The T-55 is a main battle tank used by the Soviet Union in the Wargame series, it was first introduced in Wargame: European Escalation. It was rerolled to Armored Recon in Wargame: Red Dragon.
History[]
A close twin brother of the T-54 which was designed at the end of WWII. It was produced continually from the 1950s to 1980s. Its low cost and upgrade potential allowed it to remain in production as tanks such as the T-62 were introduced and ceased production. The T-55 is the most produced tank in history with an estimated production run of around 100,000 units made over its 30 year production lifespan. Its abundance throughout world armies have led to many different versions and adaptations of the design.
Developed to replace the older T-34 and then only recently introduced T-44 tank designs, the T-55 was designed to be an inexpensive and well-rounded medium design that would allow for new improved weaponry as well as survival capabilities, including nuclear strikes. After initial tests and improvements, the Soviet Union produced up to 27,500 T-55 units between 1955 and 1981.
The T-55 was in service for all Warsaw Pact members and some other Communist countries. It was also seen service in the Arab-Israeli Wars. Chinese had their own copy of the T-55 called the Type 59. The base variant of T-55 is good against the M48 but will be outclassed by the M60, Leopard 1, Chieftain, and other later designed tanks.
The Soviet reconnaissance battalions has two companies each with 7 BMPs and 6 Tanks.
Overview[]
European Escalation[]
- Combination of decent speed and operational range for a low price makes the T-55 a Pact workhorse. While it may not end up being the most numerous vehicle on the field, there will definitely be T-55's present when you enter the enemy base in triumph.
- First in the line of the T-55 series, it has an overall weak armor, poor accuracy gun, no stabilizer and terrible optics, but an average speed of 50 km/h, decent fuel consumption with a large gas tank and a relatively powerful gun, if it hits, for its low price of 20 points.
- Being ridiculously cheap, the T-55 can still surprise enemies as at close range as it can penetrate even the most heavily armored tank.
- The T-55's strength lays in its low cost. It is often fielded in spam armies, a rather inefficient tactic against decent players.
- Its best used to support other tanks or counter lightly armored vehicles up close. Unlike the T-62 that has a small fuel tank and low speed, the T-55 can keep up with most advances and requires only minimal supply. Working in concert with heavier tanks or ATGM infantry and vehicles, it can draw fire away from other units that deal more damage, but cost more. Since they are cheap, losing a few T-55's is not a major blow, but beware of slowly giving away points. Having 4 heavy tanks facing off against a number of enemy tanks may prove risky, but 1 or 2 heavy tanks supplemented by scores of T-55's (As you can get several T-55s for the cost of one heavy tank) will be much more efficient. While the T-55's draw fire, the Heavy tanks can concentrate on killing the enemy while not suffering any damage to morale or armor. If your enemy concentrates on your heavy tanks the T-55s many shots will damage or panic the assailants.
- The T-55's should be positioned all along the line, supporting any defense or offense actions. While not having the power to penetrate better NATO MBT's, they can often get side shots on enemies who will foolishly turn to shoot at tanks on either side.
- The sheer low cost and high numbers mean that T-55s are a good choice for any PACT army lineup, as they can be deployed quickly and cheaply if needed.
- The cheapest version of the T-55 has no machine gun on it, giving it absolutely no ability to hit flying aircraft and making it less effective at demoralizing enemies at close range with a hail of automatic fire.
Red Dragon[]
As this tank was moved into Armored Recon, its stats was actually better than the T-55A, but that's all. In Red Dragon, it is already the second to last batch in MBTs for terms of modernization level (worst ones like M48A1). The performance of Recon T-55 is limited as its main gun is low in Accuracy/Stabilizer and does not have a MG. This makes the T-55 more suitable as an auxiliary unit in armored clusters, rather than a flanked "sentinel" unit (PT-76B is cheaper). However, it should also be pointed out that the T-55 was the heaviest recon unit available to the Soviet Union.
Game stats[]
Specifications[]
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Class | Armored Recon |
| Cost | 25 
|
| Armor | Front 7 / Side 3 / Rear 2 / Top 1 |
| Strength | 10 |
| Size | Medium |
| Optics |
Good |
| Speed | 50 km/h |
| Road Speed | 110 km/h |
| Stealth | Medium |
| Fuel Capacity | 965 L |
| Autonomy | 500 km |
| Year | 1980 |
Weapons[]
| Weapons | 
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Main Gun | No Weapon | No Weapon |
| Name | D-10T | ||
| Caliber | 100mm [KE] [AoE] | ||
| Ammo | x 32 | ||
| Range | Ground = 1925 m Helicopters = N/A m  Airplanes = N/A m
|
||
| Accuracy | 30% | ||
| Stabilizer | 10% | ||
| AP Power | 11 | ||
| HE Power | 3 | ||
| Suppression | 115 | ||
| Rate of fire | 8 r/min |
Specifications[]
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Class | Main Battle Tank |
| Cost | 20
|
| Armor | Front 7 / Side 3 / Rear 2 / Top 1 |
| Strength | 10 |
| Size | Medium |
| Optics |
Bad |
| Speed | 50 km/h |
| Road Speed | 110 km/h |
| Stealth | Poor |
| Fuel Capacity | 1360 L |
| Autonomy | 700 km |
| Stabilizer | None |
| Year | 1958 |
| Type | Armored, Mechanized, Motorized, Marine |
Weapons[]
| Weapons | 
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Main Gun | No Weapon | No Weapon |
| Name | D-10T | ||
| Caliber | 100mm [AoE] [KE] | ||
| Ammo | x 30 | ||
| Range | Ground = 1925 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m
|
||
| Accuracy | 5 | ||
| AP Power | 9 | ||
| HE Power | 3 | ||
| Suppression | 115 | ||
| Rate of fire | 7 r/min |
Specifications[]
| Specifications | |
|---|---|
| Class | Main Battle Tank |
| Cost | 1  15
|
| Armor | Front 2 / Side 1 / Rear 1 / Top 1 |
| Size | Normal |
| Optics |
Bad |
| Speed | 50 km/h |
| Fuel Capacity | 1360 L |
| Operational Range | 700 km |
| Stabilizer | None |
Weapons[]
| Weapons | 
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Type | Main Gun | No Weapon | No Weapon |
| Name | U-5TS | ||
| Caliber | 100 | ||
| Ammo | x 30 | ||
| Range | Ground = 1925 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m
|
||
| Accuracy | 3 | ||
| AP Power | 4 | ||
| HE Power | 3 | ||
| Rate of fire | 7 r/min |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Historically, the T-55 and all of its variants have D-10T as its main gun instead of U-5TS in European Escalation. This error was fixed in AirLand Battle which gives the T-55 historically accurate D-10T main gun.
- The Year of T-55 was marked as 1980 in Red Dragon. As mentioned above, it was already near the end of its production.
