Russian Medium Tank T-55 AM

Still classed as a medium tank, the T-54 was clearly a superior design to the T-44. Nowadays it is seen as an all-out classic of the Cold War. The T-55 version, which appeared in 1958, was the sum of all the modifications applied to the previous T-54 series, with several differences which made a clear distinction from the previous model. One of these was NBC protection and a brand new engine. T-54s were modernized over time to the T-55 standard, leading to a nearly indistinguishable T-54/55  generic type.  By combining the T-54 and T-55 production figures, the Soviet Union delivered itself a whooping 60,500 main battle tanks, and when including local productions (Czech, Polish: 21,000 more), production reaches a staggering 85,500 units delivered. This is more than its WW2 ancestor, the legendary T-34 (84,000 estimated). Part of these were largely exported, with increasing numbers when more advanced models like the T-72 came to light. Again, this must be compared to the USA’s MBT production figures of the M47 Patton (9000), M48 Patton (12,000), M60 Patton (15,000) and M1 Abrams before 1990 (around 5000).