Rye Field Model 5098 1/35 T-55a Mod.1981 w/workable tracks

The T-55 is a Soviet Main Battle Tank from the Cold War period. The first prototypes of this vehicle were built in 1956-1957, and serial production in the USSR started in 1958 and lasted until 1981. In its course, about 27,500 vehicles of this type were created - only in the Soviet Union! The combat weight of the tank was up to 36 tons. The drive was provided by a single W-55 engine with a capacity of 580 HP. The primary armament was a 100mm D-10T2 model 1944 tank gun, and the secondary armament consisted of a 7.62mm SGMT machine gun and a 12.7mm DSzK machine gun.

The T-55 tank was a development of the T-54 and, like it, was seen as a Main Battle Tank (MBT). The main differences between the two vehicles concerned the use of a more powerful engine on the T-55, as well as a slightly different model of the 100mm gun. In addition, such modernizations were also introduced, such as an increase in the stock of transported ammunition or the serial stabilization of the gun vertically and horizontally. Ultimately, a very successful car was created, perceived in the 1950s and 1960s as one of the best in its class in the world. The vehicle was also widely exported and licensed in many countries around the world (e.g. in Czechoslovakia or Poland). It was used in combat in many armed conflicts after 1945, including the Six-Day War (1967), the Indo-Pakistani War (1971) and the Iraqi-Iranian War (1980-1988).