User:Mzajac/T-54/55

Not to be confused with T54, an American tank prototype from the same era.

"T55" redirects here. For the American utility carrier prototype, see M50 Ontos.

T-54/55
Polish T-55A, Poznań Citadel Museum of Arms (front · rear · detail)
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.
Specifications (T-55)
Weight	39.7 tonnes
Length	6.45 m
Width	3.37 m
Height	2.40 m
Crew	4
Armour	203 mm turret, 99 mm hull
Primary armament	D-10T 100 mm rifled gun
Secondary armament	2×7.62 mm SGMT machine gun, (12.7 mm DShK heavy machine gun)
Engine	Model V-55 12-cyl. 38.88-l diesel 581 hp (433 kW)
Power/weight	14.6 hp/tonne
Suspension	Torsion bar
Ground clearance	0.425 m
Fuel capacity	961 l (254 gal)
Operational range	501 km (311 mi), 600 km (373 mi) with extra tanks
Speed	55 km/h (34 mph)

The T-54 and T-55 tank were a series of main battle tanks designed by the Soviet Union. The first T-54 prototype appeared in 1946, shortly after the end of the Second World War. The T-54 entered full production in 1947 and became the main tank of the Soviet Red Army's armored units, as well as of the armies of the Warsaw Pact countries and other armies as well. T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the world's armed conflicts during the later 20th century.

The T-54/55 series eventually became the most-produced tank in history. Estimated production numbers for the series range from 86,000 to 100,000, and the series is still in use worldwide, having received sophisticated retrofitting. It has been described as the "most popular tank in history" and is the most widely used tank of all time.

The T-54/55 series was eventually replaced by the T-64, T-72, and T-80 in the Soviet army, but original and modernized versions continue to be used by up to 50 other armies today.

T-54 and T-55 tanks never directly faced their NATO Cold War adversaries in Europe, however, their first appearance in the west in 1960 spurred the United States to develop the M60.

Development history

Predecessors: T-34 and T-44

Main article: T-34

Main article: T-44

The Soviet T-34 medium tank of 1940 is considered by many to have the best balance of firepower, protection and mobility of its time of any tank in the world. Its development continued throughout the Second World War and it continued to perform well, however, the designers could not include the latest technologies or major developments as the series production of the tank could not be interrupted during wartime.

In 1943, the Morozov Design Bureau resurrected the pre-war T-34M development project and created the T-44 tank. Thanks to a space-efficient torsion-bar suspension, a novel transverse engine mount, and the removal of the hull machine-gunner's crew position, the T-44 performed at least as well as the T-34, but with substantially better armour. The T-44's main drawback, however, was its small turret that was still incapable of mounting more powerful armament than its predecessor's 85 mm tank gun. A tank mounting a 100 mm gun was desired.