T-54 (1951)

T-54 (1951)

T-54 (1951)

Description

The T-54 (1951) is a rank Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of (AB), (RB), and (SB). It was introduced in during the Closed Beta Test for Ground Forces before Update 1.41.

In 1951, a new hemispherical turret with improved ballistic shaping was introduced for the T-54 medium tank. This turret eliminated the turret shot-traps of earlier models and became the definitive one for all T-54 and T-55 variants that followed. A new telescopic gunsight was also introduced.

In-game, the 1951 model plays similarly to the 1949 model. It has the same reduced hull armour compared to the 1947 model but makes up for this with its better mobility and turret, which is not vulnerable to shot-traps like the 1947 and 1949 models are. The 1951 model also has access to a powerful HEAT-FS round.

General info

Survivability and armour

The armour of the T-54 leaves nothing to be desired. While it does not get the 120 mm frontal plate of the T-54 (1947), it is one of the strongest frontal plates seen in an early MBT and is able to withstand full calibre solid shots from all nations (Obus de Ruptur for example, the French solid shot seen in most post war designs such as the Lorraine 40t, AMX-50, etc). However, the armour is inexistant for HEAT and ATGM which are the main ammunition used in 7.7 to 8.7. The tank is practically immune to low calibre autocannon fire with exception of APDS rounds to the sides (seen in Warrior and AMX-30 DCA).

Armour type:

• Rolled homogeneous armour (Hull, Turret roof)
• Cast homogeneous armour (Turret, Gun mantlet)

Armour	Front	Sides	Rear	Roof
Hull	100 mm (60°) Front glacis 100 mm (54°) Lower glacis	80 mm	45 mm (16°) Upper 30 mm (72°) Lower	30 mm Front 20 mm Back
Turret	160 mm (14-39°) Turret front 200 mm (4-78°) Gun mantlet	115 mm (45-50°) Upper 155 mm (10-30°) Lower	65 mm (9-35°)	30 mm

Notes:

• Suspensions wheels and tracks are 20 mm thick

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				806			__.__
Realistic				460			__.__

As a relatively heavily armoured tank and part of the Russian doctrine, the mobility of the T-54 leaves much to be desired. Not only is top speed the lacklustre, but turn rate is not great and reverse speed is mediocre. Overall, the mobility is not the best and should not be relied on to be used to play as a fast paced vehicle. However, the power-to-weight ratio on the T-54 is impressive and is able to climb and move through rough territory with ease as well as push and pull tanks.

Modifications and economy

After Parts and FPE, the player should focus on mobility upgrades or the Horizontal Drive modification, since both mobility and turret rotation are limited when the tank is stock. Also, the 3BK-5 HEATFS shell greatly increases the tank's damage output, and should be considered quite important as well.

Armaments

Main armament

The T-54 has access to the powerful D-10T. As seen in prior vehicles and other vehicles in the tree, the 100 mm is a reliable calibre for all situations with amazing ammunition for all cases. The T-54 (1951) also has access to APDS and HEAT-FS ammunition for use against everything. Both are impressive ammunition which require little to no practice in terms of use but they do require more trigger discipline and accurate aiming as they make much less spalling that the BR-412D. Despite not having great penetration which will be sort of required when facing heavily armoured targets like the Tiger II, it is able to decimate every vehicle it sees from all angles due to the explosive power. At 7.7 and above, the threats that will be seen (especially Europeans) have little to no armour, able to be easily penetrated by even the BR-412. However, some of the frontal plates of said vehicles are meant to stop the ammunition at certain distances (AMX-30 can stop BR-412 at past 500 m). Using 3BM-8 and 3BK-5 makes frontal engagements easier and with greater results due to the increased armour penetration. But again, they barely cause spalling and will most likely take more than one shot to fully disable and destroy an enemy tank.

100 mm D-10T					Turret rotation speed (°/s)					Reloading rate (seconds)
Mode	Capacity	Vertical	Horizontal	Stabilizer	Stock	Upgraded	Full	Expert	Aced	Stock	Full	Expert	Aced
Arcade	34	-4°/+17°	±180°	N/A	9.52	13.18	16.00	17.69	18.82	11.05	9.78	9.01	8.50
Realistic					5.95	7.00	8.50	9.40	10.00

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
BR-412	APHE	218	213	192	169	148	130
BR-412B	APHEBC	218	214	195	173	154	137
BR-412D	APCBC	239	236	223	207	192	178
BR-412P	APCR	224	216	186	153	127	105
3BM-8	APDS	299	298	291	272	253	249
3BK-5	HEATFS	380	380	380	380	380	380
OF-412	HE	19	19	19	19	19	19

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%
BR-412	APHE	895	15.9	1.2	19	100.1	47°	60°	65°
BR-412B	APHEBC	895	15.9	1.2	19	100.1	47°	60°	65°
BR-412D	APCBC	887	15.9	1.2	19	93.94	48°	63°	71°
BR-412P	APCR	1,050	8.53	N/A	N/A	N/A	66°	70°	72°
3BM-8	APDS	1,415	4.13	N/A	N/A	N/A	75°	78°	80°
3BK-5	HEATFS	900	12.38	0.05	0.1	1,440	65°	72°	77°
OF-412	HE	900	15.6	0	0.1	1,460	79°	80°	81°

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-54 (1951)

Full ammo	1st rack empty	2nd rack empty	3rd rack empty	4th rack empty	5th rack empty	6th rack empty	Visual discrepancy
34	33 (+1)	28 (+6)	23 (+10)	22 (+11)	21 (+13)	1 (+33)	No

Notes:

• Turret empty: 28 (+6) shells.
• Last rack only: 21 (+13) shells.

Machine guns

12.7 mm DShK
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Pintle	250 (50)	600	-10°/+60°	±180°

7.62 mm SGMT
Mount	Capacity (Belt)	Fire rate	Vertical	Horizontal
Coaxial	3,500 (250)	600	N/A	N/A

Usage in battles

The T-54 '51 is practically the same tank as the T-54 '49, it has the same armour as the T-54 '49 and the only difference is the addition of the new HEAT-FS round capable of going through 380mm of armour (the War Thunder community generally accepts the T-54 '51 as having the best ammunition overall). Again, the new round should be taken as a back-up option for the most armoured enemies, while BR-412D should remain the main round.

General Playstyle

The T-54 '51 is simply the better tank than the T-54 '49, because it has the same armour, and the only difference is the addition of HEAT-FS round, which penetrates through 380mm. (Read the T-54 '47 and the T-54 '49 articles, as they cover the T-54 playstyle).

Major Gameplay Differences from the T-54 '49 (Read the T-54 '47 and the T-54 '49 articles prior to reading this!)

• You can now penetrate all vehicles that you can see.
• If the map is very big, and you are forced to snipe, you may prefer to take APDS ammunition, because it's much easier to aim.

The Stock Grind

When grinding the first modifications, Arcade Battles might be more fun, because of faster-paced gameplay and the ability to see all threats. Now, it's a priority to research Parts and FPE, and it may also be a good idea to activate 3-5 universal vehicle back-ups to be able to respawn twice in one match. In this case, it's worth it, because the T-54 '51 is a grinder for rank V and first rank VI vehicles - the faster you spade it, the faster you can grind!

General tips for the stock grind are the same as those for the T-54 '47, read that article.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Improved turret shape and armour thickness, with no shot-traps (Same turret as the T-54 '49)
• Lighter than the 1947 model, with improved mobility
• Wide ammunition selection, including 380 mm penetration 3BK-5 HEAT-FS and powerful APHE rounds
• Well-sloped hull glacis plate, resistant to most full-bore AP rounds
• Roof-mounted DShK heavy machine gun for use against aircraft or light vehicles

Cons:

• Unstabilised main gun and very slow turret traverse make it vulnerable to being flanked in close combat
• Relatively low rate-of-fire
• Small magazine size of the DShK heavy machine gun
• Weaker hull armour than the 1947 model
• Poor penetration with APHE rounds

History

The T-54 mod. 1951 was the final product of the T-54 family and the transition to early T-55 models. It featured the exact same hull, gun, NBC systems and fire control systems of the previous T-54 but with the TSh-2-22 telescopic gunner's sight. The mod. 1951 featured a turret redesign which removed the turret side undercuts, replaced radio with a new R-113 radio, reduced weight as the extra 20mm has been removed, additional fuel tanks, fume extractor and addition of the TDA smoke generating system.

In-game description

The new 1951 tank model received a cast semi-spherical turret without shot traps and with improved traverse sealing and an apparatus for attaching a minesweeper. Its two SG-43 machine guns were replaced with a 7.62 mm SGMT machine gun. The T-54's main armament remained as before - a 100 mm D-10T cannon with a 56 calibre barrel length. This weapon was developed in the No. 9 artillery factory's design bureau under the direction of F.F. Petrov. The 100 mm cannon's armour-piercing round was able to penetrate a 125 mm thick vertical armour plate at a range of 2,000 m. After the Second World War, improved variants of this tank served for forty years after the basic model was developed. From 1946, all the characteristics of the T-54 and its variants surpassed those of foreign medium tanks, and its weapon had the best armour-piercing properties.

In total, 7,009 of them were made between 1952 and 1955.The T54 Mod. 1951 became widespread outside the USSR's borders and was licensed for production in Poland, Czechoslovakia and China. Its Chinese variant was designated Type 59.

Tanks of this type were used in a multitude of armed conflicts in the 20th century. These vehicles are still in service in many countries in Asia and the Middle East.

A disadvantage of the tank was the hull layout it inherited from the T-44. It ensured the Soviet tank's advantages over its foreign counterparts, but also restricted opportunities for further increasing the tank's defences, particularly against the new 90 and 105 mm high-explosive anti-tank warheads and armour-piercing subcalibre rounds. The unstabilised tank cannon's accuracy and rate of fire were too low when firing on the move. The T-54's transmission and undercarriage restricted opportunities to increase its mobility after installing a more powerful weapon or increasing its armour.

Media

Skins

• Skins and camouflages for the T-54 (1951) from live.warthunder.com.

Videos

T-54/T-55 family discusses the T-54 (1951) at 4:19 - War Thunder Official Channel

T-54 (1951) Tank Review - NUSensei

Most produced tanks discusses the T-54 (1951) at 4:38 - War Thunder Official Channel

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;
• encyclopedia page on the tank;
• other literature.