During the fighting in Yemen, President Hadi's T-55AM2 tanks, modernized in Czechoslovakia, were again seen as part of the military formations opposing the Shiite Ansar Allah movement (Houthis).
Anti Houthi forces counter attacking with a Czechoslovakian T-55AM2 pic.twitter.com/CsLXP7Zr30
— Lost Weapons (@LostWeapons) February 10, 2022
As a rule, early versions of T-55s are used in battles, which formed the basis of the armored power of the land forces of this country before the civil war began in 2014.
Then there were only more than four hundred "fifty-fifths" in the tank and mechanized brigades, and only a relatively small number of them accounted for the AM2 version.
Externally, these tanks are very similar to the Soviet counterparts of the 80s in the Afghan version. They also have additional protection in the form of containers with multilayer armor installed on the upper frontal part of the hull and on the tower.
The bottom was significantly reinforced. The undercarriage was covered with rubber-fabric screens. In addition to thermal smoke equipment, special grenade launchers are used for masking.
The fire control system has a laser rangefinder, a ballistic calculator, but, unlike Soviet modifications, an atmosphere parameter sensor is mounted, which somewhat improves the accuracy of shooting. However, there is an opinion that these rather complex systems on these tanks have long been out of order, and now they do not have any advantages in this regard compared to conventional T-55.
The engine power is 620 hp. The maximum speed on the highway is 50 km/h. The crew is 4 people.
Despite the increased security characteristics, the Houthis repeatedly managed to destroy Czechoslovak-made tanks. At the same time, both anti-tank guided missiles and conventional hand grenade launchers were used.
Alexey Brusilov
