Monument tanks. The T-55 tank, in fact, was a fairly deep and well-thought-out modernization of the T-54 that preceded it and, at the same time, a real conglomerate of research and development studies at the Kharkov plant number 75 and OKB-520 from Nizhny Tagil.
Many hands, as you know, as well as heads, make everything better. So it is not surprising that this tank has found widespread use not only in the Soviet army, but also in many armies of the world.
Our opponents did not sleep either.
And here, first of all, the armament of the latest new tanks in the USA, England, and then in Germany with the new 105-mm tank gun L7, developed by gunsmiths in England, but turned out to be so successful that it was also produced in the USA, began to matter. by assigning the index M68.
Its main advantage was the high muzzle velocity of the armor-piercing subcaliber projectile, equal to 1475 m / s, which allowed new tanks of our potential opponents to hit the T-55 from a distance of 1800 m. And at a distance of 2000 m, this projectile could penetrate a sheet of armor 210 mm thick …
Experts calculated that in a duel between the T-55 and the M60, the chances of his victory over the latter (all other things being equal) are equal to 1: 3. That is, by destroying this one tank, we risked losing three of our vehicles.
It was this calculation that served as the reason for such a hasty development, and then the adoption of the T-62 tank, on which, along with strengthening the booking, they began to install an even more powerful 115-mm U-5TS smoothbore cannon.
The resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR "On measures to ensure the comprehensive modernization of the T-55 (T-55A) and T-62" tanks of July 25, 1981, according to which (taking into account the number of T-55 in the army) could take about 15 years.
First of all, we strengthened the armor protection of the turret: to the right and left of the gun embrasure, we installed blocks of armor, which the troops called
With "clamps" and "Ilyich's eyebrows".
Structurally, they were cast parts of armor steel, having a thickness of 30 mm, behind which there were boxes with 5-mm steel sheets at intervals of 30 mm filled with polyurethane foam. Such a constructive solution immediately increased the tank's security: from APCR shells by 120 mm, and from conventional armor-piercing shells by 200-250 mm.
The barrel of the gun was covered with a heat-shielding casing, which made it possible to reduce the unevenness of its heating. It would seem a trifle, but it also increased the accuracy and accuracy of fire.
The upgraded tanks were designated T-55M and T-55AM. Modernization has added weight to them. So, the T-55M began to weigh 40, 9 tons, and the T-55AM up to 41, 5 tons. Therefore, in order to keep their mobility at the same level, they had to install engines of increased power - V55U (620 hp), and then and B-46-5M (690 hp).
In turn, they decided to cover the undercarriage of the modernized tank with anti-cumulative rubber-fabric screens. But only the width of the tank exceeded the maximum dimensions for transportation by rail. And in order to transport them, these screens had to be removed.
The production of the T-55 continued until 1977, when more advanced models of the T-62 and T-72 tanks had already appeared.
However, they continued to produce it, rightly believing that a tank well mastered by the troops (moreover, relatively cheap and with a high level of maintainability) could well be used in a future total war with the use of nuclear weapons.
By the way, in this case, individual anti-radiation protection vests were created for tankers. Well, their jobs on the same T-55 tanks were supplemented with local protection against penetrating radiation.
The experience of using tanks in Afghanistan required strengthening its mine protection.
For this purpose, in the bottom of the T-55, under the driver's seat, a frame made of a steel channel 80 mm thick was placed, which was closed from below with six sheets of armor 20 mm thick. And on the right, behind his seat, a pillers appeared - a strut that prevented the bottom from bending when the tank was blown up by a mine. The driver's evacuation hatch, located in the bottom, also received additional booking with a 20-mm sheet.
Smoke grenade launchers were now installed on tanks for firing grenades loaded with white phosphorus. And to protect against napalm, all external electrical wiring was hidden in steel tubes. The hoses from the external fuel tanks were lined with asbestos in a wire mesh frame.
Well, and by increasing the travel of the road wheels from 135-149 mm to 162-182 mm (by installing new, more advanced torsion shafts) and the height of the lugs on the tracks (together with the use of a new pattern of their supporting surface), we achieved an increase in the already high cross-country ability of all these machines.
The T-55A turned out to be the first tank equipped with the Drozd complex, which entered service in September 1983.
And already in December of the same year, the T-55AD tank (these tanks received such an index), this machine was sent to the troops.
Structurally, "Drozd" (total weight of about one ton) consisted of two radars for detecting ammunition flying up to the tank and an armament system that fired a high-explosive fragmentation projectile ZUOF14 in their direction, the detonation of which created a fragmentation field at a distance of one and a half meters from the tank with a density of 120 fragments per 1 sq. m. The scattering velocity of the fragments was 1600 m / s, and the mass of each of them was about 3 g.
Such an explosion either caused the detonation of the charge of the approaching ATGM, or could destroy its cumulative funnel or deflect it from the flight path. This system has proven itself especially well against RPGs of various types, the mass of the shells of which was relatively small.
As for the firepower of the tank, it was enhanced by the installation on it of the 9K116 "Kastet" complex, created by the Tula Design Bureau under the leadership of A. G. Shipunova.
The throwing device told the rocket an initial speed of 400-500 m / s, which was maintained in flight by the operation of the main engine. The missile was controlled using a semi-automatic laser guidance system, which has a high degree of protection against interference.
Its advantage was the small volume that the control equipment occupied in the fighting compartment. True, it was impossible to use the "Kustet" on the move, and, nevertheless, the use of this complex on the T-55 significantly expanded its combat capabilities.
Finally, in 1984, based on the experience of the Arab-Israeli conflict in 1982, the T-55 received the 4S20 Kontakt-1 ERA and, accordingly, the T-55MV / AMV indices.
It is believed that only the use of this complex was equal to the installation of additional armor 400 mm thick, which, due to its exorbitant weight, would simply be impossible to do!
Interestingly, unlike the T-54, the anti-aircraft machine gun was not initially installed on the T-55.
The reason is the opinion of military experts that this is only extra weight, since it is useless to shoot at high-speed jet aircraft from it. Already in the late 1960s, when anti-tank helicopters began to appear, the anti-aircraft DShKM was again installed on the tank (since 1969). And then from the beginning of the 70s and NSV.
The export modifications of the T-55M5 and T-55M6 tanks with built-in reactive armor and a 690 hp engine are very interesting. with., modern fire control devices and other improvements.
The T-55M6 received a turret from the T-72 tank with a 125-mm smoothbore cannon. The automatic loader with 22 rounds of ammunition is located behind the turret in a special armored container. At the same time, the hull itself was lengthened by one roller, and at the customer's choice it is possible to put rollers from T-55, T-72 and T-80 on this tank.
The site administration and the author of the material are grateful to A. S. Sheps for the illustrations provided!
