The Type 59 main battle tank is a Chinese-produced version of the Soviet T-54A tank, an early model of the ubiquitous T-54/55 series. The first vehicles were produced in 1958 and it was accepted into service in 1959, with serial production beginning in 1963. Over 10,000 of the tanks were produced by the time production ended in 1985 with approximately 5,500 serving with the Chinese armed forces. The tank formed the backbone of the Chinese People's Liberation Army armoured units until the early 2000s, with an estimated 5,000 of the later Type 59-I and Type 59-II variants in service in 2002.
A Type 59 tank in Military Museum of the Chinese People's Revolution
Type 59 tanks participating in the PRC's 10th National Day parade in 1959
Type 59-IIA tank
A former North Vietnamese Type 59 tank, captured by South Vietnamese ARVN troops on 4 July in 1972 during the Vietnam War, now on display at the Royal Australian Armoured Corps Tank Museum.
T-54/T-55 operators and variants
The T-54/T-55 tank series is the most widely used tank in the world and has seen service in over 50 countries. It has also served as the platform for a wide variety of specialty armoured vehicles.
T-54-3 at the Parola Tank Museum in Parola, Finland
T-54-1 in Verkhnyaya Pyshma war museum in Russia.
T-54-2 in Museum of National Military History in Russia.
Ex-Polish T-54A at the Panzermuseum Thun in Thun, Switzerland.
