[3]
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the
years following the Second World War. The first T-54 prototype was completed at
[4]
Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945. From the late 1950s, the T-54 eventually became
the main tank for armoured units of the Soviet Army, armies of the Warsaw Pact
countries, and many others. T-54s and T-55s have been involved in many of the
world's armed conflicts since their introduction in the second half of the 20th century.
The T-54/55 series is the most-produced tank in history. Estimated production
numbers for the series range from 96,500 to 100,000. They were replaced by the T-
62, T-64, T-72, T-80 and T-90 tanks in the Soviet and Russian armies, but remain in
use by up to 50 other armies worldwide, some having received sophisticated
retrofitting. The Chinese version of the T-54A is the Type 59.
During the Cold War, Soviet tanks never directly faced their NATO adversaries in
European combat. However, the T-54/55's first appearance in the West around the
period of the 1950s (then the beginning of the Cold War) spurred the United
Kingdom to develop a new tank gun, the Royal Ordnance L7, and the United States
[5]
to create the M60 tank.
Development history[edit]
Predecessors: T-34 and T-44[edit]
Main articles: T-34 and T-44
The Soviet T-34 medium tank of the 1940s was well regarded and never stopped
development throughout the Second World War. It continued to perform well;
however, the designers could not incorporate the latest technologies or major
developments as vital tank production 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 had a cross-country performance at least as good
as the T-34, but with substantially superior armour and a much more powerful 85
mm gun.
By the time the T-44 was ready for production, the T-34 had also been modified to fit
the same gun. Although the T-44 was superior in most other ways, by this time, T-34
production was in full swing and the massive numbers of T-34s being built offset any
advantage to smaller numbers of a superior design. The T-44 was produced in only
small numbers, with around 200 completed in 1945. Instead, the designers
continued to use the design as the basis for further improved guns, experimenting
with a 122 mm design, but later deciding a 100 mm gun was a better alternative.
