The menacing silhouette of the T-54 tank prowling down streets of
Eastern European capitals or roaring across fields in massive exercises
remains one of the most enduring images of Soviet power in the early
years of the Cold War. Its sleek and unmistakable shape was a warning to
any nation that wanted to stand against the USSR.
Yet all of this masked a flawed, outdated design, and when T-54s began
to clash with the Western armored vehicles in proxy wars in Southeast
Asia and the Middle East they were found to be on the losing side of
many of the battles.
Containing 130 stunning contemporary and modern photographs, and written
by two experts on Soviet armor, this authoritative book tells the
complete story of the T-54, one of the most widely produced tanks of all
time, including many previously unheard of variants.