The T-55 is a Soviet medium tank, an incremental development of the earlier T-54 introduced into service in 1958, refining the T-54's 100mm main gun, sloped armor and low profile with improvements including an upgraded engine, a nuclear-hardened ventilation system reflecting Cold War fears of atomic battlefield use, and increased ammunition and fuel capacity. It became one of the most widely produced tanks in history, manufactured in the tens of thousands across the Soviet Union and under license in other Warsaw Pact and allied countries such as Czechoslovakia, Poland and China, and it was exported in enormous numbers to client states and allied forces around the world throughout the Cold War. The T-55 saw combat in numerous conflicts across the Middle East, Africa and Asia from the 1960s onward, and though long obsolete against modern main battle tanks, upgraded and refurbished T-55s remained in active service with a number of countries' armed forces into the twenty-first century simply because of their enormous numbers and low cost relative to newer designs.
Facts
Classification
Service Status Weapon Class Introduced Year Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) Connections
Operated By
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
Used In
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
Source Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Wikidata: T-55
Wikidata Q328272, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source 2. Wikipedia: T-54/T-55
WikipediaLead section
The T-54 and T-55 tanks are a series of Soviet medium tanks introduced in the years following the Second World War.
Development history section
This became the Ob'yekt 155 and entered production at Uralvagonzavod on 1 January 1958 as the T-55.
service-status
service = 1948-present
Used In: Angolan Civil War, Wikipedia article text
Survivability of opposing medium-armour vehicles deployed by UNITA and the South African Defence Force (SADF) against late model MBTs used in the Angolan Civil War remained a major concern throughout that conflict.
Used In: Kosovo War, Wikipedia article text
T-55s were also used by Yugoslavia in the Kosovo War and Macedonia (now North Macedonia) during the 2001 insurgency in Macedonia and by Russian peacekeepers after the withdrawal of Yugoslav forces from Kosovo.
Used In: Sri Lankan Civil War, Wikipedia article text
Due to the operation demands of the escalating Sri Lankan Civil War, T-55As of the regiment were deployed in pairs to forward bases to support infantry with limited training.
Used In: Iran-Iraq War, Wikipedia article text
The tank was heavily used during the Iran-Iraq War of 1980-88.
Operated By: Red Army, Wikipedia article text
It was accepted for service with the Red Army on 8 May.
Operated By: People's Liberation Army, Wikipedia article text
China produced thousands of Type 59 tanks (based on the Soviet T-54A) for the People's Liberation Army, which were used during the Vietnam War and used en-masse against Vietnam in the Sino-Vietnamese War and sold the similar (but upgraded) Type 69 tanks to both Iran and Iraq during the Iran-Iraq
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