Inside the Chieftain's Hatch: T-55A Part 2 

One correction, the button on TC sight isn't intercom switch, it's actually a target - marker, when TC push the button, the turret will rotate to match at bearing of TC sight. it's a 1st gen hunter-killer system. It's done by sending a electrical signal to turret motor. The intercom switch is on crew headset.

Chieftain,my father said(according to his former commander,who happened to be my grandfather from my mother's side) those handles were very useful for opening beer :D By the way,I think you saw the russian tankers headgear.It doesn't offer you much protection,when someone suddenly headbutt thirty-tons of steel.That's why they install those handles.And that's why my grandfather had a second scar in his head.

I served as a gunner in T55 86-87. As a fighting force. T55 could run much more quickly than 35 km/h. We were jumping sometimes 1m high on terran. Can you imagine the loader without any clinging!? Driver has his poles, gunner has the stabi and sights to fix his hand, commander has his periscope, loader had just his one clinging ;) In our version of t55 the commander had his own turret, could turn, as i remember he could sign a target and the main turret turned to the signed direction, he could shot the main gun also. Stabilizator kept the gun on the target even if the tank turned or the terrain was bumpy. T55 had automatic atomic and chemical protection sys, and fire protection system. Well, practiced loader could load 5.4s at least our ones. Limit to onboard the whole crew from a line in front of the tank, to close rhe hatches was 8s. Gunner and commander on the same! All the handguns, submachineguns, machine gun and the wedge lock had to be able to be repair blindfolded during given times. We had 18s to change the firing pin of the AMD 65. As i remember the shrapnel ammo was 38kg, not easy to play with it, especially not on the field in action. It was very noisy inside, sometimes painful. I useg wax balls beside the special "helmet" but sometimes I cried from the pain. I was the closest to the motor.

For those, who are interested: Some stencils on the driver's panel are damaged but with some imagination they say: Spúšťač - starter Tlak oleja - oil pressure Teplota výstupného oleja - oil temperature at output Teplota výstupnej vody - water temperature at output they are in slovak language as well as are the stencils on the fuse panel for lights Word "stiskni" on the voltage/current gauge means "push" and is in czech language. Same goes for gunners position - table on the main gun control is in czech language, another table with selector of the main gun and MG are in slovak. I suppose that this mix comes from parts built in different parts of czechoslovakia - both slovak and czech and then assembled together. Interesting to see that left-hand push of the round into the breech. Still puzzles me, how these tanks can have ROF of 7-9 rounds a minute in the game ... way higher than 107mm equipped US and british counterparts. :-)

My commander in the army used to be a T-55 tankie before they transferred him to the infantry. He mentioned that, because there was no turret basket, besides having a firing safety switch (which they used to call "isključivač", freely translated as the "off switch-er") that blocks powered turret traverse, the loader also had a safety hand brace. As he mentioned, there are only 2 safe positions for the loader to be in during combat, and that both these positions required him to hold the hand braces, unless he wants his arms/legs got sheered off by the turret ring/ breech recoil. Frankly, this is all very vague information- I'm a dirt kisser, not a tanker, and I've only been in a couple of old scrapped T-55, so don't count on it being reliable info.

As a late 70's M-60A1 tanker we were always told that Russian tankers were very short. By watching your video I think they were right.

"firefighting vehicles" *picture of a flamethrower tank*

"Now we'll try the driver's hull" I'm thinking, this is gonna be good. *sees Chief absolutely wedged in there* Yup, it's good!

Apart from the space issues, and thats a tradeoff of having the low profile, it doesn't look to bad for a late 40's-early 50's design. Which of course is exactly what it is.

Well, regardless of any actual knowledge of armored vehicles, their operation and what not, I can at least say I'm happy with this video as I saw I'm not the only one who talks with inanimate objects when I want them not to roll off of something. And it proved it worked, the shell stayed in it's rack.

Another useful coverage of an iconic tank and chassis for a medium weight combat vehicle family. I'm glad to hear you speak of this particular weapons system with respect. Thanks for posting!

Having watched Beast of War a bunch of times, everything on the inside looks so familiar...

These videos are really well made and are informative thanks!

Best episode yet! Can't believe you actually got into the driverseat, that's tight!

We had T-55 turrets installed in concrete as coastal defence guns. The loader had more space since the ammo was stowed below in a full-height bunker room and lifted up for the loader in a cradle lift through a trap door in the cage floor, next to the gun. The cradle held the round in a 45-degree nose-down position and came up roughly to the loaders waist , so all he had to do was lift the round up and load it. The lift was manually operated by two guys below and came up very quickly, so the loader had a safety button on the floor that he had to stand on before the lift could be operated -- otherwise he was in danger of getting the rear end of the rising round straight in the family jewels. They didn't tell us whether that button was the result of good planning or painful experience...

My guess is that the handle for the loader is to hold while the tank is traveling over rough ground. Regards, Geoff. Reeks

always makes me happy when you put out a new video

Got a "Drive a Tank" experience for Christmas and the choice is a BMP or a T55. Now I know what to expect in a T55....... great vids, keep em coming! :-)

Love dis guy! Thanks again for the upload Chief...

That "cylinder" beneath the commanders feet, is pre-heater. And the idea "man" type for loader is left-handed powerlifting midget. The handle in the loaders position is surprisingly, for holding on to something. Who would have thought of that?

Awesome series Guys... Always say "Yes...!" when the next episode comes in. Thanks and keep up the great work!!! ^_^

Thank you, I really enjoyed that. Seeing inside and loading the shell was very informative. Thank you.

One of my favorite reviews. I know that many of the tanks in reviews have no power but a view of how they look with hatches closed would be great. Seeing the instrumentation lit up and getting a better feeling of how cramped the space is would interesting.

Great vid, thoroughly enjoyed it, thanks. Gained a genuine appreciation for how well engineered the tank was for its time.

Awesome work as always chief :) Really love this vehicle. Like the Sherman, it served with distinction in various countries for decades. And oh my - is that the M47 I spot at the end? Looking forward to the video! (And maybe, the M48 and M60A3 would come next, ja?)

Beautifully preserved.

A wonderful tour. thank you.

I really love the way you try to put your 6 foot + frame into the tanks that were designed for smaller people

Chieftain, thanks for the Video. I really like this Tank Videos. Please keep on doing it.

as a rough guess from an engineering students point of view, the gearing system you mentioned with its odd layout is possibly due to 2 reasons, either its a design limitation meaning the gears had to be arranged in that particular order which isnt your conventional layout you would see in a standard car. Or, the other reason, mainly to do with the reverse gear being center forward, is to make it easier the shift the tank into reverse gear quickly and easily when under fire. just simply grab the stick, clutch down, slam the gear stick center forward and get the hell out of dodge. also with the handles for each crew member in the turret, i can definitely say that those are more than likely for crewmen to hold onto when going over rough terrain and stop themselves from jerking around and avoid hitting their head on something. nothing that is placed into a tank even if it looks like some pointless handle, has some use or other.

Just gonna say, I LOVE the TG Hilux mention there and as well in keeping with the durability of Russian designs I find that short of just melting the whole thing down all you would need is some diesel, a mallet, and maybe a torch and you'll be able to bring it back to life, just like an old Hilux.

I absolutely love these videos. Very thorough, loads of information, a decent amount of humor, and you're easier to listen to than Challenger (just don't like his voice for some reason). Probably a dumb question given that its still in service, but is there any possibility of you doing one of these with an Abrams?

Excellent video. This anecdotal but is supported by the layout of the tank: combat performance during the 70s and 80s by crews in the Middle East suffered considerably due to the mental and physical fatigue they experienced in what can only be described as an excruciating interior. It is interesting how you can contrast this with the IS 7 review and again, you can see some of the indicators Soviet designers followed to the exclusion of crew comfort. Thumbs up!

Love to see it, great work bros!!!

I was thinking .. maybe the weird gear stick layout was to accommodate fast switching between 1 and reverse.

Love these videos . . . i wish you would make some more and with shorter intevals between them!

Those are called "Oh Shit!" handles lol.

great video as always .

great video, very informative as usual :)

Great series! :D Any chance you'll be doing stuff from Saumur's tank museum? Like that running Tiger II? Heck, even a video giving an overview of the museum would be cool (only been there once, almost a decade ago; missed out on seeing the Tiger II & other stuff running during their annual Carrousel)

Missiles normal carry is 4 or 5 at most due to cost and time needed as some come in two parts that are assembled as needed downside is they take up storage space and can be very finicky about getting bumped once assembled.

Countries like Slovenia actually still use it in a heavily modernised variant.

Old T-55 crewman here... Those ''handles'' are actually vodka dispensers, comrade.

As usual very good video

:O I'm excited for the Patton!

Hi Chieftain, The button in the commander's sight is a gunner override switch : Together with the possibility to traverse the turret, the commander could also seek for targets independently from the gunner. With a push of a button located on the left handle of the TPKU-2b device, the turret swung into the center of the commander's TPKU-2b visor lines not only in horizontal plane, but in vertical too. The turret swung with maximum recommended speed on the view line of the commander and stopped with correspondence of the visor lines. Source : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-54/55_Fire_Controls

I believe the handle that is located on the turret wall in the loader's position is for the loader to give him more leverage in ramming the round into the breech. Since it's a position where the loader would load using his left arm/hand and put his right hand on the grab bar and slam er home.

Would like to see the BTR -T variant. great show btw

you can pull down on the TCs periscope and look backwards that way

The odd gearing layout, and I'm just speculating here, might be down to how often would the tank go into 4 and 5? I'm guessing mostly on road travel, where it doesn't go up or down a lot. So the need to gear to 4 and 5 is probably less than gearing to Reverse. Hence putting Reverse in 'front' of them. This is naturally very odd to a modern person, but I wouldn't be surprised to find a similar setup on old tractors.

can you find a centurion 7 to take a look around it would be neat to have videos on soviet american and British designs from similar time periods!

I'm guessing the handles are for crew members to hold onto so they have a place to anchor themselves, maybe during motion for stability, hills?

I believe the compasses in Soviet tanks are gyro-compasses, not magnetic compasses. Sort of an early version of the inertial navigation systems (INS) in fighter aircraft or smart bombs.

About time cheif, what took so long? Usually the second part comes out in a week or so. Anyways awesome video as always. While you are on cold war icons, do the t72. If you think the t55 turret is cramped, boy the t72 will redefine cramp

awesome video

how can you get better than a tank with whitewall roadwheels? I still think those look super sharp. They used to do the same on steam locomotives. It seems to go well with many wheels.

Having just come out of ww2, the soviets should have known better about the importance of internal ergonomics and crew comfort in a tank. They prioritized a low profile too much by sacrificing the former aspects, to the detriment of those who took this tank to battle.

Nice to see a tank from Slovakia....

Long awaited video, When's the next episode?

The gear pattern weirldy makes a fair bit of sence. All you need to use are at the extreme ends. If you need 1st gear, you'll be still and can easily put a bit of tought on shifting. But when you are on the move, no need for presise movement, just shove it as far as it goes.

2:18 -- stirrup to exit, or set foot against if seated atop the open hatch as well, perhaps?

excellent video , honest

the handle is simply for the crew to hang on when the tank is going through rough terrain

great video. could you do a video on the m4 Sherman.

Thank you for another video, Chieftain! The T-55 is an indispensable part of tank history. I actually was supposed to have the opportunity to operate one of these at Drive a Tank, but their T-55 was in the shop with mechanical issues so I was allowed to drive their M4A2E8 instead. It might be just as well, I'm 6', bigger than I think the T-55 was designed for.

oh yeah a nother 20min of tank awesomeness !

And once again the Soviet ocd desire to put ammo wherever it will physically fit is revealed. Also for the compass I don't know about how it works in the tank but Boat compasses use correcting magnets if I remember right.

After re-watching several of these older videos, I have come to the conclusion that you need to do follow up videos with several Mini Me Chieftains to show how a crew of average sized (i.e. small) tankers would fit in some of these tanks.

Fascinating.

Can you please take a look at the Spähpanzer 1 C/Spähpanzerjäger? I know its not in Bovington, but if you could, please do.

Is there a bag/box for catching spent casings from the main gun?

Can we see the universal carrier.

Sir, could you do an episode on the Sherman? Love the series

The archival footage shows that Russian tank crew were quite short. I'd suspect they had a maximum height restriction on tank crewmen.

It's to hold on!

I see why the turret likes to pop off even after what seem like glancing hits by an ATGMs in Syria, all the ammo is basically just all around the turret exposed.

Whenever I see those old vidio's of T54 drivers or operators I see mittens on their hands. I wonder, are those supplied to the crew or are they more creature comfort things.

Finally!

This cylinder of sorts is actually the engine pre-heater. :) PS. This must be an early T-55A, hole for the bow machine gun and R-113 radio set suggest that.

Looks like oh shit handles. Specially the one for the loader. You also did say that the vehicle is kind of a rough ride. A hand held seems to make sense to me.

as for the missing clock, a oil temperature meter, perhaps ?

So before ww2 the Poles invented a periscope that could be flipped to look rearward so you didn't have to turn it all the way around, and i gather they were pretty much standard issue on most WW2 tanks. So i find hard to believe that they gave the T-55 "no rearward visibility".

The TO-55 "Fire fighting" tank :D

The temperature displays are probably "oil" and "water", as suggested by "oleja" and "voda" labels.

Well you mentioned the Romanians version which is the ultimate version of the T55 called the TR-85M1. It adds a new 100 gun rear turret bustle and applique armour and the hull is lengthened with an extra road wheel each side. On exercise a year or two ago with the American army they beat the Abrams crews in mock combat. So an old tank modernised with a good crew is capable of defeating the mighty fuel thirsty Abrams tank.

Hey Chief ! Gotta ask, the german tanks like the Panther, Königstiger, Tiger 1, did they had nightvision scopes? Thanks !

If teh gun is well balanced enough that you can move it smoothly when de-clutched, how much would that balance be thrown when theres a round in the breach?

Hi Chieftain, you went to Bovington, did you do any filming for Inside the Hatch their?

Can you get inside the Panzer III or the Stug 3 PLEASE

Correct me if I'm wrong but wazsn't this the one that was in "The Beast"? If so this really gives you a better idea of how cramped things are that you don't get in the movie.

19:45 that was NOT what I had in mind when he said "firefighting"-vehicles O.O

Chief as another theroy could've the oh crap bars been have been for when the crew moved around the either changing their positions or getting in or out of the tank.

Great video as always, shame about that bloody non-stop 'music' in the background!

Very nice :)

i got into one yesterday and i cant imagine how small you have to be so you can drive that tank i mean i am 177cm and still my head was out and i cant fit :D

Hi chieftain, I'm senior in high school and I accepted into AROTC.. I was wondering how hard is it to get into armour as an officer and was wondering how you did became one! Any information helps!

great vid. if you can do a t-64 you might enjoy the space more :}

Really want to see the inside of the IS-3, or a T-10.

Will we see the mighty SU-100Y on this show?

Okay, go to a three man crew when a crew member goes down, what do you do with the crew member who was occupying that spot? Assuming they're dead or injured?