ACE-72141 1/72 T-55 Soviet Main Battle Tank model kit | 
Ace 1/72 T-55 Soviet Main Battle Tank model kit. Pic.1
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Work on a replacement for the T-54 began at the end of 1953, codenamed Obiekt 140 However, this was canceled in favor of another alternative, the Obiekt 155 which entered production in 1958 as the T-55. The T-55 was basically improved T-54B.
The final evolutionary development of the T-54 was the T-62. One of the more unusual details of the production of the T-62 series was that T-55 production actually lasted longer than that of its erstwhile successor, the T 62 Production of the T-62 ended in 1975 in the USSR, but T-55 production continued until 1979 primarily for the export market. This detail is worth mentioning smce it explains why certain fittings found on the T-62 appear on late production T-55 The T-55A was primarily developed to incorporate a new anti radiation lining and the full PAZ/FVU chemical filtration system. This version is most easily distinguished by the larger combings on the commander's and gunner's hatches as well as the blister on the driver's hatch. The initial production version did not have a 12.7mm DShK machine gun fitted to the loader's hatch.
Total Soviet production was about 20,000 tanks plus 9,000 further vehicles from Poland and Czechoslovakia. T-55 seen widespread combat use the largest tank battles of the post-war years- the 1967 1973 and 1982 Mid-East Wars the Indian-Pakistan Wars, the Vietnam Wars, the Gulf Wars, Soviet-Afghan war, in Iran-Iraq and Anti Terror Coalition wars different T-54/55 versions used by both sides all saw the extensive use of tanks of these types.
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