T-54 (1951)
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Contents
Description
The T-54 (1951) is a rank V Soviet medium tank with a battle rating of 8.0 (AB/RB/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.
Ingame, 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 armor of the T-54 leaves nothing to expect. While it does not get the 120mm 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 caliber 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 armor 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 caliber autocannon fire with exception of APDS rounds to the sides (already seen in Warrior at 8.0 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 | 56 | 9 | 35.5 | 806 | 992 | 22.7 | 27.94 |
| Realistic | 51 | 8 | 460 | 520 | 12.96 | 14.65 | |
Modifications and economy
| Mobility | Protection | Firepower | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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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 100mm is a reliable caliber for all situations with amazing ammunition for all cases. Being at 7.7 gives the T-54 (1951) 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 dicipline and accurate aiming as they make much more less spalling that the BR412D. Despite not having great penetration which will be sort of required when facing heavily armored 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 (specially Europeans) have little to no armor that is able to be penetrated by even the BR412. However, some of the frontal plates of said vehicles are meant to stop the ammunition at certain distances (AMX-30 can stop BR412 at past 500m). Using 3BM-8 and 3BK-5 make frontal engagements easier and with greater results due to the increased armor 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 | 48° | 63° | 71° |
| 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 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 1,440 | 65° | 72° | 77° |
| OF-412 | HE | 880 | 15.2 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 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
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| 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
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 is 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.
The T-54 mod. 1951 were the final products of the T-54 family and transition to early T-55 models. Featuring 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.
Media
- Skins
- Videos
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.
| USSR medium tanks | |
|---|---|
| T-28 | T-28 (1938) · T-28 · T-28E |
| T-34-76 | T-34 (Prototype) · T-34 (1940) · T-34 (1941) · T-34 (1st Gv.T.Br.) · T-34 (1942) · T-34E STZ · T-34E |
| T-34-57 | T-34-57 · T-34-57 (1943) |
| T-34-85 | T-34-85 (D-5T) · T-34-85 · T-34-85E |
| T-34-100 | T-34-100 |
| T-44 | T-44 · T-44-100 · T-44-122 |
| T-54 | T-54 (1947) · T-54 (1949) · T-54 (1951) |
| T-55 | TO-55 · T-55A · T-55AM-1 · T-55AMD-1 |
| T-62 | T-62 · T-62M-1 |
| T-64 | Object 435 · T-64A (1971) · T-64B |
| T-72 | T-72A · T-72AV (TURMS-T) · T-72B · T-72B (1989) · T-72B3 · T-72M2 Moderna |
| T-80 | T-80B · T-80U · T-80UD · T-80UK · T-80UM2 · Т-80U-Е1 · T-80BVM · Object 292 |
| T-90 | Т-90А · T-90M |
| Trophies/Lend-Lease | |
| Germany | ▂T-III · ▂T-V |
| Great Britain | ▂МК-IX "Valentine" |
| USA | ▂M3 Medium · ▂M4A2 |
