MBT - T-55

T-55 MAIN BATTLE TANK

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Crew: 4.
Combat Weight: 36,000 kg.
Ground Pressure: Not Known.
Power-to-Weight Ratio: 14.4 hp/ton.
Engine: V-2-55/V-12 water-cooled diesel engine with 600 bhp.
Fuel Capacity: Not Known.
Maximum Speed: 50 km/h.
Maximum Range: Without long range fuel tanks; 510 km.
......................With long range fuel tanks; 600 km.
Transmission: Not Known.
Steering: Not Known.
Suspension: Not Known.
Electrical System: Not Known.
Gradient: Not Known.
Side Slope: Not Known.
Fording: 1.4 metres.
Trench Crossing: 2.7 metres.
Vertical Obstacle: 0.8 metres.
Ground Clearance: 0.425 metres.
Armament: 1 x 105mm L7A1 rifled gun with 43 rounds. (Main Gun)
...............1 x 7.62mm PKT Machine Gun with 2000 rounds. (Co-Axial)
...............1 x 12.7mm NSV-M Machine Gun with 2800 rounds (Anti-Air)
Gun Elevation/Depression: Not Known.
Smoke Grenade Launchers: None, but injecting vaporized diesel fuel onto the exhaust system can generate a dense smoke screen.
Comments: An upgrade program for the T-55 MBT, called Project Gulmohar, was almost complete as of October 1999. The tanks, ~ 550 in active service and another ~ 200 in store, were expected to remain in service till 2015. However in 2001, the army decided to phase out the tank over a period of seven years and replace them with upgraded T-72M1 MBTs.