Russia returns Soviet-era Т-54 and Т-55 tanks to service

Russia returns old Soviet-era Т-54 and Т-55 tanks, which are over 70 years old, from storage bases.

The Conflict Intelligence Team reported this.

The team obtained photographs of the echelon transporting Soviet Т-54/55 medium tanks from the Far East. One echelon contained both Т-54 tanks and tanks that could be late Т-54 or Т-55 modifications.

According to CIT, this train recently left the city of Arsenyev, Primorsky Krai, where the 1295th Central Reserve and Tank Storage Base is located.

The Return of Old Tanks

The return of Т-62 tanks to the ranks of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation during the Russian-Ukrainian war has been recorded since summer, but this is the first time that Т-54/55 tanks were removed from storage.

The CIT team examined archival photographs of the 1295th Base from open sources and discovered that a significant number of Т-62М(V) tanks were stored there (in addition to relatively modern Т-80BV and Т-72B tanks). Photos of Т-55 and Т-54 tanks were also found.

Satellite image analysis of this Base revealed that between June and November 2022, at least 191 tanks (probably mainly T-62 ones) were removed from it. However, the number could be significantly higher, as most combat-ready vehicles are usually parked in hangars and it is impossible to record their departure from satellite images.

Т-54/Т-55

Soviet Т-54 and Т-55 tanks are usually divided under two indices as two different models, but in fact, they are part of the same line of combat vehicles. These tanks were constantly modernized and underwent design changes but conceptually remained the same.

Soviet Т-54/Т-55 tanks can be distinguished from later Т-62 tanks by the characteristic “gap” between the front first and second road wheels. Another characteristic feature is the muzzle break at the end of the barrel of the D-10Т gun and the specific convex “cap” of the radiator on the top of the turret.

The Soviet army adopted the first modifications of the Т-54 tank in the second half of the 1940s, and the Т-55 tank was adopted in 1958. After the collapse of the USSR, these tanks were acquired in large numbers by the Russian Armed Forces and concentrated in the Eastern Military District. The last T-55s were withdrawn from combat duty and replaced with more modern T-80BVs only in 2010.

There is a possibility that these tanks will appear on the front lines of the Russian-Ukrainian war alongside T-62s after they are depreserved, but the most likely scenario is that they will be repaired and sent to Syria. There, they would be used in large numbers by the Syrian military.

At the moment, three armored plants are engaged in the restoration of Russian tanks, but only one of them specializes in repairing Т-55 and Т-62 tanks. This is a 103rd Armored Repair Plant, so the vehicles will be delivered there.

The key disadvantages of Т-54 and Т-55 are a critically low level of protection, the lack of rangefinders and ballistic computers, primitive sights, and an inferior gun stabilization system.

During the repair and replacement of failed components without special interference in the design, the old TPN-1-22 night sight can be replaced by a standard Russian 1PN-96MT-02 thermal sight with a built-in laser rangefinder, the wide use of which has already been spotted on restored Т-62 and “mobilization” versions of Т-72 and Т-80 tanks.

It is based on a non-cooling matrix that allows it to detect targets such as tanks at a distance of about two to three kilometers. Nevertheless, the 1PN-96МТ-02 sight does not have the ability to target guided tank missiles.

Т-55s for the Syrian army were also equipped with a Kontakt-1 reactive armor.