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T-55A/M18
History and Description
During the 1990s war in the former Yugoslavia, various ethnic groups carried out some unusual military vehicle conversions. Most of these involved building improvised armored vehicles on wheeled chassis—ranging from military trucks to even agricultural tractors. Among the rarest and most intriguing conversions was the Bosniak T-55A/M18 hybrid, one of the few adapted from a main battle tank platform. This vehicle combined a T-55A chassis and hull with the turret of a World War II-era American M18 Hellcat tank destroyer.
Several conflicting theories exist about why this hybrid was created and by whom. According to one the vehicle was made mainly to avoid NATO restrictions that prohibit the main battle tanks of the fighting armies to have armament larger than 85 mm caliber. While this seems plausible I couldn’t find evidence of such restrictions being implemented. The UN did impose a general arms embargo on all of former Yugoslavia starting in September 1991 but nothing more specific or enforced by NATO. Another theory suggests that in 1992 an ATGM hit a T-55’s turret and rendered it unusable. The lower part of the tank was relatively undamaged and could still be driven. In order to make the tank usable again, a custom-made adapter ring was installed inside the original turret ring in order to fit an M18 turret, which was the only one available. The third theory proposes that the vehicle was intended solely for training purposes.
The interior of the tank—both in the hull and turret—is relatively clean and well-maintained, with the same camouflage green paint used throughout, inside and out. The turret also displays a number of peculiar features. Notably, the gunner’s seat frame forms a V-shape as it attaches to the turret ring, and there’s a conspicuous bulge on the left side of the turret. This bulge appears to have been torch-cut and then re-welded, possibly to give the gunner additional space. Interestingly, some standard equipment is missing inside the turret, including the hydraulic pump control handle and the azimuth indicator. This stripped-down interior further supports the idea that the vehicle may have been used for training rather than combat. It’s unclear which side constructed the cross-breed tank. Either the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (ARBiH) or the Army of the Republika Srpska (VRS) or, according to some sources, The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) even before the outbreak of the war. One thing that is clear is that it was at some point owned by ARBiH as evident from its markings. The paint scheme consists of a base coat of dark green with an irregularly sprayed pattern of dark brown and black with small dots of yellow. On the upper front plate there is a form of national insignia painted with the coat of arms of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina in its center.
Specifications
- Essentials
- Length of the hull; 6.2 m
- Width; 3.15 m
- Height; less thann 2.35 m
- Mass; ca. 30 t
- Driver NVD
- Crew; 4
- Protection
- Armor;
- hull: 100 mm front, 80 mm side, 20-45 mm rear
- turret: 25-44 mm front, 12.7 mm sides, 12.7 mm rear
- APS; N/A
- ERA; N/A
- Smoke; ESS
- Armor;
- Mobility
- Engine; Model V-55 V-12 diesel, 580 hp
- Power/weight; 19.3 hp/t
- Transmission; 1 reverse gear, 5 forward gears
- Top speed; 51 kph
- Amphibious; No
- Firepower
- Main; 76 mm M1 cannon
- Penetration at 10 m; 149 mm (APCBC)
- Ammunition; unknown
- Stabilizer; No
- Vertical guidance; -10 ° / +20 °
- Turret rotation speed; 24 °/s
- Main; 76 mm M1 cannon
Sources
The Tankograd Gazette No.16
Osprey New Vanguard 97: M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer 1943-1997
Modelling the T-55 Main Battle Tank (Osprey Modelling)
Samohodno oruđe M18
M18 Hellcats in Yugoslavia after WWII / the “Krajina Express” – wwiiafterwwii
Status Report: Introducing the Yugoslav T-54 SO-18 Mod. tank
Yugoslavian SP Guns
