T54 Medium

Wooden model of the T54 medium tank.

In December 1950, it was recommended that a 105 mm gun tank based on the T48 chassis be put into development. Two designs were proposed on July 6, 1951 which featured automatic loaders: the T54 and T54E1. The second used an oscillating turret, but the first used a more conventional design.

The gun selected was the 105 mm Gun T140, being essentially a lightweight version of the 105 mm Gun T5E2, although it used single-piece ammunition rather than two-piece. The T140 was inverted for use with an automatic loader. The tank which would use this weapon and mechanism was designated as the T54.

Drawing of the hoist mechanism for the T54 medium tank.

The T54 turret was assembled from a single piece of cast steel, highly sloped at the front with a large bustle at the rear for balance. Thanks to the hoist-style loading mechanism, the crew was able to remain in their conventional positions. Despite the large gun, the T54 turret had a small frontal target area than the standard M48 tank.

This tank is essentially the same thing as the old T54E1, just with a more conventional and robust turret. Given this tank's magazine was three times the size of the one in the T54E1, I would also like to simply give the T54 an extra shell.

Guns: 105 mm Gun T140 (autoloader)

Engines: Continental AV-1790-5B (810 hp)

Turrets (Turret Armor (mm)): T54 (108/70/89)

Suspensions/Alternate Hulls, Total Weight (metric tons): T48 TBS for T54 (49.90)

Hull Armor (mm): 110/76/35

Top Speed: 43 km/h

Crew: 4 (Driver; Gunner; Loader; Commander/Radio)

See Also: T54E2, T77

Sources:

Hunnicutt, R. P. Patton, 2015