T-55AMD-1
| This page is about the Soviet medium tank T-55AMD-1. For other versions, see T-54/55 (Family). |
Contents
Description
The T-55AMD-1 was a further development of the ubiquitous T-55 main battle tank, outfitted with the Drozd hard-kill active protection system (APS) as a countermeasure against anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). Originally, the Drozd APS was developed by the Soviet military in the late 1970s to provide protection for their T-55 and T-62 tanks against the growing threat of portable ATGMs and handheld unguided anti-tank rocket launchers. Around 250 T-55A tanks were subsequently converted to the T-55AD standard, with the Drozd APS installed.
Introduced in Update "Wind of Change", the T-55AMD-1 is essentially a side-grade of the premium T-55AM-1. It has the same upgrades to the firepower, fire control system, engine, and hull armour made on the T-55A to bring it up to the T-55AM-1 standard, but the T-55AMD-1 trades the add-on "brow" composite armour for the Drozd APS, which can effectively intercept incoming ATGMs within a 80° frontal arc. This makes the T-55AMD-1 better equipped to deal with ATGM-equipped IFVs, tank destroyers, and helicopters than the T-55AM-1, though the turret armour cannot reliably resist penetration from contemporary tank guns. The T-55AMD-1 retains the potent 100 mm D-10T2S cannon with access to various ammunition types, including APFSDS, APHE, and ATGMs. Its mobility, while not exceptional, is adequate for its role. The combination of the versatile D-10T2S gun with competent mobility allows the T-55AMD-1 to perform well, even in situations where the Drozd APS is irrelevant.
General info
Survivability and armour
Armour type:
- Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull)
- Cast homogeneous armour (Turret)
| Armour | Front (Slope angle) | Sides | Rear | Roof |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hull | 100 mm (59°) Upper 100 mm (56°) Lower |
80 mm Top 20 mm Bottom |
45 mm (16°) | 30 mm |
| Turret | 200 - 350 mm Turret front (Variable) 200 - 250 mm Gun mantlet (Variable) |
170 - 200 mm | 60 - 80 mm | 30 mm |
| Cupola | 100 mm (cylindrical) | 30 mm | ||
| Composite armour | Frontal effective protection | Sides |
|---|---|---|
| Hull | Upper glacis: 300 - 360 mm Kinetic / 400 - 450 mm Chemical |
N/A |
Notes:
- Tracks and suspension wheels are 20 mm thick
The armour of the T-55AMD-1 is not infallible, and will rarely block fatal shots. However, the armour scheme is comprehensive and lacks serious weak spots. While vulnerable in tank-on-tank engagements, the T-55AMD-1 can typically take a frontal beating from larger autocannons without being penetrated or losing critical components.
The turret armour is unimpressive, as the composite armour on the T-55AM-1's turret has been completely removed to make room for the 'Drozd' hard-kill Active Protection System. APDS, APFSDS, and HEAT rounds found around the T-55AM-1's battle rating have no difficulty penetrating the turret from the front if shots are aimed around the gun, though exceptionally poorly-aimed shots can still bounce off the rounded sides and roof of the turret. The mantlet has 110-160 mm of protection which, while impotent against tank rounds, will stop autocannon fire easily.
The frontal hull protection consists of two 100 mm plates; an upper front plate sloped at 59°, and a lower front plate sloped at 56 degrees. The UFP is additionally protected by add-on composite armour composed of 30 mm of RHA sandwiching a 120 mm metal-polymer block against the basic 100 mm of the UFP. The add-on composite armour offers good protection against chemical energy penetrators such as HEATFS, ATGMs and anti-tank grenades, with a protection of roughly 400 mm. This allows the tank to resist hits of almost all HEATFS of the BR (most of them penetrate between 320 mm to 430 mm) and even some ATGMs (between 400 mm to 650 mm). The hull can be angled to increase the effectiveness of the frontal protection, which can increase the effective armour up to 703 mm against CE penetrators. Moreover, the good 80 mm side armour allows angling to be performed without excessive fear of side penetration.
It should be noted that there is a fuel tank in the front of the tank that protects some stowed ammunition, and sometimes penetrating rounds will just set the fuel tank on fire instead of detonating the ammunition. Unfortunately, this rack is the first-stage rack, so there is no way to empty it to increase survivability. This is one of the main problems of post-war era Soviet MBTs.
'Drozd' Active Protection System
The T-55AMD-1 has access to a hard-kill protection system, the Drozd APS. It is a constantly active APS which provides protection against a wide variety of threats. It is composed of three major pieces: a Doppler radar array for target detection, eight launchers (four per side) on the sides of the turret, and an electronics piece on the turret's rear. It detects targets inside a 80° frontal arc and engages them inside a 7 m distance. The main disadvantage of this system is that it follows the direction of the turret, meaning it can only successfully destroy targets that are in the line of sight.
Drozd can be used while on the move (although the turret still must be facing the target). While on the move (especially horizontally), the detected ATGM has a risk of escaping the activation range of the Drozd. When moving towards an enemy that fired an ATGM, it will be affected by the APS but the ATGM can still damage the T-55 when destroyed due to momentum. Moreover, exceptionally high-penetrating ATGMs like the HJ-9 can still penetrate the tank even if intercepted by Drozd. The T-55AMD-1 has no access to a Laser Warning Receiver (LWR), so the player must rely on visual contact with the ATGM and the launcher (no LWR makes the helicopter lock-on invisible). Thankfully, the usual attack angle of enemy projectiles are inside the protection arc when in LOS.
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 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Armaments
Main armament
| 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 | 14.3 | 19.8 | 24.0 | 26.5 | 28.2 | 9.75 | 8.63 | 7.95 | 7.50 |
| Realistic | 8.9 | 10.5 | 12.8 | 14.1 | 15.0 | ||||||||
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 | 336 | 332 | 317 | 299 | 282 | 265 |
| BR-412D | APCBC | 239 | 236 | 220 | 202 | 185 | 170 |
| 3BM25 | APFSDS | 335 | 330 | 307 | 290 | 275 | 260 |
| 3BK17M | HEATFS | 390 | 390 | 390 | 390 | 390 | 390 |
| OF-412 | HE | 27 | 27 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 21 |
| 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 | - | - | - | 75° | 78° | 80° | |||
| BR-412D | APCBC | 887 | 15.88 | 1.2 | 19 | 100.1 | 48° | 63° | 71° | |||
| 3BM25 | APFSDS | 1,430 | 3.4 | - | - | - | 76° | 77° | 80° | |||
| 3BK17M | HEATFS | 1,085 | 9.96 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 1,170 | 65° | 72° | 77° | |||
| OF-412 | HE | 900 | 15.6 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 1,460 | 79° | 80° | 81° | |||
| Missile details | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Range (m) |
Projectile mass (kg) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||||
| 0% | 50% | 100% | ||||||||||
| 9M117 | ATGM | 370 | 4,000 | 18.8 | 0.05 | 0.1 | 4,770 | 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 | 16 | 5 | 25 | 50 |
Ammo racks
| 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 |
Notes:
- Shells are modeled individually and disappear after having been shot or loaded.
- If you pack 19 (+24) shells, it will fill only the frontal wet stowage ready rack.
- Rack 6 is a first stage ammo rack. It totals 18 shells and gets filled first when loading up the tank.
- This rack is also emptied early: the depletion order at full capacity is: 6 - 1 - 2 - etc. until 5.
- Simply not firing when the gun is loaded will move ammo from racks 1-5 into rack 6. Firing will interrupt the restocking of the ready 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 | - | - |
Usage in battles
Do not be afraid to trust your armour, particularly when hull-down or against autocannons. However, avoid straying from your allies, as your slow reload can mean that a missed or poor shot is fatal. Do not count on knocking out crew to cripple opponents as your reload is long enough for knocked out members to be replaced. If you are reloading while under fire, remember to keep your gun moving to evade shots at it. The combination of APS and reliable armour means that IFVs such as the Begleitpanzer, Bradley, and Marder can do little to you without catching you off guard or getting a luck shot on your gun.
Notable opponents
- PUMA - This enemy is nearly harmless as it lacks missiles and cannot reliably penetrate your UFP and turret, but it is very difficult to knock out with one shot, frequently requiring two or three. When facing it frontally or angled, aim for the driver on the right side, as he has another crew member sitting behind him. APFSDS will penetrate the engine if necessary. When side-on, always shoot in front of the turret base, as the area under and behind it is an infantry seating area and will do no damage. If your main cannon is knocked out, it is possible to detonate the turret ammo with the roof mounted machine gun which will at least set a fire. It is dangerous sheerly due to the amount of time that it takes to knock out. If it gets your gun, or delays you until its friends arrive, you will probably be the one knocked out instead.
- TAM - Be careful with this enemy. It will rarely fail to penetrate your armour and will show up in unexpected places on account of its mobility. Do not rush shots at it and do not shoot at its hull frontally. You will usually destroy the engine but leave it otherwise unharmed. The turret front can also be difficult to penetrate effectively, so aim for the turret ring or barrel. If you must shoot the hull, aim for the right side which houses the driver and an ammo rack behind.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- Consistent armour
- Very resistant to autocannons
- Drozd APS to block missiles
- APS has several charges
- Adequate penetration on APDS and APFSDS rounds
- Access to APHE with fantastic post-penetration damage
- Decent mobility
Cons:
- Below average reload time
- Low APFSDS post-penetration damage
- Slow gun and turret traverse
- Disappointing gun depression
- APS only protects 40 degrees to each side of the gun.
History
As one of the top-secret projects of the Soviet Army, the Kompleks 1030M-01 "Drozd" was the very first operational active protection system (APS), developed by Vasily Ivanovich Bakalov of the KPB Design Bureau as a counter to the abundance of RPGs and ATGMs. This project was first started by the Army but was dropped due to budget constraints; the Marines later completed the project as a cheaper alternative to ERA or new T-72 tanks to replace their T-55As. Around 250 of their T-55As were then converted to the AD standard by 1983. The version of T-55AMD-1 in-game was based on the enhanced T-55AM-1 with better engine (V-46-5M at 691hp), and new radio and fire control systems.
According to combat records during the Soviet-Afghan War, the system's interception rate was at around 80%; but the system itself also has some drawbacks such as being lethal to unarmoured friendlies in its frontal firing arc (later models installed a warning buzzer), and a very long reload time at around 15 minutes.
After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, some of these T-55ADs were in the hands of Ukraine and the system was reinstalled onto other tanks, while the remaining ones in Russia were stored elsewhere as reserve forces.
Media
- Skins
See also
Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:
- reference to the series of the vehicles;
- links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.
External links
Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:
- topic on the official game forum;
- other literature.
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