Putin Sends Old, Post WWII-Era T-55 Tanks to Ukraine to Their Destruction

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

(Washington DC) The T-54 and T-55 Soviet-era Post WWII main battle tank is the most produced tank in the history of the world, with estimated production numbers as high as 100,000 over several decades.

Despite being an early Cold-War-era tank, seemingly obsolete decades after its emergence, numerous variants of the T-55 have for decades been in service with as many as 50 countries.

T-54 and T-55: Used on Both Sides of Ukraine Battle

One such instance, of great relevance now, is Ukraine. Ukrainian forces are fighting with M-55S modernized variants of the Soviet T-55 which, according to an article in Forbes, integrate reactive armor, upgraded engines, improved fire control, and a stabilized, British-made 105mm gun in place of the original Soviet 100mm-gun.

“The gun is what makes the M-55S valuable to Ukraine. The British gun is compatible with a wide range of modern ammunition, including armor-piercing sabot rounds that can penetrate the armor of a Russian T-72,” the Forbes article states.

The chassis of the T-55, however, is small when compared to modern tanks, as it is cited at only 36-tons, a weight likely to make it much more vulnerable if it operates within target range of heavier modern tanks.

The T-55 can compensate for its small size with speed either, as available specs place the tank at only 32mph. One might wonder how an older, smaller, slower tank might prove effective against Russian heavy armor.

Ukraine’s T-55s are Better, More Upgraded

There are likely several reasons for this, one of which is simply the impact of modernization. The U.S. Army Abrams, for instance, is now an entirely different platform than it was at its inception in the 1980s. While the chassis is in many instances similar, although with newer composite armor protections, the lethality of the vehicle itself is now several generations beyond where it was.