So How Many Ancient T-54s Does Russia Still Have?

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March 25, 2023

So How Many Ancient T-54s Does Russia Still Have?

Video Summary

I recently came across a video showing a train full of old T-54B tanks, with speculation that they might be headed to Ukraine. This sparked my curiosity, and I wanted to learn more about these tanks and their potential use. The first thing I wanted to know was how many of these tanks Russia still had in storage, and how many could they possibly send to fight. However, upon closer inspection, I realized that these tanks have a few major drawbacks. First, they have a very old 100mm main gun, which makes them vulnerable to modern anti-tank missiles like RPGs and ATGMs. Additionally, their armor is relatively thin and won’t be able to withstand modern tank armor.

Despite these limitations, I searched for potential uses for these tanks. While they may not be suitable for frontline combat, they could still be used for lighter armored vehicles like APCs and IFVs, or for anti-infantry purposes in buildings or light fortifications. They could also be used as artillery, a tactic that’s not uncommon, as the US did during the Korean War.

As I dug deeper, I found that Russia has been known to upgrade and modernize their old tanks, like the T-62Ms. Similarly, they may upgrade these T-54s before deploying them to Ukraine. In fact, Slovenia recently gave Ukraine 28 modernized T-55 tanks, which are essentially highly upgraded T-55s. Russia could be following a similar path, upgrading their old tanks to make them more effective on the battlefield.

It’s difficult to estimate the exact number of T-54s Russia still has in storage, as the numbers vary widely online. However, I used satellite imagery and online pictures to count the tanks at various storage bases. I found that Russia may have around 300-500 T-54s and T-55s in storage, although this number could be higher or lower, depending on the source. While it’s unclear whether these tanks will be sent to Ukraine, I believe they would not be a game-changer on the battlefield. Nevertheless, they could still have some limited usefulness in certain situations.