T-55, Egyptian Army (1:72)

Prior to the 1956 Suez Crisis, Egypt had been operating mostly with British tanks. The battle with the British made Egypt turn to the Soviets for new equipment to rebuild its forces. During the 1967 Six-Day War and the 1973 Yom Kippur War with Israel hundreds of these tanks were captured or destroyed by the Israeli military. Over the 40 years or so with the Egyptian Army the T-55 has received numerous relatively inexpensive upgrades which just goes to show the versatility of this tank. Even though the 1980s and 90s saw the Egyptian Army acquire US tanks there still were 850 T-55s in their inventory in 2008. Over 90,000 T-54/55 have been produced making it the most produced tank in history.

After WWII Russia began mass production of their T-54/55 tanks. It carried an impressive 100mm main gun on a low silhouette with a turret designed for maximum protection. It also has a very distinctive space between the first and second road wheels. The T-55A version has anti-radiation capabilities plus a few minor improvements. Production also took place in Czechoslovakia, Poland and China (model T-59) with approximately 95,000 tanks of all variants being produced. The T-55 has been used in over 40 countries and after almost 50 years many are still in use.

The rapid build up of new tanks started the USA to worry about a battle in Europe fighting thousands of Soviet tanks just like this T-55A. This concern sparked a fierce tank development race between the two countries and in the U.S. the development of the Attack Helicopter became a priority. The T-55 was sold to over 40 countries and came in numerous variants. All total there were approximately 95,000 tanks produced in all variants making this the most produced tank series in history.

T-55A Specifications

Crew 4

Weights
Weight: 36.6 tons (33203 kg)
Ground pressure: 12.66 lb/in sq. (0.89 kg/cm sq.)

Dimensions
Length: 29.5 ft (9.0 m) with gun � 21.1 ft (6.45 m) without gun
Width: 11.8 ft (3.60 m)
Height: 7.6 ft (2.32 m)

Powerplant
Model V-55 diesel, 520 hp (390 kW), 12cylinder, 38.88 liter water cooled
Power/weight ratio: 14 hp/tonne

Performance
Operational range: 248.5/310.7 mi (400/500 km) � with drop tanks 372.8 mi (600 km)
Maximum road speed: 31.06 mph (50 km/h)
Maximum off-road speed: 21.75 mph (35 km/h)
Average cross-country speed: 15.5 mph (25 km/h)
Fording depth:
Normal � 4.6 ft (1.4 m)
With snorkel � 18 ft (5.5 m)

Armament
Armour: 6.69/7.99 in (170/203 mm)
Gun: 3.94 in (100 mm) rifled gun, D-10T2S
Auxiliary armament: .3 in (7.62 mm) (7.62 X 54R) Machine Gun SGM-T/PKT
Mounted armament: .5 in (12.7 mm) (12.7 X 108R) AA MG DShKM