Today we will be looking at one of the most iconic tanks of all times, the T-54/T-55.
This tank was first produced in late 1949 and kept being built all the way up to 1983. An estimated 80000 to 100000 have been produced, making it the most produced tank of all time. Many were sold by the USSR to their puppet states and clients after they decided to upgrade to more modern tanks. Today the T-54/55 is still in use in many poorer nations and the tank still sees combat in Middle-Eastern proxy wars.
Watch a T-55 being blown up in Syria. (Warning: loud Allah hu Snackbars and violent scenes.)
It design principles have a lot of similarities with its predecessors- simple to operate, cheap to produce and reliable in operation according to Soviet war tactics. This tank fulfilled all these requirements. Later improvements introduced an NBC (nuclear, biological and chemical) protection system, engine upgrades and other attachments to increase its range and practical usability. The T-55/54 was the first real Main Battle Tank of the USSR, which meant to replace both older traditional tank roles which included light, medium and heavy tanks.
The benefits of the T-55/54 compared to contemporary Western tanks are clear: ease of operation, small, cheap, robust and very practical. It's 100mm D-10T gun was more then adequate for 1950s standards, it was a tank well suited for its purpose. Yet it also had its drawbacks. The tank had low crew-comfort and little gun depression due to its low profile, meaning it could not fire over hills that easy, and it was quickly surpassed by much better Western tanks which could take it on and defeat it easily in a 1-on-1 firefight merely a decade or two later.
The tank has fought in many wars since its introduction, such as in the Vietnam War, Angola Civil War, 1967 Six-Day War, 1970 Jordanian Civil War, 1973 Yom Kippur War, Iran–Iraq War of 1980-88, Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and Kuwait, in the ongoing Iraq war following the 2003 US/UK invasion of Iraq and in various civil wars, including the ongoing Syrian civil war.
T-55 wreck in Africa.
While the tank is vastly outdated for modern standards and cannot really effectively take on modern MBTs without a lot of luck, it's place on the battlefield cannot be ignored. While modern ATGMs and RPGs can easily destroy this tank in one shot, the need for an armored all terrain vehicle that can deliver cheap, effective firepower and is resistant to small arms fire simply outweighs this downside.
One of the ways to extent the lifespan of a T-54/55 is through heavy modifications and upgrades. Various countries who operate these tanks have either produced homegrown upgrades or bought upgrades from elsewhere.
The upgraded T-55 from the Slovenian military (known as M55 S1) contains a new 105 mm gun, computerized fire-control system, modern stabilized sights with laser-range finders and a hull and turret protected with ERA (Explosive Reactive Armor) plates, which allows higher protection against HEAT rounds, making it especially useful against incoming RPGs and ATGMs missiles. Further upgrades can be found here.
That's it for this Tank chat. If you enjoyed this write-up and if you're a fan of military history and vehicles, please consider following. Any comments are appreciated as well. Thanks.
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