Hi everyone, noob alert - try and be gentle, please!

I have a number of questions which I hope the members of this forum can help me with.

Question 1: T-55AM2 in Hungarian and Bulgarian service.

Hungarian T-55AM2's were based on Czechoslovak produced T-55's with the same modernisation package as those vehicles used by the Czechoslovak Peoples Army? Also is the presence of two footsteps in the right hand skirt and one in the left skirt, a grab handle below the turret on the left side side of the hull and the presence of diamond tread plates on top of the turret brow armour actually indicative of a Hungarian vehicle? Lastly, when did the Hungarian People's Army receive T-55's with this modernisation package?

Bulgarian T-55AM2's were based on Soviet produced T-55's, but with the same modernisation package as the Czechoslovak vehicles? When did the Bulgarian People's Army receive it's modernised tanks? So far I have only been able to locate photographs of the vehicle preserved in the Military museum in Sofia so my knowledge of these T-55's is considerably sketchier than the Hungarian ones.

Question 2: National markings on Hungarian and Bulgarian People's Army equipment.

I know that the Czechoslovaks, East Germans, Poles and Romanians had their national insignia displayed on the majority of the vehicles they used, but how rigorous were the Hungarians and Bulgarians? Did Hungary's T-55AM2's ever have the old Star insignia painted on them, or did they go straight to the current triangular marking? Same question for the Bulgarian T-55AM2's - did they wear any national insignia at all?

Question 3: SLA Tiran 4 with all the "late" mods but with spiderweb wheels on all wheel stations as per the boxart for Miniart's kit number 37041.

Did the SLA actually have a vehicle with this specific configuration? I haven't as of yet been able to locate any photographic evidence for it - I have Samir Kassis' "Tiran in Lebanese Wars" which gives good covergae for the Tiran 5, but is a bit sketchier when it comes to the Tiran 4. I also have Robert Manasherob's new title on the Tiran 4/4SH on order.

Thanks in advance,

Michael.

Michael,

I can only give some info on the Bulgarian T-55's:

-my country received/bought these tanks from the Soviet Union,Czechoslovakia and Poland.

-Bulgarian People's Army did not field the Czechoslovakian T-55AM2, but we bought some Kladivo FCS sets in the early 1980's and these were installed in Soviet built T-55A tanks at the Targovishte Military Plant(under supervision of Chechoslovakian staff).
At that time we also had Soviet built T-55AM's (with their organic KTD FCS), so why the Czechslovakian FCS is an interesting question.
There might be 3 (purely speculative) explanations:
1) BG People's Army wanted to test also this FCS;
2)Kladivo was cheaper than KDT, or was easily obtainable; and 3)Czechoslovakia was not requiring payment with food items-like the Soviet Union always did.

-Bulgarian tanks did not carry any national markings.

-Besides the vehicle at NMMH/Sofia, there is at least one more on display in the yards of the former 9th (Gorna Banya) Tank Brigade:


Here is a picture of Bulgarian T-55AM with Kladivo FCS from the early 1990:

This vehicle belonged to the 24th Tank Brigade/Aytos,Bulgaria.


HTH,

Thank you very much, ayovtshev, that helps a great deal!

From what you've written, I take it that tanks with the Kladivo FCS were quite rare?

By T-55AM, do you mean a vehicle like Takom's "T-55AM" kit, or more akin to Miniart's "T-55A Mod 1981"? I have come across photographs of stored Bulgarian T-55's which look like the Miniart kit but have side skirts.

With regards to national insignia I have come across two photos which do show T-54/55's carrying them, one with a white outlined red star and the other showing an oval divided into Bulgaria's national colours. Is that something that would only be seen during parades and propaganda photoshoots?

Thanks again,

Michael.

You're welcome, Michael!

Bulgarian T-55 inventory counted 2000+ vehicles.
Tanks were constantly modernized(Targovishte Plant), so it's hard to tell how much Kladivo's were present at any given time in the late 1980's:
-for sure there were Kladivo's in 24th Tank Brigade( a modelling buddy of mine served there in the late 1980's).
-36 Kladivo T-55's were donated to Northern Macedonia in 1999( that was the second donation, the first one took place in 1992 and consisted of 150 T-55's, but I cannot confirm whether there were Kladivo's among them)
-some Kladivo's were also sold to Angola in the late 1990's.
So probably not more than 100 Kladivo T-55's,or 5%.

If you want to build a Bulgarian Kladivo T-55, you'll need Takom's T-55AM2B kit(it contains the Kladivo FCS laser rangefinder and wind mast), but you need to build it following the instructions of Takom's T-55AM kit(all parts required for T-55AM are available in T-55AM2B kit).

MiniArts T-55 mod 1981 can be used to represent a Bulgarian T-55 with KDT FCS.
This version was called T-55AJ(or T-55IK) in Bulgaria and there are numerous photos in the net of tanks in storage or being moved, like in this videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=3&v=zYyiqtrC7r4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0V0auOEjwU

As to the side skirts-these were mounted in Targovishte Plant to all T-55's that underwent modernization there, so you can see skirts on various vehicles.
But these skirts were easily lost and damaged during trainings("pain in the a**" is how my friend recalls them).

The 2 pictures you mention are official ones.
The one with the white lined red star is from the 1981 military parade in Sofia(starts at 44:00):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbbqUq1qaxE

The other is (highly likely) from the closing parade of 1982 Warsaw Pact "Shtit" Excersize.During the Excersize the tanks had only tactical numbers,as evident from this 1982(top-secret) film:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gl7ejXdlrfQ

Some more pictures of T-55's(and other AFV) awaiting utilisation can be found here:
http://pamirsta.lt/bulgarijos-tanku-kapinynas/
Pictures were taken in the yard of PIMA factory in Montana, Bulgaria and contain a lot of modelling inspirations

HTH,

Any info about kladivo fcs?or youtobe video.

Top and bottom left - gunner's position
Top right - radio and ballistic computer
Bottom right - commander's periscope and goniometer

Richard,

This is an old training movie about Czechoslovakian T-55AM2B:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKND-98-8n4&t=1s

The "signature" elements of Kladivo FCS were:
-the armoured box of the laser rangefinder, mounted above the gun and
-the SDIO sensor mast, mounted centrally on the back of the turret.

2 pictures from the T-55 Kladivo, displayed at the National Museum of Military History in Sofia/Bulgaria, show how these looked like:



HTH

Excellent stuff, Angel - I particularly like the film detailing the Shtit Exercise and the Czech one on the T-55AM2.

Plenty there to get the creative juices going!

Thanks again, Michael.

Not exactly. The Hungarians used Czechoslovak and Polish built T-55As. Since both Czech AM2 and Russian AM elements were used during their upgrade, officially these tanks were designated as AMH or AM1.




The upgrade of T-55As to AM was done locally in the mid-late '80s; I find it hard to believe they were applied to them during this period. I would like to hear the opinion of an expert myself about the use of the star insignia on AFVs.
The official directive in regard of applying the triangular insignia to AFVs however, did not take effect until 1996.

Hi Israel,

Yep, the markings question is something I've been wondering about. I have found photographs of Hungarian AFV's that do bear the star marking, one of an SPG (a 2S1?) and another of a BMP-1. However most of what I've come across only seem to show turret numbers and what I presume are tactical or exercise markings.

It does seem slightly odd, to me at least, that the "big three" NSWP members displayed national insignia on their equipment, but Hungary and Bulgaria don't seem to have had the same habit, apart from parade time?

With regards to the general configuration of Hungary's T-55AM's, is what I wrote generally correct? Particularly about the footsteps in the skirts and the treadplate on the turret brow armour?

Mind you, now that I've looked more closely, I see that the Bulgarian AM's also have stirrup style steps attached to their skirts as well!

Michael.

Michael,

Soviet troops were stationed in Bulgaria only between 1945 and 1947.
Once the Peace Treaty of Paris was signed(February 1947), these troops were withdrawn from Bulgarian soil.

Thus there were no foreign(Soviet) military units present in Bulgaria, so there was no need to use any sort of national(distinctive) markings on Bulgarian People's Army military hardware.
These were only applied for official events or when Bulgarian troops and their equipment participated in WP (multinational) excersizes.

Having said that, for sure that was not the case with Hungary, where Sovet military units(Southern Group of Forces) were stationed between 1945 and 1991.

HTH

That makes sense, Angel, thank you!

It does make the apparent absence of national insignia on Hungarian equipment all the more puzzling.

Mike.

Hello Angel,
would you have any idea what the purpose of the container between the snorkel and the brow armor element is in your second photo ?

Thanks,
Sean

Mystery solved. Answer provided in the video, thanks !

Sorry to have seen this too late,Sean!

The box between the snorkel and the left brow armor(aka "Brezhnev's brow") contained 2 fire extinguishers:
-a dry-chemical one(OP-2A, it had a plastic body on Soviet made T-55AM's), and
-a liquid CO2 one(OU-2).

The dry-chemical extinguisher was part of the SODA napalm protection set and was only available in said turret box, while another liquid CO2 extinguisher was located inside the tank.

HTH,

Hi Angel,
thank you for the specifics , I seem to recall a while ago that a AM2 owner posted asking if anyone knew the purpose of the box. Initial speculation was it was storage for the meteorological sensor.

Maybe it was applied before certain exercises and military parades for propaganda purposes...?

That's what I'm thinking too.

What Angel wrote above does highlight the likely reason why the Czechoslovakians, East Germans and Poles had national insignia on their equipment - they had Soviet troops garrisoned in their countries. It just seems a bit odd that the Hungarian's didn't even though they also "hosted" Soviet forces.

Unless one of the Hungarians on the forum comments on the matter we can only speculate.

Mike.

That Lebanese insignia on the glacis got me thinking that this specific vehicle could actually be a Lebanese Forces (a christian arab militia allied with Israel) example rather than SLA. They also operated Tirans and later in the civil war they've received 64 T-54A, T-55A and T-62s tanks from Iraq - maybe they replaced the original worn-out road wheels sourced from those...?

Possible: - Star Decals also have a vehicle in the same condition as an option on one of their Lebanon decal sheets:

http://www.star-decals.net/35-959.html

Although in this case the tank is supposed to be SLA Blue whilst the wheels are green.

A gentleman called Andy Taylor did a build over on Missing-Lynx of a Tiran 4 in the same configuration but with the original T-54 style engine grill:

https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/missinglynx/sla-tiran-4-t274382.html

Mind you, if I remember correctly, Miniart's initial CAD for the Tiran 4 Late had the early engine grill but on releasing the kit changed it to the T-55-style split version.

I would really, really like to track down the photographic evidence for this one as I'm starting to think that Miniart may have copied a model like Mr Taylor's for their boxart tank rather than based it on a one.

Mike.