Terrier-X Fuel Tank

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

The T-54's development began with the T-44, which itself revived the prewar T-34M project in 1943. The T-44 featured a torsion bar suspension, a transverse engine mount, and the removal of the hull machine-gunner's crew position, giving it cross-country performance at least as good as the T-34 but with superior armour and a more powerful 85 mm gun. Only about 200 T-44s were completed in 1945, as T-34 production was in full swing. Designers then experimented with a 122 mm gun but decided a 100 mm gun was better. Fitting the 100 mm gun to the T-44 required a larger turret ring and a slightly enlarged hull. A prototype, about 40 centimetres longer and only 10 cm wider, was completed in 1945, looking almost identical to the original T-44 but with a larger gun. After testing revealed drawbacks, serial production began, and the vehicle officially entered service in April 1946, going into production in Nizhny Tagil in 1947 and Kharkiv in 1948. The initial T-54 series started slowly as 1,490 modifications were made. The Red Army received a tank superior to WWII designs and theoretically better than the newest tanks of potential opponents. The 100 mm gun fired BR-412 series full-calibre APHE ammunition with superior penetration compared to the T-34. The serial production version, T-54-1, had thicker hull armour (80 mm on the sides, 30 mm on the roof, 20 mm on the bottom). Production was stopped due to quality problems, and an improved T-54-2 (Ob'yekt 137R) was designed with a new dome-shaped turret inspired by the IS-3 heavy tank, a shorter bustle, a single bow-mounted machine gun, a modernised transmission, and wider 580 mm tracks. It entered production in 1949 at Stalin Ural Tank Factory No. 183 (Uralvagonzavod). In 1951, the T-54-3 (Ob'yekt 137Sh) featured a new turret without side undercuts and the TSh-2-22 telescopic gunner's sight. A command version, the T-54K, had a second R-113 radio.

In Their Own Story

At the beginning of the 1950s, the OKB-520 design bureau at Uralvagonzavod saw personnel changes: Morozov was replaced by Kolesnikow, who in turn was replaced by Leonid N. Kartsev in March 1953. Kartsev's first decision was to fit the 100 mm D-10T tank gun with the STP-1 'Gorizont' vertical stabilizer, creating the D-10TG gun. This new tank, designated T-54A (Ob'yekt 137G), received night vision equipment for the driver, an OPVT wading snorkel, the TSh-2A-22 telescopic sight, TVN-1 infrared driver's periscope and IR headlight, a new R-113 radio, multi-stage engine air filter and radiator controls, an electrical oil pump, a bilge pump, an automatic fire extinguisher, and extra fuel tanks. It officially entered production in 1954 and service in 1955. A command variant, the T-54AK, added an R-112 radio set, TNA-2 navigational device, and reduced ammunition load by 5 rounds. In October 1954, a T-54A designated T-54M (Ob'yekt 139) served as a testbed for new D-54T and D-54TS 100 mm smoothbore guns and 'Raduga' and 'Molniya' stabilization systems later used in the T-62, but these were not completely successful. It was fitted with a V-54-6 engine developing 581 hp (433 kW) but never went into production. The T-54B (Ob'yekt 137G2), designed in 1955, featured a new 100 mm D-10T2S gun with STP-2 'Tsyklon' 2-plane stabilizer and entered production in 1957. During the last four months of production, it received an L-2 'Luna' infrared searchlight, a TPN-1-22-11 IR gunner's sight, and an OU-3 IR commander's searchlight. Modern APFSDS ammunition was developed to enhance the gun's penetrative performance against NATO armour. The T-54BK command tank had the same additional equipment as the T-54AK.

Reader's Guide

Trials with nuclear weapons showed that a T-54 could survive a 2–15 kt nuclear charge at a range of more than 300 metres from the epicentre, but the crew had a chance of surviving at a minimum of 700 metres. It was decided to create an NBC protection system that would start working 0.3 seconds after detecting gamma radiation. The task of creating a basic PAZ (Protivoatomnaya Zashchita) NBC protection system—offering protection against the blast of a nuclear weapon and particulate filtration, but not against external gamma radiation or gas—was given to the KB-60 design bureau in Kharkiv and completed in 1956. The documentation was sent to Uralvagonzavod. Changes were initially tested on the T-54M (Ob'yekt 139). The tank was fitted with the new V-55 12-cylinder four-stroke one-chamber, 38.88-litre water-cooled diesel engine developing 581 hp (433 kW). Engine power was increased by raising the pressure of the fuel delivery and charging degree. Designers planned a heating system for the engine compartment and an MC-1 diesel fuel filter. The engine was to be started pneumatically using an AK-150S charger and an electric starter, eliminating the need for a tank filled with air. Hatches over the engine compartment were changed for easier maintenance. To increase operational range, 300-litre fuel tanks were added to the front of the hull, bringing overall fuel capacity to 680 litres. The ammunition load for the main gun was increased from 34 to 45, with 18 shells stored in 'wet containers' located in hull fuel tanks (a concept from Kartsev's cancelled Ob'yekt 140). The ammunition load included high explosive-fragmentation and anti-tank rounds, and designers planned to introduce BK5M HEAT rounds penetrating 390 millimetres thick armour. The TPKU commander's vision device was replaced by either the TPKUB or TPKU-2B. The gunner received a TNP-165 vision device. The loader's hatch-mounted 12.7 mm DShK anti-aircraft heavy machine gun was dropped, deemed worthless against high-performance jets. The tank was supposed to have the 'Rosa' fire protection system, a thicker turret casting, an improved two-plane gun stabilization system from the T-54B, and night vision equipment.

Did You Know?

• The T-54/55 series is the most-produced tank in history, with estimated production numbers ranging from 96,500 to 100,000.
• The first T-54 prototype was completed at Nizhny Tagil by the end of 1945.
• The T-54A was fitted with the STP-1 'Gorizont' vertical stabilizer, a first for the series.
• The T-55 increased its main gun ammunition load from 34 to 45 rounds, with 18 stored in 'wet containers' inside hull fuel tanks.
• The Chinese version of the T-54A is the Type 59.