VT-55A

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VT-55A
VT-55A in a museum

VT-55A in a museum
General properties
crew 3 (commander, driver, tank mechanic)
length 7.12 m
width 3.28 m
height 2.25 m
Dimensions 35 tons
Armor and armament
Armor Rolled armor steel 35-100 mm
Main armament 1 × 7.62 mm machine gun vz. 59
agility
drive V12 diesel engine W-55 with 38.88 liter displacement
580 PS (426 kW) at 2000 rpm
suspension Torsion bar
Top speed 50 km / h
Power / weight
Range 100 to 270 km

The VT-55A (from the Czech V yprošťovací t ank ; in German Bergepanzer ) is an armored recovery vehicle made in Czechoslovakia , which is based on the chassis of the medium tank T-55A and is still in service with the Czech armed forces today. It served as a mobile workshop and had the task of repairing or towing broken armored vehicles of the tank units.

Development history

VT-55A of the Armed Forces of Uganda (2014)
ŽS-55A in the Czech Republic (2018)

In the early 1950s, the USSR built an armored recovery vehicle with the designation BTS-1 based on the T-54 chassis , which went into series production and became the standard armored recovery vehicle in the Warsaw Pact armies . In 1955 the BTS-1 was modernized and equipped with a winch and a folding crane . Later models of this vehicle were based on the chassis of the more modern T-55 and were given the designation BTS-2 . In the 1960s, the BTS-2 was manufactured under license by VR Poland and Czechoslovakia . On this basis, the Czechoslovak armaments industry developed an armored recovery prototype, which was given the designation VT-55A and was mass-produced from 1969 to 1983. The Czechoslovak People's Army (ČSLA) received around 20% of the units produced , 50% went to the member states of the Warsaw Pact and 30% were sold to various countries in Asia and Africa. The Polish armored recovery vehicles WZT-1 and WZT-2 were also based on T-55A chassis .

From 1969 to 1983 a pioneer tank version ŽS-55A ( Ž enijní s troj ) was also produced, which is essentially a VT-55A with the dozer blade BTU-55 . In the NVA , the ŽS-55A was called the T-55T . The GDR developed the T-55TK crane armor from the T-55T , which has a jib crane with a maximum hook load of 20 tons. For reasons of stability when lifting heavy loads, the T-55TK had a lowerable ram at the rear.

technology

The VT-55A is equipped with a hydraulic crane and two winches. The main task of this vehicle is to tow damaged tracked vehicles from the battlefield and to transport spare parts weighing up to three tons to damaged units. The hydraulic crane has a maximum hook load of two tons and is suitable for lifting the tower of a light armored vehicle or drive unit by up to four meters. The mechanical main winch (rope length 200 m) reaches 500 kN pulling force, which can be increased to 750 kN using a pulley block . The auxiliary winch with hydraulic drive can develop a pulling force of 8.0 kN with twice the rope length.

The tank has NBC protection . The armament includes a 7.62 mm machine gun vz mounted on the roof . 59 for self-defense against ground and air targets.

equipment

  • 1 main winch with 500 kN pulling force; with pulley block 750 kN
  • 1 auxiliary cable winch with a pulling force of 8.0 kN and a cable length of 400 meters
  • 1 hydraulic crane, which achieved a lifting force of 20 kN (two tons) on the last units produced
  • Electric welding devices with 140–230 A
  • Dozer blade
  • Various tools, air compressor

Web links

Commons : VT-55A  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g VT-55A (vyprošťovací tank); PDF file (Czech)
  2. ↑ VT-55A on the official website of the Czech Ministry of Defense
  3. ^ WZT-1 armored recovery vehicle (Polish)
  4. ^ Jörg Siegert: NVA tanks: 1956–1990. Motorbuch Verlag, 2014.
  5. ↑ Vyprošťovací tank VT-55A