T-54/55/62, Type 59/69/79, TR-580/85 MBTs and everything else based on them

[dy031101]

I think the Israeli's have figured out how to fit a Merkava turrent on a T-55

I've been under the impression that the Merkava turret might need a bigger ring than the T-55 hull could provide since Israel used to test the Merkava hull with turret from the M48......

Of course that might cease to be the case with Merkava III, which IIRC has little in common with the preceding generations despite being of similar form factors......

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Alright, I think I'll start drawing up modelling templates for a T-62-based "what-if ZTZ-96 with more Soviet influence" instead of trying to fit the Leopard 2 turret onto Centurion hull......  

[rickshaw]

I think the Israeli's have figured out how to fit a Merkava turrent on a T-55

either that or the Israeli's have "vismoded" their T-55 turrents to look more like their Merkavas.

Or a Hezbollah vismod (they have those tanks & usually captured israeli combat uniforms while Hamas has no tanks or else the israelis would have destroyed them already or go without spare parts & fuel.)

If you look closely you can see that the original T55 turret is under there.  The flaring sides look pretty crudely made, most probably from fibreglass.

[raafif]

Think that is an IDF VISMOD "Merkava" used for Infantry / Tank co-operation training (note flag & it's painted in the right IDF colour) -- it frees real MBTs for front-line use -- once thought to be a dummy for a Lebanese Hezbollah propaganda movie.  The soldier on the right behind the tank might be wearing the "Darth Vader" helmet seen in Iraq (too indistinct to tell) so it might be true.

There was also a photo of a wrecked "Merkava-3" at the bottom of a bomb crater with the commander's body slumped forward -- the tank was painted overall light-yellow -- the detail-less turret and T-55 hatches gave it away as a dummy -- perhaps a Lebanese propaganda ploy or an IDF training exercise on how to extricate wounded tank crew.

Also a crude wooden dummy Merkava-1 was displayed with "RPG" damage to the side and turret -- in Iran judging by the giant poster behind it.

[Jschmus]

Here's another theory.  I think it's a movie prop.  Soviet-bloc military equipment is tons cheaper to rent for film use than the Western equivalent.  Witness the SyFy production of a couple of years ago that was set in Iraq, which used BTR-80s as a sub for Strykers. 

[dy031101]

The I-416 tank, brought to my attention by Logan Hartke in the T-34 thread, appears to me like another way to execute the T-54 idea......

The article states that all vehicle crew were relocated into the turret...... looks like that included the driver, which seems to have made the turret larger (although it could also have been that camera angle playing tricks on my eyes).

I don't suppose the driver was provided with any fancy seat like the one for the MBT-70 (which is what I think the article's emphasis on the prototype being unable to fire while turning was meant to say on the side)......

Sounds like a what-if fodder...... switching things around in the hull to make room for a driver's seat, in turn leaving possibility for larger guns (come to think of it, stock T-54/55 turrets modified to take a 125mm gun are said to exist, but I've never seen any photo of such turrets; BW120K came around kinda late for the scope of this post)......

[ChernayaAkula]

This is a screen shot from Codename Panzers: Cold War, a real-time strategy game set in 1949 with the Soviet battling it out over Berlin. It's just named T-54, but it a heavily-whiffed one.
It looks to have a demolition gun and some huge rockets on the turret sides. I don't think it has a real-world ancestor, but then again, I'm not that well-versed in all things T-54.

[dy031101]

Bangladesh is reportedly in the process of rebuilding their Type 59 and 69 tanks into Type 59G with re-engineered Type 96 turret for real...... the pictures showed only the turret, however, so I can't say how much truth there is to the news.

[rickshaw]

Looks rather similar (without the rockets) to the mythical "fire support" version of the T55 which was "discovered" in Afghanistan by the Mujihadeen during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.  I remember the consternation in the defence press when pictures were published of a T55 with a very short barrel.  Turned out to be a hoax.  The Mujihadeen had cut the barrel off a wrecked T55 to use the metal for scrap and some journalist had taken photos of it and it had been identified as a new variant.  The debate raged in the various Jane's publications for months!

[ysi_maniac]

Swapping turrets between T-55 and Super Sherman M-51

[Dizzyfugu]

The I-416 tank, brought to my attention by Logan Hartke in the T-34 thread, appears to me like another way to execute the T-54 idea......

Check this (BTW, the driver's set was rotating just as in the MBT 70):

https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/prototypes/object-416-su-100m/

[Dizzyfugu]

Swapping turrets between T-55 and Super Sherman M-51

I like the M51 turret on the T-54 chassis, this could work since the T-54 hull is rather narrow.

[ysi_maniac]

What if T-55 122 (2 flavours) and T-55 125?

[Dizzyfugu]

The uppermost turret design would be a death trap, because of the openings under the turret front. This conveniently funnels any shots at that critical area into the hull roof and the turret bearing...