T-54/T-55
| GENERAL DATA | |||
| Other Designation(s) | - |
||
| Type | T-54 > Medium Tank T-55 > Main battle tank |
Crew | 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver) |
| Manufacturer(s) | KhPZ, UVZ (Soviet Union), Bumar-Labedy (Poland), ZTS Martin (Czechoslovakia) |
||
| Production Quantity | 86000–100000+ est. |
Production Period | 1946–1981 (Soviet Union) |
| Designed | 1945–1958 |
In service | 1949–present |
| DIMENSIONS (T-55) | |||
| Mass (combat) | 36500 kg |
Length with Gun | 9.00 m |
| Length without Gun | 6.04 m |
Barrel Overhang | 2.96 m |
| Width | 3.37 m |
Height | 2.40 m |
| Ground Clearance | 0.425 m |
||
| ARMAMENT/ARMOR (T-55) | |||
| Primary Armament | D-10T 100 mm rifled gun *
|
Ammunition Carried | 34 (T-54), 43 (T-55) |
| Secondary Armament | 12.7 mm DShK MG** |
Ammunition Carried | 200 |
2 x 7.62 mm SGMT MG*** |
3500 |
||
| Other Armament | Smoke grenade launchers (4x 81-mm
each side of turret), and 24 grenades. Vehicle engine exhaust smoke
system. |
||
(*) Initial speed:
915 m/s (APBC ), firing rate: 5-7 rounds / min, effective
range: 3000 m (APBC)
(**) on the cupola, (***) coaxial, bow
| ARMOR (T-55) | ||||
| Assembly | Welding
|
|||
| Armor Detail | Front |
Side |
Rear |
Top/Bottom |
| Hull | 120 mm / 30° * |
20 mm |
60 mm / 90° |
20 mm / 0° |
| Superstructure | 120 mm /
30° * |
79 mm |
60 mm /
90° |
33-16 mm
/ 0° |
| Turret | 205 mm |
130 mm |
60 mm |
30 mm |
| Mantlet | ? mm |
- |
- |
- |
(*) 100 mm after 1949 /
In 1983, addition of additional composite armor on the turret (BDD): the
front turret had the equivalent of 380 mm against the arrow shells and
450 mm against the hollow charges.
| AUTOMOTIVE (T-55) | ||||
| Engine | Model V-55(V-54) V-12 water-cooled.
38.88-l diesel |
|||
| Horsepower | 520 hp, up to 800 hp (late) |
Power/Weight Ratio | 14.24 hp/t, 21,92 (late) |
|
| Transmission | Mechanical [synchromesh] |
Suspension | Torsion bar suspension |
|
| Speeds | 5 forward, 1 reverse |
Fuel capacity | 580 l internal * |
|
(*) 320 l external (less on early T54), 400 l jettisonable rear drums
| PERFORMANCES (T-55) | ||||
| Operational range | 330-450
km (without fuel drums)
600 km (with fuel drums) |
Speed | On
Road |
50-55 km/h (forward), 20 km/h (reverse) |
Cross-Country |
35 km/h |
|||
| Vertical Obstacle | 0.8 m |
Ditch crossing | 2.85 m |
|
| Fording | 1.4 m Unprepared, 5.5 m with snorkel |
Gradient | 60%, 30% Side slope |
|
| Sources | |||
| Wikipédia | FAS | ||
| tanks-encyclopedia.com | militaryfactory.com | military-today.com | |
Drawings |
