Comments on: T-54 and its Variants in Czechoslovak Service

By: BlackfetheR

BlackfetheR — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 10:52:33 +0000

Fuel limits maybe? Tank would be superslow underwater, and the engine would drain the fuel tanks really fast, so in order to remain combat effective after the wading there has to be some limit.

By: rabiesdog

rabiesdog — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 06:02:16 +0000

I can imagine that you are in deep s**t if that snorkel brakes in the middle of a broad waterway. I can understand why tankers do not like it.

By: than357

than357 — Tue, 17 Jun 2014 01:56:04 +0000

High rpm in low gear. Meanwhile everything is exposed to water pressure — engine seals, periscope packing, etc. You are restricted by how much water resistance the snorkel can handle over the length and especially the coupling to the turret.

Glad the deepest ‘forging’ I ever did was around mid-turret… by accident and for a very short time.

By: karn

karn — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 19:18:11 +0000

Was lookin all over the place for how many t 54 s were sent to India during the 60s .. Thanks for that …

By: Krabb

Krabb — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:42:54 +0000

BASE noob :P

By: Frostbrewed

Frostbrewed — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:21:35 +0000

I would agree, the fact that the intake is limited and more than likely running at higher RPM’s to go slower in water, due to the resistance of the water. I would tend to think that this would be very demanding on the engine.

By: assassinated

assassinated — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 14:16:51 +0000

I have no idea the real reason – but water would dissipate much of the heat from the tank, so that is not likely the issue.

This very feature is how some vehicles even today are used to cross rivers/streams/etc.

By: rabiesdog

rabiesdog — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 13:45:01 +0000

@Schepel
“Water proofing is limited. Eventually, things start to leak. Probably, the real limitation is time, not distance, though”

Limited would mean that it leakes from the start. There is a waterpump mentioned in the specs that might have been put there to cope with such a leak but then it propab;y is dimensioned accordingly to be able to handle it as long as the engine runs.
Waterproofing would not fail after travelling a rather short horizontal distance/spend a longer time in water.
This limit mystifies me… I have a bet thoug. I put my money on the assupmtion that the engine cooling could not cope with only the air from the snorkel for a longer time then it took the tank to travel 1 km underwater and the engine could overheat.
Anyway, for this tank it is operationally irrelevant since there are wery lfew or no waterways less then 8 m deep that are more then 1 km wide. Still interested why there is a limit though.

By: Žilvinas Karaliūnas

Žilvinas Karaliūnas — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 11:36:52 +0000

Probably the water resistance when moving and also terrain, under water it`s viscous, so it`s harder to move. Might be a safety precaution or just a misleading fact, military secret, they are not telling the truth.

By: Schepel

Schepel — Mon, 16 Jun 2014 10:58:22 +0000

Water proofing is limited. Eventually, things start to leak. Probably, the real limitation is time, not distance, though.