Some changes to the tanks of the T-55 series, mostly tweaks to bring them up to specs.
There will be a similar post about the T-72s some time down the road plus an other two-three posts about miscellaneous stuff. With those this OOB should be pretty much covered in its essentials.
I will still write stuff but it is going to be more about nice to have things or if something new comes out on the current iraqi rearmament. Otherwise the basics will have been covered.
Unit 12: Type 69-II
I suggest a change in loadout
24 HE, 5 AP, 3 Sabot and 12 HEAT,. The tank is supposed to be able to carry 44 rounds according to chinese sources, given that the T-55 can carry 43 rounds that seems reasonable. The above mix would be more in line with known combat loads than a pure HE/HEAT loadout.
Unit 16: T-54B
It should be changed to a T-54A as that was the first version of T-54 supplied. That could be accomplished with the following modifications:
1)name changed to T-54A
2)reduction in stabilizer rating to 1 (see unit 7 T-54A in the russian OOB).
3)Replacing weapon n. 53 7.62 SGMT AAMG with weapon n. 54 12.7 DShK AAMG
Icon could also be changed to n. 1466 or n.712, as those two are pretty much what the iraqis used for camo most of the time: plain desert tan or desert tan with green stripes.
Unit 17-18-580 : T-54B
Some changes to bring them up to specs:
1) FC ratings should be increased from 3 to 5
(see unit 8 T-54B in the russian OOB).
2) Weapon 53 7.62 SGMT AAMG should be replaced with weapon n. 54 12.7 DShK AAMG
Unit 18 could have its icon changed to n. 1466 or n.712, as those two icons are pretty much what the iraqis used for camo most of the time: plain desert tan or desert tan with green stripes.
Also HEAT load should be reduced from 12 to 8 and HE load increased to 16, as that would be more in line with known combat loads.
Unit 19-615: T-55
It should have a BMG, weapon n. 61, added in slot 4.
Basic T-55 retained the BMG, which was deleted in T-54A (See unit 9 of the russian OOB, also confirmed by other sources such as tank-net.org).
Units 20-581-616-619: T-55A
FC rating should be increased to 7 from current 5. (See unit 10 of the russian OOB).
Unit 21: T-55 Enigma
Some changes that could be implemented:
1) Rename it “Tyepe 69 Enigma”
2) the BMG in slot 4 should be deleted, as the MG hole would be covered by the appliquè armor panels anyway.
Source:
http://data.primeportal.net
3) Weapon 53 7.62 SGMT AAMG in slot 3 should be replaced by weapon 54 12.7 DShK AAMG.
4) Range finder value should be increased to 22, consistent with Type 69 II values.
5) Night vision rating should be reduced to 20.
The Enigma upgrade as fielded consisted only of the armor modules and better radios. No fire control upgrades or anything else beyond what the tank already had. It was applied indifferently to T-55 and Type 69 II, as well others T-54 derivates which were then parcelled out as command tanks.
Alternatively the name and RF ratings could be left as they are and the FC rating reduced to 7 to bring it line with
T-55A ratings, but I imagine the Type 69 II based variant would be more interesting for wargaming purposes.
Some changes for the tank guns
weapon 70 100mm D10T 55
HEAT penetration should be reduced from 38 to 28
It would represent BR-412B AP and BK-5 HEAT combination
weapon 71 100mm D10T 60
AP penetration should be reduced from 21 to 19
It would represent BR-412B AP and BK-5M HEAT combination
weapon 72 100mm D10T 69
Sabot penetration should be increased to 30 and Sabot Range to 90
It would represent BR-412D AP, BK-5M HEAT and BM-8 APDS combination.
Weaponn n. 132 100mm D10S 44 and weapon n. 130 100mm D10T 77 can be left in its current form for the time being.
I suggested the above changes on the basis of ammunition actually used by the iraqis
1) BR-412 AP round
2) BR-412B AP round
3) BR-412D AP round
4) BM-8 APDS
5) BK-5M HEAT
6) M69 HEAT
7) Clones of the above, HE.
Also it seems likely
8) BM-21 APFSDS (in limited quantities)
9) BK-5 or similar vintage, expended by 2003, HEAT
Sources for the above are mainly ordnance disposal reports and tank-net.org.