 mm D-49 L/48.4 gun for which the vehicle carries 32 rounds. The secondary armament consisted of two KPVT heavy machine guns, one mounted as an anti-aircraft machine gun near the commander's hatch and the other mounted coaxially with the main gun. The vehicle carried 600 rounds for the machine guns. The main gun has a fume extractor positioned right behind the muzzle brake, some vehicles did not have the fume extractor. Other variations included a different commander's cupola.[37]

Firefighting

International derivatives

Afghan T-55

Afghanistan

Argentina

Croatia

Cuba

A T-55AM2 in the National Museum of Military History, Sofia, 14 June 2008.

Czechoslovakia

A T-55AM2B in tank museum in Munster.
VT-55A at RAF Duxford, 23 September 2006.
ŽS-55A in Řečkovice 26 April 2009.

Czech Republic

East Germany

Egyptian-modified T-55.

Egypt

Finland

Germany

T-55AM Marksman.

Great Britain

Hungary

2 Indian T-54s, the one in the foreground is fitted with a fake fume extractor.

India

Iraq

Enigma, an Iraqi Command vehicle widely reinforced with appliqué armor.

Iran

Iranian Safir-74
Tiran-4 at the Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel.

Israel

Tiran-5Sh with a dozer blade at the Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel.
Tiran-5Sh at the Yad la-Shiryon Museum, Israel.
IDF Achzarit heavy armored personnel carrier

Pakistan

People's Republic of China

Peru

Poland

Republika Srpska

Rhodesia

Romania

A TR-85 tank in Bucharest (1990).

Serbia

Slovakia

Slovenia

Sudan

Ukraine

Yugoslavia

A variant of this modification, intended for export, was armed with L7A1 105 mm gun.

Notes and references

Wikimedia Commons has media related to T-54/T-55.
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