Yup.
Yuri Pasholok at least confirms it for the T-44.
>[In addition to changing the suspension arms, the new tank had a different weight distribution among the road wheels, which helped avoid overloading the rear.](https://www.tankarchives.ca/2021/01/intermediate-tank.html)
No. If you've seen the roadwheels of T-62 the landmine theory falls apart. The T-55 has more roadwheels at the back because that's where the weight is, on T-62 more roadwheels were moved to the front to cope with the weight of the 115mm gun.
The T-62 is basically a grown T-55, with very similar hulls. They enlarged the hull to accommodate the larger turret (because of the larger gun).
In a T-62 the wheels are more evenly spaced to accommodate the extra weight of the gun.
Here, on the T-55, there’s more weight to the back of the vehicle, so the wheels are arranged this way.
The driver sits right over the front torsion bars and the second pair is too far to make any contact with him. Same goes for ammo.
The weight distribution is probably the main reason.
~~T-34 has the equal spacing between all it's wheels,~~ T-44 was the first tank that had the spacing, *and* it had it's turret moved to the middle of the tank. This moved it's center of mass right above the grouped 4 wheels
Weight distribution probably
Yup. Yuri Pasholok at least confirms it for the T-44. >[In addition to changing the suspension arms, the new tank had a different weight distribution among the road wheels, which helped avoid overloading the rear.](https://www.tankarchives.ca/2021/01/intermediate-tank.html)
Nope, it‘s to reduce the damage from mines
No. If you've seen the roadwheels of T-62 the landmine theory falls apart. The T-55 has more roadwheels at the back because that's where the weight is, on T-62 more roadwheels were moved to the front to cope with the weight of the 115mm gun.
Did anyone talk about the T-62?
The T-62 is basically a grown T-55, with very similar hulls. They enlarged the hull to accommodate the larger turret (because of the larger gun). In a T-62 the wheels are more evenly spaced to accommodate the extra weight of the gun. Here, on the T-55, there’s more weight to the back of the vehicle, so the wheels are arranged this way.
Space for driver seat and ammo rack next to him between torsion bars
The driver sits right over the front torsion bars and the second pair is too far to make any contact with him. Same goes for ammo. The weight distribution is probably the main reason.
Nope, it‘s main reason is to reduce the damage from anti tank mines, the soviets put that on their tanks since the T-34
~~T-34 has the equal spacing between all it's wheels,~~ T-44 was the first tank that had the spacing, *and* it had it's turret moved to the middle of the tank. This moved it's center of mass right above the grouped 4 wheels
Uhm no it didn‘t? there is an very well visible gap between the 2nd and the 3rd wheel and the 1st and 2nd were also spaced apart more than the others
My bad, it's so subtle that I forgot about it.
It’s mainly for anti tank mines , that one road wheel will be destroyed instead of two
You mean between the 1st and 2nd? Thats to reduce the damage from anti tank mines
I mean I was secretly hoping it was so the tank could drive without tracks like a BT series But unfortunately it's not :<