T-55AM-1

T-55AM-1

T-55AM-1

USSR

VI Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
8.7	8.7	8.7

Class:

PREMIUM

Medium tank

Purchase:Bundle or Gift

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Description

The T-55AM-1 is a premium gift rank VI Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 8.7 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.81 "The Valkyries".

General info

Survivability and armour

The T-55, which this tank was based upon, used exclusively rolled homogeneous armour, which proved to useless against advanced chemical warheads. The Soviet Union, in an attempt to modernize and extend the service life of the T-55, conceived the AM-1 upgrade kit for the tank. The upgrade kit consists bolted-on blocks of metal-polymer plates, which are essentially plates of metal sandwiching polymer fillings. This solution was cheap and easy to implement, though its effectiveness was debatable. Compared to the original T-55A, the armour protection was greatly improved, but still prove to be insufficient against certain weapons.

The turret cheeks are fitted with the add-on metal-polymer blocks, which grants immunity to every HEAT warhead in-game except the HOT missiles. The Leopard's 120mm HEAT-FS occasionally penetrates the cheeks, and in that case, very minimal damage is caused. The turret armour against APDS is highly effective, given that the projectile impacts the add-on armour. However, the armour is mostly useless against APFSDS, and in case of penetration, will cause extensive damage. The add-on armour on the upper front plate is somewhat effective as it can nullify HEAT warheads with less than 450mm penetration. Most APFSDS will seamlessly penetrate the hull. Most APDS will bounce.

Do note that the gun breech area is very poorly protected by some 200mm of cast homogeneous armour, making its protection worth absolutely useless against everything. So do try to angle your turret by facing your cheeks. When doing so, use the right side of your turret to "catch" rounds, as even if it penetrates, only your loader will be knocked out, so no big deal.

Also note that the add-on armor block can be blown off your tank. For example, HOT missiles will have very high chance of taking off armor, and direct hit from artillery shell (assuming it hits the armor and doesn't destroy you) will take off the armor.

In regards to ammo storage, your ready rack is stored within your fuel tank. This wet ammo storage will prevent ammo detonation from HEAT, but a well placed APFSDS will nonetheless cause ammo cook-off.

Mobility

Game Mode	Max Speed (km/h)		Weight (tons)	Engine power (horsepower)		Power-to-weight ratio (hp/ton)
	Forward	Reverse		Stock	Upgraded	Stock	Upgraded
Arcade	56	9	41.5	1,069	1,316	25.76	31.71
Realistic	51	8		610	690	14.7	16.63

The mobility is only bested by the XM-1. It will out-run most, if not all, its friendlies and adversaries. Its pivoting capabilities are comparable to the very capable neutral steering system on the Leopard L/44. The tank will reach around 30-40 km/h off-road, and -10 km/h in reverse. The so-called "stabilized" gun is only operable reliably under 35km/h.

Armaments

Main armament

The 100mm rifled gun seems like an oddity at this BR, not in its calibre or whatnot, but its unparalleled versatility. The gun can fire APDS, APFSDS, HEAT-FS, HE, APHE, ATGM and smoke. In fact, it can fire every type of munition available in-game with the exception of HESH. Though very versatile, it is quite useless as the APDS, APFSDS and HEAT-FS are terribly under-performing compared to its adversaries. The only offensive munition worth carrying is the APHE and ATGM. The APHE (APCBC) is extremely capable. It will destroy most bad guys your face with one shot, given proper shot placement and successful penetration. At this rank, most your opponents are poorly armoured, like the Leopard 1, MBT/KPz-70 and XM-1, so the 200mm penetration on the APHE will penetrate and will result in the instant destruction of your enemies.

100 mm D-10T2S					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	42	-5°/+16°	±180°	Two-plane	14.28	19.76	24.00	26.55	28.24	11.05	9.78	9.01	8.50
Realistic					8.92	10.50	12.75	14.10	15.00

Ammunition

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
		10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
3BM-8	APDS	299	298	291	272	253	249
BR-412D	APCBC	239	236	223	207	192	178
3BM25	APFSDS	335	330	307	290	275	260
3BK17M	HEATFS	390	390	390	390	390	390
OF-412	HE	19	19	19	19	19	19
9M117	ATGM	600	600	600	600	600	600

Shell details
Ammunition	Type of warhead	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Fuse delay (m)	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
							0%	50%	100%
3BM-8	APDS	1,415	4.13	N/A	N/A	N/A	75°	78°	80°
BR-412D	APCBC	887	15.9	1.2	19	93.94	48°	63°	71°
3BM25	APFSDS	1,430	3.4	N/A	N/A	N/A	76°	77°	80°
3BK17M	HEATFS	1,085	9.96	0.05	1	1,440	65°	72°	77°
OF-412	HE	900	15.6	0.1	0.5	1,460	79°	80°	81°
9M117	ATGM	370	18.8	0	0.1	3,000	80°	82°	90°

Smoke shell characteristics
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile Mass (kg)	Screen radius (m)	Screen deploy time (s)	Screen hold time (s)	Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g)
3D3	880	15.6	20	5	25	272

Ammo racks

Ammo racks of the T-55AM-1

Last updated: 1.101.1.14

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
42	41 (+1)	37 (+5)	33 (+9)	21 (+21)	19 (+23)	1 (+41)	No

• Rack 6 is a first-stage ammo rack

Machine guns

12.7 mm DShK
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	300 (50)	600	-10°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm PKT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,000 (250)	700	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The classic method of operating Soviet post-war tanks is hull-down sniping, concealing your vulnerable hull and exposing your well-armoured turret. Although this method is highly effective at staying alive, it is somewhat boring, and sometimes not enough to secure a victory. At times, you will have to leave the comfort of your cover and advance into enemy lines, and this tank will have no problem doing so. The T-55 AM-1 can not only hold a position, but also flank and advance the line (lead the charge) It is recommended to use your mobility to take up vantage points as the match begins, support your team and push out mid-late game to capture points.

Modules

Tier	Mobility		Protection	Firepower
I	Tracks		Parts	BR-412D	Horizontal Drive	NVD
II	Suspension	Brake System	FPE	3BM25	Adjustment of Fire	Laser rangefinder
III	Filters		Crew Replenishment	3BK17M	Elevation Mechanism	Smoke grenade
IV	Transmission	Engine	ESS	3D3	9M117	Artillery Support
This is a premium vehicle: all modifications are unlocked on purchase

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Access to APFSDS ammunition
• Access to very good AGTM
• One of the few top rank tanks with APHE, great for one shots.
• Favourable matchmaking that won't face top rank tanks
• Respectable mobility
• Decent armour, especially vs chemical Munitions
• Roof Mounted DShK 12.7 mm MG is great for taking out low flying Helicopters
• Wet ammo storage in the front fuel tank may prevent ammo detonation from HEAT
• Due to access to APHE, it can even one-shot Abrams given proper shot placement, making the vehicle an adequate back-up for a top-rank Soviet lineup

Cons:

• Armour is completely ineffective against APFSDS and 120 mm APDS
• Below average reload time, many enemies will have a faster reload
• Poor reverse speed
• The Rheinmetall 120mm's HEAT-FS and most high-penetration ATGM's will go clean through its armor
• Ammo stored all around the Hull, a penetration will most likely result in an ammo detonation
• Rather weak APFSDS
• Doesn't have access to thermal optics

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the vehicle in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the vehicle and adding a block "/History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref></ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <references />. This section may also include the vehicle's dev blog entry (if applicable) and the in-game encyclopedia description (under === In-game description ===, also if applicable).

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the T-55AM-1 from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

T-54/T-55 family discusses the T-55AM-1 at 5:06 - War Thunder Official Channel

Should You Buy The T-55AM-1? - Sako Sniper

Premium Vehicles: T-55AM-1 - War Thunder Wiki

T-55AM-1 - Tank Review - Napalmratte

See also

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• reference to the series of the vehicles;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
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