Introduced in Wargame: European Escalation, TO-55 was one of the three flamethrower tanks available to Warsaw Pact forces at the time. In Wargame: AirLand Battle, TO-55 was re-rolled to Vehicle, instead of Tank, despite already classified as Flamethrower Vehicle.
History[]
The T-54/55 has been proven to be a successful chassis, and various variants have been developed to meet different combat requirements. The first flamethrower prototype was Ob'yekt 483, sometimes known as TO-54, which was basically a T-54 tank where the flamethrower replaced the main gun. In 1957, a flamethrower-armed prototype was developed for T-55. It was known as Ob'yekt 482 at the time and will later be designated TO-55.
Different from Ob'yekt 483, the TO-55 and the successive TO-62 made the coaxial machine gun replaced by the flamethrower, which was a much better way to mount it. The original tank turret was modified by incorporating a more advanced ATO-200 flamethrower, and the standard ammunition stowage in the bow next to the driver was modified to accommodate a flammable liquid tank with a capacity of 460 litres, instead of the frontal hull fuel tanks.
The ATO-200 flamethrower was aimed by rotating the entire turret, and ignited by pyrotechnic charges. Instead of being manually controlled, the rate of fuel consumption was standard, averaging 36 litres per burst of flame. The flamethrower had a maximum effective range of about 200 metres and an initial muzzle velocity of about 100 meters per second.
TO-55 successfully passed the tests and was put into service in 1960. The tank was mass-produced in Omsk and Kharkov until 1962, a total of 830 TO-55 units were produced. The flamethrower tanks were withdrawn from the army from 1993 to 1997.
In European Escalation, along with other T-55 variants, the TO-55 was erroneously depicted as using "100mm" U-5TS, instead of D-10T2S.
Overview and tactics[]
Cheaper, faster, and with a better operational range than it's successor, the better armored TO-62, the TO-55 is also vastly superior to NATO's M132 Zippo for a slightly higher price, while being identical to its GDR copy, the FlammPz TO-55. Like the other PACT flamethrower tanks, it is armed with a rather weak main cannon next to it's potent flamethrower. TO-55 does not carry any HE rounds for its 100mm main gun, while total ammo is already less than regular T-55s.
A flame thrower has two primary uses: the first one is to clear forests, especially when combined to infantry assaults. Best used in pairs, TO-55 can use their flames by firing over the infantry they are following, efficiently reducing infantry numbers and stunning tanks to prevent them from firing at your infantry. They can also be used to blind fire at woods where infantry is known to hide while staying out of range of LAW-type weapons. In armies where flamethrower-infantry are not utilized it can be used as a force to be reckoned with for urban assaults as well as well as for defensive purposes, if utilized correctly. It shouldn't try to attack infantry positions on its own.
It can also be used to reinforce a tank assault by stunning enemy armor in range but again, used in a pair to increase the speed at which the stun takes effect. Switching targets often to maximise its effectiveness is a good idea. Simply shooting at a unit is helping it to panic reducing its battle effectiveness.
Weapons[]
European Escalation[]
Weapons | |||
---|---|---|---|
Type | Main Gun | Flamethrower | No Weapon |
Name | U-5TS | ATO-200 | |
Caliber | 100mm | Napalm | |
Ammo | x 15 rounds | x 440 rounds | |
Range | Ground = 1925 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m |
Ground = 1050 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m |
|
Accuracy | 3 | 3 | |
AP Power | 4 | 0 | |
HE Power | 0 | 2 | |
Rate of fire | 7 r/min | 104 r/min |
Red Dragon[]
Weapons | |||
---|---|---|---|
Type | Main Gun | Flamethrower | No Weapon |
Name | D-10T | ATO-200 | |
Caliber | 100mm [KE] | Napalm [NPLM] [STAT] | |
Ammo | x 21 | x 100 | |
Range | Ground = 1925 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m |
Ground = 1050 m Helicopters = N/A m Airplanes = N/A m |
|
Accuracy | 30% | 30% | |
Stabilizer | 10% | N/A | |
AP Power | 11 | N/A | |
HE Power | N/A | 2 | |
Suppression | 115 | 100 | |
Rate of fire | 7 r/min | 52 r/min |
See also[]
- TO-62 - Upgraded variant
- FlammPz TO-55 - East German variant
- TO-55 - Czechslovak variant
- TO-55 - Polish variant
- TO-55 - North Korean variant