The Soviet T-55 tank was mass-produced between 1958 and 1979. It is the successor to the T-54 combat vehicle , but surpasses it in many respects. The new model has a more powerful power plant (traction increased immediately by 60 horsepower). The modernized engine of the T-55 tank added agility to the car. Cross country speed has also increased.
Further upgrade
The developers were faced with the task of creating a version of the tank with increased combat readiness as soon as possible. As part of further improvements, additional racking tanks were installed in the hull, which significantly increased the fuel reserve. Ammunition of the main gun was increased from 34 to 43 rounds. Instead of air receivers used when starting the engine, a compressor was installed. Another new product of that time appeared in the tank tower - the automatic dew-fire system "Dew", which, when an open flame appeared, instantly found the source of fire and extinguished the ignition site with a directed stream.
Radiation
But the most important improvement was the installation of a nuclear defense system with a set of Geiger counters that record the level of x-ray radiation. The combat efficiency of the tank during the attacking radiation flow did not suffer, but the crew could lose the physical ability to perform their functions. For these reasons, the T-55 tower was shielded from the inside by special modules from lead plates reflecting gamma rays.
Anti-aircraft small arms
Defense needs a comprehensive combat vehicle, including from an attack from above. Nevertheless, external small arms were abolished, since the standard anti-aircraft machine gun of the DShKM brand, under the conditions of increased speeds of military aircraft, was outdated and became a useless attribute. However, ten years later, when there appeared combat helicopters carrying anti-tank bombs, the machine gun was returned. Screw machines flew low, and it was not difficult to bring down a bomber.
A bit of history
Full-scale serial production of the T-55 tank was launched in the USSR in 1958 at defense plants No. 75, No. 174 and No. 183. Production continued until 1979. In total, about twenty thousand cars left the assembly line. The T-55 tank, whose photos are posted on the page, was widely exported. All Soviet-era Warsaw Pact countries, as well as Arab states, willingly bought a modern Soviet-made combat vehicle.
Effective medium tank T-55, except in the USSR, began to produce in some other countries friendly to the Soviet Union. The issue was established in Poland, between 1964 and 1978, 1,500 units were collected. In Romania, from 1970 to 1977, there were 400 military vehicles. In Czechoslovakia, at a plant in the city of Martin, from 1964 to 1973, 1,700 units were produced under license.
Tank T-55: characteristics
The T-55 model had much in common with the predecessor of the T-54, this determined a high level of unification of spare parts, units and individual units. The nomenclature of material support has long been common. In some documents, technological maps and drawings, the machine was designated as the T-54/55 tank. This simplified the production of the new model, since the entire process of conveyor assembly was already completed.
Even the instruction manual for the T-55 tank in all respects corresponded to the characteristics of the T-54. Numerous improvements to the new model existed, as it were, separately from the basic parameters, their functions related to the machine indirectly. The T-55 tank, the drawings of which were copied from the original calculations of the predecessor, was an exact repetition of the T-54.
The following are the main parameters of the basic version of the T-55:
- number of people in the crew - 4;
- combat weight - 36.5 tons;
- tank length with gun - 9000 mm;
- the length of the body only is 6200 mm;
- height along the line of the tower hatch - 2218 mm;
- width - 3270;
- ground clearance - 500 mm;
- type of main gun - D10T2S / NP;
- machine guns on the armor turret, one course, one coaxial, type SGMT, caliber 7.62 mm;
- combat kit - 43 shots;
- machine gun ammunition - 3500 rounds;
- power plant - brand V-54, diesel;
- engine power - 580 l. from.;
- close to maximum speed - 50 km / h, on paved roads.
- power reserve - 480 kilometers;
- specific pressure - 0.81 kg / cm 2 ;
- confident overcoming of obstacles - a vertical wall, height - 0.8 meters; trench, width - 2.7 meters;
- fording - 1.5 meters;
- descent - 30 degrees;
- rise - 32 degrees.
The T-55 tank, whose characteristics were constantly improved, was the most popular combat vehicle of the late fifties in the countries of Eastern Europe.
Modifications
In 1961, the T-62 with advanced characteristics was created on the basis of the T-55. The model was produced simultaneously with the T-55 until 1983. Then, a deep modernization of combat vehicles was carried out, and thus new modifications appeared: T-55M, T-55AM, as well as T-62M, which were distinguished by enhanced firepower and a higher degree of protection without loss of mobility. The passive defense consisted of additional reservations, the active one consisted of the Drozd complex with two mortars, each loaded with a pair of 107-mm shells, as well as large-caliber anti-aircraft machine guns. In addition to armament, the tanks were given two independent radar stations.
Later, the T-55M tank began to be equipped with a more sophisticated 9K116 Bastion guided weapon system, and the Sheksna was installed on the T-62M with similar characteristics, but more dynamic in action. These two complexes are equipped with a 100 mm rifled barrel and a 115 mm smoothbore gun. Shot of the first barrel - guided missile 9M117. The characteristics of the projectile are multi-stage, with a very high efficiency of destruction. The missile is controlled by a semi-automatic laser guidance system.
Measuring instruments
In addition to striking weapons, the T-55M tank is equipped with a KTD-2 rangefinder, a BV-55 ballistic computer, a 32PV-TShSM sight and an M1 Meteor stabilizer. The T-62 tank is equipped with a 41PV-TShSM sight and a BV-62 ballistics calculator. Laser rangefinders on both tanks cover distances from 500 to 4000 meters with a measurement accuracy of up to 10 meters.
Ballistic computers provide automatic determination of aiming angles along with lateral lead information during firing by artillery shells, but cannot calculate the flight path of a guided missile.
An anti-aircraft machine gun when firing from a horizontal angle can be tied to the data of ballistic computers, but the direction of fire to a greater extent should be determined by visual observation.
disadvantages
A large-caliber anti-aircraft gun mounted on a turret is equipped with an ammunition of three hundred rounds in ribbons laid out in boxes. The shooter is instructed in terms of firing in small bursts, since the thin and long barrel of a machine gun can heat up unevenly from long bursts and become deformed. To stabilize the temperature, a heat shield is installed in the armament.
Reservation
In addition to the existing protection, the T-55 tank was modernized several times over the entire production period in terms of its strengthening. The last time the additional armor protection was installed in 1985. The upper frontal sector was duplicated with sheets 30 mm thick. Additional armor is located on both sides of the embrasure of the main gun, close to the barrel. The angle of its inclination involves the reflection of any enemy shells, except for cumulative, the destructive effect of which cannot be neutralized.
However, soon the T-55M tank began to be equipped with anti-cumulative rubber-fabric screens, which were laid in several layers along the entire front of the combat vehicle. The effectiveness of such protection is indirectly confirmed by tests at the test site. Shells fired from a distance of 150 meters, crashing into rubber "mats", lost about thirty percent of their strength, and the main layers of armor remained without through holes.
Crew equipment
Particular attention of the developers of the T-55 was given to radiation protection. The goal is to preserve the life and health of people. All crew members are equipped with special anti-radiation vests, each seat was also covered on all sides by lead modules in fabric lining.
The location of the driver below is reinforced with 20 mm sheets of armor that are welded to the bottom. It turns out effective mine protection. The remaining crew members are marching in the back, most secure part of the turret.
Masking tools
The T-55 tank, a photograph of which was taken in the desert, introduces the principles of camouflage. The armor of the combat vehicle, painted in sand, allows you to merge with the environment. The tank becomes indistinguishable for enemy observers, and its combat crew can use this to change the location, as well as a spontaneous attack.
Other standards
Camouflage, greenish-gray coloring or a net of the same color, stretched over the location of the tank, is used for camouflage in the European landscape. In battle conditions, a smoke screen is used, which is possible at any time thanks to the standard device 902B located on the right side of the tower. The system consists of eight launchers that throw smoke grenades with a caliber of 81 mm. The smoke zone allows you to hide not only the tank, but also several infantry units that participate in the battle, provided that the personnel have respiratory equipment. The effectiveness of such a maneuver is undeniable.
The smoke zone during the launch of four charges in one gulp is 120 meters wide and 8 meters high. The launch of one grenade covers a zone with a radius of 60 meters around the tank. Smoke grenades are activated by a signal from the remote control of the tank commander. The system has only one drawback - during the battle, reloading the smoke gun is not possible, because for this you need to leave the tank tower and spend a few minutes on open armor, which is very risky under enemy crossfire. But some crews found a way out of a difficult situation. The shooter goes to the armor at the moment of the greatest smoke from the action of the last two grenades, when the visibility is zero, and reloads the system.
Tank T-72
In 1967, the development of the most massive, main battle tank of the armed forces of the USSR began, which was taken on combat duty in 1973 and is still in service in the Russian tank troops. According to its characteristics, the T-72 surpasses all previous modifications from the category of armored combat vehicles. The difference between the T-55 and T72 lies in the greater firepower of the latter, the overall length of the seventy-second is 9530 mm against 9000 mm of the T-55. The crew of the T-72 consists of only three people, the duties that ensure the life of the machine are evenly distributed among the three without compromising combat regulations.
The prototype of the Soviet tank T-55
It turns out that there are doubles in the tank industry. Even before the collapse of the USSR, the T-55A tank was created in East Germany. This is an almost complete analogue of the Soviet T-54/55. The Germans did not start their development into serial production, as it was unprofitable for them for economic reasons. In addition, the tank troops of the GDR did not need so many military vehicles, for which it was worth undertaking large-scale production.
At the same time, in the Soviet Union almost the same tank was produced in huge quantities, and after short negotiations, the German model began to be produced in the USSR in parallel with Soviet tanks. The T-55 A, a German middle class tank, was delivered in small series to the GDR army. The technical characteristics of the model were not bad, the car was distinguished by a strong tower, good maneuverability and a high-precision gun. The tanks cost the German side inexpensively, since the political component of the project was taken into account, East Germany at that time was a "close friend" of the USSR.
Models
The T-55 tank is highly regarded as a source material for modeling in the field of military equipment. Craftsmen use the image of a popular combat vehicle to create miniature copies that are completely identical to the original. The kitography of a model such as the T-54/55 tank is a whole series of model developments at a scale of 1:35 with the elaboration of the smallest details. Models of the T-55 are considered the most interesting in the manufacturing process after the American Sherman.