The restructuring of the T-55. Project of a heavy infantry fighting vehicle BMP-55U (Ukraine)
A number of projects are known for the reconstruction of the obsolete tank in an armored car for transporting infantry. Similar samples were developed in different countries, including Ukraine. In recent decades, Ukrainian enterprises have proposed several options for rebuilding the obsolete T-55 medium tank into a heavy infantry fighting vehicle, but not one of them has reached serial production. The first known development of this kind was the BMP-55U project.
The appearance of the BMP-55U with the fighting compartment from the BMP-2. Figure Gurkhan.blogspot.com
According to known data, the first Ukrainian attempt to rebuild the T-55 in the TBMP took place in the 1998 year. A similar project was proposed by the Design and Technology Center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. This organization had a certain experience in the development and restructuring of armored vehicles, which could be used to create new designs.
The project with the working title BMP-55U was based on ideas for the further development of infantry fighting vehicles, taking into account the events of recent years. Local conflicts have shown that serial BMPs have insufficient survivability. It was necessary to strengthen the protection to the level of at least medium tanks of the past.
The medium tank T-55 was chosen as a platform for the future BMP-55U. In its original role, it was long outdated, but it was of interest as a base for other equipment. The use of a tank chassis made it possible to obtain a solid increase in protection while maintaining the required mobility and reliability. In addition, there remained a certain stock of carrying capacity for one purpose or another.
It was assumed that the tanks T-55 for the construction of promising BMP-55U can be removed from storage. A large supply of such equipment from Ukraine and other countries could give the project certain advantages. However, they were never implemented.
As a base for the BMP-55U, the reworked T-55 tank chassis was used. At the request of the customer, it could receive a new more powerful engine, additional booking or dynamic protection, and other components that were missing from the base sample. At the same time, staffing remained homogeneous. In the stern, the engine compartment remained, and the volume of the fighting compartment was used as a landing craft.
It was proposed to remove the tower and the sheet sheet, instead of which it was necessary to mount a new armored cabin with a shoulder strap under the combat module. Due to such cutting, an increase in the height of the habitable compartment and a certain improvement in ergonomics were provided. According to some reports, the felling and the seat for the tower were proposed to be borrowed from the BMP-1 / 2, but this could have a negative impact on the overall level of protection.
On the front of the cabin, with a shift to the starboard side, it was proposed to mount a combat module or tower. BMP-55U could carry various modules or weapons. First of all, it was proposed to use the turret from the BMP-2 with the 30-mm automatic cannon and machine gun. The use of a turret machine-gun or cannon-machine-gun installation from Soviet BTR was also not excluded. Perhaps, with the further development of the project, other variants of weapons could appear.
In the version with the BMP-2 turret or BFU ammunition of the main 30-mm gun reached 500-550 shells. Boxes for the PKTM machine gun contained 2000 cartridges. It was possible to ensure the installation of an anti-tank missile system with ammunition of four missiles.
Tank T-55 as a monument. Photo by Vitalykuzmin.net
The driver's workplace remained in the forward part of the hull. Behind him was placed one of the paratroopers. The tower was one or two places for the commander and the gunner. In the back of the habitable compartment placed another five places for the landing. The crew of the BMP-55U had its own hatches in the roof of the hull and the tower. For the landing was intended common hatch in the roof of the cabin. In the sides of the latter, it was planned to keep the embrasures for firing from personal weapons.
The resulting heavy infantry fighting vehicle was supposed to keep the dimensions of the base tank. Combat weight was reduced to 28 t. However, this parameter depended on the wishes of the customer and configuration. The increase in power density allowed us to obtain a noticeable increase in driving and dynamic characteristics.
The project BMP-55U provided for a certain simplification of production processes, which should have been its added advantage. The restructuring of tanks in the TBMP could be carried out by repair plants. Any special technologies available only from larger enterprises were not required.
The project of a promising heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on a tank appeared in 1998. These were not the most successful times for both the Ukrainian and the entire post-Soviet defense industry. All this predetermined the future fate of the project.
As in the late nineties, and in later periods, Ukraine could not afford a significant renewal of the fleet of armored vehicles of the ground forces. The country did not have the money to purchase enough new cars. The restructuring of tanks from storage was also impossible. In addition, in the difficult conditions of that time, the military and political leadership of the country preferred to support the few orders of tank builders from Kharkov. In this situation, the Kiev project had no chance.
The BMP-55U project was proposed in 1998, and, probably, then went to the archive in the absence of real prospects. For years, he remained unknown, and only recently did researchers discover old documents and tell the public about them.
In fact, the project BMP-55U became a victim of the characteristic problems of its time. The main reason for abandoning it was the lack of money from the main customer. In such conditions, the real pros and cons of the project faded into the background and did not have a noticeable effect on the result. However, now nothing prevents to consider known data and draw some conclusions about the project.
Heavy armored vehicle BMP-55 arr. 2009 g. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
The advantages of the BMP-55U project and other similar developments are obvious. The use of ready-made chassis allows you to save on construction, and protivosnaryadnye reservation gives a fair increase in security. It was also possible to use different combat modules with weapons that meet the requirements of the customer.
The main disadvantage of the project was the moral and physical obsolescence of the proposed chassis. The experience of the conflicts of that time showed that a TBMP with homogeneous armor of a medium tank could hardly show significant advantages over lightly armored BMP-1 / 2. The use of aggregates from the latter also does not contribute to increasing survivability. Maintaining a "tank" layout makes it difficult to land and land. The problem could be the need to repair the tanks before the restructuring of the TBMP.
Thus, the heavy infantry fighting vehicle BMP-55U could show advantages over other vehicles of a similar purpose, but in a number of indicators it lost to it. The final choice remained with the customer, and this ultimately determined the fate of the project. The Ukrainian army was not interested in the KTC project of the Ministry of Defense. Export orders are also not received. Probably, the project did not even enter the international market.
However, the Ukrainian industry did not abandon the idea of restructuring an obsolete tank into a modern TBMP. In 2000 in Kharkov, work began on a similar project, which later became known as the BMP-55. This project took into account domestic and foreign experience. In particular, the tank chassis "turned" backwards, which made it possible to get a comfortable troop compartment with aft exit.
In 2009, the first and last experienced BMP-55 was built. This machine has passed the test and showed its capabilities, but has not progressed further. During this period and later in Ukraine, other variants of BMPT were developed. All of them came to the test and for this reason they were more successful than the BMP-55U. However, no such sample has not entered service. The reasons for this remain the same - lack of interest on the part of the customer, due to lack of finance.
The appearance of the BMP-55U with the fighting compartment from the BMP-2. Figure Gurkhan.blogspot.com
Search for solutions
According to known data, the first Ukrainian attempt to rebuild the T-55 in the TBMP took place in the 1998 year. A similar project was proposed by the Design and Technology Center of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. This organization had a certain experience in the development and restructuring of armored vehicles, which could be used to create new designs.
The project with the working title BMP-55U was based on ideas for the further development of infantry fighting vehicles, taking into account the events of recent years. Local conflicts have shown that serial BMPs have insufficient survivability. It was necessary to strengthen the protection to the level of at least medium tanks of the past.
The medium tank T-55 was chosen as a platform for the future BMP-55U. In its original role, it was long outdated, but it was of interest as a base for other equipment. The use of a tank chassis made it possible to obtain a solid increase in protection while maintaining the required mobility and reliability. In addition, there remained a certain stock of carrying capacity for one purpose or another.
It was assumed that the tanks T-55 for the construction of promising BMP-55U can be removed from storage. A large supply of such equipment from Ukraine and other countries could give the project certain advantages. However, they were never implemented.
Technical features
As a base for the BMP-55U, the reworked T-55 tank chassis was used. At the request of the customer, it could receive a new more powerful engine, additional booking or dynamic protection, and other components that were missing from the base sample. At the same time, staffing remained homogeneous. In the stern, the engine compartment remained, and the volume of the fighting compartment was used as a landing craft.
It was proposed to remove the tower and the sheet sheet, instead of which it was necessary to mount a new armored cabin with a shoulder strap under the combat module. Due to such cutting, an increase in the height of the habitable compartment and a certain improvement in ergonomics were provided. According to some reports, the felling and the seat for the tower were proposed to be borrowed from the BMP-1 / 2, but this could have a negative impact on the overall level of protection.
On the front of the cabin, with a shift to the starboard side, it was proposed to mount a combat module or tower. BMP-55U could carry various modules or weapons. First of all, it was proposed to use the turret from the BMP-2 with the 30-mm automatic cannon and machine gun. The use of a turret machine-gun or cannon-machine-gun installation from Soviet BTR was also not excluded. Perhaps, with the further development of the project, other variants of weapons could appear.
In the version with the BMP-2 turret or BFU ammunition of the main 30-mm gun reached 500-550 shells. Boxes for the PKTM machine gun contained 2000 cartridges. It was possible to ensure the installation of an anti-tank missile system with ammunition of four missiles.
Tank T-55 as a monument. Photo by Vitalykuzmin.net
The driver's workplace remained in the forward part of the hull. Behind him was placed one of the paratroopers. The tower was one or two places for the commander and the gunner. In the back of the habitable compartment placed another five places for the landing. The crew of the BMP-55U had its own hatches in the roof of the hull and the tower. For the landing was intended common hatch in the roof of the cabin. In the sides of the latter, it was planned to keep the embrasures for firing from personal weapons.
The resulting heavy infantry fighting vehicle was supposed to keep the dimensions of the base tank. Combat weight was reduced to 28 t. However, this parameter depended on the wishes of the customer and configuration. The increase in power density allowed us to obtain a noticeable increase in driving and dynamic characteristics.
The project BMP-55U provided for a certain simplification of production processes, which should have been its added advantage. The restructuring of tanks in the TBMP could be carried out by repair plants. Any special technologies available only from larger enterprises were not required.
Paper project
The project of a promising heavy infantry fighting vehicle based on a tank appeared in 1998. These were not the most successful times for both the Ukrainian and the entire post-Soviet defense industry. All this predetermined the future fate of the project.
As in the late nineties, and in later periods, Ukraine could not afford a significant renewal of the fleet of armored vehicles of the ground forces. The country did not have the money to purchase enough new cars. The restructuring of tanks from storage was also impossible. In addition, in the difficult conditions of that time, the military and political leadership of the country preferred to support the few orders of tank builders from Kharkov. In this situation, the Kiev project had no chance.
The BMP-55U project was proposed in 1998, and, probably, then went to the archive in the absence of real prospects. For years, he remained unknown, and only recently did researchers discover old documents and tell the public about them.
Advantages and disadvantages
In fact, the project BMP-55U became a victim of the characteristic problems of its time. The main reason for abandoning it was the lack of money from the main customer. In such conditions, the real pros and cons of the project faded into the background and did not have a noticeable effect on the result. However, now nothing prevents to consider known data and draw some conclusions about the project.
Heavy armored vehicle BMP-55 arr. 2009 g. Photo by Wikimedia Commons
The advantages of the BMP-55U project and other similar developments are obvious. The use of ready-made chassis allows you to save on construction, and protivosnaryadnye reservation gives a fair increase in security. It was also possible to use different combat modules with weapons that meet the requirements of the customer.
The main disadvantage of the project was the moral and physical obsolescence of the proposed chassis. The experience of the conflicts of that time showed that a TBMP with homogeneous armor of a medium tank could hardly show significant advantages over lightly armored BMP-1 / 2. The use of aggregates from the latter also does not contribute to increasing survivability. Maintaining a "tank" layout makes it difficult to land and land. The problem could be the need to repair the tanks before the restructuring of the TBMP.
Development of ideas
Thus, the heavy infantry fighting vehicle BMP-55U could show advantages over other vehicles of a similar purpose, but in a number of indicators it lost to it. The final choice remained with the customer, and this ultimately determined the fate of the project. The Ukrainian army was not interested in the KTC project of the Ministry of Defense. Export orders are also not received. Probably, the project did not even enter the international market.
However, the Ukrainian industry did not abandon the idea of restructuring an obsolete tank into a modern TBMP. In 2000 in Kharkov, work began on a similar project, which later became known as the BMP-55. This project took into account domestic and foreign experience. In particular, the tank chassis "turned" backwards, which made it possible to get a comfortable troop compartment with aft exit.
In 2009, the first and last experienced BMP-55 was built. This machine has passed the test and showed its capabilities, but has not progressed further. During this period and later in Ukraine, other variants of BMPT were developed. All of them came to the test and for this reason they were more successful than the BMP-55U. However, no such sample has not entered service. The reasons for this remain the same - lack of interest on the part of the customer, due to lack of finance.
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