T-55AM was a 1980s modernization of the basic T-55 tank.
The 144 T-55AM tanks received Czechoslovak-produced "Kladivo" fire control system, thermal sleeve on gun, new mounting for 12,7mm HMG, a laser rangefinder, mounted over the barrel, inside a large rectangular armoured box.
Hungarian tanks fitted with BDD add-on armour blocks on the turret front-sides area and glacis (known as the "horse-shoes" or the "Brezhnev's eyebrow" armour).
The BDD armour panels consist of armoured steel boxes filled with Penpolyurethane and thin HHS steel plates.
The BDD semi-reactive armor adding 120mm of protection against APDS and 200-250mm of protection against HEAT ammunition, thus these tanks had similar protection as early versions of T-72 (similarly to the Czech AM2s).
The type was partly unsuccessful due to the unreliable Kladico FCS and inadequate mobility (Hungarian vehicles never received new engines).
T-55AM tanks were withdrawn from service during the early years of the 2000s (decade), some scrapped, some mothballed, leaving only a handful of T-72B and T-72M vehicles in active Hungarian army service.
T-55AM was a 1980s modernization of the basic T-55 tank. The 144 T-55AM tanks received Czechoslovak-produced "Kladivo" fire control system, thermal sleeve on gun, new mounting for 12,7mm HMG, a laser rangefinder, mounted over the barrel, inside a large rectangular armoured box. Hungarian tanks fitted with BDD add-on armour blocks on the turret front-sides area and glacis (known as the "horse-shoes" or the "Brezhnev's eyebrow" armour). The BDD armour panels consist of armoured steel boxes filled with Penpolyurethane and thin HHS steel plates. The BDD semi-reactive armor adding 120mm of protection against APDS and 200-250mm of protection against HEAT ammunition, thus these tanks had similar protection as early versions of T-72 (similarly to the Czech AM2s). The type was partly unsuccessful due to the unreliable Kladico FCS and inadequate mobility (Hungarian vehicles never received new engines). T-55AM tanks were withdrawn from service during the early years of the 2000s (decade), some scrapped, some mothballed, leaving only a handful of T-72B and T-72M vehicles in active Hungarian army service.
T-54/T-55 operators and variants