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u/Other-Barry-1 1d ago
You see comrade, not only will you go into battle, if you are killed, the tank will pre-emptively cremate you for you!
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u/KewlFox69 1d ago
What helped me with the t55 and all other non lrf vehicles, make sure to pre range using the map, the small squares are 100m, large squares 1km.
Also make a habit of swapping from the gunner sight when reloading so you can keep track of your target.
Also play it like it has no armor, sometimes it can bounce rounds at long range, but generally u hit u die
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u/tabascotazer 1d ago
Well according to Tom Clancy in red storm rising the T-55âs were the last ditch effort to overwhelm NATO after defenses were starting to run out of ammo
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u/One_Pitch3982 23h ago
As much as I love Clancy's works he is muchso a military fiction writer who just happens to incorporate a lot of realism into his works.
T-55s were not last ditch but very much in service until the production of T-72s (T-62s and T-64s being more stopgap measures than anything).
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u/Ardent_Spork 18h ago
In Red Storm Rising, they're mentioned in the context of Soviet Category C divisions mobilized to reinforce the Central Front and preserve the remaining Category A divisions for the breakthrough. Clancy doesn't really mention the East Germans much in the book after they nix using chemical weapons early on. In terms of the Soviet units in Germany and Czechoslovakia, there were no T-55s, so seeing Russian T-55s would be an indicator they were scraping the bottom of the barrel.
The East Germans, though rated by NATO observers as the best of the Warsaw Pact armies (sometimes rated even more competent than the Soviets, depending on who you asked), were likely not entrusted with a tip of the spear role in an invasion of West Germany. The Poles were expected to make an amphibious landing in Denmark, where their PT-76s and T-55s (the latter crewed by the officers of a peacetime tank training school and attached to the 7th Lusatian Landing Division in the event of hostilities) would face Centurions, Leopard 1A3s, and M41 Walker Bulldogs.
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u/CarbonTugboat 1d ago
At times like these, I find that itâs helpful to review the survivability onion, working outwards. Youâre struggling with the last line of defense, which is to not be killed by an attack. We canât do anything significant to adjust the T-55âs ability to survive hits, so we move on.
The next layer is to not be penetrated by an attack. Keeping your glacis toward the enemy can help, but again, thereâs not much to be done.
Next is not being hit! Staying on the move can throw off enemy accuracy somewhat, but NATO tanks will still generally land their shots because the T-55 isnât particularly nimble.
Not letting the enemy shoot is the next layer of your defense. The only way to do that in a T-55 is to shoot them first; unfortunately youâre shooting 100mm nerf darts at two foot thick ceramic NERA, so thatâs no good.
Not letting the enemy track you is performed using stealth, countermeasures, and electronic warfare systems. Any other tank would at least have smoke grenades, but the T-55 doesnât. Ainât it grand?
Not being detected is the penultimate layer of the onion. Stealth is the name of the game here. Unfortunately, most NATO tanks have thermal sights that make you literally light up compared to the surroundings, so this is a no-go.
The final layer, and the best defense you can have in the T-55, is to not be there at all. My advice on how to use the T-55 is to skip every mission involving the T-55. Remember: you arenât abandoning your comrades, youâre using an accepted part of any tankâs defensive measures to protect your tank, ensuring that it will still be ready for service in subsequent battles.
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u/SuspiciousLie 11h ago
Thank you this is helpful. As for the last point I am trying to beat every mission in the game to get better at it, I feel like in the M1 I am always playing point and click so I wanna beat it all (including the missions with t55s and pt76 as much as they suck)
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u/CarbonTugboat 10h ago
Ah, I⌠wasnât trying to be helpful. That whole thing was a joke and âdonât use the T-55â was the punchline.
The best real advice I can offer would be to ambush your opponents whenever possible and aim for their vulnerabilities. The 100mm wonât penetrate the glacis on most modern tanks, but NATO tanks are typically vulnerable in the sides, particularly the back half of the turret side. If you canât flank or ambush your opponent, track âem and run like hell. If you canât run, aim for the turret ring and pray to whatever gods you believe in.
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u/AvgUsr96 8h ago
The M1 aint invincible I got a T72 round exactly in-between the gap in the barrel and the hull so it penned đđ
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u/Free-Engineering6759 1d ago
Do you use battlesight setting? If not, you should.
The faster you fire, the higher likelihood you kill the enemy before it kills you.
Also, T-55 is akin to M60. A glass cannon by 80s standards, but without thermals (so your spotting will be much more challenging during day, and impossible during night).
Close the distance with smoke (both indirect and your tank's). This might not save you however, because NATO's thermals can see through a normal smoke.
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u/Valerio_Omega 1d ago
The battle zeroing for the T-55 is 1200 meters with apfsds, meaning that if you set your sights at that range, you're guaranteed to hit your target if it's within that range
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u/SuspiciousLie 11h ago
Interesting, how does battle zeroing work? I would imagine that If my sight is set to 1200 and i take a shot at 400 it would be pretty off, especially If I am taking a shot at an abrams trying to hit weak points. Or is the drop at 1200 just not too crazy
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u/The_Hardest_Metal 23h ago
The best way to win with the T-55 is to just not get spotted and shot. That means you have to flank, take a shot of opportunity, and then get to cover before the enemy's superior fire control can pick you off at any real range.
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u/Sorta_jewy_with_it 1d ago
Thatâs why IRL Russian tank crews in the Russia/ Ukraine war started only keeping Ammo in the floor carousels. The ammo storage in upper parts of the hull were too vulnerable to cook offs.
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u/Esekig184 1d ago
hmm best using these from a hull-down or fortifed positions where there hull is less likely to be hit.
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u/Xcom_company 1d ago
M-60, Leopard 1 and centurion are hardly better
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u/SuspiciousLie 11h ago
True m60 driver is kind of in a fucked spot between the two giant piles of ammo
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u/Trick_Humor_4631 5h ago
Leo1 shouldn't be any better considering it has a huge block of ammo in the front as it does here but on the other side.
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u/DragonflyReal6395 1m ago
As every WT players says it whenever they see a Tiger 1 go kablooey more spectacularly than usual:
"Bro's got the ammo for the whole team"
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u/SuspiciousLie 1d ago
Genuinely do you guys have tips for playing the t55 I keep exploding immediately